Pokémon Sagas: Wind beneath My Wings
The events of this story immediately follow the events of Chapter 34 in Pokemon Sagas: Tia's Tales.
Chapter 1: Romance in the Air
Violet City is known as the city with the nostalgic scent. No one knows this better than Falkner. Born and raised in Violet he spent his life trying to live up to his father's legacy as the greatest Flying type trainer. He was able to prove himself worthy to be the gym leader when his father retired and now trains every day to become stronger. The aroma of Violet City has always helped keep Falkner in high spirits.
Today was an especially nice day in the city; lovely weather, just finished an intense battle, and sharing lunch at his favorite restaurant with a very special guest. Falkner is lucky enough to have a little time to spend with Winona, the Fortree City gym leader and his girlfriend.
"I have to say that Tia girl is a wonderful trainer. I have high expectations for her." Winona says between bites. She anxiously awaits the day she gets to battle Tia herself.
"I'll say, she really gave Noctowl and Pidgeotto a run for their money." Falkner flashes his trademarked smile. Falkner is a very handsome man by many women's' standards. Winona is definitely a head turner herself. Together the two made quite the power couple. They are at times the talk of the Pokemon league due to how high profile their relationship is. Truly no institution is without gossip. They didn't let this bother them though. Falkner and Winona are perfectly happy with being just a simple couple without any glitz or glamour.
Falkner decides to changes the topic however. "I think we have something more important to talk about though." Falkner smiles and puts his hand on hers across the table.
"What might that be?" She feints ignorance with a cute smile.
Falkner chuckles, "Nothing big, you know just our one year anniversary." He says coolly and slides a black jewelry case across the table.
Winona smiles widely, "It's wonderful that you remembered." She picks it up and look inside to find a small necklace with a Silver Wing on it. Her eyes light up, "Falkner, it's beautiful!" She blushes, and holds it up to the light and watches it shimmer in the light. The light hits the Silver Wing is such a way that a rainbow of color shines down on her in a beautiful luminescent display.
She marvels at the beauty while Falkner takes the seat next to her. "Here, I'll help you put it on." The two smile warmly. Falkner grabs the necklace while Winona moves her hair out of the way giving Falkner a glimpse of her neck. He links the chain of the necklace and quickly kisses the nape of her neck as well.
Winona turns back towards him still blushing, "Thank you dear, it's lovely." She reciprocates his feelings with a soft kiss on the lips. "I'm sorry I don't really have anything nearly this thoughtful." She hands a small box to him.
Inside is a very nice watch with a leather strap with decorative wing patterns on it. He smiles and eagerly puts it on. "You know I'm horrible about keeping track of time. So this perfect for me." He laughs. "It's great Winona. This is more thoughtful than you know." He takes his seat across from her again and the two continue their meal.
Once they were done they head out back to the gym. Along the way they stop and look out at the seas beyond. "Such a lovely sight." Winona is entranced by the crystal clear, blue water and the glisten of the sun.
"Now you know why I love this city so much." Falkner speaks softly as he walks up beside her. She nods and takes his hand delicately into her own. "Still I think this view is only the second most beautiful think in the world." His works hit deep as Winona gently squeezes his hand. Her heart is pounding as she takes in the sweet words he says.
Winona doesn't say a word, but smiles serenely before leaning in for another kiss. The two continue walking hand-in-hand back towards the gym. Neither cared who saw them together, but there definitely hear whispers as they pass by. Mostly older couples saying what a cute couple they are or how Falkner and Winona remind them of their youth.
They two enter the gym and release their hands. Falkner still wanting to be close to Winona decides to put and arm over his girlfriend's shoulder. Winona continues to blush, but much more vibrantly.
Her heart begins to pound again as she thinks of something to say. "So what shall we do now?" Winona asks as she looks down to continue admiring her Silver Wing and its glorious luster.
"I thought you and I could go out flying." He suggests knowing Winona loves to fly around just as much as he does. "The weather's perfect so I thought this would be the perfect chance."
Winona smiles and nods, "Indeed, I'd love to fly through Johto. The air in these parts are so different from the sea air of Hoenn." She serenely looks up at the glass ceiling of the gym with a big smile. She pulls out a Pokeball and lets out her Tropius. She walks up and pets her Pokémon before climbing on its back.
"I guess I'll use my Pidgeot." He calls out his fully evolved Pokémon and jumps onto its back with style. "Race ya," he smirks and flies off at rapid speeds.
Winona laughs and shouts up to him, "You're on!" Her Tropius is quick to ascend and wastes no time catching up to Falkner. "Is that all your Pidgeot can muster?" She says with a smirk and flies on ahead.
"You're not going to take that are you, Pidgeot?" Falkner says pointing forward. His Pokemon quickly complies, maneuvering through the air and easily passing Tropius. "Let's see you top that." He boasts.
"Oh, did I hurt someone's pride?" She says with a coy smile. They continue to fly side-by-side in perfect sync. Their Pokemon still racing, but keeping up a solid pace and even speeds.
The two eventually race out past the land and over the ocean. The beauty of the sea below is breath taking to both Winona and Falkner. Falkner looks over at Winona and flashes a smile before Pidgeot ascends higher in the sky at a rapid pace. At the height of his arc Pidgeot quickly raises its wings and leans down to turn all that force back downward. Pidgeot rapidly descends towards the ocean. Falkner holds on tight while Pidgeot wets one of his wings and splashes up a big wave in the water creating a miniature rainbow.
Falkner slowly reaches back up to Winona's level as the two turn back towards land. Flying beside Falkner, Winona can't help but smile and feel so free. The skies have always been an escape for her. She is all too happy to share them with someone like Falkner. "Thank you, Falkner. I'm having a lovely time."
"I'm happy to hear that. I just wanted to do something you love. Strangest idea for a date ever, I know." He laughs. He was never one for the conventional approach. Lucky enough for him neither was Winona. The two shared more than just a common love of Flying types. Love of battling aside, the two always feel so at ease when they are together. As if they have an unspoken understanding.
Winona shakes her head, "That's why I like you Falkner, you want to do things I like to do also. We don't just do the usual boyfriend, girlfriend things. You always have some unique and exciting idea for us." At the end of the day it didn't matter what they did, because she knows he thinks with both his mind and heart.
Falkner smiles, but then he notices something. Something strange, the air was warming up and he notices a glint of light in the distance. "Pidgeot!" He quickly pushes Tropius and bounces off of it. Before Winona could ask what he did that for a bolt of lightning strikes down through the air. The sharp jolt tears through the air with a crash as it hits the ground below. That attack was no normal Thunder attack. The sheer power behind it would have knocked Tropius out instantly.
In a flash, a bright yellow figure flies through the air shooting of bolts of lightning. A large Flying type appears and fires a huge burst follows as a second Flying type comes into view. The two are locked in an intense battle and the couple are caught in the middle. Their peaceful afternoon flight has suddenly become a war zone.
"Falkner what's going on?" Winona panics to get back to her boyfriend.
He stares in awe, "I've never seen anything like this before. Those are two of the legendary Flying types: Zapdos and Moltres!" He shakes his head, "Why are they fighting each other?" The legends are known to mostly stay in seclusion and rarely ever made their presence known to others. "I've heard the legends, but I've never actually seen them before." He's equal parts amazed and terrified at their sheer destructive power.
Winona flies back over, "Dear, we need to get out of here." She says urgently. Falkner nods and the two carefully fly in the opposite direction. Moltres continues its barge of fire while Zapdos unleashes bolts of lightning that rip through the air. Neither Pokemon seem to care about their surrounds which further worries the two. The uncontrollable rage of the two legends is even more disturbing. Falkner looks back and sees them both fighting in very erratic and vicious ways. He may not have much knowledge of legendary Pokemon, but from what everything he's read they are mostly docile unless provoked. What's even stranger is that Zapdos, Moltres, and even Articuno are rarely ever seen outside of Kanto. If seen at all.
Winona is focused on escaping, but even she feels there is something off about all of this. On one hand, she is worried about being caught in the cross fire. On the other, it is a very rare sight indeed. Most go their entire lives without even seeing one legendary Pokemon. She can't admire it for too long however. A very unfortunately timed stray bolt hits Tropius and knocks it out instantly. This was nothing more than residual energy from a Discharge no less. To fell Tropius in one hit was a sign of Zapdos's true power. That, unfortunately, isn't the extent of the damage dealt. Winona shouts in agony taking a large amount of the attack too. She's beings to fall out of the air rapidly with her Tropius. She falls like a helpless rag doll through the air as she rapidly approaches the ground.
"Winona!" Falkner shouts and literally jumps off of Pidgeot. He free falls to Winona and grabs her and holds her tight. He calls out his Swellow who flies down and catches them before they hit the ground. He pants as the adrenaline dies down. He shakes Winona who is out cold and showing no sign of waking up anytime soon. He's just relieved she's safe. He has Swellow take them back to the gym and he recalls Tropius who had a less than pleasant landing. Thankfully, Pokémon are leagues more resilient that humans. As they fly away he looks at both Zapdos and Moltres with a determined gaze. He will stop their rampage. If not for Winona then for all the people whose lives are in danger because of the two out of control powerhouses.
Right now, all that matters is making sure Winona is alright. She's out cold and her breathing is shallow. He knows is girlfriend is tougher than that, but few things can hold their own against the might of a legendary Pokemon. All he can do is get her back to safety and hope for the best.
Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter and series as a whole. So to once more clarify this story takes place after the events of the 34th chapter of Pokemon Sagas: Tia's Tales. Reading Tia's Tales in not pivotal to the plot, but the events which occurred in that chapter directly lead into this story as you have seen. This is the second of many stories in the Pokemon Sagas series ans I really hope this is received well. Next week will be Chapter 35 of Tia's Tales.