Pokémon Learning League
Flight
Written By
Timothy Whitfield
(Episode opens with Iris, Axew, Cilan, Ash and Pikachu arriving at the Mistralton City airport and Ash speaks.)
Ash: Hey, there.
Pikachu: Pika.
Iris: Hi.
Axew: Axew.
Cilan: Hello.
Ash: We're waiting for Dawn to arrive here. She's coming in from the Hoenn region. Would you like to join us? (He waits for an answer from the viewers.) Okay.
Iris: Hey, Ash. What do you think Dawn's been doing after the Wallace Cup?
Ash: I don't know, Iris. I guess we'll see when she gets here.
(They look out the window, waiting for the plane. A few minutes later, the plane comes in for a landing. Then, Ash and the gang go out on the runway. People start to come off the plane, and Dawn comes out of the crowd with her Piplup.)
Ash: Hey, Dawn.
Dawn: Hey, guys. How are you?
Iris: We've been doing great. How about you?
Dawn: Piplup and I have been doing fine.
Piplup: Piplup.
Cilan: How did you do in the Johto Wallace Cup?
Dawn: I did very well. I came in at the top 4.
Ash: That's amazing.
Dawn: Yeah. There were tough coordinators, but I showed some of them a thing or two.
Ash: So, what else happened?
Dawn: After that, I returned to the Hoenn to compete in more contests. I already won my fourth ribbon.
(She shows them her ribbons.)
Cilan: That's pretty good.
Iris: So, what would you like to do first?
Dawn: I would like to see where the gym is.
Ash: Okay, then let's head there.
(They all leave the airport and head to the Gym.)
Cilan: By the way, Dawn, why do you want to see the gym?
Dawn: I just want to see what the gym is like.
Iris: I think you might be in for quite a treat.
(They arrive at the Mistralton Gym. The gym looks like a plane and cargo hanger.)
Dawn: Huh? This is the gym?
Ash: Yeah. This is it. Maybe Skyla would like to meet you.
Dawn: Skyla? Is she the gym leader here?
Ash: Yeah, she is. She specializes in flying-types. When we first met her, she was battling using a completely different battling system.
Dawn: Really?
Iris: It was what she called "air battles", where she predicts whether she or her opponent would win. She did that so she could have more time to fly her plane. Ash and Cilan and her own grandfather didn't like her method, so Cilan battled her to prove her predictions were wrong. He ended up losing to her.
Dawn: Oh, that must've been disappointing.
Cilan: Oh, it was. Then Ash battled her to not only earn her badge, but also see what it really means to be a gym leader. He eventually beat her and won the Jet Badge. She also stopped doing the air battles.
Dawn: That's pretty cool.
Ash: It sure was. Anyway, let's see what Skyla's doing.
(They all head over to the gym to find Skyla getting ready to fly her plane. She sees them and says hello.)
Skyla: Hey, guys. How you've been?
Ash: We're doing great, Skyla. This is Dawn.
Skyla: It's nice to meet you, Dawn.
Dawn: Nice to meet you, too, Skyla.
(They both shake hands.)
Cilan: So, how's the gym been doing?
Skyla: It's been doing great. Right now, things have been slow, so I decided to do some flying.
Iris: Do you think we could fly with you?
Skyla: Okay, but only one at a time.
(Skyla, Ash and Pikachu board the plane. Skyla puts on her pilot helmet, closes the cockpit, starts the plane and takes off.)
Ash: This is looking good so far.
Pikachu: Pika.
Skyla: Oh, you haven't seen nothing yet.
(She starts doing some maneuvers, like an inside loop, then a 45 degree up-line, a roll-off-the-top and then a split S. Afterwards, she lands the plane and Ash and Pikachu get out.)
Ash: Man, Skyla that was awesome.
Pikachu: Pika, Pika.
(Iris and Axew gets in the plane, Skyla shuts the cockpit and takes off again. Skyla does more maneuvers: a vertical up, a stall turn, a half Cuban eight and an erect spin. She lands the plane and Iris and Axew get out.)
Iris: Thanks, Skyla. That was an incredible flight.
Axew: Axew.
(Dawn and Piplup get in and Skyla takes off again. This time, she does a chandelle, an outside loop, a bell tail slide and a flick roll. She lands the plane and Dawn and Piplup get out.)
Dawn: Whoa, that was really amazing.
Piplup: Piplup.
(Cilan gets in and Skyla takes off once again. For the final flight, she does an English bunt, a lazy eight, a barrel roll and a Kulbit. She lands the plane and Cilan gets out.)
Cilan: Thanks, Skyla. It was wonderful.
Skyla: Well, I'm glad you guys enjoyed flying. See you later.
Everyone: See you.
(She takes off for another flight.)
Dawn: Skyla's a really good pilot.
Piplup: Piplup.
Cilan: You said it, Dawn. She knows how to do some impressive maneuvers.
Ash: Yeah. The way they were done was awesome.
Pikachu: Pika.
Iris: And the way she moved from one to another was amazing.
Axew: Axew.
Ash: You know, this is making me wonder about something.
Cilan: What is it, Ash?
Ash: I'm wondering about how Skyla's plane is able to fly so well.
Iris: You might have a point, Ash. Now, I'm starting to wonder, too. Do you know anything about it, Cilan?
Cilan: Sorry, guys. I don't know much on how airplanes fly.
Iris: That's all right, Cilan. I think Siara may know something about this. (She pulls out the Pokepilot and calls Siara.)
Siara: Hey, guys. What's up?
Cilan: Hey, Siara. We came to see Skyla and we all flew with her in her plane while she did some amazing maneuvers.
Siara: That must've been exciting. So, what else is new?
Dawn: Ash started to wonder about how Skyla's plane is able to fly so well, so we called to see if you knew how it was able to fly so well.
Siara: Sure I do. The way that a plane flies deals with four fundamental forces and how they affect the plane.
Iris: Really? What are the four forces?
Siara: They are thrust, drag, lift and weight.
Dawn: How does thrust work?
Siara: Thrust is the force that pushes or pulls the plane forward. It's produced by either jet engines or a propeller, which provide the power the plane needs, and is the opposing force of drag.
Cilan: Speaking of drag, how does it play out in making a plane fly?
Siara: Drag is the force that resists the motion of an object moving through air or water. It can slow down a plane and reduces thrust.
Iris: Okay, what about lift?
Siara: Lift is the force that holds the plane up. It's produced by the effects of the air moving on the wings. Air moves differently on the wings: it moves fast over the top and moves slowly on the bottom. The opposing force to lift is weight.
Ash: How does weight affect how a plane flies?
Siara: Weight affects the plane by pulling the plane down due to the force of gravity because of the combined weight of the plane itself, the cargo, fuel and the crew and passengers.
Cilan: Okay, but how do these forces help make a plane fly?
Siara: I'm getting to that right now. In order for a plane to fly, the thrust needs to be equal to or greater than drag in order to take off and the air on the wings creates an upward push of lift because the air moving over the top of the wings exerts less pressure than the air moving underneath the wings.
Iris: Well, is there anything else?
Siara: Yes, there is. In order for a plane to maintain airspeed, thrust and drag need to be equal to each other and if it's holding a constant altitude, the lift must be equal to or greater than the weight.
Dawn: Man, knowing how a plane flies seems more complex than it looked.
Siara: It is complex. That's why I'm going to show you how those work.
Iris: All right, Siara.
Axew: Axew.
(Cut to Siara's lab.)
Siara: Okay, I'm going to show you footage of an airplane flying. What you're going to do is tell me which of the four force is being applied.
Everyone: Okay.
Siara: All right, then let's get started. Here, this plane's jet engines help gives what force to the plane?
Cilan: They help give the plane thrust.
Siara: Very good, Cilan. Here, the air is moving across the wings in order to help produce what force?
Ash: The force would be lift.
Siara: Okay, Ash. Now, the plane is being pulled back by the air pressure due to what force?
Dawn: That would be drag.
Siara: All right, Dawn. Lastly, the plane is starting to lose altitude because of what force at work?
Iris: That force would be weight.
Siara: You got it, Iris. Good work, you guys.
Everyone: Thanks, Siara.
Axew: Axew.
Pikachu: Pika.
Piplup: Piplup.
Siara: No problem. Well, I better get back to work. See you later, guys.
Everyone: See you.
Dawn: Hey, guys. What do you say we go over what we know before we do something else?
Cilan: All right, Dawn. Before we get to that, let's see if our friends at home want to do it with us.
Iris: Okay, Cilan. (She looks at the viewers.) Would you like to go over with us? (She waits for an answer from the viewers.) Okay. How do the jet engines provide thrust? (She waits for an answer from the viewers.) They provide the power to push the plane forward. Way to go.
Ash: How can drag affect a plane? (He waits for an answer from the viewers.) It can reduce the thrust and slow it down. All right.
Cilan: How is lift produced? (He waits for an answer from the viewers.) It's produced by the effects of the air being blown on the wings. Okay.
Dawn: Why does the weight of the plane pull it down? (She waits for an answer from the viewers.) It's because of the force of gravity. Yeah.
Everyone: Good work, guys.
Pikachu: Pika.
Axew: Axew.
Piplup: Piplup.
Dawn: Okay, so what do you guys want to do now?
(They all think for a minute.)
Ash: I know. We can try to show which force is at work.
Cilan: All right, Ash. But I think we're going to need a little bit of help with it.
Dawn: Okay, Cilan. (She looks at the viewers.) Would you like to do it with us? (She waits for an answer from the viewers.) Oh, good.
(Cut to an image of a plane.)
Ash: Okay, this plane is going to take to the skies. All you're going to do is identify what force is being used at that point. Okay, let's do it. The plane starts to go faster as it goes down the runway. What force is this? (He waits for an answer from the viewers.) It's thrust. All right.
Cilan: The plane starts to build more thrust so that it can work against what force? (He waits for an answer from the viewers.) This would be drag. Okay.
Dawn: The wings get pushed down by the air pressure and the plane starts to take off. What force is this? (She waits for an answer from the viewers.) It would be lift. Yeah.
Iris: Here, the plane is getting pulled down a bit after getting into the air. What force is this? (She waits for an answer from the viewers.) It's the weight. Way to go.
(Cut back to the gang on the runway.)
Everyone: Thanks a lot, guys.
Piplup: Piplup.
Pikachu: Pika.
Axew: Axew.
Dawn: That was… pretty good.
Iris: You said it, Dawn. It was okay.
Cilan: It wasn't the best thing we did, but it was still enjoyable.
Ash: I think it was cool the way Skyla flew us in her plane.
Dawn: You said it, Ash. It was a lot of fun flying.
Iris: Don't forget all those great maneuvers Skyla did.
(They all turn to the viewers.)
Everyone: Thanks for all the help, guys.
Axew: Axew.
Pikachu: Pika.
Piplup: Piplup.
(Cut to them at the gym.)
Cilan: We had a good time today. Did you have a good time? (He waits for an answer from the viewers.) Oh, good. I liked watching those maneuvers.
Dawn: I liked meeting Skyla.
Ash: I liked flying in the plane.
Iris: I liked seeing the maneuvers, too.
Everyone: Thanks again, guys. See you next time.
(They all wave goodbye to the viewers and it irises out, ending the episode.)
