-Chapter 1-
Wing Attack
"The official Johto League battle between Weston, the challenger from Cannon City, and Falkner, the Violet Gym Leader, will now begin! At stake is the Zephyr Badge! Each will use three Pokemon, best two out of three rounds! Begin when you are ready!"
Falkner summoned Farfetch'd as Weston sent out Totodile. There was a decent audience in the stands as the match began. Among those watching was an avid avian Pokemon fan, Garrett Heron. The boy was munching on pretzels while he watched his idol, Falkner, take on another challenger. Garrett admired the Violet City Gym Leader, and spent much of his time at the gym watching the battles take place. The arena itself sat atop a towering building, a fitting location for the aerial Pokemon to have a good advantage against the challengers.
"Farfetch'd, mud slap!", Falkner commands. "Bite, Totodile!", Weston calls out. The Totodile raced forward, jaws open to snap its jaws on Farfetch'd, but the bird was clever and used the mud slap strategically, landing mud all in the reptile's open maw. The Totodile winced and began to gag and run around trying to get the mud out of its mouth. Falkner grinned, "Good job, Farfetch'd! Now, hit it with Slash!" Weston gritted his teeth, "Totodile, Water Gun!", he called, but Totodile was too distracted by the mud in its mouth. Farfetch'd rushed forward and struck Totodile in the chest with a powerful slash of its leek. Totodile coughed, the wind knocked out of it. "Alright, now finish it off with False Swipe!", Falkner ordered. The dazed Totodile didn't see it coming, as the leek was coming for its head, but in a sudden move, Farfetch'd changed the trajectory and hit the Totodile in the side of the head with the leek. Totodile let out a cry and collapsed, fainting.
"Round one goes to Falkner!", the announcer called, and Weston sighed, returning Totodile. Falkner did the same with Farfetch'd, before calling, "Noctowl, let's go!". He released the owl who stared deeply into Weston's eyes. The challenger reached for his belt, "You asked for this, Falkner! Flaafy, let's go!", he called out the electric sheep Pokemon. Falkner blinked, and exhaled. This'll be a challenge, Weston's Flaafy has the type advantage. But his Noctowl was prepared. "Noctowl, Confusion!", Falkner called. "Thunderbolt, Flaafy!", Weston shouted. The Flaafy was faster of the two, and struck the owl with a burst of electricity. But Noctowl's Confusion also connected, and Flaafy began to stumble around. "Oh no!", Weston gasped. But Falkner saw that Noctowl was hit pretty hard with the super effective Thunderbolt. He had to think fast. "Noctowl, take to the sky! Fly!", he commanded. The bird began to flap its wings and began to fly over the crowd. Weston grasped his hand into a fist, "Flaafy, snap out of it! Use a Thunder Wave!" But Flaafy rubbed it's head in agony, and stumbled backwards, the confusion hurting it. Falkner grinned. Noctowl knew what to do, he didn't even have to shout the command. The owl descended upon the sheep. Weston saw the owl coming, and cried out, "Flaafy, look out! Thunderbolt!" The sheep looked upward, and at the last moment, managed to charge up its electricity to strike Noctowl right before it connected with the impact of Fly. The owl hit the ground hard and slid to a halt, fainted. Falkner grimaced. "Round two to the challenger! Return your Pokemon and call out your third choices for the final round!", the announcer called. Garrett was writing notes as he watched Falkner's strategy, but he gasped in surprise at both Pokemon that were summoned for the final round. Falkner returned Noctowl, and called out Pidgeot. The bird's plumage glistening in the sunlight, dazzling those who saw it. "I am impressed that you used an electric Pokemon against me, but unless you have another one, you don't stand a chance!", Falkner shouted.
Weston returned Flaafy as per the rules, and then called forth Skarmory. Garrett's eyes widened as he saw the metal bird appear. He wasn't expecting this to be an avian vs avian battle! Even Falkner was surprised by the choice, and smiled, "So...you have an appreciation for bird Pokemon just as I do. So be it. This will be a fine finish!" Weston exhaled confidently, "Skarmory will win this for me, I am sure of it!" But Garrett noticed something about the metal bird, it seemed to be acting strange. Aloof even, as if it wasn't even interested in the battle. Falkner also recognized this. Skarmory clearly was a high level, and if it was acting that way, it meant that the bird's trainer didn't have enough badges to control it effectively. He grinned, not revealing this to Weston, but shouting, "Pidgeot, Quick Attack!" "Skarmory, hit it with Steel Wing!", Weston called, but the Skarmory looked back and snapped its beak at him. The trainer jumping and backing away. About the time Skarmory turned around was when Pidgeot slammed into it, momentarily knocking Skarmory back but the metal bird landed on it's feet. Now locked onto Pidgeot, Weston knew Skarmory was in the fight now. "Skarmory, Steel Wing, please!", he pleaded. The bird obeyed, and charged after Pidgeot with it's wings glowing, ready to cut into the shimmering bird. Falkner quickly called, "Fly, Pidgeot!", and moments before the impact, Pidgeot took to the sky. Weston called out, "After it, Skarmory! Fly!" Garrett watched on as the two birds were now performing an aerial dogfight, each landing blows on one another as they were both trying to out maneuver the other. But it was clear that Pidgeot was much faster and much more skilled. And Falkner shouted out, "Pidgeot, Whirlwind!" As Skarmory ignored Weston's command for Steel Wing and just recklessly charged at Pidgeot, Falkner's bird began to produce a powerful cyclone that caught Skarmory and spun the metal bird helplessly. The dazed Pokemon plummeted to the arena and landed hard, leaving a small crater in the ground where it landed. "Skarmory, no!", Weston ran over to his Pokemon, as Pidgeot landed gracefully.
"And the winner is...Gym Leader Falkner!", the announcer called. The locals of Violet City stood and applauded as their local gym leader won the match. But Garrett was clapping and cheering the loudest. Falkner looked over and smiled. It was nice to have a friend who was also his number one fan. Falkner approached Weston and said, "Listen, you are following the right track. Flaafy is very well trained. But...as you can see...Skarmory isn't listening to you, at least not yet." Weston returned Skarmory and nodded, "I...I thought Skarmory would be ready for this..." Falkner smiled, "It will be, in due time. Keep training, and come back when you and your Pokemon are ready to try again. It will be an honor to accept your challenge again."
As Weston and the remaining crowd began to disperse, Garrett hopped off the stands and went over to Falkner, "That was amazing as always!", he spoke, his notebook full of notes from the battle. Falkner nodded, "I hope you got some good strategy from it. It's almost time for you to become a trainer, isn't it?", he asked. Garrett nodded, "My 10th Birthday is in a couple of days. And I'll be ready to start my journey." Falkner smiled, "Have you decided who you will be starting out with?" Garrett shook his head, "No...none of the Johto starters are birds after all. I wouldn't know who to pick...", he exhaled. Falkner shook his head, "They don't all have to be, you know. Don't count any of them out just because of that. You'll know when you meet your starter that it'll be the right choice no matter what it is." Garrett smiled, "You're right. I'll have to look them all over again before I make my choice."
Falkner let his Pidgeot out of it's Pokeball once again, knowing Garrett admired the bird. "You'll become a great avian Pokemon trainer for sure, Garrett. And one day you'll be battling with a whole team of them, showing any challenger that stands in your way the strength, agility, and wisdom that birds are known for. But most importantly...", he gave Pidgeot a pat on the head, "...you'll learn that they are the most trusting and loyal partners you'll ever ask for."
Garrett smiled, and approached Falkner's Pidgeot. He reached his hand out to give the bird a rub. "Careful, Pidgeot's not too trusting with others...", Falkner began to say, but the Pidgeot stood still as Garrett rubbed the bird's beak. The Pokemon let out a bit of a coo and then leaned in for him to rub its head. Falkner blinked a few times and then chuckled, "Well, it certainly trusts you then."
Garrett went to the Library after the battle. It was his favorite place to disappear to, and once he browsed the bookshelves and picked out a few of them, he found his favorite desk to sit at and opened the first book, Pokemon Geographic: Birds of the Johto Region, and turned to the pages dedicated to everything known about Skarmory. "Let's see...Steel Wing can be learned at Level 34...but if that trainer didn't have any badges, then that means he would have to have at least three badges for Skarmory to become obedient, maybe even four or more if the level was a lot higher than that. As for the other moves...", he studied his notes on the battle, "the only other move that was commanded was Fly, which can be taught with a Hidden Machine. I wonder what else Skarmory had...", he began to imagine himself standing next to a Skarmory, and visualized the metal bird's moves such as Metal Claw, Agility, and Air Slash.
Something broke his daydreaming, he heard a tapping on the window. Garrett wasn't expecting it considering he was on the second story of the Library, so no one should be able to tap on the glass from the outside. He looked over and locked eyes with a Spearow. Garrett's eyes widened, and he smiled wide, "Oh it's you!" The Spearow preened his feathers a bit before looking back at Garrett and tapping on the glass another time. "Alright, give me a second. I'll be right there."
He hurried downstairs and out the door, going to the side of the building where Spearow was at. There was a park bench next to the Library, so Garrett went and sat on it. The bird peeked down and saw him, before gliding down and landing on the bench next to him. He chuckled lightly, "How've you been? I haven't seen you in a couple of days. I was getting a little worried...", he spoke as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a few crackers for the bird. The Spearow craned his head and eyed the treats, letting out a few caws to ask for them. "Go on, you know these are for you.", Garrett said as he sat the crackers on the bench. The Spearow at once began to peck at the crackers, using his foot to hold them as he munched and enjoyed them. He was quite messy and left crumbs all over the bench. Garrett knew it'd be okay to leave whatever was leftover, there were usually some Sentret around that liked to snatch those crumbs.
Spearow hadn't ever let Garrett touch him, even though their bond was growing pretty well. He was afraid to risk losing the bird's trust, but he couldn't contain himself. He reached over while the bird was going for that second cracker. Once his fingers touched the top of Spearow's head, the bird jumped back and let out an angry "SPEAROW!", before flying off. Garrett quickly called out, "Wait don't g-", but the bird had already disappeared into the trees. He sighed, and at once mentally kicked himself. "Idiot.", he scolded himself, realizing his impatience probably cost him a friendship of a lifetime. He stood and went back inside to his books. He looked at the one he had open, Pokemon Geographic: Birds of the Johto Region, and decided to close it and set it aside. He went back out into the bookshelves and pulled out a small book about the Johto starter Pokemon. He turns to the first Pokemon – Chikorita. He reviews the grass Pokemon's stats and abilities. Bayleef and Meganium looked like friendly Pokemon to have around. But he wasn't sure, and thumbed to the next Pokemon – Cyndaquil. He liked the look of the Pokemon, especially it's final form as Typhlosion. But he remembered several of his peers already talking about wanting to pick a Cyndaquil. He could go with it himself, but he wasn't one to follow a crowd like that. Maybe he'll capture one in the wild, but for now, he flipped to the last starter – Totodile. He tapped his chin as he studied the water Pokemon, looking over the evolutionary line. Feraligatr looked menacing, but something about the Pokemon made him ponder it a bit more. He began to think about the similarities between reptiles and birds. Maybe...
He pictured himself with each starter in their final form. A Meganium smiling proudly. A Typhlosion with it's fire mane ablaze. A Feraligatr with a smug, toothy grin on its face. Any one of them would work. But which one was the right choice?
Garrett looked back out the window, he hoped Spearow was there again, and standing to get a look around, he didn't catch sight of the bird. A group of Pidgey were pecking the ground where the crackers had been left. A Sentret climbed one of the trees nearby. In the distance, he thought he got a glimpse of a Wurmple waddling about. The world was filled with all sorts of Pokemon, and each one could become a powerful ally in his quest to become a top ranking Avian Pokemon Trainer. Even those that weren't birds themselves, he would be happy to have them along for the journey. He looked back at the book. Chikorita, Cyndaquil, Totodile...he already knew he would be losing sleep over coming to a decision.
