Stanley flapped his new red wings vigorously, following Tretters through the buffeting wind. The two birds were flying way up high, while the humans and other Pokémon walked below. Twist Mountain reached up through the atmosphere behind them. The air was thin, but refreshingly cool.
Ahead was the next town, Icirrus City.
"This is amazing!" Stanley cried over the wind. He had flown on Tretters many times, but it was nothing like flying on his own.
"Let's descend," Tretters called. "Let's talk."
Stanley sank down until the wind was much quieter. He was still at least a hundred feet above the ground, but that didn't worry him. Tretters appeared next to him, and the two of them flew side by side.
"How do you like it?" Tretters said. "Being… a bird. One of us!"
Stanley was flying without even thinking about it. It came naturally. "I still can't believe you're talking to me," he said.
"I can't believe you're finally hearing." Tretters looked cheerful, for once. "Looks like you're a natural flier."
"I don't know, it's kinda easy," Stanley said. "Unless I know from watching you do it my whole life."
"Stanley, I have so many things I want to tell you. You need to listen to me for a bit."
"Okay."
"Remember the first time you made me fight? When we were still… when you were still a Ranger?"
"Of course I remember. Especially after seeing Logan again."
"I want you to know that I forgave you as soon as we left for Hoenn. You took me with you, and I loved you for that. I was afraid you were going to release me."
"Don't worry," Stanley said. "No need to explain yourself."
Tretters nodded. "I must also tell you that Nidorina and I talked a lot, right before we split up years ago. She said it wasn't Logan's idea. It was some friend of his, and peers were always good at getting him to do things."
"That's all in the past, though, you know what I mean? Let's talk about current stuff."
"Well, I tried to call out to Nidorina when we ran into Logan back there. She was evolved and everything. I was too shocked to say much."
"Did she say anything back?"
"She was ignoring me, I think. She probably expected to see a little Spearow."
"Well, we're definitely going to find Logan, so we can figure out what's going on." Stanley glanced down at the humans, seeing everything with his sharp vision. "So can Pokémon really understand everything humans say?"
"Those of us who are lucky enough to find a good human companion eventually acquire the ability to understand what humans say," Tretters explained. "At least, that's my theory. I talked it over with Terral, and he agreed."
"Speaking of Terral, did he say he was coming back?"
"No. But I'm sure he will. He loves Ray too much to just abandon him."
"That's good… Uh, can we land now? I'm getting tired."
"Already? Well, alright. I guess you have to work on your endurance."
As they descended to the ground, Stanley's wings began to give way. Tretters landed cleanly like always, but Stanley crashed into the ground and tumbled forward, knocking Spolt over. Both Pokémon ended up lying on the ground.
"Nice of you to drop in," the Manectric said, jumping up quickly and shaking off some dirt. "I almost zapped you from reflex!"
"Sorry, Spolt," huffed Stanley from his resting place on the ground.
Spolt stood over him. "Still not bad for your first flight. Terral crashed lots of times before he figured it out. I guess that's what all the steel's for, huh?"
"Well, Skarmory wings are pretty weird," Tretters pointed out. "Probably a tougher learning curve."
"You alright, Stanley?" Ray asked. He moved to help Stanley up, but couldn't figure out how to do that, exactly.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Stanley said, standing up on his own. "Thanks, though." Spolt chuckled to himself.
"Icirrus City's up ahead," Kristy said. "And then after that is Opelucid." Her Buizel was gone—in his ball, probably.
"I gotta talk to Logan…" Stanley murmured.
"What was up with that guy, anyway?" Spolt said as everyone started walking. Ray and Kristy were talking, too, but Stanley only paid attention to the Pokémon conversation.
"Well, he's my brother," Stanley said. "I mean, it's a long story."
"We've got time," Spolt pointed out.
"Well, I used to be a Pokémon Ranger," Stanley explained. "So did Logan. We were really good. Like, near the top. Back then the Rangers were strict about having, you know, one Pokémon companion, and the rest are just temporary friends to use to help others. There was this whole thing about Trainers back then. How they would have lots of Pokémon, captured in balls. That was unlike anything we were used to. And the Trainers would make their Pokémon fight each other. For fun. They got hurt for fun. That's how we saw it.
"So Logan and I, we decided to have a battle. It was one-on-one, of course, my Spearow against his Nidorina. We were caught, and it blew up into this big scandal. People were saying that we tortured our Pokémon, forcing them to fight till they dropped! I know it sounds stupid, but it was horrible. Logan overreacted and told me we had to run away. They were going to kick us out of the Rangers.
"While we were getting ready to leave, Logan fought with me about whose fault it was. We both got boat tickets to Hoenn, but he changed his to Unova at the last minute. I went and lived in Hoenn. If anyone asked, I told them I was from Hoenn. I eventually got Tretters into a ball, and became a Trainer. I never saw Logan again, until he turned me into this bird here."
"Wow, sounds like that sucks," Spolt said.
"And apparently Rangers here are Trainers too. I think the Union might've changed things after we left. I wanted to tell Logan that."
"Well, whatever," Spolt said. "You'll see him soon, bro. Next stop, Icirrus City."
"Let's fly some more," Tretters urged. "Walking is awkward, isn't it?"
Stanley agreed, and followed Tretters into the sky again despite his sore wings.
"Baw, I wanna talk to my Trainer," Spolt said to himself. He looked up at Ray, who was busy talking to Kristy. "Hey, Ray."
No response. Ray and Kristy were laughing and bumping into each other.
Spolt sighed and watched the birds in the sky. He knew Ray loved him and all that, but he wanted to talk. And he couldn't just start doing sign language or elaborate charades—Pokémon just never communicated like that.
If Ray became a Pokémon, on the other hand…
Spolt dismissed the thought. He wouldn't wish for something irreversible to happen to Ray. It would suck a great deal if Ray permanently became a Wurmple or something.
"Hey Ray," Spolt said futilely. "You should let out Dax, so we can talk. I'm feeling kinda mopey, man."
Ray turned to Spolt, and it gave the Manectric a brief feeling of excited elation—that the human had actually heard him. But it wasn't so.
"Don't worry Spolt, we're almost there," Ray said, petting Spolt's mane.
Spolt sighed again and let himself enjoy the strokes of Ray's hand. That would be enough, for now.
"Icirrus City," Ray declared. The home of the seventh Gym was even less busy than Mistralton. Houses were sparse and far apart, often coupled with windmills, and paved streets only ran north-south, like a road through the city.
Ray looked around as they went onto one of the streets. There only seemed to be houses. Most of them had lights on, because the sun was setting. "Okay. Are we just gonna skip the Gym now, cause we have to catch Logan?"
"Well, maybe there's some shopping to do," Kristy said.
"Wow, you're really—"
"Yes, I'm being serious! You should buy some fun stuff for your Pokémon." Kristy's furious demeanor dared Ray to disagree.
"Okay! Fine... but we have to hurry and all that. What?"
Kristy was giggling again. "Sorry, I just can't believe you took that face seriously. Actually, there's a mall on Route 9. So we can just shop there."
"Oh, wow…"
"It's getting kinda late, too, I guess. Better to sleep on the road than in town."
"Really, you'd rather sleep on the road?"
"I wouldn't want to sleep with a bunch of strangers. And I doubt there's an inn or anything here."
"No, I mean that's cool. People look at me weird when I tell them I like to camp out."
As they walked through town, a middle-aged man hailed them from his front door.
"Hey! You two look like great contestants!" he called.
"What do you mean?" Ray called back.
"Answer quiz questions, win a prize! It's fun!"
"You wanna do it?" Ray asked Kristy.
"Sure. I doubt they're out to get us."
"Come on in!" the man beckoned as they approached his home. But at the front door, Ray realized something.
"I can't withdraw Stanley unless I, you know, catch him," Ray told Kristy. A rustling from behind indicated that Stanley had overheard him.
Ray turned and saw that Stanley had backed away. The Braviary was genuinely anxious to be captured, to the amusement of Spolt and Tretters.
"Come on, Stanley, it's not like I'll lock you in there forever. We just have to go indoors."
"Yeah, you'll knock over things," Kristy added.
"And I'm not letting you just hang out outside. Some other Trainer might catch you, and then what'll we do?"
Stanley squawked defiantly and shook his head.
"You know flying-types are weak against electrics, right?" Ray said. He pretended to be scheming. "I can catch you easily with Spolt, or you can just go without a struggle…"
Spolt gaped, obviously unwilling to attack or even stun Stanley. Even so, the Braviary decided to give up. He ducked his head down, shaking slightly, waiting to be captured. Ray pulled a spare ball from his bag, activated it, and tapped Stanley lightly on the head. In seconds, the Braviary was inside, and the ball settled without a single shake.
"Time for some… quizzing, I guess." Ray said, withdrawing Tretters and Spolt.
Inside, a woman, presumably the man's wife, led Ray and Kristy to the middle of the room. Another girl, their daughter by the looks of things, watched the proceedings with excitement. The living room had a big TV, but it was muted.
"Exciting! Thrilling! Zippy! Chilling!" the woman recited. "It's Pep Quiz! Today's challenger is… well, two challengers!" Ray wondered if he was on one of those hidden camera shows.
The man from before was seated behind a long, low table. "Hiya," he said.
"Hi—"
"Pep Quiz starts now! Answer lots of quizzy questions, and watch your brain get brainier! Let's start with YOU!" He pointed at Ray dramatically.
"Good luck!" the girl said.
"Thanks—"
"A question!" prompted the man. "What is the unevolved Pokémon that changes its form seasonally?"
"Oh, my!" the woman said, pacing back and forth. "It's tremendously difficult! Can the challenger answer this?"
Ray was positive either he was on a show, or this family was insane. "Um." He glanced back at Kristy—she was quiet, but her eyes blazed like she was trying to telepathically stab Ray in the head with the answer.
Ray figured he couldn't consult the Pokédex. It was a Pokémon that changed with the seasons. There was Castform, right? Wait, that's weather—
"Hint!" chanted the little girl. "Give 'em a hint!"
"Whoa, the audience is asking for a hint!" the man cried.
Their crazy acting was starting to get on Ray's nerves. Almost as bad as the Trick Master in Hoenn. "You gotta be kidding me—"
"Oh, I'll give you a hint!" the woman giggled. "It's not from space!"
"What?" Which Pokémon were from space?
"Hah, good hint!" the man said to his wife. "Challenger, please answer! What is the unevolved Pokémon that changes its form seasonally?"
If Ray didn't know, then it was probably a Unova Pokémon. And unevolved…
"Wait!" Ray exclaimed. "I know! It's Deerling!" He remembered seeing a poster showing the four seasonal versions of Sawsbuck… and he knew Deerling was the prevolved form.
"Woo-hoo!" the man cheered. "That's Absol-lutely correct!"
"Amazing job!" said his wife.
"Congratulations! Now—"
A sudden thump from the ceiling interrupted the weird quiz show. The quiz man got up quickly and headed for the door, saying, "That's not part of the quiz!"
A blue, winged dragon Pokémon was perched outside on the roof, growling ferociously. It had sharp claws, jagged wings, and red spikes all over. The head was also red, and the eyes were fiery with rage. The Pokémon roared and began to claw at the roof. Shingles flew to the ground.
"Ah, the house!" the quiz man yelled once his family was a safe distance away. It was a relief he was acting like a normal, unquizzy person. "My roof!"
"I'll help." Ray quickly pulled a ball from his belt. "Go, Spolt!" he said.
"Give me your Dex, I'll look it up," Kristy said.
Ray handed the device over, then gave Spolt a command: "Stop it with Thunder Wave!"
Spolt was about to perform the move when a trail of ice from afar struck the angry dragon Pokémon in the head. It briefly became doubly ferocious, but the continued Ice Beam attack had a chilling effect. The Pokémon eventually slowed to a stop and just sat there on the roof, staring into space like a statue.
"Oh, it becomes immobile when its temperature drops," Kristy read from the Pokédex. "Druddigon, the, uh, cave Pokémon."
"Quite a few live in Dragonspiral Tower," said a man in a light blue robe decorated with zigzags to look sort of like ice. "When it wakes up, the rage will have passed, and it'll go home." He nodded at Ray. "Thank you for what would have been helpful assistance."
"Oh, thanks so much for getting rid of that Druddigon, Brycen!" the quiz man said. He glanced up at his roof before ushering his family indoors.
"That Druddigon was angry because something drove it from Dragonspiral Tower," Brycen said to Ray and Kristy. "I see you're both Trainers—why don't you come with me to see what it is? I've got to solve this little problem before night falls completely."
"Sure," Ray said. "That was you doing the Ice Beam, right?"
"Unfortunately, no. It was my Pokémon." He smiled to himself.
Kristy gave Ray back his Dex. "Aren't you the Gym Leader?"
"That's right." Brycen looked back at Spolt, then at Ray. "Are you two collecting badges?"
"Yeah, we both have six," Kristy said. "That sorta means we have to fight you next!"
"Well, I'll be waiting… after we solve this little mystery!"
All of a sudden there was a blinding flash of light, and Stanley was returned to the real world. He was on a black pathway, surrounded by water. At the end of the pathway was a huge tower constructed from the same stone. The pathway went right into the tower's base through an arch made from newer stone.
Ray, Kristy, and Spolt were there, along with some guy in an ice-blue bathrobe.
"Hi Stanley!" Spolt said. "How's the ball treating you?"
"It's a lot better than I thought!" Stanley said. "It had this amazing cliff you could jump off, and you'd never reach bottom, but the top was always right there for me."
"Sounds pretty fun. I mean, if you're a bird—"
"Okay guys!" Ray told the Pokémon. "There's a Pokémon in this tower, driving out the Druddigon things. We're going to see what's up with it. We might have to fight." The humans let Stanley and Spolt lead the way.
"Well, this should be interesting," Spolt said. "Let's go."
The tower was quite spacious inside, with huge stairs that spiraled around the circumference. Everyone began to ascend, and Stanley wondered how tall the tower was. Without asking anybody—Ray wouldn't understand anyway—he flew up and began to investigate himself.
Flying became easier and easier! As he ascended the tower effortlessly, Stanley had the feeling he wasn't particularly strong, and that Braviary were just strong fliers. Still, he felt he was getting the hang of it—
Something suddenly slammed Stanley in midair, and a high-pitched cry echoed throughout the tower. Stanley cried out in pain as he—and someone else—crashed into the wall of the tower.
Stanley fell to the nearest level of stairs, and steel talons immediately pinned him down. He realized with dread that the Pokémon the humans were looking for was assaulting him.
Stanley looked up desperately, out of breath. The Pokémon attacking him was a Skarmory.
They made eye contact. "Hold on," the Skarmory said. "I think I know you. Who are you? Tell me."
"Terral… it's me, Stanley. The human. I got turned into a Braviary."
Terral stepped off Stanley's neck suspiciously. "How is that even possible?" He watched Stanley like he was still a potential threat.
"It's a long story."
"Where's your Fearow, then?" Terral demanded.
"I don't know, but Ray's coming up the stairs."
"Huh—what the!" Terral cried. Ray had snuck up and jumped on him from behind, hugging the bird so tightly he almost lost his balance.
"I missed you so much!" Ray whispered. His eyes were closed, and he was still hugging his Skarmory around the neck. "I knew I'd find you."
"That's a relief," Terral replied gently. "Guilt's a horrible thing."
Kristy and the robed Trainer appeared too. "Terral's back!" Kristy said cheerfully. She taunted Ray. "I toooold you!"
Ray dismounted Terral, and they gazed at each other. Stanley knew they were exchanging something there—a mixture of feelings. Maybe that's how Trainers were supposed to talk to their Pokémon. Stanley didn't have such an intimate bond with Ray, but he could still see regret, hope, excitement, and happiness most of all. It brought back memories of when he worked as a Ranger with Tretters… and Logan.
"I've known you a very long time, Ray," Terral said, even through Ray couldn't hear him. "Too long to just leave for good."
Spolt padded up to Terral gleefully. "You're back!" he said. "I missed ya."
"Is that Skarmory yours?" the robed man asked. He looked a bit surprised.
"That reminds me," Terral said. "I need to battle someone to show Ray how good I am." He turned to Stanley, spreading his sharp wings. "Let's do it."
"But this is, like, my first day as a Pokémon!" Stanley protested with a squawk. "I don't know how to fight! Can't you just wait until Ray battles with you?"
Terral folded his wings. "I guess I can…"
"Well, ready to go, Terral?" Ray asked.
Terral didn't respond.
"Oh, that's right," Kristy said. "You have to rename him, I think."
"She's right, Ray," Terral murmured. "I hate my name, and all the failures I've committed under it. I'm Terral the runaway, Terral the insecure reject and deserter. Terral Terral Terral. What does that name even mean? I guess it means failure."
"He should rename you Rayquaza," Spolt said. "That would be so fun. He'd be like, go Rayquaza! And everyone would freak out, and then once they saw you they'd get confused—"
"That's stupid."
"Whatever you say, Rayquaza. Oh I know! He can just call you Quaza, and then we'd call you Ray's-Quaza!"
Stanley laughed hard. He enjoyed being with these Pokémon, he really did.
"Are you guys even listening?" Ray told his Pokémon. Spolt seemed to be trying to get in a scuffle with Terral. "What's wrong? You want to be renamed, right Terral?"
Terral stopped bothering Spolt and nodded eagerly. He folded his wings in an almost formal gesture.
"Well, I don't know what to name you," Ray asked. "Can I, you know, think about it for a while?"
Terral nodded and walked forward, waiting for another hug. So Ray gave him one, and Kristy completed the picture by awing.
"Oh, I'll love battling Ray," Brycen said to her. "I can tell he's got a close, close bond with his Pokémon. Even the one that ran away came back to him."
Ray was up close with his Skarmory. "Terral, were you just training here, waiting for me to come by?"
Terral nodded proudly.
"Wow," Kristy said. "He totally evicted that Druddigon then."
"Well, it's getting late," Brycen said. "I'm going to head home. You can challenge me tomorrow, if you like."
"We're actually in a bit of a hurry," Kristy said. "We've got to find someone in Opelucid."
Brycen folded his arms. "Is that person Logan Swing, by any chance?"
"Yeah! How'd you know?" Ray said. He was petting Terral affectionately, standing by his side.
"He was on the news, demonstrating a new Ranger device of some sort. He had quite a few Pokémon. I saw a Nidoqueen, and a Zebstrika, and an Arcanine… his Pokémon were very smart, they could understand people. I mean, the Arcanine was doing calculus, for crying out loud. Logan seemed very suspicious, though… he mentioned he had a plan, but wouldn't say it. Why not say a plan if it's well-intentioned? He asked for volunteers to help him develop the project. Is that what you're doing?"
"Not quite," Ray said. "We just have to talk to him about something."
"Ah. Well, be careful. I'd hate to see volunteers become victims. And good night. I hope to see you in my Gym sometime." Brycen turned around and made his way down the spiraling steps.
Stanley nudged Ray anxiously.
"Yeah, I know," Ray said. "Logan doesn't have a Zebstrika or an Arcanine. He must be turning others into Pokémon now."
"We need to hurry," Kristy said. "Let's go."
Ray withdrew Spolt and Stanley (without a struggle) and looked downwards for Brycen. It would be awkward passing by him again, after having said goodbye.
But Brycen was gone.
Author's Note: The Rangers I envision are a bit different from the ones in the actual Ranger games, mainly because I forgot the little details of what happened in the first two games. So if I get into greater detail later on, don't be surprised if things don't match with the Ranger games perfectly. I guess you can call it a loose canon. HAHAHAHA
