Chapter 4- Flying and Swimming

Alice decided to get up early that morning. If she was going to learn how to be a Lugia, she would have to make it look as if she were taking this seriously. Upon seeing her Lugia father's shocked face when he awoke, she was slightly amused.

"All right," he began. "If you're going to learn how to get in touch with your Lugia side, the first thing you're going to have to learn is how to fly."

This was more than Alice had bargained for. Learning to fly on the first day of training? Alice thought they were going to be starting with some simple Pokemon moves, like that … "leering" move.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"As a flying-type Pokemon, it is crucial that the first thing you learn is how to fly," Lugia explained.

Alice lowered her head dejectedly. She was, as Pinocchio put it, "so up a creek."

"Don't worry," Lugia said assuringly. "Once you get the hang of it, it won't be so hard."

Alice looked back up at her Lugia father for a moment. She then sighed, deciding to take that into account.

She closed her eyes. Lugia. Lugia. Lugia, she thought, concentrating as hard as she could. The same powerful feeling came rushing back through her again. When she opened her eyes, she was a Lugia.

"All right," Lugia said. "First thing you're going to have to know is how to get up into the air. Spread your wings like this-" he spread out his enormous wings "-and begin flapping."

Alice started flapping as hard as she could. She looked down, but saw that she was only a few inches off the ground.

"Not that rapidly. Try it with a more smooth motion."

Alice let herself down onto the ground. She spread her wings again and flapped more smoothly. Now she was really off the ground. One foot, two feet, three feet, four feet. But when she got to five feet, she panicked slightly and let herself back down to the ground.

"That was good," Lugia congratulated. "Now, let's try to do a little higher."

Alice really didn't want to go any higher than where she was already at. But she didn't want to look like a coward.

She began flapping her wings, and soon she was even higher than she was before. This actually felt, as Pinocchio put it, "pretty cool." But then something started to make her tumble around in the air. A gust of wind must've picked up.

"Ride with the air current," Lugia instructed. "Don't fight it."

Alice had seen birds do things like that. She decided to imitate them and let herself glide with the wind by spreading her wings out, but not flapping. This actually worked.

"Good job!" Lugia called from below. "Now, see if you can try flying from here over to Ice Island."

Now Alice felt really confident. She began flapping gently towards the island. However, it seemed to be taking her awhile.

"Try putting on a burst of speed," Lugia advised. Alice turned around and saw that she was about two feet away from him. She turned back to the island. Then, as if acting instinctively, Alice zoomed forward. This began to feel even more exhilarating than before. Maneuvering back and forth for fun, this was the first time Alice actually felt alive. She soon reached the island, but decided to circle around the volcano and began flying back to Shamouti. When she reached it, she landed softly in front of her Lugia father. She looked up at him and saw that he was giving her a look of utmost pride. Alice had never felt so good about herself before, and, for the first time since she arrived there, she was excited for what else was to come.

"All right," Lugia said as he and Alice stood on the beach. "The next thing you'll need to know is how to swim."

"Oh, that won't be a problem," Alice said. "I already know how to."

"You know how to swim like a human. You need to learn how to swim as a Lugia."

Alice started to feel nervous again. She began to wonder how that was going to go.

Lugia then dove into the water. Alice held her breath and followed suit.

Once in the ocean, Alice felt completely different than how she regularly felt when she went underwater. Most of the time, she felt strained. Maybe that was from holding her breath. But now, she felt more … relaxed; as if she'd been living in the ocean her whole life.

"You don't have to hold your breath, you know," Lugia said slightly amused.

Alice stopped holding her breath, but when she did, she felt the same as when she was breathing air.

"I-I can breath underwater!" she exclaimed. Then she had another revelation. "I can speak underwater."

"Yes," Lugia said smiling. "Now, when swimming as a Lugia, you don't push against the water as you would do as a human. You also have to glide with the water. Like this."

Lugia then put on a burst of speed and he went shooting like a bullet through the water. His turns, ascensions, and decensions were so smooth. Alice had no words.

"Now you try it," he said when he returned to her.

Alice prepared herself. She, copying her father, put on a burst of speed and went zooming through the water. This was much easier than flying. However, she didn't realize that she was heading face first towards a large rock sticking up from the ocean floor. She came to a screeching halt, mere inches from colliding with it.

As she floated there, breathing heavily, her Lugia father swam over to her.

"Very good for a first try," he complimented.

"Thank you, Lugia," Alice said politely.

"Please, sweetheart. Call me 'Dad'. If you want."

Alice smiled. "Okay, Dad."


Author's Note:

Hi everyone. Sorry if it's been a while. School, once again, got in the way. Hope you enjoy. Also, I may be a little busy again for a while so please be patient.