Battles in the Sky
Alec's POV
The group was near the Kalos Canyon, which Alec wished to see again. After a bit of walking, they got a good view. "What a sight," Clemont commented.
"It sure is. What'd you think Dedenne?" Bonnie asked.
[It looks cool,] Dedenne answered.
"Takes you by surprise the first time you see it. And the view isn't the best part," Alec told them.
"What is it then?" Ash asked.
"You'll see," Alec promised.
"If that's the case, why don't we take a break here?" Ash suggested. The group agreed and released their Pokémon. Ash released his Froakie, Fletchling, and Hawlucha, who did a spin upon release and landed on a rock. Fletchling jumped back in surprise. "Oh, you haven't met Hawlucha yet, have you?" Ash asked Fletchling.
"That's right, our Pokémon haven't met him either," Clemont realized. Serena agreed and the two release their Pokémon. Serena let out her Fennekin while Clemont let out his Bunnelby and Chespin.
"This is our new friend. Meet Hawlucha. Let's make him feel at home," Ash introduced. The Pokémon then gave out their introductions.
"Well, since we have them all out. I think it's time to introduce you all to a few more of my Pokémon," Alec said. Alec quickly threw Arco's ball releasing the Lucario before grabbing the other four Poké Balls. "Come on out everyone," Alec said, throwing two standard Poké Balls, a Dive Ball, and an Ultra Ball. Beside Arco appeared his Staraptor, Typhlosion, Floatzel, and Flygon from their respective Poké Balls. Upon seeing Starlord and Lifesaver, Arco runs up and greets them.
[Good to see you two again,] Arco told them.
[Good to see you too, kid,] Lifesaver said while putting Arco in an arm lock. Starlord then hit Lifesaver with his wing and he released Arco.
[It's been a bit, but you seem to be doing well. Haven't gotten in trouble lately,] Starlord joked with Arco.
"Everyone, this is Starlord, and Lifesaver," Alec introduced. Suddenly, a clash was heard and Alec saw that Ethan and the Typhlosion, Torch, were butting heads, again. "Stop that, both of you. You've seen each other for about two seconds and you're already fighting," Alec said, separating the two. Torch growled at Ethan before giving him the cold shoulder. Alec sighed before continuing. "This attitude giver here is Torch," Alec told the group, gesturing to him. "And this is Sandtrap," Alec added, pointing to his Flygon. The Pokémon all greet each other when two people in wingsuits fly overhead. "Now that's the best part about this place," Alec comments.
"What do you mean?" Serena asks.
"The winds here are perfect for flying Pokémon. As a result, sky battles and sky trainers are common here," Alec explained. The group looks back at the sky trainers and see that they are in a battle. One is using a Talonflame while the other is using Skarmory.
"Talonflame, use Steel Wing," one trainer calls out. The move hits and Talonflame follows up with a powerful Fire Blast.
"Skarmory, use Fury Attack," the other trainer commands. Talonflame dodges the attack and counters with another Fire Blast and that's it for Skarmory.
"Whoa! I want to try that!" Ash says in excitement.
"Excuse me, this is your first time here?" a man asks.
"This is my second, but their first," Alec tells him, gesturing to the rest of the group.
"Well, if you'll all follow me, I'll take you to the practice area," the man says. The group returns their Pokémon before following him. The man then leads the group to pick out a couple of wingsuits. Ash's was a dark blue, Serena's was pink, Clemont's was a light blue, and Alec's was black. Alec then notices that Bonnie is looking for a wingsuit for herself.
"Where's my suit?" Bonnie asks.
"Well, I'm sorry. You're a bit too small to participate. If you're small the wings also become small, so it can be dangerous," the employee tells her. Bonnie looks at him stunned.
"But I wanna do it," Bonnie complains.
"But Bonnie, rules are there for a reason," Clemont explains, his words leaving a knot in Alec's stomach. His mind goes back to when he lived with his father and how he said the exact same thing when it was more to mold him to how his father wanted him to be like.
"Don't worry. I'll sit out and we can watch together," Serena offers.
"It's okay, you go have fun. Dedenne's going to be my watching buddy," Bonnie responds with a tinge of jealousy. Chespin the releases himself. "And Chespin too." The rest of the group then changes into their wingsuits and step into a device that simulates the constant updraft of the canyon. The employee shows them how to handle the updrafts, and it's mainly a refresher for Alec, who quickly gets the movement's under his belt. Ash and Serena seem to get the hang of it quickly, but Clemont loses control and falls back to the floor.
"You know, this is harder than I thought," Clemont comments. The second he said that Ash lost control trying to land and hit the floor as well.
"You'll get the hang of it," Alec tells them
"Do you think I can fly with my Pokémon? Can't have a sky battle without the Pokémon?" Ash asks. The employee agrees and Ash releases Fletchling and Hawlucha while Alec, who agreed to battle him once outside, releases Starlord. Alec would have sent out Sandtrap, but he felt that the Flygon would be too big to fit in the wind tunnel. Ash and Alec then get back into the current and fly alongside their Pokémon. Serena and Clemont join in and Clemont loses control again and slams into the glass. Alec notices Ethan laughing at Clemont's misfortune, but since the two are on the opposite side of the glass, Alec can't call him out. The woman from the sky battle earlier suddenly shows up.
"Excuse me, but would one of you like to have a sky battle?" she asks.
"Sure!" Ash and Alec say in sync. The group then steps out of the wind tunnel and the woman introduces herself as Moria.
"We got to see your sky battle earlier," Serena tells her.
"My opponent wasn't much of a challenge, so I'm looking for someone new," Moria says confidently. "So, who has which Pokémon?" she asks, looking at the flying types.
"Starlord is my Pokémon," Alec explains as he gestures towards the Staraptor.
"And Fletchling and Hawlucha are mine," Ash finishes.
"So, who's battling?" Moria asks.
"I will!" Alec and Ash say. They turn to each other and laugh.
"Are you two sure?" the other employee asks them.
"They'll be fine, I'll be up there with them," Moria reassures.
"Well, I'll be battling with Starlord," Alec says.
"And I'll be going with Fletchling," Ash continues.
"And my Pokémon will be…" Moria says as she releases her Talonflame. "So Talonflame, you wanna battle Fletchling first?" Moria asks.
[That weak bird? As if,] Talonflame responds.
[What was that?!] Fletchling asks.
[Now that Staraptor, he may provide a challenge,] Talonflame says confidently.
[Excuse me?] Starlord asks with slight annoyance in his voice which isn't like him.
[Yeah. Unlike that weak little thing over there, you'll be a fight,] Talonflame continues.
"It looks like Talonflame doesn't want to battle Fletchling, but would rather battle Staraptor," Moria explains. Alec looks at Fletchling and notices his disappointment.
[Fletchling's the one who should battle that Talonflame,] Starlord protested. Starlord turned towards Alec and gave him a look that told him his desire to fix this injustice.
"How about this then: if Starlord beats Talonflame, he has to battle Fletchling," Alec offers. To this, Starlord nodded in agreement.
"I don't see why not," Moria answers. The group heads outside as Alec and Moria jump into the updraft with their Pokémon behind them.
[Starlord, you don't have to do this,] Fletchling calls out.
[Yes I do. For the both of us. So you can battle, and I can teach this overconfident idiot a lesson,] Starlord responds.
"Talonflame, use Peck," Moria calls out. Talonflame goes in for the attack and Starlord dodges.
"Aerial Ace!" Alec commands. The move hits Talonflame, who goes in with Bravebird. "Counter with your own Bravebird!" Alec commands. The two powerful moves clash and they appear to be even. Starlord's Bravebird then powers through and hits Talonflame. Both Pokémon then suffer the recoil damage before getting back into the fight.
"Use Steel Wing!" Moria commands. The move hits Starlord and Talonflame swoops in for another pass.
"Giga Impact!" Alec commanded. The move overpowers Talonflame. Talonflame spirals to the ground but recovered at the last second. Luckily, Starlord didn't hit the ground, but now he was immobilized.
"Talonflame, Brave Bird!" Moria commands. Talonflame's attack slams into the immobilized Staraptor and Starlord slams into the cliff face. "Now Fire Blast!"
"Get out of there!" Alec shouted, but Starlord was still immobilized. The move hits and Starlord falls to an outcropping as a rock lands on his back.
"Steel Wing!" Moria commands. Before Talonflame can get to Starlord, Alec sees him move.
"Close Combat!" Alec calls out. Starlord then uses the attack on the rock he was on and it splits apart. "Close Combat once more! Send those rocks back!" Alec commands. Starlord followed through and the rocks hit Talonflame as he tried to attack. "Finish this with Brave Bird!" Starlord's attack then slams into Talonflame and when Talonflame lands, swirls are seen in his eyes.
"Haven't had a battle like that in ages," Moria comments when the two trainers are back on the ground.
"It was fun. You did great out there Starlord," Alec said.
[Thanks. You were a good opponent Talonflame,] Starlord told him.
[You too. Well, a deal's a deal. So Fletchling, you up for that battle?] Talonflame asked.
[You're on,] Fletchling responded. Suddenly, two nets appear and catch both Starlord and Talonflame. The nets then attach to a Meowth balloon.
"Not these guys again," Alec mutters to himself as Team Rocket rant off their motto.
"If it makes you all feel better, we're here for Talonflame and Staraptor," Jessie says as the balloon starts to fly off.
"Give us back our Pokémon!" Moria demands as she, the employee from earlier, Alec, Ash, and Serena take to the air after them.
"Since when did they get flying clearance?" Jessie asked.
"We've got our own wings now," Alec answers. He and the employee grab on to Starlord's net while Ash and Moria grab on to Talonflame's.
"Come out Fennekin," Serena calls out and the fire fox appears on Serena's back. "Flamethrower!" she commands. The move blasts a hole through the balloon, sending it out of control forcing Alec to let go of the net. The balloon then slams into the ground as the group lands by it.
"Flying twerps are annoying twerps," Jessie comments as she throws out Pumpkaboo and James sends out Inkay.
"Fletchling, wanna help?" Ash asked.
[You bet,] Fletchling responded.
"Arco, Lifesaver, let's help out Starlord!" Alec shouts as he throws their Poké Balls.
[You let our friend go, now!] Lifesaver demanded.
"We'll distract them while you get Starlord and Talonflame out of there," Alec tells Ash in a low voice.
"You got it," Ash responded.
"Lifesaver, Aqua Tail! Arco, Flash Cannon!" Alec commanded. The moves hit Inkay and Pumpkaboo respectively doing a lot of damage. Fletchling then comes out of nowhere and hits Pumpkaboo with Peck and Alec sees that he already freed Starlord and Talonflame. "That was fast," Alec thought to himself. Talonflame then fires a Fire Blast that sends Team Rocket on a blastoff. "They just don't know when to quit, do they?" Alec asked rhetorically.
[Thanks for the assist there Fletchling,] Starlord tells him.
[Yeah, and you're pretty fast. Deal or no deal, I will battle you,] Talonflame continued.
[You will?!] Fletchling asked excitedly.
[You earned it,] Talonflame answered. Ash and Moria then took to the air with Fletchling and Talonflame ready for battle.
"This should be interesting," Alec comments.
"Talonflame, use Steel Wing!" Moria commands. Talonflame then follows with a Peck but Fletchling dodges both attacks. Talonflame then sends a Fire Blast Fletchling's way but he dodges again.
"Fletchling's smaller, but he's more maneuverable. Talonflame's power won't mean much if the moves don't connect," Alec notes. Fletchling then hits Talonflame with Peck and Talonflame counters with Brave Bird. This time, Fletchling didn't dodge in time and the move hits. Fletchling then flies over to a narrow crack in the cliff and Talonflame tries to hit him with a Steel Wing, but Fletchling flies above him to dodge. Talonflame then lets loose another Fire Blast and Fletchling counters with Double Team. The copies take the attack and Fletchling sends a Razor Wind at Talonflame. Talonflame then hits with a Steel Wing followed by a Fire Blast which engulfs Fletchling. Suddenly, blue light is seen coming out of the Fire Blast.
"What's that?!" Serena asks.
"I think Fletchling's evolving," Alec answered. The fire then clears and a Fletchinder is flying where Fletchling was. "Fletchling must have absorbed the Fire Blast and forced himself to evolve," Alec theorizes, remembering when his own Fletchling evolved. Fletchinder then surrounds himself with flames and charges at Talonflame. "That's Flame Charge," Alec tells Ash.
"Then let's go for it. Use Flame Charge!" Ash commands. Talonflame narrowly dodges it, but the attack increases Fletchinder's Speed, so he caught up to Talonflame in no time. Talonflame then goes for Brave Bird, but Fletchinder dodges and goes for Flame Charge. Talonflame puts a rock between him and Fletchinder, but Fletchinder blasts right through it. "Flame Charge, once more!" Ash commands.
"Brave Bird!" Moria shouts. The moves collide and cause an explosion, sending both birds to the ground. Both Pokémon stand, but Fletchinder loses balance and faints. "Boy, that was close. Fletchinder almost got us," Moria tells Ash.
[It was a great battle. Congrats on evolving by the way,] Talonflame tells Fletchinder.
[Thank you, it was an honor,] Fletchinder responded. The group then said their goodbyes and continued on to Shalour City.
Okay, so I know that in the show Fletchinder won the battle, but that was always something that annoyed me. "First form battles final form and evolves into its second form and wins" kind of battles just never sit right with me. Still, I hope you all enjoyed.