"Fly to Live, Live to Fly"
By: SnapDragon, as part of the PMDWU One-Shot Contest Summer 2022
I love flying.
I love it so much. You have no idea. I do it every day—no exceptions. Wake up, stretch my wings, and just go, go wherever I wanna go.
I live to fly. And I basically may as well fly to live. After all, what's the point of walking if you can just use your wings? Why even have legs? To land? Landing is for those that have places to be.
I don't do that. I don't fly to travel. I fly because it makes me feel alive.
Today, I'm gonna let the world know: Nimbus the Salamence is alive and breathing. He is the best flier the world has ever seen! None can compare!
But of course there are always detractors. For one, my mother. She does not believe in me. "Stop wasting your time in the air and get a dang job!" she says. Shut up, mother. You wouldn't get it. She tells me to join the guild. "You evolved so quickly and then you don't even use it properly!" What does she know? Appletun can't even fly!
No, I will not waste my talents on some guild. I spent too much effort learning to use these wings, and for what, just to work? Bah! I refuse to work! We have plenty of money already thanks to dad's job as a guildmaster. Why do I need to work?
Up here, on the top of the mountains, work doesn't even exist. I got here five minutes ago and I'm already sick of standing here. But I have to wait because of my assistant.
From behind, I heard panting. "Ah…ah…slow down!" shouted a voice further down the steep path. "I-I can't keep up!"
How pathetic. I found this little Dwebble on the side of the road and offered to let him document my amazing accomplishments, and he's not nearly as good at going fast as me. That's just a sacrifice I have to make, though. Some day, they're gonna talk about Nimbus the Salamence, the only pokemon to ever live that flew full speed into Tornadus' Death Trap. But what's the point if no one will ever know? I needed a witness. And this Dwebble would have to do.
"Hurry up!" I snapped. "I can't wait any longer!" My wings flicked impatiently. I could feel it again; that jittery feeling, I couldn't keep it contained for much longer!
"Aw geez, Nimbus…" Qwerty the Dwebble coughed, his misshapen rock shell wobbling as he walked. "We're doing an awful lot of hiking today…"
"What did you expect?" Smoke puffed out of my nostrils. "I need to be at the highest peak!"
"Couldn't you have carried me? You're so big…"
"No!"
I swung around, facing the cliff just inches from my body. Raging winds battered my scales, flowing like water past my ears yet crashing like waves during a full moon. It was exhilarating—intense. I loved it.
"Listen to me, Qwerty!" I shouted over the wind. "This is what I've been dreaming of my whole life! I want you to document it perfectly! Tell them how I did it! Tell them how I beat Tornadus at his own game!"
Still a bit jittery, Qwerty pulled out a notepad and a writing utensil from inside his shell once he finally caught up. The winds made it hard to keep it steady; the little crab definitely would have been whisked away had it not been for his shell. His claws shook in fear. "I…I hear you, Nimbus!" he quavered. "R-ready when you are!"
I glowered at the wrathful tornados, the dark clouds, the piercing lightning. Deep down, I knew: I saw death. It stared back—seething at my existence. It was well aware of its own power; however, it was also afraid. Because it knew that Nimbus the freaking Salamance was about to best it.
With my eyes narrowed, I lowered my body and focused on the biggest tornado in the distance. That was the one. I had to overcome that one. Finally, with my wings sharp and tense, ready to propel me forward, I uttered the phrase that would determine the course of the rest of my life: "Let's do this."
From the second page of the Shelmet Mail:
Reports have come back this morning that a young Nimbus (Salamence, aged 23) was found deceased after conducting a dangerous stunt near the top of Tornado Mountain. Said Tornado Mountain was adequately named for the relation it has to local legendary, Tornadus. Locals are advised to steer clear of the mountain as it is both incredibly dangerous and against the customs of the culture of Windrift Village. Before the Nimbus was ever found, locals say they saw 'something in the air' at the sight of the fatality. A large, winged pokemon quickly assumed to be the Salamence.
We asked some of the locals for comments on the situation:
Mrs. Applepie, mother of the victim, had this to say. "He was always an arrogant little &$%#. Never got a job, never helped to bring in any income. And now look what happened! He went and got himself killed! Maurice, get your #$% down here and help me pay for the funeral!"
A young Dwebble named Qwerty who happened to be a witness of the tragedy, said that, "He was so confident that he could beat out the storm. But in the end…the storm was too strong."
Let this be a lesson to all of you youngsters out there: don't bite off more than you can chew. Sometimes, a tornado is just a tornado.
Now onto the next story…
He didn't even make it onto the front page…
Qwerty the Dwebble read the blurb about Nimbas several times, and each time it would leave a sinking feeling in his stomach. He did what he had to and recorded Nimbus' final moments to the best of his abilities. Unfortunately, it did not matter in the end.
The little crab knew that while Nimbus was a bit of a jerk, he still looked up to him somewhat. By the time he read the blurb the fifth time, a tear rolled down his cheek.
What a shame…
Meanwhile, just a few feet away, a young Vibrava was reading the same blurb with equal amounts of astonishment and excitement. Nimbus might have failed, but his efforts did do something.
He inspired them.
Arceus, help these poor souls.
