Shelgon and Salamence

Shelby lay in the darkest part of the room, under the bed. He smelled a pot roast. A lovely pot roast: beef cooked with onions, carrots, black pepper, thyme, sage, and bay... it smelled so good. It had been one of his favorite foods for the longest time. His body was feeling weak with hunger. But he remained under the bed.

The blanket was pulled up; a girl's face appeared. "Come on, Shelby or it'll get cold. Come out and eat."

He remained still. He would be strong, no matter what. He could survive, even through this test. And it was a test, to see if his determination and willpower was enough to reach full glory. But the onions and beef... that would be wonderfully tasty, melting in his mouth... no. He must endure temptation for the grand dream.

The girl dropped the blanket. "Please? I can't see how this can be normal. That dragon tamer guy must be crazy." She sighed and plopped onto her bed.

Shelby whined, feeling bad for making her worry. But she didn't understand. Every Shelgon had to go through with this. If he failed and gave into temptation, he would be this way for longer. This sluggish, heavy body, it wasn't what he wanted at all. If he endured, he would be rewarded.

Above him, there was a tear of an envelope being unsealed and a flap of folded paper being opened. He closed his eyes. This was tough. He wanted to eat, yes, but he wanted to be able to fly even more. Everything had to be sacrificed for the dream at this time. But how much longer?

The bed creaked as his Trainer sat up quickly. "Aw shoot," she said, deep concern shading her words. "I have to go back. But... dang it, I'm too far from home now. I don't have any Pokemon that can Fly back. And one of them is starving himself. This stinks." She dropped back onto bed and punched it.

About that time, his shell cracked.

Was it time? He opened his eyes and was caught surprised when not only did his shell pop off, but he also abruptly grew significantly bigger. His head knocked into the bed, not enough to knock him out, but enough to make it throb. The girl yelped when the bed was bumped up; it threatened to break with a snap of wood.

But he was finally a Salamence. Happy, but more hungry than happy right now, he crawled out from under the bed and gulped down the pot roast, mushy onions and all. It was wonderful. Obviously, she had gone out of her way to buy a nice piece of meat for this.

"Shelby?" She hopped off the bed, in case it decided to break. "Oh great! Do you feel better now?"

He felt better than he ever had. He growled contentedly when she hugged his neck, thanking her for making the roast for him.

"I'm glad you're eating again. But, you have wings now? Do you think you can fly me back home?" She clasped the letter she had been reading. "My mom's gotten badly sick; she's in the hospital, so I need to go see her soon. Can you take me?"

Well, he'd never flown before, certainly not with a passenger. But he had to make up for a number of things now, from the delicious pot roast to making her worry for several days. Shelby nodded.

"Thanks! I've got the Fly HM around somewhere. Let's go outside." She took his Pokeball and recalled him; it would be harder for him to go through doorways and halls now.

When she released him, they were on a grassy patch near the Pokecenter. Sitting on the ground, she pulled out her TM case and shuffled through the CDs she had collected. They hadn't been well organized, so it took her a minute to find the white HM Fly. She pulled it out of its slot, then placed it in the reader on the other end of the case. The reader was hooked up to a clear gem that refracted light into rainbows. This prism was a psychic transmitter that could translate signals from the CD reader. It unfortunately tended to destroy most CDs, but the HM CDs were sturdy enough to withstand repeated use.

"Okay, this shouldn't take long." She stood back up and placed the case close to Shelby's head. Once he nodded, she activated the machine.

Shelby listened to the machine's hum. The gem sent a train of thought into his mind: how his wings would work most efficiently, what air currents could do to him, how a passenger would change his center of balance. He had an instinctual method for flight and this HM was enhancing what he knew.

After five minutes, the machine shut off. "You feel confident?" she asked.

He nodded and spread his wings. He'd waited long enough and he wanted to fly now. Never mind that a trek back to her home town was quite a distance to go. Shelby felt like he could fly halfway around the world.

"Alright, I've got everything." She climbed onto his back, behind his neck. After a moment, she put her hands on his shoulder blades. "Gosh, I'm nervous. Don't go too high, okay?"

He nodded again.

She took a deep breath. "Okay, I think I'm ready."

Good. Smiling, he beat his wings and jumped into the air. She gasped in surprise and gripped him tighter. Pulling his forelegs in, he grabbed hold of her ankles to secure her, then set off over town. Being free of the ground and soaring high... well, soaring low over the ground... it was better than any dream he had had over his whole life.

Some time after they left town, she stopped trembling and leaned forward. "This is amazing," she said. "You can go higher now, if you want."

Roaring happily in response, he climbed into the sky with her.

…

Shelgon Emerald entry: It hardly eats while it awaits evolution. It becomes hardier by enduring hunger. Its shell peels off the instant it begins to evolve.

Sapphire entry: By evolving into Salamence, this Pokemon finally realizes its long-held dream of growing wings. To express its joy, it flies and wheels all over the sky while spouting flames from its mouth.

This might be nice to extend… at some time.