Fearow

The excellent Sport Fishing Area on the east coast of Kanto was a string of wooden piers that meandered for several miles south of Lavender Town. A hundred yards from the docks, an ocean ridge kept the Fishing Area's waters calm. It was ideal for swimming or fishing.

A boy with spiky brown hair stretched his arms out as he paused at the crossing for the route to Vermillion. "It's another glorious day in the travels of the famed Gary Oak." He grinned out to the sea. "Someday they'll say that I walked this path and they will come down here, seeking to follow in my footsteps. Some day soon."

He brought his arms down and put his hands in his pockets. Whistling as he walked along the piers, he watched the skies. He wasn't that interested in fishing today. But people said that mythical Pokemon sometimes flew along this coast. That would be a major image boost for him, to have a legend under his control. He couldn't wait.

After several minutes of a quiet walk, a dark movement in the skies caught his attention. Gary looked right to it. One of the legends? No... just a gold Fearow... wait, what? He rubbed his eyes and looked again, but it was true. This Fearow had different colored plumage. Was it a new variation? Or perhaps... even the rare shiny?

Gary grinned. So it wasn't a legend, but having a shiny would be just as good. He pulled off one of his Pokeballs and released one of the oldest on his team. "Pidgeotto, go bring that Fearow down here. It's gonna be mine."

Always eager for another fight, Pidgeotto launched himself into the air and was soon on the same draft of air as Fearow. He put on a quick burst of speed to tackle the wild bird in midair, but intentionally missed her. In response, Fearow nipped at his talons, scoring a hit. But the tactic worked; she dropped lower in the air.

"It'll at least save me the bother of training that loser Spearow," Gray commented to his imaginary audience. "Might be a bit much to have three fliers on my team, though."

Pidgeotto continued launching Quick Attacks over Fearow's flight path, continually forcing her down. She seemed leery of landing and violently stabbed at Pidgeotto with her beak when they were twelve feet off the ground. However, that was close enough for Gary. He grabbed an empty Pokeball and pressed the seal button. Then he threw it at the two birds.

From his grandfather's lessons, he knew that Pokeballs converted Pokemon into a digital form. This new ball would recognize Pidgeotto as already tamed. It burst into a shower of light that enveloped the unmarked Pokemon, Fearow. Pidgeotto pushed himself upward to avoid crashing into a bush.

The Pokeball dropped onto the dock and wobbled violently for a second. Then there was a loud crack and another burst of light. Fearow rushed back into the air, having escaped.

"Oh you're not getting away from me," Gary declared. He snatched another empty Pokeball and threw that one. As the light enveloped Fearow, he waved to Pidgeotto. "Try that new move I taught you if she breaks out again."

The brown bird narrowed his eyes as the Pokeball continued to shake. It also broke, releasing Fearow back into the air. Trying to gain an advantage, she began to climb upwards. But then Pidgeotto cooed a soothing lullaby. Sing wasn't a normal move for either of these birds, but wanting to show off his technical prowess, Gary spent an entire weekend getting him to learn it.

At first, Fearow darted down to peck at Pidgeotto while he was busy singing. As she started to climb back up, her eyelids lowered, then closed. She caught a significant updraft, though, and her broad wings were steady enough to keep her in the air.

Impressed by this, Gary felt a strong pride in knowing that she would soon be his. He grabbed another empty Pokeball and threw it as hard as he could so it would reach the rising flier. The Pokeball's light connected and swallowed Fearow within... but before it even hit the ground, the ball broke apart and the golden bird was back in the air.

"Oh come on!" Gary shouted, grabbing another Pokeball and throwing it at her. It also connected, but he'd thrown it too wild and it dropped right into the ocean. There was a minor eruption of water as that ball broke too, letting the Fearow back into the air.

Snarling, he went to grab another empty Pokeball, only to discover that he was completely out. What the... he always kept ten on him, at least. He should have... no. He had used a bunch in Pokemon Tower trying to catch both a Gastly and a Haunter. He had succeeded there, but the Haunter caused him to use a lot of empties and he had been exhausted by the time he had them.

"Great," he grumbled. "The one time I don't go shopping, I get a shiny that doesn't want to stay put. Just great."

Fearow opened her eyes, looked at Gary and Pidgeotto, then got furious. "Raaaaaa!" She dove straight at Gary, pecking him in the head.

Pidgeotto cried out sharply, then went to beat Fearow with his claws. In response, she gave him a sharp peck and knocked him out cold. Then she thwapped Gary with her wings. He brought his arms up and tried to halt her attack. While grabbing at her wings, he got hold of a loose feather "Hey, can it! What'd I ever do to you?"

For a moment, she flew back. Gary then ran for it, back north to where he could reach Lavender. Screaming, the Fearow pursued him all the way.

As he approached the entrance of Lavender Town, Gary finally spotted someone else on the piers, a fisherman. "Watch out!" he called. "There's a mad Fearow behind me!"

The fisherman looked up at him. "Whoa, slow down kid! You're bleeding."

"There's a crazy Fearow, and I didn't see her land once, but she," he looked back. There was no sign of the shiny Fearow. "But, but there was one."

"Oh, them." The fisherman shrugged. "They're nesting in the forests nearby. Didn't anybody warn you not to bother them? They get nasty if they think you're a threat to their eggs."

"Well that's nice to know," Gary grumbled. He looked at the golden feather that was still in his hand. So he had proof that he'd seen a shiny Pokemon. And he might get the scars to prove that it beat him up. Great, people would think that he was a loser now.

…

Fearow Fire Red entry: Its huge and magnificent wings can keep it aloft in the sky. It can remain flying a whole day without landing.

Hmm… no extra comments from me this time.