The journey to Fortree City was as long as expected, but it was also on track to becoming the most gruesome one so far.

It all started from one P.A. system announcement.

[Dear passengers, we were just informed that there will be a sudden rainstorm ahead of our trip from Petalburg City to Slateport City. As such, the ship is expected to have wobbling movements for the next few hours. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience.]

I was not usually one to feel seasick, but it was already nearing nighttime during that announcement, and I badly needed sleep after all the hectic events, including a tough Gym Challenge at Petalburg.

Unfortunately, the warnings prior were coming true. The ship was a lot wobblier than my previous trips, which made it hard to fall asleep.

At that point, I knew whether I could receive any sleep was up to my tiredness and the Sleep Arceus to decide. I closed my eyes and forced myself to garner any possible room for rest.

"That was rough…"

Next morning, I left the ship in a groggy voice. The Sleep Arceus absolutely did not favor me, only sparing me with roughly one hour of sleep in total. A headache was starting to hit me and I got the sensation that I could fall sick very soon.

Though all the setbacks at that moment made me look destined for failure, sleeping through the day felt like a waste of my time, so I wanted to put on a facade at the moment and keep going until I really felt like I reached my limit.

Since I was at Slateport, I thought it would be a good idea to briefly visit my sister, albeit my poor condition. However, the notice in front of a locked entrance cleared my intentions.

[The Slateport Gym will be temporarily closed for three days due to the Gym Leader leaving for a short trip. Apologies for the inconvenience caused!]

In a way, I was glad. If she noticed my condition at the time, she would have probably nabbed me to death and asked me to take some rest for the rest of the day. Not having much else to look around Slateport, I decided to walk towards the route ahead to continue my road to Fortree.

Around the Trick House area, as I was contemplating whether to enter the wild grass or opt for a faster travel through the Cycling Road, the view above me suddenly turned slightly darker. As I instinctively looked up, it turned out to be a Flying type Pokémon flying past me before making a safe landing nearby. A trainer got out of the Flying type, which revealed itself to be a Swellow.

"Regis?" I knew the Trainer in front of me all too well, at that point.

"Nice seeing you again, Lows! I was doing some flying practice around the area before seeing you down below, so I had to say hi!" He greeted, before realizing we were located near the Trick House. The unpleasant flashbacks seemed to have arisen in his mind, as he carefully asked, "U-Uh… I know you're a much smarter person than me, but you're not trying to attempt the Trick House again, are you?"

"Of course not!" I chuckled before letting out a yawn, "I just wanted to go through this route and eventually reach Fortree for my next Gym Challenge."

"You're not looking super flighty, though!" He quickly noticed the bags under my eyes, "You ain't completing the run like that. Why don't you take a flight with me to Fortree?"

"Are you sure?" I was thankful for his suggestion, but I also had my worries, "It might not be worth the trouble for you. Besides, with my condition, I wouldn't want to vomit on your Pokémon during the flight."

"No problem!" Regis seemed to have thought ahead, "I had the thought of visiting my mentor, Winona at Fortree for quite some time already, but it just never happened. As for the flight…"

He returned Tsubasa back to his Pokéball before releasing Kotton, except what used to be a female Swablu became a blue, avian Pokémon with fluffy, white feathers covering her body and cloud-like wings. Out of habit, I scanned her with my Pokédex.

[Altaria, the Humming Pokémon. It is the evolved form of Swablu. It hums in a beautiful soprano voice. It flies among white clouds in the blue sky. It launches intensely hot fireballs from its mouth.]

"With her, all scary flights will turn into sweet cloudy dreams!" Regis boasted, with his Altaria humming along beside him in agreement.

It was becoming too good of a lucrative offer for me to refuse at that point, mainly due to my weak condition, "I'll take your offer then, Regis. Thanks again."

"At your service, Lows! Let's go on a flightful journey ahead!"

As the two of us sat tight on Kotton's body, the Altaria immediately took flight and flew at a comfortable distance above ground level. The fluffy feathers, plus the experience and skills of Regis and Kotton as "professional flyers" really made this the best flight experience yet.

As I enjoyed the pleasant flight, the comfiness was filling my head as before long, I fell into a deep slumber leaning onto Regis' back. I hoped he did not mind that.

The next time I opened my eyes, we were already back on the ground as the scenery around me drastically changed as the tall grass, treehouses and rope bridges entered my sight. I then saw Regis staring at me, looking amused, "I'm more impressed by your antics day after day, Lows."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Quoted from my uncle's nephew, 'Being able to fall asleep on a flying Pokémon is like attempting to survive a fall down into Mt. Chimney.'"

"That comparison didn't even make sense!" I retorted.

"You get the point, Lows. Both are dangerously ridiculous."

"What can I say, Regis? The flight really turned into a sweet cloudy dream." I laughed.

"...Please never try that again." When Regis was dead serious about the matter, I had a hunch I just accidentally committed something absolutely nightmarish.

I apologized, "Never again, my pilot." Not like I intend to do so, anyway.

Regis nodded before returning to his energetic mood, before we finally got to take a look around our lovely destination.

Fortree City

"The treetop city that frolics with nature."

While still being somewhat asleep, I did enjoy the sight of the wooden tree houses built on the tall trees, with some Bug type Pokémon flying in through the windows here and there. As we entered the PokéCentre, me being desperate to quickly check in and get some rest in my room, I came across a familiar figure with her long rose-gold hair wearing her usual red beret.

"Cassie!" I said, happy to see my childhood friend again.

"Lows, glad to see you catching up!" Cassie replied with her usual grin, before she noticed the Flying-type Pokémon Trainer beside me and introduced herself, "Your friend, Lows? Nice to meet you, I'm Cassie Jones from Pallet Town."

"Likewise! I'm Regis Furaito, pilot-in-training from Fortree City."

The two shook hands as Cassie chuckled, "Pilot-in-training, huh? I like the sound of that."

As the conversation briefly continued, it was mainly the two of them talking as the short rest was nowhere near sufficient for me to function normally. Fortunately, the two of them seemed to have hit it off quite well, with Cassie reacting positively towards Regis' flight-inspired sense of humor.

Before we separated, Cassie even suggested, "Since all of us will be staying at Fortree for some time, wanna grab dinner together later around the city?"

"Sounds flightful!" Regis agreed as I nodded along in agreement.

"See you around eight at the PokéCentre entrance, then!" Cassie smiled before we went our separate ways, with me and Cassie going back to our PokéCentre rooms and Regis visiting his parents back home.

After briefly unpacking my stuff, I let my Pokémon out for their personal activities, before diving head first into the soft bed and falling straight into sleep.

The alarm clock app installed in my Pokégear worked as intended, but not my body system. I wanted to turn the "alarm clock" off before it further disturbed others, only to realize I lacked the energy to even leave the bed.

...So I did fall sick, after all… I guess I have to cancel the dinner plans with them.

Feeling slightly distraught, I contacted Regis through my Pokégear.

[What's up, Lows?] Regis' voice appeared.

[...The sky.] I still dared to joke with my hoarse voice.

[My jokes are finally getting into your head, Lows.] Regis laughed.

[Anyways, I don't think I could attend dinner later. Please help me tell Cassie about it.] I said, feeling a little sorry.

[What happened?]

[I feel sick, probably need some time to rest up.] I replied.

[Sounds like a bad crash, Lows. Do you need any help?] Regis sounded worried.

[Don't think so…] I said before letting out a few coughs, [Anyways, enjoy your dinner with Cassie, Regis.]

[But Lows-] Before he could protest about it, I immediately ended the call. I remained lying on the bed, huddling up inside the blanket and hoping I could go back to sleep immediately. But my feverish body was in my way this time.

...Falling sick sucks.

All of a sudden, my Pokégear started ringing, and it was not the alarm clock app. I checked on it and saw a video call request by Cassie. Regis definitely spilled the beans.

I sighed, before accepting the video call request. Even if I rejected it then, at least twenty more attempts will be made by my female childhood friend.

Cassie's face showed on the Pokégear screen, [Lows, give me your room number right now.]

[...Regis told you about it?]

Instead of answering, Cassie switched the camera angle towards the Flying-type Pokémon specialist, before going right back to her face, [Whatever you say, we'll help you deal with this problem of yours so you can challenge Winona in less than a week.]

[...And if I don't tell you my room number?]

[I'll embarrass your name by pestering the PokéCentre nurses until they are willing to reveal the room number of Lows. Landerson.] She looked dead serious about the idea, and I would also believe she would do such a thing.

To keep my family name in check, I sighed and gave her my room number. In just a few minutes, the doorbell rang, to which I let my Machoke, Power take the cardkey and scan them into my room.

Once they found me in this condition, Regis immediately said, "You don't look flightful, man. We're gonna go visit a doctor right now to fix your wings."

I helplessly laughed, "...Guys, I literally don't have the energy to get out of bed."

"There's gotta be some way to get you out of here!" Cassie said, before Regis tried carrying me on his back, but to no avail. For some reason, Regis looked defeated by that outcome.

"I appreciate the move, Regis. Thing is, I don't think I can even hold onto Power that well if he wants to carry me, too."

The two looked disheartened, before Regis suddenly thought of another idea and sent out Kotton once again. Then, Regis and Cassie both lifted me up and carefully placed my body on the Altaria's back.

"Kotton, on a one, a two, and a three… March!" Regis commanded before I felt my body start moving along with the Altaria at a steady pace.

If I was not severely lacking energy at that moment, I would have probably burst out laughing almost immediately. The thought of a Flying-type Pokémon trainer, asking his Pokémon to move by her short blue feet, just felt ironically hilarious. However, since the idea was actually somehow working, I did not have much room to complain.

After a short while, we found ourselves in front of a clinic, which luckily, was not built on a tree. From what I heard from Regis, it seemed like the doctor specialized in traditional medicine. After a thorough checkup, the doctor concluded that my sickness was the result of the cumulation of traveling fatigue throughout my journey, with the day's lack of rest being the one breaking the camel's back. The doctor then quickly prescribed me four Energy Roots, advising me to boil the herbal medicine and take the medication after a meal once per day.

It was another long way back to my room with Kotton's assistance, and Cassie was already waiting inside, kindly settling our dinner with a takeout from a nearby restaurant. Cassie and Regis settled their meal inside my room as I kept a distance away from them while trying to finish my bowl of fish porridge with a low appetite, not wanting to spread the sickness to the two. After our dinner, Regis left to spend more time with his family, while Cassie stayed, forcing me to go back to bed as she helped boil one of the Energy Roots prescribed. I was glad, in a way; Cassie was always known for her weird antics, but when it came to moments like these, she was always reliable to step up for her friends.

What came out of that Energy Root was a bowl filled with light brown-ish liquid. Not feeling too positive about the taste, I just took the bowl from Cassie and slowly drank the medicine.

It was the most bitter medicine I ever had.

Fortunately, I'm not one to usually complain about food tastes, so I eventually finished it without much complaint.

"...Tasted pretty bad?" Cassie asked.

"I don't think any medicine ever tasted good, Cassie." I chuckled, "No big deal though."

"Good… because you have three more to go." Cassie said as she readied to leave my room, "I'll be back tomorrow, Lows. Happy recovery!"

As I waved Cassie goodbye before she left my sight, my heart felt warm by my two friends' gestures, and was determined to quickly get back in good shape.

Welp, time to focus on recovery.

The prescribed herbal medicine was bitter, sure, but at least it felt like it was working. Or it could be because of the endless rest I had for the past three days, not having to worry about matters regarding living alone. While I slept through most of the previous days, my Pokémon, to be more specific, Power, learned the art of scanning Cassie into the room using the cardkey when the doorbell rang. Cassie visited my room a few times a day, usually just to leave the healthy takeout meals that she ordered from restaurants around Fortree, and also to boil the Energy Root medicine beforehand for after dinner time. I appreciated her kindness gratefully.

On the fourth day of taking the herbal medication, I felt a lot better compared to before, to the point where my appetite was good enough to enjoy the meal in front of me instead of eating slowly. Cassie also seemed to have more free time compared to the past three days, and noticing my recovering condition, she decided to stay for longer and ate her dinner with me in the room, which I happily accepted. It was getting really boring holing up in my room alone for days, at that point.

"Feeling better now, Lows?" Cassie asked.

"Yeah, all thanks to you." I sincerely replied.

"No big deal! It didn't take much time off my schedule, anyway."

"What were you doing the past few days at Fortree?" I asked.

"I scheduled my Gym Challenge with Winona, which happened just earlier."

I felt a little bad about Cassie having to juggle between her Gym Challenge and helping with my sickness, "...How did it go, then?"

She had a smug look on her face as she quickly revealed the Feather Badge in her badge case, "...Ta-da!"

I sighed in relief, "Thank Arceus you won it."

"Juggling between multiple things was never an issue for me, anyway!" She boasted, "Though in a way, I'm glad you're almost fully recovered today. That means I can leave Fortree without any worries soon!"

"Where do you plan to head next?" I asked.

"...Probably Lilycove!" Cassie said, "Not only that was where the new Lilycove City Gym was located, I heard there was also a Contest Spectacular Hall where Pokémon Coordinators all over the world duke it out against each other with dazzling performances!"

It felt like her eyes were sparkling in excitement as she continued, "I got really into Pokémon Coordinating recently on television programmes. I feel like I'll learn a lot from watching them live on stage there!"

I smiled, "Well, hope you have fun there, then."

The next day quickly came, and I felt energized to the point where I could finally step out of my room. The moment I left the PokéCentre, I felt the sun shining on me and sighed in happiness.

Freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeedom!

The taste of freedom was soon replaced by the feeling of bittersweet, though, as I saw Regis and Cassie waiting for me before my female childhood friend made her exit from Fortree City for her next destination.

"It didn't even feel like we got to catch up with each other that much." I sighed.

"No big deal, Lows!" Cassie smiled, "As I said before, we'll definitely see each other again real soon, anyway."

"It was nice to meet you, Cassie! If you need a flight in the future, you know who to call." Regis said.

"Of course! I have a pilot-in-training as my new friend now." Cassie laughed before starting to walk off, "I'll see you guys soon!"

We waved each other goodbye before Cassie eventually left our sight.

Afterwards, Regis led me to the Fortree City Gym to finally register for my Gym Challenge. Upon entering the Gym, what greeted us was a light blue lobby decorated by the trophies and photos of the Flying-type Gym Leader, Winona. Regis wanted to take the opportunity to talk to his ex-mentor, only to be disappointed by the news that she was away at that time. Then, it did not take me too long to fill in the form based on the receptionist's clear instructions, which I scheduled our match to be in four days from then.

With that, my fruitful journey in Hoenn continued after a brief break.

After registering for the Gym Challenge with Winona, I instantly got into training with my team to make up for lost time. Besides our usual training routine, the increasing number of wild Pokémon there due to the naturistic city also added some flavor in our training, notably the Color Swap Pokémon, Kecleon who kept showing up out of nowhere after camouflaging themselves in the grass, which gave us quite a few jumpscares before having to fend them off.

Two days before the Gym Challenge, just as I was about to finish up training, my Pokégear suddenly rang, which revealed to be a call request from Regis. I accepted the call, to which Regis quickly asked, [Let's get straight to the point, Lows! There's a stargazing event happening tonight at Fortree, wanna fly along?]

[Sure, would be the perfect leisure activity for us.] I happily accepted, [Though I'm surprised a pilot-in-training like you would have such a free schedule.]

[Well, I of course still have to collect all the Gym Badges within the timeframe…] He replied, [But for a pilot-in-training like me, it's not a problem! If you have flightful methods, you'll get there.]

I could smell his confidence just from hearing his voice through the Pokégear. Then again, he probably had every right to boast; Just by mastering flying with his Pokémon, he basically saved all his time traveling to cities for the Gym Challenges with that traveling method of his.

Having a special talent surely gets you somewhere, huh.

"Sucks to be me, then." I joked.

[Flightful memories can still be obtained through walking on the fields, either way!] Regis said, [Anyways, the stargazing event will be at nine tonight. See you there!]

"Yeah, see you."

After ending the call, I went back to my room in the PokéCentre before taking a quick shower, having my dinner and met up with Regis at the designated location, before he led me to the venue of the event, which was a well-groomed lawn area where a mix of Fortree residents and Pokémon trainers were lying down freely, already enjoying themselves under the bright starlight. Thanks to the huge space provided for the event, we eventually found ourselves a decent empty spot, before lying down and facing towards the star-filled night sky.

"This is nice, Regis!" I was amazed.

"I know, right?" Regis replied, "I'm feeling the nostalgia just from this alone! I haven't done this sort of thing in so long now."

"When you were training under Leader Winona?"

"That's right! Just a few months ago, these stargazing events weren't collectively organized unlike now in the city. But oftentimes after my training in the Fortree Gym, it would already be night time, so I usually liked to find a random patch of grass and look up towards the night sky, which sometimes rewarded me with scenes like this!"

"Wow, until late night… you must have worked real hard at the Fortree Gym, huh?"

"Of course!" He instantly agreed, "It took me so many tries to get accepted, so I obviously wanted to make the most of it. A pilot can't fly well if he doesn't practice flying a thousand times, right?"

"That's true." I said, thinking that he really took pride in becoming a mentee under Winona.

"The day when I finally received the acceptance mail, I thought I turned into a Butterfree!" His happiness was obvious from his tone.

"How was it like training in the Gym?"

"It's a Pokémon Gym, after all, so there were the usual simulated battles in a higher level setting." Regis explained, "But also, since this is a Flying-type Gym, Winona also taught us about expert flying knowledge. One thing I also found particularly interesting in our training was how to fly with our Pokémon in extreme conditions simulated using the gym facilities, such as a heat storm, blizzards, and even in biomes like overgrown forests."

"Don't think any other Gym around Hoenn will teach that, that's for sure." I chuckled.

"I learned a lot during my time at the Fortree Gym, though! Some may even say I have found my calling there." Regis smiled, "Winona was always there for the trainers under her gym, and she displayed great leadership with her calm and collected demeanor that just makes people admire her. I want to be someone like her one day."

"She sounds like a great person." I obviously had not met Winona yet, but I was sure I would understand Regis' admiration when I got the opportunity to eventually talk to her.

"Yeah… but that made me feel worse for potentially ruining the reputation of the Fortree Gym." Regis suddenly sighed.

"Eh? How so?"

"Well… when we were at the tournament, I was being a jerk, wasn't I?" Regis asked.

"Oh! It felt like it happened so long ago, that I almost forgot about it already." I replied, "I think it's fine, though. You have changed a lot since then."

"It was just… the unforgettable experiences I had during my training in the Gym made me feel… unusually superior, I guess. The feeling of wanting to impress others under the 'ex-Fortree Gym mentee' name also made me develop a fake sense of ego around me. It was like… I thought I was a Zapdos, but in the end, I was just a Pidgey."

"You could've at least referenced the bird Pokémon from your own region, you know." I joked, trying to lighten up his mood.

"Yeah, yeah." Regis said, "I feel like what I did back at the tournament… wasn't reflective of the Fortree Gym spirit at all. Winona definitely wouldn't want to see her mentees act like that. Did I bring down the Fortree Gym name?"

I tried to further comfort him, but was cut off by a deep feminine voice, "I don't think you brought down the Fortree Gym name, Regis."

We quickly got up to discover the identity behind the voice, and saw a beautiful slender woman wearing a collared flight suit with a gray helmet, where her long, lavender hair was sticking out of it.

"W-Winona!" Regis said, feeling somewhat embarrassed that the Flying-type Gym Leader had potentially heard our conversation.

I bowed politely and introduced myself, "Leader Winona, it's nice to meet you. I'm Lows from Pallet Town, a trainer participating in the Gym Challenge for the Ever Grande League."

Winona calmly shook my hand before replying, "No need to be so formal, Lows. It's great to meet you. I've heard about you from Regis through our Pokégear messages for quite some time already. I look forward to battling your team very soon."

Feeling somewhat honored, I said, "I'm glad to hear that. Also, is it normal for you to keep in touch with your ex-mentees all the time?"

"Well, I usually don't." Winona shrugged, "But Regis is enthusiastic to talk about lots of things about his current journey, so I just serve as a listener and adviser from time to time. He was one of our best mentees, after all."

Winona gave Regis a reassuring smile, which made my Flying-type Trainer uncharacteristically bashful, "T-Thanks, Winona. What brings you here, anyway?"

"Ever since the Fortree residents became dedicated to organizing stargazing events on a frequent basis, I participate in them once in a while when my time allows me. I do enjoy stargazing, after all." Winona smiled.

"Is that so…" Regis said, making a mental note of another one of his idol's preferred activities.

Winona then looked at her ex-mentee and said, "Regis, I don't have the full context of what happened in your early journey, but in the Fortree Gym, I mainly only taught you how to 'become one with Bird Pokémon', right?"

"T-That's right…"

"You completely excelled in your training in Fortree, but when you started your own journey, it was all up to you for your own further development. You might have started off with your false sense of ego, but you managed to improve yourself by learning from both good and bad experiences along your journey that can't be taught under me."

Winona then walked towards him and gave him a gentle pat on the shoulder, "Just from that alone, it shows growth from you. That's why I think you've done well so far as a Fortree Gym graduate."

Hearing that from the mentor he always admired was definitely more effective than any words I was going to tell Regis. After a few moments to digest what Winona said, Regis smiled, "You're right, Winona. I'll keep working hard at it, thank you."

"That's the spirit." Winona replied.

Just as Regis said, I was impressed by Winona's demeanor throughout the conversation, being able to articulate the right sentences to comfort Regis effectively. I started to understand why she was admired by not just Regis, but probably also by Pokémon Trainers all around the region.

We then enjoyed the night sky a little longer, mainly mixed with conversations between the mentor-mentee duo about Regis' progress in the Ever Grande League qualification. Time felt like it passed in just a brink as the stargazing event came to a close.

Before we separated our own ways, Winona said, "Lows, Regis mentioned that you're a strong newcomer into the scene of Pokémon battling. I look forward to you proving that through a match filled with grace and passion very soon."

"I'll do my best." I replied. Her words definitely motivated me to reach that high ceiling of expectation of hers.

And to do that, I will definitely defeat her in the Gym Challenge.

Lows' Pokémon Team:

Surfer (Wartortle, Male), Jolly Nature

Ability: Torrent

Moves: Bite, Water Gun, Water Pulse, Sand Tomb

Ziggs (Linoone, Male), Naive Nature

Ability: Quick Feet

Moves: Dig, Headbutt, Swift, Facade

Grace (Kirlia, Female), Calm Nature

Ability: Synchronize

Moves: Teleport, Magical Leaf, Shadow Ball, Psybeam

Woody (Grovyle, Male), Lonely Nature

Ability: Overgrow

Moves: Pursuit, Leaf Blade, Bullet Seed, Rock Tomb

Power (Machoke, Male), Timid Nature

Ability: Guts

Moves: Fling, Scary Face, Submission, Seismic Toss