Flying

By Dannichu

Terra loved flying; everybody knew that. But few people or Pokémon could guess why. To Terra it was simple. It was natural. The feeling of being completely, utterly free was something that Terra simply adored. It was why she went on flying trips daily, sometimes even around the entirety of Hoenn, just for the feeling of complete and utter freedom that came every time she flew, no matter how depressed she was feeling, how bad the weather was or how many times she had done it before.

She could leave all her worries on the ground and race the free flying Pidgeot and dance among the clouds soaring above the hemisphere. Sometimes, when it was raining, Terra would just fly above the clouds, above the countless people down below who were struggling to put up umbrellas or dash home, the sun would keep her warm while she flew seemingly endlessly onward. She could fly across deserts, above the burrowing Sandshrew and the molehills that the Diglett were making, far underground. She saw Trapinch and felt a great pity for them, being trapped in the stupid, slow bodies until they evolved into something wonderful. Of course, she pitied the other Pokémon more, being forever limited to walk on the earth, never knowing the joy of flight. Down below she saw Cacnea and Baltoy play together, perfectly happy in the harsh arid desert; she smiled, knowing how unique every Pokémon was. Not merely every specie, but every individual Pokémon. The beating of her wings caused sandstorms that enveloped her in a veil of sand, making her invisible save for a small cloud of sand in the sky. She loved flying in sandstorms.

She adored flying across the water, her tail skimming the surface and the power of her wings causing ripples in the water as she gazed through the surface and see the depths of the clean, unpolluted sea and watch Seaking perform courtship dances, baby Remoraid growing in their parents’ shadows, Totodile playing with Marill by the sea edge, graceful Lapras and Dragonair swimming freely atop the calm waves, and, very occasionally, she was treated to the sight of a Milotic swimming elegantly under the veil of water; truly the epitome of pure beauty, untouched by artificial enhancers that humans loved so much. At night, the entire ocean being illuminated with the cores of Staryu that had floated to the surface and the lights of Chinchou and Lanturn signaling to one another from across the ocean, lighting it up like a huge city.

She would fly over forests and watch Beautifly and Butterfree drink the sweet nectar from exotic flowers, Bellossom dancing to the sun, giving, in their own way, thanks for the beauty of the world and everything in it. She could see Mankey hanging from trees, Pidgey grooming one another in a sign of affection, Sceptile tending to old and weary trees while Metapod and Cascoon waited patiently in their shells for the miracle of nature that would turn their immobile and weak bodies into beautiful new creatures that could, like her, fly freely in the sun and gaze in awe at the beauty of the world. When she flew over places inhabited by humans, she could see Pokémon and their trainers, bounded by love. A young girl hugging her pet, but, more importantly her friend, Sandshrew; a boy’s Gardevoir willing to give its life to save him; Pokémon in double battles, each relying on teamwork, cooperation and, ultimately, their friendship to win; an older girl congratulating a much younger trainer on her win, while she tended to her injured Mightyena and so many other examples of love, showing just how Pokémon and humans could exist in harmony with one another.

Terra shook her head, jerking herself out of her deep thoughts that always came to her when she flew. The sheer ecstasy that came to her with flying was not really natural for a Flygon. Sure, they used their wings to get from place to place, but Terra had never met another Flygon that shared her passion for flying free. Salamence, on the other hand, adored flying and the same joy that she felt while flying came as naturally to them as breathing. The odd thing was that Dracoru, as a Bagon, would rather read a book than fantasize of flying. As a Shelgon he dreamed not of wings, but of the intelligence, not power, mind you, that would come as part of the evolution process. This led, as Dracoru had told Terra once, why he had not got wings when he evolved, and could only get them by summoning them when needed. Everyone thought it was odd that Dracoru should not really love his wings as other Salamence did; of course he used them, but Dracoru was never one to do much physical work, as he rarely stopped giving his mind mental challenges to make himself cleverer.

But before Dannichu had caught Dracoru, Terra had been there with her sky-high spirit, so it seemed natural that someone like Dracoru, who was expected to love flying with all his heart, soul and mind, would rather perform advanced calculus, as if to come and counterbalance her love of the air. Not that she was complaining; Terra really preferred flying alone, to be with nothing but her own sheer joy; but it seemed like if she was meant to love the sky, Dracoru was destined to live life with his feet on the ground ninety-nine percent of the time. Fate works in mysterious ways, Terra thought, before shaking her head again. Terra was a bit of a dreamer, and sometimes philosophical, which seemed unfitting for someone of her speed, but again, it counterbalanced Dracoru’s love of facts and figures.

Terra sighed contentedly, dipped her left wing, causing her to swing one hundred and eighty degrees in half a second, before speeding off back to the Lair of Insanity. Terra smiled. No matter how much she adored flying, there was one thing Terra would always love more: that incomparable perfect feeling of coming home.