A Desperate Dive

(A.N. So people were worried when I mentioned Lucario(and Pidgeot) doesn't have a pokeball, well there's nothing to worry about there. Lucario and Pidgeot are both registered to Ace, so pokeball or no, no one can just catch them at any time. Its also why they both count against his carry limit.)

*KER-KRACK!*

A powerful and blindingly bright bolt of lightning flashed to envelope the pokemon before us, a Darmanitan from Unova that belonged to my latest challenger. The third after I had joined up with Dawn and her newly evolved Empoleon.

We all watched as Darmanitan took the Thunder from Magnezone, before slowly collapsing to the deck unconscious.

"Darmanitan is unable to battle! Magnezone wins!" The League drone declared, announcing yet another victory of mine.

"That was excellent Magnezone." I told my pokemon while patting it, who hummed pleasantly in return.

"Damn it..." The guy I had been battling against swore at his loss, while I just shook my head at him. There seriously seemed to be no end to the guys who thought I was their one-way ticket to the top.

"Gets a little boring after a while, doesn't it?" Asked a new voice, prompting me to turn around and see none other than Falkner standing behind me.

Falkner was the Gym Leader of Violet city in Johto, making him the first one that new trainers in that region usually faced, similarly to Brock. He also specialized in flying type pokemon, with his ace being a Noctowl.

"It'd be a nice way to train up some of my weaker pokemon, but there are too many people who are too full of themselves." I replied back to him, making Falkner chuckle.

"Very true. So how about a change of pace?"

As he said that Falkner let out a shrill whistle that echoed through the air around us, which was answered by a pokemon that flew at us, its plumage shimmering in the sun.

I watched as a large Noctowl approached us, before landing gracefully on the railing of the ship.

"I hear you have quite the Pidgeot accompanying you. So how about a different type of battle?" Falkner asked, before pointing to a board on the wall that held an interactive map.

Zooming out on it, the map showed the nearby areas along the route of the SS. Anne, which was mostly ocean, but also a number of rocky outcrops and such that were too small to be considered islands.

"Instead of a normal battle, we'll have a race. We'll go along this route with our pokemon, my Noctowl, versus your Pidgeot." As he said that, Falkner traced a specific route along the map that it tracked before bringing us back to the stern of the SS. Anne.

"I like it." I answered with a wide smile, as Pidgeot and I haven't gotten to race anyone before. I then put my fingers in my mouth and blew out shrill whistle, before a shrill cry answered it.

Gasps and exclaimations could be heard as Pidgeot descended towards us, before alighting upon the railing alongside Noctowl.

"Like I said, quite the Pidgeot..." Falkner said in awe as he beheld Pidgeot, who puffed his chest out and flared his wings with pride. I had noticed that ever since I had killed Surge, he had become quite a bit more accepting of people around him.

"That he is." I replied while patting his side, making Pidgeot trill happily. But then I had his complete attention as I asked him, "You up for a race buddy?"

"!?!"

"Geo?!"

"Yep, really. This is Falkner, a Gym Leader who specializes in flying type pokmeon." I explained to him, and Pidgeot immediately became serious.

"I'll take that to mean you accept the challenge then." Falkner said with a smirk, before leading the way to the stern of the ship. I followed along while both Pidgeot and Noctowl flew over there as well, during which I got Falkner to agree to give me the Zephyr Badge if Pidgeot and I win.

"You remember the route?" He asked as we both mounted our pokemon.

"Of course." I replied while strapping myself to Pidgeot's harness, before putting on my jacket, mask and goggles.

"Good. First one back to the SS. Anne wins." Falkner said, even as a drone appeared to officiate our match.

"This race will be considered an official tournament battle! Ready? BEGIN!"

"GEOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

With a singular flap of his wings, Pidgeot launched the two of us up into the air and away from the ship with enough force to almost give me whiplash.

We were like a feathery/fleshy bullet at the speeds that we accelerated to, which made the wind roar in my ears as it whipped my hair and jacket. Unfortunately though Pidgeot could not accelerate to his top speed while I was riding him, both due to my weighted clothing, and because I would literally be ripped off his back.

Even if he wasn't going his top speed though, Pidgeot were one of the fastest flying type pokemon in the world, even reaching speeds of mach 2 when unencumbered. There would be no way a Noctowl, a silent forest ambusher, would be able to keep up. Normally.

Even though they made nary a sound, I could feel both Falkner and Noctowl right on our tail, gliding there almost effortlessly. It was more than a little frustrating, but what else could you expect from a flying type Gym Leader?

Apparently more than that.

"!!!"

I looked back in alarm when I felt a weak telekinetic attack coming from Noctowl, not enough to knock us out of the sky, but to make Pidgeot falter slightly as they took the lead.

"Fuckers..." I swore as they pulled further ahead, before smirking under my mask. "If that's how you wanna play, fine. Let's go Pidgeot!"

"GEO!"

Crying in agreement, Pidgeot put out another burst of speed as we shot forward at Falkner and Noctowl, catching up to them right as we reached the first spits of land.

Pidgeot tucked his wing to put us into a barrel-roll as we dodged a pillar of rock, bringing us so close to the water that I could feel the spray of it on my face before he pulled back up to hone in Noctowl.

'Air Slash.'

Pidgeot trilled in affirmation as he swept his wing, creating a blade of wind that flew at Noctowl and Falkner.

Though not a psychic type, Noctowl were finely tuned to their surroundings to make them apex predators at night. So it was easily able to sense and avoid the incoming Air Slash before it could connect. But that was fine, as all we needed was the brief distraction.

As Noctowl dodged to avoid the attack, Pidgeot and I shot forward to pass the two of them by as we retook the lead. And I planned to keep it.

'Steel Wing.'

"..."

Without a reply, Pidgeot channeled steel type energy into his wings before putting what I had planned into action, cutting through the next rocky pillar before us.

The sound of stone ripping and tearing filled my ears as Pidgeot tore through the pillar with his wings, sending the entire thing crashing down behind us towards Falkner.

I didn't even need to look back to see him and Noctowl weave their way through the falling boulders and rubble before continuing after us, but the maneuver had worked in distracting the duo and allowing us to get further ahead. But I knew they wouldn't stay back there long if left to their own devices.

Even now I could feel that they were both completely calm as they followed us.

The reason why became apparent as we passed through a narrow corridor of stone on either side, and I suddenly felt Noctowl amassing energy behind us. The next thing I knew, a Shadow Ball impacted the cliff-side right next to us with another one right behind it.

"Better put on the speed Pidgeot." I told him through my mask.

"Pigot!"

As I requested Pidgeot went even faster, putting out enough speed that it became rougher to make the turns through the increasingly narrow canyon we found ourselves in, all while Noctowl continued firing Shadow Ball attacks at us from above.

As we rounded the latest turn though, we found ourselves facing an impossibly small crevice that Pidgeot would never be able to fit through.

My mind raced with possible routes to take as I glanced straight ahead, upwards, and downwards.

Straight ahead we could never fit through that crack, downwards was the ocean, and upwards was Falkner and Noctowl.

"Lets do it buddy!" I declared as I made my choice, a choice Pidgeot readily agreed with as he shot upwards.

As expected, Noctowl unleashed a barrage of Shadow Balls right at us as we made ourselves into more of a target, but I had a plan for those.

'Protect!'

A shimmering forcefield appeared around Pidgeot and I that deflected each of the attacks, though we both knew that the likelyhood of it failing increased with each hit it took. But all we needed was a couple of seconds, which we got as we shot right by Noctowl into the open air once more.

As we went up however, Falkner and Noctowl continued moving forward as they retook the lead.

"Lets show them who REALLY rules these skies!" I told Pidgeot, and he readily agreed as he tucked his wings close to perform a dive.

Our speed quickly increased to levels we had never gone to before as I felt the straps and harnesses begin to rattle and strain, but thankfully they continued to hold true as we shot right by Falkner and Noctowl once again over the open sea.

Now we were heading to the next land marker, a small spit of sand with a single palm tree sticking up from it. With Falkner and Noctowl still trailing behind us, I mentally ordered Pidgeot to use Whirlwind on the sandbar as we passed it, which in turn created a massive cloud of sand that replicated Sandstorm.

'Now Feather Dance!' I quickly commanded, and Pidgeot quickly began shedding feathers that fluttered back behind us, which would stick to Noctowl's body to slow it down even more.

I chanced a look backwards to see if it worked, only to see Noctowl and Falkner burst out of the fake Sandstorm close to the water below, making it so that they completely avoided the Feather Dance that Pidgeot left for them.

"Damn..." I swore when suddenly Noctowl began to pick up speed, having possibly used Agility to do so before I saw it use the move again, and then again.

"Lets make them see what REAL speed is like Pidgeot!" I declared, smiling under my mask as I did so as we entered the final stretch of the race.

Now it was just a matter of who would reach the SS. Anne first, Noctowl with it's numerous Agility's, or Pidgeot with his natural speed?

I'm pretty sure we got close to breaking the sound barrier with how fast pidgeot went to stay ahead of Noctowl, making me hold on for dear life while I also pressed my body as close to Pidgeot's as possible to eliminate drag.

Unfortunately we forgot one teansy little detail, we had to LAND on the SS. Anne.

As we closed in on the cruise liner, Pidgeot had to flare his wings wide to halt our speed as we came in for a landing. Not only was the sudden decrease in speed hard on him, but I'm pretty sure his wings would have been incredibly sore for the next few days if we didn't have Chansey and Joy readily availible.

Despite his best efforts, we still ended up skidding across the deck where the finish line was, forcing everyone to quickly clear the way for us before we FINALLY came to a stop on the other side. All while Falkner and Noctowl gracefully landed behind us.

"Your landing leaves something to be desired, but that was some excellent flying!" Falkner declared with a wide smile while the drone announced my victory.

"Thanks, you too." I replied back, dismounting Pidgeot as I did so.

"You definitely earned this!" He continued, tossing me a Badge that looked similarly to a pair of wings. My second Johto Badge.

"Take this as well!" He added, tossing me an orb that I recognized as a Mega Stone. "It's a Pidgeotite, which will allow you to Mega Evolve your Pidgeot."

I blinked as Pidgeot and I looked to one another in realization, before we both smiled wickedly.

"Thank you for this. I'm sure Pidgeot and I will be able to put it to good use." I told Falkner, feeling giddy inside that I managed to get another Mega Stone.

"If you want to thank me, then just swing by Violet city for a genuine battle sometime. I know Noctowl will be itching for rematch!"

"Noctowl!"

I smiled at the request, and was about to answer him when something caught my attention. A small Chimchar that was limping along the deck.

I recognized it instantly as the one Bulbasaur and I had battled against earlier with that one schmuck, Paul, though I wondered both what it was doing here, and why it seemingly hadn't even been healed since our battle. I could see that it was even still poisoned!

Falkner also turned to see what I was looking at, also noticing Chimchar as it limped along.

"What is an injured Chimchar doing here?" He asked, but my eyes widened as I saw the grim determination in Chimchar's aura, as it headed straight for the railing.

"Wait Chimchar!" I cried out, dropping the Badge and Mega Stone as I tried to hurry towards it. Unfortunately, because people had cleared the area for Pidgeot there was no one close enough to grab it as Chimchar climbed the railing, before looking down at the water below.

"Chimchar stop!" I cried as I hurried towards it, even drawing upon my psychic power to try and drag it back to this side. But I was too late as Chimchar threw itself over the side, and plummeted down to the water below.

"NOOO!"

With nary a single other thought in my head, I leapt over the side of the railing and created a small aura foothold to launch myself down at Chimchar, quickly catching up to it and wrapping it in a cocoon of aura before kicking off of another aura foothold to get us both clear of the propellers below.

I wrapped my body around the cocoon that was protecting Chimchar to give it even more protection, hoping it was enough as both of us hit the water.

It was then that I realized two things. Firstly, I REALLY needed to order a rebreather now that I was getting plenty of money from Silph co. The second was that I was still wearing my weighted gear as the two of us promptly sunk towards the bottom of the ocean.

Despite this I was not the least bit concerned, as a rough-skinned figure hurriedly caught up to us and raced us back towards the surface after I grabbed onto it's fin.

"BWAAAAAAAAA!"

I took in a deep breath of air as my head broke the surface, gasping desperately before turning my attention to the one who saved Chimchar and I.

"Thank you Sharpedo."

"Sharrrrrr." She growled in reply, saying she was glad she was able to get to me in time, even as numerous other Sharpedo surfaced around us.

They were the entire pack that I had caught back on my first day, and had been staying with professor Oak until I offered to have them help guard the SS. Anne.

As I caught my breath and thanked Sharpedo, Pidgeot hurriedly flew down to us and gripped me in his talons, carrying Chimchar and I back to the ship where a crowd had gathered to see what was going on.

"How is it?" Falkner asked urgently as I set Chimchar down on the deck.

"It passed out, but I think that was from the injuries it received earlier." I said, using my aura to examine Chimchar's body before calling out Chansey.

"Chance!"

"Chansey, I need you to heal this Chimchar." I quickly ordered her, to which Chansey immediately became serious as she started working on just that. First using Heal Bell to cure the poisoning, and then using Heal Pulse to start restoring it.

"What happened to it?" Falkner asked with barely concealed anger.

"I'm going to find that out." I replied, diving into Chimchar's memories to see what had happened.

What I saw was Paul after we had battled, looking down at Chimchar with disdain and loathing after he let it out of it's pokeball.

"I took you in and trained you, but all you've done is disappoint me time and again. And now you can't even beat a mere grass type? Thats it, I don't need you anymore."

As he said that, Paul readily snapped Chimchar's pokeball in half, officially abandoning the little monkey-like pokemon.

"Ch-char...?" Chimchar asked him, despite still suffering from the poisoning.

"I don't care what you do now. Jump ship and swim to shore for all I care."

Saying such, Paul turned and walked away to find someone else to challenge, and the memory ended.

When I opened my eyes I could practically feel my blood thundering in my veins in raw fury.

"Ace?" Falkner asked hesitantly from my current state, but I barely heard him.

"Keep an eye on Chimchar. Don't let anyone near him while I'm gone." I told Pidgeot and Chansey, who both nodded in affirmation as I walked away to go find a certain dead man.