@Scytherwolf;

Episode 15: Courage Takes Flight

"Wow!" Ash gasped as the group approached a lavender tower-like building filled with windows that spanned the building's entire height. "This is the Violet City Gym???"

"Sure is..." Brock replied. "Dedicated to Flying type Pokemon, as Mr. Pokemon told you before."

"He did say Tintri would do just fine against the Gym Leader's birds." Ash mused as he hurried up to one of the windows and peeked inside. "Although it appears he--or she--is out at the moment..."

Just then, Misty looked in the sky and gasped. "Look! Up in the sky!"

"What is it, Misty? You see a superhero or something?" Ash asked before looking up at the spot Misty was pointing at, where two winged beings circled and weaved around each other in an intricate aerial ballet over the Gym and the three awed onlookers on the ground.

After a moment or two, the beings sped toward the ground, where the group could see what they were more clearly--a Pidgeot and a navy haired boy piloting a deep blue hang glider with silver feather-like trim. "The glider pilot must know what he's doing to fly that close to a Pidgeot..." Brock noted as Pidgeot and pilot wove and circled around each other as they made their way to the ground, giving a little flair to a carefully controlled and well rehearsed descent.

Misty couldn't help applauding when the glider pilot touched down on the ground some moments later. "Bravo! That was amazing!"

"Thanks..." the boy smiled as he climbed out of the glider harness and brushed some leaves and dirt from his matching royal blue flight suit. "Taka and I make a point to go flying together at least once a day, when I'm not busy tending to my Gym Leader duties."

"Taka?" Ash asked.

The boy whistled, and the Pidgeot fluttered onto his shoulder. "I'm Falkner, and this is Taka." he explained, gesturing to the Pidgeot. "Hatched him and raised him from a Pidgey."

"Nice to meet you Falkner--I'm Ash." Ash began. "...and these are my two companions Misty..." Misty waved hello. "...and Brock." Brock gave a wave hello while admiring the majestic Pidgeot perched on Falkner's shoulder. "I have my own Pidgeot as well..."

He then heaved a Poke Ball skyward. "Come on out, Mina!"

"Oh, so your Pidgoet is a girl..." Falkner smiled as a second Pidgeot, this one female, emerged in a flash of red light and landed on Ash's shoulder. "If you don't mind my asking, how did you two meet?" Falkner asked.

"I caught her as a Pidgeotto in Viridian Forest, and she earned me a few Gym Badges." Ash explained. "Are you taking challenges at the moment?"

"If you feel confident enough, I gladly accept your challenge." Falkner replied. "Let's go inside and get my gear put away, then we'll go up to the arena."

Ash nodded. "Mina, return." he commanded, recalling his Pidgeot before giddily racing inside the Gym...

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"Whoa..." Ash gasped, as he, Misty, Brock, and Falkner--now in an elegant cyan and blue kimono-like outfit--stepped out into an open air arena at the top of the tower. "We're gonna battle here?"

"Yes, we are." Falkner smiled. "Thankfully, there are safety barriers to keep us and our Pokemon from falling."

"Good thinking." Brock agreed as he took a seat on a bench near the silver side of the arena.

Misty, meanwhile, was more enthused about the view than her friend's upcoming battle. "You can see all of Violet City from here, if not all of Johto!"

Falkner grinned. "Win or lose, I want my challengers to have a memory of our match--and the view's what they often remember."

He next addressed Ash as a referee arrived. "Which side of the arena will you take? Gold or Silver?"

"Silver!" Ash replied before hurrying to the right side of the arena, with Tintri not far behind him.

"Representing the Gold side, Gym Leader Falkner and Mie!" the referee announced as Falkner summoned an intimidating bird Pokemon with three heads. "And representing the Silver side, Ash Ketchum and Tintri!"

Falkner's expression turned business-like as Ash and Tintri cheered. "People say you can clip Flying-type Pokémon's wings with a jolt of electricity...but I wouldn't get too comfortable on that knowledge alone!"

"Bring it on!" Ash shot back.

"Are all the competitors ready?" the referee asked.

"Let's do this." Falkner replied.

Ash and Tintri cheered in reply. "Okay! Three...two...one..." The referee's whistle resounded through the city, alerting those down below that a Gym battle had begun.

"I'll show you the real power of the magnificent bird Pokémon!" Falkner smirked as the three headed bird Pokemon charged at Tintri. Tintri effortlessly jumped out of the way, landing at Ash's feet moments later.

Ash made a T signal with his hand. "Time out--Silver." the referee announced.

He next motioned for the referee to come over. "Is it okay to use a Pokedex for basic information on an opponent?"

"So long as it does not give you an unfair advantage, using a Pokedex to form strategies is fine." the referee replied before retreating back to her post at the dividing line that cut the Poke Ball arena in half.

Ash, meanwhile, consulted Dexter to size up his opponent:

"Dodrio, the triple bird Pokemon. An enemy that takes its eyes off any of the three heads--even for a second--will get pecked severely."

"You hear that, bud? Be on your guard." Ash cautioned Tintri as he pocketed Dexter as the referee's whistle signaled the end of his time out.

"Silver has two time outs remaining." the referee announced. "Resume battle!"

"Are you sure a little Pikachu's gonna be enough to take out Mie?" Falkner asked. "No challenger has ever defeated her!"

"Yet!" Ash shot back. "No challenger has defeated her YET--and I'm gonna be the first!"

Both competitors called at the same time "Use Agility!"

Both Pikachu and Dodrio raced at each other, each of them bright blue colored blurs to the spectators on the Silver sideline. As Tintri raced to avoid the large Dodrio in a somewhat choreographed routine of head on charges, near misses, and dodges, he thought he saw a glimpse of the Dodrio's body as he raced by. This is my chance to stun her! I just have to fire a Thunderbolt on my next pass!

He fired a Thunderbolt as he circled around the Silver side of the arena, but balked as the Dodrio effortlessly jumped over the attack, leaving the Thunderbolt to arc gracefully into the safety barrier at the north end of the room.

[WAUGH!!!] he yelped as the Dodro pinned him to the wall, then pecked at him one-two-three-four-five times. Try as he could to get free, the Dodrio pinned him to the arena floor moments later.

[Oh no...] was all he could muster as he watched the Dodrio's beaks start spinning like drills.

"Drill Peck!" Brock noted as Tintri was mercilessly pecked by three beaks at once.

"Tintri!" Ash gasped as he helplessly watched Tintri get battered by the Drill Peck. "Hang in there for me, okay?"

"Mie, use Tri Attack!" Falkner ordered.

"Tintri, if you can, take it down with Thunder!" Ash commanded.

Mie opened her beaks and positioned her heads so each beak became a corner in a triangle. An orb of energy then formed inside Mie's beaks--the right one was green, the top one was indigo, and the left one was red. A red triangle then formed in between the orbs.

Tintri braced himself. Once the triangle starts to turn indigo, I need to dodge, and quick!

He saw Mie fire the triangle, then wall jumped away as the triangle exploded on the safety barrier. [HIIIIIIII-YAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!] he screeched as he fired a massive thunderbolt, shocking Mie and causing her to slump to the floor, swirly eyed. "Mie is unable to battle--Tintri wins!" the referee announced.

A smile formed on Falkner's face. "I must commend you for being the first for defeating Mie. But now it's time to get serious by showing you Taka's power!

"Hope you've got another Pokemon, Ash..." Misty mused as Tintri arrived on the sideline for a well deserved Potion and wipedown.

"I do..." Ash assured Misty before taking the other Poke Ball he carried and addressing Falkner. "So, Taka's your ace? I'll show you mine!"

He then heaved the Poke Ball skyward. "Blaze, come on out!"

Even Falkner was impressed at the majestic orange dragon that circled around the arena and landed on the Silver side of the arena...

To Be Continued...