First Faith

Chapter 1: Turbulence

Chapter 1: Turbulence

"I can't believe how slow walking is compared to this." Dawn commented.

We were thousands of feet in the sky on the back of Salamence, flying nimbly. We didn't have a real destination in mind, or at least a time frame to get anywhere in particular. Really, the main objection was training for Salamence to carry extra weight while flying so his wings would get stronger. In the next few days, we'd be flying to Mossdeep City. We didn't have a real agenda there besides sightseeing and training. Dawn was spending a lot of time preparing for her next Contest, though seeing so many new sights seemed to inspire her to create new Contest moves and train harder to battle with sparkles.

Either way, we were flying and in no real hurry to get anywhere, though we didn't plan to stop anytime soon. Salamence needed the training.

"Stop lashing your tail so much. The air currents aren't strong enough to throw you off balance for your interference to be necessary." I said shortly. Salamence gave a grumbled growl in response.

"You know, it does seem to be getting windier." Dawn hugged her body against mine, though I mentally shook my head as I felt blubbery Piplup squirm in between us, blocking Dawn's body from mine.

He just always had to be out of his Poke Ball.

I glanced around. There weren't any clouds in sight, which meant that the wind wouldn't be helpful to Salamence, but also that it wouldn't hinder him as much as it seemed to be. A forceful gust buffeted into us, making me grip his scaly neck to prevent myself from losing my balance. Piplup squealed in fear, but I ignored him.

"This isn't normal." I said, staring at the sky, feeling my hair blow around roughly "It's impossible for the wind to pick up like this in these conditions."

Salamence roared in anger as an even larger force of wind buffeted against him. His wings flailed at his sides, trying to find a current to help keep him balanced. He didn't find one. His body began tossing from side to side.

Dawn hugged her body tighter to me and I knew she adjusted her grip on Piplup in the process, "It's too strong!"

"Salamence, land quickly." I ordered, trying not to feel any fear as he caught himself from flipping over again as the wind pushed him.

He tucked his wings in and dove downward, forcing us to grip tighter. Dawn wasn't used to a steep dive and screamed, the sound getting lost in the wind. When he was a few hundred feet off the ground, he flared his wings and levelled his body, testing the wind. Before he could keep altitude, another gust rammed into Salamence, causing him to roar and let out a Flamethrower in protest as he rolled upside down, belly facing upward towards the sky momentarily before he righted himself.

Dawn screamed again, Piplup's high pitched terrified squeal mixing in. We hugged our bodies against Salamence's and didn't get thrown off despite the flip. His body rocketed to the side and began falling.

I kept my head, trying to think of what to do. I didn't have a Psychic type with me to levitate us from harm's way. Even if I did, my Poke Balls were stowed securely so they wouldn't fall during the flight. There weren't any options. By this point, Salamence would be badly injured and Dawn and I would probably fall to our deaths.

We were fifty feet from the ground. Dawn was almost choking me she was squeezing me so hard and I was surprised Piplup's head hadn't been squished to death against my back. My mind was trying to run last second calculations to change our fate. Salamence was flailing like a Magikarp dangling on a hook, helpless as gravity did its work.