Between Sun And Moon

[Matt]

Matt paddled along the mountainous trail , staring at the sky. He'd passed the last town and its gym leader with ease... now what was he to do? Time seemed to creep on by slowly... he was alone. He was utterly alone. He didn't dislike being alone, but some company would be nice. Well, if anything, he always had his Flygon for a good hug now and then.
As if she knew what he was thinking, the Flygon reached her head down to give him a little nuzzle.
"Hey girl..." he returned the gesture happily. At least she was always on his side. And, she always would be too...
"Smile more often, would'ya?" The Furret on his shoulder demanded. It seemed so odd... this Pokémon could... talk? Amazing, simply amazing.
"If you say so..." Matt sighed. The crippling lonliness after his lover had gone away was getting to be a bit much...
"Qua..." Quagisre, following neatly behind Flygon decided to speak up a bit. He couldn't talk like Furret, but his point was well taken.
And then there was Quilava. Quilava was one of the first Pokémon Matt had rescued from the hands of the enemy... they were almost as close as him and his Flygon... but nothing quite filled his heart the way she did. He hated to play favorites, but Flygon had always been there for him... always...
Espeon and Umbreon lagged behind. They didn't want to see Matt so sad, but they didn't know how to make him happier either. Just then, Espeon had an idea... slowly, and with concentration, she picked up a small bit of water from a nearby puddle. From there, she dropped it onto Matt's soft brown hair, making him only slightly wet in the process. He laughed, and turned toward her.
"Gee, thanks! You nutball..." He crouched down to hold her head in his arms. She was so nice and soft. Surely that would cheep him up.

[Nero]

Nero was out of that cursed place at last. That town had been so boring! Sure, the gym battle, and a new pokemon to add to the team- plus an evolution had taken place- but overall, it was blah. After checking in one last time at the pokecenter, he had called out Jibril, and hopped on, with Banshee running alongside, and Chrono on Jibril's back, right behind him. The fire lizard's claws were wrapped around Nero's waist, and the human hung onto Jibril strong neck, as they cantered across the land. Banshee ran at a steady pace alongside them, occasionally trading the land for the air, using her strong wings.

However, when they reached the steeper area of the mountain, and started going up, Nero had to get off of his mount. Jibril wasn't strong enough yet to carry such a load upward, so he walked alongside her. Chrono, however, stayed astride, and she had no problem with him. "Lazy..." Nero murmured, shaking his head. Jibril whinnied in agreement.

At this point, Banshee had spotted the group ahead, paused as apparently water had been dropped on the trainer's head. She let out a howl, swooping over their heads and circling back to report to Nero. She had never been around another trainer like that before- gym leaders didn't count- and it freaked her out, caused memories to resurface that she had been on the verge of forgetting... Nero saw her return, and tilted his head. "What is it girl?" He asked, but then he saw them too... a Trainer and his pokemon. He hesitated, unsure if this was a friend or foe, then continued boldly on. If it was foe- what was the worst that could happen? He, Nero, would just beat this new guy up, and take his money. Best case scenario, a new comrade. The Natu on his shoulder announced Nero's approach louder than any footstep could have.

[Matt]

Quickly, Matt turned. He heard a faint sound off footsteps, human voice, and then the call of a little bird, Natu. What could be coming up the mountains after him? Probably another trainer.
"Auuu-ooou" Flygon turned, watching the trail as Nero came forward. She was ready to kill at the snap of Matt's fingers. Considering thier past, she had to make such a vow to him. Protect. That's all that ran through her mind. She would protect him, fire and energy beams ablaze.
Umbreon took off. Immediatly, he was up to catch the commotion where it started. His black feet hit ground at almost alarming speeds. This attack dog was no joke. Once he reached the newcomer, his peircing red eyes stared up into that of the boy.
Espeon watched too. She took this side of defense, as opposed to Umbreon's quick offense. She would be here, ready at an instant to turn on her psychic powers.
"Careful..." Matt said. He was all to used to being ambushed. Far too used to it.
"Right..." Furret said, blue eyes aflame. Thunder was his toy... he shocked and Quilava burned. They made a wonderful team.
"Qui." Quilava called, letting it's spikey protective flame flare up. She was just as ready as the rest of them.
Quagsire took defnese as well. He tried to make himself look as small as possible, only to come out full of water and earthquakes when needed.
They all reacted much too quickly. They were well trained for killing... though they didn't like it. It was the only way to survive in this cruel world that they had all suffered through.
"State your name, and reasons." Matt demanded, looking directly at Nero. "I don't want to fight you." He made his intent clear.

[Nero]

Banshee leapt in front of her trainer, snarling at the dogs. Espeon and Umbreon- she didn't care what powers they had, or what level they were. If they attacked, she'd give them a run for their money! Chrono, too, hopped off of Jibril and went to stand in front of Nero, his flaming tail a raging storm of fire. Jibril snorted, distressed, not wanting to fight. This time, she was frightened of the dogs, and reared, battering the air with her hard hooves. Nero, however, just narrowed his eyes. So this trainer would send his beasts to attack, and then claim he didn't want a fight? He would have started a fight right then and there if he knew he could beat them- but he didn't. Senor Buggy, the Butterfree, couldn't handle these. Nor could Rafael, his Eevee. Jibril was still too young. But the others could fend for themselves- if only the fight was fair, though it didn't even seem like he'd get that much respect. Who did this guy think he was?

Instead of stating his name, Nero said, "Gee, I didn't know you had to pay a poll tax to pass through the mountain. What are you, the Guru or somethin'?" He glanced at all the pokemon he'd set out on Attack Mode already and rolled his eyes. "If you don't want a fight, prove it. Call off your pokemon and let's be introduced properly."

[Matt]

Matt snapped his fingers, and the reaction was instant. Flygon stood more upright, Quagsire filed in behind her. Espeon and Umbreon returned, reluctantly, to thier post sitting beside Matt. Quilava let his flames down, and Furret sat up and tried to look a little more impressive.
"Right. I am on a quick defense. I don't want to take chanses. For all I know, you could be one of those bastards." He gave a little half=smile, before looking up. His gaze was intense. His warm grey eyes, cast in such light... it was very welcoming. Hard to beleive he was ready to kill only sencodns before. When he looked up, however, a scar was revealed. A nice large scar over his left eye, that didn't seem to hinder his sight any. Either he was lucky, or very smart. "I am watching, ever alert. You don't seem the sorta boy to just bow and pass." he said, giving a good llok to the threatening Banshee and Chrono.
"Ever watchful." Furret continued. Finally, he was speaking something that wasn't riddled in swears.
"Rii." Espeon cooed, looking forward. He gaze was caught by Natu for a moment. Maybe something about the psychic bird caught her up? Who knows?
Umbreon watched in silence. Everyone was afraid of her. She was the lead attack dog where she came from. Number one. Alphaess of her pack. Everyone stood down to her... or faced the consequences.
Opon closer inspection, one would notice a scar on Flygon's wing as well. A big notch in its left wing was clearly visible now that it stood erect. Odd, as its flight didn't seem hindered.
Quagsire just sat himself down and watched. She thumped her tail rythmically on the ground for a while, just sitting and being pleasent. How cute.
And as for Quilava, she was busy eying Chrono. What an interesting beast... the two could almost be related...

[Nero]

"One of what bastards, exactly?" Nero asked, resisting making a smart comment about himself having a father. He admired the obedience the pokemon showed toward this guy- that was what he hoped to achieve. Only, he'd rather have control over both "go attack" and "come back, he's a friend." He wouldn't stand for his own pokemon to disobey, unless in defense. He eyed the others appreciatively. The Quilava, the Eons, and mostly the Flygon. The other two weren't his type, though he'd never seen those types before. He made a mental note to pull out his Pokedex when he had convinced, and learn more about these.
Nero had relaxed, to say the least, when the malice slipped out of the other's face. Banshee and Chrono, however, still stood between him and the others, not trusting anyone at all. Nero considered the situation for a few more moments, then called for the pair to back off. He didn't think this guy was going to attack him.

"I'm not, but I know when not to battle. Three against six was no battle at all... So, who exactly are you on the look out for? And...who are you, anyway?" This was the most Nero had talked in ages, besides to his pokemon, or to yell at Zevi- that girl who went all gooey in the knees looking at him. Natu chirrped from his shoulder, fluffing his little wings. He too was eyeing the psychic pokemon, drawn to it more than the others due to their shared powers. He tilted his head one way, and then another, observing her. But he didn't come down with Umbreon so close...

Jibril had calmed down, and took to pacing, occasionally checking on what was going on by throwing her head over Nero's shoulder and peering at the opposing creatures. She finally got on Banshee's nerves, who was still stressed by being so near to another strange trainer, and Banshee turned around and snapped at her, her jaws making a snapping sound. Nero turned and gave her a look, and she calmed down slowly, sitting down at his side, her spaded tail waving in the air behind her.

Chrono, on the other hand, was intently staring at Quilava. He resembled his best friend, Cutter, so much... It was as if Cutter had been given a personality make over, evolved, and shoved back in his face...

[Matt]

"I am... Matt. They call me Matt...and I have no desire to fight you..." He'd almost introduced himself as his tag number... all of the members- those bastards as Matt had recently called them- had a number. Like dogs, they were all numbered and tagged. It was almost sickening. "And... never mind, you're obviously not one of them..." He sighed, "So, what's your name?"
And as they spoke, Furret took a good hard look at Banshee. "Wait... Matt... look at that Houndoom real close..." He said, throwing a paw that direction. "That's..."
Matt took a close look at Banshee, and then gasped. "Experiment 666..." he said coldly. That was the reason he was traveling these parts, to return that very experiment to "them"... and it had evolved! She was so beautiful! And... at one time, she had been his. He protected her from harm... he held her when she slept, and when the pain was too much to bear. She was a tortured creature, and he was her soothing voice... but then they took her away from him. And she fled. "C'mere, girl." He held out a handful of bloodred colored candy for her. Her favorite, if he remembered correctly. Hopefully, she would trust him like she once did.
"Auuuoa..." Flygon watched intently. She remembered this pet. Matt had come quite attached to her... now, only if she still cared for her in the same way.
Umbreon scowled. She never liked the affection that was poured upon the experiment. But, she was always a rather cool experiment, as far as that went. The two got along well as far as that was. They were very similar. But... the rivalry couldn't help but to be stirred.
Espeon turned away from Natu to look at Umbreon. She was upset... but, he always did like that little Houndoom himself. And look at her now... she was beautiful. Always a little rash for his tastes, but he didn't mind. Though, his heart was always Umbreons to hold, ans she knew that.
Quagsire was sitting pleasantly still, looking at a nearby stub of a baby tree. So tiny and cute. He could just eat it! And, he would have, if the commotion over the new experiment hadn't caught his eye.
Quilava dared to go a bit closer to Chrono. Why was he looking at her like that? She made a little coo, and flashed the crest flame at her head. She was a showy one, alright.

[Nero]

"My name's Nero. Pleasure." He was starting to warm up to this guy- and he had no clue why. It troubled him... There was just something about him that was different from others he had met, like he was hiding something, or his life was so crazy cool you just had to be part of it- that was almost what it was like, this interest. Maybe something out of a movie... And now, he realized the Furret could speak proper english! He'd heard it speak earlier, yes, but he had been too distracted to notice he could understand it! His jaw nearly dropped, until he heard what it said. They were talking about... HIS houndoom! He grew suspicious, and cast a protective look at Banshee. There was no way he'd let them take her- she was his, and his alone. He admired her and loved her more than the others, though Chrono of course had his own special spot. And he was still working on gaining her absolute trust! What could these guys possibly want with her?? "Experiment..? What?" He was going to say something along the lines of 'if you're looking to steal her, back off' but Banshee hushed him by walking forward. She had been eyeing the group, and something caused her to lose her fear. Some scent...she remembered from long ago. And now, the treats that caught her eye... She moved forward, carefully, easily, until she got to his hand. She glanced up at him, her eyes distant, different from before, though if you looked deeply it was still the same pokemon. She sniffed again at the treats, and took some from him, licking her tongue across his hand. Then she remembered. She had been taken away, and he hadn't saved her. Her anchor to life, and she had ended up on her own? She growled in her throat, backing away. The pain returned anew, like a reopened wound, salted by the new sense of betrayal creeping in, and the painful affection she remembered feeling, that she had for the memories that had just about vanished.

Natu fluttered, keeping quiet. Something was happening...something big! He could feel it in the air, the tension, and because of this, he grew restless. He fluttered from Nero's shoulder to the ground, not even worrying about the Umbreon now. "Naa.." it murmured, blinking. Jibril snorted from beside him, her flames ripppling across her hide. She didn't understand what was going on, and was the most bored of the bunch. Too young, and not enough learned of the world.

Chrono smirked at Quilava. He turned to the side, twisting his tail around him, and making the flame shoot up higher than normal, showing back off. Cutter had been playful too... though it was becoming obvious that this wasn't Cutter, Chrono still liked this pokemon.

[Matt]

"She's..." Matt moved back a bit. She was still sour towards him... he didn't really expect better. "She's... you know those aforementioned bastards?" he asked the rethorical question, and then continued onwards, "Well... you know those things don't have wings usually... they changed that. Played with her DNA... and now... now she's what you see before you. Sure... the aftereffect was neat... but you didn't see what happened... you didn't see her torture, and her pain" His grey eyes turned cold, as pain riddled through them, "... I was unfortunate enough to have to deal with all of that. They gave her to me... so I could take care of her. Feed her and all. Too much hastle for them..." He sighed, flicking a peice of candy in Umbreon's direction.
"Right... I was there too..." Furret sighed, his blue eyes casting down toward the rocky path beneath them. "Oh, I'm Furret by the way, if you didn't know that already." he gave a little wave.
Umbreon stepped forward, catching the candy in her teeth. Then, she decided to try and reason with Chrono, "Rea." she growled in that commanding way she had of speaking. She was trying to convince Banshee that Matt wasn't against her at all... quite the opposite, really.
Espeon watched his love, and that cute girl. They were the neatest pair, it was almost cute. They would be good friends if they weren't always fighting over Matt's attention. Though, that's sure to have changed by now.
Quagsire started to hiccup. He alwaays got the hiccups whenever something bad was about to happen, "QuAG... QUag..." he hicced his own name.
Flygon readied herself up, looking all around to try and find the source of impending danger. Her red eyes scanned the entire area, looking for anything that might threated her Matt.
Quilava waited for the signal to attack. Matt had two different snapps. One for stop, and one for attack. It took skill to differentiate them. And, so she contnued her half-flirty show to Chrono, tipping her firey tail to him in one quick motion. She liked him. He was neat...

[Nero]

Nero felt the corners of his mouth turn down. He'd always known Banshee had been different. That was part of the reson he loved her so much, and was so entraced. But...she had been an experiment? As cool as she turned out, that was a horrible thought, even for him- and he basically didn't care about too much. He looked over at Banshee, as she slowly retreated from Matt and back to him. Nero held out his hand to her, and she bared her fangs at him, jumping back, on edge. But she saw it was only him, and not a figment of her memory, of the shadowy figures, whose faces she could no longer recall. She would know them if she saw them, but... not now. But when she saw it was only him, she calmed down a little. Nero here, though in a rather violent way, had taken her from the forest, saved her from the dark lonliness that had threatened to engulf her. In time, perhaps, she could love Matt again, but now... the wound was too raw. She let her horns graze Nero's hand.

"These guys...torture pokemon?" Nero tried again, clearing his throat. He couldn't find words to describe it. He turned to the speaking Furret, and nodded. "Hello... You weren't an experiment as well, were you? Since you can speak english..." He blinked, glancing around as he caught sight of the pokemon becoming tense again, waiting for something. He scanned the area, unable to locate the source himself.

Aladdin twitched, looking around, hopping across the ground until he was startled by the Quagsire, and then he flew up onto Jibril's back. She was the calmest of them all, especially now. She was looking intently at the Furret, her flames licking happily at Aladdin's stomach. She was happy! Friends galore!

Chrono grinned at her, and blew her a little flame, a little ember attack that lit the air but nothing more. He was liking her more and more. Fire pokemon were just awesome... And the flirting was working, perhaps putting him under her spell.

[Matt]

"Oh, they do much worse... trust me. She was lucky enough to at least live through it... or living isn't always even the best option... but she was lucky to not get out in to much trouble..." Matt looked to the ground, a tear falling down his scar. So many horrible things... too many for one soul to manage... 'Scars of pleasure, scars of pain...' he thought to himself.
"No way in hell would I let one of them lay hand on me." Furret scowled, flicking its long ears back. "I taught myself." He said, trying to look impressive.
"You taught yourself how to swear awful well too, didn't you?" Matt shook his head. This Furret was famous for the dirty things that often spewed from its mouth.
"Quag?" He tilted his head... the hiccups were gone? Weird, they usually ended in a mess... oh well, better this way. And, much less annoying.
Flygon let its guard down yet again, and sat pleasantly, wavering its tail about. Swish, swish, swish. Back and forth, back and forth. T'was almost like a metronome... hypnotizing.
Umbreon followed Banshee. She was confident in her ability to hurt the winged experiment if need be.'You have to listen to me... you don't understand.' She plead. She never begged... never... but now, it was for Matt. And, for him, she would give her very life.
Espeon watched from Matt to Banshee. Both of them were at a misunderstanding, and they were both hurting from it too. It was truly sad... She only wished that she could make them understand.
Quilava didn't do mushy stuff well. It never made sense to her. Well, anyways, she kept her little game up, this time, flickering her tail flame, and skittering a few feet away. She turned back to Chrono expectantly. Hopefully, he would catch the hint.
"You know what? I have a something to be doing... mind walking along with me as we talk?" Matt asked nicely. He really didn't want to be on this boy's bad side.

[Nero]

"And no one's stopped them?" Nero asked, scowling. What good were the police, those powerful trainers that everyone's heard of that preached about doing things for the better of the population. Making pokemon into experiments? He looked sadly to his pokemon, trying to imagine the horrors of which he spoke. He couldn't picture much, but what he could do was pretty frightening. "At least...you're both free, eh?" he said, in almost a sigh. Which would be worse, dying, or living with the memories, the horror, forever? He didn't want to ask. So instead, he turned to the Furret and gave a half-hearted chuckle. He didn't seem too affected by the conversation... "Well, that's pretty cool. You could be a translator!"
Seeing that all the pokemon were relaxing again, Nero let his guard back down a bit. He supposed they tensed up every so often, incase these bad guys came after them...or something of the sort.

Banshee turned on the Umbreon, her tail shipping through the air. 'What do I have to listen to?' She snapped. 'The guy who let them take me, after promising to take care of me? The guy who made me remember all of this, when I was finally becoming myself? Tell me why! Why should I listen!' Her eyes narrowed, not exactly remembering the best of times with this pokemon. True, they'd gotten along, but the bad always stood out more than the good. While she was hating the contact with these pokemon, and their trainer, she was also loving it. What had she been searching for all this time, if not this? She just...couldn't handle it yet.

Jibril, in her sweet innocence, went over to the Quagsire, nickering to him, wondering about those mysterious hiccups. They had passed fairly quickly; she had seen much worse cases than that! Natu chirrped on her shoulder, also peering down at the water/ground pokemon curiously. He'd never made such sounds before, the hiccups... how odd.

Chrono glanced at the group, so distracted by this game that he didn't know what was going on anymore. He turned back to the Quilava, and chased after her, determined to catch her, if that was what she wanted. He could play at this game...

"Sure," Nero responded while shifting his weight to the other foot. He had been standing still through this whole ordeal, and now he was stretching a bit. His pocket twitched suddenly, and, frowning, he reached inside. Instead of feeling his pokeballs and food stuffs, he felt...fluff. Something fluffy was sitting there. Frowning, he pulled on the fur, lifting the creature up and out. It was Raffy, curled up, sleeping even though it was being picked up. He chuckled, and held the pokemon in his arms. He began to stir with a soft "Vee...."
"Let's get going, then, eh?"

[Matt]

"Right... you know the easiest way up a mountian..." He asked with a look at his quite bigger than normal Flygon, "is right over it?" A normal Flygon was about 6 and a half feet tall... this one nearly broke eight feet. She was huge, even for dragon standards.
"Auuuaah" Flygon looked toward the top of the mountain. She would easily, and quite happily, carry Matt and her friends straight to its top. She was more than used to it by now anyway.
"Alright, here we go girl." Flygon took this as a signal to lay her body a bit more horizontally, to let Matt hop on. And just that, he did. It was an easy and practiced maneuver.
'You just don't understand! You'll never understand. There are things that go on above even his power! He never wanted to leave you!' She snapped, growling, 'He cried for you.' and at that, her red eyes squinted up, and she turned away. She'd proven her point well. But... she wasn't about to fight with her. Instead, she hopped up onto Flygon beside Matt where she always sat, more to his left than behind him directly.
Espeon followed, hopping right up into Matt's lap. She always sat there, to keep watch. If anything got dangerous, her psychic powers took great care of it.
"Quag!" He waved his tail happily, hopping up and hugging Matt from behind. Well, the closest he could come to a hug was wrapping his short arms halfway around his friend. Close enough.
When Chrono started to chase her, she zipped around for a short while, but soon ran right up Flygon's side. She took her lead position at point. She sat between Flygon's little antennae like dark green appendages. From there, she was a good shot with a flamethrower.
"So, my friend, care to join us up here?" He looked down at Nero.

[Nero]

Nero stared at the Flygon. He liked the look of her, surely, but he'd never really ridden anything so big.. he had his Ponyta, and that was it. Was he ready to ride in style? You bet he was! He looked at Jibril, and patted her nose. "Sorry, girl, I think you're a bit too big for this particular trip..." She nickered to him, and stamped a hoof, wanting to be kept out, wanting to go for a ride! The childish, innocnet look in her eye made him smile as he pulled out her ball, and returned her. The rest, however, he believed were small enough.

He made his way over to the Flygon, carrying his cute little Eevee. The pokemon yawned widely and rolled over in his arms, his large eyes blinking at everyone. His huge ears twitched, and he cried out excitedly, "Vee!!" But Nero held on to him as he sat down behind Matt's pokemon, Aladdin coming to pertch on his shoulder. "Naatu!" he cried, fluttering his wings. He surveyed the group, and decided he liked this position.

Chrono, now, had a bit of trouble getting on. He didn't have very long legs- or limbs, for that matter, as he didn't want to hurt Flygon with his long nails- so it took him a little longer, but he sat right behind Nero. Everyone was on that was going to get on, apparently, since when Nero called out to Banshee, she turned her head and flapped her wings, soaring into the air. It seemed she'd follow in the air, let that Umbreon alone for a little bit...

[Matt]

"Hold on for your life!" Matt cried, giving Flygon the invisible signal to start flying. Her wings began to kick up dirt, and next thing you'd know, she was off. She flew faster than a Pidgeot at top speed... and they topped out at the speed of sound. This mighty bug-dragon was impressive by any standards.
The whoosh of air through Matt's hair as Flygon shot by tree after tree of the mountain was an amazing feeling. She dove, she tipped, and she followed Matt's every subtle silent command with grace and power. If you didn't hold on, or at least balance yourself, you were sure to fall.... and just that Quagsire did. With the off balance of Nero and his team, Quagsire plummeted toward the ground. "Qua!" He hiccuped as he began to fall more quickly.
"Hold on lil buddy!" Furret called. This wasn't a new procedure. Things fell off all the time... though usually Quagsire knew his footing. Furret flicked it's tail and looked down expectantly at Espeon.
She was a step ahead of her. Her purpleish eyes flashed, and her gem flickered brightly with a glint of light. Then... Quagsire stopped falling. She had him in a tight psychic hold, and it took everything she got to keep him still. He'd been falling very fast... but now his life was in her hands.
Umbreon skittered forward more, near Flygon's short arms. She knew what was next, and how her part came in it. Flygon swooped and grabbed the suspended Quagsire's tail easily. It was a trained procedure after all. Then, as he hung, Umbreon grabbed with her teeth at him, just barely missing every time. Eventually, the still flying Flygon gave her a little toss, and Umbreon's failsafe jaws clamped on. It was a little painful, but worth it.
If Nero wasn't hugging Matt by know, the whole world would be surprised. This was one hell of a ride for a first timer. Just wait til Chrono evolves... that would be fun. The two of them, playing cat and mouse in the air.

[Nero]

Nero braced himself, holding on as tightly as he could to the Flygon. It was ok in the beginning; Chrono kept him from falling off. Chrono had a good grip on Flygon, and didn't seem to be letting go anytime soon. But when Quagsire fell off, Nero leaned a little to the side, concerned and intent on seeing what had become of the poor pokemon. He didn't relax until he saw that Espeon was on the job! And by then...he, too, was slipping. He cried out, his voice ripped from him in the force of the wind, and reached for the nearest thing- which happened to be Matt. He grabbed the other man around the waist, regaining his balance. It wasn't until after Quagsire was safe and sound back on Flygon that Nero realized who he was holding on to... Embarassed, he tried to release him, but he ended up tipping over again, so he clung to his shoulder. Now, to add onto the embarassment, he apparently wasn't skilled at flying yet...

During all this, Eevee had been hiding out in his trench coat, which was buttoned and a safe hiding place. Unless he somehow fell out the bottom... But how Nero was, Raffy was content. He was soon joined by Natu. The little bird just didn't have the endurance for the rough winds up above; he could be picked up and blown far away before anyone noticed! "Na..." he cooed, getting comfy as well. It was warm, near Nero's stomach, pressed between the two boys.

And lastly, Banshee. She followed along behind them, not flying nearly as fast, but fast enough. She, of course, didn't have a huge party to carry... She caught up with them while they swooped low to catch Quagsire, and she flew toward them, wondering despite herself if everyone was alright... if Matt and his pokemon were ok.

[Matt]

"Heh, told you to hold on, didn't I?" He knew how uncmfortable hugging a quite strange boy could be. He'd done it before. And, well... it's akward for sure. "Heh, we'll be out of here in just a few minutes. Just enjoy the ride until then, alright?"
Quagsire looked in a half-daze. Had he reaally just fallen? Gah, to be a klutz in this family surely got one in trouble. He merely sighed, and tried to enjoy the rest of his ride.
Umbreon shook her head. Oh boy, if she could count the number of times Quagsire had done something klutzy and messed it up... And lookit that Houndoom girl... trying to show off, maybe? trying to prove she was better than Umbreon? Pfft.
Espeon clambered happily into Matt's lap. There, she yawned loudly and began to nap. It was nice to nap, especially after the little ordeal. And so, the sunny Pokémon napped in the sunlight as the nocturnal Eeve-loution stayed awake. How ironic.
Furret shook his head. He'd been watching Nero, and seeing him act oddly. Why did humans do that anyway? Refuse to show what they thought. He was obviously umcomfortable holding Matt, yes? For whatever reason that may be... Furret could sure talk like a human, but he didn't understand a lick of what they said.
Quilava finally spoke up for thefirst time in a while, "Quu." she looked down at the snow covered mountains beneath her. They were almost to the edge of the mountain, and the beginning of the shoreline. She didn't look forward to the water...
"Aauua." Flygon cooed, happily darting about. Yep, there was the bug in her, hovering a bit upwards, and then down in the middle of her flight. She was an odd one alright.

[Nero]

Nero murmured an affirmative. He wasn't that good at following directions, being told what to do, and such- as Matt would soon find out, if he stayed with him long enough. He kept his grip firm, but loose. A part of him liked the contact, but another part of him was freaked out, so the two were at war with each other. The uncomfortable side was winning, as it had the wind and the height and everything else that made the situation quite odd on its side. Nero kept his gaze down, watching the spiraling ground beneath him. He liked heights alright- or else Matt would have known about it by now - and he was watching the tree tops blend together. He looked up when he realized the patterns below were changing, giving way to the beach. He was suddenly excited to get on with the journey, though he wasn't exactly fond of the beach...

Raffy peeked his head out of Nero's coat, looking around. "Vee?" he called, looking around. Things had quieted, and Eevee had just woken up from a quick little nap. He wagged his tail, which tickled Aladdin, who was still underneath, into sneezing. It was a tiny little sneeze, but the beak was quite sharp, and it jabbed Nero right in the stomach, making him gasp. But then Natu settled back down.

Chrono, as well as Quilava, wasn't looking forward much to the shore. He didn't like water much...what good was it to him? He couldn't go in, least his tail burn out- which would take his life with it... He would certainly not mind being let down from this flying creature! He didn't like being so high up, with so little to hang on to...

Banshee flew near them, not trying to show off. She had been genuinely worried, and even at this very moment, she scolded herself for it. Why worry about these people? They had their own, other pokemon to care for... With that thought, she flew on, beating them to the next destination.