Darkest Day (Pokémon Sw/Sh fanfic - rewrite available and in progress)

For the Love of Arceus, Hop...

A couple days passed since the three's trip to the Wild Area. Eliana had decided to stay at the Budew Inn back in Motostoke, and Raihan had gone back to his gym. Leon was now on his way to find Hop. It shouldn't be hard, with how easily distracted his brother was. He might not even have left Wedgehurst yet.

So that was the first place Leon looked, getting there by the aid of Charizard. The dragon was very strong for his size, able to lift two grown men during flight and carry them for long periods of time. And his internal fire was enough to keep Leon warm as they shot through the sky at high speeds. Leon never got tired of flying on Charizard. He loved the way the wind whipped his face, and it was surprisingly relaxing.

It wasn't so relaxing when Charizard nearly ran head-first into a Corviknight.

The large bird squawked in surprise, diving downwards before it was hit. Charizard stopped suddenly, nearly flinging Leon forwards. He looked down at the Corviknight, growling an apology before going on his way again. But the steel-type wasn't impressed. It catapulted into the dragon, its sharp metal feathers cutting through his thick scales. The blow was enough to make Charizard spin mid-air, forcing Leon to wrap his arms around his pokémon's neck so he wouldn't fall off.

This Corviknight wasn't going to give up. The scary bit about it was that it was more strong-looking than a normal Corviknight would be. It was even larger than the others, its red eyes glowing fiercely against its smooth black feathers.

"Fly, Charizard!" Leon shouted. "Fly!"

Charizard roared in reply, flapping his wings so hard that the dragon felt like they would fall off. The Corviknight kept at close contact with them still, flying faster with ease.

"Maybe a Flamethrower will teach him a lesson. Wait a moment."

They continued, but the Corviknight was still gaining on them. Leon waited until it banked left so that it was in front of them before he yelled, "Now! Burn it to a crisp!"

Charizard threw a fire so intensely heated that even Leon felt it, and he wasn't even near his mouth. The flame struck the Corviknight, causing the wild pokémon to squeal in agony. Its wings locked, then it fell from the sky as it went unconscious. Leon panicked. That wasn't supposed to happen.

"Grab it before it hits the ground!" he said, his voice shaking with fear that the bird would die as soon as it touched the earth with how high it had fallen from.

The dragon dived straight down without warning, tucking his wings in to gain more speed. Leon tried to get a grip, but his fingers slipped as he went for the horns. Before he knew it, he fell off and was falling as well. Charizard noticed this, yelping before he spread his wings to slow down. He spun to the right, catching Leon and then going back to grab the Corviknight.

Leon was practically shivering out of his own skin. Though it wasn't the first time he had fallen off Charizard during a flight, it was still terrifying to go through. But right now his worries were focused on the falling pokémon instead.

Charizard was getting closer to the Corviknight. He tucked his wings in tighter, even pressing his limbs closer to his body in hopes of gaining more speed. The Corviknight still fell like a ton of bricks (which was really how much it could have weighed) and was getting dangerously close to striking the dirt of a Wooloo pen.

It was only until it was mere feet above ground that Charizard was close enough to fling out its arms and grab it by the underside of its wings. The dragon struck out its own wings, banking upwards so fast that it flattened the grass below him. The nearby Wooloo panicked and fled, rolling away swiftly so they wouldn't be hit. Charizard couldn't control his speed, trying to aim his wings so that he could catch an air current to slow himself. But he still couldn't stop.