After Victor had slid off, Din returned the shoulder pat with a gentle nose bump of affection if he allowed it. "No, really, you handled her well!" Josh insisted. It was the truth. Traveling at such speeds was at first intimidating, but ever so rewarding. Riding on a Pokémon was arguably simpler than driving a car, and piloting a flying Pokémon was much easier than flying an aircraft. It was the primary reason travel by flying Pokémon was so popular in Hoenn.

Nothing too fast? That put a lot of the Gym Leader's favorites out of the question. Resheph, as sweet as she was, flew as fast as a purple comet mid-Extreme Speed. Bladestorm was a no-go, loving to coast off the momentum of a dive. Verte, being a Flygon, might make Victor uncomfortable with his vibrations. He wished Valoo were still around; the Drampa would have been perfect for calming the nerves of first-time Pokémon pilots. Sadly, he was on the other side of The Border now.

The Gym Leader's eyes surveyed the skies above his property, ultimately whistling in the direction of a Kilowattrel and Pidgeot. The birds responded to his call and landed, the impressive specimens a little taller than Josh was. "These two are Pazuzu and Etali," he introduced the saddled flying-types, the empty cocoons above their seats perhaps reassuring Victor of the safety measures he took with all his partners. "Pazuzu was the first Pokémon I caught on my own."

The nerves did not go unnoticed, either. "If you're having second thoughts, we can always fly when you're ready to."

Victor's question was one that flustered Josh a little. Though both birds were controllable, they were also fast. They weren't his Extreme Speeding Pokémon, like Tiamat the Dragonite, but there was no getting around flying Pokémon being fast. Pidgeot were capable of incredible speed, whether diving or not, and Etali knowing how to use Electro Ball was an indicator of the kind of speed his Kilowattrel was capable of. "It's... hard to say. Pazuzu's a bit bigger but also a bit faster." And by a bit bigger, it was almost unnoticeable without measuring tape. Both were close to a foot taller than the Gym Leader himself. "You see, that's one of the things with flying Pokémon. Not many can hover. There's a minimum speed most flying Pokémon have to go before their wings can sustain them. Pazuzu's probably easier for an inexperienced pilot to learn with, but Etali is fine if you're really concerned about going too fast."

Whichever Victor chose, Josh would climb aboard the other and show him how the cocoon saddles worked. When properly zipped up, it would wrap around the riders' waist and upper legs, while still giving them the freedom of movement to control speed with leg pressure. They were an important part of riding flying Pokémon safely. "It's not dissimilar in concept to a seat belt on an airplane."

Once both were ready to go, the Gym Leader brought up one more important point. "Flying adds the third dimension, too. So now in addition to using the reins to control direction, you can--" The roar of a Garchomp's bio-thrusters, sounding like jet engines but not quite so loud, drowned out all other noise above the Racing Grounds. "Not now, Alphamax," Josh thought as the dragon zoomed off. "Sorry about that; Alphamax hasn't been able to fly freely like that in a bit. As I was saying, you can use the reins to not only control direction, but control altitude. Think of the reins like cords attached to a joystick on your mount's halters. If you pull back on them, you'll climb. If you lower tension on them, you'll descend. Simple enough?"

"As fast as Pidgeot are, you'll find them to be about as standard as it gets for a flying Pokémon," Josh assured Victor as both birds turned toward the open sky above the Gym grounds. "The takeoff and landing are probably the hardest parts on you physically, but it's mostly your Pokémon handling them."

The two birds spread their giant wings wide before flapping them vertically with great strength, the grass around and beneath them blown sideways but not completely uprooted. With a leap and some jarring wingbeats, the two birds were in the air, gaining altitude. The two got a breathtaking look at Mauville's top level from above. People, Pokémon, and cars looked like toys from above. The view was one Josh commonly got when flying from place to place, but it could have been something unforgettable to Victor.

Josh kept Etali as close to Pazuzu as possible while still giving the normal-type plenty of airspace to maneuver. Once they were at altitude, the Pidgeot relinquished full control to Victor. He would have command over the aerial predator's speed, pitch, and yaw in his hands grasping the reins. The Gym Leader would do his best to follow the student -- and intervene if something went wrong. That was what his Dragonair was for.

Teaching skittish first-time pilots was not uncommon for the Gym Leader. Following the Pidgeot's swift flight, Josh felt his gut rise when Etali followed Pazuzu's roller coaster dive down and up. Josh even let out a whoop as he felt the g-forces slam his insides downward. Though Victor's two screams were at first concerning, once he had composed himself, Josh felt there was nothing to be alarmed about. Pidgeot was about as basic as flying got. A bit faster than most birds, but it was among the easiest to control.

As scared as Victor was of the higher speed compared to land travel, it was a reality of flying on a bird Pokémon. For ones that could not hover, avoiding an aerodynamic stall was one of the utmost importances. Less speed meant less lift around the bird's wings. The slower a bird flew, the harder it had to work to stay in the air.

As Victor glanced back, Josh would take his right hand off Etali's reins long enough to give the guest rider a thumbs-up. Though the wind prevented them from talking to one another clearly, it was clear from the Gym Leader's face that the student was doing well.

With Victor leading the way down, Josh could tell the student was ready to land. The lack of verbal communication made him consider investing in headsets beneath the helmets so they could talk to one another. He would just have to come up with a solution to the issue of the winds roaring around them.

Once they were in low flight above the Gym, the Leader raised a hand, prompting Pazuzu to ignore Victor's orders and maintain a circular holding pattern above the Gym's Main Sector. He hoped his friend was paying attention; botched landings were not pleasant for the body.

Josh guided his Kilowattrel straight ahead, lining up with the green surrounding one of his courses. He slowly guided Etali to the ground. When it looked like he was going to scrape the dirt with his talons, the Gym Leader pulled back sharply on the reins, his body lurching forward as the electric bird killed most of his momentum with powerful horizontal beats of his wings. The yellow and black avian quickly shifted to vertical wingbeats, sending blades of grass blowing every which way as he touched down. He waved for Victor to do the same.

Josh watched Victor land the Pidgeot, taking mental note of his form. While it wasn't as refined as the Gym Leader's, the basics were there. Pazuzu was also slightly larger, meaning there was more momentum to halt, which could have made him experience greater forces during the landing. Either way, he was on land again. The Gym Leader dismounted Etali and would help Victor get off Pazuzu if he needed help.

"Sounded like you had fun!" Josh chirped, excited to see a new pilot doing so well. "There's nothing like flying on a Pokémon, is there? The freedom you get from it is... liberating. With a reliable land, sea, and sky Pokémon you can hop on, there's nowhere in Hoenn you can't go. Once you have your own Pokémon you can fly on, you'll love every bit of it."

While he wasn't sure, Victor looked tired. Once he came off the adrenaline high that obviously fueled him, he might collapse on the spot. "Once you've got the hang of controlling Jaakko and whatever flying-type you catch, I'm sure you'll be ready for a 200 or even a 300 level class to learn more advanced concepts. Any questions I can answer?"