[attr="class","aurelie"]

[attr="class","aurelie_body"]"Whoa! Hey!" Aurelie couldn't help exclaiming as her Salamence, in the midst of course-correcting, lurched in mid-air right into the path of a beautiful Altaria with a rider astride it. It was a young man with a pair of goggles over his eyes, looking like an experienced flyer—and most likely a member of the League. Even with the goggles hiding half his face, she got the distinct impression that he wasn't quite comfortable around her, or certain who or what she was.

His question almost made Aurelie laugh aloud, which would probably have been an unwise response. Who would answer "foe"? she wondered. Actually... Images of the fiercer, more aggressive Rockets flashed through her mind's eye. Maybe some people would. But...not me.

She could see the man looking askance at the map in her hand, though, which did strike a sharp contrast with the Rotom-powered phone helping him survey the ground below. So, "friend" probably wouldn't be a very believable answer. Or at least, "friend" alone wouldn't be.

She cleared her throat and called out in response, putting a nervous hesitation in her voice, "Umm...friend? I think?"

With perfect truth, she added, "I mean, I'm not looking to fight anyone, if that's what you mean. I was...I was..." She tried to recall the plight of the civilians embroiled in the middle of the mounting conflict between Rocket and the League.

Her confidence and duplicity growing, Aurelie went on, "I was just trying to travel to Dewford, and all of a sudden this island just appeared out of the sea! And then all this fighting started and..." She didn't have to feign a shudder. "I thought if I took to the air, I could get away from it all more easily."

Was she talking too much? Should she shut up now? Was her story believable? Did it at least explain the hand-drawn map she was holding? Behind her sunglasses, Aurelie scanned the man's face for clues, trying to read his expression or reactions.

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[attr="class","aurelie"]

[attr="class","aurelie_body"]Aurelie gulped as the goggles-wearing young man atop the Altaria acknowledged the cliched nature of his first question with a friendly laugh. Honestly, it hadn't been that bad a question, she reflected. At least it asks the important stuff, and it's certainly a classic line! Maybe I'll use it myself at some point.

Then the young man promptly skewered her further untruths with equal friendliness and good cheer. Not to mention excellent logic. He was absolutely right that, if she were on her way to Dewford, she was miles out of her way and shouldn't object at all to a Ranger escort to her destination.

Unfortunately, Aurelie absolutely did object. After all, she wasn't at all interested in actually going to Dewford. Her assignment had been to map the League's supply lines, and now this polite, perceptive young man was in her way. And that broad, knowing smile of his made her feel he knew exactly what she was thinking, which only made it worse.

"Ummm," she stammered, looking about herself but trying to keep her movements casual and natural-looking. "That's very kind of you, but actually, you know, now that you've pointed out the route to Dewford..."

She leaned forward and nudged her Salamence to swing around to face the direction he'd indicated to the town. "I think it's quite all right if I just head there by myself. I think I really did just get turned around, so it helps a lot just knowing the right way to go.

"So, please," Aurelie went on, waving her hand in a gesture that hopefully conveyed a feeling of Don't worry! I'll be fine!, "there's no need for you to go out of your way for my sake! I'll just be on my way now to Dewford Town, like I planned. Thank you so much for your help, sir!"

Aurelie gently tapped her heels into her Salamence's sides, prompting it to start flying off. She fervently hoped the young man would just let her leave and not pursue her—or the overall matter of her purpose or presence in the air—any further. Especially given her larger Salamence's more sluggish mobility in the air, she had a strong feeling that him letting her depart peacefully would be the best outcome for her.

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[attr="class","aurelie"]

[attr="class","aurelie_body"]Aurelie grew increasingly frustrated as the polite, persistent, and terribly insistent young man kept following her atop his Altaria, telling her that he wouldn't want her to get turned around again. Arceus, why won't he just leave me alone? she complained internally. I'm not fighting anyone! I'm not attacking anything! I just want to draw a map!

She didn't even know how valuable her probably-blurry aerial photos on her phone would be, let alone her silly hand-drawn map. But it wasn't like this League trainer could read her mind and perceive her relatively peaceful intentions. And even if he could, he might still think the information too dangerous to pass on to Rocket.

So, Aurelie silently weighed her options. No matter how she tried to nudge her Salamence away or put a little distance between them, the more agile, maneuverable Altaria easily kept pace with her larger and heavier Pokemon. Outrunning or outflying the League trainer seemed unlikely.

As for fighting... Aurelie gulped. On the ground, she might've been willing, especially if it came down to hand-to-hand combat between the trainers themselves. But in the air? Aurelie barely knew what she was doing up here!

Instead, she did the only thing she could think of. Seemingly artlessly, Aurelie "bumped" her hand while reaching to pat her Salamence's neck and dropped her map. It fluttered free from her fingers with a loud rustle and flew away into the air in spiraling circles, the red X's and squares standing out vividly against the thin white paper.

"Oh no!" she cried out loudly, pointing toward her map and directing the young man's attention toward it. "My map! I was trying to chart a course to Dewford Town with it! Oh, Arceus!"

At least, Aurelie didn't have to feign the worry and anxiety in her voice. Losing the map would be a shame, but it was hand-drawn and not particularly complex, after all. Her aerial photos on her phone would just have to do.

When she guessed that the League trainer had at least glanced away from her, Aurelie then directed her Salamence even further skyward. "Let's try FLY," she told it in a quiet whisper. "Maybe they won't be able to catch up to us then!"

Unfurling its massive wings to their fullest, the draconic Pokemon obligingly launched itself higher into the air and out of sight amid the clouds with surprising speed and grace. The air whistled past as they soared upward exhilaratingly quickly. Now, she'd just left the League trainer with the choice to either pursue her or chase down the map she was drawing. If they were frozen with indecision long enough, maybe they wouldn't be able to catch either of them!

After reaching the apex of their climb, Aurelie and her Salamence would then plummet downward in a ground-scorching dive. And she had some ideas about where they'd be aiming with their dive...including, gulp. that ominous bank of interdream mist she spied some distance ahead along the ground. The prospect of entering the mist frankly scared Aurelie, but that meant it might scare off the League trainer as well...

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[attr="class","aurelie"]

[attr="class","aurelie_body"]For a brief, thrilling moment, Aurelie thought she might've gotten away with—well, with her getaway. She thought she heard the League trainer swear, before her Salamence tucked its wings back and dove downward toward the ground, hurtling earthward at dizzying speed. The ground came rushing up at her, and she didn't know whether to scream in fear or laugh aloud with elation.

The roar of the wind rushing past thundered in Aurelie's ears, drowning out any other words or sounds the man in the goggles made. It felt like being in the middle of a hurricane. I really need more flying practice! she thought, lowering herself against her Salamence's neck and clinging to it for dear life.

Even through the excitement and novelty, though, she felt a stab of alarm when the Salamence looked back behind it and suddenly ducked. A moment later, Aurelie looked back too—and almost wished she hadn't.

The shimmering pink beam of a MOONBLAST shot toward them. Instinctively, Aurelie urged the Salamence to swerve hard right. Flapping its wings with a mighty effort, the Salamence did its best to lumber out of the way and dodge the MOONBLAST.

But it couldn't get out of the way entirely. One part of its tail was still caught in the lunar blast of energy, and the Salamence roared with pain. To Aurelie's horror, her hurt Pokemon unthinkingly writhed and thrashed about—in mid-air. Suddenly, she and the Salamence went from the swift but controlled dive to wildly, turbulently tumbling end-over-end deep into the heart of the mist below, where it was swirling and coalescing the thickest.

"Oh, Arceus! No!" Aurelie cried out, filled now purely with terror. She couldn't help envisioning both of them smashing face-first into the earth at sixty miles an hour. "Help! Please, please, no, no, no, no..."

As if responding to the panic in her voice, the Salamence bravely managed to snap its wings wide at the last second, like opening a parachute. Aurelie could feel every muscle in its body straining against the wind resistance. The maneuver worked, abruptly dumping the Salamence's speed and slowing their descent just enough.

Together, they fell to earth with an excruciating, bone-jarring—but thankfully non-lethal—impact. The Salamence was stricken unconscious immediately, and Aurelie was thrown hard against its neck, nearly knocking her out too. The mist closed over them, obscuring the sky and hiding them within its purplish-pink tendrils.

Aurelie gritted her teeth and fought for consciousness. If the League trainer chose to follow them into the mist, she'd be a sitting duck. But the mist was shrouding them from view, and it was full of dangers of its own...

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