Talonflame let out a sigh as she flew across the fire type habitat, the sun beating down on her wings as she flew. Sunny Day was often used across the barren landscape to keep it warm and dry for the fire types, the dryness in turn often attracting many rock and ground types to the arid land as well.

It was quite an interesting place, Talonflame had to admit, but she was starting to lose interest after being here for several days. Yes, she was a fire type... but this just wasn't the place she was meant to be. She had grown up in a forest, lush green trees surrounding her as she flew...

She now was lucky when she was able to find a berry bush in this desert!

But Professor Oak had placed her with the other fire types, and with Ash now gone this was where she'd stay.

Talonflame ruffled her feathers, trying to release some of the heat building up within her. She may have been a fire type, but that didn't mean she enjoyed to be boiling in her own feathers. She looked down at her shadow as she flew over the land, wondering if she should remain a wanderer, or try to battle for her own spot in the fire habitat. It'd be nice to have a place to call her own, but nothing here appealed to her.

Nothing here was worth battling for.

Talonflame went into a gentle dive, spotting a shriveled up bush. She leveled out, talons extended as she landed on one of the thicker limbs. It swayed beneath her weight, but it held her. She ruffled her feathers again, getting settled on the dying bush. If it had once held any berries, then they had been plucked clean a long time ago. Food was a bit hard to come by here– one of the benefits to having a trainer was not having to fight for survival, and she hoped it wouldn't come down to that here.

But hey, she could always snag some food from someone if she really needed to.

The sun continued its climb overhead, and Talonflame closed her eyes. It was quite peaceful here, except for when she stumbled onto someone else's turf. Who knew fire types could be so territorial! And a hit from a rock type hurt... a lot. But outside of a few scuffles it had been quite relaxing here.

And she wanted some action.

She opened a wing, beginning to preen her feathers. Perhaps she could find out where Hawlucha and Noivern had been placed, it'd never hurt to visit her fellow flying types. Hawlucha was a good soul, and Noivern was just adorable. She missed them, it was strange not to have their company constantly like when they were on a journey...

'Hey!' A voice cawed overhead. 'We already agreed that Quick Attack is cheating!'

Talonflame paused, glancing skyward for the owner of the voice. She could make out three shapes speeding over the fire type habitat, weaving in and out of each other. One thin shape was outlined in a silver glow, using a Quick Attack to get ahead of the others.

'That was two races ago!' She called back. 'Last time we said it's fair game as long as we don't use it on each other!'

'But we didn't say that for this race!' The larger Pokemon cried, his black feathers ruffled unhappily.

As the two Pokemon argued with each other the third Pokemon raced forward, his dark blue feathers gleaming in the sunlight. Talonflame watched him in fascination, his build much more sleeker than the other bird Pokemon he was with. The red feathers on his neck gleamed in the sunlight as he sped ahead, leaving the two other Pokemon behind him.

'Hey!' They screamed as they realized how far ahead he was.

The Swellow cracked his beak open in a grin. 'The early bird gets the Wurmple!'

The Staraptor and the Unfezant let out several frustrated caws, but it was quite clear that the Swellow had the edge on them in speed. The Swellow swooped on ahead, glancing back at his friends triumphantly, and then his gaze flickered towards the ground. His dark eyes met Talonflame's, and he suddenly stopped mid-flight, wings flapping wildly.

'Haha!' Staraptor cried, darting past him. 'Take that, Swellow!'

'I found her... Guys! I found Talonflame!' The Swellow cried excitedly, pointing at her with a talon. The Unfezant and Staraptor pulled to a stop, banking about mid-air, looking down at her. Talonflame pulled back uncertainly– and then all three birds dove down towards her.

Talonflame flinched as they landed on the rocky ground, though the three of them seemed unharmed. The Staraptor jumped back as his feet hit the hot rocks, muttering under his breath. The Unfezant and Swellow were watching Talonflame with curious eyes, Unfezant hopping closer to her. Talonflame tensed, unsure of how they recognized her.

'We've been looking everywhere for you!' Unfezant said happily, holding a wing out to her. 'For a time we even wondered if Ash took you to Alola– we just couldn't find you on the ranch!'

Talonflame relaxed in the slightest as Ash was mentioned. 'Oh! You're some of Ash's other flying types!'

Unfezant grinned. 'Indeed! Why are you hanging around here?' She glanced around the barren land. 'I mean... fire type habitat? A bit warm, don't you think?'

'Well... I am a fire type...' Talonflame said, shifting. 'This is where the Professor put me–'

'Wait– you're a fire type?!' Swellow cried, pushing Unfezant aside. 'Awesome!'

'Hey,' Staraptor snapped. 'You know better than to push a lady!'

'Oh, Fez is fine,' Swellow said, not glancing back as Staraptor made his way over to Unfezant, who was pulling herself to her feet. She brushed herself off with a wing, not even looking annoyed, as if she was used to this. She turned back to face Talonflame, eyes gleaming happily.

Talonflame scratched at the branch she was on, not quite sure of what to make of the bickering among them.

'Oh, don't mind the boys,' Unfezant said, stepping in front of Swellow. Talonflame was forced to crane her head down to get a proper look at her, since they were all on the ground. 'It's practically sibling rivalry! I'm Unfezant, it's nice to meet you.'

'...Talonflame...' Talonflame said uncertainly. 'It's nice to meet you as well, though I must ask, what brings you to the fire type habitat?'

'Racing, of course!' Staraptor said, puffing out his chest. 'We race all across the ranch! Keep an eye on everything while we're at it too, but I can't deny the thrill!'

'Racing?' Talonflame asked, perking up a bit. She had been in a few races and relays, and she had always enjoyed them.

'And we want you to join us!' Swellow said, once again pushing Unfezant aside, looking up at Talonflame. 'Sometimes other Pokemon will race with us– but it's kind of a tradition at this point to make Ash's birds a permanent racer! Noctowl is the only one who has said no so far though!' He scanned Talonflame with a critical eye. 'You better not say no though– you're clearly fast. I need better competition.'

'Hey!' Staraptor and Unfezant cried at the same time.

Swellow waved a wing in dismissal. 'I'm not saying you're bad racers– we just need something new to spice it up!' He watched Talonflame. 'So what do you say, fire type? Up for a good challenge?'

If Talonflame could have smiled, she would have. 'Well, Ash just happened to have entered me in a race before, and I found it quite enjoyable– so count me in!'

Yes, this was just what Talonflame wanted.

The wind blowing against her feathers, the landscape a mere blur below her, the tension of competition running through her veins.

'Yah-hoo!' Swellow cried, flaring open his wings to catch an updraft. Moments into the race, and he was already taking the lead. Talonflame glanced behind her, catching a glimpse of black and gray as Staraptor and Unfezant flew after them. She wasn't that far ahead of them, and Talonflame didn't want to lose her edge.

Ash's other bird Pokemon... she had seen them when Ash had introduced all of his other Pokemon. She hadn't been aware of how close they all were though, and she was determined not to make a fool of herself. She resisted the urge to go into a Flame Charge to increase her speed– she wanted to win this fair and square.

They had restarted their race in the fire type habitat so Talonflame could join them, and they were going to race to the marshes. The thing was Talonflame had no idea where the marshes were– she knew the general direction of the lab, but that was it when it came to the ranch. That was the only reason she wasn't pressing herself to pass Swellow's speed quite yet, since he was her only chance of finding the finish line.

Besides, that'd give her the element of surprise– not showing her true speed until the very end.

Talonflame angled her wings as she noticed Swellow rising higher in the sky, and followed him up. He glanced back at her, a frown in his eyes. They both knew what she was doing by tailing right behind him– she could only guess that they had all been wild Pokemon at one point. Flying in a V-pattern was an advantage in any situation except for when you were the leader– able to catch the draft from the bird in front of you to help you fly.

Just another way to save energy until the finish line was in sight.

Swellow's eyes started to gleam– and he went into a sudden dive. One moment he was there, and the next he was a bullet below her. Talonflame pulled back in surprise, Staraptor and Unfezant using the opportunity to bolt forward. Swellow was dancing below them, his long tail feathers helping him make the sharpest of turns.

The next thing Talonflame knew the others had overtaken her– and Swellow bolted back to the front of the race.

Talonflame gritted her beak together, telling herself this was fine. She wasn't wasting her energy right now, it was best if she lingered back. In fact... this was what she wanted. She ruffled her feathers, releasing the heat trapped within them. Not only was this cooling her off, the hot air was now under her wings, helping her rise higher into the air. Swellow had used diving to his own advantage, and she'd do the same.

Talonflame focused on gliding far above the rest of the birds– carefully maneuvering herself so her shadow fell across them. She loved the way their wings would tense up, and then they'd quickly put on a burst of speed, afraid of someone catching up. They were slowly wearing themselves down, and she was only saving energy.

Swellow remained in the lead for the most part, though Staraptor did gain on him a few times. If this were a battle Talonflame would have to guess that Staraptor's muscular body would give him the edge, but in a race of speed Swellow's slender body was all he needed.

The landscape below them had been forest for sometime now, but Talonflame was starting to make out more rivers and lakes peering through the treetops. Some looked to be natural, while others were clearly manmade. Either way, this was clearly the place to be for water types.

'Marshes aren't far now!' Unfezant called. 'The change in the tree line marks where this race finishes!'

Talonflame glued her eyes dead ahead, looking for where Unfezant had pointed out. The trees seemed to become even thinner and darker, though she couldn't quite make out what the ground would look like at this distance. But still the darker trees were clearly what Unfezant had spoken of– the finish line.

Talonflame's gaze returned to the bird Pokemon below, watching as each of their eyes locked ahead, wings flapping harder as they prepared for the final stretch of the race. Talonflame's eyes gleamed– time to show them just how fast she was.

She shifted her wings, rapidly beating them against the air, forcing herself to climb even higher into the sky The entire ranch was spread out below her, miles of untouched land. It was tempting to use Flame Charge to give her an extra boost, but she simply forced her wings to keep carrying her higher.

Finally she leveled out, a mere speck in the sky. She then tucked in her wings as she rushed into a dive.

Her heart hammered with the thrill, the wind speeding by her feathers as she rushed straight towards the ground. The world around her became a blur, smoke curling from the tips of her feathers as the heat was torn from her. Talonflame slowly pulled her wings away from herself, the ground becoming closer and closer–

Her wings flared open, catching her from her dive, her speed sending her barreling forward as she skimmed along the trees. Cries of surprise became distant as she zipped past her fellow birds, a mere bullet as she rocketed towards the marshlands. A triumphant screech escaped her as she rushed past the finish line.

She opened her wings farther, slowly trying to come to a stop from her rushing flight. The air was humid as she flew over the wetlands of the ranch, an unpleasant feeling to the fire type as she glanced down at the swampy habitat. She banked about, ash and cinders in her feathers as she watched the other three flying types cross over into the marsh. She ruffled her feathers nervously, hoping that this win wouldn't keep her from future races. Ash's other Pokemon were gliding towards her, much slower than when they had been racing.

But before Talonflame could even open her beak, a powerful Hydro Pump hit her.

The blast of water knocked her from her flight, the fire type letting out a cry of pain from the water type move. She felt herself falling, the sensation nothing like her speeding dive. She twisted around in the air, opening her wings, but her feathers were drenched with water. She flapped them wildly, trying to pull herself out of her fall, but the ground was rushing up to meet her–

A flash of blue darted above her, Swellow glowing with a Quick Attack as he raced towards her. Despite being smaller in stature he showed no hesitation with grabbing her mid-fall, talons digging into the base of her wings in an attempt to keep them both in the air.

It wasn't enough to keep them in flight, but Swellow's rescue was enough to keep her from crashing into the swamp. They awkwardly flittered towards the ground, mud coating their feathers as they sank into the soft earth, both of them huffing.

'Mwahaha!' A deep laugh croaked from deeper in the marsh, and the two birds looked about uncertainly. Staraptor and Unfezant had caught up to them, flying overhead. From the shadows of the trees Talonflame could make out small blue shapes slowly surrounding them, a much larger figure soon joining them.

'Poliwags?' Swellow scoffed when he made out the Pokemon. 'Really?'

'Our land!' One of them cried, its high pitched voice making it clear it wasn't the one who had laughed. 'Leave this place, or face the wrath of the Swamp Lord!'

The large figure shifted in the shadows, that deep laugh echoing between the trees once more. Staraptor and Unfezant landed on a branch, and the Poliwags pulled back uncertainly at the sight of all the powerful Pokemon. They glanced back at the silhouette Talonflame could only assume to be the "Swamp Lord", who was drawing back into the shadows.

'Leave this place!' Another Poliwag cried in a high voice. 'You have been warned!

Talonflame could only blink as they dove into the murky water one by one– the water types swimming away without another word. She staggered forward a few feet, but she was coated in thick mud. She doubted that she'd be flying with this stuff on her, and she glanced at Swellow, who was no better off.

'Are you two okay?' Unfezant called nervously, while Staraptor stared at the shadows at where the figure had been.

'By Dialga's diamonds...' He muttered. 'We just saw Palpitoad... we actually saw the Palpitoad...'

'Um... who?' Talonflame asked, flapping her wings in an attempt to get the mud off from her.

'Ash's Palpitoad,' Swellow said, staring at the shadows as well. 'He's the Pokemon we never see, he usually stays deep in the marshes...' He glanced at Talonflame. 'You just took an attack from the Palpitoad.'

'He's evil,' Unfezant said casually. 'Are you two okay?'

'Um...' Talonflame glanced away. 'I'm not hurt...'

'Palpitoad isn't evil,' Swellow snorted. 'He's one of Ash's Pokemon! Just like us!'

Swellow tried to fly away, but being covered in mud he was unable too. He let out a small grumble, dragging himself towards a half-submerged log. Talonflame followed after him, shivering with each step she took. The feel of the mud was horrible, slimy and wet, making her feathers soggy. Its slimy chill only made it worse for the fire type, and she quickly scampered onto the log with Swellow.

Unfezant fluttered down onto the log next to them. 'Oh dear, you guys are really covered, aren't you?'

'I just preened this morning!' Swellow cried.

'You preen every morning,' Staraptor remarked, and Swellow let out a huff, looking away.

'I'm sorry...' Talonflame muttered, glancing down, watching the mud drip from her feathers.

'Sorry?' Swellow said with a caw. 'What are you apologizing for? This mud isn't your fault! Besides, even if it was, that race definitely made up for it!' His eyes shone. 'That was epic– we haven't had an ending to a race like that in forever! One second I'm winning like, like usual, then suddenly– blam! You're zipping by like a jet!'

'Whaddya mean like usual?!' Staraptor cried from up in the tree, ruffling his feathers.

'Ignore them,' Unfezant said as the two males started bickering about winning streaks. 'And don't worry about your feathers, we have a wonderful little stream back at the roost that will have you looking perfect in no time.'

Despite the kindness Ash's other flyers had shown her, and the pride she had felt from winning the race, Talonflame couldn't help but feel slightly jealous when she saw the place they called home.

It was in the forest not far from the lab, within a towering oak tree. It wasn't too hard to see why Ash's Pokemon had claimed it as their home– countless limbs branching out, the thick boughs able to support the powerful Pokemon with ease. Berries grew plentifully around it and the surrounding trees, providing more than enough to eat.

The stream Unfezant had promised babbled from a spring, the water winding into a small and still pool, before continuing on into the forest. And even though normally jumping into a body of water sounded horrible, Talonflame had been more than willing to slip into the pond to wash off, her feathers finally clean from the sickening mud. And even if she had been wet and cold afterwards, sitting in the sun had been quite relaxing.

Unfezant clearly seemed to be glad to have some female company– chattering away to Talonflame as she soaked up the rays. The fire type was grateful for this, having felt dreadfully lonely ever since Ash had left for Alola. Swellow kept interjecting about Talonflame's "blazing finished", as he liked to call it, even though she hadn't even used any of her flames. He was up high in the tree, carefully cleaning each feather even though the mud had long been cleared away.

'Well, I say we allow Quick Attack in the next race!' Staraptor declared, sitting on one of the lower branches.

Unfezant rolled her eyes. 'Oh, so when I use Quick Attack it isn't allowed, but now that you got more competition it is?'

'We agreed no Quick Attacks at the time– therefore you were cheating,' Staraptor replied.

'Cheating? You want to talk about cheating, birdbrain? I have a whole list of all the times you've cheated...' Unfezant began.

Talonflame sighed, spreading her wings out on the rock she was resting on. The sun was starting to dip in the sky, and she knew it would only be a matter of time before she had to return to the fire type habitat. She knew she should leave now, find a place to sleep before it was dark, but she didn't want to leave her new friends...

'Why don't we ever see you in the field, Talonflame?' Staraptor asked.

'Yeah!' Swellow said. 'We always look there for you, but you never see you! Do you hunt in the fire type habitat, it never seems like there's much there...?'

'Um, that's where I've been spending all my time,' Talonflame said, shifting. 'And what do you mean by 'the field'...?'

'You don't know about the field? By the lab?' Unfezant said, pulling back. 'Dear, that's where Professor Oak serves us lunch everyday! High noon for Ash's Pokemon, didn't the Professor tell you that?'

Talonflame blinked. 'Um, no... nobody did...'

Lunch was served everyday? She had been scavenging for food ever since she had been placed in the fire type habitat, where there was barely anything. Her stomach sank with the realization she could have been having actually meals this entire time, and felt ashamed that she had thought Ash had left her somewhere where she had to fend for herself.

'Oh, you poor dear!' Unfezant exclaimed. 'I heard the fire types here can be fairly hostile, you must have had been dealing with them this whole time.'

She forced herself to look unfazed. 'Heh, well, it's a good thing I know now...' She fluffed up her feathers. 'And I'll get to see you guys more often as well, seeing you guys at lunch and stuff...'

The others looked startled at this– Swellow freezing up as he preened, whipping his gaze down towards her. 'Wait. You mean you won't be staying here? All of the racers live at the roost!'

'Yeah!' Staraptor cried. 'Most of our races start here, you can't leave!'

'Boys!' Unfezant snapped. 'If Talonflame would rather be at the fire type habitat then that's her choice! She's a fire type after all, and is probably much more comfortable there than here!' Unfezant's gaze softened as she turned back towards her. 'Just ignore them, dear. You're always free to race with us, even if you don't live at the roost.'

Talonflame hesitated. 'You mean you'd let me nest here...? B-but the Professor put me with the other fire types–'

'That doesn't mean you have to stay there,' Staraptor said.

Talonflame looked away, embarrassment rushing through her as she realized just how little she knew about the lab. Things that she should apparently know. Her talons dug into the rock, wishing she could just melt away. She thought she had been making the lab her home, but yet in reality she hadn't known a thing about this place. She heard the fluttering of wings, and someone landed next to her. She looked up to see Swellow perched on the rock, looking down at her.

'Well?' Swellow asked, raising an eye ridge. 'Are you going to stay here at the roost or not?'

In this wonderful forest? With this beautiful tree and food and Pokemon that weren't trying to burn her feathers off?

'...If you have room for another pair of wings, then I'd love to stay here,' Talonflame said. 'I'm not going to lie... the fire type habitat is horrible. I hate it so much.'

There was a smile shining in Unfezant's eye. 'Finally, there's another girl around here.'

Staraptor ruffled his feathers proudly. 'Our flock continues to grow!'

'It'd grow some more if you'd two just have a clutch of eggs,' Swellow said casually, causing the two birds to freeze up in horror. They stared at Swellow, then glanced at each other, swiftly turning away.

'What?!' They cried at the same time, causing Swellow to bite back a laugh.

'I'm not interested in birdbrain over there!' Unfezant cried, flapping her wings. 'He wouldn't know how to tell an egg from a rock!'

'You shouldn't talk about a lady like that, Swellow!'

'Oh– stop acting like a gentleman, you're nothing but a ruffian!'

'Get a nest you two,' Swellow said– which only resulted in another burst of protests from the two birds. This time Talonflame had to keep herself from laughing, finding it hilarious that Unfezant was loosing her calm attitude, considering she had seemed the most level headed of the bunch. Swellow glanced at her, beak cracked part way open in a bird-grin. 'It's so easy to rile them up.'

'I can see,' Talonflame said.

Swellow opened his wings. 'Come on, I'll show you a good branch you can roost on. It gets good sun in the morning and at night, and I think you'd like that as a fire type and all. And it's not far from where Unfezant sleeps, so you guys can talk about... I dunno. Whatever girls talk about.'

He swooped up into the tree, and Talonflame spread her wings to follow after him– Unfezant and Staraptor still bickering below them.

'We discuss nest keeping and the best way to preen feathers,' Talonflame replied, and Swellow threw her a slightly puzzled look.

'...Really?'

'Yes. Willow branches are the best for nests, gentle on the young hatchlings' feet and–' She couldn't hold back her laugh any longer when Swellow looked even more confused. 'Yes, of course I'm kidding!'

'Oh...' Swellow said. 'That's too bad, I would have liked to join you guys if you really were going to talk about preening,' He landed on a branch, holding his head high. 'I'm the best presenter in this forest, after all.'

She landed next to him. '...There's some mud on your back.'

'What?!' Swellow let out a shriek that would have made a Loudred jealous, leaping back. 'But I thought I got it all off! I got it all off–'

'I was joking,' Talonflame said. 'Your feathers look just fine. Is this the branch you wanted to show me?'

'Oh, thank Rayquaza...' Swellow muttered. 'Um– yeah! It is! See, the sun shines right here at sunset, so you can soak up all the rays or whatever you fire types do.'

'It's grass types that need the sun.'

'Same difference!' Swellow said, dismissing it with a wave of his wing. 'But no one has claimed this as their roost yet, so you can if you'd like.'

Talonflame studied it, the branch was wide with plenty of room for her to land and take off. There wasn't too much greenery, so if she gave off a few embers it wouldn't be the end of the world. The setting sun felt great on her feathers, and the view was absolutely beautiful– the forest sprawling out around the tree. And after having spent so much time in the rocky fire type habitat...

'It's perfect,' Talonflame said.

Swellow held his head up. 'Perfect! I'm going to go split up the happy couple before they peck each other's eyes out– I'll talk to you later,' He dove off of the branch, swooping towards Staraptor and Unfezant. 'Glad you decided to join the flock!'

Talonflame watched as he landed between the two bickering flying types, spreading his wings out to push them apart. He said something to them– which turned their bickering towards him instead. Poor Swellow was forced to abandon his peace mission, weaving between several branches to keep them from chasing after him. Talonflame clicked her beak, glancing around one more time. Ash had several flying types on his team when they went through Kalos, but she wouldn't have called it a flock... To be among birds again, in a forest with the sun shining down... it was nice. It was a feeling she had nearly forgotten about.

'Me too,' Talonflame whispered in reply to Swellow's words. 'Me too.'