Just watching Charm dance through the sky was glorious. He didn’t go far, merely soar around the valley we had taken shelter in, making sure he actually knew how to use those big, flappy wings. I noticed that he had to bank sharply a few times, maybe because he was caught off-guard by sudden gusts of wind, but from what I could see from the ground, he seemed to be a natural flyer. I had no idea how that actually worked, given that he had spent so very little time having wings so far, but I simply chalked it up to some sort of innate knowledge. Or it might be similar to the way some Pokémon could easily learn certain moves after their evolution, even without specifically training them.

The whole evolution-business felt somewhat strange to me, at least if I imagined going through something like that myself. How would I feel if I suddenly, within the frame of about a minute, changed from my current form into something radically different? For Vio, it was a change akin to several years of growth for a human, while Charm had undergone an even greater change, spouting a set of new limbs. How did the mind, the being within the body, adjust? Did their own self-image and their instincts simply shift with it, did they automatically recognise their new shape as their own and allow them to adjust?

It was a strange thought, though there was a part of me that wondered how different it would have been compared to my own sudden change. Only, I mostly lacked the before-frame of reference, without the images I had seen under the influence of the Uxie, I could easily have undergone my own evolution and changed from a different form into my current Dani-body. Unlikely, given the circumstances I had found myself in, but it was a somewhat amusing image, bringing a grin to my face as I watched Charm.

After about five minutes of testing, Charm landed before me, already looking a little winded. The lack of endurance was a little worrying, but he had been delving, diving and dancing through the sky, constantly moving and shifting his flight, never using his wings to glide. Hopefully, he’d be able to get me back to town, or at least close enough so I could walk the rest of the way.

“Now, let’s see how this works best,” I muttered, stepping up to Charm’s tail and carefully scrambling up, using his legs as steps until I got to his wings. Those looked quite delicate and I had a feeling that any restraint on them would make flying a whole lot more difficult, so I pushed myself up a little further until I could stretch my arms past the wing joints and hold onto his shoulders. It wasn’t an optimal approach but he managed to grab my legs so I was in a secure and stable position.

“Upwards and onwards,” I commanded with far more bravado than I actually felt. Excitement and worry bubbled around in my stomach, only to spontaneously evolve into Butterfrees, or sometimes Beedrills. Their presence made my gut clench and flutter until I took a deep breath and pushed it all down. Only for the air to get forced from my lungs the moment Charm leapt upwards, wrapped into an azure glow as we rapidly shot into the air. It was less a flight, using his wings, and more a monstrous leap, until he stabilised by rapidly beating his wings and starting to glide forward.

For a moment, I was utterly stunned until I managed to take a deep breath, the freezing air shocking the world back into focus, dragging my mind into the present. Looking around, I realised that we were surprisingly high up, thanks to the incredible launch, already soaring above the valley we had been in. Below, I could see the complex geography of the area, with various valleys, canyons and gorges, making me think of a cragged maze, filled with freezing snow. There was little way to mentally mark where the cave had been, to my chagrin, but at least we were on our way back.

Looking further, I could see Lake Acuity in the distance, a curious contrast between banks of mist that obscured part of it and some of the clouds above that were reflected in the deep blue of its surface. In addition, there was the crisp, white snow all around the lake, forming another contrast with the evergreen trees, making it look like some fantastical artwork.

There was something about soaring through the skies that made me want to scream, to cry out my joy as Charm and I challenged the heavens. My heart was beating wildly in my chest as a burning sensation spread through me, not painful but wild, untamed energy. It was almost as if I could feel Charm’s heartbeat through his back, my own heart synchronising with his and I could only wish for a pair of wings on my own, so we could fly together.

Alas, that would sadly never come to be, not unless there was something truly weird happening to my body, but it didn’t matter, not truly. If I couldn’t get wings of my own, I could only rely on Charm to lend me his, to carry me through the sky as he did.

Below us, I could see a bit of movement, either a few animals or maybe Pokémon that our passage had disturbed but it didn’t look like they were about to attack. Either way, Charm must have noticed them himself, flexing his muscles and beating his wings a few more times, pushing us upwards again, making me let out a whoop of joy. In response, Charm let out a growl of his own, only his was accompanied by a flicker of flame, sending me into giggles. God, I loved my partner.

Our flight settled back into what I could only hope was a comfortable glide and far quicker than I had anticipated, I could see Snowpoint City in the distance. Or at least, I could see Snowpoint Temple, the massive structure was quite distinct. But then, maybe I should have expected that I could see it, even at a distance, we were quite high up and there was nothing blocking the view. Hell, if I looked into the distance, I thought I could see parts of the Coronal Mountains, though it might just be my imagination at work, I wasn’t sure.

Whatever the case, I could see our destination and I was confident that Charm could do so, too, spurring him forward. Which was a good thing, as I could vaguely feel Charm’s heart beat rapidly and the movement of his chest, drawing more air into his lungs, was starting to get laboured as well, flying incredibly exhausting to him.

Gently whispering in an attempt to motivate my partner, I held on, wishing for anything I could do. To help him, to give him my strength, anything to carry my own weight, quite literally. But there simply was nothing I could do, nothing I could think of. None of my other partners would be able to help either, so I could only rely on Charm and hope that he’d get me where we needed to go.

Soon after, I noticed a narrow path down below, snaking through the mountains. It was partially cleared of snow, though I wasn’t sure by what, and looked like it went into the right direction, towards Snowpoint City. If I could travel on it, at least for a time, Charm would be able to rest in his Pokéball and regain some of his strength.

“Down there, you can land,” I told Charm when I noticed a clearing near the path, large enough for him to land. He obeyed, his instant acceptance making me wonder just how tired my partner truly was. Down on the ground, I carefully unclenched my arms and legs, only now realising how tightly I had held onto my dear partner. But then, given that the alternative to holding on tightly was plummeting a few dozen metres, it was likely for the best. While I still remembered that Cynthia had told me tales about some trainers being able to survive frankly impossible situations, things like being set on fire, getting blasted away by explosions or exposed to thunderstrike-levels of electricity, all without suffering any long-term damage, I wasn’t about to test whether or not I was equally sturdy.

“Thank you, Charm,” I pulled out my partner’s Pokéball, “You go rest for now, I’ll do the walking thing again. How hard could it be?”