First flights

Vali took Celina out to one of the 'fly-zones' in Celadon with Steven and Skarmory. Steven knew how to ride a pokemon bare-back since he did it with Skarmory a majority of the time. Steven showed her how to get onto Celina and where to sit so that she wouldn't obstruct the movement of Celina's wings. When she was settled and had some of the long red feathers that acted as the reigns for Pidgeot in hand, Celina took off into the air. She was pressed into the Pidgeot's body from the sheer force of the wind pressing down on her though it abated once Celina found a height she was comfortable with. Sitting back up, she looked around them and felt a sense of piece fall over her, "I forgot how nice it was to fly," Celina trilled and did a few lazy circles in the sky as they waited for Skarmory to join them, "I'm glad that I can experience something like this with you, Celina."

Despite the difference between the ways she'd flow before, Vali felt more comfortable on Celina's back than she'd ever been on a broom or Buckbeak. She supposed it was because something inside of her understood that Celina would never willingly let her fall. It let her focus on the freeing feeling of flying and just enjoying the moment that she had with her pokemon. The warmth of the sun and the feathered body below her prevented the minor chill in the air from really affecting her. Steven smiled as Skarmory joined them, "How does it feel to be flying again, Vali?"

"Freeing," Vali answered as Celina began to flying towards the edge of the fly-zone, "It feels a lot more comfortable than a broom or Buckbeak ever felt,"

"Oh?" Steven looked at her curiously.

"It's because I know that she'll never willingly let me fall," Vali grinned as Celina trilled in agreement and did a little spin the air, "Hey, Celina. Once you're done getting used to my weight on your back, I want to see what you can do though nothing too big until I have a saddle,"

Celina let out a cry of agreement as Steven snorted in amusement. Feeling a bit childish, Vali stuck her tongue out at him earning a laugh as Celina sped up a bit.

When they landed two hours later, Steven quickly made his way to Vali's side to catch her before she slammed face first into the ground. Riding on any pokemon for more than a thirty minutes always led to cramping unless you were used to it, he knew that from experience when Skarmory started letting him ride her. Vali had the brightest grin on her face as she leaned heavily into him making him smile a bit. With all the shouting and screams of laughter she'd made, he had no doubt she might not be able to speak much tomorrow. He asked her, "Feeling alright?"

Vali nodded as she reached up to rub Celina's head right underneath her crest, "Yeah. Despite having a lot of maneuverability with a broom, I've never actually flown like that before. Once I got used to it, I felt like I was part of Celina and that just made the whole experience better. I feel...Amazing."

The breathy tone she used and the brightness of her eyes told Steven that she'd be flying again as soon as possible. He could understand the feeling since flying with only your pokemon beneath you was exhilarating. While he may love tunnels and caves, the sky held a special place in his heart ever since the first flight he'd had with Skarmory. He had spent almost every day for months flying with Skarmory and probably wouldn't have stopped if Metagross hadn't reminded him that he needed to give everyone attention. The novelty of flying still hadn't let off and he still flew with Skarmory whenever he could, but he did make sure to give his pokemon equal attention rather than let any of them fall to the wayside. While he doubted Vali would fall under the same spell as him, he knew that she would probably fly with Celina whenever she had a real chance.

Vali managed to sign Arwen up for the junior division pokemon races which were a lot like the horse races back in her old world only without the jockeys. Arwen was certainly one of the faster pokemon there, but she had to work hard to win any of the races. With each race in the junior division gifting the winner somewhere between 600 to 700 poke per race, she would be able to make the money she'd spent on Celina's saddle back. She also entered Balto in the non-equine pokemon junior division which boasted a decent 400 to 550 poke per race. Both of her them would enjoy the heavy exercise and benefit from it, she might even be lucky enough to have both of them learn Agility since they'd have to push pass the limits of what their mind considered their top speed in order to win some of the races.

The junior division races always started at 8 in the morning and lasted until 10. Between those two hours, you could always count on at least nine diffrent races if not ten depending on the amount of pokemon participating. Vali signed Arwen and Balto up for three races each while making sure they were spread apart to allow both of them time to recover a bit. During the first race, Balto won and Arwen lost since she'd been startled by the sound of the horn. The second race saw Balto winning again though this time he almost lost as one of the Houndour in the race managed to keep up with him and Arwen managed to come in second. In the third race, Balto lost by a tip of a nose and Arwen won her first race of the day.

Vali managed to earn 430 poke with Balto's first race, 470 poke with his second, and 600 for Arwen's first win of the day. As a result she managed to get back 1500 poke which was almost half of what she was spending on Celina's saddle. With any luck, she wouldn't have to use any of her savings to buy the saddle which would be nice.