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The chill breeze as he entered the beach was the first wave of nostalgia X felt. His soles gently sank into the sand as he watched the nearly endless beach and even bigger sea. He had been here before. A long time ago. So long, to him, it felt like it was another life. A life before everything became complicated. A life before the battling and the reporters and the isolation. A life only with his family, Kanga, and his friends. And now, after years of solitude and world-threatening schemes, he was back. To the Kite festival on the western coast near Laverre city. A festival dedicated to the strong winds of the sea and taming it with nothing but frame and fabric. It lured children and adults alike. But no one loved the festival as much as the sky trainers. It was X's main reason to be here as well. The Kite festival always came with a sky trainer tournament. They were the frame and their suits the fabric. And their fights put every gust of wind to shame.
His ears were responsible for the next wave. The sound of the sea, the rhythm of the water greeting the shore, and the cry of the Wingull landing on a nearby roof. It all felt familiar. He could hear a group nearby discuss their tactics for the Kite championship. A bunch of kids marveled at the variety of Kites and colors. And there were small children, laughing and running in the wet sand with their makeshift Kites, trying to make them fly. He and Y must have looked the same when they were younger. His parents had brought them here back then. X had been fascinated to see all the Pokemon and Y couldn't get enough of the wind and seeing the Kites fly around. They both loved seeing the Sky Trainers fight in the air. Flying around, totally dependent on the wind and your skill to survive, while still being able to command your Pokemon, keeping them safe from every direction. X had found his passion back then. He wanted to fight, be a union with his Pokemon. Y found it back then as well, X was sure of it. It only took her a little while longer to actually be honest with herself. And her Mom. Oh, how Grace must have cursed that day. But she was a good woman. He knew that from his own experience. She had helped him so much.
Just a year ago, X wouldn’t have thought he would ever come here again. He hadn’t cared either. Even now, he felt way too self conscious standing in the middle of the beach with nowhere to hide. It felt strange. He wasn't scared or anything, but he still felt wrong. He looked around and the sky was filled with every color imaginable. Kites in all forms were flying over the beach. Some flew in formations so accurate he didn’t think it was real. They must have been wired together, right? But then, they would suddenly fly into different cardinal points, fly a curve, and then back to their starting point. This was real. And so were the Kites not made for sport, but for simple enjoyment. Kites in forms that shouldn’t be able to fly, yet still did. There was a Snorlax, round just like the real deal. He saw a Wailord, not in life size, but still enormous. A Mega-Charizard, black with blue flames just like Salamè, drew its circles above his head. It was beautiful, majestic. And he felt trapped right within it. A whirlwind of colors and sea noise and nostalgia. His heart was beating so fast he could hear it. It was almost too much. But he was fine. Small steps.
Just as he debated going back into his hotel room until Y’s competition started, his ears and eyes became aware of something that did not trigger his nostalgia, but his curiosity instead. There was a workshop for crafting your own Kite with a professional teaching how to fly it. He was intrigued. He had seen that back then as well, but neither he nor Y had enough strength to actually guide and hold a Kite. Now, however…
A friendly smile and nod was all it took for X to sit down on the small stool in front of the workshop. A small boy was there as well. A boy and girl his age, siblings he found out, who had come here all the way from Lumiose City to see the Sky Trainer championship. The Kite craftsman introduced him to various sorts of Kites. X chose a basic one in the form of a Fletchling. It felt like the only correct decision on this day. He took a pair of scissors and started cutting along the lines of the film. The wings were curved and he taped some white, feather-like stripes to the end of them. He did the same for the tail before adding eyes and the beak on its head. He was working slowly and carefully, not wanting to risk breaking the thin film. The next step was the frame. He was handed some wooden sticks and a cutter knife. He followed the instructions. First, he added a robust stick along the spine of the Kite. He cut it to an appropriate length and secured it with some sticky tape. Next, he had to add two sticks along the curve of the wings, crossing the main stick around the start of the tail. He whittled them down so they would be lighter and easier to bend. His first attempt failed when the stick fractured in the middle, but he had enough sticks left. Once he had both attached accordingly, the craftsmen took the Kite. He held it upright, just balancing it on two fingers and then told him where to add some more short sticks for optimal weight balance. The last act was mainly for decoration. He took leftover film and taped it over the wooden sticks, hiding them. You wouldn’t actually see the sticks from the ground, the craftsman told him. However, once the sky trainers were up in the sky, they would only see the top of the Kites. And wouldn't it be sad if they only saw the more neglected side of them?
The craftsman attached the strings to everyone's Kites. One was on the head of the Fletchling. The other on the middle of the tail. They got tied together, so X had only one entwined string to hold on to. The craftsman helped the little boy next to X and used it to demonstrate how to start their Kites. The siblings helped each other, starting one after another and running across the beach, trying desperately to not get them tangled together. X had to do it on his own. He balanced the Kites on the fingertips of his left hand, holding the string tight in his right one. He held the Kite up in the air, pushing it off while walking backwards to give it more aerodynamic uplift. It fell right down. He picked it up and tried again. And again. And again. Until it started flying up in the air, together with his previous frustration. He started walking faster, letting loose more of the string and watched his creation dance in the air as well. Its feathers on the wings and tails fluttered in the wind, making it almost look like a real bird. It flew to the left, made a circle and then to the right again. X was mesmerized. His heart jumped, this time with excitement. His face relaxed and he formed a small smile. He was content. A heavy breeze hit him, his jacket fluttered like the wings. The Kite made some heavy movements and he worried it might break. So he held on tighter as he felt the wind and droplets of salt water on his cold hands and cheeks.
This was what he had wanted back then. They both had wanted this. He still remembered the shine in Y’s eyes as she had watched them in the sky. It was silly almost, how did no one ever notice that she was reaching for the sky back then as well? She was never made to be a Rhyhorn racer in the first place. And now he understood. Being glued to the ground and looking up to the sky, like she did all these years. He respected her for this. She had found her passion and did everything in her power to reach her dream, while he was hiding for all these years. He had to follow her now. He couldn’t stay glued any longer. He had to reach out and touch the sky. Find his passion again and follow his dream. Whether this was still connected to Pokemon battles and Mega Evolution, it didn’t matter. It was a step in the right direction to find out who he wanted to be. It was never too late.
He was snapped out of his thoughts by a loud muffled toots, signaling the start of the Sky Trainer championship. The area over the water was cleared of all Kites and the boats were waiting dutifully on the sea, ready to save the Trainers in case something went wrong. The helicopter was high in the air and two Trainer clad in gray wingsuits emerged from it, carried by the stormy breeze. They looked completely the same but one of them was Y as he recognized her Fletchinder almost instantly. X watched her fight, clinging to the string of his Kite. Seeing this was the final wave of nostalgia coming over him. Her movements looked just like the Trainers back then. She was coordinated, knew exactly how to use the sky to her advantage. Her commands were spot on, taking every chance to attack from a blindspot and taking her opponent by surprise. The fight was over too fast for X's liking. But his disappointment was replaced by pride as he saw her glide over the ocean, Tiri right next to her. He knew she would fly even higher from now on and he had no intention of staying behind.