Corviknight. First introduced in the eighth generation of Pokémon, it's a species that's spread widely across the Galar region.
Its base stat total of 495 is nothing special on paper, but the distribution is remarkably well-rounded, and its Steel/Flying typing combined with its imposing design made it one of Carl's favorite Pokémon back in his past life. In this one, he'd come across a Rookidee that had wandered and gotten lost somewhere near Eterna Forest outside Twinleaf Town, long before he'd even started his journey. He rescued it, raised it step by step, and the Rookidee eventually grew into the Corviknight standing before him now -- a specimen noticeably larger and more powerful than anything of its kind he'd ever seen.
Passersby stopped to stare at the steel-plated giant. Most looked on with open admiration, though a handful of locals who knew their Paldean geography shot Carl something closer to concern.
He understood why. While Corviknight did inhabit parts of Paldea, the region's own "bullies" -- the Tinkaton population -- made it nearly impossible to run the kind of aerial taxi services that Galar was known for. Nobody wanted to be cruising through the sky only to get blindsided by a flying chunk of rock.
After Carl explained the situation with Paldea's Tinkaton problem, Corviknight -- self-appointed Chief Flight Officer of Carl's team -- had some thoughts:
"Garrr. (So the locals of this region are that weak?)"
"Ga, ga-ga! (A few flying rocks are nothing. Don't you dare underestimate the bond between me and my Trainer!)"
"Then I'll leave it to you," Carl said, running a hand along Corviknight's feathers. The trust in his voice was total and unguarded. Flutter Mane, still nestled against his chest, spread her wings in agreement: "Fu-fu-fu! (I'll be the one protecting the Trainer!)"
"Okay, okay, you're very capable too," Carl said, giving Flutter Mane a light pat on the head. He gestured for her to go wait on Corviknight's back, then pulled his riding-and-fishing combo helmet and protective gear from his bag and strapped everything on piece by piece.
He'd been given a second life, and he intended to keep it. He knew full well that Corviknight would use its own energy to shield him mid-flight, but the old saying held: better safe than sorry.
With the crowd watching, Carl quickly finished gearing up, gripped the edge of Corviknight's wings with both hands, pushed off from the ground, and swung smoothly into the saddle on Corviknight's back.
The move was clean and effortless. The veteran Pokémon fliers standing nearby were visibly impressed, especially the newer ones who'd only just caught their first flying partner -- every one of them had imagined themselves pulling off exactly that kind of entrance at some point.
Carl ignored the looks. He clipped Flutter Mane into her harness on the seat in front of him, then leaned forward and gave Corviknight two firm pats on the side of the neck.
Corviknight spread his wings, gave one powerful downstroke, and shot straight up into the sky. Once they reached the designated cruising altitude for flying Pokémon, Corviknight banked southwest toward their destination, Levincia fading behind them.
Down at the tarmac, Larry came jogging up with his briefcase, wheezing and late. He arrived just in time to watch Carl, Flutter Mane tucked to his chest, disappear into the clouds as a tiny black speck.
He stared for a moment, then reached into his briefcase and sent out his ace Pokémon: Staraptor.
Staraptor was Larry's workhorse as a Flying-type Elite Four member, and its speed was every bit a match for the Dragapult that Geeta herself kept on her team. By Larry's estimate, ten minutes at most and he'd catch up with that Trainer.
Not that he had much of a choice. If it weren't for how fast Staraptor was, Geeta never would have turned him into her go-to errand man.
He pressed himself flat against Staraptor's back, expression sharpening: "Staraptor -- let's enjoy the speed for once, for old times' sake."
Staraptor felt the intent behind those words and cried out once before launching forward with a Tailwind that hadn't been asked for, cutting through the air like a blade drawn from its sheath.
Thirty minutes later, Larry sat up on Staraptor's back and looked slowly around him.
"I... lost him?"
Meanwhile, Carl and Corviknight had already passed through East Province Area Two and crossed into East Province Area One, where Cascarrafa lay. A steep mountain range cut straight across the area, the contrast between flatland and highland sharp and clean in every direction.
Carl was still taking it in when a rough chunk of rock skimmed past Corviknight's feathers and clipped the air right beside his ear. Corviknight lurched. Carl snapped back to attention and looked down to find a pink figure standing on the mountainside below, hammer raised -- and then suddenly dozens of basketball-sized boulders came flying out from the surrounding peaks, all of them aimed along Corviknight's flight path with predictive precision.
"Ga?!" Corviknight let out an excited cry, folded his wings in a dead drop to dodge the first boulder, then twisted sideways, spread his wings again, and carved a sweeping arc through the air -- weaving cleanly through the hailstorm of rocks like it was nothing.
Down on the slopes, the Tinkaton stared. Then their eyes lit up like they'd just spotted something legendary, and they swung their hammers harder, sending more rocks up into the sky.
But it didn't matter how many they threw. Corviknight threaded through every one of them at angles that didn't seem physically possible. When he'd finally worn the Tinkaton out, Carl gave Corviknight a pat and asked: "Did you enjoy that?"
"Ga-guu~" (Sure did~)
"Good." Carl felt the warmth in Corviknight's voice and couldn't help smiling. "Let's head out then. At your speed, we should make it before noon."
"I'm sorry, Chairwoman." Larry bowed slightly at the phone, apologizing to thin air. "I lost him."
Staraptor gently raised a wing and patted Larry on the back.
Somewhere in the Paldea League headquarters, Paldea's Top Champion, League Chairwoman, and Academy Board Director, Geeta, listened to Larry's report and said: "No, Larry. You have absolutely nothing to apologize for. If anything, what you found today has already been a tremendous help."
She gave him a few reassuring words, assigned him his next three tasks without missing a beat, and hung up.
"Carl. Eighteen years old. Father was an explorer tied to the Paldea League..." Geeta rested her chin on her folded hands, her eyes sweeping quickly through the information she'd pulled from the League's confidential records. They stopped on an entry updated just one month ago: "Subject challenged the Kanto Elite Four one month ago and won. Entered Mt. Silver shortly afterward..."
As Paldea's Top Champion, Geeta knew exactly what the Kanto Elite Four were worth. Any one of them had the potential of a regional champion, and a Trainer who'd beaten all four of them was, in her estimation, more valuable than an entire exposed Tera mine.
The Flutter Mane had already slipped to the back of her mind. She was staring at the slightly youthful ID photo on her screen now, a slow smile spreading across her face -- something beautiful and a little dangerous, like a blooming Glimmora.
"What's the best way," she murmured, almost to herself, "to keep him in Paldea?"