Thinking more about Wing Shift!Ash flying. This has been a reoccurring thought actually. I’m high, bare with me.
He doesn’t fly often, Ash never did when he was young too. Just because he had wings doesn’t mean he couldn’t enjoy a nice long walk somewhere, unlike Gary and the rest of the kids of pallet town who would exclusively fly after the figured it out.
So a lot of the time his friends fully believe Ash can’t. It’s just what they would naturally assume though because the ability to is actually not that common. Actually it’s about double the percentage of left handed people in their world. So about 20% give or take. Ash doesn’t actually even like flying in front of people.
That usually brought comments from Gary and the kids about Ash struggling off the ground and would have the black haired child stomp off in tears. This forced Ash to start flying alone as no one would watch him, which is a keep part for fledglings since they can easily fly up to high and hurt themselves, and had hurt himself a lot in the process. Producing little white scars all over his arm as the aftermath.
This also makes Ash’s ability to fly a secrete as well, and how good he is in the air. He still obviously keeps his strength up. Mostly when he’s training with his Pokémon does Ash end up flying. Either to help his flying types or to be used as a target for his younger Pokémon in the ground.
So when Alola comes, Ash is approached much more about flying and why he doesn’t do it more often. He’s surrounded by a lot of people, especially Native Alolan who grew up flying everywhere since their island is so big and spread out, who notice how much he just walks or runs everywhere. So much more then even the normal tourists. Ash would much rather walk through the forest then take the easy option and fly over.
It drives the class crazy and they constantly try and find ways to make Ash fly but without out-right demanding he does. Ash always finds a way to wiggle out of it and or something happens that put the conversation on hold. Even Kukui is worried about Ash and thinks that Ash can’t fly and he’s to embarrassed to tell his classmates.
Alola is the only Region to have an extremely heavy population of flyers because of the warm air and lovely sights of the island above. It’s actually common instead of not on the islands to know how to fly. So the class isn’t around much non-flyers. the only other student in the whole school was Lillie, who had weak dove wings and refused to love them from their pinned positions on her back. The girls fear of Pokémon even extended to her wings in a traumatic way. Causing to see Lillie as part of a Pokémon due to her wings even though their everywhere.
This had caused her to never fly and developed the muscles in her wings. Extremely thin and tiny snowy barn owl wings drape around her almost like a dress. Coming to rest in front of her like a second set of of hands near her chest. Though the difference between her wings and Ash’s are startling different.
While Lillies are meek, thin, scraggly feathered wings. Ash’s are mighty, glossy black feathered, large wings. He always gets mistaken as some kind of black colored hawk but instead he’s a raven, while Lillie always gets mistaken to be a seagull instead of an owl. This spurts on the class that Ash can fly but he just doesn’t want to.
The only time Ash ends up fly, on his own and not on any ride Pokémon, is on the way back after restoring Necrozma to full glory. Golden star-like wings with black baby feathers down his spine and lower wings shining just like Necrozma and he starts doing all sorts of air stunts in victory and relief.
This surprises everyone win Alola that know Ash as they watch him do these ridiculously strategic drops and tricks in the air. Not knowing just how good he is with wings twice his size.
