Dwayne's Altaria

**Dwayne's Altaria** (Japanese: **ドゥエインのチルタリス** *Douein's Tyltalis*) is the first Pokémon that Dwayne caught during his travels in the Hoenn region, and his twenty-second overall.

## **New Era**

### **Hoenn Again**

A flock of Swablu and Altaria are taking shelter in a tree during a fierce storm. Lightning suddenly strikes the tree, sparking a fire, so the flock are forced to flee. However, one of the Swablu lags behind and is frightened as the tree falls. After the storm has cleared up, Dwayne finds himself lost in the Petalburg Woods. Instead of continuing through the forest, Dwayne decides to stop for lunch. After summoning Gardevoir and Dratini from their Poké Balls, both Pokémon sense something unusual, and rush into the forest to investigate, with Dwayne closely behind, where they find the singed remnants of a tree and a heavily injured Swablu lying on the ground.

Seeing how frightened Swablu is, Dwayne decides to take a gentle approach, so he approaches Swablu by crouching down. Swablu instead launches a Sing attack, making all three of them fall asleep. Then, Swablu accidentally wakes Dratini up and after a quick exchange of words, Dratini goes over to Dwayne and headbutts him to wake him up. Dwayne notices Swablu's injured wing so he gives it a spritz of Super Potion while Dratini wakes Gardevoir up with a few headbutts to the face. The headbutts prove painful and causes Gardevoir to let out a cry, alerting a local Ranger, Mr. Morita and Nuzleaf to the situation. Mr. Morita arrives on the scene and invites Dwayne over to his cabin.

Dwayne bandages up Swablu's wing followed by a spoonful of medicine to help with its recovery. Afterwards, the Ranger offers him a cup of hot chocolate and he informs Dwayne that last night’s storm caused a lot of damage. He reveals that many baby Pokémon were separated from their parents, including this Swablu. Mr. Morita explains that flocks of Swablu and Altaria migrate through this preserve every year. Dwayne expresses their sympathy and Morita assures him that he will take good care of it and offers to tell Dwayne the best way out of the forest, but Dwayne suggests that he stay together with Swablu until they are sure that it gets better, and Mr. Morita agrees to the plan. Night falls, and Mr. Morita finds Dwayne unconscious from exhaustion and lying with Swablu. Morita wakes him up and offers to take over, but Dwayne insists that he keep on taking care of Swablu. With that, Morita hands Dwayne the medicinal supplies he'll need to care for Swablu and gives him instructions.

As Mr. Morita goes to sleep for the night, Dwayne stays awake to watch over Swablu as she rests. Several days pass and Dwayne continues to care for Swablu, who is already showing signs of getting better. Sometime later, Mr. Morita takes off Swablu's bandage and after a quick examination he declares that its wing has fully recovered, and Dwayne is thrilled, with Mr. Morita declaring that it will be able to re-join its flock soon. Then, Swablu gets excited and tries to fly, only for it to fall down. Thinking Swablu may have forgotten how to fly, Dwayne encourages Swablu, who shivers in response, and Morita suggests that Swablu is just too afraid to fly after the trauma it went through. Morita says that that kind of problem can take a long time to sort out and Dwayne fears that Swablu might not fly again.

Nevertheless, Dwayne tells Swablu he'll stay and help with its fear for as long as it takes, and Morita says he will locate the flock in the meantime. Dwayne decides on another strategy, so he wears some fake wings to teach Swablu how to fly. Swablu is rather skeptical, but Dwayne continues and demonstrates that Swablu just needs to run at full speed and then jump. Swablu tries, but it just falls head first into the ground, getting its face covered in mud. Dwayne's next plan is to put Swablu on top of a wild Beautifly and remind it of how great it is to be up in the sky. At first, Swablu is afraid, but after some encouragement, it opens its eyes and notices the great view from up high. Another day ends, and Dwayne struggles to think of another strategy to get Swablu flying. Then, Dwayne declares he'll use magic and the next day, informs Swablu that Beautifly can fly thanks to a special "magic powder", which is obviously fake. Then, Dwayne sprays some silver colored powder on the wild Beautifly, which successfully takes off into the sky thanks to the "magic powder". Swablu decides to give it a try and succeeds in taking off.

Mr. Morita suddenly emerges from the cabin and declares that he has located the flock. He promptly drives Dwayne and Swablu towards the lakeside location, but the journey is interrupted when an angry pack of Taillow attack. When Dwayne questions the Taillow's attack, Morita says they are probably still agitated from the storm and the lack of food, as the storm likely caused their food to get lost, and admits this often happens whenever a storm kicks in. Dwayne advises Swablu to fly the way to the lake but Swablu wants more of the "magic powder", and Dwayne then tells Swablu the truth of the "magic powder" and his pleas give Swablu the courage to escape to safety.

As the Taillow continue to attack them, Dwayne sends out Gardevoir and Dratini to defend them, and Gardevoir strikes some of the Taillow with Moonblast while Dratini's Twister also scores a hit with at least three of them. However, more Taillow suddenly appear from the trees, and begin overwhelming Gardevoir and Dratini. Seeing this, Swablu returns to their location and decides to join in the fight, despite Dwayne's protests. However, upon seeing Swablu's determination to protect them, Dwayne relents and orders Swablu to use Mist, and Swablu shoots out a thick white mist that engulfs all of the Taillow, who are blinded by it. Swablu flies closer to them, and Dwayne tells Swablu to use Sing, which puts all of the Taillow to sleep, allowing everyone to successfully and safely escape from the Taillow.

Dwayne, Morita, and Swablu reache the lake by sunset, only to find the flock is disappointingly not there. Dwayne turns to Swablu and suggests it join his team. Dwayne readies a Poké Ball just as Swablu's flock arrives. Swablu begins to fly towards its friends, leaving Dwayne conflicted as he suggests it go with the flock. Swablu begins flying towards its flock, but stops mid-way and turns back towards Dwayne, likewise conflicted with its feelings. Despite wanting to reunite with its flock, Swablu equally wants to stay by Dwayne's side, and after a minute of thought, Swablu sees her flock heading off towards the distance, and ultimately chooses to fly back down and lands on Dwayne's shoulder, deciding to stay with him. Dwayne holds back a tear and thanks Swablu for choosing him, but asks her if she was sure, and Swablu nods, confident about her decision, and Dwayne takes out a Poké Ball, and Swablu pecks the mechanism, inserting herself inside and gets caught.

Dwayne and Swablu battled together for the first time, when Swablu teamed with Treecko to battle against Jannette's Grovyle and Torkoal in a Double Battle. Dwayne commands Treecko to use Pound against Grovyle, and Swablu to use Cotton Guard to increase her Defense. On Jannette's orders, Grovyle dodges and fires a Bullet Seed to neutralize Treecko's attack. Then, Jannette commands Grovyle to fire Bullet Seed on Treecko, and Torkoal to use Flamethrower on Swablu. Dwayne counters this by commanding Swablu to use Mist while Treecko hides within it. Jannette momentarily compliments Dwayne's strategy, and Dwayne orders that Treecko use Quick Attack on Grovyle and Swablu hit Torkoal with Fury Attack. Jannette has Grovyle dodge Treecko's advance and it lashes Swablu with a Leaf Blade. Shortly after, Jannette commands Grovyle to use Bullet Seed and for Torkoal to use Flamethrower. Equally quickly, Dwayne counters by commanding Swablu to use Mist and Treecko to be hide himself within it. The two miss, and Jannette again praises Dwayne's strategy, but says that it has run its course.

Dwayne commands Treecko and Swablu to attack, but Grovyle again dodges and uses Leaf Blade on Swablu. Jannette then tells Torkoal to use Body Slam and for Grovyle to use Bullet Seed. By this command, Grovyle and Torkoal rush forward to attack, and again Dwayne tells Swablu to use Mist and Treecko to be hide within it. However, Jannette quickly orders Torkoal to switch to Rapid Spin, and the spinning causes the Mist to dissipate. With this protection negated, Grovyle leaps into the air and hits Treecko with a direct Bullet Seed. Dwayne asks Treecko if he can still keep going, and, with some exhaustion, Treecko manages to stand. Equally exhausted, Swablu also struggles. Dwayne has Treecko grab a hold of Swablu's right wing, and Swablu propels him forward and Treecko increases his velocity with a Quick Attack and it slams directly into Grovyle, while Swablu batters Torkoal with Fury Attack. Jannette remains confident as she orders Grovyle to use Solar Beam. Dwayne commands Treecko and Swablu to dodge, and both do so. Swablu then swoops in towards Torkoal with Fury Attack, and Jannette commands Torkoal to use Overheat, and Torkoal launches the attack just as Swablu reaches towards it, and the point-blank distance causes an explosion that knocks out both Pokémon.

When Dwayne challenged the Lavaridge Gym, Swablu was chosen as his first Pokémon to battle against Flannery's Magcargo. As the battle starts, Swablu starts off with a Fury Attack, landing a direct hit. Flannery makes the next move with a Flamethrower, but Dwayne uses Swablu's quick speed to dodge the attack. Dwayne continues to show his confidence, much to Flannery's distaste. As the battle goes on, Dwayne tries to use Swablu's Fury Attack to end it, but Flannery tells Magacargo to use Reflect to minimize the damage taken. Nevertheless, Dwayne is eventually able to take out Magcargo with a Sing followed by another Fury Attack. Dwayne and Flannery then both recall their Pokémon.

Swablu gets called back out to battle against Slugma. Swablu dodges Slugma's Flamethrowers and just as the enemy's Reflect ends, Swablu strikes with Fury Attack. As the battle continues, Slugma hides in its Smog in order to attack Swablu. Swablu senses and hears Slugma's movements and uses Fury Attack, but Slugma avoids it and uses Flamethrower which hits Swablu. When Dwayne commands another Fury Attack, Swablu instead demonstrates having learned Dragon Breath, which lands and knocks Slugma out of the battle. Flannery's final Pokémon is Torkoal. Swablu attempts Dragon Breath again, but is shocked to discover that Torkoal's hard shell makes it completely useless. Torkoal uses Sludge Bomb; Swablu dodges two bombs and gets hit by one. Dwayne tells Swablu to not give up but Torkoal then uses an incredibly powerful Overheat, landing a direct hit on Swablu and knocking her out.

When Dwayne competed in the Crossgate PokéRinger competition, Swablu was selected by Dwayne to partake in the tournament. Dwayne and Swablu are in the second round along with the defending champion, Volt, and his Volbeat. Volbeat seems to have the early advantage in the second round by possessing Electric-type attacks. Although the other two Trainers' Pokémon fall quickly to Volbeat's Thunder, Swablu manages to dodge the electricity and grab the ring. Volbeat, however, doesn't give up and another Thunder causes Swablu to drop the ring while trying to dodge. Volbeat takes it and goes for the goal. However, Swablu's Dragon Breath counterattack causes Volbeat to lose the ring, securing Dwayne a win in the second round. Then it is time for the semifinals to begin. After Dwayne and Swablu defeat a Trainers' Skarmory, Josie and Wingull defeat a Trainer's Tropius to advance to the finals.

The final round is Dwayne versus Josie. Josie starts off by ordering a Water Gun from Wingull. However, Swablu retaliates with Mist, which blinds Wingull's vision and allows Swablu to evade the attack. Josie isn't out of the round yet, but a sand tornado starts and engulfs the ring completely. It appears as though after the tornado is over, it will be a matter of speed – who can take the ring first. In a surprise move, Dwayne orders Swablu to fly into the tornado but she is knocked back. In a second attempt to enter the tornado, Swablu struggles, but upon hearing Dwayne's words of encouragement, Swablu evolves into Altaria, allowing her to successfully fend off the tornado and seize the ring. Karin makes one last desperate play and tries to take the ring to the goal, but Dwayne orders Altaria to use Rock Smash and knock the ring into the goal, thereby winning the PokéRinger tournament.

During Dwayne's Fortree Gym battle against Winona, Altaria was chosen as his third and final remaining Pokémon to battle against Winona's Shiny Swellow. Dwayne tells Altaria to use Aerial Ace, but Swellow strikes first, causing Altaria to lose control of her flying as she begins to descend towards the field below. Winona orders her Swellow to repeatedly Peck Altaria. Then, she orders a Hyper Beam attack, which Altaria dodges. Taking the opportunity that Swellow is unable to move due to the attack's side-effects, Dwayne orders a flurry of Dragon Breath attacks. However, once Swellow recovers, Winona orders Hyper Beam a second time and Swellow scores a direct hit. Dwayne tells Altaria to counter with Dragon Breath, but Swellow is faster and dodges this attack, countering with Aerial Ace, but Altaria defends herself with Cotton Guard.

The battle becomes an aerial chase between Altaria and Swellow, and Dwayne gets some inspiration when she sees the dust being stirred on the ground by Swellow's rapidly changing direction in mid-air close to the ground. Winona orders another Hyper Beam. Valeria orders Altaria to rush towards the ground. Winona calls for Swellow to use Aerial Ace. Dwayne then commands Altaria to use Mist on the ground, whipping up a disorientation cloud. The momentary distraction allows Altaria to launch a direct hit with a point-blank Dragon Breath, knocking Swellow out. Zachary officially calls the match, and declares Dwayne as the winner, and the crowd breaks out in applause for the amazing battle.

During Dwayne's Mossdeep Gym battle, which was contested under Double Battle rules, Altaria teamed with Absol to battle against Tate and Liza's Solrock and Lunatone. Solrock uses Tackle on Absol, hitting the Disaster Pokémon. Lunatone uses Tackle as well, striking Altaria. Dwayne then orders Absol to use Quick Attack on Solrock and tells Altaria to use Aerial Ace on Lunatone. As Absol charges into his attack, Solrock floats out of the way, causing Absol to crash into one of the floating planets. The same thing happens with Altaria after Lunatone moves aside. Absol falls down, and soon after Altaria lands on him.

Tate and Liza are now ready for their next attacks. Solrock uses Solar Beam while Lunatone is told to use Ice Beam, however, the two attacks collide and cancel each other out. The failed attacks spark an argument between the twins, stopping them from battling. Dwayne sees this as his chance, so she orders Altaria to use Dragon Breath on Lunatone, and it hits. Absol is also ordered to attack, and he lashes Solrock with a Razor Wind. Tate and Liza notice that their Pokémon are getting beaten while they quarrel, so they both rejoin the match and order their Pokémon to use Tackle attacks on Absol. Absol is about to be sandwiched by the two Psychic Pokémon, but Altaria swoops in and rescues Absol. Consequently, Lunatone and Solrock crash into each other, which causes Tate and Liza to begin arguing again.

As the twin Gym Leaders blame each other for their constant blunders, Absol uses Hyper Beam on Solrock, but Lunatone slides in front and guards it with Light Screen. Despite Absol being unable to move after using Hyper Beam, being on top of the moving Altaria prevents him from being defenseless. Altaria tries to attack Lunatone with Aerial Ace, but Solrock uses Sandstorm to stop her. The airborne Absol uses Dark Pulse on Solrock, but Lunatone again intervenes and uses Ice Beam to block the attack. Altaria is then ordered to use Dragon Breath. The two Psychic-type Pokémon fly back to back as Tate and Liza order a Solar and Ice Beam combination to push Dragon Breath back, although Dwayne quickly orders Altaria to switch to Mist, which blocks the two Psychic-types's vision, and allows Altaria and Absol to hide themselves within the thick mist.

Dwayne then decides to attempt something unorthodox, and orders Absol to clutch onto Altaria and charge up Quick Attack, and Absol does so, and the charging power of Quick Attack not only engulfs Absol's body, but also Altaria's, whose Speed increases tremendously, and Valeria orders a Take Down attack from Altaria, and with Absol's Quick Attack being absorbed into Altaria's body, her Aerial Ace attack comes with an incredible Speed, which allows them to directly strike Lunatone, who itself crashes into Solrock. Absol then finishes them both off with a Dark Pulse that hits both Pokémon at once, sending them crashing onto the Gym's wall and gives Absol and Altaria the victory.

When Dwayne challenged the Sootopolis Gym, Altaria was chosen to battle against Juan's Whiscash in the final round of the Gym challenge. Altaria starts the battle with an Aerial Ace. However, Altaria is almost immediately grabbed by Whiscash's barbels, which Juan uses to deliver a Tickle attack, followed by a Hyper Beam. Altaria is thrown back so hard that it knocks over the pillar its back slammed into. Despite a direct hit and extreme damage, Altaria is still able to battle and zooming out of the dust cloud, it counters with Aerial Ace. Whiscash dives to dodge, but the Aerial Ace allows Altaria to dive in and hit Whiscash from underneath, throwing it upward out of the water and into the air. Whiscash uses a barbel to snag a pillar, swinging back around and uses Hyper Beam in mid-air, but Altaria evades. Altaria switches into a Dragon Breath followed by an Aerial Ace which knocks Whiscash out of the match. Juan commends Dwayne and Altaria, impressed that Altaria could go from Dragon Breath straight into Aerial Ace. This leaves only one Pokémon left for Juan.

As expected, Juan calls out his Milotic, his strongest Pokémon. Milotic opens with Hydro Pump, which Altaria dodges with Aerial Ace and strikes Milotic dead on. Milotic recovers and counters with Iron Tail, though Altaria uses Mist to avoid being hit. To clear the mist, Milotic whips up a Twister, pushing Altaira up until she slams into the ceiling and renders her unable to battle.

During Dwayne's battle against Jannette in the first round of the Finals Tournament of the Ever Grande Conference, Altaria was chosen as Dwayne's fifth Pokémon to battle against Jannette's Hypno. Jannette commands Hypno to use Thunder Wave, though Altaria dodges and uses Sky Attack. Jannette tells Hypno to use Disable to prevent Altaria from using Sky Attack again. Dwayne confidently replies that Altaria has other attacks, and tells Altaria to use Mist, which blocks Hypno's line of sight. Dwayne then orders Altaria to use Dragon Breath, which lands a direct hit on Hypno, knocking it out.

Jannette recalls Hypno and sends out her Torkoal. Dwayne begins this match-up by telling Altaria to the now-recovered Sky Attack. Jannette orders Torkoal to use Rapid Spin, and the two Pokémon speed towards each other, trading blows repeatedly in mid-air. They eventually stop and face off. Jannette then orders Torkoal to use Shell Smash, greating increasing its attack and speed, but at the cost of its defense. Jannette then orders a Flamethrower, but Altaria manages to dodge and uses Sky Attack, but Torkoal uses another Shell Smash, enhanced its attack and speed even more, allowing him to dodge the attack. Torkoal then scores a direct hit with Overheat, which severely damages Altaria. As Jannette orders another Shell Smash, Dwayne suddenly has an idea and orders Altaria to use Sky Attack again. However, as Altaria approaches Torkoal, Dwayne commands her to aim towards the pool, which leaves Jannette confused. Altaria does, which causes a massive splash of water to rain down upon Torkoal, who clearly dislikes it, and Jannette realizes Dwayne's intentions, and Altaria quickly follows up with Mist, and with Torkoal's Fire-type attacks weakened by the water, and the Mist blockings its vision, Altaria manages to knock it out with Dragon Breath, as Torkoal's defenses were greatly weakened by Shell Smash.

Down to her last Pokémon, Jannette falls silent for a few seconds before sending out her Sceptile. Dwayne, excited that victory is close, orders Altaria to use Sky Attack again. However, due to Sceptile's Detect, Altaria's attack misses. Jannette then commands Sceptile to use Energy Ball, forcing Altaria to make an evasive dodge to avoid it, though the tip of its wing gets struck as a result. Dwayne orders a Dragon Breath attack. Jannette counters by telling Sceptile to go underwater, causing Altaria's attack to miss. Dwayne grits his teeth and Jannette confidently orders the submerged Sceptile to use Solar Beam. The attack lands a direct hit, forcing Altaria to crash onto the floor outside of the arena, knocked out.

During Dwayne's battle against Layla in the following round, Altaria was again selected as Dwayne's fifth Pokémon, facing off against Layla's Swellow. Swellow attempts to quickly end it with Aerial Ace, but Altaria responds with a defensive Cotton Guard. Swellow bounces off Altaria's fluffy puff of cotton, allowing Altaria to retaliate with Dragon Breath. Swellow dodges and responds with Reversal, but Altaria evades with Mist. However, Swellow's Aerial Ace lands a direct hit, sending Altaria plummeting toward the ground. Altaria barely recovers by using Sky Attack, which Swellow matches with Steel Wing. Both Pokémon collide in mid-air, creating a large cloud of dust. Both Pokémon are told to repeat their attacks, resulting in another violent collision. The Trainers call for the same attacks again, resulting in a third collision and a huge explosion. Altaria and Swellow fall to the ground, unable to battle. This leaves both Dwayne and Layla with only one Pokémon each.

During the finals of the tournament, Altaria was chosen as Dwayne's third Pokémon to battle against Raven's Hariyama. Hariyama goes for a Brick Break attack, slamming into the ground, while Altaria manages to evade the attack by flying. Altaria and Hariyama blast forward with their Sky Attack and Focus Punch, respectively. The combined strength causes an explosion that sends both Altaria and Hariyama backwards, but Altaria is the one left unable to battle. This leaves Dwayne with only three additional Pokémon, ending the first stage of the battle.

When Dwayne set off to challenge the Battle Frontier, Altaria, along with Crawdaunt and Absol, was left off at Professor Oak's Laboratory.

## **Personality and Characteristics**

Ever since her days as a Swablu, Altaria has been nothing but a kind-hearted and sweet Pokémon, always showing affection towards her Trainer whenever possible, especially after their victories. Her affection and care towards Dwayne was solidified when Altaria chose to remain by Dwayne's side rather than returning to her flock.

Despite her docile nature, Altaria is an extremely powerful Pokémon, first shown during her battle against Winona's Swellow, where Altaria managed to both outspeed and outsmart the more experienced Flying-type Pokémon. Her power was further showcased during the Ever Grande Conference, where Altaria managed to knock out two of Jannette's Pokémon – Hypno and Torkoal – single-handedly.