On the way to Celadon City.
Grey's phone suddenly lit up.
On the screen was a friend request.
["Celadon Vileplume" has sent you a friend request.]
[Note: Hello, Gym Leader Grey, this little lady is Erika, the Gym Leader of Celadon Gym.]
[Source: Kanto Gym Leader Group Chat]
[Accept][Decline]
One look was enough to know it was Erika herself.
Already way better than that one who just straight-up claimed to be Cynthia last time.
Sitting on Articuno's back, Grey tapped "Accept."
Almost the very next second, a reply popped up.
[Erika: Good afternoon~ Have you eaten yet?]
[Grey: I have. We're on our way toward Celadon City right now.]
[Erika: OK～ When you get to Celadon City, send me a message. This little lady will take you to Celadon Gym, and we can talk things over there.]
[Grey: Got it.]
[Erika: To show my appreciation, this little lady will prepare a small gift for you, Gym Leader Grey. Please don't turn it down～]
[Grey: No problem. We're flying over as we speak. Talk later.]
[Erika: Mhm~ This little lady will be waiting in Celadon City for your esteemed arrival, Gym Leader Grey. Wishing you a safe trip～]
And with that, the chat came to an abrupt stop.
Grey and the others continued westward. With Articuno, Zapdos, and Riolu all adding their tailwind support, the trip went fairly smoothly.
The only hiccup was when Jigglypuff took a breather mid-flight and almost got launched like a cannonball.
————
Three hours later, the three of them were nearing the outskirts of Celadon City.
"All right, the finish line's just up ahead."
Grey pointed forward.
"Krii!!!" (Zapdos, this time the win is mine!)
Hearing that, Articuno was instantly fired up like it had just been injected with pure adrenaline. It suddenly folded its wings and dove, like a frosty arrow loosed from the bow.
Frigid currents burst from all around its body. In the instant of its dive, the air along its path froze into countless ice shards, attempting to build a barricade of ice along Zapdos's flight path to block its advance!
"Zee-zee!" (You spiky puffball, you really think you can beat me?)
Zapdos let out a sharp cry, dazzling lightning exploding from the tips of its wings.
Golden currents raced madly between its feathers, its speed spiking to the absolute limit in a short burst. Bolts of lightning lanced from the feather tips, shattering every icy barrier in its way!
Boom, boom, boom!
The scattering arcs of thunder struck the ice crystals dead-on, and a faint mist drifted away on the wind.
Zapdos put every ounce of strength into it, even angling its long, sharp beak straight ahead, just to gain that tiny extra bit of speed and reach the ground a heartbeat sooner.
"Krii!" (Idiot, that's exactly what I was waiting for!)
Articuno's voice suddenly cut through the air.
Zapdos's whole body shuddered as a chilling cold climbed rapidly up from its tail to its head.
It didn't deal damage—but it sure as heck slowed it down!
Zapdos could only watch as it fell behind Articuno.
Even its pride and joy, that long, pointed beak, wasn't enough to let it overtake the other bird…
In the end, the victor was—Articuno!
"Not bad. Looks like all the training I've put into you lately wasn't wasted."
Standing on solid ground again, Grey stretched lazily.
The whole trip, he'd been riding a nice breeze, scrolling on his phone without even a hint of motion sickness.
He gave a mental thumbs-up for Articuno's rock-solid, steady flight.
"Krii." (But of course. Just who do you think I am? I'm the mightiest Articuno in all of Kanto—no, in the whole world!)
Articuno lifted its head proudly, chest puffed out.
Riding Grey's praise, it happily took the chance to slap a little more gold leaf onto its own image.
"Krii." (Which means you are now the Trainer of the strongest Articuno in the world! Pretty great, right?)
"But then how come I heard Miss Lorelei say that near the Sevii Islands, there's a place called the Orange Archipelago where they worship an Ice God? I wonder which of you would be stronger if you had a match."
Grey stroked his chin, a faint smile playing at the corners of his mouth as he said it.
"Krii!" (Outrageous! How could I, Lord Articuno, possibly be weaker than some bird from some far-off island?)
Articuno was instantly offended, spreading its wings and loudly proclaiming that it, and it alone, was the mightiest Articuno.
To the point that, right now, it was itching to go find that flock and start a brawl.
"All right, all right. Let's deal with Celadon City first. This isn't the time to be talking about stuff like that."
Grey waved a hand dismissively and looked upward.
Silver and Green touched down one after the other.
Zapdos's eyes were full of resentment; it was one Thunderbolt away from blasting Articuno right then and there.
Sneak-attacking mid-race? That was not the act of a good bird!
That was how Zapdos saw it.
It had gone in thinking this was a straight-up speed race, only for Articuno to turn it into a full-on "item race."
If it had been any other bird, Zapdos would've lost its temper ages ago!
"Zee-zee." (I only lost because I let my guard down. Once I get stronger, I'm definitely racing you again!)
Zapdos gave a cold snort, folding its wings back in as it gently set Silver down.
"Krii." (Heh. Lord Articuno's power is only going to keep rising too, you know. I don't stagnate. Next time, the winner will still be me!)
Articuno shot back, rejecting Zapdos's challenge with a counter-declaration of its own.
At the same time, Green finally made it safely to the ground.
"Haaah… I never want to do long-distance flying again!"
Jumping off Jigglypuff's back and planting her feet firmly on solid earth, Green stood there with tears welling in the corners of her eyes.
The whole way here, she'd felt like three separate forces were shoving her forward.
It was like walking down a highway and suddenly getting blindsided by a speeding semi, her whole body locked up and unable to move.
Good thing it was only three hours. Any longer and she felt like she would've died out there on the spot.
"Budding～" (Waaah, this flight just felt so weird. It was like my body wasn't even my own～)
Jigglypuff felt exactly the same. Today's flight had been perfectly "normal" on paper, but there'd been this eerie vibe hanging over it the whole time.
A weirdness you just couldn't put into words.
"Meow～" (No idea what you're talking about. The breeze up in the sky was amazing～)
Riolu yawned, the soft pink glow in its eyes fading away.
It hopped down from Grey's shoulder and stared quietly at the city ahead.
"Meow～" (Mmm～ This place is soaked in sin. Shiny on the surface, but underneath it's not much better than Saffron City～)
Riolu didn't even need to get closer to sense what was happening inside.
It might look like everything was booming, but under the surface the chaos had already reached a fever pitch.
"Yeah. This is Celadon City, after all—the second largest city in the Kanto region, just a touch smaller than Saffron City. Plus, the biggest department store in Kanto is right here."
Grey knew exactly what Riolu was referring to. One hand ruffled the fur on its head, while the other pulled out a couple of Poké Balls to recall Zapdos and Articuno.
"Meow～" (Let's go～ I want to see what kind of tasty stuff they've got in that 'biggest department store' you keep talking about～)
Riolu trotted out in front, eager to get into Celadon City and have a look around.
"Sure. But there's one thing we need to take care of first."
Grey thought for a moment, then held a hand out toward Green. "Lend me yours."
"???"
Hands on her hips, Green glared at him. "Why are you always borrowing mine? Go catch a Ditto of your own!"
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