After wrapping up the essential Gym business, Grey took Silver and Green, left the dojo, and got ready to head to Celadon City to earn a bit of "pocket money."
He had to admit, compared to streaming, reeling in Team Rocket officers was a much faster way to make cash.
"Sigh, once all four of Team Rocket's executives are behind bars, there'll be a lot less bounty money later on."
The thought left Grey feeling a little bitter.
Of course, taking down Team Rocket was a good thing in itself.
At the very least, after all that, he'd finally be able to live a nice, peaceful life.
"Grey, how are we getting to Celadon City?" Green asked.
If they were going there by flying, she was probably going to have to switch to some other means of transport.
Grey thought it over for a moment, then shot back, "Articuno's no good either?"
"Nope. Even Zapdos is a no-go."
Green shook her head and spread her hands helplessly.
Even after spending the past few days around Articuno and Zapdos, she still didn't quite dare ride on a bird.
"Meow~" (It's fine, leave it to me. Have her fly on Jigglypuff.)
Riolu stepped forward, hopping up onto Grey's shoulder ahead of the others, and leaned in close to whisper in his ear.
"Hm? That works too."
Hearing Riolu's suggestion, Grey turned to Green and said, "Then have Jigglypuff take off. While we're in the air, I'll have Articuno fan up some wind. As long as there's a steady breeze, Jigglypuff should be able to stay airborne, right?"
"That works. If we can keep a forward wind going the whole time, Jigglypuff won't have any problem staying up."
Green nodded lightly, thinking Grey's proposal was pretty good.
This way, they wouldn't be wasting any time either.
The faster they moved, the better!
"Kirlia, I'm counting on you. Use Teleport and send us to the western outskirts of Saffron City."
Grey took out a Poké Ball and sent out Kirlia.
"Kirli~" (Got it.)
Kirlia placed its hands over its chest, and the psychic power welling up from its body wrapped around them.
Under Kirlia's Teleport, the three of them saw their vision go dark.
By the time they opened their eyes again, they were already on the outskirts of Saffron City.
With no one else around, Grey flicked out two Poké Balls.
A Great Ball and an Ultra Ball hit the ground, and the two legendary bird Pokémon, Articuno and Zapdos, spread their wings. The moment they locked eyes, they started bickering.
"Krii!" (You spiky-feathered puffball—just looking at those pointy quills hurts. I've got no idea why Grey even called you out.)
The instant Articuno appeared, the air temperature dropped sharply. Ice crystals drifted gently down from the sky, landing on the shoulders of the three humans.
"Zee-zee!" (You prissy pretty-boy. What's the point of fussing over that dumb plumage every day? It's not like it makes your moves hit a wider area or anything. I'll never get what's so important about your stupid feathers.)
Not to be outdone, Zapdos let arcs of lightning crackle from the tips of its feathers. When they met the falling ice crystals, puffs of white steam rose up all around.
"Krii!" (What's your deal, you walking bristle brush! I'm an Ice-type legendary, you know—taking care of a spiky mutt like you is a one-move job! Snow, hail—bring it on!)
Articuno squared off against it, a sphere of shimmering aurora ice already gathering at the tip of its beak. It was just one second away from hurling it skyward and turning the weather into its own home field.
"Zee-zee!" (You prissy pretty-boy, don't think I'm scared of you! My Electric Terrain and Rain Dance can totally go toe-to-toe with your Blizzard!)
Faced with Articuno's provocation, Zapdos spread its wings, golden lightning arcing wildly around it. Faint patterns of energy had already started to spread across the ground beneath them.
"Uh, so…"
Standing between the two legendary birds, Grey looked at Zapdos and said, "You know, when you're up in the air, you don't actually get any benefit from Electric Terrain."
"???"
Zapdos froze, completely dumbfounded. What Grey had just said crashed its brain like a system error.
"Zee-zee." (W-well, obviously I knew that. Otherwise I'd just use Rain Dance alone. I'm using two moves here to make it look fair, you know?)
Zapdos hurriedly tacked on that explanation to make itself sound even cooler than Articuno.
"All right, all right, fair enough. I've actually got a nice fair contest in mind—do you two want to compete a bit?"
"Krii?" (What kind of contest?)
"Zee-zee?" (Is it really fair?)
Articuno and Zapdos peeked at each other past Grey.
They could both see the confusion in the other's eyes, and both of them wanted to hear what Grey was about to say.
Grey lifted a hand and waved it in front of the two legendary birds' eyes to focus their attention on him. Only then did he point in the direction of Celadon City and say:
"Here's the deal: we're going to have a race. But it's not just a straight speed run—you'll be keeping Jigglypuff in the air the whole way and still getting us to the outskirts of Celadon City in one piece. I'll call for a stop ahead of time; you just focus on flying."
"Krii." (That's it? I thought it'd be something harder.)
Articuno preened its feathers with its beak, sounding completely unconcerned.
"Zee-zee." (Pretty much. All we're doing is keeping enough wind under it to let it fly. At most we just have to control the output—and then it's on that Jigglypuff to see if it can hold a proper flying posture.)
For the moment, Zapdos and Articuno were in agreement; neither of them saw anything wrong with this contest.
After all, they'd both have to slow down. The advantage might very well end up on its side!
This round, the edge is mine!
So Zapdos thought to itself, a faint smile creeping onto its beak.
A faint flush even showed on its face as Zapdos gave a few smug chirps and spread its wings.
"Zee-zee!" (Come on then! I, the great Zapdos, shall be magnanimous today and allow one person to ride on my back! I'm not like Articuno over there—a public mount that just lets anyone hop on!)
Zapdos cocked its head up high and turned its back toward Grey, Silver, and Green.
With these three all having such good looks, Zapdos felt it was definitely not getting the short end of the stick.
"Silver, you want to ride on Zapdos's back?" Grey asked, glancing over at him.
"I… can I pick Articuno instead?" Silver asked.
His gaze had settled on Articuno; compared to Zapdos's sharp, spiky quills, Articuno's smooth, silky feathers were much more appealing.
"Zee-zee!" (No way! In what way am I worse than Articuno? Even if you don't want to, you're riding with me today!)
Hearing that Silver wanted to go to Articuno instead, Zapdos's pupils shrank on the spot, and crackling arcs of electricity exploded over its entire body.
In one swift dive it lunged forward, its sharp beak clamping perfectly onto the back of Silver's collar.
"Zee-zee!" (Up you go!)
In a flash of light, Silver barely had time to register what was happening before he found himself tossed neatly onto Zapdos's broad back.
The dancing currents of electricity deliberately avoided his body, weaving instead through the feathers to form a protective net around him.
It—Zapdos—was in no way weaker than Articuno!
"All right then. Since Silver's chosen to ride on Zapdos, we shouldn't waste any more time—let's get moving!"
With a backflip, Grey vaulted up onto Articuno's back, pressed himself close against its feathers, and gave the order.
"Our destination: Celadon City!"
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