At that moment, Pidgeot's eyes suddenly rolled, and it flew over to Professor Oak, gently nudging him with its wing, clearly choosing him as its passenger.
Previously, it had carried Professor Birch and ended up losing to Dragonite.
Now, instead of carrying that "heavyweight" Professor Birch, it decided to carry its own trainer, Professor Oak.
Seeing this, Charizard twitched its mouth slightly, clearly amused by Pidgeot's little scheme, though it did not bother to argue.
It then glanced disdainfully at Deino, who was still squirming in its claw, and casually tossed it onto Dragonite's back. After that, it gently placed Fire Vulpix, who had been playing with the flame on its tail, back into Theo's arms.
As soon as Deino landed on Dragonite's back, it immediately bared its teeth at Charizard and began shouting angrily, as if scolding it.
Charizard instantly leaned its head closer and stared at Deino.
Deino fell silent at once, shrinking obediently behind Theo, though its crooked twin braids still swayed back and forth, making it look even more ridiculous.
Seeing Deino in this state, both Professor Oak and Professor Birch could not help but laugh.
"Alright, alright, enough fooling around. Let's set off."
Professor Oak clapped his hands, then flipped himself onto Pidgeot's back in one smooth motion.
At the same time, Charizard walked over to Professor Birch. With a light flick of its tail, it wrapped around him and lifted him onto its back.
Theo also placed the red cocoon formed by Larvesta back into its Poké Ball.
Once everything was ready, Professor Oak spoke again.
"Destination, Mt. Pyre. Let's go!"
"Draa!"
"Chaar!"
"Geoot!"
…
Dragonite, Pidgeot, and Charizard took off almost simultaneously, shooting into the sky like arrows released from a bow, heading straight toward Slateport City.
Dragonite took the lead, its small wings flapping so rapidly that they almost left afterimages. Pidgeot flew with agile grace, weaving through the clouds as it closely followed behind.
Charizard lagged behind at the rear, and it would probably end up blaming Professor Birch later.
After flying at high speed for quite some time, Dragonite still maintained its lead.
Perhaps it was true that the smaller the wings, the faster they could flap. No matter how hard Pidgeot tried to catch up, it remained just half a body length behind.
Meanwhile, Charizard, with the largest wings, had long since been left far behind, its figure nearly disappearing into the horizon.
They flew across the ocean and passed through a mist-covered mountain range, yet Dragonite continued charging forward. Pidgeot pushed itself to the limit, almost catching up.
Seeing this, Dragonite immediately sped up again. The two Pokémon became locked in competition, their speed increasing until they were almost nothing but blurs.
At that moment, Theo suddenly heard a sharp ringing sound behind him. It was Professor Oak's PokéNav.
Professor Oak patted Pidgeot's head, signaling it to slow down slightly. Dragonite, which was still in the lead, did not take advantage of the situation. With surprising tacit understanding, it also slowed down, flying alongside Pidgeot.
As soon as the call connected, Professor Birch's somewhat exasperated voice came through loudly.
"Hey, Oak, where did you all fly off to? I've already been waiting at the top of Mt. Pyre!
…Don't tell me you flew past it? I told you earlier, the first mist-covered mountain range you see after crossing the sea is Mt. Pyre. The destination is right here. Where are you guys?"
Hearing this, Theo turned to look at Professor Oak and said hesitantly,
"Professor… I think we… flew past it."
Professor Oak's mouth twitched slightly as he raised his hand and tapped Pidgeot's head several times.
"Stop! Stop right now! Honestly, what's wrong with you two? Didn't Birch already tell you the location? You got so caught up in racing that you flew right past it!"
After scolding Pidgeot, Professor Oak turned, intending to reprimand Dragonite as well, only to find empty air beside him.
Looking back, he saw that Dragonite had already turned around on the spot with Theo on its back and was flying back along the original route.
Although Dragonite's eyesight was not as sharp as Pidgeot's, its hearing was more sensitive. Combined with its larger brain, it reacted more quickly.
The moment it heard Professor Birch mention "mist-covered mountains," it immediately realized its mistake. They had already flown past the destination.
So it rapidly flapped its small wings, came to a sudden halt midair, and silently turned around, trying to sneak back as if nothing had happened.
…
At the same time, under Professor Oak's scolding, Pidgeot made a wide arc in the air, completing its turn and instantly catching up to Dragonite.
As it flew, it shot Dragonite an annoyed glare, clearly blaming it for being underhanded.
Facing both Professor Oak's gaze and Pidgeot's glare, Dragonite immediately put on a clueless expression. It scratched its head with both claws, swaying slightly, even pointing randomly in different directions as if trying to figure out where to go.
Watching these two troublemakers, Professor Oak felt both annoyed and amused.
"From now on, you two fly properly. No more racing! If Birch hadn't called, were you planning to take us all the way back to Kanto?"
Dragonite and Pidgeot exchanged a glance, both clearly thinking the same thing.
This is your fault.
Deino, hiding behind Theo, listened as Dragonite and Pidgeot were being scolded. It wanted to laugh but did not dare to do so out loud, its body trembling slightly as it held it in.
Turning its head, it saw that Ice Vulpix and Fire Vulpix were also huddled together, covering their mouths with their little paws, struggling to suppress their laughter.
When the two Vulpix met Deino's gaze, they even nodded repeatedly. The three little troublemakers were clearly enjoying the spectacle, taking in every moment of the chaotic scene.
On the return journey to Mt. Pyre, Dragonite and Pidgeot finally behaved themselves, no longer competing, flying side by side steadily.
…
Taking advantage of the calm, Professor Oak began chatting with Theo.
"Theo, I watched the replay of your livestream earlier. What did it feel like being so close to Kyogre?
Birch said that from your footage, Kyogre looked even larger than when it appeared at Wallace's inauguration ceremony years ago.
Facing a legendary Pokémon like that, were you afraid?"
Before Theo could answer, Deino suddenly popped its head out from behind him and nodded frantically, letting out a series of excited cries.
Professor Oak was momentarily stunned, then laughed.
"You're saying you weren't afraid at all, and if your trainer hadn't stopped you, you could have defeated it, is that it?"
Hearing that Professor Oak understood, Deino immediately nodded vigorously, puffing out its chest proudly as if it were completely true.
However, Fire Vulpix and Ice Vulpix looked at it with disdain, letting out soft cries toward Professor Oak as if exposing the truth.
After all, when they first encountered Kyogre, Tyrantrum had used its tail to wrap all three of them together with Larvesta, protecting them from behind.
(End of Chapter)