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Falkner, the Bird Keeper's Challenge!!
挑戦、鳥使い・ハヤト!!
Hayato The Bird Tamer's Challenge!!
Falkner, the Bird Keeper's Challenge!! (Japanese: 挑戦、鳥使い・ハヤト!! Hayato The Bird Tamer's Challenge!) is the second chapter of the Pokémon Gold & Silver: The Golden Boys manga.
Plot
Gold and his Pokémon are eating food while on their way to Cherrygrove City. When they arrive, they learn from Mr. Pokémon's wife that he is not there, having left for Violet City with a childhood friend of his. Gold asks Mr. Pokémon's wife about the important discovery he was sent on an errand for, but she doesn't know the nature of it herself, and so, Gold decides to head to Violet City himself.
Gold recalls that there is a Gym in Violet City and decides that he wants to challenge Falkner, the Gym Leader. On his way through Route 30, he encounters many Trainers and battles them with his Totodile and newly caught Pidgey. Exhausted from all of those battles, his Totodile collapses. Gold then rushes straight to the Pokémon Center in Violet City. There, Nurse Joy lectures him on how he should treat his Pokémon with care, and that being the Trainer of a Totodile, he should know that it cannot show emotions on its face, and that it is the Trainer's responsibility to be aware of its physical condition at all times. Gold is worried and asks how his Totodile is, but Nurse Joy heals it and assures him that it is fine now. Nurse Joy advises Gold that a Totodile cannot keep control of its body temperature and to warm it up before a battle to improve its agility. As Gold is leaving the Pokémon Center, Professor Oak passes by him and notices how similar he looks to a Trainer named Red.
Gold has now arrived at the Violet City Gym and is ready to take on the challenge. Gold was expecting Falkner to send out a Pidgey and Pidgeotto, but to his surprise, he instead sends out a Pidgeot. Falkner explains that his previous Pokémon were injured from a battle from a previous challenger. Gold asks who that Trainer was and Falkner describes the Trainer as none other than Black. The battle starts as Falkner commands Pidgeot to use Wing Attack, while Gold tells Totodile to use Water Gun. Both Pokémon end up missing their targets. Gold observes a hole in the ceiling left by Totodile's Water Gun, and devises a plan to keep aiming for the ceiling. Falkner does not realize this, and passes off the notion that it might be a trap based on Totodile's expression. Pidgeot is about to use another Wing Attack when Totodile aims a Water Gun at the ceiling again, this time a huge chunk of the ceiling falling off on the oncoming Pidgeot. Pidgeot, however, had escaped using its speed.
It is here that Gold reveals his true strategy for aiming at the ceiling. Recalling the advice that Nurse Joy offered him earlier, Gold explains that the sunlight coming from the hole of the ceiling was to help Totodile increase its body temperature so that it could speed up its movements. Pidgeot and Totodile both attack again at each other, this time Totodile's Water Gun is able to hit first, and soaks Pidgeot. Gold then commands Totodile to use Bite to finish the battle off. Gold's celebration is cut short when Falkner informs him of his next Pokémon, as a silhouette of an Articuno is shown. The chapter ends with a black storm cloud appearing outside the Gym, as Nurse Joy asks Professor Oak what is happening.
Major events
Debuts
Pokémon debuts
Characters
Humans
Pokémon
