Sometimes, Falkner sweeps feathers from the floor himself so he doesn't have to look at the pokebirds who only slowly rise in level.
He has Pidgeotto, his favorite, but even then, the bird doesn't really do much to quell his thirst for superiority. He still longs for the day when Pidgeotto turns into Pidgeot, a sleek and loyal bird of flight. He still longs for the day when all these little Pidgeys become Pidgeottos.
Later, Morty finds Falkner out back opening the large, domed cage to allow the Spearow to ease outside.
"I didn't think you, of all people, would keep your birds caged," Morty says.
Falkner has that nitch to his brow when he looks back, the one that says his I-hate-being-judged is showing through. "He's newly trained," Falkner says with a little bite, turning back to the Spearow. "We don't want him to harm the Pidgeys if he gets aggressive."
"Oh," says Morty, so easily admitting his wrongness on the situation. Then he smiles, but just a little.
Falkner's brows have that same nitch in them again. He didn't understand how Morty could be so care-free about being wrong. How the trainer could let mistakes... well, ifly/i so easily. The Spearow nudges him lightly with its beak after centering Morty with a watchful, yet curious eye.
"Did you need something?" Falkner asks finally. Morty doesn't answer, so he turns around to find the trainer staring at the roost of dozing Starlys nearby. He frowns. "I said, did you need something?"
Morty snaps out of his daze, looking back with that blink that says he's trying to recall what exactly Falkner said. "Oh, yeah," he says, the smile from before back on his face. "Someone found a Natu and brought it to me, but... you know, birds aren't really my thing, are they?"
Falkner narrows his eyes as if he doesn't believe that is the point of the visit.
"What?" Morty says exasperatedly. Falkner's expression didn't change. "I'm serious! Sure, Natu is sorta psychic, but I thought that we could... put our heads together. Its flying, that's your specialty. I just deal with ghosts. What am I gonna be able to do for a cute bird?"
A Hoothoot gave a coo in the distance to fill the momentary silence.
"You haven't tried to make it fly, have you?" Falkner asks skeptically.
"Oh, so now you peg me for a bird killer?" Morty chuckles. "I don't spend time tossing birds in the air just so you can get mad at me."
Falkner sighs. "No," he says firmly. "No. Natu's wings aren't developed, though, so it can't fly."
Morty shrugs. "It's fine," he reassures. "It's a little hopping green ball. It likes to sit on your shoulder right at the crook of your neck." Morty demonstrates with his cupped hands. "And it loves to climb trees. You'll take it, right? C'mon, Falkner, I know you can't ditch a bird."
Which is exactly why Morty came to him, Falkner thought with pursed lips. "You have it with you?"
Morty grins and rubs the back of his head. "It's up front-"
A flurry of bird noises and bird flapping causes the two of them to look toward the doors. A flock of Taillows swoop off to the left, followed closely by a hip-hopping green orb on the ground. Suddenly, the green ball decides it is going to climb the adjacent column.
"Natu!" calls Morty, hobbling off after the bird pokemon. "No, don't do that! Hey!"
It's no surprise that Falkner sighs again, more irritably this time. "It's not going to come down so easily when it's use to being wild," Falkner says after Morty. The Spearow exchanges a look with him, then turns to trot back into the cage. Falkner closes the gate before heading slowly after the other trainer.
Morty was still at the bottom of the column, looking up with a hand over his eyes. Natu, sideways on the stone, was leering down at him. "I can get Haunter to get it down."
"And I'll throw you out of my gym," warns Falkner. Morty gives him a come-on kind of look. Stopping, Falkner glances up at the perched bird. Admittedly, it is rather cute, he thought. A tiny, green ball with two little feet and two big eyes. Its tail would flick every now and again. "If you use Haunter, it'll just be aggressive. It shouldn't hurt any of the birds. They enjoy climbing things. It'll come down when it's ready."
"I guess it's a perfect bird for you then, huh?"
Falkner snaps a look at the boy beside him. "What's that suppose to mean?" Falkner asks defensively.
Morty holds up his hands and chuckles. "Nothing, nothing," he says quickly. While Falkner is still glaring at him, much like one of the birds, he says, "We can go get a drink and wait for Natu to come down?"
Falkner doesn't seem at all pleased.
Later, Falkner is miffed to find Morty dozing in the aviary with Natu tucked away in the crook of Morty's neck. Yet he is relieved to find that the boy and bird get along-since when did ghost trainers and birds mix?