"What do you mean, the bridge is closed?" Gabe cried. "I can see cars going on it!"
"Sorry, but the pedestrian walkway is closed," the official said. His foot tapped impatiently.
"We have to go across," Juniper said. "We're on a tight schedule."
"A ferry is going to be set up. But you're just going to have to wait, for now."
The Skyarrow Bridge was apparently closed for maintenance. The bridge was the only way to reach the rest of Unova by walking.
"This is gonna take forever," Gabe grumbled, sitting down on the grass with his Growlithe. He absentmindedly browsed his Pokédex.
The bridge walkway started only a short distance away, but it was blocked off. The uniformed official stood there impassively.
"What are gonna do now?" Ray said. He sat down next to Gabe and took the egg from his bag, resting it in his lap. Spolt lied down next to him, gazing at the egg. Dax sat nearby, too, but stared intently at the official instead. He was mumbling into a radio.
"Well, then," Juniper said, sitting down as well. "I guess we wait—"
"Hey! Guys!" a familiar voice called. It was Lenora. She emerged from the forest that covered the nearby road.
"What's wrong?" Gabe asked.
"Oh, nothing," the Gym Leader assured. She walked up to them, noticing the official. He was far enough away to be out of earshot. "The bridge is closed?"
"Yeah," Ray said, standing up with the egg in his arms.
"That's odd. This bridge never closes." She looked at the cars driving by for a moment before saying, "Anyway, I forgot to give you my phone number. I want you to call me when the egg hatches." After Ray entered her number into his C-Gear, Lenora examined the egg. "Looks good," she said.
They said goodbye to her again, and Lenora headed back to Nacrene through the forest. After a few moments, they could hear her faintly yell, "Watch where you're going!"
A few minutes later, Ray noticed a tall guy emerge from the woods. Ray wasn't into fashion, but the newcomer's orange scarf and faded red clothes reminded him of a few odd trends from his home region. The guy jogged down the road to the bridge, but was turned away like the others after a quiet exchange of words with the official. Turning around, he approached Ray and his friends, who were sitting on the grass nearby.
"What's up? You guys waiting to use the bridge, too?" he said, walking towards them.
"Yeah," Ray said.
"Nice egg," the guy with the orange scarf said, amused. Up close, Ray noticed how lanky he was. "Do you know what it's gonna hatch into?"
"Nope."
"Nice," the thin guy said. "My name's Stanley, by the way."
Ray introduced himself and got up to shake his hand, but Stanley told him not to bother. "My hands are kind of dirty. I crashed into this lady in that forest over there. Pinwheel Forest."
"I think that was Nacrene City's Gym Leader," Gabe said. "Oh, and I'm Gabe."
"Hey, Gabe. Nice Growlithe."
"Oh—thanks?" Gabe petted Growlithe self-consciously.
Stanley turned to Juniper. She looked amused, too. "What are you doing here, Professor Juniper?"
"We're going to the Science Festival," she said. "In Nimbasa City."
"Oh, sweet," Stanley said. "I have to catch a boat home in a couple days."
"Where do you live?" Gabe said.
"Hoenn."
"Really?" Gabe said, interested.
"We both live in Hoenn," Ray said to Stanley.
"Lavaridge," Gabe added.
"Oh, that's amazing!" Stanley exclaimed. "I live in Mauville. I guess I can see you guys sometime."
"Sure. Just ask Wattson about me," Ray said. "You'll be talking to him all day."
Stanley laughed and sat next to them, but at a respectful distance. "I wonder when the bridge'll be fixed."
"Or when the ferry is ready," Juniper added.
"I wanna just fly over there, but I don't know how far away the other side is," Stan said, staring out over the water. The grassy area before the bridge dropped off suddenly into the sea, which gave the place a great view of the structure spanning the huge distance. Even just a little bit of fog made the landmass on the other side impossible to see.
"You have a flying Pokémon?" Ray said.
"Yeah, a Fearow. I used to live in Johto."
"It would probably be faster if you just flew over," Gabe grumbled.
"But then I'd be leaving you guys here," Stanley said.
They assured him that it was fine for him to leave, but Stanley refused to do so.
"If only I could bring all of you with me," he mused. "But my pal Tretters can only hold, like, two or three people."
Ray saw an unusual opportunity. "I have a Skarmory. Maybe we can do half and half."
"Oh! Maybe!" Stanley said, grinning. "A Skarmory—aren't they all metal-ish? Doesn't it, like, make you sore?"
"I've only flown a few times," Ray said. "It's kinda scary, I guess. But it wasn't uncomfortable."
"Skarmory feathers have really unusual properties," Juniper said. "I'm no expert, but I wouldn't even call them feathers."
"You are an expert," Stanley chuckled.
"Well, not in all things."
"Wanna do it, then, Ray?" Stanley asked.
"What if the birds get tired along the way?" Gabe said.
"Well, we can stop for a rest... on the bridge," Stanley said in a low tone.
"We can't get in trouble," Juniper said, frowning.
"I think my Skarmory can make it," Ray said. "Here, let me see the map."
Gabe handed him the tourist's guide to Unova. Stanley peered at it too, saying, "Yeah, the bridge can't be more than a kilometer or two long."
"Let's do it, then!" Gabe said.
Ray vaguely knew the risks associated with what he was going to do, but Juniper looked more nervous than he did. "I don't know about this, Stan," she said.
Stanley's Fearow, Tretters, eyed Terral interestedly. The birds inspected each other briefly, before Terral turned to Ray and tried to ignore Tretters. The Fearow was curious, though, and it kept trying to get Terral's attention. Before long, Stanley had to intervene to keep it from bothering too much. He sat on its back, beckoning for someone else to join him.
"We're going two and two, then," Juniper sighed nervously. She turned to Ray. "I'll go with Stanley, so that you can ride with Gabe."
Juniper sat behind Stanley on his Fearow, while Gabe sat behind Ray on Terral. The last time Ray flew was almost a year ago. He still knew how to, though, and he quickly reminded Gabe. He had to position his legs and sit where they wouldn't rub against Terral's feathers. If it was done right, its body didn't feel like metal. Ray and Gabe also stowed their hats, before they got blown away. The egg was carefully secured inside Ray's closed pack, which he was still wearing.
"Ready?" Stanley said. He patted Tretters's neck playfully, and he and Juniper rose into the air.
The sight motivated Terral, who quickly took off to join Tretters in the air. The ground lurched away from Ray with each silvery wing flap. Ray was more than a little scared of falling, but he trusted Terral and knew how resilient it could be in the air.
Gabe yelled in exhilaration. Or maybe it was terror. Ray didn't turn his head to see. The wind was deafening at their altitude.
When Tretters and Terral ended up next to each other, Ray could turn a bit and look at Stanley and Juniper. The professor's hair was a mess, but she apparently knew how to fly.
Stanley howled in excitement. "This is great!" he yelled. Ray figured the yelling was just because the wind was louder than a speeding train with horns blaring. When he looked down again, he found that they were much higher in the air than before. He couldn't see the official anymore, because they were already moving over the ocean. Terral was now following Tretters, wings beating rhythmically.
"Are you okay?" Ray yelled to Gabe. He managed to turn around this time. All he could see was a mess of hair and flapping clothes.
"Yeah!" Gabe cried.
Terral joined in the excitement, letting out a high-pitched cry that pierced even the rushing wind.
As everyone landed on a clearing near the other end of the Skyarrow Bridge, an official dressed just like the one from before ran up to them.
"What do you think you're doing?" he yelled.
"We were just flying over," Stanley said, getting off Tretters. He turned and helped Juniper dismount as Ray and Gabe got off Terral. Tretters, breathing heavily, motioned at the Poké Balls on Stanley's belt. He obliged, returning the exhausted Fearow to its ball. Ray did the same for Terral, who looked even more tired. He gave it a hug around the neck before withdrawing it to its encapsulated home.
"There's a ferry over there!" the official fumed. "You could have just gone on that."
"I didn't see one," Juniper said.
"Me neither," Stanley agreed, turning to Ray. "How was the flight?"
"It was awesome," Gabe said.
"Terral loved it," Ray added.
The official on this side gave up trying to intimidate them. "Don't make me regret letting you all go," he said sternly, before walking back towards the bridge entrance.
"Look where we are," Stanley said, looking at the skyline in the distance. Castelia City was just ahead.
As they made their way down the road to the huge metropolis, Juniper said, "That man back there sure got angry for no reason."
"Relax," Stanley said. "Probably having an off day." He flipped his scarf back around—it had been tightly wrapped up during the flight—and led the way into the sprawling Castelia City.