After arriving at Cinnabar Island, Red immediately used Teleport, materializing at the local Pokémon Center within moments and calling Professor Oak to arrange switching his battle lineup.
"Red! When will you send Zapdos back?" Professor Oak asked with an eager grin, rubbing his hands together as he gazed expectantly at Red and the Ultra Ball barely visible in the corner of the screen.
"Zapdos still needs to stay with me for now," Red said calmly, "because Zapdos's goal is only half complete."
He asked Professor Oak to wait patiently for a few more days. Among the three legendary birds, Red had developed a special fondness for Zapdos alone, so he had no desire to capture Articuno. Moreover, Red understood that although Articuno felt affection for his Viridian Power, it preferred to stay by Lorelei's side.
Besides, if Red captured Articuno, it would mean he'd have to capture Moltres too, and when all three legendary birds gathered together, Red would probably be kept quite busy managing their rivalries.
So Red had decided to simply train Zapdos as his only legendary bird, avoiding future jealousy conflicts since the three legendary birds all harbored mutual animosity.
Even during the day, the Pokémon Center rooms were already fully booked, but fortunately Red knew about the inn run by Blaine, so he didn't need to spend a fortune on advance reservations.
After leaving the center, Red wandered the bustling streets. Both sides were lined with stalls selling Cinnabar Island's unique cuisine and Pokémon figurines, with hot spring resort signs visible everywhere.
Clearly, present-day Cinnabar Island had transformed into a tourist destination, no longer resembling the place Pokémon trainers once aspired to visit. The influence of hot spring culture in recent years has stripped away its former glory as a pilgrimage site for serious trainers—perhaps this was an inevitable fate.
Red's arrival caught the attention of a middle-aged man wearing an obviously fake wig and beard, complete with sunglasses. The man approached Red and formally posed a riddle: "Head cold, body warm—what is it?"
"An outdoor hot spring," Red replied with amusement, studying the peculiar middle-aged man who had approached him.
"Correct! I believe you're also looking for Cinnabar Gym's location, but unfortunately, Cinnabar Gym has declined."
The middle-aged man looked around with visible disappointment.
"Cinnabar Island was indeed once a place Pokémon trainers aspired to visit, but ever since hot springs were discovered, it completely transformed into a tourist destination—how disappointing!"
The man dramatically knelt on the ground, looking up at the sky with frustration as he vented his inner dissatisfaction.
"Uncle, you're Blaine's 'friend,' right?" Red teased, his eyes sparkling with mischief. "I heard Blaine is an old man who likes wearing wigs and especially enjoys riddle games. I never expected you to have such similar interests."
Red's words nearly made the middle-aged man nervous enough to topple over, but he managed to recover in time, coughing a few times before changing the subject with another riddle.
"What's something right in front of you that you can't see?"
"Your eyelids!" Red replied without hesitation.
"Correct, correct! As a reward, I'll take you to where Cinnabar Gym used to be."
The middle-aged man led Red to the former gym location. However, the current Cinnabar Gym had become a pile of neglected ruins, with only the weathered gym sign hinting to passersby that this had once been a place Pokémon trainers revered.
Seeing Red's questioning gaze, the middle-aged man straightened up and slowly explained the situation.
"Too many visitors came to challenge the gym with a tourist mindset, which annoyed Blaine as the gym leader, so he closed the gym."
"Indeed, constantly being bothered by third-rate trainers would be irritating," Red agreed, "especially for Blaine, a former Fire-type Elite Four member."
Red turned to look at the middle-aged man, his eyes suddenly blazing with battle intent, which made the disguised gym leader step back in alarm.
'I haven't revealed my identity, have I?!'
"I'm really looking forward to the day I battle Blaine—a true Elite Four level match!"
"Ahaha..." The middle-aged man scratched his head awkwardly, looking away to avoid Red's intense gaze.
"You'll have to tell Blaine that yourself, not me—I'm just a passerby," he said hastily. "Anyway, if you can't find a place to stay on Cinnabar Island, you can try staying here for a few days."
The middle-aged man, eager to escape, handed Red a postcard with the inn name "Riddle Inn." Finding this inn's location was simple—just solve the riddle on the postcard.
"Swings below, brothers racing above," Red murmured, studying the card before turning toward the park halfway up the distant mountain. "Blaine really does love riddles."
Under the shocked gazes of passersby, Red's eyes glowed blue as he used Teleport and vanished.
The park represented the swings, and above it stood a building with a clock tower—the hour and minute hands represented the racing brothers.
"Looks like I'm early," Red said with a helpless smile, checking the time.
The middle-aged man was probably still making his way back.
Half an hour later
"I never expected you to solve that riddle so quickly and get here before me."
When Blaine returned to find Red already waiting outside the door, he looked incredulously at the clock tower above.
"Since you're so 'enthusiastic,' I'll make an exception and let you stay at the inn for free these few days," the middle-aged man said with forced generosity.
Perhaps having anticipated Red's arrival, he had prepared an extremely lavish lunch that rivaled the offerings of Cinnabar Island's famous resort hotels.
After sharing the meal, Red voluntarily recounted some of his travel experiences to his host.
"I see, so you've already gained recognition from the strongest gym leader, Giovanni," the middle-aged man said in surprise, studying the Earth Badge and qualification badge on Red's collar.
"By the way, the League gym with the black badge you hold has been officially recognized by the Kanto League and has become the region's first double battle gym. This novel battle style has made Dark City's economy flourish, and they've even decided to give their city a better name."
"That's naturally good news," Red nodded with satisfaction, touching the black badge on his collar. "It proves they're properly fulfilling their responsibilities as gym leaders."
"Even if the black badge wasn't officially certified by the League, you already have the qualification badge to participate in the Indigo Conference," the middle-aged man observed curiously. "Why continue traveling to challenge Cinnabar Gym?"
"To challenge various strong opponents and continuously hone my strength," Red explained with unwavering conviction. "The realm of strength is endless—I can't abandon upcoming challenges just because I've qualified for the tournament."
"As a rookie trainer who's been out for less than a year, you're excellent," the middle-aged man said, taking a deep breath as he looked at Red with genuine admiration. "So excellent that your achievements could overshadow all opponents of the same period."