Pokemon Shiny Gold Gym1 Falkner

Falkner is the first gym leader and he uses a Lv7 Pidgey and a Lv9 Pidgeotto, and I can tell you that it is actually possible to get a Pidgeotto at Lv9, all you need to do is catch one in Viridian Forest on Pokemon Yellow and transport it to 2nd gen, so there is your proof that it is legal to get a Lv9 Pidgeotto