Why did lugia get the short stick?

Other than smogon shit why would you pick the dumb silver bird over this majestic yet angry ass mother fucker, that the entire game alludes to?
Ecruteak city is the place you see the legendary dogs, go through a a weird ass gym puzzle, fight your rival, meet the suicune dude, and a hub city for a split path.
He's on top of a tower you could never enter and has a bunch of sages protecting the place, you also have to fight the weird geishas where if you didn't know japanese culture where really unique, it feels more grandious and fitting than finding the right cave and going down.
Also rainbow wing vs silver wing, they're so fucking different, and not opposites.
Rainbows were cool too at the time.

Lugia's arc was shit it feels like a secret legendary, not a main legendary.