"Glug glug glug…"
Sato downed the entire bowl of soup in one go. The warmth that spread through his body made him sigh in satisfaction.
"I can't even imagine life without Joseph," Mark said blissfully, hugging his bowl.
Joseph chuckled, then picked up the ladle and poured each of them another bowl. "If you like it, drink more. It'll only get colder when we start climbing, and keeping your strength up is important."
"Mmhm!" Mark mumbled with his mouth full, eagerly picking up his bowl and gulping again.
"Deli~"
A cry rang out, surprisingly clear in the silence of the snowy landscape. Everyone instinctively looked up.
"It's Delibird! I didn't think Delibird showed up in Sinnoh!" Mark jumped up excitedly. Delibird was native to the Johto Region and rarely seen elsewhere.
Startled, Delibird let out a cry and flailed its wing-like arms in panic, instantly taking off into the sky.
…But this particular Delibird seemed a little dumb.
In its rush, it accidentally dropped something from the sack.
Just then, a gust of wind blew the bag toward Mark, who snatched it out of the air.
"DELIII!"
Delibird cried out in horror, its face twisted in a panic no ordinary bird could pull off.
It dove straight at Mark, pecking furiously at his head.
"Ow ow ow! Stop it!" Mark ducked and ran, clutching the object -another sack- tightly. No matter how hard Delibird tried, it couldn't snatch it back.
Rip!
A sharp tearing sound rang out. Mark and Delibird both froze, slowly turning their gaze to the sack in their hands.
"DEEEEEL!"
Delibird screamed in despair and flopped dramatically into the snow, as if protesting the injustice it had just suffered.
The sack is the bird. If the sack is lost, so is the bird!
"Hmm?"
Suddenly, Sato let out a quiet sound and walked over to the collapsed pair, picking up what had fallen from the sack… 'A letter?'
"No wonder it was so protective of the sack. It really is a mail carrier," Mark said in wonder, still not noticing the way Sato had furrowed his brow.
"Huh? Boss, are you seriously opening someone else's mail? That's kind of wrong, isn't it?" Mark said in confusion.
But the Delibird that had been playing dead instantly sprang back to life, flying at Sato in another attempt to snatch the letter.
"Weavile."
"Wea!"
A black blur shot past Sato. The Delibird, still mid-flight, was slammed aside and sent tumbling into the snow again. Only its two little yellow feet sticking out, twitching slightly.
"Is there something strange about that letter?" Joseph caught on quickly and asked curiously.
Sato finished reading the letter and handed it over to Joseph, then turned to look at the Delibird half-buried in snow.
"Deliii!"
Sato grabbed Delibird by the feet and lifted it into the air. The sudden loss of ground startled it awake, and it began struggling furiously, but to no effect.
In theory, Delibird species weren't suited for combat. They didn't evolve, and with levelup alone, they only learned two moves: Present and Drill Peck.
But Delibird wasn't without its merits. It was born with the ability to craft a sack from its own feathers, and that sack had a massive internal capacity.
The spatial backpacks widely used by Trainers today were said to have been developed based on studies of those sacks.
Just like its name implied, Delibird was historically used as a messenger bird. No matter how far the destination, it could always find its way home.
But in today's world of increasingly advanced digital communication, Delibird had gradually been phased out. With their poor wild survival skills, they were now even on the brink of extinction.
As for who still used Delibird to deliver critical messages or supplies…
As far as Sato knew, there was still…
"Team Rocket!"
Mark tilted his head, casually glanced at the letter in Joseph's hand, and blurted out the name in surprise.
Yes, Team Rocket!
With the Pokémon transfer system strictly monitored by the League, using Delibird as a delivery tool was actually a pretty clever workaround.
'But this was the Sinnoh Region. Since when had Team Rocket extended their reach this far?'
"The Team Rocket you're talking about… that's the underground organization from Kanto, right?" Cynthia came over as well. Clearly, she wasn't completely unfamiliar with them.
"From the letter, it seems a Team Rocket member named Miyamoto has come alone to Sinnoh… investigating the whereabouts of the Mythical Pokémon Mew," Joseph summarized after reading through it.
"They say Mew lives in the Tree of Beginning. Don't tell me the Tree of Beginning is actually located in Sinnoh?" Cynthia raised an eyebrow, clearly intrigued.
"Miyamoto. Female. One of Team Rocket's 'Twin Empresses'. Apart from the current Team Rocket Leader, she holds the highest rank."
"Hisss…"
Sato's sudden explanation made Mark suck in a sharp breath. Even Joseph and Cynthia looked at him in shock.
Everyone had at least heard rumors about how powerful Team Rocket was. But none of them expected a single Delibird to tie back to such a major figure.
"…Then how strong is this Miyamoto?" Cynthia hesitated but still asked.
"No idea," Sato shook his head, then added after a moment of thought, "But probably at least Elite Four level."
In his past life, when Sato had visited Team Rocket Headquarters to "pay his respects," the Twin Empresses were already a thing of the past. The new boss was Giovanni, the Ground King.
According to what was passed down at the time, Miyamoto had mysteriously disappeared while searching for Mew.
As for the other Twin Empress… she was Giovanni's mother and the current head of Team Rocket: Madame Boss.
Of course, Sato didn't know exactly when Giovanni took over the organization. Maybe it was around this time?
"So… are we still going this way?" Mark asked. Hearing the words "Elite Four level" and "Team Rocket" didn't make his question cowardly.
It was just practical.
Charging in knowing you'd lose; that was true stupidity.
"Just because we ran into a Delibird doesn't mean Miyamoto herself is nearby. And if it's really fate, avoiding the path won't change anything," Joseph said cryptically, though his eyes never left Mark.
"W-WHY ARE YOU LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT! Like I'd actually want to meet someone like that!" Mark shouted defensively.
Seriously… it was this dumb Delibird that came up to him. It's not like "he" went out of his way to mess with it!
So wronged…
"Either way, let's deal with the Delibird first," Sato said at last. The Delibird in his hand had gone limp, foaming at the beak and no longer struggling.
"Deal with it how? Maybe… roast it?"
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150 PS - Extra Chap