'Is my cooking not good enough? Why would you want to roast an innocent Delibird?'
Joseph's stare made Mark instinctively shrink back. "I was just joking…"
"Try catching it, just in case it finds some other way to send information." As Joseph spoke, he took out a Poké Ball and tossed it directly.
In the next moment, the Delibird hanging upside down suddenly opened its eyes wide. Its tiny wings flapped fiercely and smacked the Poké Ball away.
"This bird is playing dumb. It's already faked being knocked out twice in such a short time…" Joseph said with interest, not caring whether the capture succeeded or not.
"Delidel~ Deliii~"
Delibird struggled again. Its cooing sounds, combined with the way it flailed while still hanging upside down, made it look both funny and pitiful.
"Huh, it's actually pretty smart. Delibird says the most important envelope is gone, so it doesn't dare go back; no way it would leak information." Joseph raised an eyebrow, clearly understanding Delibird's words through Viridian Power.
"Delii? Delideli!"
Delibird froze for a moment, shocked that someone actually understood it. In the next instant, it started struggling even harder, staring at Joseph like he was its savior.
"And yet you still didn't want to be caught by me?"
"Deli?"
Delibird was stunned again. Just now… it really did… reflexively smack the Poké Ball away.
Delibird: I can't catch a break!
At that, Sato and the others couldn't hold back their laughter. This Delibird really was a living gag.
Seeing the three of them laughing so happily for some reason made Mark feel like his status was being threatened…
'NO WAY! I'm not just some mascot!'
Mark quickly shook off the terrifying thought. When he looked at Delibird again, his expression had completely changed.
Meanwhile, Joseph pulled out another Poké Ball and threw it directly at Delibird.
Unexpectedly, the Poké Ball actually caught Delibird in and began shaking repeatedly, just like any normal catch.
"And yet Team Rocket doesn't even catch such an important Pokémon…?" Joseph couldn't help but ask, since he had originally only meant to give it a try.
"Maybe… Team Rocket is doing the opposite on purpose? Delibird is inherently weak, and any Trainer with even a little ambition wouldn't want to catch one. If they then undergo some specialized training in remote areas, it wouldn't be easy to uncover the secrets inside their sacks." Cynthia pondered aloud.
"Then this dumb bird probably failed the training." Mark couldn't help but grumble.
Ding~
Just as Mark finished speaking, the Poké Ball stopped shaking, and just like that, Joseph had caught a Delibird that had been working for Team Rocket.
"By the way, Delibird's Present move can sometimes help a Pokémon recover health/stamina. Doesn't that kind of meet your standards?" Sato blinked as he asked with a serious look.
Joseph gave Sato a side glance. "Then from now on, let Delibird be the one to heal your Pokémon."
"Ahem!" Sato gave a dry cough. He had meant to tease Joseph but ended up digging a hole for himself.
The Present move might recover health/stamina… but only had a 20% chance of doing so.
As for the other 80%… those were all exploding presents.
Joseph ignored Sato's attempts to mess with him and directly picked up the Poké Ball on the ground containing Delibird.
"Since fate brought us together, then come with me."
"You're really going to 'catch' it?" Sato returned to his usual serious tone and asked.
"Yeah. Don't forget I'm just a Pokémon Breeder~" Joseph smiled, and those words made the other three too tired to even roll their eyes.
Sato and Mark had at least gone through various battles, big and small, before their Pokémon managed to reach Ace level.
Joseph, on the other hand?
They just kept eating and suddenly broke through…
But then again, since he'd been in charge of their meals this whole journey, maybe they'd hold off on complaining for now.
'You're Mama Joseph… whatever you say goes!'
The matter with Delibird came to a temporary close, and after a good rest, the group packed up and resumed their journey.
In the snow-covered landscape, wild Pokémon appeared far less frequently. Occasionally, they'd spot a few Snovers, but upon seeing the group, they would quickly run away.
Cynthia's Glaceon and Sato's Weavile were sent out to patrol the area and ensure everyone's safety.
Glaceon was obedient, Weavile was diligent. The former ran back and forth tirelessly to find safe paths for them, while the latter darted between snow-covered pines, scouting for any nearby wild threats.
Even though it was their first time working together, Weavile and Glaceon showed an exceptional degree of coordination.
As for the Delibird Joseph had just captured, he didn't send it out. He was still worried that this clueless bird might accidentally lead them straight to Miyamoto… 'Now that would be interesting.'
Better to wait until Joseph had truly tamed and trained it properly before letting it out again.
---
When something haunts your thoughts, it tends to show up. The more you fear something, the more likely you are to encounter it.
On the road to Lake Acuity, an underground ice chamber that had clearly just been dug out appeared blatantly beside the path. The ice removed from the chamber had been piled on both sides to form two small mountains.
"There are other people on this path?!" Mark exclaimed, and immediately lifted his foot to run over and greet whoever owned the ice chamber.
Joseph's reflexes were sharp. Just as Mark took his first step, Joseph grabbed his oversized hood with pinpoint precision.
"…Who is it, strangling the long neck of my destiny…?" Mark tilted his head back and spoke dramatically with great difficulty.
Joseph let go of the hand he hadn't even used much strength with, giving Mark a silent sideways glance.
Looking around, apart from the heavy snowfall, all they could see were tall snow-covered pines; nothing else in sight.
Now, with this sudden appearance of an ice chamber on the road, Sato immediately thought of one person without needing any further reason: one of Team Rocket's Twin Empresses… Miyamoto.
Shlaaa~
Suddenly, snow shifted near the entrance of the ice chamber. A small opening quickly appeared, faint light gleaming from within… yet no one could be seen.
The four exchanged glances, and finally Cynthia softly called out, "Excuse me, is anyone there? Do you need help?"
Shlaaa~
Still the sound of snow being pushed aside, but no sign of a person. Sato and the others already had their hands on their Poké Balls.
Weavile and Glaceon were fully on alert.
"Are you looking for me?"