Delibird slowly descended, eyes glowing as it stared at Pikachu and the boy.
First rule of the journey: When challenged, you must go all out to show respect!
"Even though I don't know what kind of Pokémon you are… let's battle!"
Ash thought the Delibird had accepted his challenge, and he shouted excitedly.
Pikachu's electric sacs began to spark with electricity.
"Ash is at it again." Misty, the orange-haired girl, sighed and elbowed the squinty-eyed boy beside her. "Brock, do you recognize that Pokémon?"
Brock hesitated for a moment before answering, "I think it's called a Delibird. Its tail is hollow, so it can carry a lot of things."
Misty exclaimed softly, "That's a tail? I thought it was a pouch!"
Meanwhile, a similar conversation was happening not far away, where two people and a Meowth were secretly observing from a higher vantage point.
"Pikachu!"
Ash's loud cry startled everyone mid-conversation. When they looked closely, they were dumbfounded.
Pikachu had been frozen into a block of ice by Delibird in the short time they were distracted.
"So strong…"
Brock and Misty's eyes widened in shock.
From the perspective of these two—Brock, a Gym Leader from Pewter City, and Misty, one of the Cerulean Sisters—this Delibird was of an impressively high level and strength, far beyond what a semi-novice Trainer like Ash could handle.
After all, most of his eight badges were basically gifts from friends.
Farther away, Team Rocket's trio were spying with binoculars and watching even more closely. After dodging several Thunderbolts from Pikachu, Delibird brought down a massive Blizzard, leaving Pikachu with nowhere to run, sealing the victory instantly!
After finishing, the bored Delibird turned to leave, ignoring Ash's frustrated cries.
Meowth exclaimed, "What a strong Delibird… It defeated Pikachu so easily!"
Jessie and James put down their binoculars and started discussing excitedly.
"Why not let it work for Team Rocket?"
"Boss Giovanni would be thrilled!"
"It's settled, let's prepare a plan to catch Delibird…"
Before they could finish scheming, an orange shadow streaked across the sky from the distant sea, closing the distance in a blink. The powerful wind it brought instantly blew Team Rocket away and headed straight for the group gathered around the frozen Pikachu, knocking Ash and his friends to the ground.
"What's going on?" Ash rubbed his sore head, staring at the unfamiliar Pokémon.
"Drago~."
Dragonite took a letter from its black shoulder bag and handed it to Ash.
As Ash accepted the letter, a female holographic projection appeared, and her message left all three of them stunned. They even forgot about Pikachu being frozen, their attention fully captured by the projection.
Delibird, who had been about to leave, froze in mid-air, eyes locked on this very familiar Pokémon—especially when it saw the black bag on Dragonite's back. Delibird's pupils shrank as if recalling something.
["This is an invitation from the world's strongest Pokémon Trainer. Please accept it."]
While Delibird was lost in thought, the projection ended. The trio were very interested in the "world's strongest Pokémon Trainer" described by the woman. But before checking off the postcard, Ash asked, "Do you know any Fire-type moves? Can you help free Pikachu from the ice?"
Ash couldn't be sure if Charizard would listen to him, so he could only ask this strong-looking Pokémon for help.
Dragonite blinked, then unleashed a powerful Flamethrower at the Pikachu ice block. In no time, Pikachu was freed, and the group happily checked the postcard.
At this moment, Delibird confirmed something: whether it was Dragonite's appearance, which was identical to the Dragonite from Lucas's family, or the black shoulder bag the Dragonair had mentioned, Delibird felt it had likely encountered the missing Dragonite leader.
After collecting the checked postcard, Dragonite immediately prepared to return to New Island. Unexpectedly, Delibird flew back to block its way: "Deli~!" (Wait!)
Dragonite tilted its head in confusion: "Drago~?" (What do you want?)
Ash and friends also found Delibird's behavior strange. Considering how strong both Pokémon were, they decided to watch for now rather than get caught in any possible conflict.
"Deli deli~?" (Do you know these three Dragonair?)
Delibird carefully took a box from its tail and showed Dragonite a family photo.
It reasoned that if Dragonite was really the leader, it would only remember the Dragonair—after all, when it disappeared, the Dragonite from Lucas's family was still just an egg.
Ash and his friends couldn't hold back their curiosity and came closer. When Misty saw the family photo, she couldn't help but sigh, "Just looking at the photo, you can feel the happiness radiating from it."
Brock nodded, "A bountiful wheat field, people and Pokémon together… just looking at it brings peace of mind."
Ash: "So many Pokémon I've never seen…"
Pikachu: "Pika Pika~."
For some reason, Dragonite's head started to hurt a little, but it was still bearable. With a calm expression, it shook its head: "Drago~" (I don't know them.)
It searched all its memories, but still couldn't recall the Dragonair.
Delibird put away the family photo, finding it hard to believe.
This Dragonite and Lucas's Dragonite looked like they were made from the same mold, and both treasured their shoulder bags.
"Drago~." (My Trainer is waiting at home. Goodbye.)
Just as Delibird was feeling confused, Dragonite shot up into the sky at lightning speed, disappearing over the horizon.
Delibird tried to chase after it, but it was no match for Dragonite's true flying speed—it vanished in the blink of an eye.
Only Ash and his friends were left, bewildered in the wind.
Following the path Dragonite took, the unwilling Delibird continued to give chase. It had finally found a clue—no matter what, it had to get to the bottom of this, if only to repay Dragonite and the Dragonair.
It was certain: that Dragonite must be the missing leader.
However, Delibird had no idea where Dragonite had gone. Helpless, it could only return and follow the boy with Pikachu from a distance.
Since Dragonite gave them the invitation, maybe following them would lead to Dragonite's location.
Delibird remembered the place name it had overheard.
New Island—what kind of place could that be?