Delibird

"That's not true!"

"Is so!"

"Is not!"

"Boys, stop," the scoutmaster ordered, pushing the two apart. "Now what's this argument about?"

"He's making things up again," Steve accused.

"I am not," Mark replied. "I was telling the guys about the man who first climbed Mount Everest. It's really dangerous up there, but a wild Delibird kept finding him and giving him food. He wouldn't have made it up to the peak if not for the Pokemon."

"It's true!" Mark's Delibird squawked, flapping his wings in emphasis.

"Mark's right in this case," the scoutmaster said. "A wild Delibird brought him food like nuts, seeds, and dried berries as he climbed Mount Everest. It's said that he tried to capture the Delibird after he started back down, but the Pokemon refused to be captured. Some lucky climbers of icy mountains do meet up with such Pokemon that help them on their way."

"But if the Pokemon helped him, why did it refuse to go with him?" Steve asked. "That doesn't make sense."

"Not all Pokemon want to go off with a human," the adult answered. "You have to respect their wishes. Are you done or just goofing off?"

"My group is working on the badge," Mark said. "We were just scouting the area. Come on, Delibird!"

"Haha, we did it!" The red and white bird followed his Trainer with hops and flaps of his left wing. His right wing had to secure his unusual tail, which was shaped exactly like a cloth sack.

The area they were in was wild and grassy, at points hiding the boy and his Pokemon completely. Various Pidgies, Rattatas, and Duduos squalled at them as they ran by. Somewhere around here, there were paths, but they didn't want to bother finding those. It was more adventurous to rush through the tall grass.

They burst out of the grass at a group of eight maple trees. Two other boys in the tan scout uniforms were sitting in one. "Hey guys!" Mark called up. "Mission successful!"

"Could you be quieter about it?" one of the boys replied. He watched the area through a camera.

"Sorry," he said quieter, climbing up the tree to sit with them. "But I disrupted the other three groups so they had to waste time chasing us away."

"Hah, then we'll be done with it first," the third boy said. They were working on a merit badge for Photography. One of the requirements was to complete a picture scavenger hunt of wild Pokemon. To make sure there was no cheating, any Pokemon on the list, like the camera boy's Pidgey, had to wear a red ribbon all day.

However, Mark was not one to sit still and wait patiently. He decided on annoying the other teams while his two more serious friends got the pictures. The cover story of scouting out wild Pokemon was enough to fool the scoutmaster. If their group, as a whole, finished first, there would be a special prize. But he couldn't make his annoyances too obvious, or the scoutmaster would catch on. He and Delibird were expert pests, though.

"How's progress? I saw an Ekans over in another set of trees."

"We got Ekans," the third boy said, pointing to the list. "We're doing good."

"Just waiting on an Abra to come out of the grasses," the camera boy added. "Those things are tough to get a picture of. They teleport off as soon as they sense your gaze on them."

"I am getting hungry, though."

"No problem," Mark said. "We came prepared with gorp, of course."

"Of course," Delibird echoed, opening the end of his tail sack. He pulled out a large plastic bag filled with a mixture of food.

"What's gorp?" the third boy asked. "Sounds gross."

He laughed. "Aw Benny, you've got to come camping more often. Good old raisins and peanuts, that's what gorp is. But my Mom always adds M&Ms and marshmallows too."

"That sounds great," Benny said, taking a handful out of the bag.

"Yeah," Mark replied, pulling out a handful for himself. He tossed a peanut at Delibird; he caught it with a snap of his beak. "I go hiking and camping lots, so I know it's good to bring some gorp around. You never know if you'll get lost or something."

"Can you be quiet?" the camera boy asked. "The wild Pokemon won't come out if you're talking loudly."

"Sorry Dan." Mark was quiet.

For a while, anyhow. There were chirps and grunts from wild Pokemon all around them. On checking the list, Mark noted that Dan only had Abra, Weedle, and Volbeat left to get. Volbeat at least would only show up in the evening, while Weedle was easier to find then. Abra, though, that would be more or less a lucky shot.

"Hey," he whispered. "How're you gonna get the Abra out of hiding?"

"I was waiting for one to come out on its own," Dan replied.

"That'll take too long," Delibird muttered. He opened his sack back up and searched for a bit. Then he pulled out a square white box with a fancy red ribbon tied around it. Odd, because it seemed like it should have taken up all the space in his tail. However, the Pokemon was used to the discrepancy and never gave it much thought.

"Where'd that come from?" Benny asked quietly.

Mark looked at his Pokemon and realized what he meant to do. "Oh shoot... Dan, be ready."

"Ready for what?" the camera boy asked right as Delibird launched the present into the grass.

BOOM!

A cacophony of objections from wild Pokemon filled the air. Said Pokemon scattered all around, seeking shelter from further random explosions or seeking someone to blame for the day's disruption. Over near the maple trees, a now-alert Abra appeared outside the grass, grumbling to itself and rubbing its eyes.

"There's one," Benny said, barely holding it from a shout.

"It's not looking at us," Dan grumbled. "It won't be a good picture."

"I know what to do," Mark said, picking out a raisin from his handful of gorp. With the aim of an expert rascal, he tossed the dried fruit at the Abra's head.

Already annoyed at the rude wake-up call, the Abra snatched it as if it were a weapon. It sniffed, then teleported away with the raisin. Other Pokemon began to settle down, but now watching warily.

"That might have been the only one around here," Dan hissed, looking away from his camera.

"Did you get a picture of it?" Mark asked.

"It wasn't a good shot."

"But did you?"

"Don't worry," Delibird said, digging back through his sack. "We can always try again." He pulled out another Present.

"Cut that out!" Dan shouted. The Pokemon ignored him and tossed the box away.

BOOM!

…

Leaf Green entry: It carries food bundled up in its tail. There was a famous explorer who managed to scale Mt. Everest thanks to a Delibird sharing its food.

Sometimes, you just have trouble finding inspiration. Explosions can help with that.