"Where is he?" Delia wondered as she debated if she should go back into Viridian City to look for Tony.

Half an hour had passed since Tony had ran off and she began to worry. Just as she was about to walk in the direction where she had last seen Tony go, she heard - or at least she thought she heard Tony call out her name. Looking around, Delia became confused. She couldn't see Tony anywhere.

"Up here!" Tony exclaimed as he came closer.

Raising her eyes towards the sky, Delia found Tony riding Charizard who was preparing to land.

"Sorry that I took so long. I ran into someone I use to know before I moved to Violet City. If it weren't for Charizard, it would have taken me that much longer to find my way back out." Tony slid off of Charizard a moment before the Pokemon landed.

"I see." Delia replied. Viridian City did seem like a labyrinth at times. "So, what caused you to run back there in the first place?"

"Oh, yeah. That." Tony seemed to be at a loss for words as he recalled Charizard into its pokeball and tucked it away. He then rummaged through all of his pockets as if to search for something, when in reality he was making sure that his purchase was still safely stored away in the hidden inner pocket of his vest. "Shoot. I went to go get a reminder of where I use to live. Sort of a good luck charm, y'know? The Pokemon League is suppose to be so much more intense than all of the gyms. I must have dropped it on my way back."

Somehow, Delia had a bit of trouble believing all of Tony's story, but she let the subject drop without much incident.

"Uh-huh. So you'd rather have an inanimate object as a good luck charm instead of me, is that it?" Delia teased.

"What? That's not it at all!" Tony floundered a response.

"Relax." Delia said with a chuckle. "Let's get going. As I remember, there's still Victory Road to travel through before we get to the Pokemon League."

"The Pokemon League or bust!" Tony exclaimed as he punched his fists into the air.

Two days into traveling on Victory Road, tragedy struck. Tony had Bayleef out of its pokeball to help him and Delia climb a particularly rocky portion of Victory Road when Delia slipped and began to fall. Bayleef extended one of its vines and wrapped it around her torso. Even though it had a grasp on her and with Tony helping in attempt pull her up - Delia still managed to land unceremoniously on the surface below.

"Delia!" Tony blurted out as he rushed down to join her. "Speak to me. Are you okay?"

"I - ow..." Delia cried in frustration as she attempted to stand up, but wound up collapsing in pain. "I can't put pressure on this ankle."

"Let me have a look." Tony said gently as he removed the shoe and sock that covered the hurt ankle. Slightly cringing at the sight of the swollen appendage, Tony rummaged through his pack to pull out a cloth bandage. "It looks sprained. We better head back towards Viridian to have a doctor take a look at it."

"But the Pokemon League Conference is only in six days." Delia tried to not flinch as Tony bound her ankle and foot up with the bandage. "And it'll be at least another six months before the next opportunity."

"It doesn't matter. What matters most right now is you. You mean more to me than the Pokemon League. After all, if I was so determined to become a Pokemon Master, I sure took my sweet time of nearly nine years to get this far. Eight of them being even to start it all. What's another six months?"

"Oh, Tony!" Delia sobbed as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Air...need air." Tony uttered more to himself than anything before lifting Delia up in an embracing hug.

"I refuse to take you away from this particular Pokemon League Conference." Delia said as soon as she calmed herself down enough to talk coherently.

"And how are you going to travel? A sprained ankle's nothing to sneeze at and is usually more painful than a broken bone." Tony asked with a mixture of curiosity and humor in his voice.

"Let me borrow Charizard. It can get me to back to town and I'll send it back to you as soon as I get to the hospital." Delia replied.

"If you're sure..." Tony was quite uncertain about her plan. Riding Charizard could take a lot out a person, even if they were an experienced rider. With a nod of confirmation from Delia, Tony pulled Charizard's pokeball out and released the fire type Pokemon. "Charizard. Delia's been hurt and needs the quickest route to town. Watch over her and make sure she gets to the hospital in one piece, will ya?"

Charizard looked at the pair of humans while it contemplated Tony's request. A quick glance over at the not too far off Bayleef - with its own worried look on its face - seemed to also beg Charizard to help them. With a snort, Charizard nodded its head in agreement. Charizard then positioned itself so that Tony was able to situate Delia at the base of Charizard's neck, just above its wings.

"I don't know what I'll do without you." Tony sighed.

"You'll probably starve." Delia said with a weak smile. "Don't worry so much. It's not like you'll be completely alone. You'll have Bayleef and Seaking with you, and before you know it, Charizard will be back amongst your lineup in no time."

"It won't be the same without you."

"Now you're just sounding like a love-lost puppy." Delia chided. "Let's go, Charizard. The sooner we go, the sooner Tony can put his energy into traveling to the Pokemon League. And Tony, don't you dare forget to change your underwear every day."

Tony fell into a heap in embarrassment. How could she think of his changing underwear at a time like this?

"Be careful." Tony said as soon as he recovered and stood up.

Charizard took to the air as Delia waved at Tony.

"You, too." Delia replied before she rode off into the horizon on Charizard's shoulders.