Chapter 137

Chapter 137: Chapter 137

After finishing the story, Mike looked at Gengar and Beedrill, both of whom were still instinctively protecting their lower halves after hearing the ridiculous price required to master the legendary Gracidea Codex.

His eyes shifted thoughtfully between them.

Then a mischievous idea occurred to him.

"Gengar, if someone handed you the Gracidea Codex for real and told you that you could master its ultimate power, would you do it?"

Gengar’s eyes went wide.

He shook his head so violently that his entire body wobbled, then began frantically pushing himself backward with his stubby little legs.

"Gar!"

[DON’T TRY TO TRICK ME!]

Mike stared at him for a moment.

Then another question entered his mind.

"Actually... do Pokémon even have—"

His gaze drifted downward.

"Now I’m curious."

Mike stood.

"Come here. Let me check."

Gengar’s face changed instantly.

Mike lunged.

Gengar launched himself aside with a panicked leap, narrowly avoiding him before floating high into the air and staring down with the wariness of someone facing a genuine predator.

"I’m only curious."

Mike gave him the gentlest smile he could manage.

That somehow made Gengar tremble even harder!

Mike really was curious, though.

Pokémon normally didn’t wear clothes, which naturally raised certain anatomical questions—

Whap!

Two Vine Whips struck him across the back.

Mike yelped.

Whap!

Whap!

Three lashes were enough to completely destroy that particular train of thought.

Snivy stared at him without the slightest trace of sympathy.

Then she looked toward Beedrill.

Beedrill shuddered as he understood immediately.

String Shot wrapped around Mike before he could protest, binding him into a giant white cocoon and suspending him from a tree branch.

A little while later, Melodi stepped outside carrying a platter of Berries for everyone.

She had barely made it through the door when she noticed the enormous cocoon hanging from the tree.

Curiosity won.

Melodi walked over, looked up, and discovered Mike staring lifelessly at the night sky from inside the silk.

She hesitated.

"Um... what happened?"

Mike lowered his eyes toward her.

Whatever dignity he had possessed earlier that evening was clearly gone beyond recovery.

He closed his eyes.

"Nothing."

His voice was perfectly calm.

"I’m enjoying the breeze. It’s cooler up here."

Melodi failed to hold back.

A small laugh escaped her moouth.

She quickly composed herself out of politeness, though the corners of her mouth were still twitching.

"Well, in that case, I won’t disturb you."

She carried the Berry platter over to the blanket.

"Gengar, everyone, come have some Berries."

"Gar—!"

...

By the time the Berries were gone, Melodi had already returned inside to sleep, and Mike had finally been released from his cocoon.

Glameow was curled up beside him.

Mike cautiously reached over and sneaked a few strokes across her belly before asking Snivy to retrieve the camera.

He connected it to his tablet and began editing the footage he had recorded that evening.

Nearby, Gengar was enthusiastically telling Beedrill a story he had invented earlier that day, and Beedrill listened with surprising concentration.

Once Mike finished editing the footage of everyone playing in the flower field, he uploaded the video, put both the camera and tablet away, then sat with his hands braced behind him and stared quietly into the night.

Glameow’s tail brushed his wrist.

The moment it touched him, it curled around his arm almost automatically.

A cool breeze swept across the flower fields beneath the stars.

The blossoms bent gently in the wind, and above them floated countless tiny points of light.

Mike’s eyes brightened.

"Fireflies..."

He extended his free hand.

Within moments, two ordinary fireflies drifted toward him and landed on his fingers.

Mike blinked.

’Wait.’

’Does my Bug-type affinity work on normal insects too?’

That was unexpected.

Mixed among the ordinary fireflies, Mike soon spotted several Volbeat and Illumise as well—the Pokémon world’s own inseparable firefly pair.

Perhaps influenced by Mike’s unusual affinity, the Volbeat and Illumise gradually gathered around him and began performing a graceful dance beneath the night sky.

Mike simply sat there and watched.

He had no idea how much time passed before the ordinary fireflies eventually dispersed and the Volbeat and Illumise returned to the forest.

At last, Mike leaned back onto the blanket and closed his eyes.

"Good night."

"Sni~"

...

A sudden shaft of morning sunlight struck Mike directly in the face.

He opened his eyes, sat up, and yawned as he looked around.

His tablet showed that it wasn’t even six in the morning.

Mike squinted toward the already-bright sky.

"Why does it get light so ridiculously early here?"

Then he remembered where he was.

"Right. No forest canopy."

He rolled his neck.

"I should’ve slept in the tent."

Glameow was still beside him, her tail wrapped around his wrist.

Whatever she was dreaming about seemed pleasant enough, because her mouth kept making tiny chewing motions in her sleep.

Gengar was sitting on a tree branch with both hands wrapped around his bamboo staff, his head leaning against Beedrill’s as the two slept soundly.

Snivy sat on another branch with her eyes closed.

Mike carefully worked his wrist free from Glameow’s tail, stood, and stretched.

’Nothing like an early start...’

He began walking naturally toward the nearest secluded spot.

Then stopped.

His eyes opened fully.

’Wait.’

’This isn’t the forest.’

Something bumped softly into his heel.

Mike looked down.

Glameow had apparently woken just enough to follow him on autopilot.

She was standing behind him with half-closed eyes, her head slowly drooping forward before jerking upright again.

"Meow?"

[Why’d you stop?]

Mike looked at the barely conscious cat and sighed.

He picked her up, carried her back to the blanket, and set her down before heading inside the house to use the bathroom like a civilized human being.

When he came back out, he encountered Gardevoir descending the stairs.

She looked mildly surprised to find him awake so early.

"Morning, Gardevoir."

"Garde~"

Gardevoir answered with a warm smile and a polite greeting of her own.

Mike watched her continue downstairs and finally understood why Gardevoir had always been so popular with Trainers.

Elegant, intelligent, humanoid, extraordinarily expressive, and Psychic-type on top of everything else—there were plenty of reasons people became attached to the species.

’Maybe I should raise a Gardevoir someday.’

He had already wanted a Psychic-type Pokémon eventually.

Psychic types might not always dominate battles in the games, but in the real world, their abilities were absurdly useful.

Telekinesis alone could make everyday life dramatically easier.

After saying goodbye to Gardevoir for the moment, Mike returned outside.

Glameow was still sitting on the blanket, barely awake, staring sleepily toward the doorway.

Mike sat beside her and gently stroked her head.

"It’s still early. Go back to sleep."

Glameow licked the center of his palm, then obediently lay down on her side.

Her tail wrapped around his wrist again before she closed her eyes.

Mike remained sitting beside her and pulled out his tablet, using the quiet morning to organize the photographs he had taken over the past several days.

"What type should the next episode of The Wide World of Pokémon focus on?"

He tapped through his folders.

So far, he had already released episodes featuring Bug, Flying, and Grass types.

Rock and Ground could work.

Normal was another possibility.

"Sni?"

Snivy’s voice interrupted his thoughts.

Mike looked up and found her awake on the branch above him, apparently wondering why he was up at such an unreasonable hour.

"Couldn’t get back to sleep."

He lowered his voice so he wouldn’t wake the others.

"You can keep sleeping if you want."

Snivy yawned, shook her head, then hopped from the branch and pattered into the house.

Mike watched her disappear.

Then his eyes suddenly lit up.

"That’s it."

The next episode would focus on Water-type Pokémon!

They were already planning to visit the Gracidea fields near the coast, and Mike had promised to take Snivy to see the ocean.

While they were there, he could photograph whatever marine Pokémon they encountered.

After the decision was made, Mike opened PokéVid.

Sure enough, night owls existed in every world.

The video he had uploaded after midnight had already reached roughly three hundred thousand views by morning.

Mike opened the comments.

His viewers were apparently far more creative than he had given them credit for.

[AAA Machamp Building Supplies: Good lord. Is there really a secret technique that terrifying? My legs crossed on instinct just listening to it.]

[BBB Old-School Contractor: Gengar and Beedrill looked absolutely traumatized. Mike’s face while explaining it was the best part.]

[Who Gave My Gardevoir a Big Root?: So... hypothetically, if I’m a woman, I can learn this technique without any problems, right?]

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