Chapter 88
Gengar carried over another chair and sat next to Mike, using the watercolor pens to scribble across a clean sheet of paper Mike had given him.
After finishing the drawing, Gengar held the watercolor pen between his toes and pressed his own pawprint onto the paper.
Then he floated over to Snivy and Beedrill and asked them to leave prints from their paws and stingers.
Finally, he returned to Mike and had Glameow place her pawprint on it too.
Mike looked at Gengar’s abstract family portrait and couldn’t stop himself from laughing.
"Gar?"
[What are you laughing at?]
Gengar glared at him.
While trying not to laugh, Mike pointed toward one of the figures.
"So... this stick figure is me?"
Gengar nodded.
"My head is huge and my body is tiny?"
Gengar nodded again.
"One of my arms is long and the other is short?"
Another nod.
"I don’t have a nose, and one of my eyes is bigger than the other?"
Gengar glared furiously at him.
"Gar!"
[I’m not giving it to you anymore!]
Mike hurriedly caught him again before he could leave.
"That was really meant for me?"
Seeing Gengar’s angry expression, Mike immediately began flattering him.
"Oh, who said our Gengar’s drawing isn’t good? It’s incredibly beautiful! Great Hero Gengar, be the bigger Pokémon and give it to me, please?"
Gengar handed the paper over.
"Gar—"
[I’m generous, so I won’t argue with you.]
Mike looked at the family portrait and the marks left by all his Pokémon, then gently pressed his own hand onto the paper as well.
"I’ve decided. I’m going to preserve this picture."
He reached inside the backpack.
"Bind all those sheets into a book for me."
Mike silently gave the system his request.
Gengar stood directly in front of him, grabbed the backpack, pulled it open, and stared intensely inside.
Mike suddenly frowned at something behind him.
"What? Marill, you didn’t come to see me? You came looking for Gengar?"
Gengar immediately turned around.
There was nobody behind him.
His mouth fell open, and he whipped his head back around.
Mike was already holding a neatly bound book filled entirely with drawing paper.
He was currently inserting the picture Marill had given him and their own family portrait between the pages.
Σ(°▽°)/
’AAAAAAH! DAMN YOU, MIKE! YOU TRICKED ME AGAIN!’
(｡•́︿•̀｡)
Mike innocently spread his hands as Gengar stared at him.
"You can’t blame me. You were the one who looked away."
"Gar!"
[Shameless! You tricked a child!]
Gengar pointed at Mike and condemned him mercilessly.
"I’ll let you see next time, all right?"
Gengar’s face was filled with disbelief.
"Gar!"
[You’re lying to a ghost!]
"You figured it out? Of course I’m lying to a ghost. You’re a ghost!"
Gengar’s chubby purple face turned bright red with rage.
He launched himself at Mike, and the two immediately began wrestling.
Glameow watched the human and ghost fooling around, then jumped down from the chair in disgust and walked away.
"Meow—"
[Dinner is ready.]
While the two were still fighting, Marill waddled over and called them to eat.
When neither of them stopped, Snivy extended her vines from the ceiling beam, pulled them apart, and dragged both of them toward the table.
Mike lowered his head and took a bite of the noodles Marill had cooked.
Then he raised his head and gave her a thumbs-up.
"As expected of you, Marill. You’ve improved so much!"
At least she had remembered to add salt this time.
Marill sat in her chair and smiled happily.
When she saw Mike quickly finish an entire bowl, she jumped down, grabbed the bowl, and ran off while cheerfully crying, "Marill, Marill!"
When she returned, it was filled with noodles again.
Standing on tiptoe, she placed the bowl in front of Mike and gazed at him expectantly.
Mike was already full, but after seeing the anticipation in her eyes, he released a deep breath, lowered his head, and began eating again.
When he truly couldn’t finish any more, he handed the remaining noodles to Gengar and leaned back in his chair, burping.
"That rain came and went quickly," Nicole said while looking out the window.
The heavy downpour had already stopped, and the sun had returned with blazing intensity.
"That’s how summer rain is."
Mike looked toward the bright sunlight outside.
Marill ate her noodles while watching the television Nicole had reinstalled.
"Recently, our Champion, Cynthia, disrupted a carefully planned conspiracy at Lake Acuity and arrested several Pokémon Hunters involved in the illegal capture and trafficking of Pokémon."
The television drew Mike’s attention.
He raised his head and looked at the screen.
Cynthia stood beside the lake with a fierce-looking Garchomp at her side.
"Champion Cynthia, how would you evaluate this operation?"
The reporter held the microphone toward her.
Cynthia tucked her golden hair behind one ear before answering in a gentle yet distant voice.
"I believe the operation was largely successful. Once we learned about the Pokémon Hunters’ plan, we prepared an ambush in advance. Garchomp and I also tracked them until we located their base and captured nearly the entire organization."
Cynthia reached out and stroked Garchomp’s head before continuing.
"Unfortunately, their leader used her own subordinates to draw our attention away from her escape. Although Garchomp and I noticed immediately, a large number of Pokémon Hunters blocked our path, allowing her to get away."
Mike noticed the dark bloodstains covering the ground.
When Cynthia said the leader had used her own people to draw attention, she clearly meant something far worse than simply distracting them.
"But there’s no need to worry. We have already destroyed their headquarters, and I seriously injured their leader. Trainers should no longer have to fear their Pokémon being stolen by this group."
After finishing her statement, Cynthia climbed onto Garchomp’s back.
"The remaining work will be handled by Elite Four member Lucian, who has arrived to oversee the aftermath. I still have other matters to attend to, so I’ll be leaving now."
Garchomp shot into the sky and disappeared.
While Bronzong descended in its place.
Lucian jumped from its back, adjusted his glasses, and said, "Please rest assured. We will continue following every aspect of this case. We will capture the leader of the Pokémon Hunter organization and uncover the group secretly supporting her..."
Mike didn’t hear the rest.
Overwhelmed by another carbohydrate crash, he leaned back in his chair and gradually fell asleep.
...
By the time Mike woke, the sunlight outside had lost the unbearable heat of midday.
He stood, rolled his neck, and looked toward Gengar and the others watching television on the couch.
"Time to set out."
"Gar—"
[Okay~]
Nicole and Marill accompanied Mike and his Pokémon to the dirt road outside Jubilife City.
Mike asked Gengar to take out the picture bearing all their marks, then handed it to Marill.
"This is for you."
He bent down, stroked Marill’s head, and smiled.
Marill accepted the picture and carefully studied every mark on it, her round tail bouncing excitedly behind her.
"Marill~"
Mike exchanged a high five with her before straightening.
Nicole stood beside him and said, "The weather is perfect for traveling now."
Mike looked into the distance.
The dirt road had softened after the heavy rain and intense sunshine, while the sky overhead stretched endlessly blue.
"Yeah... It’s a beautiful day to set out."
Mike smiled.
"It’s only a shame we didn’t see a rainbow."
He turned back toward Nicole.
"Well, then... see you next time."
"See you next time."
Nicole bowed slightly.
"Have a safe journey."
Mike waved, then turned and began walking into the distance with his Pokémon.
After high-fiving Nicole and Marill, Gengar hurried after him.
"Gar—"
[We’re setting out~]
Marill looked down at the picture in her hands, then raised her eyes toward the sky and took a deep breath.
"Marill."
Mike glanced back.
A small rainbow had appeared in the sky.
He stared at it in astonishment.
Beside Nicole, Marill sat on her round tail while clutching the picture in both paws and fired Water Gun into the air.
The powerful stream soared high into the sky before scattering into countless droplets that gently fell through the sunlight, creating a small but beautiful rainbow.
Mike smiled and raised his camera, capturing the sight before him.
"Thank you, Marill! I love it!"
He shouted before turning and continuing down the road.
Marill climbed down from her tail, took Nicole’s hand, and turned to leave as well.
Both sides were made up of one human and their Pokémon.
Now, with their backs facing each other, they walked toward their own futures.
Behind them, the small rainbow remained in the sky.