Chapter 1
In the yard of a house on the outskirts of Twinleaf Town, a silver-haired granny sat in a rocking chair beside a gray stone table, gently fanning herself as she watched the Pokémon playing in the distance with a warm smile.
A young man stood in the middle of the yard with both arms spread wide, blocking Gengar from reaching the Pokémon lined up behind him.
Growlithe had its teeth clamped around his trouser leg, Pachirisu was tugging on Growlithe’s tail, and behind them came Ambipom, Kricketune, Teddiursa, and several others.
According to the young man, the game was called Hawk and Chicks.
The grandmother’s rocking chair swayed gently as she watched Gengar try to slip into the young man’s shadow, only for him to react instantly and kick it back out.
Clutching its cheek, Gengar hurried over to complain.
The grandmother reached down, patted it soothingly on the head, and said, "He’s so mean to you, isn’t he?"
Gengar nodded vigorously.
"Gar—! [He doesn’t play fair! He kicked me!]"
"There, there. I’ll give him a good scolding for you."
Although she could not understand Gengar’s words, she had no trouble guessing that it was accusing the young man of something.
After all, during the two months since he had arrived, Gengar had come to report him almost once a day.
"Mike," the grandmother called.
Mike turned toward the stone table and saw Gengar sitting at her feet, hugging her leg while wearing the smuggest grin imaginable.
"Grandma."
He walked over, pulled a face at Gengar, then sat on the round stone stool beside her.
Taking the palm-leaf fan from her hand, he began fanning both of them.
When Growlithe noticed that Mike and Gengar had abandoned the game, it shook its head and trotted after them.
It sat in front of Mike and Grandma with its tongue hanging out, its gaze moving curiously between the two.
Grandma took Mike’s free hand and patted his arm, pretending to be angry.
"Why were you bullying Gengar again?"
At her accusation, Mike glanced at the ghost sitting on the ground and doing its very best impression of an innocent victim.
He stopped waving the fan and replied softly, "Grandma, you’re blaming me for something I didn’t do again. Gengar is obviously making the whole thing up. Can’t you tell?"
"Nonsense! It came over here holding its face. How could it possibly be lying?"
Grandma shot him a stern look.
Mike stared at Gengar, which pulled another face at him while Grandma was not looking.
The instant she turned back, its expression crumpled into pitiful misery, complete with tears ready to fall!
Honestly, it was a waste that this thing had never become an actor!
"I’ve been framed, Grandma!" Mike sniffed, sounding utterly wronged. "It clearly rammed its head into my foot. How did that somehow become my fault?"
Gengar had just shifted into a more comfortable position because its leg had gone numb from sitting awkwardly.
The moment it heard Mike’s claim, it froze with its mouth hanging open.
Gengar: ??? Σ(゚∀゚ノ)ノ
’You can actually say that with a straight face?! I may not be human, but you’re the real mutt here!’
Growlithe tilted its head and blinked in confusion.
"Growl?"
’Why would Gengar hit Mike’s foot with its head? Is that some new game they invented? That’s so weird...’
"You..." Grandma began, but even she seemed at a loss in the face of Mike’s shameless ability to twist the truth.
Mike quickly glanced at Gengar before continuing, "Besides, Grandma, you saw it yourself. It supposedly hit my foot with its head, but look at what it’s holding now—its cheek. If that isn’t lying, what is?"
"You’ve always taught us that children shouldn’t lie. Gengar lied just now, so I think it needs to learn a lesson. We should ban it from lunch and give its share to Growlithe instead. Just look at our Growlithe—so obedient, sensible, and well-behaved."
Growlithe had not understood most of that, but one part came through perfectly clearly.
It was getting extra lunch!
’Hehe. Mike really is a good person.’
Gengar immediately stood up, ready to settle the matter with Mike in an unrestricted fistfight, but Grandma cut him off.
"You little rascal. Can’t you see that Gengar can’t reach the top of its own head? Of course it had to hold its cheek when it came over. How does that make it a bad child? Our Gengar is the most sensible and obedient child in the whole yard, isn’t that right, little Gengar?"
When Grandma turned her kind smile toward it, Gengar nodded as hard as it could.
"Gar—!"
’Exactly! I’m the most obedient and sensible kid in this entire yard!’
Seeing the pride written all over Gengar’s face, Grandma and Mike exchanged a glance, their eyes curving with amusement.
Grandma patted Mike’s hand. "All right. It’s time to start preparing lunch."
"Okay, Grandma. I’ll go cook now."
Mike handed the fan back to her and looked toward Growlithe.
"Growlithe, stay here and keep Grandma company while I’m cooking."
"Growl!"
’Leave it to me!’
Growlithe nodded eagerly, tongue lolling from its mouth.
It moved to Grandma’s side, rested its head gently on her lap, and closed its eyes in delight as she stroked its fur.
Mike stepped around Growlithe and nudged Gengar with his foot.
"You’re still pretending? Get up and help me! Unless you don’t want lunch anymore."
"Gar—!"
’I’m coming! Hehe.’
Gengar sprang into the air and floated after Mike as he headed into the kitchen.
...
Summer afternoons were merciless, especially in Sinnoh.
The blazing sun beat down on the entire yard without a hint of sympathy.
Grandma’s home had a traditional Japanese-style garden.
She now sat inside near the entry hall, beside a low table on the wooden floor.
The wooden doors had been left open to the garden, where the yard’s only large tree spread its leafy branches wide enough to shield both the house and its occupants from the worst of the sunlight. Dappled shadows danced across the doorway.
Wearing her reading glasses, Grandma worked a needle and thread through something that looked like a cloth belt.
Mike sat beside her with a tablet resting on his lap, his fingers constantly scrolling across the screen.
A small electric fan whirred nearby.
Despite having only one little fan, neither of them felt particularly hot.
Gengar was sitting beside Mike, staring intently at the tablet, and its presence lowered the surrounding temperature by several degrees.
Combined with the breeze from the fan, the room was surprisingly comfortable.
Mike tapped the upload button, sending his newly edited video to an app called PokéVid.
As the upload bar slowly filled, he glanced at the impatient Gengar beside him and grinned.
Reaching over, he grabbed both of its cheeks and stretched them outward until its mouth had been forced into a broad smile.
After letting go, Mike picked up a ball sewn from scraps of old cloth and tossed it across the room.
Growlithe immediately dashed after it, caught the bouncing ball in its mouth, and hurried back.
It dropped the ball in front of Mike, then stared up at him with its tongue out and tail wagging furiously.
Mike flicked his wrist and sent the ball flying again. Growlithe raced after it without hesitation!
After playing with Growlithe for a while, Grandma finally stopped sewing.
She snipped the thread with a pair of scissors, tidied her things, and looked up at Mike with a smile.
"Has it finished uploading?"
Mike shook his head. "Not quite."
He yawned as the cries of cicadas drifted in from the yard.
Giving in to his drowsiness, Mike lay back on the wooden floor and wriggled over until his head was beside Grandma’s lap.
With a loving smile, she reached down and gently stroked his forehead with her aged hand.
Worried that he might feel warm, she picked up the palm-leaf fan and began fanning him.
Mike stared blankly for a moment.
He had never known what it felt like to be spoiled by a grandmother before.
Somehow, more than two months had already passed since he arrived in this world.
Grandma had found him unconscious on a beach with a camera lying nearby and brought him home.
The story of how he got there was honestly ridiculous.
Back in his old world, Mike had been transferring photos from his camera when he grew bored and flopped onto his bed to play the recently released Pokémon Champions.
Then his Switch 2 slipped from his hands, fell straight onto his face, and somehow knocked him all the way into the Pokémon world!
After recovering at Grandma’s house, he had spent several days confirming that this truly was a real world inhabited by Pokémon—and then several more accepting it.
At first, he had planned to find a Pokémon partner as soon as he recovered, set off on a journey, and chase the dream of becoming a Pokémon Master.
After all, who could possibly be transported into the Pokémon world and resist the chance to travel with Pokémon?
Unfortunately, Grandma had suddenly fallen ill not long afterward, and her condition had been serious.
She had no children, and her husband had passed away more than ten years ago.
Faced with the sight of his savior lying alone in a hospital bed with no one to care for her, Mike could not bring himself to abandon her and leave on an adventure.
So he stayed.
He remained by her side and took care of her.
After learning how much Grandma loved Pokémon, Mike began taking his camera out with Gengar and Growlithe, both of whom had already been living in her yard.
Together, they photographed and filmed wild Pokémon, then brought the pictures and videos home for her to enjoy.
Miraculously, Grandma’s health gradually improved, and she was eventually discharged from the hospital.
Mike had also received something he had once dreamed of having.
System!
He summoned his status panel.
[Mike]
[Gender: Male]
[Occupation: Photographer]
[Pokémon Owned: None]
[Skills: Photography Lv. 5, Cooking Lv. 3, Musical Performance Lv. 2]
[Items: Pokémon Camera]
[Viewership Points: 3,821]
[Description: You dream of becoming an outstanding photographer, so what are you waiting for? Set out and capture even rarer, more fascinating Pokémon! The photos and videos you record can be edited and uploaded online. Every viewer who watches your work will provide you with Viewership Points. Now get moving, young man!]
[???]
He earned Viewership Points whenever people watched the Pokémon videos he uploaded to Pokétube.
However, despite trying countless times, he still had not discovered any way to spend them.
At the moment, they seemed no more useful than a decorative number.
As for the Photographer occupation, he had chosen it when the system first appeared after he photographed a Pokémon and claimed it could greatly improve his camera skills.
All things considered, his supposed special ability seemed completely useless.
’Whatever.’
Mike exhaled softly and closed the panel.
He liked his current life well enough.
He had Pokémon by his side, a family member who was closer than blood, and the freedom to spend his days doing something he enjoyed.
Best of all, he no longer had to grind through a nine-to-nine, six-day workweek!
He did wonder whether that lovable idiot Ash existed in this world, though.
If he did, how far had he gotten on his journey by now? And he also wondered...
Before Mike could finish the thought, he drifted off to sleep.
Growlithe, which had been lying nearby, shuffled closer and curled up in his arms before falling asleep as well.
Gengar settled down on his other side.
Grandma gazed at Mike and the two sleeping Pokémon, the smile in her eyes growing even warmer as she softly hummed a lullaby she had learned from him.
"Rock and sway, drift away~ all the way to Grandma’s bridge..."