Chapter 63
Mike looked at Glameow, who had somehow crawled from the corner of the bed into his arms during the night.
He rolled over, hugged her closer, and went back to sleep.
His movement woke Glameow.
She opened her blue eyes, looked at Mike’s face only inches away, then wriggled free from his arms and lightly jumped to the floor.
Mike watched her leave, closed his eyes, and prepared to sleep a little longer.
The blanket was suddenly pulled away.
He opened his eyes and found a pair of large, bright eyes staring at him.
"Good morning, Snivy."
Mike grinned and greeted her.
Snivy didn’t respond. She simply continued staring at him.
"I understand. I’m getting up."
Snivy remained motionless.
Only after Mike climbed out of bed did she finally nod. She extended a vine and pulled the curtains open, allowing sunlight to flood the room.
"Sni~"
[Good morning~]
Mike got out of bed, stretched his body, and let out a comfortable groan.
"It’s been so long since I slept in such a comfortable bed..."
He closed his eyes and allowed the sunlight coming through the window to shine across his face.
"Too hot."
Mike immediately moved out of the sunlight.
Then he noticed Gengar and Beedrill hanging upside down from threads in the corner of the room and looked at them in confusion.
"What are you two doing? Cosplaying failed superheroes?"
Gengar hung upside down with both chubby feet gripping the thread and his bamboo staff held in his hands.
He opened his eyes and gave Mike a look that clearly said he understood nothing.
Mike fell silent.
"Got it. Continue your training."
He shook his head, having no idea where Gengar learned all these strange ideas.
"Get ready. Once I finish washing up, we’ll go downstairs to buy some things and then visit your new friend."
Gengar’s eyes lit up.
He released the thread with both feet and allowed himself to fall.
Beedrill copied him and released the thread from his abdominal stinger.
Gengar flipped in midair, landed dramatically like a hero, then ran toward Mike on his short legs.
A crisp impact sounded behind him.
Gengar stopped and curiously looked back.
Beedrill had landed headfirst, his legs twitching in the air!
Beedrill: ’Boss... You... You tricked me!’
Gengar looked confused as he scratched his head—or rather, his backside.
Gengar asked, ’Can’t you just.. i don’t know... fly?’
Beedrill: "..."
"What happened?"
Mike walked out of the bathroom with a toothbrush in his mouth.
"Gar—"
[Beedrill just—]
Before Gengar could finish, Beedrill flew past both of them with a completely expressionless face.
Gengar: "..."
...
After washing up, Mike recalled Beedrill into his Poké Ball, picked up Glameow, and let Gengar hide inside his shadow before taking Snivy toward the elevator.
"We’ll visit the Pokémon Center first. I need Professor Rowan to transfer Snivy’s Poké Ball over. I forgot to mention it when I called him yesterday."
"Then we’ll ask Nurse Joy to give all of you a checkup."
The elevator doors opened just as Mike finished speaking.
He stepped out and headed toward the hotel entrance.
"Assistant Mike."
A voice called out to him.
Mike stopped and turned toward the source.
The familiar uniform and familiar face...
’Officer Jenny?’
Officer Jenny walked over and saluted him.
"Good morning, Assistant Mike. I apologize for disturbing you so suddenly."
Seeing her salute, Mike hurriedly straightened up and tried to return it.
However, he was still holding Glameow, which made saluting impossible.
So he simply raised Glameow beside his head.
Glameow’s tail naturally fell over her body, covering her before she swiped a paw toward Mike’s neck.
Mike released her.
Glameow nimbly flipped through the air, landed safely, and hissed at him.
With his hands finally free, Mike saluted Officer Jenny.
"Good morning, Officer Jenny."
Officer Jenny glanced at Glameow beside his feet, then returned her attention to Mike.
"Assistant Mike, do you have some time right now? Could we sit nearby and discuss something?"
Mike nodded and followed her to a nearby café area.
...
"So you’d like me to work with the police department and appear in a short public-awareness video?"
Mike stared at Officer Jenny in surprise.
She nodded.
"That’s correct. After Elite Four member Lucian watched your video about Bug-type Pokémon, he felt that your analysis was very reasonable."
"He asked towns and cities throughout the League to use your explanation when educating people about Bug Pokémon, hoping to reduce the number of accidents in the wilderness."
"To be honest, many traveling Trainers are involved in accidents because of Bug-type Pokémon. The League holds lectures every year, and schools teach wilderness safety as well, but..."
Officer Jenny sighed.
"Most new Trainers who leave on journeys are still children."
"Do I have to appear in the video personally?"
Mike scratched his head.
"Not necessarily. You only arrived in Jubilife City yesterday. If my younger sister hadn’t told me you were here, I wouldn’t have known."
"Your younger sister is...?"
"Jenny Rin, the Officer Jenny stationed in Twinleaf Town."
"Jenny Rin?"
Mike suddenly understood.
No wonder Jubilife City’s Officer Jenny knew he had arrived and came looking for him early in the morning.
"I spoke with her last night and learned that you had already arrived in Jubilife City. I wondered whether we could ask you to participate, since the results might be better with you involved."
"That’s why I came here early this morning. I wanted to discuss the cooperation with you as soon as possible."
"I don’t mind helping, but would my appearance really make that much difference?"
Mike looked puzzled.
"You know The Wide World of Pokémon has done quite well, but I don’t think it’s popular enough for every Trainer to recognize me."
Officer Jenny looked at Mike’s confused expression and hesitated.
Finally, she quietly asked, "Assistant Mike... Have you not been online much lately?"
"I have. I spent some time in the wilderness, but I still went online every day."
"Do you know about the Poké Forum?"
"What’s that?"
’As expected...’
Officer Jenny thought to herself.
She took out her phone, opened the Poké Forum, and handed it to Mike.
Mike accepted it and saw that every entry in the top ten trending topics involved someone he recognized.
Diantha’s new movie, Nessa’s latest photo shoot, Iono’s new program...
That wasn’t important.
Mike looked at the number-one trending topic and froze.
"The Wide World of Pokémon is number one?"
"Yes. The program itself is interesting, and Champion Cynthia, all four members of the Elite Four, and Professor Rowan recommended it."
"That pushed The Wide World of Pokémon onto the trending list."
"Professor Oak’s recommendation and commentary two days ago sent it all the way to number one."
"So that’s what happened... No wonder my Viewership Points have increased so much lately..."
"What did you say?"
"Nothing. I mean, I don’t have a problem with filming."
Mike quickly changed the subject.
"I’d just like to rest for a couple of days first. I only recently returned from the wilderness, so I’m a little tired."
"Of course. We can wait until you’ve had enough rest before filming."
"Then that works."
Mike nodded.
All he had to do was appear on camera and read a few lines. It wouldn’t be particularly exhausting.
The video also served a meaningful purpose, so Mike readily agreed.
"Thank you very much."
Officer Jenny nodded to him, then took an envelope from her pocket, placed it on the table, and pushed it toward Mike.
"Oh, Assistant Mike, this is your payment for appearing in the video. I thought it would be better to give it to you in advance."
"It isn’t much, so please forgive us."
Mike had just begun to rise from his seat.
The moment he heard that, his butt immediately dropped back down!
"Officer Jenny, would this afternoon work for you?"
"Hm? What?!"
Officer Jenny stared at Mike’s suddenly solemn expression, unable to understand what had happened.
"I’m asking whether we can film this afternoon."
Even after hearing his extremely serious tone, Officer Jenny was still confused.
"But... Didn’t you say you wanted to rest for a few days?"
"Rest? I can rest whenever I want." Mike spoke righteously.
"As a member of the Sinnoh League, I naturally have a responsibility to place League affairs above my personal comfort. I could never refuse such an important duty."
Seeing how quickly Mike’s attitude had changed, Officer Jenny cautiously nodded.
"Then... we’ll be counting on you, Assistant Mike?"
"It’s my duty. Leave everything to me!"