Chapter 13
Mike returned Weedle to his Poké Ball after the little glutton ate himself into another leaf-induced food coma.
Then he took Gengar back to the supermarket to restock.
Under the cashier’s horrified stare, the two of them walked out as casually as if they had not just bought another cart full of snacks.
After dinner, Mike and Gengar returned to the hotel.
Fresh from the shower, Mike lay on the bed with his tablet and opened Pokétube, scrolling through the comments beneath the video he had uploaded that afternoon.
He had woken up early that morning, and the cool air from the room’s air conditioner made him sleepy.
Before long, Gengar and Weedle’s quiet conversation faded into the background, and Mike drifted off.
Gengar was telling Weedle a story while the little Bug-type slowly chewed on a leaf and listened with complete focus.
"Gar—"
[And so, Sir Hornet set out once again to meet Ghostblade and settle the promise they made three years ago—]
As Gengar told the story, he acted out every scene with his whole body.
When he noticed Mike had fallen asleep, he stopped talking and quietly floated over to the bed.
Mike had kicked the blanket down to his feet.
Gengar picked it up with one chubby hand, gently pulled it over him, then floated to the wall and switched off the light.
"Gar—"
[Good night, Mike.]
The room went dark.
Only a pair of glowing red eyes remained visible, along with the soft rustling sound of Weedle chewing his leaf.
Gengar returned to Weedle’s side and continued whispering the story Mike had once told him.
Of course, Gengar had changed nearly everything by now.
"Gar—"
[The two Pokémon charged at each other. Lightning split the sky, the ground shook, and three volcanoes exploded at once—]
"Wee—"
[Boss, I don’t think a Weedle and a Gengar fighting would make volcanoes explode...]
"Gar!"
[Who’s telling the story, you or me? Do you want to take over?]
Weedle quickly shook his little head in the darkness.
"Gar."
[Then listen properly. I know this story better than anyone. I’ve heard it...]
Gengar quietly counted on his fingers.
"Gar."
[Five whole times.]
"Wee."
[Boss is amazing!]
Gengar proudly puffed out his chest.
"Gar—"
[Anyway, where was I...?]
"Wee?"
[Boss, why doesn’t Ghostblade ever say anything?]
"Gar."
[Because Mike said true masters stay silent when facing an enemy. It makes them look cooler and more dangerous! The enemy gets nervous, makes a mistake, and then—bam! One hit, battle over.]
"Wee."
[Ooooooh.]
A moment later, Weedle asked another question.
"Wee."
[Boss, is Sir Hornet really that good with two swords?]
"Gar."
[Of course! He’s one of the greatest swordsmen alive. Even Ghostblade nearly lost to him several times.]
"Wee."
[Oh.]
Weedle hesitated.
"Wee."
[Boss, then could I become—]
The two Pokémon kept whispering in the darkness until one of them finally fell asleep.
...
At the first hint of dawn, Mike opened his eyes and sat up.
Ever since arriving in this world, his sleep schedule had become unbelievably healthy.
"Gar—"
[Good morning, Mike.]
"Morning, Gengar. Morning, Weedle."
Mike rolled his stiff neck and greeted them both.
Sleeping without Growlithe nearby still felt strange.
Without a warm, fluffy Pokémon to hug, something always seemed to be missing.
He just could not sleep as comfortably.
For the sake of his future sleep, Mike clearly needed to catch a fluffy Pokémon.
While he was wondering which Pokémon would make the best living pillow, he turned and found Gengar hanging upside down in the air.
Beside him, Weedle had used String Shot to hang himself from the ceiling as well.
Mike stared at them.
"What exactly are you two doing?"
He rubbed his eyes.
"Did you decide to hang yourselves because I started limiting your snacks?"
Thanks to Gengar’s endless pranks over the past few months, Mike had developed a very high tolerance for strange things.
Even seeing two creatures swinging upside down in front of him at sunrise no longer felt that shocking.
After all, what could be worse than waking up and seeing Gengar casually pull out his own eyeballs?
"Gar."
[We’re training to become great swordsmen like Ghostblade and Sir Hornet.]
"Oh."
Mike nodded.
Then his brain caught up.
"Wait. Who the hell are Ghostblade and Sir Hornet?"
He narrowed his eyes.
"You replaced the original heroes with yourselves, didn’t you?"
"Gar—"
[Hehe.]
Mike climbed out of bed and stretched.
Then he grabbed Weedle by the tail and gave him a gentle swing. Weedle began rocking back and forth on his silk like a pendulum.
"Whatever. As long as you’re having fun."
Mike picked up his toiletries and headed into the bathroom.
"When you’re done training, come wash up. We still need breakfast before leaving for our next destination."
"Gar—"
[I’m coming.]
Gengar flipped upright and passed straight through the wall into the bathroom.
After Mike finished washing up, he came back out and walked over to Weedle.
He pulled Weedle down from the silk, tucked him under one arm, placed a towel over his face, and rubbed him clean.
For once, Weedle stayed strangely quiet.
"Check that we haven’t forgotten anything. If everything’s packed, we’re leaving."
"Gar!"
[Nothing’s missing!]
"All right. Let’s check out."
With Weedle sitting on his head, Mike took Gengar downstairs and returned the room key.
Afterward, the three of them went out for a filling breakfast.
Officer Jenny arrived while they were eating.
After Mike invited her several times, she finally gave in and sat down with them, looking a little embarrassed.
Once breakfast was over, Jenny walked with Mike to the edge of Twinleaf Town.
The road ahead stretched far into the distance.
Mike stopped and turned toward her.
Jenny gave him a small nod.
"You don’t need to worry about Grandma. I’ll visit her whenever I have time."
"Thanks, Jenny."
"You don’t need to thank me."
She patted his shoulder, her expression softening.
"When I met you two months ago, you looked half-dead. Now you’re smiling, traveling, and causing trouble with Pokémon."
Jenny glanced at Gengar.
"That’s much better."
Gengar grinned proudly.
Jenny looked back at Mike.
"Whatever happened before, leave it behind. Your journey starts here."
Jenny had always believed Mike had come from another region and suffered some kind of accident along the way, leaving him as the only survivor.
Because of that, she had always watched over him more closely than most.
"I hope I’ll see you at the Lily of the Valley Conference someday," Jenny said.
Mike laughed and lifted the camera hanging from his neck.
"You might be disappointed. My main goal is to take pictures and videos of Pokémon, then send them back for Grandma to enjoy."
Jenny paused, then smiled.
"That’s fine too. Just remember to send me some."
"Definitely."
Jenny nodded and removed her hand from his shoulder.
Then she seemed to remember something.
"By the way, when you camped beside the road two nights ago, did you see a ghost?"
"Yes."
Mike nodded with a completely serious face.
Jenny frowned.
"What? So it really wasn’t a Pokémon?"
Mike’s eyes widened.
"What happened?"
’Wait, was there actually a ghost?’
Mike had only been talking about Gengar.
"Someone came to me this morning and said they saw a ghost beside the road two nights ago," Jenny explained. "It was surrounded by blue-purple flames, had glowing red eyes, and there was a horrible chewing sound coming from the darkness."
She folded her arms.
"Don’t worry. I’ll investigate the area later."
"Um... Jenny..."
"Yes?"
"Unless something strange really did happen, I don’t think you need to investigate."
Jenny looked confused.
"Why not?"
Mike took a deep breath and turned toward Gengar.
"What did you use to light the campfire that night?"
Gengar raised one chubby hand.
Pop!
A blue-purple flame appeared above his palm.
Mike covered his face.
"I knew it..."
No wonder Jenny’s story had sounded more familiar with every word.
Jenny stared at the flame.
"Is that Will-O-Wisp?"
Mike nodded.
"The glowing red eyes..."
He nodded again.
"And the chewing noise..."
Mike lifted Weedle off his head and held him up.
"He was eating leaves."
Jenny stared at Weedle.
Then she slowly turned toward Gengar.
"So when you said you saw a ghost..."
"Gengar is a Ghost-type."
Jenny looked at the three of them, caught somewhere between laughing and losing her patience.
"All right. I understand."
She sighed.
"I’ll explain everything to the person who reported it."
"Sorry for causing trouble."
Mike looked deeply embarrassed.
Jenny shook her head with a smile and raised one hand.
"Go on, Mike. I’ll see you next time."
"See you next time."
Mike gave her a small nod before turning away.
Gengar floated beside him with the backpack strapped across his round body and the long bamboo sword held proudly in one hand.
"Take care out there," Jenny said quietly. "And come home safely."
Her voice was almost lost in the morning breeze.
Mike’s steps paused.
He did not turn around, but a faint smile appeared on his face.
Mike had never seen goodbyes as something tragic.
It was not like they would never meet again.
He planned to come back someday.
"Thanks."
Then, like the many Trainers and Breeders who had started their own journeys from Twinleaf Town, Mike continued down the road toward his next destination.
Mike and Gengar’s journey had officially begun.
...
"You’re a Trainer, right? Battle my Bug-type army!"
A young boy wearing shorts and a baseball cap jumped into the middle of the road and blocked Mike’s path.
A bug-catching net rested over his shoulder.
Mike stared at the boy’s painfully classic outfit.
Without warning, battle music began playing inside his head.
’Dun-dun-dun-dun... Bug Catcher Naoki challenges you to a battle!’
"Sorry, but we’re in a hurry—"
"I’ll bet all my allowance!"
Mike stopped.
"Then let’s have a fair and exciting battle!"
He clenched his fist and pointed forward dramatically.
"Gengar, I choose you!"
Gengar turned toward him in shock.
"Gar?!"
[What?!]