Chapter 10
After watching Gengar finish all three bowls of ramen, Mike led him out of the restaurant.
"First, we’ll check how much money Grandma put on the card. Then we’ll find a hotel, book a room, drop off our bags, and take a shower before deciding what to do next. Sound good?"
"Gar—"
[You’re the boss.]
"Then it’s settled. Do you want to hide in my shadow, or go back into your Poké Ball? The bank probably won’t let Pokémon inside."
"Gar—"
[I’ll use the Poké Ball.]
Mike nodded and took the backpack from him.
After returning Gengar to his Poké Ball and clipping it to his belt, he entered the bank alone.
He went straight to one of the service machines, inserted Grandma’s card, and checked the balance.
Mike had already planned to find part-time work whenever he reached a new city.
Between small jobs and the money from his PokéVid videos, he should be able to avoid going broke on the road.
Hopefully.
He entered the password Grandma had given him and stared at the number on the screen.
"One, ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand, hundred thousand, million..."
"Oh, three million. For a second, I thought it was only thirty thousand."
Mike wiped the sweat from his forehead.
He had been worried that Grandma had emptied her savings just to pay for his journey!
Apparently, he had worried for nothing.
He reached for the card.
Then his hand froze.
"Wait."
Mike slowly looked back at the screen.
"Did I count that wrong?"
He counted the digits again.
"One, ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand, hundred thousand, million..."
His eyes widened.
"Holy crap! It really is three million?!"
Mike stood there with his mouth open, staring at the balance like the machine had just insulted him.
’She didn’t give me her entire retirement fund, did she?’
He quickly pulled out the card, hurried outside, found a quiet corner, and called Grandma.
Gengar popped out of his Poké Ball on his own. He noticed Mike’s serious face, tilted his head, and wisely decided not to interrupt.
Grandma answered almost immediately.
"What is it, sweetheart?"
Hearing her warm voice, Mike greeted her and tried to figure out how to ask about the money.
Before he could, Grandma spoke again.
"You checked the card, didn’t you?"
Mike froze.
After a few seconds, he sighed.
"Nothing gets past you, Grandma. I just saw the balance, and..."
"You think I gave you too much?"
Mike nodded, even though she could not see him clearly.
"Yeah. A lot too much."
"You silly boy. You have no idea how expensive traveling can be. Three million may look like a lot, but money disappears quickly when you’re constantly moving around. It might not even last through a small part of your journey."
"Huh? Seriously?"
Mike stared at the phone.
’Traveling costs that much?’
’Did Ash and the others spend this kind of money too?’
No wonder they always seemed broke in the anime.
Grandma’s voice turned slightly hurt.
"You don’t think I’d lie to you, do you?"
Mike immediately backed down.
"Of course not. I’m just worried about you. If you gave me this much, then what are you going to live on?"
"Don’t worry about me. I kept plenty for myself—much more than I gave you."
She paused.
"Besides, I’ve already saved money for your wedding someday!"
"Grandma, make sure you take care of yourself. I suddenly remembered something important. I have to go. Bye!"
The moment marriage came up, Mike ended the call at record speed.
Different world, same nightmare.
There was no escaping it!
...
Back at the house, Grandma sat on the garden swing with Growlithe curled beside her while Dragonite gently pushed from behind.
Dragonite had heard the whole conversation and let out a quiet chuckle.
Growlithe looked up in surprise.
’Dragonite can laugh?’
Grandma picked Growlithe up and rested him in her lap. She looked across the garden, her cloudy eyes filling with old memories.
"I suppose that makes us even for Gengar."
After a long pause, Dragonite gave a soft rumble and nodded.
After living with humans for many years, Dragonite had learned something useful.
Whenever someone started asking dangerous questions, simply change the subject to something they hated talking about.
Marriage worked especially well.
The conversation usually ended immediately.
...
Back in Twinleaf Town, Mike put away his phone and found Gengar staring at him with concern.
Mike smiled, reached out with both hands, and pulled Gengar’s cheeks until his usual silly grin came back.
"Don’t worry. I just needed to ask Grandma something. Let’s go shopping, okay? We need food, camping supplies, and snacks for you."
"Gar~"
[Okay~]
Mike took Gengar to a supermarket.
They started in the fresh-food section. Mike frowned slightly at the prices, but still began filling the cart.
Carrots, leafy vegetables, eggs, potatoes, meat...
Once they had enough ingredients, they moved to the seasoning aisle. Mike added salt, soy sauce, cooking oil, miso, and a few other basic seasonings.
He checked the prices again and frowned.
Next came the kitchen section, where they needed bowls, cups, and chopsticks.
Mike spent a long time comparing different sets.
Then he looked at the prices, gave up, and placed Gengar’s favorite set in the cart.
A few extra bowls would not hurt.
Probably.
After adding every useful camping item he could think of, Mike finally brought Gengar to the snack aisle.
"Pick whatever you like."
Mike pushed the already full cart to the checkout and asked an employee to watch it. Then he returned with a second cart.
When he came back, he found Gengar holding a bag of potato chips.
Gengar stared at it for a long time.
Then he quietly checked the price, slowly placed it back on the shelf, and turned toward the cheaper snacks.
Mike stopped and watched him.
’This little guy can be way too thoughtful sometimes.’
Pretending he had seen nothing, Mike pushed the second cart over.
"Find anything you like?"
Gengar turned around and gave him his usual huge grin. He placed a few snack sausages in the cart, followed by several enormous bags of cheap snacks.
Mike glanced at them.
They were the kind of snacks people only bought when everything else was sold out.
They had two good points.
They were cheap.
And there was a lot in each bag.
Mike sighed softly.
Greedy, thoughtful, and still very much a child.
That was their great Demon King Gengar.
While Gengar kept searching, Mike walked back to the shelf where he had seen him earlier.
He found the bag of chips and looked at the price.
His brow tightened for a moment.
Then he picked it up.
"Gengar, do you want these?"
Gengar turned around.
The moment he saw the chips, he floated over, took the bag from Mike, placed it firmly back on the shelf, and crossed his arms.
"Gar!"
[Those taste terrible!]
Gengar spoke with the confidence of a professional food critic.
Mike stared at him.
Then he burst out laughing.
Gengar watched in confusion while Mike wiped tears from his eyes.
Mike leaned closer and whispered, "Gengar, I’m going to tell you something, but you can’t tell anyone else."
Gengar’s expression became serious.
He leaned closer too, then looked left and right to make sure nobody was listening.
Mike lowered his voice.
"The payment from my videos came in."
"Gar!"
[Really?!]
"You probably don’t understand exactly how much it is, but it’s enough for you to buy any snack you want."
Mike pointed at the cheap bags in the cart.
"You don’t need to pick things you don’t even like just to save money."
Gengar stared at him in surprise.
Mike smiled.
"I promised I’d buy you snacks you actually wanted. I’m keeping that promise. Stop worrying about the money and choose whatever makes you happy."
Gengar’s mouth slowly stretched into a huge grin.
Before Mike could move, a long tongue swept across his entire face.
Slurp!
Mike stood frozen, covered in saliva.
Gengar grabbed the cart and shot down the aisle.
Everything he did not like went back onto the shelves.
Everything he loved flew into the cart.
Mike wiped his face and shouted after him.
"You little bastard! This is how you thank me?!"
Even while complaining, he could not stop smiling.
Gengar rushed happily from shelf to shelf, tossing snacks into the cart like he had just won a shopping contest.
Mike watched him quietly.
’Gengar, I hope you can stay this happy forever.’
Then Mike glanced at the price tag on the chips.
Twelve Poké Dollars.
He blinked.
The vegetables, meat, seasonings, kitchen supplies, and snacks were all priced normally.
So why had Grandma acted like traveling would drain three million Poké Dollars in no time?
Mike had also received a message from Pokétube before entering the supermarket.
His video earnings had arrived.
A little over eleven thousand Poké Dollars.
At first, he had thought Pokétube was being cheap.
Now, looking at the prices around him, eleven thousand suddenly seemed like quite a lot.
’Maybe food isn’t the expensive part.’
’Hotels perhaps?’
Mike quickly rejected that idea.
The room he had booked only cost eight hundred a night.
Then it hit him.
’Wait.’
’Did Grandma just trick me the same way I always trick Gengar?’
Mike finally understood.
’That’s why she suddenly mentioned marriage!’
She had never brought it up during the past few months.
But the moment he asked about the money, she threw marriage into the conversation like a Flash Bomb.
Mike had panicked, ended the call, and completely forgotten to keep asking questions.
It had been a perfect distraction.
Mike stared into the distance.
Age and experience really were terrifying!
"Gar—"
[Mike, do you want anything?]
"Just choose what you like. I’ll steal some of yours later."
"Gar—"
[Okay.]
A few seconds later—
"Gar."
[Mike, can I buy this?]
"Sure."
"Gar—"
[What about this one?]
"Take it."
"Gar—"
[And this?]
"Put it in the cart."
By the time they reached the checkout, both carts were overflowing.
Total spent: ₽3,798.
The cashier packed everything so quickly that her hands nearly became a blur.
Ding!
{Receipt obtained!}