Chapter 42
"Are you going back to sleep?"
Mike looked at Glameow.
She shook her head, yawned, then lowered her body into a stretch as her claws slid out from her pink paw pads.
Mike quickly stroked her head and pulled his hand away before she could hiss at him.
"There was a mosquito on your head. I was only swatting it for you."
Glameow stared at him with her crystal-blue eyes for a moment, then turned to leave.
Mike reached out and picked her up again.
"Meow!"
[What are you doing?!]
Glameow glared at him, but Mike remained perfectly calm.
"It’s time to change your medicine. Your bandage is already dirty."
Using the bandage change as an excuse, Mike took the opportunity to thoroughly pet Glameow before happily tying the fresh bandage into a beautiful bow.
The moment he finished, Glameow hurriedly escaped from his hands.
Mike checked the time, then called to Gengar.
"Pack everything up. It’s time to continue traveling."
"Gar—"
[Okay—]
While Mike and Gengar were packing, a familiar cry came from the tree above them.
"Sni~"
Mike raised his head and stared at the Snivy on the branch in surprise.
"Snivy? Why are you here?"
"Sni."
[Someone behind you is stealing Pokémon.]
Mike frowned.
"Someone is stealing Pokémon? Who?"
Snivy shook her head to show that she didn’t know.
Mike began thinking about which groups in Sinnoh might steal Pokémon.
Team Galactic’s main objective was to find the three Lake Guardians and use them to open the path to their ideal world.
The Team Rocket trio...
They only cared about Pikachu.
’Pokémon Hunters?’
"Are they Pokémon Hunters?" Mike asked.
Snivy shook her head again.
"How many of them?"
"Sni."
[Four. All men. They’re heading this way.]
"I see..."
Mike blinked and glanced at the Trainers resting nearby.
Then he called Gengar over and whispered several things into his ear.
Gengar’s crimson eyes shifted from side to side before an evil grin spread across his face.
He floated away.
Mike opened the carrier on his chest.
"Glameow, please hide inside for a while."
Glameow obediently climbed into the carrier.
...
"Hey, hand over your Pokémon—what the hell?"
Four Pokémon Hunters descended from a flying vehicle and stopped Mike, intending to force him to surrender his Pokémon.
Instead, they found him holding an unusually large Kakuna, while an injured Glameow sat inside the carrier strapped to his chest.
Mike stared at the four men, his lips turning pale with fear.
"W-Who are you? Kakuna, w-we’ll fight them!"
One of the Hunters frowned at Mike’s frightened face.
"These two useless things are your Pokémon?"
Mike nodded, then immediately shook his head.
"You have other Pokémon?"
"No, but they’re not useless!"
Mike angrily defended them.
"You’re probably the only person who would treat garbage like that as treasure," another Hunter scoffed. "No one would take them even for free, let alone pay money for them."
"You..."
Mike’s face turned red with anger.
"Enough! Have you seen any other Trainers around here?"
"Do you really think I’d tell you?"
The veins in Mike’s neck stood out as he spoke.
"You won’t talk? Fine. Let’s see whether you can keep acting tough after we steal your Pokémon."
"What? You’re going to steal them?"
"Scared now? Too late. Go, Skorupi."
One of the Hunters sent out his Skorupi as Mike took several steps backward.
"Please! I’ll tell you where the others went. Just let me go, all right?"
"Now you know how to be afraid? Too late."
"They already know you’re coming! They’re hiding ahead and waiting to ambush you!"
Mike closed his eyes and shouted as Skorupi drew closer.
"One of them even has a Dratini!"
The Hunters’ eyes lit up.
The one with a scar across his face asked, "Are you telling the truth?"
Mike nodded.
"Where are they?"
He pointed toward a narrow path leading deeper into the forest.
The Hunters licked their lips and exchanged looks before starting down the path.
"Wait."
The scarred Hunter stopped Mike as he prepared to leave.
"You’re coming with us."
Mike fearfully returned to the group and walked between the four Hunters as they entered the forest.
"How many are there?" one of them asked.
"Two," Mike answered honestly.
"Two? Two people think they can ambush all four of us?"
"Um... Three, if you count me?"
"You?"
The Hunters looked at Mike before bursting into laughter.
"With one Kakuna that can’t fight and an injured Glameow? Don’t make us laugh."
"You people..."
Mike’s face flushed red again.
As they passed beneath a tree, he gave a slight nod.
The Hunter at the back suddenly felt something tap his head with a stick.
He looked up and found a large purple face smiling down at him!
Gengar hung upside down from the tree, holding his bamboo staff as strange rays shone from his eyes.
The moment the light touched the Hunter, his mind fell into complete confusion.
"Stunky, use Venoshock!"
He released his Stunky and ordered it to attack everything around them.
A spray of poisonous liquid scattered in every direction.
"Did you find them?"
Hearing his teammate issue a battle command, the scarred Hunter assumed he had spotted the Trainers waiting in ambush and began searching the surroundings warily.
Before he found any enemies, however, pain suddenly struck his back.
He spun around and saw his own teammate attacking everything without distinction.
"You bastard! What are you doing?!"
The scarred Hunter endured the pain and shouted furiously at him.
"Ah!"
"What—agh!"
Two screams came from beside him.
The scarred Hunter turned and found the other two Pokémon Hunters lying on the ground, their faces dark purple as foam poured from their mouths.
Their Pokémon stared around in confusion.
What had flashed past them just now?
"You..."
A sharp pain struck the scarred Hunter’s neck.
He turned and found Mike standing behind him with Kakuna in his arms.
Before collapsing, he saw the sickle-like blade raised on the front of Kakuna’s body.
"You..."
He fell to the ground before he could finish speaking, foam spilling from his mouth.
"Good night!"
The scarred Hunter continued glaring at Mike even as he lay there foaming at the mouth.
Mike raised Kakuna and stabbed him in the neck once more.
Then he softly repeated, "Good night."
After confirming that the Hunter had completely lost consciousness, Mike looked down at Kakuna.
"Looks like the Toxic Orb worked quite well. Both your poison and Gengar’s have become much stronger."
He smiled.
"Great job, Kakuna."
Kakuna: [Jiiiii~]
The Hunter struck by Gengar’s Confuse Ray was blasted into a tree by Snivy’s Magical Leaf.
Their Pokémon tried to avenge their Trainers, but the nearby Trainers and their Pokémon rushed out and surrounded them.
The battle ended very quickly.
...
After informing Officer Jenny, Mike remained behind to wait for her arrival, while the other Trainers chose to continue their journeys.
Mike sat on a rock and thanked Snivy, who was perched in a nearby tree.
Snivy smiled sweetly.
"Sni~"
[You’re welcome~]
Gengar held Kakuna in one hand while using his bamboo staff to poke the poisoned Pokémon Hunters with the other.
Just to be safe, he had also inflicted burns and paralysis on both the Hunters and their Pokémon.
"Sni?"
[Why are you still weakening them?]
Snivy curiously asked why Gengar had added even more status conditions.
"Gar."
[Mike said you always have to be careful when dealing with bad guys. Lots of powerful heroes get defeated because they let their guard down. I have to be extra careful to keep Mike safe!]
Snivy: "???"
She didn’t understand any of that.
"Gengar, collect all the Poké Balls they stole," Mike called. "Then gather up the money they’re carrying too."
"Gar?"
Gengar looked at him.
[But... Grandma said I’m not allowed to take other people’s money..]
"But they’re bad people," Mike explained. "They’ll use that money to do more bad things. If we take it away so they can’t commit any more crimes, isn’t that a good thing?"
Gengar’s eyes widened.
"Gar!"
[That makes sense!]
He immediately began collecting their money.
When Officer Jenny arrived and completed the necessary procedures, Mike prepared to continue traveling.
A few small incidents were unavoidable during a journey.
Life was a stage, and acting was everything.
Mike was quite pleased with his earlier performance.
When the arrested Pokémon Hunters complained that he had fought dirty and poisoned them, Mike sighed.
"Come on. I’m using Poison-type Pokémon, and you’re talking to me about honor? Do I look like I have any?"
Glameow: "?"
The Pokémon Hunters: "??"
Officer Jenny: "???"
"Stop complaining. I even found you a stable job with free room and board. Work hard."
Mike patted the scarred Hunter on the shoulder, then turned and walked away.
He glanced toward the tree where Snivy had been standing, but the branch was already empty.
Mike didn’t think much of it.
He could ask Professor Rowan about her later.
With the Glameow carrier strapped to his chest, Mike had Gengar lead the way as they entered the forest path and continued toward Lake Verity.