Chapter 32
While Mike was still sleeping soundly.
Meanwhile, at Sinnoh League headquarters, a blonde woman in a black coat sat behind her desk, watching a video on the screen.
Garchomp stood beside her.
It glanced at the video and saw that it was only about ordinary Bug-type Pokémon.
It couldn’t understand why its Trainer was so interested in it.
Cynthia listened as Mike explained Beedrill’s habits, how to raise one, how to escape if you encountered a swarm in the wild, and a few simple battle strategies.
Her eyes remained fixed on the screen, though it was hard to tell what she was thinking.
Mike and Professor Rowan’s sudden livestream yesterday had naturally attracted many famous Trainers.
As one of the two leading authorities among Pokémon professors, Professor Rowan’s name carried a great deal of weight.
Even Cynthia had studied under him for a time.
There was no one in the Pokémon world who didn’t respect Professor Oak and Professor Rowan.
It was also rare for Professor Rowan to praise a young man so highly.
Even when Cynthia had studied under him, she had rarely received such praise from him.
As the Sinnoh Champion, she could naturally understand the battle strategy Mike was describing.
It wasn’t especially powerful, but just as Mike said, building a team around Bug-type Pokémon had two advantages.
First, the team was easy to form and could gain decent battle strength early.
Second... It was cheap.
Not everyone could afford to raise a pseudo-legendary Pokémon.
A Trainer could use easy-to-raise Bug-type Pokémon to improve their understanding of battles, then gradually add stronger Pokémon to the team and raise its overall potential.
’Are you also a capable Trainer?’
The video soon reached its ending, and Mike’s voice came from the screen.
"Everyone, Bug-type Pokémon are cute, but they may not be as weak as we imagine. Mr. Alder’s ace, Volcarona, is extremely powerful."
"Sinnoh also has someone who reached the Elite Four using Bug-type Pokémon."
"If you can, try placing a little more faith in them. Raising Pokémon is like growing flowers. Only when we care for them properly will they bloom beautifully."
"Bug-type Pokémon are the same. I believe that when the day comes that we need them, they will break free from their cocoons, come to our side, and continue moving forward with us."
"I hope my video brought you some joy and useful information. Thank you, and I’ll see you next time."
Cynthia narrowed her eyes slightly.
She was becoming quite interested in Professor Rowan’s temporary assistant.
She turned toward Garchomp and held out her hand.
Garchomp lowered its head, allowing Cynthia to stroke it.
...
In the lounge outside the office, Aaron of the Sinnoh Elite Four was watching Mike’s new video, The Wide World of Pokémon: Bug Types, Part One.
As he listened, he felt as though he had returned to his childhood, when he spent every day carrying a bug net and searching for Bug-type Pokémon.
Back then, he had become angry because his Wurmple kept losing battles and abandoned it.
By the time he regretted his decision and returned, Wurmple was already gone.
From that day onward, he had wanted to understand Bug-type Pokémon more deeply.
Eventually, he became one of Sinnoh’s Elite Four.
"This guy understands Bug-type Pokémon almost as well as I do!"
Aaron tugged at the stray lock of hair on his head and looked toward Flint.
"Flint, do you think he wants to replace me as the new Bug-type Elite Four member?"
Flint was lying across the sofa.
He turned back to look at Aaron, who was sitting cross-legged nearby.
After hesitating for a moment, he answered, "Probably not."
They had also joined Professor Rowan’s livestream yesterday, so they had heard the professor praising Mike.
"Besides... Bug types..."
Flint tried to comfort him.
"Don’t worry. Not everyone can become an Elite Four member using Bug-type Pokémon like you."
"If he wants to pursue the peak seriously, he’ll probably choose stronger Pokemons rather than bug types."
Aaron fell silent.
"Hey, instead of sitting here chatting, why don’t you come help me with some work?"
A purple-haired man wearing glasses walked into the lounge with a cup of coffee.
"Lucian, have you seen his video?" Aaron asked.
"Whose?"
"Mike’s... the photographer, he started a livestream with Proffesor Rowan yesterday."
"Oh, him. What about him?"
"He uploaded a video about Bug-type Pokémon. Have you watched it?"
"When would I have the time? I haven’t even had time to eat, let alone watch videos."
Lucian sat down on the sofa.
"If Cynthia hadn’t come back, I’d probably still be buried in paperwork."
"Then watch it now. I think it’s really well made."
Aaron handed him the tablet.
"Do you think I should make one too?"
Lucian accepted the tablet, dragged the video back to the beginning, and began watching seriously.
...
In the Paldea region, Gholdengo Is Number One sat inside a helicopter while Mike’s new video played on his phone.
For some reason, even though it was only a simple educational documentary, Mike’s narration made it unexpectedly interesting.
’As expected of him...’
’His understanding of Pokémon is surprisingly deep.’
...
In a house in Sandgem Town, a boy in a wheelchair watched the television with complete focus.
When Wurmple began to evolve, he excitedly pointed at the screen and turned toward his parents.
"Look! That’s the Wurmple the man showed me yesterday!"
His parents sat on the sofa and smiled at him.
Ever since he came home yesterday, their child had no longer looked lifeless and withdrawn.
He had woken up early and watched every video uploaded by the account named Gengar Stole My Drumstick.
The smile had never left his face.
The couple looked at each other and saw tears in one another’s eyes.
Ever since their son’s condition had worsened, they had almost forgotten how long it had been since they last saw him smile like this.
Knock, knock, knock.
Someone knocked on the door.
The man wiped away his wife’s tears, stood up, rubbed his own eyes with his thumb, and went to answer it.
"Professor? What brings you here?"
Hearing his father’s voice, the woman and the boy both turned toward the entrance.
A man in a suit followed his father inside.
Professor Rowan.
"Professor, why are you here?" the boy asked in surprise.
Professor Rowan looked at him and nodded gently.
"Do you remember what I told you yesterday? Even if you can’t leave on a journey, you can still raise a Pokémon."
Professor Rowan carefully placed a Pokémon Egg in the boy’s arms.
"This is a Turtwig Egg. I believe you’ll take good care of it, won’t you?"
The boy opened his mouth and stared at Professor Rowan.
Then he lowered his gaze toward the Egg in his arms.
Drops of water fell onto its shell.
"You haven’t forgotten our promise from yesterday, have you?" Professor Rowan teased.
The boy raised the back of his hand and tried to wipe away his tears, but they wouldn’t stop.
He knew it was rude to keep his head lowered while speaking to someone, so he raised his young face, now completely covered in tears, and shook his head.
"I-I didn’t forget..."
Professor Rowan gently stroked his hair.
"With Turtwig beside you, I’m sure you’ll get better soon."
After speaking, Professor Rowan’s attention was drawn to the voice coming from the television.
’Is that... Mike?’
Noticing Professor Rowan looking at the screen, the boy wiped his tears and said, "Professor, this is the video that man from yesterday uploaded today. Would you like to watch it?"
"May I?"
"Of course. I’ll start it from the beginning."
The boy returned the video to the beginning, then watched it together with Professor Rowan.
His right hand continued gently stroking the Pokémon Egg in his arms.
Meanwhile, Mike was still sleeping soundly!