Chapter 5
Mike stared at the unusually plump Weedle, which looked completely out of place among the others nearby.
It was at least twice the size of an ordinary Weedle, and its tiny black eyes were fixed squarely on him.
Mike barely noticed.
His attention was still locked on the Pokédex entry floating before him.
’It called me an idiot? And said I was performing acrobatics?’
His eyes narrowed slightly. Releasing Gengar’s stretched cheeks, he turned toward it.
"Gengar, that Weedle was watching us just now, wasn’t it?"
Gengar nodded.
"Do you remember what I told you? When an unknown passerby keeps staring at a skilled swordsman, it means they’re challenging that swordsman to a duel."
Gengar’s crimson eyes narrowed as well.
It turned toward Weedle and tightened its grip on the bamboo sword.
Mike opened Gengar’s Pokédex entry.
{Gengar}
{Type: Ghost/Poison}
{Gender: Male}
{Ability: Cursed Body}
{Known Moves: Mean Look, Shadow Punch, Perish Song, Confuse Ray, Lick, Hypnosis, Spite, Curse, Hex, Night Shade, Sucker Punch, Dark Pulse, Shadow Ball, Destiny Bond, Dream Eater, Dazzling Gleam, Sludge Bomb, Will-O-Wisp}
{Mood: Happy, excited, and eager}
{Condition: Practicing swordsmanship because it has nothing better to do}
{Affinity: 100 — We’re the best partners!}
{Description: Once a wandering Gengar, it eventually found a home willing to accept it, someone who would play with it, and a person who asked it for protection. From that day forward, it resolved to protect him with everything it had. Under his influence, it has also developed a burning desire to become a great swordsman.}
Mike could not help being shocked by Gengar’s enormous move pool.
’Gengar was this strong?’
He usually only played around with it, so he had rarely seen what it could really do in battle.
However, after reading the final part of its entry, his eyes softened into a smile.
Its affinity was already maxed out?
Pokémon really were wonderfully straightforward creatures.
"Gar?"
Gengar glanced back at Mike, asking what they should do.
Mike looked toward Weedle and raised his voice.
"Weedle, I challenge you! Let’s settle this in a battle between real men!"
Weedle’s eyes widened, and its oversized body wriggled excitedly.
[A battle? Bring it on!]
[Let’s fight like real men!]
Weedle braced itself for combat.
"Gengar, let’s go! Show it our unbeatable swordsmanship!"
"Gar!"
Weedle watched the slender bamboo in Gengar’s hand warily. It opened its mouth and fired a mass of white silk directly at the makeshift sword.
[I’m taking out the leader first—I’ll disarm you!]
The String Shot wrapped tightly around the bamboo.
Weedle leaned backward and pulled with all its strength, attempting to rip the weapon from Gengar’s hands.
Gengar did not budge an inch.
"Gengar, pull it in and defeat it with your finest sword technique!"
Gengar placed one hand behind its back, then yanked the bamboo with the other.
Weedle was torn straight off the ground and sent flying toward it.
As the distance between them rapidly closed, Weedle prepared to dodge out of the bamboo’s striking range at the last second.
"Shadow Ball!"
Under Weedle’s bewildered stare, Gengar brought its hidden left hand forward.
A dark sphere of ghostly energy spun above its palm.
It thrust out its hand and planted the Shadow Ball directly into the face of the airborne Weedle, whose trajectory had carried it perfectly into position.
"When you’re in a battle, never believe anything your opponent tells you."
Weedle: ???
[This is what you call swordsmanship?!]
Boom!
Weedle was blasted backward and slammed heavily into the tree where it had been resting.
The other Weedle scattered in terror.
The oversized Weedle’s eyes had turned into a pair of familiar spirals.
Mike immediately pressed one of the Poké Balls on his belt. It dropped into his palm and expanded to full size.
Taking a deep breath, he aimed at Weedle and threw the first Poké Ball he had ever used to catch a Pokémon after defeating it in battle.
The ball struck Weedle and bounced into the air. It opened with a flash, transforming the unconscious Pokémon into red light and pulling it inside.
The Poké Ball landed on the ground and began rocking from side to side, its central light flashing with every movement.
Mike and Gengar held their breath, pressed tightly together as they watched it shake.
After several tense moments, the ball finally became still.
Then—Click!
The capture was successful!
Mike and Gengar threw their hands up and slapped palms in celebration.
They hurried over to the tree, and Mike picked up the Poké Ball, cradling it in his palm.
Then he struck yet another ridiculous pose.
"Weedle—GET!"
"Gar!"
Mike stared at Weedle’s Poké Ball, unable to calm the excitement surging through him.
He had really done it.
He had caught his first Pokémon through battle!
The feeling was...
Absolutely incredible!
Mike and Gengar exchanged matching grins.
He leaned closer to Gengar’s ear and whispered, "You don’t think it actually believed we knew swordsmanship, do you?"
Gengar covered its mouth and began snickering with the most devious expression imaginable.
Mike released Weedle from its Poké Ball.
The overgrown Pokémon appeared before them, its segmented body an earthy brown.
Seven pairs of pink feet lined its underside, while an upward-pointing stinger protruded from its tail.
A short horn grew from the top of its head, and its tiny black eyes were oddly adorable the longer Mike looked at them.
Weedle raised its head toward Mike and Gengar, still visibly annoyed that they had tricked it.
The moment it met Mike’s gaze, it quickly turned its little face away.
Smiling, Mike crouched and gently stroked its head.
Its skin was surprisingly smooth and slippery, and actually rather pleasant to touch.
"Hi, Weedle. I’m Mike, and this is Gengar. I hope we’ll get along from now on."
Weedle’s tail gave a small wiggle.
Taking that as permission, Mike lifted it into his arms.
"Whew, you’re pretty heavy."
It weighed far more than the Weedle he had held around Grandma’s yard, which was hardly surprising given its size.
Cradling Weedle against his chest, Mike gently rubbed the small horn on its forehead.
"Sorry about what happened. Gengar and I didn’t mean to trick you, but you can’t really blame us for everything either."
Weedle looked up and found Mike smiling warmly at it.
"You shouldn’t believe everything your opponent says during a battle. So really, we were all at fault."
Weedle fell silent.
[That... actually sounds kind of reasonable.]
[Fine, then. I forgive you.]
"Weedle."
Hearing Mike call its name, Weedle looked up again and tilted its tiny head.
"Would you like to travel with me and see the world? We’ll visit places unlike anything you’ve seen before, meet all kinds of Pokémon and people, and leave our footprints in every corner of the world."
Weedle hesitated briefly before gently bumping its head against Mike’s arm.
[Mm-hmm!]
Mike broke into a smile, then turned toward Gengar.
"Starting today, you’re the big bro of the team. You’ll have to take responsibility as our leader and protect both me and your new little brother. Got it?"
[Bii-big bro?!]
Gengar’s eyes widened.
[I’m the leader?!]
Overjoyed, it grinned and repeatedly thumped its chest.
"Gar!"
[Leave everything to me!]
Mike looked back down at Weedle.
"And you need to get along with your big brother, okay?"
Weedle nodded.
{Ding! I Defeated and Caught a Pokémon: Congratulations! You have successfully caught your second Pokémon through battle and unlocked the Viewership Point Shop.}
{Viewership Points: Generated from views on your uploaded videos and the number of concurrent viewers during livestreams. They can be exchanged for various items in the Viewership Point Shop.}
{Viewership Point Calculation: Video views are converted at a ratio of 100:1.}
{Livestreaming: Locked.}
{Congratulations on unlocking the Viewership Point Shop! Gengar is delighted and has left you a gift.}
{Ten-Pull: As the name suggests, a ten-pull.}
{Would you like to use it now?}
’There really is a ten-pull gacha?!’
’Hell yeah—pull!’
The messages before Mike suddenly began changing rapidly.
{Honey ×6}
{Moomoo Milk ×12}
...
{Mysterious Leaves ×999}
The final reward was concealed beneath a dazzling golden light.
{Whispers of Pokémon — Golden Legend}
Mike naturally ignored all the earlier rewards.
They were mostly ordinary supplies, while the golden prize was far more interesting.
{Whispers of Pokémon: You can now understand the language of Pokémon!}
’?!’
’Understand Pokémon?’
Mike bit his lip in disbelief.
{Precisely. How could an outstanding photographer fail to understand the voices of Pokémon? Gengar therefore prepared this special gift for you.}
Mike ignored the second sentence entirely.
It was obviously just flavor text added for atmosphere and had no real meaning.
Right now, he only wanted to test whether he could truly understand Pokémon.
"Gengar."
Mike softly called to the Pokémon beside him.
"Gar?"
[What is it?]
Gengar turned toward him.
Mike’s pupils contracted, but he quickly shook his head.
"Nothing. I just felt like calling your name."
"Gar—"
[Oh.]
"Gengar."
"Gar?"
[Yeah?]
"Do you miss home?"
"Gar—"
[Wherever Mike is, that’s my home.]
Mike fell silent for a moment.
"You’re surprisingly good at saying emotional stuff for such a fat guy."
"Gar?"
[What does that mean?]
"Nothing. I’m saying you’re smart. Go practice your swordsmanship."
"Gar—"
[Okay.]
A moment later—
"Gar—"
[Mike.]
"What?"
"Gar—"
[Do you want a Berry?]
"Oh? Where did you pick this one? It looks pretty good."
"Gar—"
[You can have it.]
"Hey, this is nice. It’s really sweet."
"Gar—"
[Hehe. I picked it over there, but there weren’t many left. Some other Pokémon probably ate the rest.]
"That’s normal. They grow in the wild, after all."
"Gar—"
[Mike.]
"Yeah?"
"Gar—"
[Make sure you stay happy, okay? Whenever you miss home, we can always go back and visit.]
Mike let out a quiet laugh.
"You thought I was feeling sad, didn’t you?"
"Gar—"
[Hehe.]
"Don’t worry. As long as you’re beside me, I’m happy."
"Gar—"
[Hehe. Me too.] ヾ( ´∀`.ヾ)
"And you too Weedle."
Weedle: ˶>ᗜ<˶