Chapter 60
By noon on the third day, Mike and the others finally returned to the main road.
Looking at the dirt path stretching straight ahead, Mike patted the leaves out of his hair.
"Jubilife City isn’t far now. At our current pace, we should be able to have dinner there this evening."
He checked the map on his phone.
"Since that’s the case, let’s rest for a while and eat lunch. We can continue once the sun isn’t so intense this afternoon."
Mike looked up at the blazing sun.
They hadn’t been on the main road for long, yet he already felt as though he were about to melt. It would have been even hotter if Gengar weren’t beside him.
After spending so much time beneath the shade of the forest, Mike had almost forgotten that they were currently in the hottest part of summer.
Hearing him, Gengar found a shady place, skillfully took out the blanket, and spread it on the ground.
Then he brought out the food the Bug Pokémon had given them several days earlier, picked what he wanted to eat, and handed it to Mike to cook.
...
After lunch, Mike checked the footage he had recorded as usual.
Most of the material he had gathered in the wilderness recently involved Flying-type Pokémon.
With the help of Flying-Type Affinity, he had managed to record plenty of footage showing the habits and daily lives of common Flying types.
"The next episode of The Wide World of Pokémon should focus on Flying-type Pokémon." Mike spoke quietly while reviewing the footage on his camera.
Flying-Type Affinity really was useful.
While filming Flying-type Pokémon, he could practically push the camera right into their faces without making them fly away.
Some would even cooperate and pose when he asked.
Bug- and Flying-type Pokémon were both common and easy to find.
Water and Grass types were common too...
"Wait. How did I forget to film Water-type Pokémon?"
The moment Mike thought of Water types, he pinched his thigh.
He hurriedly searched through the footage on his camera, only to find very little.
There were only a few clips of Magikarp, Marill, Bidoof, and similar Pokémon, and even those had been filmed casually.
’What a shame...’
He should have stayed at Lake Verity a little longer!
The lake was enormous and home to plenty of Water-type Pokémon.
He could probably have recorded enough material for an entire episode of The Wide World of Pokémon there.
"Forget it. I’ll find another chance in the future."
Mike shook his head, pushed the thought aside, and began planning what to do next.
Once he had arranged his schedule, he logged into Pokétube and checked the views on the video containing the Ho-Oh Easter egg.
To his surprise, it hadn’t caused much discussion.
Compared to the Shiny Suicune video, the response was far smaller.
Curious, Mike opened the comments and couldn’t help laughing.
"They all think Ho-Oh is a Shiny Fearow? Since when is Shiny Fearow rainbow-colored?"
Mike shook his head as he browsed the comments.
No wonder the video had performed so poorly, with only a little over two hundred thousand views.
Perhaps Ho-Oh simply wasn’t as widely recognized as Suicune.
Thinking about it, that made sense.
Most legends about Ho-Oh were concentrated in the Kanto and Johto regions.
It was also said to appear only before people with pure hearts and usually remained hidden from the world, so sightings were far rarer than those of the three Legendary Beasts.
On top of that, Ho-Oh did bear some resemblance to Fearow.
The Easter egg Mike had included was only a brief shot of it flying into the distance, so it was understandable that most viewers couldn’t recognize it.
A few people had correctly identified it as Ho-Oh and tried to explain in the comments, but their messages had quickly been buried beneath the others.
Mike had no intention of clarifying.
He had only included it as an Easter egg. Those who recognized it could enjoy the surprise, while those who didn’t could simply move on.
Either way, he had seen Ho-Oh himself and taken plenty of photographs.
Mike put away his phone and reached toward Glameow, who was sleeping nearby.
She avoided him with a nimble roll.
Mike: "..."
He shifted his attention to Beedrill, who was hovering beside Gengar, and opened his Pokédex entry.
He had almost forgotten to check Beedrill’s information after his evolution.
{Beedrill}
{Type: Bug/Poison}
{Gender: Male}
{Ability: Sniper}
{Known Moves: Fury Attack, Poison Sting, String Shot, Bug Bite, Fury Cutter, Hone Claws, Focus Energy, Venoshock, Assurance, Toxic Spikes, Pin Missile, Poison Jab, Agility, Endeavor, Fell Stinger}
{Mood: Cheerful, happy}
{Condition: Aloof, secretly expressive. Powerful man must always remain cool!}
{Affinity: 99. Wants to protect the weak and likes Mike.}
{Description: Originally an overweight and lazy Weedle, he grew stronger after joining you on your journey and eating the mysterious leaves. Constantly influenced by Gengar’s stories, his personality gradually changed from talkative to aloof. With your encouragement, he continues moving toward his dream of becoming a brave knight. A Beedrill who evolved within raging flames to protect you fears no fire! He will no longer show fear when facing flames.}
’He learned this many moves after evolving?’
’Looks like those leaves really weren’t wasted. All the trouble I went through to get them was worth it.’
’A brave knight... That suits Beedrill.’
Mike looked at his Beedrill, who was noticeably larger than an ordinary member of his species, and became more satisfied the longer he stared.
Strong build and handsome appearance.
As expected of Beedrill.
Mike nodded to himself, then continued reading the system messages.
{Emotion: Although Bug-Type Affinity encouraged the wild Bug Pokémon to assist you, you did not abandon them after they were injured. You carefully treated their wounds, cared for them, prepared a warm breakfast, and shared honey with them. They later repaid you with food. During that process, Bug-Type Affinity played no part. You formed a genuine emotional bond with them on your own.}
{Your affection for your own Pokémon also revealed itself naturally during this time. The deity of the lake who governs emotion was delighted and has given you a small gift.}
{Blessing of the Lake Deity: You can sense changes in a Pokémon’s emotions.}
{Close your eyes and feel their emotions.—Mesprit}
{Wow! Let’s see what our passing legendary photographer has captured this time. Is that Mesprit, one of the legendary Lake Guardians? Congratulations on photographing the deity who governs emotion! You have taken another step along the path of a legendary photographer. Reward: 600 Viewership Points.}
{As everyone knows, there are three Lake Guardians. Go forth and find the remaining two! Once you photograph all three, perhaps they will offer you another small gift!}
"That’s strange. Why isn’t there a mission to share it with everyone this time?"
Mike looked at the messages in confusion.
Still, it was probably better this way.
Under the current circumstances, it wouldn’t be wise to publish photographs or videos of the Lake Guardians.
"As for sensing a Pokémon’s emotions..."
Mike looked toward Glameow.
"Glameow, come here for a moment."
Glameow was playing with the Poké Tail Grass.
Hearing him, she stared at Mike for a while before deliberately turning her gaze away.
’I can’t be bothered with you.’
Mike had no choice but to lunge forward and pull her into his arms.
"Meow!"
Glameow immediately began struggling.
"Behave. I’m only testing something. It’ll be over quickly."
Hearing that, Glameow stopped resisting and allowed Mike to hold her.
Mike stroked her fur for a while, then closed his eyes beneath Glameow’s cold stare.
Drip~
Mike seemed to hear the sound of a drop of water.
A flood of emotions immediately entered his mind.
Dependence, caution, annoyance, affection, embarrassment...
Mike opened his eyes and looked at Glameow, who had already escaped from his arms.
He smiled inwardly.
’So she really does depend on me.’
’Affection and embarrassment... I knew it. She’s such a tsundere.’
’And annoyance... She hates being touched by other humans?’
Seeing Glameow enter what looked like a battle stance, Mike quickly returned to his seat and behaved himself.
"Snivy."
Snivy lowered her head from the tree.
When she saw Mike holding his arms open toward her, she looked confused but still jumped down and landed in his embrace.
Gentleness, kindness, affection, happiness, dependence, care...
’Just as expected! Snivy is practically the embodiment of gentleness.’
Beedrill’s emotions were much simpler.
He wanted to become stronger, protect the weak, and grow into a brave knight.
Gengar’s feelings were even purer.
All Mike could sense was...
Affection, affection, affection, affection, affection...
When Mike returned to his senses, he looked at Gengar in front of him with gentle eyes.
’What an adorable idiot.’
Then he suddenly felt something wet against his palm.
Looking more closely, he discovered that Gengar was licking the hand pressed against his cheek.
"What are you doing?! That’s filthy!"
Mike quickly pulled his hand back and wiped it dry with a tissue.
When he looked at Gengar again, Gengar had lowered his head with a wounded expression.
"What’s wrong with you?"
Gengar used his thin bamboo staff to draw circles on the ground.
"Gar—"
[You don’t think it’s dirty when Glameow licks you, but you think I’m dirty...]
Mike stared at Gengar as he continued drawing circles.
He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
"Fine. Go ahead."
Gengar instantly grinned and dragged his enormous tongue across Mike’s face.
"P-Paralyzed..."
"Gar!"
[Crap... I accidentally used Lick!]
Σ(゚∀゚ノ)ノ
"SNI!!!"