Chapter 17
The trip from Twinleaf Town to Sandgem Town should have taken only two days on foot.
Thanks to Mike stopping every few minutes to photograph something, it took five.
Still, he had collected plenty of footage he was proud of.
Once they reached Sandgem Town, he planned to find a place to print the pictures, turn them into an album, and mail it back to Grandma.
Mike had already decided to make a separate album for each Pokémon type.
Since the area between Twinleaf and Sandgem was filled with early-route Bug-types, most of his current photos were of Pokémon like Wurmple, Kricketot, and Burmy.
He would save the other pictures until he had enough to fill their own albums.
There were also the videos.
After a few lessons from Mike, Grandma had learned how to use her phone and other devices, so he planned to edit his footage and send it to her as well.
Photos were beautiful.
They could capture the best moment of a Pokémon’s life and preserve it forever.
But videos made people feel as if they were really there.
Frame by frame, they could show an entire story.
Mike had even spent three days filming one Wurmple as it evolved into Silcoon and then finally into Beautifly.
Bug-type Pokémon developed quickly, but evolving all the way from Wurmple to Beautifly in only three days was still incredibly rare.
Mike was glad he had been there to capture it.
He snapped a dead branch out of his way, checked the map on his Rotom Phone, and let out a relieved breath.
"Great news, Gengar. We’re almost at Sandgem Town."
Mike’s tired eyes lit up.
"We can finally eat a proper meal, take a hot shower, and sleep in a real bed."
When Mike had first bought their supplies, he had never expected the journey to take three extra days.
He had also failed to consider how much both he and Gengar could eat.
By the third day, they had run out of food.
For the last two days, they had survived entirely on Berries, fish, and whatever else Gengar could "borrow" from the forest.
"Gar—"
[I want tasty food... Lots and lots of it...]
Even Gengar looked exhausted.
He floated beside Mike with the backpack on his shoulders, his whole body drooping.
Gengar was much better at living in the wild than Mike, but forest food could not compare to meals made by humans.
Weedle was the only one who had enjoyed himself.
Mike still had plenty of Miracle Leaves in storage, so Weedle had eaten like a king for the entire trip. In only a few days, his already round body had become even sturdier.
"Come on. Let’s get into town and find something good to eat."
Mike put away the Rotom Phone and continued walking.
The phone was the expensive one sent by Gholdengo Is Number One.
Mike had eventually discovered that it worked much like a normal smartphone, except it came with a helpful AI, could float, and was much harder to lose.
While climbing a slope, Mike heard Aipom cries from nearby.
He reached the top and looked around.
An Ambipom stood on a tree branch, searching through a briefcase. Several sheets of paper floated through the air around it.
Mike picked one up.
It was part of a Pokémon research report.
He looked at the briefcase in Ambipom’s hands.
That clearly belonged to a human.
Had someone nearby gotten hurt and dropped it?
Or had Ambipom stolen it?
"Ambipom!" Mike called.
Ambipom looked down at him. One of its hand-shaped tails scratched its head as it tilted it in confusion.
"Pom-pom?"
[You calling me?]
"No, I’m calling the tree behind you."
Mike pointed at it.
"Of course I’m calling you!"
Ambipom: ???
"Never mind. Where did you get that briefcase?"
Ambipom’s eyes darted around.
Then it shook its head.
"Pom."
[Not telling you.]
It even turned around and shook its backside at him.
Mike’s eyebrow twitched.
"Tell me, or I’m coming up there."
"Pom-pom!"
[A fight? Come on, then!]
Ambipom raised both tails and curled their fingers toward itself, openly challenging him.
That did it.
"Weedle, use String Shot!"
A thick stream of silk shot toward Ambipom.
Ambipom blocked it with both tails, only for the sticky silk to wrap tightly around them.
It glanced at the round Weedle beside Mike and nearly laughed.
’It’s only a Weedle. I can pull it off its feet and throw it—’
Ambipom pulled.
Nothing happened.
It pulled harder.
Weedle did not move at all!
Ambipom: ???
It tried to tear the silk apart, but the strands were far too tough.
"Pull it down," Mike said.
Weedle leaned back and pulled with all his strength.
Ambipom pulled in the opposite direction, beginning a tug-of-war between them.
For several seconds, neither moved.
Then—Whoosh!
Ambipom lost its footing and flew out of the tree, landing face-first on the ground.
At the same time, Gengar hooked the briefcase with his bamboo stick and pulled it over.
"Gar—"
[It belongs to me now.]
"Pom!"
[You thief! Give it back!]
"Gar."
[Do you have any idea who you’re talking to? I’m the great Demon King Gengar! Once something enters my hands, it never leaves.]
Gengar rested the bamboo stick against Ambipom’s neck.
"Gar—"
[Still, I’m generous. If you can defeat my sword style, I’ll give it back.]
Ambipom looked at the bamboo stick.
Then it secretly glanced at Gengar’s other hand, where a Shadow Ball was slowly spinning.
Ambipom immediately shook its head.
"Pom..."
[Never mind. You can keep it.]
"Gar—"
[Coward.]
Mike rolled his eyes.
"You stole it from someone else, and now you’re acting like it belongs to you? Have some shame."
Mike checked the briefcase.
There was no dirt or mud on it, so it probably had not been picked up beside an injured person.
That left only one answer.
Ambipom had stolen it.
Aipom and Ambipom were both known for playing pranks and stealing things.
Ash had even met his Aipom after she stole his hat, though she later ended up traveling with Dawn.
Unfortunately for this Ambipom, it had just met the king of troublemakers.
Mike collected the scattered reports and placed them back inside the briefcase.
Then he looked at Gengar.
"Let it go. We’ll search the area and find whoever owns this."
"Gar."
[Fine. I’ll spare you this time.]
Gengar gave Ambipom a serious look.
"Gar—"
[Try to become an honest and kind Pokémon from now on. You know, like me.]
Ambipom covered its sore backside and quickly climbed back into the tree before fleeing.
It had never met such a shameless Pokémon in its life!
Earlier, Gengar had asked whether his sword skills looked impressive.
When Ambipom said yes, Gengar claimed they had never fought, so there was no way it could know.
He called Ambipom a liar and hit it several times with the bamboo stick.
When Gengar asked again, Ambipom said no.
Gengar then accused it of looking down on him and hit it even harder.
He had clearly just wanted an excuse to beat it up.
Gengar floated back to Mike’s side as Mike gave him a suspicious look.
"You weren’t bullying it again, were you?"
"Gar—"
[Of course not. I only asked it a question.]
"Right."
Mike clearly did not believe him, but he decided to let it go.
He turned toward Weedle instead.
"You did great today, Weedle. You actually pulled an Ambipom out of a tree. That was impressive."
Mike smiled and patted his head.
"You can have ten extra leaves tonight."
"Wee!"
[Awesome!]
Simple, cold, and straight to the point.
Mike glared at Gengar.
’This is all his fault. My sweet Weedle is turning into some silent little warrior.’
Gengar quietly moved closer to Weedle and whispered—
"Gar?"
[How did you pull it down?]
"Wee."
[I eat a lot, so I’m strong.]
"Gar—"
[Then you can tell yourself a bedtime story tonight.]
Weedle quickly continued.
"Wee."
[I tied myself to a big rock before the fight. I waited until it got tired, then pulled it down.]
Gengar’s eyes lit up.
"Gar!"
[Good thinking! A true master doesn’t only use strength. He uses his brain too.]
Gengar paused.
"Gar—"
[Even if the plan is a little sneaky.]
Weedle gave a serious nod, clearly taking the lesson to heart.
Mike glanced back at the two Pokémon whispering behind him and rolled his eyes.
He did not even need to hear them to know Gengar was teaching Weedle something terrible again.
They really were the perfect pair of toxic little schemers!