Chapter 6
"Hey, are you two ever going to get tired of that?" Mike finally asked, unable to take it anymore.
Gengar glanced back at him, then flicked the bamboo sword forward.
Weedle, which was dangling from the end by a strand of silk, went flying through the air before the elastic thread snapped it right back.
Gengar repeated the motion over and over, playing with Weedle like a yo-yo.
Weedle was having just as much fun. Being flung back and forth felt exactly like riding a swing.
"Gar?"
[What’s wrong? Do you want a turn?]
Gengar even held out the bamboo with Weedle still hanging from it.
"I... You..."
Mike stared at the offered sword, momentarily speechless.
"You two really are a match made in heaven."
He rolled his eyes at the Pokémon, who had somehow become best friends despite knowing each other for less than half a day.
As they continued down the road, Mike kept his camera hanging around his neck and searched the surroundings for Pokémon to photograph.
With Photography Lv. 5 and his newly enhanced camera, he could always react at exactly the right moment, capturing small details that would otherwise have disappeared in an instant.
A Bibarel watched them leave with a blank yet strangely sorrowful expression.
A Burmy hung from a tree branch and studied them with innocent curiosity.
A Starly perched above the road, lazily preening its feathers.
"Damn it! Why does every Pokémon have to be this cute? Is that a Pachirisu? The white devil itself! I want to pet it so badly! Look at all that fluff—it must feel amazing to hold."
"Oh! Buneary! I’ve never seen one in person before. It’s adorable! I want to catch every last one of them..."
Then a Seviper slithered onto the road.
"After you. Please, go right ahead."
Seviper glanced at Mike, then shifted its attention to Gengar, apparently judging whether it could win a fight against him.
After a moment, it wisely looked away.
It bared its fangs at Mike in a final attempt to intimidate him, then slithered across the road and disappeared into the bushes.
Mike frowned as he watched it go.
"That’s strange. Seviper normally wouldn’t wander onto a road with this much foot traffic."
The sound of beating wings came from above.
Mike looked up and spotted several Staraptor circling in the sky, clearly searching for something.
He blinked, then called, "Hey!"
The Staraptor paused in midair and looked down at him.
Without saying a word, Mike pointed toward the bushes beside the road.
The Staraptor followed his gesture.
Their sharp eyes quickly located the hidden Seviper, and they immediately beat their wings and dove after it.
Mike deliberately stayed where he was.
A few moments later, a miserable scream echoed from the forest.
Only then did he nod in satisfaction.
’That’s what you get for scaring me.’
Having gotten the revenge he wanted, Mike resumed his journey.
Every so often, he would lead Gengar and Weedle off the road, pull apart a bush, and scare away a pair of Pachirisu who had been enjoying a private little date.
At one point, he and Gengar burst into song to the accompaniment of several Kricketot, only to end up fleeing for their lives from an angry flock of Pidgey.
Later, Mike challenged a group of Aipom to rock-paper-scissors while Gengar snuck around behind them, stole half their Berries, and ran.
Perhaps it was because he now carried Poké Balls, or perhaps it was simply because he had finally begun his journey, but every time Mike saw a Pokémon, he felt the urge to throw a ball and catch it!
Even so, by the time they approached Twinleaf Town, the only Poké Ball he had thrown since leaving home was the one he had used on Weedle.
Catching a Pokémon meant taking responsibility for it.
Back when Pokémon had only been a game to him, Mike had always preferred those with high stats and strong competitive potential.
But after spending several months living alongside Gengar, Growlithe, and the other Pokémon in Grandma’s yard, he had come to understand just how deeply Pokémon could feel.
He could not imprison one in a Poké Ball forever just because he liked it for a moment.
Pokémon deserved freedom.
That was why, after catching both Gengar and Weedle, he had asked whether they truly wanted to accompany him around the world.
Mike wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked toward the faint outlines of buildings in the distance.
Twinleaf Town was just ahead.
He stood beside the road with Gengar floating at his side and Weedle resting on his head.
Weedle’s considerable weight forced Mike to keep his neck bent forward.
He had visited Twinleaf Town many times before.
While Grandma was in the hospital, he had ridden his bicycle between the town and her home every day, so the place should have felt completely ordinary by now.
Yet something about it felt different today.
Twinleaf Town would be the first settlement he entered after officially beginning his journey.
"Gengar."
"Gar?"
[What is it?]
"Why don’t we stay outside town tonight?"
Mike turned toward him.
"We can camp somewhere nearby. This is our first journey and our first night away from home. I’ve never slept outdoors before, so I want to try it and get used to the kind of life we’ll be living from now on."
Gengar nodded without hesitation.
"Gar—"
[Do whatever you want.]
"What about you, Weedle?"
"Wee."
[I’m fine with it.]
Sleeping outdoors was perfectly normal for Weedle. Wild Pokémon lived their entire lives outside.
"All right, then. We’ll stay here tonight, enter Twinleaf Town tomorrow, and spend the day resting. We can take a hot shower, replenish our supplies, then leave the morning after and continue our journey."
With the plan settled, Mike found a spot beside the road where an old campfire had clearly once burned.
He asked Gengar to bring out the tent, and the two of them began setting it up.
Someone else had probably camped there only recently.
That was common in this world.
Trainers, Breeders, and nearly anyone else traveling long distances would set up tents wherever necessary to get through the night.
Of course, some hardened lunatics did not even bother with tents and simply slept beneath the open sky.
As long as travelers did not block traffic or disturb anyone nearby, they were allowed to camp almost anywhere—even inside a city.
Everyone knew that nine out of ten Trainers were broke, so being unable to afford hotels or inns was perfectly normal.
Because of that, tents could appear in the most unexpected places.
On mountains, deep within forests, beside lakes, inside caves...
Once the tent was ready, Mike sent Gengar into the nearby forest to gather firewood.
He built a simple cooking stand, borrowed some silk from Weedle, then used it to suspend the cooking pot Gengar had brought from Grandma’s house over the firewood.
A familiar hanging stove soon stood before him.
Then Mike froze.
’Wait a second.’
"Gengar, where did this pot come from?"
"Gar—"
[I took it from Grandma’s house.]
"I know it came from Grandma’s house! But if you took her cooking pot, what is she supposed to use?"
Gengar fell silent.
ε(゚◇゚ノ)ノ
"And where’s your straw hat?"
"Gar—"
[It got too hot, so I put it away.]
"Be honest with me. How many things did you take from Grandma’s house?"
Gengar blinked, then began pulling out everything it had secretly packed and placing it in front of Mike.
The palm-leaf fan.
Its personal water bottle.
A pillow.
A quilt.
A power strip.
A little stool...
Mike stared at the growing pile.
Gengar had practically emptied Grandma’s house.
"Can you explain why you brought a power strip? Where are we supposed to find electricity in the wilderness? And why did you pack a blender?"
"Gar..."
[For making Berry juice... It tastes good!]
"We don’t have electricity out here! Why didn’t you bring the refrigerator too while you were at it?"
"Gar—"
[It was too big to fit, but I brought this instead.]
Gengar reached behind itself and triumphantly produced a microwave.
Mike had no words left.
When Gengar noticed his expression, it realized it had probably done something wrong.
It sat down and lowered its head.
"I’ll call Grandma later and explain. It’s fine."
Mike could not bring himself to scold it when it looked so miserable, so he quickly changed the subject.
"It’s getting late. Let’s make dinner first. Bring out the ingredients Grandma prepared for us and wash them in the stream. I’ll cook something delicious when you get back."
"Gar—!"
Gengar immediately brightened and stood up, preparing to take the ingredients to the nearby stream.
Except it did not move.
Mike looked up curiously.
He assumed Gengar was afraid to go alone and was about to offer to accompany it when Gengar gave him an awkward grin.
It scratched its enormous backside, blinked guiltily, and mumbled—
"Gar..."
[I... think... I forgot to bring them.]
Mike stared at him.
Then he covered his forehead in pain.
"You brought a microwave, but forgot the food Grandma packed for us?"
"Gar—"
[But I brought other things to eat.]
Gengar hurriedly emptied out all the snacks Grandma had bought for it.
Mike’s chest felt even tighter.
"So you remembered a pile of useless appliances and every snack Grandma bought for you, but the actual ingredients were the one thing you left behind?"
Gengar pressed its fingers together and nervously twiddled them against its chest.
"Gar..."
[We can share these.]
Mike sighed.
"Fine. We’ll eat this tonight. At least there’s some dry food mixed in. We can restock tomorrow—assuming we have enough money."
He still could not bring himself to be angry with Gengar.
"Gar—"
[Hehe.]
The roar of a motorcycle suddenly approached before coming to a stop nearby.
"Mike?"