Chapter 67
"Aipom!"
The boy rushed in front of the camera and pulled Aipom down, snatching the cap from its tail and placing it back on his head.
The girl beside him, wearing a white beanie decorated with a Poké Ball design, lightly tugged on his jacket.
"They’re filming something," she whispered. "We’re getting in the way."
Only then did the boy notice all the filming equipment pointed in their direction.
The girl, however, had already noticed the young man standing beside Officer Jenny.
She kept stealing glances at him, her expression gradually filling with recognition.
’Wait... Is that really Mike?’
She had seen his pokemon photographs countless times and never missed his livestreams ever since he start livestreaming!
Before Dawn could say anything, Officer Jenny prepared to ask who they were and why they had suddenly interrupted the filming.
However, her vision blurred.
A dark-skinned man had somehow appeared in front of her, taken her hand, and dropped to his knees.
With his free hand pressed dramatically over his chest, he gazed up at her with undisguised affection.
"Beautiful Officer Jenny, to think you must continue working beneath this blazing summer sun... Perhaps fate itself could no longer bear to watch you suffer in this terrible heat, and that is why it sent me here to meet you. Oh, Officer Jenny, please don’t worry. With me beside you, this scorching summer will—will—arghhh..."
Mike watched as Croagunk calmly dragged Brock away.
’There it is. The ultimate pickup artist has arrived!’
Even after Brock disappeared from sight, Officer Jenny still hadn’t fully processed what had just happened.
Once she recovered, she finally found an opportunity to address the group.
"Hello. May I ask who you are?"
The boy suddenly remembered that they hadn’t introduced themselves.
"Hello, Officer Jenny! I’m Ash, and this is my partner, Pikachu. We’re traveling together while I work toward my dream of becoming a Pokémon Master!"
"Pika, pika~"
"I’m Dawn, and this is my partner, Piplup. We’re doing our best to become Top Coordinators!"
"Piplup, piplup~"
Dawn glanced at Mike again, still trying to contain her excitement.
Seeing someone through a screen was one thing, but meeting them in person felt completely different!
"And I’m Brock. I’m currently training to become a great Pokémon Breeder."
Brock suddenly sprang back into view, apparently fully recovered, and introduced himself as though nothing had happened.
"This is my partner, Croagunk."
"Croagunk."
"Nice to meet you. I’m Officer Jenny from Jubilife City, and this is Mike."
Dawn’s eyes lit up at the confirmation.
’It really is him!’
Officer Jenny paused before asking politely, "Could you move aside for a moment and let us finish filming?"
"Oh! Sorry!"
Ash hurriedly bowed, then led Brock and Dawn away from the filming area.
As Dawn followed them, she couldn’t help looking back at Mike several times.
Watching the three of them leave, Mike suddenly remembered another trio that was almost always close behind them.
’Could they be here too?’
He curiously looked around, but there was no sign of Team Rocket anywhere.
"Mike, shall we continue filming?" Officer Jenny asked.
Mike nodded.
"Sure."
Filming resumed, and Mike turned back toward the camera.
"That’s why Trainers traveling through the wilderness should pay especially close attention to Bug-type Pokémon they would normally consider weak."
"For example..."
...
Once filming ended, Mike accepted the bottle of water Officer Jenny handed him and took a long drink.
He wiped the sweat from his forehead and smiled bitterly.
"Filming in this weather really isn’t easy."
Officer Jenny stood nearby, fanning herself with one hand.
"You can say that again. Fortunately, we’ve finished the video."
"We shouldn’t need your help with anything else today."
She looked at Mike.
"You’re cooking dinner tonight, right?"
Mike nodded.
"I happen to have the afternoon off. Would it be all right if I joined you? My sister told me you’re quite a good cook."
"Of course. You’re always welcome."
Mike naturally had no objections.
"Still... I don’t think a video alone will get the best results. Maybe I should find some time to do a livestream with a practical demonstration."
"For example, we could have some Bug-type Pokémon—"
"Ow!"
Before Mike could finish, a cry of pain interrupted him.
He turned and saw Dawn clutching her forehead with tears in her eyes, while Piplup angrily shouted at Snivy, who was sitting calmly on a nearby tree branch.
Seeing that Piplup and Snivy were about to fight, Mike hurried over.
"Gengar."
Mike called to Gengar, who was gripping his bamboo staff, and motioned for him to disperse the Shadow Ball forming in his hand.
Their opponent was Ash Ketchum.
Who knew whether a Shadow Ball would even work properly against him?
Mike and Officer Jenny stepped between the Pokémon and asked what had happened.
Still holding her forehead, Dawn explained in embarrassment, "I saw a Pokémon sitting in the tree and didn’t recognize her at first. My Pokédex didn’t have any information about her, so I thought she was wild and tried to catch her."
Although Dawn had seen Snivy during Mike’s livestreams, she had only ever viewed her through a screen.
From a distance, half-hidden among the branches, she hadn’t realized it was the same Snivy traveling with him.
"But as soon as I threw the Poké Ball, she knocked it straight back at me."
Mike looked at Dawn and the swelling on her forehead, then glanced up at Snivy, who remained perfectly calm in the tree.
"Snivy is my partner," he explained.
Dawn’s mouth fell open.
The moment Mike said it, she finally connected the Pokémon in the tree with the Snivy she had seen on his streams.
"I’m sorry, Mr. Mike!"
She hurriedly bowed.
"I didn’t realize she was your partner. I thought she was a wild Pokémon."
Ash and Brock apologized as well.
Mike looked toward Snivy.
When she shook her head to show that she didn’t mind, he turned back to the three of them.
"It’s all right. Just remember to check whether a Pokémon already has a Trainer before trying to catch it."
He gestured toward the busy surroundings.
"Think about it. There are so many people and Pokémon around here. The chances were pretty high that she belonged to someone."
"Yes, I understand, Mr. Mike."
Dawn quickly nodded, ignoring the large bump on her forehead.
"I only recently started my journey. When I saw such a beautiful Pokémon sitting there, I got carried away. All I could think about was catching her and entering Pokémon Contests together."
She bowed apologetically once more.
"Right? You think Snivy is beautiful too?"
Mike smiled.
Realizing that he wasn’t angry with her, Dawn finally raised her head and grinned.
"Absolutely! Snivy is both beautiful and adorable."
"See, Snivy? I told you plenty of people would say you’re pretty."
Snivy used Vine Whip to swing down from the tree and landed gracefully in front of Dawn.
She gave her a polite bow of thanks.
"Sni~"
"Aww! She’s so cute!"
Dawn’s eyes practically turned into hearts.
Seeing Snivy in person was even better than watching her through a screen.
"Um... Mr. Mike."
Ash raised his hand and called out to him.
Mike turned toward the boy he had watched for more than a decade.
A strange sense of disbelief filled him as he asked, "What is it?"
"Could you tell me what region Snivy comes from? The Pokédex Professor Rowan gave me doesn’t have any information about her."
"The Pokédex he gave you only contains information about Pokémon found in the Sinnoh region. Snivy comes from the Unova region, so of course she isn’t included."
Ash looked curiously at Snivy.
"The Unova region? Where’s that?"
"The next region you’ll visit after finishing your journey through Sinnoh."
Mike snapped his fingers and casually said something that left everyone present confused.
"Oh, so that’s how it is..."
Ash clearly hadn’t understood a word, but he nodded anyway.
Then he looked up at Mike and issued his usual challenge.
"Mr. Mike, please battle Pikachu and me using Snivy!"
A fierce flame burned in Ash’s eyes as he waited for an answer.
"I... refuse."