Chapter 89
Beside a small river in the forest, Mike crouched inside a patch of bushes with his camera aimed at a Leafeon drinking from the water.
He had no idea why such a rare Pokémon was here, but that hadn’t stopped him from secretly photographing it from the moment he first spotted it.
"What a beautiful Leafeon~ I want to take her home with me so badly~"
Leafeon looked like a cross between a fox and a cat.
Her body was light brown, while her large, elongated ears resembled leaves. A longer leaf grew from the center of her forehead, and her tail was shaped like one as well.
"Every Eevee evolution is so adorable~"
Mike squirmed excitedly while continuing to photograph the drinking Leafeon.
Snivy sat vigilantly in a nearby tree.
Watching Mike behave like a creep secretly photographing a young woman, she sighed and reluctantly withdrew the vine she had just extended.
’It’s for work... It’s for work... It’s for work...’
Snivy repeatedly reassured herself.
After Leafeon finished drinking, she raised her head and prepared to leave.
At that moment, Glameow emerged with graceful steps. The Soothe Bell around her neck chimed with a clear, pleasant sound.
Leafeon was immediately drawn to her and stopped walking.
"Leaf?"
She watched curiously as Glameow approached.
Glameow gave a lazy yawn and passed Leafeon as though she wasn’t there.
She stopped at the riverbank, extended her tongue, and delicately lapped at the water.
Her posture was so elegant that Leafeon became momentarily entranced.
To Mike, Leafeon looked like a rough country bumpkin seeing a wealthy young lady from the big city for the first time.
He silently praised Glameow for doing an excellent job and continued filming Leafeon.
This was rare and valuable footage!
Mike planned to make the next installment of The Wide World of Pokémon about Grass types.
Bug, Flying, and Grass were the three types Trainers were most likely to encounter during their travels.
Water types were common too, but they could generally only be found around bodies of water.
The other three could all be encountered in large numbers as long as there was a forest nearby.
Leafeon stared at Glameow drinking from the river.
After hesitating for a moment, she seemed to fall under some strange spell and walked over.
The moment Leafeon reached her side, Glameow’s body tensed and she nearly jumped away.
Then she remembered that Mike was filming behind her and forcibly suppressed the instinct to flee.
She turned toward Leafeon and blinked curiously.
"Meow?"
"Leaf~"
Leafeon gently leaned her head toward Glameow’s.
Glameow moved her own head away in disgust.
’A female?’
Glameow tilted her head as she examined Leafeon.
When Leafeon continued trying to press her head closer, Glameow raised a paw and planted it against her face.
"Meow."
Leafeon refused to give up.
She kept pushing her head toward Glameow and even went so far as to stick out her tongue.
Mike finally lost his patience.
"Damn you, Leafeon! Give up right now! As long as I’m here, you’ll never succeed!"
He sprang from the bushes and shouted angrily.
Snivy looked down from the tree, utterly bewildered as Mike abandoned his photography.
’What is he doing now?’
Leafeon jumped in fright and immediately backed away, staring warily at Mike.
The moment Mike had seen her shamelessly sticking out her tongue and trying to lick his Glameow, fury had consumed him.
’You might be adorable, but .. that’s going too far!’
’You want to seduce my precious Glameow? In your dreams!’
Mike scooped Glameow into his arms and turned to leave.
"I never expected Leafeon to be such a creep! Damn her. Come on, we’re not filming anymore!"
"Meow!"
[What are you talking about?!]
Glameow looked up at him speechlessly.
"Meow."
[She’s female! Just like me!]
Mike froze and lowered his head toward her.
"What? Female?"
Glameow stared at him with her beautiful blue eyes and nodded.
Mike looked back.
Leafeon was still standing where they had left her, watching Mike and Glameow.
’A female Leafeon?’
’Isn’t the male-to-female ratio among Eevee something like seven to one?’
’What are the chances that this one is female?’
Because Mike knew how heavily the Eevee gender ratio favored males, he had naturally assumed Leafeon was trying to steal his precious little princess.
An awkward silence descended over the riverbank.
Snivy shook her head and looked into the distance.
"Well... Glameow, could you go talk to her and ask whether she’ll let me photograph her up close?"
Mike lowered his head and gave the Glameow in his arms an ingratiating smile.
Glameow stared at him without answering.
She lightly jumped from his arms, the Soothe Bell chiming as she resumed her elegant walk toward Leafeon.
Before leaving, her tail whipped Mike hard across the leg.
Mike bent over and hopped around while clutching the injured spot.
"Ow, ow, ow..."
Tears gathered in his eyes.
"Leaf?"
Leafeon tilted her head at Glameow as she approached.
"Meow~"
"Meow."
The two began communicating.
Leafeon circled Glameow several times before gently nudging her head against Glameow’s.
Helplessness filled Glameow’s beautiful face.
"Gar?"
[Who is she?]
Gengar returned with a basket on his back. Seeing Leafeon rubbing affectionately against Glameow, he asked Mike curiously.
"She’s probably... Glameow’s new friend?"
Mike raised his camera and quietly answered while photographing Leafeon clinging to Glameow.
"You went mushroom picking again?"
He looked at the basket on Gengar’s back. It was filled to the brim with mushrooms.
Gengar shook his head.
"Then where did you get all those?"
"Gar—"
[Beedrill and I obtained them through alms.]
Mike: "..."
"So you don’t even pick mushrooms anymore? You simply rob other pokemon?"
"Gar!"
[Of course not! Beedrill and I helped them teach some other Pokémon a lesson, and they gathered the mushrooms for us afterward. We only borrowed some of them.]
Mike sighed.
"Fine. Start preparing the ingredients. It’s almost time to cook."
Gengar nodded and went with Beedrill to clean the food.
When Snivy saw the two of them crouching beside the river and handling the ingredients, she swung down from the tree in alarm.
"Sni!"
[Stop! Let me do it!]
Snivy immediately ordered Gengar and Beedrill to go set the table.
Then she glared at Mike.
’Has this idiot learned nothing? How can he still let those two prepare ingredients?’
Mike scratched his head and gave her an embarrassed smile.
...
After Mike finished making lunch, Snivy, Gengar, and the others helped carry the dishes to the table.
Gengar used a ladle to serve Mike and the other Pokémon each a bowl of mushroom soup.
Then he took out his personal ladle, dipped it into the poisonous mushroom soup Mike had cooked especially for him, and filled an enormous bowl for Beedrill.
Beedrill stared at the bowl, which was visibly larger than everyone else’s, and looked at Gengar curiously.
"Bee?"
Gengar waved dismissively.
[You can have the large bowl. I don’t mind eating from anything.]
Then Gengar picked up the new cooking pot Mike had bought specifically for preparing his food and drank the poisonous mushroom soup straight from it.
’Eating from the pot is still the most comfortable~’
Gengar narrowed his eyes contentedly.
Beedrill looked at the pot in Gengar’s arms, then at the large bowl in front of him, before finally lowering his head and beginning to eat.
Mike tested the mushroom soup’s temperature, pouring it back and forth between two bowls until it had cooled enough.
Then he placed one bowl in front of Glameow.
"The temperature is perfect now. Go ahead."
Mike worried about burning his cat’s tongue, so he always cooled her food before allowing her to eat.
Leafeon stood some distance away, watching everyone enjoy their meal.
Mike waved her over.
Leafeon cautiously approached and discovered that Mike had placed a wooden bowl filled with mushroom soup before her.
He also brought over some food and placed it in a second bowl.
"Go ahead and eat."
While Leafeon happily lowered her head to inspect the food and was too distracted to react, Mike quickly reached out and stroked her.
Her fur felt cool, with the slightly coarse texture unique to wild Grass-type Pokémon.
Leafeon raised her head.
Mike had already withdrawn his hand and was innocently enjoying his own meal as though nothing had happened.
She looked toward Glameow, who was drinking large mouthfuls of mushroom soup with her head lowered.
After hesitating, Leafeon chose not to leave and tasted the soup Mike had prepared.
"Leaf!"
[It’s delicious!]
Her eyes lit up, and she began eating enthusiastically.
...
After lunch, Mike sat on the blanket Gengar had spread out and watched Leafeon continue clinging to Glameow.
He thought for a moment before speaking.
"Leafeon."
Leafeon turned toward him.
"Have you ever heard a certain saying?"
She tilted her head.
"There’s no such thing as a free lunch. That means since you ate my food, you need to help me with some work!"
Leafeon blinked.
"Leaf?"
[That’s something humans say. I’m not a human, so what does it have to do with me?]
"..."
Mike turned toward Glameow.
"Glameow, come back. Don’t play with her anymore."
Before Glameow could move, Leafeon blurred and appeared beside Mike, sitting obediently before him.
"Leaf?"
[What do you need me to do?]
Her voice was unlike that of most Pokémon.
It sounded like a breeze passing through fresh leaves—clear, gentle, and almost ethereal.
Mike’s plan had succeeded.
He raised his camera.
"You don’t need to do anything difficult. Just cooperate while I take some photographs and record a little footage."
Leafeon blinked her light-brown eyes and nodded.
Once she agreed, Mike began photographing her from every possible angle.
The front, the back, the top of her head, the leaves behind her ears—he photographed nearly every part of her.
Leafeon apparently hadn’t expected "taking pictures" to involve this.
Mike’s hands had practically explored every inch of her body.
’Is this really part of photography?’
Leafeon lay in Mike’s arms while he touched her all over, staring at Glameow with confusion.
Glameow raised her head and looked toward the sky.
After a moment, she gave a trembling cry.
"Meow."
[Yes... It’s part of the process.]
Although Leafeon was still doubtful, she chose not to resist after hearing Glameow’s answer and allowed Mike to continue touching her.
Once Mike had satisfied his curiosity, he took out a new small brush and began grooming the tangles from Leafeon’s fur.
As Mike changed to gentler movements, Leafeon comfortably narrowed her eyes and repeatedly released soft, pleased cries.
"Leaf... Leaf~"
During the process, Mike touched her ears and tail as well.
They truly felt like leaves and carried the fresh fragrance of greenery.
’Leafeon is really an amazing species.’
Mike silently sighed in admiration.
After grooming her, he looked down at Leafeon lying across his lap with her eyes closed.
Before she could react, Mike buried his face in her belly and inhaled deeply.
A slightly sharp scent of fresh grass entered his nose.
It was surprisingly refreshing.
Leafeon was terrified by the sudden attack. She rolled off Mike’s lap and immediately fled the scene.
She hid behind Glameow and stared at Mike in horror.
Despite being larger than Glameow, Leafeon was now trembling behind her.
"Leaf... Leaf..."
[G-Glameow... H-He’s a pervert...]
Glameow appeared to have predicted Mike’s final move.
Considering how well she knew him, there had never been any doubt that he would do something like this.
"Meow."
[He seems to have a particular weakness for feline Pokémon!]
Smack!
A vine struck Mike hard across the back.
His face twisted in pain as he repeatedly reached behind himself.
"Ow, ow, ow..."
Snivy had finally reached her limit in the tree above.
"Sni!"
[Could you stop acting like a creep?!]
Her cool voice contained unmistakable anger.
Mike raised his head to explain, but the moment he met Snivy’s sharp gaze, his guilty conscience forced him to lower it again.
’This is outrageous! When will we cats enthusiasts finally be allowed to stand proud?’
"Gar~"
[Da-da-da-da-da~]
Gengar floated past Mike while humming a cheerful tune.
He held a wooden washbasin containing Mike’s clothes, a washboard, and a laundry club.
Walking through the air with the elegant steps of a wealthy country lady returning home after doing the washing, he passed right beside Mike.
After setting up a rack and hanging Mike’s clothes to dry, Gengar glanced at Mike being scolded by Snivy.
He carried over a chair, sat nearby, and pulled out some sunflower seeds.
Gengar threw a handful into his mouth, chewed, then opened his lips and spat the shells onto the ground.
The moment Snivy finished lecturing him, Mike lunged at Gengar and began an exhilarating wrestling match.
Snivy had only looked away for a moment, yet the human and ghost were already fighting again.
Exhausted, she used Vine Whip to separate them, then ordered Beedrill to bind both of them with String Shot and hang them from a tree.
Leafeon lay beside Glameow and stared at Mike, who had been wrapped into a ball and suspended from a branch.
She quietly asked, "Leaf?"
[Will they... be all right like that?]
Glameow sat elegantly on a rock, turning her head to groom her fur.
She glanced toward the tree and answered with a cool cry.
"Meow."
[Ignore them.]