Chapter 54
"Do you want me to carry you?"
Glameow raised her head in confusion and found Mike looking down at her with a smile.
"Meow?"
She tilted her head.
Hearing her questioning cry, Mike explained, "Your leg only healed recently. I’m worried you’ll get tired if you walk too long. You won’t have to work so hard if I carry you—and of course, I’m not tired at all."
Mike reached out with both hands to pick her up.
Glameow gracefully twisted away, slipped out of his reach, and walked ahead of him.
Then she turned back to look at Mike.
"Meow."
[Hurry up and follow me.]
Mike withdrew his hands in disappointment and hurried after her.
Snivy swung quickly through the trees with Vine Whip.
She glanced at Gengar, who carried a backpack and Kakuna while whipping the roadside weeds with his thin bamboo staff, then looked at Glameow walking briskly ahead and Mike hurrying behind her.
The corners of Snivy’s mouth curved upward.
She swung down and landed steadily beside Mike, accompanying him on foot.
"You’re the best Snivy."
Mike looked at her and spoke sincerely.
Snivy gave him an adorable smile.
...
During their lunch break, Mike picked Kakuna up and raised him above his head.
"I thought you might evolve yesterday to match the atmosphere, but I didn’t expect you to stay the same."
"Judging by how long it’s been, shouldn’t you be close to evolving by now?"
Kakuna answered Mike’s questions with nothing but blinking.
"Still, you’re already pretty large. You’ll probably be very strong and sturdy when you evolve into Beedrill."
Mike continued talking to himself.
"There’s no need to rush. You can evolve whenever you feel ready."
He smiled reassuringly before placing Kakuna back on the blanket.
Mike then turned his attention to the system notifications that had appeared earlier that day.
{Gift of the Night of Evolution: As a legendary photographer, how could you possibly ignore a rare sight that appears only once every ten years? Congratulations. Not only did you witness it yourself, but you also recorded it so that many more people could see this magnificent scene.}
{Furthermore, your dance with the Pokémon during the Night of Evolution brought joy to the entire forest. The forest has therefore granted you an extremely rare blessing: Bug-Type Affinity.}
{Bug-Type Affinity: When facing wild Bug-type Pokémon, you will gain their favor much more easily. They appear to regard you as one of their own. Affinity: 90.}
{The Bug-type Pokémon of the forest danced beneath the moonlight. The scales on their bodies absorbed the essence of the moon before drifting to the ground. They gathered these rare scales and offered them to you as a gift. Item obtained: Silver Powder.}
{Silver Powder: A powder that shines with a silver glow. When held by a Pokémon, it slightly increases the power of Bug-type moves. Edible.}
{As the name suggests, the Night of Evolution is a night when Pokémon evolve. Congratulations. You have received one chance to enter the Evolution Lottery.}
{Evolution Lottery: Contains various Evolution Stones.}
{Would you like to draw?}
"Bug-Type Affinity?"
Mike drew in a sharp breath.
Didn’t that mean he would no longer need to worry about being ambushed by Bug-type Pokémon?
Everyone knew that Bug types were often among the most dangerous Pokémon to encounter while camping in the wilderness.
Many of them were also Poison types, and since they usually lived in large groups, they were troublesome to deal with.
"And with Bug-Type Affinity... I won’t have to sneak around when photographing them anymore. Maybe I can even ask them to pose for me."
Mike was extremely pleased with the reward.
He now possessed affinity with three Pokémon types: Fire, Flying, and Bug!
"Silver Powder? Isn’t that just the usual Silver Powder? It can actually be eaten? In that case, I’ll give it to Kakuna after he evolves."
Mike turned his attention to the third reward.
"An Evolution Lottery that gives Evolution Stones? With a name like that, I thought one of my Pokémon would randomly evolve after I used it..."
Mike complained about the misleading name.
"Draw."
The moment he spoke, a virtual roulette wheel appeared before him.
Mike watched it spin until the pointer gradually slowed and landed beside a familiar Stone...
A Leaf Stone.
Mike: "..."
{Congratulations. You have obtained a Leaf Stone.}
{Leaf Stone: A Poké—}
Mike immediately closed the page.
Even a lottery had to be rigged!
He had completely lost faith in his system.
"A Leaf Stone is still a Leaf Stone. None of my Pokémon can use it, but it’s worth at least eighteen hundred Viewership Points. I can sell it later... Wait."
Mike suddenly turned toward Snivy and fell into thought.
If a Toxic Orb could be eaten, could a Leaf Stone also be eaten?
Perhaps Snivy could absorb the Grass-type energy inside it, just as Gengar had absorbed poison from the Toxic Orb.
With that thought, Mike called out to Snivy.
Snivy, who was sitting in a tree enjoying the breeze, lowered her head and looked at him curiously.
"Sni?"
"Come down for a moment."
Snivy obediently jumped down and sat beside Mike, raising her small head to look at him.
"Sni?"
Mike smiled, pulled over the backpack, and reached inside.
When he withdrew his hand, a green stone had appeared in his palm.
Leaf-like veins ran across its surface.
Mike handed the Leaf Stone to Snivy.
"This is for you. Consider it a welcome gift."
"Sni?"
Snivy looked at the Leaf Stone, blinked her large eyes, then raised her head and stared at Mike for a moment before giving him an adorable smile.
"Sni~"
[Thank you~]
Snivy accepted the Leaf Stone and thanked him softly.
"See whether you can absorb the energy inside. If you can, use it to strengthen your Grass-type energy. If you can’t, you can keep it as a toy."
Snivy nodded.
She sat on the blanket with the Leaf Stone held between both hands and studied it curiously.
After a while, she raised her little head and looked at Mike again.
"Sni?"
[How do I absorb it?]
Mike thought for a moment, then shook his head.
"I don’t know either, but Gengar and Kakuna have experience with this. You can ask them."
Holding the Leaf Stone, Snivy obediently walked over to Gengar.
"Sni?"
Gengar turned around and looked at the Leaf Stone in her hands.
Without hesitation, he took out his Toxic Orb, tossed it into his mouth, and began chewing.
"Gar—"
[Like this. Chew, chew, chew.]
Snivy watched Gengar chew the Toxic Orb with a slightly disgusted expression.
She used Vine Whip to return to the tree, sat on a branch, and stared at the Leaf Stone in her hands.
After glancing down and making sure no one was watching, she hesitated before lightly extending her pink tongue and licking the stone.
It was cold and smooth and.... nothing seemed to happen.
Snivy looked confused and licked it again.
Once she confirmed that it truly had no effect, her face turned red.
’Stupid Gengar!’
She glared down at him.
Gengar had quietly picked up the backpack and hidden behind a tree. He curiously reached inside and searched around.
Finding nothing but emptiness, he stubbornly pressed one eye against the opening, as though he refused to give up until he saw something inside.
He looked ready to shove his entire head into it.
After a while, Gengar finally surrendered.
He returned the backpack to its original place, then looked curiously at Mike while scratching his large backside.
’How strange... How does he keep taking those things out of the backpack?’
’Could he really have a four-dimensional pocket like me?’
’But isn’t that something only a Gengar can do?’
No matter how hard Gengar thought, he couldn’t figure it out.
He stared intensely at Mike, determined to see through him.
Mike was currently using the Poké Tail Grass to play with Glameow.
When he noticed Gengar’s stare, he secretly laughed.
’Didn’t expect that, did you? I have system storage!’
On the other side, Gengar’s eyes widened.
’Mike... Could he secretly be a Gengar too?!’
Gengar stared at him in complete shock and unconsciously began biting his finger.