Chapter 193
Gardenia stared at her unconscious Torterra, then lifted her gaze toward Beedrill hovering in the air with his presence still surging around him.
She recalled Torterra and took out her final Poké Ball.
"I’m counting on you, Roserade!"
Roserade appeared on the battlefield, the red and blue flower bouquets at the ends of its arms opening gracefully as it waited for Gardenia’s command.
"Roserade, Weather Ball!"
Roserade leaped high into the air and gathered energy between its flowers.
Under the bright sunlight, Weather Ball transformed into a blazing sphere of fire that shot straight toward Beedrill.
"Beedrill, cut it apart!"
"Nani?!"
Gardenia cried out in disbelief.
Beedrill swung one of his spear-like stingers through the incoming fireball.
The attack split apart in midair, flames scattering across his body and scorching sections of his armor, yet he didn’t so much as flinch.
"Agility, then X-Scissor!"
Beedrill vanished.
By the time Roserade landed, he was already directly in front of it.
His twin stingers crossed and slashed outward in a single violent strike.
Roserade was launched through the air and crashed down beside Gardenia.
It didn’t get back up.
The referee stared for several seconds before finally raising the flag.
"Gym Leader Gardenia’s three Pokémon are all unable to battle! Challenger Mike wins the match!"
Mike walked onto the field and stopped beside Beedrill.
He gently patted one of the slightly blackened sections of his body.
"Good work."
Beedrill coolly shook his head.
"Bee."
[It still wasn’t as strong as Big Bro’s throwing balls!]
For quite some time now, Gengar had been dragging Beedrill into their increasingly dangerous version of dodgeball.
Compared with Gengar’s Shadow Balls, Gardenia’s Weather Ball, Leech Seed, and Rock Blast simply weren’t frightening enough.
Gengar’s Shadow Balls were larger, faster, more numerous, and hit considerably harder.
Worse, every time they played, Gengar eventually became too enthusiastic and used Double Team, filling the area with copies of himself before having what looked like an entire army of Gengar hurl Shadow Balls at Beedrill from every direction.
After being blown up often enough, Beedrill had gradually become accustomed to the pain.
His stingers had become faster too.
They had to.
Getting hit genuinely hurt!
Mike laughed.
"Starting to regret playing with such an unreliable big brother?"
Beedrill hesitated briefly.
Then he shook his head.
"Bee."
[Big Bro is Big Bro. I don’t regret it.]
Mike blinked before smiling.
"Well, look at you. I didn’t realize you were this loyal."
Beedrill said nothing.
Back when he was still Weedle and Kakuna, Gengar had carried him almost everywhere.
Admittedly, Gengar had also treated him like a tool, a projectile, and occasionally whatever improvised weapon happened to be convenient, but those days had still given Beedrill a kind of life he had never experienced before.
There were always stories to listen to.
Even if half of Gengar’s stories made absolutely no sense.
...
Gardenia approached Mike and held out her hand.
"You fight even more directly than I do. I thought I’d at least get the chance to battle your Snivy, but Beedrill swept my entire team before she even got onto the field."
"That happens."
Mike shook her hand.
"If you knew what Beedrill’s normal training looked like, you’d understand why Leech Seed and Rock Blast weren’t enough to stop him."
Gardenia looked toward Beedrill.
"What surprised me most was how little he reacted to the fire. I thought Weather Ball would at least make him hesitate."
Mike released her hand and gently rubbed Beedrill’s head.
"He became a real knight inside Salamence’s flames. Ever since then, fire hasn’t frightened him."
"I see..."
Gardenia nodded in understanding before looking back at Mike.
Then she smiled.
"Anyway, congratulations, Mike. You defeated me as the Leader of Eterna Gym. This is your Badge and proof of your victory—the Forest Badge."
One of the Gym staff approached carrying a wooden tray lined with red cloth.
The Badge rested at its center.
Gardenia picked it up and personally handed it to Mike.
Mike accepted it with both hands.
"Thank you."
Then he raised the Forest Badge high before catching it again with a grin.
"Forest Badge—secured!"
"GAR!"
Gengar suddenly burst out of Mike’s shadow with an excited cry.
The color instantly drained from Gardenia’s face.
Her knees went weak, and she collapsed onto the ground.
She stared at Gengar in horror, kicked frantically against the floor, and scrambled backward until she had put a safe distance between herself and him.
Only then did she raise a trembling hand.
"G-G-Ghost...! There’s a ghost!"
"Gar?"
[Ghost? Where?]
Gengar immediately looked around with genuine curiosity.
Mike grabbed both sides of his face and pulled it.
"She means you!"
Gengar accepted the Forest Badge for safekeeping, gave it an experimental lick, then stored it away.
Afterward, he scratched his broad face in confusion.
"Gar?"
[Am I that scary?]
Seeing him become visibly dejected, Mike leaned closer to his ear and whispered, "She’s scared of Ghost-type Pokémon in general. It isn’t because there’s anything wrong with you."
Gengar looked at him.
Mike continued quietly.
"Remember when we first met? I was terrified too. You came through the wall while I was using the bathroom at the hospital, and I ran out before I’d even finished, yelling that there was a ghost."
The memory returned instantly.
Gengar began cackling.
"Gar, gar, gar—!"
Gardenia went even paler.
Her entire body was trembling now.
"Okay, okay. Do me a favor and stay in my shadow for a while."
Gengar nodded, stretched out his tongue to lick Mike’s cheek, then sank back into the shadow.
Mike immediately stomped on it.
"You idiot! You just licked the Badge!"
A hand shot out of the shadow, grabbed Mike’s ankle, and yanked.
Mike hit the ground face-first.
"GENGAR!"
Gengar poked his head out, pulled a ridiculous face at him, then vanished again.
Snivy watched the entire exchange without the slightest reaction.
This was normal.
Mike climbed back to his feet, dusted himself off, and walked over to Gardenia.
He extended a hand.
"You okay?"
Gardenia hesitated before taking it and allowing him to pull her up.
"That Gengar..."
Mike looked at her.
"Aren’t you supposed to be one of The Wide World of Pokémon’s biggest fans? You didn’t know my ace is Gengar?"
"I know that."
Gardenia scratched her head awkwardly.
"But having him suddenly jump out like that is terrifying!"
She lowered her voice.
"And I’ve always been afraid of Ghost-types anyway..."
Mike finally remembered.
Right.
Gardenia was famously terrified of Ghost-type Pokémon.
The moment one appeared, her usual bold, energetic personality disappeared and was replaced by nervousness, panic, and a very strong desire to run away.
"Seeing Gengar just now reminded me of that haunted mansion in Eterna Forest..."
Gardenia’s voice became even quieter.
Mike froze.
The haunted mansion in Eterna Forest?
He remembered now.
There was supposedly an old abandoned manor deep inside the forest, and many of Eterna City’s ghost stories were said to originate there.
"Oh no..."
Mike muttered.
Gardenia looked confused.
"What?"
"I forgot to visit it."
Mike scratched his head.
"When I came through Eterna Forest, I completely forgot to go check it out."
Gardenia stared at him in horror.
"You... you actually wanted to go there?!"
"Go where?"
Lucian had just ended the group video call and walked over in time to hear her question.
"The haunted mansion deep inside Eterna Forest." Mike answered casually.
"People say actual ghosts appear there. I’ve never seen one before, so I’m curious."
He sighed.
"Since I still need to reach Celestic Town, I was worried about spending too much time exploring Eterna Forest. I didn’t cover the area properly, and somehow I completely forgot about the mansion."
His disappointment was genuine.
Lucian thought for a moment.
"Want me to go with you?"
Gardenia immediately turned to him with the same horrified expression.
Even Lucian wanted to visit that place?
Were none of these people afraid?
Mike, however, stared at Lucian and caught the unmistakable eagerness in his eyes.
He sneered inwardly, then he shook his head.
"Lucian-san, unless I’m mistaken, shouldn’t you be going back to work?"
Lucian fell silent.
Mike placed a hand solemnly on his shoulder.
"Lucian-san, skipping work is a bad habit. You shouldn’t excuse a wrong simply because it seems minor."
Lucian stared at him.
Mike’s expression was filled with heartfelt concern.
But internally, he was laughing.
’You wanted to use me as an excuse to slack off again? Dream on! How am I supposed to enjoy myself if you’re not suffering at work?’
Their eyes met.
Both of them immediately understood exactly what the other was thinking.
Eventually, Lucian sighed.
"You’re right. I probably should go back."
Once he thought about it, guarding the Gym was still far easier than sitting in an office processing League paperwork.
"In that case, I’ll leave first."
Lucian turned toward the exit.
Mike cheerfully waved after him.
"Work hard, Lucian-san! Stop trying to slack off all the time. See you next time!"
Gardenia watched him go, then suddenly remembered something.
"Um... Elite Four Lucian? My Gym evaluation..."
Lucian stopped.
"Oh, right. Almost forgot."
He looked back at her.
"Gym Leader Gardenia, congratulations. Eterna Gym passes this year’s evaluation." (how)
"Yes!"
Gardenia clenched one fist in triumph.
Lucian nodded and finally left.