Chapter 12
Mike stared at the long row of zeroes in the online price listing.
"Holy crap!"
No wonder Grandma had warned him that his travel money might not last long.
The Rotom Phone and drone alone were worth almost a twentieth of everything she had given him!
’Is everything in this world secretly made of gold?’
Ding.
His phone chimed.
Mike pulled it out and saw a private message on PokéVid. As expected, it was from Gholdengo Is Number One.
[Gholdengo Is Number One: Did the equipment arrive? The delivery page says it was received.]
[Mike: Yeah, it just got here.]
[Gholdengo Is Number One: Nothing was damaged, right?]
[Mike: Everything looks fine. I’ve never used gear like this before, though, so I’ll need some time to figure it out.]
[Gholdengo Is Number One: That’s fine.]
Mike hesitated before typing again.
[Mike: Are you really sure about this? This stuff is seriously expensive...]
[Gholdengo Is Number One: There’s nothing to worry about.]
The account immediately went offline.
Mike stared at the screen with both hands slightly raised, looking exactly like Gengar whenever his brain stopped working.
Just as Mike was about to close Pokétube, the account icon lit up again.
Several messages arrived one after another.
[Gholdengo Is Number One: Mike, please keep making videos like these.]
[Gholdengo Is Number One: Watching them after work makes all my tiredness disappear.]
[Gholdengo Is Number One: Your videos are what I look forward to most when I get home. I’ve watched the older ones more times than I can count.]
[Gholdengo Is Number One: I really like seeing the way you treat Pokémon. Work takes up most of my time, so watching videos is sometimes the only chance I get to enjoy being around them.]
The account went dark again.
This time, Mike did not close the app.
He waited.
Quite a while passed before the icon finally lit up again.
Mike started typing, but he worried the person might disappear before he finished, so he sent a voice message instead.
"Your support is what keeps me filming."
The screen showed that the other person was typing.
Then it stopped.
A moment later, it started again.
This happened several times before a reply finally appeared.
[Gholdengo Is Number One: Thank you.]
A small smile appeared on Mike’s face.
He opened the keyboard and sent two words back.
[Mike: No.. thank you.]
The other person had already gone offline.
Mike turned off his phone and looked toward Gengar.
Gengar was staring at him with open disgust.
"What?" Mike asked.
"Gar—"
[You have no shame! Indeedee said something like that earlier, and you stole it.]
"How can you call it stealing when a smart person does it? I borrowed it. Borrowed it! Just like you borrow Berries from Pachirisu."
"Gar—"
[That was robbery...]
Mike slowly narrowed his eyes.
"Oh? So you do know."
Gengar froze.
"Gar—"
[I didn’t say anything!]
He quickly covered his mouth with both hands, as though the confession might crawl back inside.
"Gengar."
"Gar?"
[Yeah?]
"There really are people who like our videos. They said what we make helps them feel better."
Mike picked up his coffee and took another sip.
Gengar’s crimson eyes widened.
"Gar?"
[Really?]
"Really. Look, the messages are right here."
Mike held out the phone.
Gengar leaned closer and stared at the conversation with great focus.
After a while, he shifted awkwardly.
"Gar..."
[Um... Mike...]
"What? It says exactly what I told you, doesn’t it?"
"Gar..."
[I.... i don’t know how to read.]
Mike stared at him.
Gengar gave him a huge grin.
"Gar—"
[Hehe.]
"I’m always telling you to study, but you’d rather run around stealing Honey. Now look at you. You can’t read a single word."
Mike would never let such a perfect chance go to waste.
After teasing Gengar enough, he pulled him closer and quietly read the whole conversation aloud.
Gengar listened carefully.
"Gar—!"
[That’s awesome! So we’re going to keep filming, right?]
"Of course. Did you forget? That’s the whole reason we started traveling."
Mike poked Gengar’s cheek.
"You and Weedle might need to appear on camera more often, though."
"Gar!"
[That’s no problem at all! Hehe.]
"You really do love attention."
Mike tugged Gengar’s cool, round cheeks.
"Put the equipment away for now. We’ll figure out how everything works when we get back to the hotel."
Gengar nodded and swallowed the entire box into his storage space.
Mike then called Officer Jenny.
...
The roar of a motorcycle soon came from down the road.
Officer Jenny parked outside the café, walked in, and sat across from Mike.
"Want something to drink? My treat," Mike offered.
"In that case, I’ll have the house coffee." Jenny glanced at the menu. "Do they have food too?"
"We serve pasta, curry rice, and ramen," a server said.
"I’ll take the ramen."
"Of course. It’ll be ready soon."
Once the server walked away, Jenny handed Mike the small bag she had brought.
"I put every license I could think of inside. You probably won’t use most of them, but it’s better to have them ready."
"Thanks for going through all that trouble."
Mike opened the bag and checked the contents.
Trainer identification, Pokémon Breeder certification, Pokémon Connoisseur registration...
There were all kinds of documents inside.
Mike slowly raised his head.
"Jenny, you’re not going to get in trouble if someone checks these, right?"
"Get in trouble? Why would I—"
Jenny stopped and stared at him.
"What kind of person do you think I am?!"
Mike said nothing.
Jenny’s eyes narrowed.
"A lot of these are professional licenses, but they won’t become active until you visit the proper office and complete the last steps yourself. I only saved you from filling out the same boring forms over and over."
She crossed her arms.
"You didn’t seriously think being an Officer Jenny meant I could print fake licenses whenever I felt like it, did you?"
The server arrived with her ramen.
Jenny thanked them and immediately began eating.
"Oh. So that’s how it works." Mike let out a relieved breath. "You scared me for a second."
Jenny was eating so quickly that Mike could barely see the noodles disappear.
"Did you skip lunch?"
Jenny finished the whole bowl, drank several mouthfuls of broth, then leaned back with a satisfied sigh.
"Yeah. That’s how this job goes. You eat when you have time. When you don’t, you suffer."
"That sounds awful. Want anything else? I’m paying, so eat until you’re full."
Jenny clicked her tongue and gave him a stern look.
"Did Grandma give you that much travel money? Save it. One bowl is enough."
"It’s not Grandma’s money. I got paid for my videos! I already bought Gengar enough snacks to survive the end of the world, and I still have plenty left."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
Jenny immediately picked up the menu again.
"In that case, I won’t be polite."
"Please don’t."
Jenny ordered several more dishes.
Once she finished everything, she sank comfortably into the chair.
"Mike."
"Hmm?"
"Be careful while you’re traveling."
Her voice became serious.
"Don’t think going on a journey is always fun and easy. Here in Sinnoh, we find people in the wilderness almost every day who..."
Jenny stopped before finishing.
Mike understood what she meant.
"I know. I’m not stupid. The second something feels wrong, I’m turning around and running."
He glanced at Gengar and Weedle.
"Besides, I trust these two to protect me."
"Gar—!"
[Leave it to me!]
"Wee—!"
[I’ll help too!]
Jenny studied them, then nodded.
"Good."
She stood up.
"I need to return to my patrol. What time are you leaving tomorrow?"
"After breakfast."
"For Sandgem Town?"
"Yeah. I want to visit Professor Rowan."
"All right. I’ll come and see you off."
"You really don’t need to—"
"Stop arguing. It’s already decided."
Jenny turned and walked away.
Mike watched her leave, then gave Gengar a helpless shrug.
A customer soon approached and politely asked whether Gengar could clean up his trash.
Mike blinked.
Then he looked down.
A huge pile of empty snack wrappers surrounded Gengar’s feet!
Mike’s eyes widened.
"Gengar, how much did you eat?!"
"Gar—"
[I don’t know. Maybe a little?]
"A little?"
Mike pointed at the pile.
"You call that a little? Almost half the snacks are already gone!"
"Gar—"
[You said I could eat whenever I wanted.]
"That doesn’t mean you should eat everything in one sitting!"
Mike rubbed his forehead.
"That’s it. From now on, you need to ask before eating snacks."
"Gar!"
[I hate you, Mike!]
Mike stared at him.
"Didn’t you just say you loved me?"
"Gar!"
[Hmph! If you won’t let me eat snacks, then I hate you!]
"I have a reason—"
Gengar turned his back and folded his arms.
Mike tried again.
"You don’t want to run out before we even reach Sandgem Town, do you?"
No reaction.
"You don’t want to spend every day searching for wild Berries, right?"
Gengar’s ears twitched.
"And you definitely don’t want to—"
Gengar suddenly appeared beside Mike and grabbed his hand.
"Gar?"
[Mike, can we buy more snacks?]
Mike curled his lip and copied Gengar’s voice.
"Mike, I hate you~"
Gengar gritted his teeth.
Then he forced himself to smile.
"Gar~"
[Please? Pretty please~?]
Mike’s arms broke out in goosebumps.
"Should you really be using Baby-Doll Eyes?"
Some Pokémon looked cute when they begged.
Gengar looked like something from a nightmare trying to sell cookies!
Mike sighed dramatically.
"Ugh. I’ve been working for so long. My neck and shoulders really hurt."
Gengar’s eyes lit up.
"Gar!"
[I’ll massage them!]
He immediately moved behind Mike and began kneading his shoulders.
Mike closed his eyes and enjoyed it.
"Fine. Since you seem truly sorry, I suppose I can take you to buy a few more snacks."
"Gar!"
[Yay! Mike is the best!]
"But we’re setting a limit this time. You’re not eating half the supply in one afternoon. Understood?"
Gengar nodded so quickly that his head almost came loose.
"Good. Let’s clean everything up and leave."
Mike looked around.
"Weedle, we’re going."
No answer.
Mike frowned and searched for him.
Weedle was lying beside his foot with half a leaf hanging from his mouth. His eyes were closed, and his body was completely still.
Mike’s heart nearly stopped.
’No way.’
’Did he choke?!’
He quickly crouched and reached out to check Weedle’s breathing.
Before he could touch him, Gengar’s bamboo sword slid into view and poked Weedle’s side.
Weedle did not move.
"Gar!"
[Mike! Weedle... Weedle... He isn’t dead, is he?!]
"Don’t say that!"
Mike glared at Gengar, then quickly opened the system status screen.
{Weedle}
{Condition: Food coma... still in progress.}
{Description: Leaves are delicious. I love leaves. I could eat them every day. Oh no. I ate so many leaves that I passed out. —Weedle}
Mike slowly closed his eyes.
Seriously...
What kind of Weedle ate so many leaves that he knocked himself unconscious?
Mike suddenly felt tired in a way sleep could never fix.
"I’ve decided."
He pointed at Gengar, then at Weedle.
"From now on, I’m strictly controlling both your snacks and Weedle’s leaves!"
Gengar: Σ(゚∀゚ノ)ノ
"Gar—!"
[NOOOOO!]