Pokemon : I'm Just a Photographer!

Chapter 106: Chapter 106

On the battlefield, Mike finally had Snivy take the initiative.

"Flamethrower!"

Rampardos unleashed another torrent of flames.

Under Mike’s command, Snivy wrapped Vine Whip around a boulder and used the recoil to sling herself forward.

Her body spun as she flew alongside the edge of the Flamethrower, rapidly closing the distance.

"Zen Headbutt!"

"Leaf Storm!"

Before Rampardos could bring its head down, Leaf Storm engulfed its entire body.

When the storm finally dispersed, Rampardos lay motionless on the ground.

Unable to battle.

Snivy took several breaths before returning to Mike’s side.

"Can you keep going?" Mike asked.

Snivy gave him the same gentle smile.

"Sni~"

[I can still fight!]

"Then I’ll trouble you a little longer." Mike spoke softly.

Roark recalled Rampardos and sent out his final Pokémon.

Onix.

With Snivy’s Leaf Storm boosts already fully stacked, Mike didn’t bother with anything fancy.

"Leaf Storm."

Onix took the four-times-effective attack from a Snivy whose Special Attack had been boosted to absurd levels.

It made no attempt to struggle.

A moment later, it was lying on the ground, sleeping very peacefully.

...

After the referee announced the result, Mike walked onto the battlefield and gently stroked Snivy’s head.

"You worked hard, Snivy. I’ll make you something extra tonight."

Snivy narrowed her eyes and rubbed gently against his palm.

"Sni~"

[I’m happy as long as I can help you.]

Warmth filled Mike’s chest.

As expected of his gentle, kind, thoughtful Snivy!

How could there possibly be a Pokémon as beautiful and wonderful as her?

Mike stood up as Cynthia, the others, and Roark approached him.

"Congratulations on winning the match," Roark said.

Mike gave a slight bow.

"Thank you for the guidance."

Gengar and Snivy copied him, giving tiny bows of their own.

Roark accepted a wooden tray from his assistant, a Badge rested on the red cloth.

He picked it up and handed it to Mike.

"Congratulations on defeating the Oreburgh Gym. This is proof of your victory—the Coal Badge."

Mike looked at the Badge on the red cloth.

"Thank you."

He picked it up, tossed it high into the air, and caught it again.

"Coal Badge—got it!"

"Gar—!"

"Sni~"

"Meow."

Cynthia and the others applauded them from nearby.

Mike handed the Badge to Gengar for safekeeping before looking back at Roark.

"Thank you for the match."

Roark shook his head and spoke with the easy manner of an older brother.

"Helping Trainers improve is part of a Gym Leader’s responsibility, and honestly, I didn’t teach you very much."

"Still, Mike, your battling style doesn’t resemble someone who only recently began traveling. Have you traveled through another region before?"

Mike shook his head.

"Sinnoh is the first region I’ve traveled through."

"Really?"

Roark looked genuinely surprised.

"You defeated all three of my Pokémon using only Snivy. You have a lot of talent."

"You’re giving me too much credit."

Mike smiled and scratched his head.

"I won’t keep all of you any longer."

Roark said goodbye and left the Gym.

Mike and the others also headed outside, making their way toward the courtyard where the Stantler were staying.

"Pokémon mythology, ancient history, Pokémon knowledge, battling... Mike, exactly how many things are you hiding?" Professor Rowan asked curiously as they walked.

"Nothing, Professor. I just happen to like a lot of different things, so I’ve learned a little about all sorts of subjects. Compared with all of you, I’m nowhere close."

"So what you’re saying is that you’re an all-round genius?"

Professor Rowan looked at him.

Mike: "..."

’How did you get that from what I said?’

’I was trying to say I’m a jack-of-all-trades and master of none! How did that turn into me claiming I can do everything?’

...

When they reached the courtyard, Professor Oak and Professor Rowan entered with Lucian and Professor Kukui to spend time with the Stantler and help them become comfortable around their future instructors.

Their formal training wouldn’t begin until tomorrow.

Because Cynthia still carried Garchomp’s scent, she stayed outside rather than risk frightening the Stantler again.

Mike remained outside with her.

Remembering how he had felt during the Gym battle, Mike spoke quietly to his Pokémon.

"I still don’t really want to become a traditional Trainer, but Pokémon battles are genuinely exciting."

"So while we’re traveling, we should battle more often."

Gengar and the others indicated that they were fine with whatever Mike wanted.

"But our main objective is still Crown City."

"Once the Stantler successfully evolve, we’ll head there and look for Legendary Pokémon."

Mike looked at his team.

"What do you think? Can the Stantler really evolve?"

"Gar—"

Gengar gave an extremely confident answer.

"Why are you so sure?"

"Gar—"

[Because you said they can. You don’t lie.]

"Sni~"

[I think so too~]

"Meow."

[Hmph.]

"..."

Mike looked toward the still-silent Beedrill and couldn’t help laughing.

His aloof bee really did commit to the act!

...

That evening, Mike prepared a huge feast.

He told Professor Oak and the others to start eating while he and his Pokémon carried the Stantler’s meals over to the courtyard.

After feeding them, Mike returned to the table and discovered that nobody had touched their food.

"You didn’t have to wait for me. You could’ve started eating."

"How could we possibly start without the person who worked the hardest to prepare everything?" Professor Oak said with a smile.

"All right, then."

Mike nodded and clapped his hands.

"Everyone, let’s eat!"

Only then did everyone pick up their chopsticks.

...

After dinner, everyone remained seated around the table.

Professor Oak spoke first.

"I’ll leave things here to you from tomorrow onward, Rowan. I’m returning to Pallet Town."

"You’re leaving already, Professor Oak?" Mike asked in surprise.

"When it comes to Pokémon evolution, Rowan understands the field better than I do. As long as he’s here, that should be enough."

Professor Oak continued, "I’ll return to my laboratory and organize the material you collected."

"If Stantler really does evolve into Wyrdeer, I’ll help you organize everything into the proper research format. You can use that as a reference when writing and publishing the paper."

He looked at Mike.

"I’m guessing you’ve never written an academic paper before?"

Mike scratched his head.

"We have to write a paper too?"

"Of course."

Professor Oak laughed.

"If this method truly works, then barring something even more extraordinary, this could very well become the year’s most significant Pokémon research result."

"Stantler are also found across many regions. If Wyrdeer can truly return, the entire world should know about its existence."

Mike’s head immediately began to hurt.

He hated writing papers.

Professor Oak noticed his pained expression and patted his hand.

"Don’t worry. Rowan and I are experts at writing papers. You can focus on doing what you actually want to do."

Cynthia also spoke.

"I’ll be returning to the League shortly."

"There isn’t much I can contribute here, so I plan to search for more records concerning Hisui."

She looked toward Mike.

"I’ll also investigate Enamorus while I’m at it. If I discover anything, I’ll tell you."

Mike nodded.

"If I find anything on my end, I’ll let you know too."

Cynthia gave a quiet acknowledgment before looking toward Lucian.

"I’ll be troubling you with things here for a while."

Lucian didn’t object.

All he had to do here was train a few Stantler’s psychic power.

No overtime!

Anyone with a functioning brain knew which option was better.

"I’ll have someone send the League paperwork here for you to handle."

One sentence from Cynthia instantly petrified the gentle expression Lucian had been maintaining.

Lucian: "..."

"Don’t worry. The League will pay you overtime."

Lucian: "..."

After saying goodbye to everyone, Cynthia climbed onto Garchomp and flew away.

Professor Oak and the others went to check on the Stantler one more time.

Mike walked over to Lucian and patted him on the shoulder.

Barely holding back his laughter, he said, "Keep up the good work, King of Overtime."

He couldn’t hold it in any longer.

"Pfft—"

Mike immediately turned and walked away, laughing.

Lucian: "..."

He raised his head and stared at the moon overhead before rubbing his temples.

’I suddenly really want to resign...’

’What do I do?’

’I seriously don’t want to work overtime anymore...’

’Is there any other Elite Four member in the world who has to handle League paperwork even while away on a business trip?’

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