Pokemon : I'm Just a Photographer!

Chapter 126: Chapter 126

"So Gengar was the one who took the generator?"

Roark’s voice came through the Rotom Phone.

"Yeah. I only just found out myself, and I’m really sorry about this."

Mike’s apology was completely sincere.

Roark, however, merely laughed and waved the matter off from the other side of the call.

"Hahaha, don’t worry about it. If anything, that sounds exactly like something a Gengar would do. Their whole species has a reputation for playing pranks."

"I still caused you trouble, so I really am sorry."

After apologizing properly, Mike transferred enough money to Roark to cover the old generator before finally ending the call.

He lowered the Rotom Phone and turned toward Gengar.

The large purple Ghost was sitting off to one side with his head bowed, touching the tips of his index fingers together in front of his chest as though he had suddenly become the most innocent Pokémon alive.

Mike sighed.

"All right. It’s taken care of. Just pay more attention next time."

He reached over and tugged Gengar’s cheek.

Gengar finally raised his head and flashed his trademark grin.

"Gar—"

[Hehe.]

"Don’t ’hehe’ me! Go wash the dishes."

Mike gave him a light kick in the backside.

"And wash them properly, or I’m kicking that fat butt of yours for real."

Gengar immediately jumped to his feet, gave Mike an exaggerated salute, gathered the dishes, and carried them toward the stream.

Mike remained on the picnic blanket and let out a tired yawn.

It felt strange being back on the road.

Apparently, staying in one place for little more than a week had already been enough for his body to grow accustomed to a comfortable routine.

’Yeah. I really can’t stay settled for too long.’

Mike leaned back against the trunk of a large tree, plucked a long blade of grass from beside him, and held it lazily between his lips while staring into the distance.

The road toward Floaroma Town saw a steady stream of travelers throughout the day, although most of the people passing through seemed to be heading in the opposite direction, coming from Floaroma rather than traveling toward it.

The early-summer sun was surprisingly harsh, but fortunately, the forests of the Pokémon world were dense enough that the enormous canopies blocked most of the direct sunlight.

Cicadas buzzed constantly in the trees around them.

At first, Mike barely noticed the sound.

Then Beedrill suddenly emerged from the leaves overhead and disappeared deeper into the forest.

Not long afterward, the overwhelming chorus of cicadas began thinning out.

By the time Beedrill returned and slipped back into the foliage above Mike, only a few scattered calls remained.

Mike tilted his head back.

Beedrill had concealed almost his entire body among the leaves and appeared to be chewing on something with great satisfaction.

’Do bees normally eat cicadas?’

Mike stared for another moment.

’That’s... weird.’

When he had first arrived in this world, hearing cicadas had made him strangely nostalgic.

Back in his previous life, once he reached high school, he could barely remember hearing them anymore.

As he grew older and spent more time in cities, the sound had practically disappeared from his everyday life altogether.

At first, hearing that familiar summer chorus again had been comforting.

But after living in a world where the forests were everywhere and the cicadas seemed determined to scream from dawn until dusk, the nostalgia had worn off surprisingly quickly.

Too little of something made you miss it.

Too much made you want it to shut up.

A cool breeze drifted through the trees.

Mike yawned, adjusted his position against the trunk, folded both hands behind his head, and closed his eyes for an afternoon nap.

Glameow noticed him settling down and yawned as well.

She tucked away her Poké-tail toy, lowered herself close to the ground, and slowly padded toward Mike before glancing up at Snivy, who was sitting on a branch overhead.

Snivy noticed the look.

Without a word, she politely turned her gaze elsewhere.

Only then did Glameow slip beneath Mike’s arm, curl herself against his side, and close her eyes.

...

Elsewhere in the forest, several Pidgeotto and Spearow burst from the canopy and immediately began fighting over territory.

The Spearow flock lost badly and was forced to retreat.

Irritated and unwilling to accept defeat, they soon spotted another section of forest occupied by a flock of Starly and decided to take that territory instead.

They barely had time to approach before a Staraptor rose from the trees and unleashed a furious cry.

The Spearow immediately changed their minds.

They fled.

Unfortunately, they were still angry.

As they passed above the tree where Mike was sleeping, they noticed the human lying defenseless beneath it and apparently decided he would make an excellent target for their frustration.

The flock reorganized itself in midair before diving together.

"Spea! Spea!"

They never reached him.

Several strands of String Shot whipped through the air and wrapped around the entire flock, sending the Spearow crashing heavily into the grass.

Before any of them could struggle free, a thin bamboo staff came down.

Bonk.

Bonk.

Bonk!

A rapid series of blows left the Spearow sprawled on the ground with their beaks hanging open, tongues sticking out, and eyes rolled back.

Gengar finally lowered his bamboo staff with satisfaction.

He removed the silk binding the unconscious birds, gathered them together, and casually tossed them into a nearby bush.

With the problem solved, Gengar looked around.

Nothing else seemed to be happening.

He quickly grew bored.

His eyes wandered toward the forest before lifting toward Beedrill overhead.

"Gar?"

[Want to go look for mushrooms with me?]

Beedrill shook his head.

He had already eaten too many snacks while patrolling and felt far too full to bother moving.

Snivy, however, rose from her branch and nodded.

"Sni."

[I’ll go with you.]

Gengar immediately grinned.

He pulled out a woven gathering basket, strapped it onto his back, and headed into the forest with Snivy.

Beedrill remained hidden in the canopy, quietly watching the surrounding area.

There was a reason he had become so fond of concealing himself among the leaves.

One of Mike’s adventure stories had once explained that the most dangerous fighter was often the one nobody noticed until the decisive moment.

Stay hidden, watch carefully, strike when the opponent least expected it, and finish the fight before they understood what happened!

Beedrill had taken that lesson very seriously!

...

Not long after Gengar and Snivy disappeared into the forest, a group of four young travelers approached along the road.

They noticed Mike and Glameow sleeping beneath the tree, discussed the matter among themselves, then chose another tree nearby and began setting up their own temporary campsite.

They were obviously accustomed to traveling together.

Within minutes, they had a fire going and lunch preparations underway.

Unfortunately, four people cooking and talking together made considerably more noise than Mike’s quiet camp.

Glameow opened her eyes.

She raised her head and looked toward the newcomers without making a sound.

One of the girls noticed her immediately.

Realizing they might have disturbed someone’s Pokémon, she gave Glameow an apologetic smile and quietly asked her companions to lower their voices.

The others complied without complaint.

They were all still young Trainers, at an age when most of the world remained exciting rather than exhausting, and none of them had any intention of deliberately ruining someone else’s rest.

Once the noise died down, Glameow slowly closed her eyes again.

The same girl glanced toward Mike, who was somehow still sleeping soundly with nothing but Glameow visible beside him.

She leaned toward one of her companions and whispered,

"That guy must be seriously confident. He’s sleeping beside the road with only a Glameow around and doesn’t seem worried about anything."

Her companion nodded.

"Yeah. If he’s comfortable sleeping that deeply out here, he probably knows he can handle whatever comes after him."

While they spoke quietly, the rest of their group finished lunch.

The four gathered around the food and began eating.

A moment later, Snivy swung back through the trees with Vine Whip, landed gracefully on a nearby branch, and settled down.

Gengar floated into sight shortly afterward.

The basket on his back was filled to the brim with mushrooms.

As for how he had managed to collect that many mushrooms in less than an hour in the middle of the day...

Well, that depended entirely on whose perspective one considered.

For Gengar, the process had apparently been effortless.

For whatever Pokémon had previously considered those mushrooms theirs, the experience may have been considerably more difficult.

Gengar floated back beneath Mike’s tree and immediately noticed the four young travelers eating nearby.

They stared back.

The sight of a Gengar wearing a straw hat, carrying an overflowing mushroom basket, and holding a thin bamboo staff was not something any of them had expected to encounter on an ordinary roadside break.

The girl who had apologized to Glameow earlier raised a hand.

"Hi, Gengar."

Gengar gave her his usual enormous smile and politely waved back.

That was apparently all the encouragement she needed.

"Um... Gengar, do you want to eat with us?"

Gengar blinked.

He considered the invitation for approximately two seconds.

Then he removed the basket, put away his straw hat, floated over, and sat directly on their blanket.

"Gar—"

He produced his own bowl and held it toward the girl.

One of the boys laughed.

"You really don’t hesitate, do you?"

He accepted the bowl and filled it generously.

Gengar took it back, set it on the blanket, pressed both palms together in a thankful gesture, and only then began eating.

The food wasn’t nearly as good as Mike’s cooking.

Still.... it was perfectly tasty!

One of the boys glanced toward Snivy on the branch.

"Want some too?"

Snivy gave him a smile and gently shook her head.

"Sni~"

She was fine.

Once Gengar finished eating, he floated back toward his own campsite and looked at the basket of mushrooms.

After a moment, he picked it up and returned to the group.

Under their confused gazes, Gengar carefully selected a large pile of the mushrooms Mike commonly cooked with and placed them on the ground.

"Gar—"

He pointed toward the pile and nodded.

One of the girls stared in surprise.

"Gengar, are these for us?"

Gengar nodded generously.

The girl face immediately brightened.

"Wow! Thank you! We haven’t had mushroom soup in ages."

Gengar grinned.

One of the boys carefully inspected the mushrooms and confirmed that none of them were poisonous before accepting the gift.

That was part of what made traveling enjoyable.

Sometimes you met people who shared your destination and became companions for a long stretch of the journey.

Other times, you crossed paths with strangers—or Pokémon—you would never meet again, shared a meal or a conversation beneath the same tree, and continued onward with one more pleasant memory than before.

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