Pokemon : I'm Just a Photographer!

Chapter 128: Chapter 128

Mike was currently sprinting through the forest with his camera in hand, desperately trying to keep up with a Nidoking carrying a Nidoran♀.

"Hey! Wait up!"

He shouted while running, but Nidoking showed absolutely no intention of slowing down.

Beedrill flew overhead, his thin wings beating rapidly as he maintained enough distance to avoid provoking the wild Pokémon while still making sure they didn’t lose sight of it.

Snivy moved through the trees with effortless agility, swinging from branch to branch with Vine Whip, while Gengar floated beside Mike and controlled the drone so they could keep an eye on the pair from above.

As for why Mike had ended up chasing a Nidoking and a Nidoran♀ through the woods in the first place, the answer was simple.

Earlier that morning, he had stumbled across what looked very much like Nidoking trying to court the smaller Nidoran♀.

Mike had been traveling for quite a while by now, yet this was the first time he had encountered members of the Nidoran evolutionary family in the wild.

Naturally, he had gotten excited and immediately pulled out his camera.

Unfortunately, Nidoking had noticed the way Mike was staring at them, apparently decided this strange human was up to no good, scooped Nidoran♀ into his arms, and bolted.

At that point, Mike had no choice but to chase after them if he wanted the footage.

...

After running for what felt like forever, Nidoking finally stopped.

He turned around and carefully scanned the forest behind him.

When he failed to spot the suspicious human who had been looking at them with that bizarre expression, he finally exhaled in relief and sat down, gently placing Nidoran♀ beside him.

"Nido?"

[Why did we have to run?]

Nidoran♀ looked curiously at the exhausted Nidoking, who was still breathing heavily from the escape.

"Nido... king..."

[That human... is a creep...]

High above them, Beedrill hovered silently beside the drone.

The camera was already pointed directly at the pair.

Mike followed the live feed until he found them again, and from a distance, he could already make out Nidoking’s massive, muscular frame beside Nidoran♀’s tiny body.

The contrast was ridiculous.

’Who would’ve guessed that such a huge, intimidating Nidoking would fall for someone that small?’

Nidoking was gently stroking Nidoran♀’s head, his expression so affectionate that even Mike could tell how fond he was of her.

"Hellooo~"

A cheerful voice suddenly came from behind.

Nidoking froze.

Very slowly, he turned his head.

Mike was standing there with the camera raised, smiling and waving.

Nidoking: "...?"

’HOW DID YOU FIND US?!’

Nidoking rose to his full height and faced Mike as though he had just encountered a dangerous enemy.

If running wasn’t going to work, then fine.

They would settle this with a fight!

"NIDOKING!"

His furious roar echoed through the forest and sent several nearby wild Pokémon fleeing in panic.

He clenched his fist, electricity crackling violently around it, then charged straight at Mike and threw a Thunder Punch directly toward his face.

"Bee!"

Beedrill dropped from above and crossed both of his stingers in front of himself.

White light flashed along the twin weapons as X-Scissor collided with Thunder Punch.

A heavy impact shook the air.

Beedrill was forced backward several meters, but a quick beat of his wings stabilized him almost immediately.

His red eyes sharpened with clear fighting spirit.

’Not bad.’

’I want another round.’

Nidoking, realizing that Thunder Punch had been blocked, opened his mouth and gathered searing energy between his jaws.

Before Flamethrower could be released, Snivy’s Vine Whip wrapped around one of his ankles and yanked.

Nidoking lost his balance.

The Flamethrower shot wide and reduced a nearby patch of bushes to ash.

Beedrill immediately followed up with String Shot, wrapping Nidoking from head to toe.

Nidoking crashed onto the ground and began struggling furiously, but the silk had been strengthened through Beedrill’s earlier training and proved much harder to break than ordinary String Shot.

Nidoking opened his mouth, intending to burn himself free with Flamethrower.

But a fresh glob of silk immediately covered his mouth.

Nidoking: "???"

He managed to burn through it.

And a second layer of silk covered his mouth before he could do anything else.

Then Gengar popped up beside him with a grin, a strange ghostly flame flickered in his hand.

Without hesitation, Gengar shoved Will-O-Wisp directly against Nidoking’s body!

Nidoking was burned.

The teamwork between Mike’s Pokémon was frighteningly smooth, leaving the unfortunate Nidoking completely immobilized before he could mount another attack.

"Mmmph! Mmmph!"

[Fight me one-on-one if you’ve got the guts!]

Only after the battle was clearly over did Mike finally relax.

’That scared the hell out of me.’

He had spent so much time around friendly Pokémon lately that he had almost forgotten how aggressive some wild Pokémon could be.

Nidoking was especially dangerous.

The species possessed an absurdly broad movepool, giving it access to attacks from numerous different types.

Even among powerful land-dwelling Pokémon, the Nidoran evolutionary family was not something most people wanted to provoke carelessly.

Mike took a moment to settle himself, then walked toward the bound Nidoking.

He looked down at the enormous Pokémon wrapped in silk and sighed.

"Seriously, why did you run? I wasn’t going to do anything to you. I only wanted a few pictures."

Nidoking struggled.

"Mmmph! Mmmph!"

"You run, so I chase you. I chase you, so you get angry. You get angry, then we end up fighting."

Mike spread his hands helplessly.

"I didn’t even want to fight."

"Mmmph! Mmmph!"

"I just wanted you to pose for a few photos. I would’ve paid you too. I could’ve cooked something for you, and trust me, once you tried my food, you’d probably ask for seconds."

"Mmmph! Mmmph!"

Mike tilted his head.

"Why aren’t you saying anything?"

Nidoking’s eyes nearly bulged out of his skull.

He began struggling even harder.

"MMPH! MMPH!"

Mike blinked.

Then realization finally dawned on him.

"Oh."

He scratched his head.

"Right. Your mouth is still covered."

He hurriedly pulled the String Shot away.

"NIDOKING!"

Nidoking immediately exploded.

[WHAT KIND OF PERSON SMILES LIKE THAT WHILE TAKING PICTURES AND THEN CHASES SOMEONE THROUGH THE FOREST?!]

Mike paused.

Then another part of the sentence caught his attention.

"Wait."

He stared at Nidoking.

"You know what photography is?"

That was unusual.

Wild Pokémon rarely understood concepts like cameras and photographs unless they had previously lived with humans or spent a significant amount of time around human settlements.

Mike lowered his voice.

"Were you... released by a Trainer?"

Nidoking fell silent as he glanced toward Nidoran♀.

That single look answered the question.

Understanding flashed through Mike’s eyes.

"Oh."

His expression softened.

"You could’ve just told me that from the beginning."

Mike asked Beedrill to remove the rest of the silk.

Gengar remained floating protectively in front of Mike with a Shadow Ball already forming between his hands, while Snivy silently wrapped Vine Whip around Mike’s waist so she could pull him out of danger at the slightest sign of trouble.

Fortunately, once Nidoking understood Mike’s intentions, he no longer seemed interested in fighting.

He stood, brushed the dirt from his body, and immediately complained.

"Nido!"

[How filthy.]

Mike: "..."

Apparently, this Nidoking was unusually obsessed with cleanliness.

’You’re a Poison-type.’

’Isn’t being this fussy about dirt kinda strange?’

Without thinking, Mike glanced toward Gengar.

Gengar slowly put away the Shadow Ball and turned around.

His expression practically said, ’What are you looking at me for?’

"Nothing."

Mike smiled innocently.

"I just realized how reassuring it is having you around."

Gengar immediately puffed out his chest.

"Gar—"

[Obviously!]

Mike rolled his eyes.

He cautiously approached Nidoking and tried to pat him on the shoulder.

Nidoking slapped his hand away.

"Nido—"

[Don’t touch me without washing your hands!]

Mike: "..."

"Fine."

He sighed.

"My name’s Mike. Sorry about what happened earlier. I got carried away."

Mike even gave a small apologetic bow.

Nidoking studied him.

Now that the human had stopped chasing him around like a lunatic, he actually seemed reasonably polite, and Nidoking could no longer sense any hostility from him.

After a moment, he decided to let the matter go.

Nidoking returned to Nidoran♀, gently picked her up, and placed her on his shoulder.

That was when Mike noticed just how poor her condition actually was.

She looked exhausted, her body limp and her eyes unfocused.

’Is she sick?’

Mike narrowed his eyes and opened the system interface.

{Nidoran♀}

{...}

{Description: An abandoned Nidoran♀ with a frail body and gentle temperament. She has not fully recovered from a serious previous injury and is currently suffering from a high fever.}

Mike’s expression became more serious.

Then he checked Nidoking.

{Nidoking}

{...}

{Description: A timid Nidoking who was abandoned while young because he was considered too weak. He later encountered a wild Nidoking colony and lived among them for some time, but after a new leader took control of the group, he was driven out and has wandered alone ever since.}

Mike stared.

’Nidoking was abandoned too?’

Weak?

Judging by the fight they had just had, Nidoking might not have been exceptionally powerful, but calling him weak was ridiculous!

And with Nidoking’s enormous movepool, even an average member of the species could become dangerous with proper training.

Then Mike noticed the personality description.

’Timid nature.’

That explained why Nidoking’s first instinct had been to grab Nidoran♀ and run.

Still...

’You’re a Nidoking.’

’Why are you this.... skittish?’

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