Pokemon : I'm Just a Photographer!

Chapter 131: Chapter 131

Mike eventually woke from one of the most comfortable naps he had enjoyed in days.

Sleeping in a forest really wasn’t bad.

The trees blocked the worst of the sunlight, the shade kept the air pleasantly cool, he had something soft and fluffy beside him, and—most importantly—this world did not seem to have ordinary mosquitoes determined to ruin his life.

He sat up slowly.

Glameow was still sleeping peacefully beside him.

Mike rubbed his eyes and looked around the campsite.

Beedrill was hidden in the leaves as usual.

Gengar was sitting on a branch with a jar of honey in his arms, eating straight from it while quietly chatting with Beedrill above him.

Snivy looked as though she had checked into a luxury resort.

She was comfortably seated in the String Shot hammock, except now Nidoran♀ was glued firmly to her side.

Mike blinked.

’What happened while I was asleep?’

Snivy looked suspiciously like she had stolen someone else’s girlfriend!

Mike turned his head and searched for Nidoking.

He found him sitting alone beneath a tree, silently eating honey.

Mike blinked again.

’And why does Nidoking look like he got dumped?’

He stood up and walked toward Snivy.

She opened her eyes when he approached.

Mike lowered his voice.

"What happened here?"

"Sni~"

Snivy quietly explained everything that had happened while he slept.

Mike’s eyes gradually widened.

"So why won’t Nidoran♀ let Nidoking hold her anymore?"

Snivy’s expression became complicated.

"Sni..."

[She says... I smell like her mother.]

For perhaps the first time Mike had ever seen, Snivy’s refined little face carried an expression of complete disbelief.

She wasn’t even fully grown yet!

How had she somehow become somebody’s mother?

"Pfft—"

Mike failed to hold it, a laugh escaped from his mouth before he could stop it.

Snivy’s large, rounded eyes narrowed into dangerous slits.

Mike immediately straightened.

"What? That’s a compliment! It just means Snivy makes everyone feel incredibly safe."

Snivy continued staring at him.

Then she added one more detail.

"Sni."

[Also, Nidoking got stung all over his face by wild Beedrill. Nidoran♀ thinks he looks so ugly right now, so she doesn’t want him holding her either.]

That was enough to destroy Mike’s self-control completely.

He immediately walked over to Nidoking.

Nidoking raised his swollen head and looked at him through eyes that had been reduced to narrow slits.

"Nido?"

[What do you want?]

Mike took one look at his face and burst out laughing.

"What happened to you?! How did you even manage to make a whole Beedrill colony this angry? Your face looks ridiculous!"

Nidoking slammed his tail against the ground.

"NIDOKING!"

[BLAME GENGAR!]

Mike looked up toward the tree.

Gengar grinned down at him.

Mike: "..."

That explained everything.

Apparently, their painfully straightforward Nidoking had been recruited as Gengar’s disposable distraction.

Mike took out some medicine and treated the swollen stings.

There was no chance he could photograph Nidoking like this today. He would have to wait until tomorrow and hope the swelling went down.

Once the medicine was applied, Mike turned his attention toward preparing dinner.

...

After everyone had eaten, Mike decided not to bother setting up a tent.

The weather was comfortable enough that he simply stretched out on the blanket beneath the trees.

Nearby, Nidoran♀ had taken another dose of medicine and was now sleeping peacefully across Nidoking’s legs.

Mike lay on his side with Glameow beside him, gently massaging her head with one hand.

"Nidoking, what are you planning to do after this?"

Nidoking glanced over.

"Nido."

[I promised I’d let you take the pictures.]

"I mean after the photos."

Nidoking hesitated before answering.

"Nido."

[Find somewhere suitable for Nidoran♀ and me to live.]

"What about this forest?"

Nidoking shook his head.

"Nido."

[Too small.]

"Fair enough."

Mike thought about the route ahead.

"In that case, why not take a look at Eterna Forest?"

Nidoking turned toward him.

"It’s huge—one of the largest forests in Sinnoh. You might find somewhere there that suits both of you."

Nidoking considered the suggestion and eventually nodded.

"Nido."

[I’ll take Nidoran♀ there and have a look.]

"You should still be prepared for competition, though," Mike warned. "A bigger forest means more Pokémon, and more Pokémon means more territories, stronger groups, and more fights over resources."

Nidoking slowly clenched his enormous fist.

His expression made the answer obvious.

He wasn’t worried.

Those fists were not decorative!

Mike smiled.

Then curiosity got the better of him.

"Can you tell me how you and Nidoran♀ met?"

Nidoking’s tail moved lazily across the ground, kicking up a thin layer of dust.

Glameow immediately recoiled in disgust.

She left Mike’s side, jumped into the tree, and sat beside Snivy instead.

Mike watched her go with heartbreak written all over his face.

’My Glameow...’

Nidoking ignored his suffering and began explaining.

"Nido..."

[There isn’t much to tell. I found her in the wild.]

He looked down at the sleeping Nidoran♀ on his legs.

[Her Trainer was battling someone else. The opponent had a Hydreigon, and Nidoran♀ never stood a chance. She was knocked out almost immediately.]

Nidoking’s expression darkened.

[After the battle, her Trainer abandoned her.]

Mike’s smile disappeared.

Nidoking continued.

[She was still badly injured when they left. I waited until the humans were gone, found some medicinal herbs, and treated her as well as I could. After that, she kept following me.]

Mike looked at the two Pokémon together.

"So somewhere along the way, after traveling and living together for a while, you started liking her?"

There was a teasing smile in his eyes.

Nidoking blinked.

Then he answered, "Nido."

[Our species naturally pairs with Nidoran♀...]

Mike stared at him.

That had not answered the question at all!

"You really picked the youngest-looking girl in the whole evolutionary line, huh?"

Nidoking’s face immediately tightened.

"NIDOKING!"

[I’M NOT ASKING HER TO HAVE EGGS WITH ME RIGHT NOW!]

Mike shot upright and pointed at him.

"Aha! So you admit you’ve thought about having Eggs with her!"

Nidoking’s already-purple face somehow managed to turn visibly darker with embarrassment.

Nidoran♀ stirred on his legs.

She looked toward Mike.

Then toward Nidoking.

After a moment, she gently nudged Nidoking with the tiny horn on her head.

"Nido~"

[I wouldn’t mind someday.]

Mike went silent.

Nidoking’s expression instantly transformed.

A delighted smile spread across his face as he carefully lifted Nidoran♀ and rubbed his cheek affectionately against hers.

From the tree came a quiet voice.

"Meow."

[What a Clown.]

Then Snivy made a small sound.

"Sni."

[Pfft... Sorry. I couldn’t help it.]

Beedrill remained completely silent.

Somehow, that made it worse!

Then Gengar exploded.

"GAR—HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

He doubled over on the branch, clutching his stomach as he laughed so hard that he lost his balance and fell straight out of the tree.

"GAR!"

[AH! I’M DEAD!]

Mike’s face cycled through several shades of humiliation.

He pointed at Nidoking, then at Nidoran♀, then at himself, but words refused to cooperate.

"You... I... You two..."

Eventually, he gave up and he grabbed the medicine.

"Fine. Time for your next treatment."

Nidoking immediately slapped Mike’s hand away.

"Nido."

[Give it to me. I’ll do it.]

Mike stared at him.

Then surrendered the medicine.

"Fine, fine. Here. I’m going to sleep."

He returned to his blanket and lay down with his back toward them.

’Damn Simps.’

Behind him, Gengar was still laughing.

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