Pokemon : I'm Just a Photographer!

Chapter 134: Chapter 134

Once dinner was over, Mike asked whether Melodi would mind if he camped beside the house for the night.

She readily agreed.

Calling the area a yard was probably generous.

Melodi’s house stood alone amid the flower fields, with a single tree beside it and a wide patch of open ground where several smaller clusters of flowers had also been planted.

With the little house framed by endless blossoms beneath the evening sky, the entire place looked like something out of an illustrated children’s storybook.

Mike spent part of the evening walking around with his camera, recording Gengar and the others as they played among the flowers.

The temperature after sunset was much more pleasant than the oppressive heat of the afternoon, and the cooler air brought even more wild Pokémon into the fields to feed.

Combee drifted above the blossoms alongside Butterfree and other Bug Pokémon, moving from flower to flower in search of nectar.

For once, Beedrill did not hide himself among the branches.

Instead, he disappeared into the flower field, apparently much more interested in exploring the blossoms than maintaining his usual dramatic ambush position.

Gengar, naturally, found a different source of entertainment.

Whenever an unsuspecting Combee drifted close enough, he would suddenly leap out from behind the flowers with his bamboo staff and let out a horrible cry.

The terrified Combee would immediately flee as though it had encountered an actual monster—which, technically, it had.

Mike finally lowered his camera.

"Gengar, stop terrorizing them! They’re just trying to collect nectar."

Gengar looked at him.

Then immediately went back to doing exactly what he had been doing.

If Gengar listened every time Mike told him not to do something, he wouldn’t be Gengar.

Melodi sat nearby and laughed softly.

"You’ve raised them really well."

Mike watched Gengar attempt another ambush.

"He’s an agent of chaos."

His voice carried the exhaustion of a man who had long since accepted his fate.

Still, when he looked over the flower field, his expression softened.

"They really do love this place."

Melodi turned toward him, and Mike gestured toward Glameow.

"Take her, for example. Believe it or not, you’re the first person she’s ever spoken to on her own."

Melodi stared at him.

"The first?"

"Yeah."

Mike nodded.

"Because of some things that happened before I met her, Glameow has a very strong distrust of humans. Apart from me, you’re the first person she’s voluntarily approached enough to actually say something to."

Melodi’s face immediately brightened.

"I think that might make me happy for the rest of the week."

She looked out over the flowers before continuing more quietly.

"Part of the reason I chose to grow flowers here is because Floaroma Town has always been famous for them, but mostly, I simply like flowers and quiet places."

Her gaze followed a group of Combee drifting over the blossoms.

"Once the fields begin blooming, I sit out here almost every afternoon and watch the flowers draw Pokémon in from all around the area. Sometimes travelers stop along the road just to admire them, and whenever I overhear someone saying how beautiful they are, it makes all the work feel worthwhile."

Melodi smiled.

"I like knowing that something I planted can make a stranger’s day a little better."

Mike understood exactly what she meant.

"Flowers really can do that. Sometimes all it takes is seeing something beautiful after a long, exhausting journey to make the whole trip feel worthwhile."

That was exactly how he had felt when Floaroma’s flower fields first came into view.

The town deserved its reputation.

Melodi shook her head slightly.

"These still aren’t the most beautiful flowers around Floaroma, though."

Mike looked at her.

"Near the coast, below the Mount Coronet range, there’s another enormous field. When those flowers bloom, I honestly think it might be one of the most beautiful sights in the world."

Mike immediately knew what she meant.

"Gracidea?"

"That’s right. The legendary flower associated with gratitude."

Melodi’s expression turned slightly regretful.

"Unfortunately, it isn’t their blooming season yet."

Mike couldn’t completely hide his disappointment.

Still, he intended to visit the field regardless.

He had already come this far, and seeing the place itself was worth the trip.

After a brief silence, another thought occurred to him.

"Melodi, have you ever met a Trainer named Ash?"

"Ash?"

She thought for a moment.

"The boy who travels with a Pikachu on his shoulder?"

Mike nodded.

"Then yes, definitely. My Gardevoir was kidnapped once, and Ash and his friends helped rescue her."

Mike’s expression immediately became more serious.

"Who took her?"

"Officer Jenny told me she was a Pokémon Hunter called J. Apparently, she specializes in stealing valuable Pokémon and selling them to clients."

Melodi’s expression darkened at the memory.

"She captured Ash’s Pikachu too, along with a Meowth that could actually speak."

Mike frowned.

So it really had happened exactly as he remembered.

In the official incident, Hunter J had targeted Melodi’s Gardevoir, and Ash, his friends, and even Team Rocket had become caught up in the rescue.

But from what Mike knew about the current situation, the wider Pokémon Hunter organization had already taken a serious blow.

And Hunter J herself had been injured by Cynthia.

Yet she was already back to stealing Pokémon?

"Officer Jenny said J is currently wanted throughout the League," Melodi continued. "Apparently, she’s been active again because she’s trying to rebuild the Pokémon Hunter network."

’Rebuild the organization?’

Mike’s expression became thoughtful.

It sounded like Lucian needed some more overtime.

The sooner the League put Hunter J behind bars, the better.

Melodi suddenly looked toward him.

"By the way, Mike, did you come to Floaroma because you wanted to photograph the Gracidea field?"

"That’s part of it, but not the main reason."

Mike hesitated briefly before answering honestly.

"I’m primarily here to look for ancient ruins. And while we’re in the area, I promised Snivy I’d take her to see the ocean."

He looked up toward the tree where Snivy was sitting.

Melodi followed his gaze.

"Snivy wants to see the sea?"

"Sni."

Snivy answered for herself with a small nod.

Melodi smiled.

"I see."

Then curiosity entered her expression again.

"But you’re interested in ruins too?"

"Very much."

Mike nodded.

"Learning more about Sinnoh’s ancient history is fascinating, especially when it involves myths that people have almost completely forgotten."

His tone grew more thoughtful.

"For example, I’ve been trying to learn more about the legendary Pokémon once known as the Herald of Spring."

Melodi’s expression changed.

"You know about the Herald of Spring?"

Mike stared at her.

’What do you mean, I know about it?’

His posture immediately straightened.

"You know about it too?"

Melodi nodded.

"My grandmother used to tell me stories about it."

Mike blinked several times before turning fully toward her.

"Could you tell me everything you remember?"

"Sure."

Melodi gathered her thoughts.

"My grandmother said that long ago, before this land was called Sinnoh, people knew it as Hisui. Every year, shortly before winter finally ended, the legendary Herald of Spring would cross the sea and arrive on this land, bringing new life with it."

Mike listened closely.

"According to Grandma, the place where the Herald of Spring first came ashore was somewhere around what is now Floaroma Town."

Mike’s eyes sharpened.

"She used to say that Floaroma’s flowers became so vibrant because the Herald scattered the promise of new life across this area and the surrounding land."

Melodi looked toward the flower fields.

"There was even an old story claiming that Gracidea first began blooming after the Herald of Spring came to Hisui, although Grandma herself never knew whether that part was supposed to be historical or simply a legend."

"These weren’t stories she discovered herself, either. She heard them from older relatives when she was a child, then eventually passed them down to us."

A nostalgic smile appeared on Melodi’s face.

"Actually, those stories are part of why I started growing flowers here."

"Grandma always said the Herald of Spring would punish anyone who treated living things with cruelty."

Melodi glanced across the field again.

"And there’s something else I’ve always found strange. I’ve grown flowers in other places before, but plants around Floaroma seem much easier to keep healthy. They take root more readily, and even delicate flowers seem to survive here with less trouble."

That was about as much as Melodi could remember.

For Mike, however, it was more than enough to send his thoughts racing.

’Enamorus always came ashore around Floaroma?’

’And Gracidea may have appeared because of Enamorus?’

If Mike remembered correctly, Gracidea symbolized gratitude.

Enamorus, meanwhile, had once been revered as the Herald of Spring.

Ancient records described her arrival in Hisui as bringing affection and new life back to the land after winter.

Landorus represented fertile earth and abundant harvests.

Enamorus was different.

Her blessing was life itself.

Gratitude.

Hope.

Spring.

New life.

When Mike put all of those pieces together, the connection didn’t sound nearly as ridiculous as it first seemed.

But one question immediately led to another.

If Gracidea really was somehow connected to Enamorus, why did the flower trigger Shaymin’s transformation into Sky Forme?

And if Melodi’s grandmother had been right about Enamorus repeatedly coming ashore near Floaroma, then Cynthia’s information was probably correct as well.

There might genuinely be ruins somewhere in this area containing records of Enamorus.

Which brought Mike back to the question that had been bothering him since the ancient ruins.

What had actually happened to her?

His head was beginning to hurt.

"Oh, right."

Melodi’s voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts.

She looked at him as though she had just remembered something important.

"My grandmother left me an old book. I can’t read any of the writing in it, but there are lots of illustrations and drawings of Pokémon."

Mike immediately focused on her.

"Since you’re so interested in the Herald of Spring, would you like to see it?"

He hesitated.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course. Grandma couldn’t read it either."

Melodi smiled.

"If you can actually understand any of it, though, you have to tell me what it says."

"Absolutely."

Mike nodded without hesitation.

"I’d really appreciate it."

Melodi looked toward Gardevoir.

She didn’t need to say anything.

Purple psychic light appeared in Gardevoir’s eyes, and a moment later, an old book floated out through the doorway of the house.

Even from a distance, it looked ancient.

Melodi carefully caught it in both hands before offering it to Mike.

"Please be gentle with it."

Her voice became quieter.

"It’s the only thing my grandmother left me."

Mike’s expression immediately became serious.

"I will."

He accepted the old book with both hands and handled it as carefully as possible.

Then he opened the first page.

The moment he saw the writing, his suspicions were confirmed.

Ancient script.

Mike leaned closer and began reading what remained legible.

Unfortunately, parts of the passage had deteriorated so badly that even the system could not restore the missing words.

The first surviving lines read:

"The sn— has not yet passed. The village’s food is nearly gone. Will the Herald of Spring still [illegible] this year? Wind... thunder..."

Mike’s eyes slowly narrowed.

This really was a record from ancient Hisui.

---------

Read 30 Chapters ahead and support me on patreon.

patreon (.)com/Newbietranslator

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!