Chapter 242

Chapter 242: Chapter 242

"Should we go see Froslass today?"

Mike sat on the edge of his bed, looking at Gengar and the others as he considered whether returning to the cave was really a good idea.

Gengar blinked innocently and said nothing.

Beedrill, who was normally so calm and aloof, had simply closed his eyes and was pretending to be asleep, while Rotom remained suspiciously silent.

Mike stared at the three troublemakers, growing more irritated the longer he looked at them.

"Look at the mess you three caused yesterday! You actually treated that poor Snorunt like a sandbag! How does Snorunt look anything like a sandbag?!"

"Gar—"

[Well, if you think about it, Snorunt’s practically a sandbag...]

"It’s a cone! A CONE, Gengar!" Mike snapped, unable to believe his ears.

"Gar—"

[Then what was I supposed to do? Snorunt was having a great time yesterday!]

"Why are you asking me?!"

Mike glared at him, but Gengar looked so genuinely puzzled that there didn’t seem to be much point in arguing.

After thinking it over for a while, Mike finally sighed.

"Forget it. We’ll go see how Froslass is doing. If things start looking dangerous, we run. No arguing, no hanging around. We just get out of there."

And so, despite having narrowly escaped an enraged Froslass the previous evening, Mike gathered his Pokémon and set off toward her cave once again.

...

When they reached the entrance, Mike hesitated for a moment before taking a deep breath.

"Froslass! Good morning!"

A snowy-white figure drifted out of the cave and stopped in front of him.

Froslass regarded Mike in complete silence.

Then a Weather Ball began forming in her palm.

Mike immediately grabbed Gengar and shoved him in front of himself, pointing accusingly at the unfortunate ghost.

"Everything that happened yesterday was Gengar, Beedrill, and Rotom’s idea! I had absolutely nothing to do with it!"

Gengar stared at him in disbelief.

(〇⊿〇)ツ

Recovering from the betrayal, Gengar immediately grabbed Beedrill and dragged him forward as a shield.

"Gar!"

[It was his idea!]

Beedrill fell silent for a moment before calmly extending one lance and using it to push Rotom into the front of the group.

"Bzzzt—"

[It was Rotom.]

Rotom froze.

"Roto..."

[I...]

"FROSS!"

Before Rotom could finish defending himself, Froslass hurled the Weather Ball straight at him.

Rotom hastily activated Protect, blocking the incoming attack just in time.

"Roto—!"

[That was close!]

Behind him, Gengar and Beedrill exchanged a glance.

Without needing to discuss anything, the two brothers grabbed Rotom and threw him directly toward Froslass.

"ROTOOO—!"

[NOOO!]

Froslass immediately gave chase, and Rotom began fleeing across the snowy clearing with an angry Ice-type Pokémon hot on his tail.

Meanwhile, Mike and the others made themselves comfortable in the snow, pulled out some snacks, and settled down to enjoy the spectacle.

"You know," Mike remarked as he spat out a sunflower seed shell, "Rotom might not be particularly strong, but he’s surprisingly good at running away."

Gengar nodded with genuine appreciation.

Rotom apparently understood that yesterday’s incident had been partly his fault, because he made no attempt to fight back.

He simply concentrated on avoiding Froslass’s attacks, darting through the air whenever another burst of energy came his way.

Besides, from Rotom’s perspective, Froslass wasn’t nearly as terrifying as Gengar.

Compared with the attacks Gengar regularly subjected him to, taking a hit or two from Froslass probably wouldn’t be that big a deal.

After chasing Rotom around for a while, Froslass finally gave up and returned to Mike, breathing lightly from the exertion.

"Feeling better now?" Mike asked, carefully peeking out from behind Gengar.

He had both hands firmly planted on Gengar’s shoulders, making it difficult for the ghost to escape.

Gengar attempted to grab Beedrill and pull him into the same position, but Beedrill had clearly anticipated the move and smoothly avoided his hands.

Froslass stared at the ridiculous group in silence.

What else was she supposed to do?

She couldn’t beat them in a fight, and she couldn’t even catch Rotom when he ran away.

How could something with such a big mouth be so annoyingly fast?

After taking a little time to recover, she finally nodded.

When she thought about it calmly, Gengar and the others hadn’t actually hurt Snorunt.

They had certainly taught the little Pokémon some questionable games, but Snorunt had participated willingly and enjoyed every moment.

Perhaps her child was simply a little too innocent.

Mike immediately took advantage of her change in mood.

"So... does that mean we can continue filming today?"

Froslass glanced toward the cave entrance, where Snorunt was cautiously peeking out, before turning back to Mike and nodding again.

"I knew it!" Mike released Gengar and gave Froslass an enthusiastic thumbs-up. "You’re such a kind and understanding Pokémon!"

With that little disagreement resolved, Mike took out his camera and resumed following Froslass through her territory, recording her ordinary daily activities.

He filmed how she hunted for food, how she fought, and how she frightened away humans who wandered too close with questionable intentions.

The more time he spent observing her, the more obvious it became that Froslass was extremely territorial.

Based on the distances she traveled and the places she regularly patrolled, Mike estimated that her territory extended several miles around her cave.

During the day’s filming, he encountered several Trainers who attempted to travel through the area.

Whenever they approached somewhere Froslass didn’t want them to enter, she summoned a blizzard to block their path, forcing them to turn around and find another route.

Mike quietly recorded their reactions without interfering.

Since Froslass wasn’t actually attacking them, he saw no reason to step in.

Watching how she defended her territory was part of the natural behavior he wanted to capture.

They continued moving through the snow until, upon reaching one particular area, Froslass suddenly raised her head and looked farther up the mountain.

Without warning, she took Snorunt with her and began floating rapidly uphill.

Mike noticed the change and hurried after them, with Snivy and the others following close beside him.

By the time he caught up, Froslass and Snorunt were standing beside an enormous rock, staring toward something in the distance.

"What happened?" Mike asked as he approached.

Froslass glanced at him before pointing ahead.

"Fross."

[More humans have been drawn over there.]

Mike followed her gesture.

Ahead of them lay a deep canyon covered in ice and snow.

Unlike the relatively clear weather around them, snow was still drifting through the canyon, obscuring much of the landscape and making it difficult to see what lay farther inside.

As Mike listened, he began to make out something beneath the sound of the wind.

A faint melody.

’Singing?’

His eyes brightened with recognition.

’Could this be the mysterious singing Nurse Joy mentioned? The one people have been hearing deep in the snowy mountains?’

Mike turned toward Gengar.

"Gengar, go take a look. If anything feels wrong, come straight back."

Gengar nodded and floated toward the canyon with his portable camera attached.

Mike launched his drone and directed it after him, keeping the machine close enough to follow Gengar’s movements.

Once Gengar passed through the swirling snow and reached the canyon’s outer edge, the singing became much clearer.

He tilted his head as he listened.

’Hey, that’s actually pretty nice.’

Following the sound deeper into the canyon, Gengar soon discovered two humans walking slowly toward its interior.

One was a man, and the other was a woman.

Gengar floated directly in front of them and examined their faces.

Their eyes were completely unfocused, and neither seemed aware of his presence.

After hesitating for a moment, Gengar raised his hands and slapped each of them across the face.

Neither reacted.

Gengar spread his hands helplessly.

Since that hadn’t worked, he leaned toward them and breathed a little poisonous mist into their faces.

Both humans were immediately afflicted with poison.

The pain spread through their bodies with such intensity that they instantly regained consciousness, snapping out of whatever trance had been controlling them.

Satisfied, Gengar grabbed both of them by their collars and dragged them back out of the canyon.

...

When Gengar returned with two unconscious-looking humans in tow, Mike immediately checked their condition.

Fortunately, neither showed signs of hypothermia.

They were simply poisoned.

Mike turned toward Gengar.

"What happened in there?"

Gengar explained how he had discovered the two humans wandering deeper into the canyon with vacant expressions, how slapping them had accomplished nothing, and how poisoning them had finally snapped them out of their trance.

"The singing, huh?" Mike considered the explanation before asking, "Did you feel strange at all when you heard it? Anything uncomfortable?"

Gengar thought back to the melody and shook his head.

"Gar—"

[Nope. I thought it sounded pretty good, actually...]

Mike frowned thoughtfully.

’So does the singing only affect humans?’

’Or can it affect Pokémon too, and Gengar just happens to be resistant because he’s a Ghost type?’

He couldn’t draw any conclusions from a single example.

"Fross..."

Froslass interrupted his thoughts with a hesitant cry.

[Shouldn’t you... treat these two humans first? They look like they’re dying...]

Mike looked down.

The man and woman were lying in the snow, twitching uncontrollably as the poison continued affecting their bodies.

His expression changed immediately.

"Oh, right! I forgot!"

He slapped his forehead.

"I’m so used to seeing Gengar poison bad guys that I completely forgot these two weren’t enemies!"

He quickly asked Snivy to help.

Snivy took out two Pecha Berries and carefully placed one in each person’s mouth, allowing the berries to cure their poisoning.

At the same time, Mike called Officer Jenny and explained what had happened.

The two Trainers gradually recovered, and after Officer Jenny arrived, they accompanied her back to Rondo Town to rest and receive any further care they needed.

With the immediate danger resolved, Mike followed Froslass back to her cave.

...

Around lunchtime, Mike prepared a simple but delicious meal inside Froslass’s cave.

After eating, Snorunt climbed onto a bed formed from solid ice and promptly fell asleep.

Froslass watched over the little Pokémon for a while before floating outside, where she found Mike sitting beneath a nearby tree.

She approached him curiously.

"Fross?"

[You’re very interested in that singing, aren’t you?]

Mike looked up and nodded.

"A little. But after seeing what happened to those two people today, I’m starting to think it’s pretty dangerous."

"Fross—"

[You don’t need to worry. There’s no malice behind the singing.]

Froslass’s clear, ethereal voice continued as she explained what she knew.

"Fross—"

[The singing comes from a group of Pokémon who love singing and dancing. They gather together in the canyon to enjoy themselves.]

[When humans who aren’t strong enough to resist the singing wander into their territory, the music draws them farther inside. But those Pokémon don’t mean humans any harm.]

[They even carry unconscious humans out of the canyon.]

Mike stared at her in surprise.

"You know them?"

Froslass nodded.

"Then what kind of Pokémon are they?"

Instead of answering, Froslass smiled and pointed toward the camera hanging around Mike’s neck.

"Fross?"

[Wouldn’t it be more interesting to find out for yourself?]

Over the past few days, Froslass had noticed just how much Mike enjoyed photographing Pokémon.

Even when he was supposed to be filming her, he would sometimes spot another Pokémon nearby and send Gengar or Beedrill to record its behavior.

She didn’t fully understand why Mike was so passionate about documenting Pokémon, but she could tell that his curiosity was genuine.

He seemed to find something fascinating in almost everything they did.

Mike looked at her with mild surprise.

"Oh, so you’ve learned how to keep secrets now?"

Froslass playfully raised her eyebrows.

Mike recognized the gesture immediately.

’She definitely picked that up from Snivy.’

Still, he wanted to make sure he understood the situation before deciding whether to investigate.

"Are you absolutely certain they don’t have any bad intentions?"

"Fross."

[They’re my friends. They only want to sing and dance. If you can sing and dance too, you might even become their best friend.]

’Singing and dancing?’

Mike’s expression brightened.

’Well, isn’t that convenient? I actually know how to do both.’

"Fross."

[If you decide to visit them, remember to tell me first.]

Mike gave her a teasing look.

"What, you’re worried about me?"

Froslass smiled sweetly.

"Fross."

[I want to watch you faint.]

Mike stared at her.

"Excuse me? Your illusions didn’t work on me, so why would a little singing be any different?"

Froslass fell silent.

After a moment, she simply turned around and began floating away.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Mike called after her. "Weren’t you supposed to be helping me film?"

Froslass stopped and looked back.

Mike quickly secured his camera and switched it into recording mode.

"There’s something else I need you to demonstrate. Could you show me the move you use to change the weather?"

Froslass floated a little higher, watching him curiously.

"It’s for a public safety video," Mike explained. "I want people who have never visited Mount Coronet to understand just how dangerous some of the Pokémon living here can be."

He adjusted the camera angle before continuing.

"If they know what you’re capable of, they’ll be less likely to come here and disturb you. And hopefully, fewer people will get themselves hurt trying to challenge Pokémon they don’t understand."

Froslass didn’t understand every part of his explanation, particularly why humans needed to watch a video to learn something that seemed perfectly obvious to her.

But she understood that Mike wanted to record her powers.

Since she’d already agreed to help, she saw no reason to refuse.

"Okay, everything’s ready." Mike finished adjusting his drone and looked toward her. "Could you use Blizzard now?"

Froslass nodded.

She rose into the air and spread her arms.

Snowflakes immediately began falling from the sky.

At first, the snowfall was relatively gentle, but within moments it began growing heavier.

The wind strengthened, and the snow swirled faster and faster until the entire area was engulfed in a violent blizzard.

Mike kept his cameras running as long as possible, watching the rapidly deteriorating visibility.

Eventually, he could barely see anything ahead of him.

"Okay! That’s enough! Stop!"

The snowfall ceased almost instantly.

Froslass remained hovering in the air with a perfectly calm expression, showing no obvious signs of exhaustion as she waited for Mike’s next instruction.

Mike looked down at the snow, which had already accumulated high enough to bury his lower legs.

He couldn’t help marveling at her power once again.

Even knowing what Froslass was capable of, watching her summon such an enormous amount of snow in such a short time was astonishing.

He looked back toward her.

"Can you use those illusions of yours on wild Pokémon too?"

Froslass nodded.

"Great. Then let’s try filming that as well."

After receiving another nod, Mike called Gengar over and asked him to carry one of the cameras.

Mike took control of the drone himself, and the group followed Froslass into the nearby forest to find a suitable subject.

They eventually came across a Snover.

With Mike’s cameras positioned and ready, Froslass used her illusion ability on the unsuspecting Pokémon.

Both the handheld camera and the drone focused on Froslass and Snover as the effect took hold.

Snover seemed to see something that wasn’t actually there.

Its expression changed, and it began following Froslass without hesitation, apparently completely captivated by whatever she had shown it.

Mike recorded the entire process as Froslass led Snover away from its original location.

Once he’d captured enough footage, Froslass released the illusion and floated away.

Snover blinked as the world around it returned to normal.

It looked around in confusion and scratched its head.

’That’s strange...’

’Hadn’t I just found a whole pile of delicious food?’

’Where did it all go?’

Snover searched the surrounding area, clearly disappointed that the feast it remembered had suddenly disappeared.

Then it noticed Gengar standing beside a little pile of Berries in the snow.

Its eyes immediately brightened.

Snover hurried over, picked up the Berries, and began eating them happily.

The food was Gengar’s way of compensating Snover for participating in the filming without knowing it.

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