Chapter 244

Chapter 244: Chapter 244

Mike woke early the next morning, and before he’d even gotten out of bed, his thoughts had already turned to the video he’d uploaded yesterday.

It had been quite a while since he’d last released anything, and he was surprised to find himself feeling a little anxious about how the video had performed.

After lying there for another moment, he sat up, reached for his phone, and opened the Pokétube creator dashboard with practiced ease.

When the statistics appeared on his screen, he was pleased to see that the video was doing remarkably well.

It had already attracted more than 300,000 views overnight, which worked out to over 3,000 Viewership Points!

And that was only the beginning.

The League hadn’t even started promoting the video yet, so there was every reason to expect those numbers to climb much higher.

Mike was particularly confident about the Sinnoh League’s involvement.

Lucian had personally asked him to produce the video in the first place, so there was no way he’d let an opportunity like this go to waste.

As for whether the other regional Leagues would help promote it, Mike couldn’t say for certain, although he had a feeling they probably would.

Satisfied with the results, he decided to take a look at the comments.

He’d barely opened the comment section when the first thing he saw nearly made him burst out laughing.

[UltraInstinctGoh: Seriously? They’re just a bunch of weak, low-level Pokémon. Why go through all the trouble of making an entire video about them? Just have your Pokémon beat them up! Problem solved. They won’t bother anyone again.]

[UltraInstinctGoh: And don’t bother questioning my strength. You’ve heard of Cynthia, the Sinnoh Champion, haven’t you? I once battled her for three days and three nights, and neither of us could gain the upper hand. In the end, I got tired of fighting and decided to let her have the Champion title.]

Mike stared at the two comments, his lips twitching as he desperately tried to hold back his laughter.

This guy was something else.

And judging by the replies, the rest of the comment section was having just as much fun with him.

[Jambo: Yeah, yeah, of course you did. So you must be a Champion from another region, right? Which one are you? Leon? Steven? Or maybe...]

[Wanderingsock: Wow, you’re so amazing! Could you show us your Battle Network profile, handsome? I’d love to see it!]

[UltraInstinctGoh: Sorry, but I’m usually busy teaching Gym Leaders how to battle. I don’t have time to mess around with pointless websites like that.]

[hector lyng: Bro, what are you even talking about? Every Trainer has a Battle Network account. It’s basically your official Trainer ID!]

By now, Mike was thoroughly entertained.

He’d only intended to glance through a few comments, but the argument was so ridiculous that he found himself scrolling through reply after reply, feeling more awake with every passing second.

Then he came across a familiar username.

[ReallyWantIceCream: Hello, I’m Cynthia. May I ask who you are?]

Mike nearly lost it!

Cynthia hadn’t even said anything particularly confrontational.

She’d simply introduced herself and asked a perfectly polite question, addressing the other commenter with all the courtesy one might expect from the Sinnoh Champion.

Which somehow made it even funnier.

The guy had spent all that time boasting about generously handing Cynthia her Champion title, only for Cynthia herself to turn up and politely ask who the hell he was.

There was no coming back from that.

Still chuckling, Mike wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes and finally closed the comment section.

He certainly hadn’t expected to wake up to entertainment like this.

Whoever that guy was, Mike almost wanted to thank him for providing such a wonderful start to his morning.

’How thoughtful of him!’

Once he’d recovered from his laughing fit, Mike opened his messaging app and noticed that both Lucian and Oleana had contacted him.

He checked Lucian’s message first.

[IDontWantOvertime: Thanks.]

[GengarStoleMyDrumstick: Don’t mention it.]

That was the entire conversation.

Mike then switched to Oleana’s chat, where he found a photograph waiting for him.

Judging by the surroundings, she’d already reached one of the academies.

[Oleana: Boss, I’ve arrived at Blueberry Academy. Next, I’ll be meeting with the directors of Naranja Academy and Blueberry Academy to discuss adding The Wide World of Pokémon to their introductory Trainer courses.]

[Mike: Sounds good. Thanks for all your hard work.]

Her reply came almost immediately.

[Oleana: It’s what I’m here for.]

Mike couldn’t help but appreciate how dependable she was.

After offering a few more words of praise, he remembered how much work she’d been doing lately and suggested that she ask Lucian for some overtime pay.

...

At Blueberry Academy, Oleana sat in an office with her phone in her hands, looking rather surprised by the message she’d just received.

’Overtime pay?’

She stared at the screen for another moment.

’But I’m not even employed by the Sinnoh League. Can I really ask them to pay me overtime?’

Before she could decide whether Mike was serious, another message appeared.

[Mike: Don’t be shy about asking. We’ve practically worked ourselves to death for the Sinnoh League, and you’re only making this business trip so we can do an even better job for them. You’ve earned that overtime pay, so go ahead and ask for it. If Lucian refuses, just tell me. I’ll ask him myself.]

Oleana read the message carefully, and by the time she reached the end, her already considerable admiration for Mike had grown even stronger.

’As expected of the boss...’

She couldn’t help feeling fortunate to have ended up working for someone like him.

’Where am I ever going to find another boss who treats his employees this well?’

A moment later, she corrected herself.

’Actually, I suppose I should call him Professor Mike rather than boss...’

"Assistant Oleana, is something the matter?"

The question came from Blueberry Academy’s director, who had noticed her staring silently at her phone for quite some time.

He wasn’t sure whether something had happened, so he decided to ask.

"Nothing at all."

Oleana immediately put away her thoughts and returned to her usual composed, businesslike demeanor.

"Professor Mike just sent me a message reminding me to discuss the possibility of including The Wide World of Pokémon in both academies’ introductory courses for aspiring Trainers."

Her expression remained perfectly professional, but inwardly, she’d already made up her mind.

’Professor Mike looks after me so well. The least I can do is make sure he gets everything he deserves out of this agreement.’

The Wide World of Pokémon was a video series that Mike personally filmed, edited, narrated, and published.

He’d made the episodes available for everyone to watch free of charge, and that wasn’t something he intended to change.

However, allowing people to watch his videos for free was one thing.

Allowing educational institutions to reuse the material however they pleased was another matter entirely.

If an academy wanted to incorporate the videos into its teaching materials by cutting together new versions, rearranging footage, or otherwise modifying the original episodes, there was nothing unreasonable about charging a licensing fee for that additional use.

In fact, securing those licensing agreements was one of the main reasons Oleana had come here.

She wanted to bring in additional funding for Mike and his research institute, and she intended to make the most of this opportunity.

After all, she wasn’t merely an excellent researcher. She was also an excellent secretary.

Well, that last part was a title she’d given herself, but she was perfectly confident that she’d earned it.

"Oh? Professor Mike sent you a message?" the director of Naranja Academy asked, looking interested.

"Assistant Oleana, would you mind telling us a little more about what he said?"

"Of course."

Hearing herself addressed as Assistant Oleana put her in an even better mood, and she readily turned her attention back to the discussion.

"Professor Mike sent me here to..."

...

Mike, meanwhile, had no idea that Oleana was already preparing to negotiate on his behalf with renewed determination.

He’d moved on to checking his fan group chat.

It was still early, so the group was relatively quiet.

Only two people seemed to be having an active conversation, and, unsurprisingly, they were Lucian and Manryo.

Seeing the familiar usernames, Mike decided to join in.

[GengarStoleMyDrumstick: You two... don’t tell me you’ve been awake all night?]

[GholdengoIsNumberOne: I got a little carried away with work. Before I knew it, it was already morning.]

[IDontWantOvertime: I just finished dealing with some League business.]

Mike shook his head as he read their replies.

’These two really do live up to their reputations!’

One was a rich man who somehow always seemed to be working, while the other had practically made overtime his entire personality.

Apparently, staying up until dawn to finish work was perfectly normal for both of them.

Before Mike could comment on their questionable sleeping habits, Manryo changed the subject.

[GholdengoIsNumberOne: By the way, how’s your filming going? It’s been ages since we got a proper video. You haven’t even been uploading your usual stuff lately.]

[GengarStoleMyDrumstick: Didn’t I literally upload one yesterday?]

[GholdengoIsNumberOne: That doesn’t count! I’m talking about your regular videos. Don’t you have anything of Glameow and the others playing around?]

[GengarStoleMyDrumstick: It’s way too cold on Mount Coronet. Glameow usually spends her time curled up in her carrier, and I’ve been busy filming other things these past few days. I haven’t really had a chance to record them playing.]

[GholdengoIsNumberOne: Sigh. All right, fair enough. Just make sure you stay safe.]

Mike looked at the last message and found himself giving the matter some thought.

Manryo was, after all, his biggest supporter.

The man had been following his videos for ages, and it wasn’t as though he was asking for anything unreasonable.

’Maybe I should film a few videos especially for him.’

It wouldn’t be too difficult to record something of Glameow and the others once he had a little free time.

Alternatively, he could release the Ghost-type episode of The Wide World of Pokémon early.

Then another possibility occurred to him.

’Wait a minute...’

He remembered what Froslass had told him about the mysterious Pokémon living somewhere on Mount Coronet, the ones that apparently loved singing.

He’d already planned to look for them and gather some footage.

More importantly, Froslass had assured him that the Pokémon weren’t actually hostile toward humans.

They simply enjoyed singing, even if their performances had caused some rather unusual incidents.

If he was going to search for them anyway, why not turn the whole expedition into a livestream?

That way, his viewers would have something new to watch, and he could investigate the mystery at the same time.

Mike spent a little while considering the idea before deciding that it sounded like a good plan. He picked up his phone again and began typing.

[GengarStoleMyDrumstick: Don’t worry, I might start a livestream sometime in the next couple of days. I’ll take you guys along to investigate that rumor about mysterious singing deep in Mount Coronet.]

Manryo responded almost immediately.

[GholdengoIsNumberOne: A livestream? You’re actually going exploring? Seriously?!]

[GengarStoleMyDrumstick: Yep, seriously.]

[GholdengoIsNumberOne: [Excited Gimmighoul.jpg]]

Lucian, however, seemed more concerned about what Mike had just proposed.

[IDontWantOvertime: Are you talking about that incident on Mount Coronet? I’ve heard that people who hear the singing sometimes lose consciousness, and by the time they come around, they’re already lying out in the snow.]

[IDontWantOvertime: Are you sure it won’t be dangerous to investigate?]

[GholdengoIsNumberOne: Wait, is it really that dangerous?]

Mike had expected someone to bring up the rumors.

After all, the mysterious singing had attracted attention precisely because several people had been found unconscious in the snow afterward.

Fortunately, he’d already learned a little more about what was happening.

[GengarStoleMyDrumstick: It should be fine. Froslass told me those Pokémon don’t have any ill intentions toward humans. They just really love singing.]

[GengarStoleMyDrumstick: The Trainers who lost consciousness were probably affected by their songs and passed out without realizing what was happening.]

[GengarStoleMyDrumstick: Besides, remember how none of those people had any injuries when they were found? According to Froslass, the mysterious Pokémon were actually the ones who carried them back out to safety.]

That explanation seemed to ease some of their concerns, although it also raised another question.

[GholdengoIsNumberOne: Huh. If that’s what happened, then what kind of Pokémon are they?]

[GengarStoleMyDrumstick: No idea. Froslass won’t tell me. She wants me to go and find out for myself.]

[GengarStoleMyDrumstick: Since I’m going to look for them anyway, I figured I might as well livestream the search. Consider it my way of making up for not uploading much lately.]

[GholdengoIsNumberOne: All right, I’ll be looking forward to it! You’d better not get my hopes up and then cancel.]

[IDontWantOvertime: Just be careful, all right? And remember to contact me if anything happens.]

With the conversation settled, Mike closed the group chat, put his phone away, and finally got out of bed.

"Gar?"

Gengar looked over at him, apparently wondering what their plans were for the day.

[Are we heading back there today?]

"Yeah, let’s go back," Mike replied. "We’ll spend another day filming, then have a look around the nearby areas and see if we can find any other wild Pokémon."

He’d already recorded plenty of footage, but there were still several species he was hoping to encounter before they moved on.

"An Abomasnow would be nice, since we’ve already seen Snover. And there’s still Weavile, Glaceon, or even some Pokémon from the Swinub evolutionary line. There should be a chance of finding at least a few of them around here."

Mike paused to consider how much longer they ought to spend in the area.

"If we find any, that’s great. We can stay a bit longer and get some more footage. But if we don’t, we’ll move on and look for those Pokémon you heard singing yesterday. I want to see exactly what they are, and afterward, we can keep heading farther up the mountain. Maybe we’ll come across something even rarer along the way."

Gengar listened to the plan and nodded. He didn’t have any objections.

Seeing that his partner was happy with the arrangement, Mike smiled.

"All right, then. Come on, let’s get washed up."

He reached down, scooped Hattrem and Glameow into his arms, and carried them toward the bathroom.

As he walked, something occurred to him.

He really did seem to have gotten a fair bit stronger recently.

At the very least, he could now pick up both Hattrem and Glameow at once, which was something he couldn’t have managed quite so easily before.

It was a small improvement, but a noticeable one.

Once everyone had finished washing up, Mike headed downstairs for breakfast.

After eating, he left the Pokémon Center with his Pokémon and made his way toward Froslass’s cave.

---

There you go, your idol Goh is here!~