Chapter 248

Chapter 248: Chapter 248

After listening for a while, Mike sat down on a nearby rock.

Then he reached into his belongings and took out his harmonica.

Snivy immediately noticed what he was doing.

Recognizing that Mike was preparing to perform, she quickly adjusted the drone’s camera so that it pointed toward him.

Hattrem stood nearby, watching him with undisguised admiration shining in her eyes.

Gengar and Beedrill also stopped moving around and settled down, waiting to hear what he was going to play.

Even the livestream chat gradually quieted.

The viewers had seen Mike take out his harmonica, and everyone was curious about what would happen next.

Mike brought the instrument to his lips.

He took a slow breath.

Then he began to play.

The melody of "Tori no Uta" drifted through the canyon.

The clear notes of the harmonica carried across the snowy landscape, weaving through the sound of the cold mountain wind.

Below him, the Jynx gradually stopped singing.

One after another, they raised their heads and looked toward the human sitting on the rock above them.

They listened quietly as the melody continued.

Then the Jynx exchanged glances.

Apparently reaching some unspoken agreement, they began dancing again.

This time, however, their movements were different.

Instead of dancing to their own singing, they allowed Mike’s harmonica to guide them, adjusting their movements to match the melody he was playing.

The result was a new dance, graceful and beautiful in its own way.

The livestream viewers had fallen almost completely silent.

Many of them simply closed their eyes, listening to the music through their phones or computers.

The distant howl of the wind, the delicate sound of the harmonica, and the atmosphere of the snowy canyon blended together into a performance they could enjoy without saying a word.

Mike noticed the Jynx dancing along with his music.

His eyes curved slightly with happiness.

Without interrupting the melody, he rose from his seat and made his way toward a nearby slope.

Then he allowed himself to slide down toward the bottom of the canyon.

Snow scattered around him as he descended, sending little flurries of white into the air.

Some of it settled on his hair, scarf, and shoulders, giving him a rather striking appearance against the snowy surroundings.

But Mike wasn’t particularly concerned about how he looked.

He’d already decided what he wanted to do.

Still playing his harmonica, he boldly approached the group of Jynx and began moving his body to the rhythm of the music.

The Jynx were delighted.

When they saw that the human who’d been playing such a beautiful melody had actually come down to dance with them, they happily joined hands and formed a circle around him.

Mike found himself standing in the middle of the group.

Looking at the Jynx surrounding him, he could clearly sense their friendliness.

There wasn’t any hostility in their expressions or movements.

They genuinely seemed happy that someone had come to share their love of music.

Feeling reassured, Mike relaxed and allowed himself to enjoy the dance.

Gengar and the others soon joined him.

Above them, the drone hovered quietly, recording everything that was happening below.

From the camera’s perspective, the scene was rather beautiful.

Mike stood in the center of the Jynx, playing his harmonica while dancing along with the music.

Snivy moved gracefully nearby, her elegant and refined dancing perfectly complementing the melody.

Hattrem, meanwhile, was making full use of the two long sections of hair hanging behind her head.

She danced with cheerful energy, her movements lively and full of enthusiasm.

Beedrill’s dancing was different again.

His powerful movements were sharp and controlled, giving his performance an impressive sense of strength and intensity.

As for Rotom...

Well, Rotom didn’t know how to dance.

Fortunately, it had another job to do.

While everyone else was enjoying themselves, Rotom remained focused on operating the recording equipment and making sure the livestream captured the entire performance properly.

And then there was Gengar.

Ah, yes.

Gengar.

That round, purple fellow enthusiastically performing his favorite dance off to the side?

That was him.

At some point, he’d taken out the cheerleading pom-poms he’d used when cheering for Mike during a previous event.

Now he was shaking them around while vigorously swinging his hips and thrusting his waist to the rhythm.

Mike happened to glance in his direction.

And nearly lost his breath!

He was so startled by the sight that he almost missed the next note of the melody.

’WHAT THE HELL IS HE DOING?!’

Unfortunately, Gengar was far too absorbed in his performance to notice Mike’s reaction.

Ever since learning his signature belly dance, he’d apparently been working on expanding his repertoire.

And now he’d developed an entirely new routine!

Gengar had even given it a name.

"Gengar’s Super-Energetic Hip-Shaking Dance!"

He seemed extraordinarily proud of his latest creation.

The abrupt change in Mike’s harmonica playing, caused by his near-disastrous attempt to keep himself from laughing, finally drew the viewers’ attention back to the screen.

Many of them had been listening with their eyes closed.

Now they opened them to see what had happened.

At first, the sight was wonderful.

The Jynx were dancing beautifully, Mike’s music was lovely, and each of his Pokémon had found its own way to participate in the performance.

Everything looked remarkably harmonious.

Except for one particular purple menace.

[Mimikyu_DCX: AAAAAAH! I CAN’T TAKE IT ANYMORE! WHO THE HELL ALLOWED GENGAR TO DANCE?!]

[_Dark_lorD_: MIKE! YOU OWE ME A NEW PAIR OF EYES!!!]

[Kianimos: Gengar, buddy, you’re doing GREAT! But could you PLEASE never do that again?!]

[ItsMeJimbo: WHO TAUGHT GENGAR THAT DANCE?! COME OUT RIGHT NOW! WE NEED TO HAVE A SERIOUS TALK!]

...

Far away in Jubilife City, Nicole happened to see that last comment.

Her face immediately turned red.

Because, unfortunately, she knew exactly where Gengar had learned those moves.

It had been her.

Back when Mike was participating in a Pokémon Contest, she’d taught Gengar a dance routine to use during his cheerleading performance.

But she could SWEAR that the dance she’d originally taught him looked absolutely nothing like this!

The problem was Gengar himself.

That ridiculous Ghost-type had an almost frightening amount of creativity, and whenever he learned something new, he couldn’t resist adding his own personal touches.

Unfortunately, those personal touches had apparently transformed a perfectly respectable dance into...

Whatever this was.

Nicole could only stare at the screen, feeling rather embarrassed.

...

What happened next, however, was something nobody had expected.

One of the Jynx noticed Gengar’s enthusiastic dancing.

Instead of being put off by his ridiculous movements, she actually seemed fascinated.

The Jynx left the others and approached Gengar.

Then, to everyone’s astonishment, she began dancing directly in front of him, matching his movements with tremendous enthusiasm!

Gengar was delighted.

He shook his hips even harder!

The Jynx happily danced along, and before long, the two of them were performing together as though they’d discovered the perfect dance partner.

The contrast was almost impossible to describe.

On one side of the performance, there was Mike’s beautiful harmonica music, Snivy’s elegant movements, Hattrem’s lively dancing, and the graceful Jynx surrounding them.

On the other side... Gengar and his new Jynx partner were enthusiastically shaking their hips.

The viewers were being treated to something that was simultaneously heavenly and absolutely horrifying.

And somehow, it worked.

Amid that bizarre mixture of beauty and ridiculousness, the extended version of "Tori no Uta" finally reached its last note.

Mike lowered his harmonica.

Standing in the falling snow, he opened his arms wide, allowing the cold wind and drifting snowflakes to surround him.

His scarf fluttered gently behind him.

Then he brought his arms down and bowed slightly, thanking the Jynx and everyone watching.

The gesture was graceful and composed, bringing the performance to a satisfying close.

Even Snivy couldn’t help narrowing her eyes with delight as she watched him.

’Elegance never goes out of style.’

The Jynx seemed to appreciate the gesture as well.

One after another, they copied Mike’s movements, turning toward the drone hovering overhead and bowing politely to the camera.

And that was when the gift notifications started flooding the livestream.

{GholdengoIsNumberOne sent 33 Poké Carnivals!} (Manryo)

{Mineral Enthusiast sent 66 Poké Carnivals!} (Steven)

{WallaceCupWallace sent 18 Poké Carnivals!} (Wallace)

{ReallyWantIceCream sent gifts!} (Chyntia)

{IceDoesntUnderstandMyHeart sent gifts!} (Lorelei)

{IDontWantOvertime sent gifts!} (Lucian)

{More gift notifications continued appearing...}

The notifications seemed endless.

Viewers from all over were showing their appreciation for the performance, showering Mike with gifts and praise.

It might not have been a flawless performance, especially considering Gengar’s rather questionable contributions, but that only made it more memorable.

[LightningGodWolf: 666! THAT’S MY FAVORITE STREAMER! HE CAN DO EVERYTHING!!!]

[Tomodachi_UwU: AAAAAHHH! WHY IS MY STREAMER SO AMAZING?! HE CAN COOK! HE CAN DO RESEARCH! HE CAN SING AND DANCE! HE CAN DISAPPEAR FOR WEEKS WITHOUT UPLOADING ANYTHING! I LOVE HIM SO MUCH!!!]

[Ghostzaiko: Hold on. Since when is disappearing without uploading something worth PRAISING?!]

[Tomodachi_UwU: Oh, you wouldn’t understand! Once you get to my age, you’ll know exactly what I mean!]

[Ghostzaiko: ...]

Mike finally straightened up from his bow.

And immediately found himself breathing heavily.

He took several deep breaths, trying to settle his breathing after the performance.

’Man... Playing the harmonica in weather like this really takes it out of you!’

He hadn’t expected the cold air to make such a difference.

Even with his Level 3 Performance skill, he’d nearly run out of breath several times while playing.

Fortunately, he’d managed to finish the entire piece without completely losing control of the melody.

After resting for a moment, Mike looked toward the Jynx standing around him and offered them a warm smile.

"Hello, everyone! My name’s Mike, and these are my partners..."

"Jynx~!"

"Jynx! Jynx~!"

The Jynx immediately began calling out in response.

Judging by their friendly expressions and enthusiastic greetings, they were probably welcoming him and his Pokémon.

Mike smiled as he listened.

Now that he was standing face-to-face with them, he couldn’t help noticing something.

He’d never really considered Jynx particularly attractive before.

In fact, back when he’d first encountered their designs, he’d always thought they looked rather strange.

Their outfits were so bright and colorful, yet they had purple skin, enormous round faces, and striking, bright pink lips.

The combination had always seemed a little odd to him.

But standing here now, surrounded by a group of Jynx who’d just welcomed him into their dance, Mike found himself reconsidering that opinion.

’Wait... They’re actually pretty cute!’

He looked from one Jynx to another.

Perhaps it was because he’d just spent so much time dancing with them, but he was beginning to appreciate how expressive they were.

Their cheerful faces, their love of singing, and the way they’d immediately welcomed him into their group all made them seem much more endearing than he’d ever expected.

’Come to think of it, they really are quite pretty in their own way.’

Mike smiled to himself.

’Maybe it’s just because I’ve spent so much time around Pokémon now.’

The longer he lived alongside them, the more he came to appreciate something he’d never paid enough attention to before.

Every Pokémon had its own unique charm.

Even species he hadn’t particularly liked at first could turn out to be wonderful once he got to know them.

"Gengar~!"

Gengar suddenly let out a delighted cry beside him.

The Ghost-type had clearly enjoyed himself immensely.

Mike turned toward him.

The sight of Gengar’s enormous grin immediately reminded him of that ridiculous dance, and he couldn’t help but smile.

"You little troublemaker..."

He put his harmonica back into his pocket, reached out, and playfully tugged at Gengar’s cheeks.

Gengar didn’t resist in the slightest.

In fact, he looked downright pleased with himself.

Mike knew perfectly well that Gengar’s dancing wasn’t exactly beautiful.

Anyone with functioning eyes could have told him that.

But so what?

His Pokémon had enjoyed himself.

And as far as Mike was concerned, that was what mattered most.

What could possibly be more important than seeing his own Pokémon happy?

"Gengar!"

[Hehehe!]

Gengar laughed happily as Mike continued teasing him.

...

Elsewhere, Lorelei was still sitting in her bedroom, hugging her Dewgong plushie.

She watched Mike laughing and playing with Gengar on the screen, and without realizing it, a small smile appeared on her face.

There really was something wonderful about watching a Trainer interact so naturally with his Pokémon.

The affection between them wasn’t something that could be faked, and moments like these were often what made spending time with Pokémon so enjoyable.

Lorelei hugged her plushie a little more comfortably and continued watching.

...

In Kalos, Diantha was lying beside Cynthia, still thinking about the performance they’d just witnessed.

The harmonica melody had been beautiful, and the dancing had been unexpectedly moving.

Even Gengar’s ridiculous antics had somehow added to the charm of the whole thing.

As someone who worked in the entertainment industry, Diantha couldn’t help appreciating the way Mike had brought the entire scene together.

The more she thought about it, the more convinced she became.

’No, seriously. I HAVE to recruit him!’

She wanted Mike working as her assistant.

Someone who could research Pokémon, produce interesting videos, and deliver a performance like that would be far too valuable to pass up!

Unfortunately for her, Cynthia was sitting right beside her.

And Cynthia had noticed the look in her eyes.

The Sinnoh Champion’s lips curved into a small, knowing smile.

’Oh, so you still haven’t given up, huh?’

She’d already made up her mind.

As soon as she returned to Sinnoh, she was going to tell Lucian to give Mike special treatment and make sure he had access to whatever support he needed.

If Diantha thought she could casually recruit him away from the Sinnoh League, she had another thing coming!

’Go ahead and try, Diantha.’

Cynthia smiled to herself.

’If you can actually convince Mike to leave after that, I’ll be impressed!’

...

In Hoenn, Wallace was still thinking about the harmonica performance.

He leaned forward on the sofa, his eyes practically shining as he stared at the livestream.

"Steven! Did you SEE that?!"

Steven glanced toward him.

Wallace gestured excitedly at the screen.

"The music! The dancing! The way he got those Jynx to join in without even needing to communicate with them first!"

He looked absolutely delighted.

"I’m telling you, Steven! This guy is PERFECT for Pokémon Contests!"

Steven watched his best friend getting worked up over the idea and shook his head helplessly.

"Oh, Wallace..."

There was really no stopping him once he’d found something he was interested in.

...

Sinnoh Region — Twinleaf Town

Back in the countryside, Growlithe was lying beside Grandma’s feet, watching Mike’s livestream.

On the screen, Mike was laughing as he playfully tugged at Gengar’s cheeks.

Growlithe stared at them for a while.

For some reason, watching the scene made him feel a little lonely.

He remembered when Mike used to play with him like that.

Back then, Mike would spend time playing with both him and Gengar. Sometimes he’d even bring Growlithe along when they danced together.

Those had been such happy times.

But now...

Growlithe looked at the screen again.

Mike was still laughing with Gengar, surrounded by his other Pokémon.

And Growlithe could only watch from home.

He lowered his head and reached out with one paw, gently nudging the toy ball Mike had sent back for him.

The ball rolled slightly across the floor.

Growlithe pulled it back toward himself.

He didn’t make a sound.

Grandma, who was sitting nearby, noticed the change in his mood.

She looked down at the little Pokémon, then reached out and gently stroked his head.

"Oh, you silly little thing..."

Her voice was soft and affectionate.

"Don’t be in such a hurry..."

...

Back on Mount Coronet, Mike was still smiling at Gengar.

"As long as you’re having fun, that’s all that matters!"

Then, apparently deciding he’d had enough excitement for the moment, he allowed himself to fall backward into the snow.

Flump!

He landed on his back, sinking slightly into the thick white powder.

A moment later, he buried his head in the snow as well.

"Ahhh... Nothing beats hiding in the snow. This is the life!"

He sounded genuinely satisfied.

The livestream viewers stared at the scene in complete confusion.

[Everyone: ???]