Chapter 249

Chapter 249: Chapter 249

"Jynx?"

Seeing Mike suddenly collapse backward into the snow, the Jynx hurried over and gathered around him, looking down at the human who had apparently decided to bury himself in the middle of their home.

They exchanged worried glances.

One Jynx seemed to be wondering, ’Is he dying?’

Another looked toward the canyon entrance.

’Should we carry him outside like we did with the others?’

A third tilted her head thoughtfully. ’Or should we just bury him here?’

Mike: "..."

"Hey, I’m fine! I’m just a little tired, so I thought I’d rest for a minute."

He hadn’t even finished explaining himself when a Vine Whip reached over and gave his cheek a gentle smack.

Mike turned his head.

Snivy was standing beside him, staring down at him with a distinctly frosty expression.

"Snivy?"

[Are you getting up on your own, or do I have to hang you upside down?]

Mike immediately sprang to his feet, scattering snow in every direction.

"I’m up! I’m up, Snivy! Please have mercy!"

He stood perfectly straight, looking at her with the utmost respect.

The livestream chat erupted in laughter.

[ballooon: HAHAHAHA! Snivy really is the only one who can keep Mike under control!]

[Creasent_slayer161: Snivy: I SAID GET UP! DID YOU HEAR ME?! ANSWER ME!]

[AshlesSmiley: Snivy takes such good care of Mike! I’m jealous! Snivy, sweetheart, what color sack would you like me to bring when I come kidnap you?]

[No_One_10_01: Am I the only one who’s curious about the song Mike just played? I tried searching for it online, but I couldn’t find anything!]

[Fairy_Tail_6627: Maybe he composed it himself? Just like those songs he played during Evolution Night...]

[NewTrainerHere: Seriously?! Is Mike really THAT talented?!]

Mike ignored the discussion about his harmonica performance and obediently allowed Snivy to brush the snow off his clothes with her vines.

Every now and then, she gave him another light pat, making sure he hadn’t missed anything.

Once she’d finished fussing over him, Mike turned toward the Jynx, who were still gathered around them.

"Hey, everyone! Since we’ve already had so much fun together, how about we become friends?"

The Jynx immediately brightened.

Several began clapping their hands excitedly, and before long, they were singing again.

This time, however, Mike noticed something different.

The melody sounded vaguely familiar.

He listened for a moment before realizing that they were trying to imitate the song he’d just played on his harmonica.

They’d only heard it once, yet they were already attempting to reproduce parts of the melody with their own voices.

Their enthusiastic singing was more than enough to tell Mike that they’d happily accepted his offer of friendship.

Watching the cheerful Jynx, he couldn’t help but smile.

’See? These Ice-types aren’t nearly as difficult to get along with as people might think.’

’They’re actually pretty friendly!’

After singing for a little while, the Jynx gradually quieted down.

One of them separated herself from the others and approached Mike, swaying slightly as she walked.

She stopped directly in front of him and looked up.

For some reason, she seemed unusually shy.

The Jynx shifted from one foot to the other, glancing at Mike before quickly looking away again.

She opened her mouth as though she wanted to say something, only to hesitate.

Naturally, the livestream viewers noticed.

[FILLER_OF_BLOOP: WAIT! That Jynx looks like she wants to tell Mike something!]

[Kusogaki_: HOLD ON! I recognize that expression! That’s exactly how I looked when I confessed to my crush!]

[Cyber_Saion: I GET IT! SHE’S FALLEN FOR MIKE!!!]

[Mat_tokki: Well, that’s it. Game over. Poor FILLER_OF_BLOOP is about to lose his wife!]

[FILLER_OF_BLOOP: NOOOOO! PLEASE, JYNX! DON’T DO THIS TO ME! QwQ]

The comment section immediately began teasing the poor viewer, and the speculation only grew more ridiculous as the Jynx continued standing shyly in front of Mike.

Mike, meanwhile, had no idea what was happening in the chat.

He looked at the Jynx and smiled encouragingly.

"What’s wrong? Did you want to ask me something?"

"Jynx..."

[Could you... teach us that song you were playing earlier?]

She looked up at him with enormous, hopeful eyes that practically sparkled with anticipation.

Mike’s expression softened.

"Of course! I’d be happy to teach you. That’s no problem at all!"

The Jynx stared at him for a moment before breaking into delighted applause.

She was so excited that she suddenly threw herself toward him.

Before Mike could react, she leaned forward and planted a kiss right on his cheek!

Mike: "!!!"

Gengar: "Σ(?Д?;)"

Snivy: "..."

Hattrem: "(?_?)"

For a brief moment, everyone seemed to freeze.

Then Rotom cheerfully announced from nearby, "That precious moment has been captured on camera, roto!"

The livestream chat exploded.

[EnragedKing: ?????]

[The_concession: WAIT, DID MIKE JUST GET KISSED?!]

[FILLER_OF_BLOOP: AAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!]

[Mat_tokki: Snivy: JUST YOU WAIT UNTIL WE GET HOME!]

Mike could tell that the Jynx hadn’t meant anything inappropriate by the gesture.

She was simply delighted that he’d agreed to teach them, and kissing his cheek seemed to be her way of expressing her gratitude.

Although where she’d learned to thank people like that was another question entirely.

He gently wiped his cheek before looking back at her.

"Jynx, you know, you don’t have to do that when you want to thank someone."

The Jynx blinked in confusion.

"Jynx?"

[But... isn’t that how you humans do it?]

"Well, not exactly." Mike smiled patiently. "There are certain boundaries between people, especially when it comes to men and women. Usually, if you want to thank someone, you can just say thank you, shake their hand, or give them a hug. That’s more than enough."

The Jynx blinked again as she considered his explanation.

’Oh, so that’s how it works...’

’Humans really are strange.’

Mike couldn’t help smiling at her puzzled expression.

After giving her a moment to think about it, he decided to bring up something else.

"Actually, there’s something I’d like to ask you and the others. Would you mind helping me with something?"

The Jynx looked at him curiously.

Mike pointed toward the drone hovering above them.

"I’m planning to teach you some songs and dances next. Would you be willing to let us film the lessons while we’re doing it?"

The Jynx turned their heads and looked up at the drone.

So that was what the strange flying object was for!

They finally understood why Mike had bowed toward it after finishing his earlier performance.

"Jynx!"

[Of course! We don’t mind!]

"Great! Thank you, everyone."

Mike looked toward the drone again.

"In that case, how about saying hello to everyone watching us?"

The Jynx he’d been speaking with raised her head and happily waved toward the camera.

"Jynx~!"

The audience immediately responded.

[NewTrainerHere: THAT SETTLES IT! MIKE REALLY CAN UNDERSTAND WHAT POKéMON ARE SAYING!]

[IceDoesntUnderstandMyHeart: Jynx really are adorable, aren’t they? Surely I’m not the only one who thinks so!]

[Sleepy_Potat0: Uh.....]

[FILLER_OF_BLOOP: FINALLY! SOMEONE WHO UNDERSTANDS ME!!!]

Mike glanced at the messages before turning back toward the camera.

"All right, everyone! Now that we’ve made friends with the Jynx, let’s get to know them a little more intimately!"

The chat went strangely quiet for a moment.

Then—

[Everyone: ?????]

[Yopleasee: I have a feeling Mike just said something VERY questionable, but I can’t prove it.]

[Mad Silence: Why do I suddenly have tire tracks across my face? Did something dirty just drive straight over me?!]

Unfortunately, Rotom read every single one of those comments aloud.

Mike’s expression darkened.

"Rotom. Shut up. Mute yourself."

"Does not compute, roto..."

A thoroughly confused expression appeared on the Rotom Phone’s screen before it obediently fell silent.

Mike turned back toward the livestream.

"What the hell are you people thinking?! When I said we’d get to know the Jynx more intimately, I meant learning about them properly! You know, their daily habits, their interests, the way they live—just like we do in The Wide World of Pokémon!"

He gave the camera an exasperated look.

[JomaTan: OHHH! So you meant getting to know them intimately. I thought you meant getting to know them INTIMATELY.]

Mike: "..."

There was simply no winning with these people!

Rather than continue arguing with the comment section, he decided to begin the educational portion of the livestream.

"All right, forget about that. Everyone, I want you to listen carefully to the way Jynx speak."

He turned toward the Pokémon gathered around him and asked them to say a few words into the camera, one at a time.

The Jynx happily cooperated.

"Jynx~!"

"Jynx, Jynx!"

"Jynx~"

After each one had spoken, Mike turned back toward the viewers.

"Did you notice anything?"

[B_l_u_e: Notice what?]

[hector lyng: Bro, have you lost your mind? How are we supposed to understand what Jynx are saying?!]

Mike sighed.

"That’s not what I meant! I want you to pay attention to what their voices SOUND like!"

A moment later, a familiar username appeared.

[IceDoesntUnderstandMyHeart: Are you referring to how Jynx’s vocalizations resemble human speech?]

"Exactly!"

Mike nodded approvingly.

"If you listen closely, you’ll notice that the sounds Jynx make are actually quite similar to the way humans speak. Their voices have a rhythm and quality that can sound remarkably like human language."

He glanced toward the Jynx beside him before continuing.

"That’s why some composers have written songs specifically for Jynx to perform. Their voices are particularly well suited to that kind of music."

"Of course, even though their vocalizations resemble human speech, researchers still haven’t been able to determine exactly what they’re saying. At least, there hasn’t been any research that conclusively explains it yet."

Mike continued sharing a few basic facts about Jynx with the viewers, giving them a better understanding of the Pokémon they’d encountered.

Once he’d finished the introduction, he turned his attention back to gathering footage for his research.

Unlike the livestream, which was being recorded through the drone, Mike used the camera hanging around his neck to take individual photographs of the Jynx.

He made sure to get a clear picture of each one.

After finishing the photographs, he glanced toward the Rotom Phone.

"Hey, Rotom! You recorded all the dancing earlier, right?"

"..."

Mike stared at the silent phone.

Then he remembered.

"Oh, right. You can talk again."

"FINALLY! I thought I was going to explode, roto! Reporting in! Every bit of footage has been recorded successfully! You can always count on me to get the job done, roto! I made sure that—"

"Okay, that’s enough. You can go back on mute now."

"Σ(°△°|||) DOES NOT COMPUTE, ROTO!"

The chat immediately burst into laughter.

[Jambo: HAHAHAHAHA! MIKE’S GOING TO DRIVE ROTOM INSANE!]

[Mad Silence: Rotom: When you need me, I’m your precious little sweetheart. The moment you don’t, I’m yesterday’s trash!]

"Hey, don’t blame me!" Mike protested. "Rotom just talks WAY too much!"