Chapter 255

Chapter 255: Chapter 255

Articuno watched Mike with growing curiosity, wondering what this rather unusual human intended to do next.

Mike, meanwhile, had turned his attention back to the Bergmite gathered near the rocky crevice.

"Hey, could you ask your friends to come out too?" he asked the little Pokémon he’d just made peace with.

The Bergmite finished eating his Berry and hesitated for a moment before looking up at him.

"Bergmite..."

[Can I have another one?]

Mike couldn’t help but laugh.

"Of course! There’s plenty for everyone!"

He turned toward Gengar and asked him to bring out some more Berries.

Gengar obediently reached into his pocket, retrieved a generous supply, and placed them on the snow.

"There you go! Everyone gets some," Mike said cheerfully.

Mike was feeling rather generous.

Gengar, unfortunately, was beginning to feel the pain of being the one responsible for carrying all their supplies.

’Damn it!’

He watched Mike happily giving away their Berries, feeling increasingly miserable.

’First he gave away almost all our Poffins, and now he’s handing out our Berries too?!’

’Does he have ANY idea how much food we’re going through?!’

Of course, Gengar couldn’t exactly refuse to give Mike the supplies when he needed them.

He understood why they were sharing their food with the wild Pokémon.

But understanding something didn’t make it hurt any less!

Gengar sighed inwardly.

’Honestly, Mike has no idea how expensive it is to keep this family fed...’

The Bergmite, completely unaware of Gengar’s suffering, gave an excited cry when he saw the pile of Berries.

"Bergmite!"

He turned toward the crevice and called out to his companions.

A moment later, several more Bergmite cautiously emerged from between the rocks.

At first, they kept their distance, watching Mike with obvious fear.

However, the Bergmite who’d already received a Berry hurried over and began explaining something to them.

Whatever he said seemed to work.

The others gradually relaxed, and before long, they were eagerly making their way toward the food.

Each Bergmite selected a Berry and took a bite.

Sweet juice immediately filled their mouths.

"Bergmite?!"

Their eyes widened in astonishment.

They’d never tasted Berries this delicious before!

Deep within Mount Coronet, only certain varieties of Berries could survive the bitterly cold conditions.

Those Berries were perfectly edible, and some were even quite tasty, but there was one unavoidable problem.

They were always frozen solid!

Eating them was practically the same as chewing on blocks of ice!

But these Berries were different.

They smelled wonderful, tasted sweet, and were bursting with delicious juice.

The Bergmite had never experienced anything quite like them.

’This human is AMAZING!’

Just like that, Mike had managed to win over the entire group with a few Berries.

Watching the little Pokémon happily enjoying their food, he decided not to disturb them.

Instead, he stood up and walked back toward the ancient Hisuian Avalugg fossil.

He lifted his camera and began taking photographs from several different angles, carefully recording the fossil’s appearance and the surrounding rock formations.

"Rotom, come on out. Get back into the phone and help me record some footage," Mike called without turning around.

"Roto..."

[Okay...]

Rotom reluctantly emerged from the microwave oven and transferred himself into the Rotom Phone.

A moment later, the phone floated into position and activated its recording function.

Unfortunately, Rotom had completely forgotten about the appliance he’d just abandoned.

Without his presence keeping it animated, the microwave dropped straight into the snow.

Thud! Clatter!

It bounced once before rolling several times across the frozen ground.

Gengar’s eyes went wide.

’MY MICROWAVE!’

He stared at the poor appliance lying in the snow.

Then he slowly turned toward the Rotom Phone.

His expression darkened.

’(｀⌒′メ)’

’Rotom... You’ve just made an enemy for life!’

Rotom, who was busy recording footage of the fossil, suddenly felt a strange chill.

"Huh? That’s weird. Is it about to snow again?"

Since he’d returned to the phone, he was able to speak through its speakers.

He muttered the question quietly to himself.

Mike heard him anyway.

"What was that?"

"Do you think I’m coming down with a cold? I suddenly feel really chilly, roto!"

Mike stopped taking photographs.

He slowly turned toward the phone.

"..."

After drawing a long breath, he asked, "Rotom, aren’t you a Ghost-type? Since when do Ghost-types catch colds?"

Rotom blinked.

A blinking expression appeared on the phone’s screen.

"...Oh!"

He sounded genuinely enlightened.

"You’re right, roto!"

Mike sighed.

"Seriously, you need to stop hanging around Gengar so much. Try reading a book once in a while."

"Understood, roto!"

"GENGAR?!"

[WHY AM I CATCHING STRAY AGAIN?!]

Gengar stared at Mike indignantly.

’(.?ˇ_ˇ?.)’

He’d been minding his own business!

Well, mostly.

Why did everything somehow end up being his fault?!

Mike ignored the offended Ghost-type and returned to his work.

After taking several more photographs of the fossil, he finally put his camera away.

He then approached the Abomasnow group.

The leader was standing nearby, watching the Bergmite enjoy their Berries.

"Hey, Abomasnow, can I ask you something?" Mike began.

The enormous Pokémon looked down at him.

"Were you and the others trying to protect those Bergmite earlier?"

The Abomasnow leader nodded.

"Abomasnow..."

[They can produce Eggs with us.]

Mike froze.

"...Huh?"

He looked at the enormous Abomasnow.

Then he looked toward the tiny Bergmite happily munching on Berries.

His gaze moved between them several times.

’Wait a minute...’

’They’re both in the Monster Egg Group, aren’t they?’

As far as Pokémon breeding mechanics were concerned, that actually made sense.

They really could produce Eggs together.

But...

Mike looked at the Bergmite again.

’With a walking block of ice?!’

For some reason, an image appeared in his mind.

An enormous Abomasnow carefully cradling a tiny Bergmite in its arms.

"..."

Mike pressed his lips together.

He was trying very, very hard not to laugh.

Unfortunately, the more he thought about the image, the funnier it became.

He quickly buried the lower half of his face in his scarf.

The Abomasnow leader tilted its head, looking rather confused by his reaction.

Mike took several deep breaths before finally managing to control himself.

"It’s nothing!" he assured the Pokémon with a smile. "I just remembered something funny."

The Abomasnow continued watching him curiously.

Mike cleared his throat and returned to the actual subject.

"Anyway, I might need the Bergmite to help me with some research soon. There’s a chance I’ll need your cooperation too. Would that be all right?"

The Abomasnow leader hesitated.

It clearly wasn’t ready to agree immediately.

Mike understood.

These Pokémon had been living here together for a long time, and the Abomasnow had apparently taken it upon themselves to protect the smaller Bergmite.

Naturally, they wouldn’t want to hand them over to an unfamiliar human without knowing what he intended to do.

"Gengar!"

Mike called his partner over.

Gengar floated toward him, still wearing a rather unhappy expression.

Without needing any further explanation, he reached into his pocket and began distributing Berries among the Abomasnow.

One Berry for each Pokémon.

"Gengar..."

[When he needs something, it’s always ’Gengar, buddy!’ But when he doesn’t need me, suddenly I’m ’you fat idiot’!]

Gengar grumbled continuously as he handed out the food.

As for why he wasn’t offering them Poffins...

Well, that was simple.

Their ever-so-generous Trainer had already given practically all of those away to the Jynx!

Mike turned his head and pretended he hadn’t heard a word of Gengar’s complaints.

Once Gengar had finished distributing the Berries and returned to his side, Mike slipped a hand into his pocket.

A moment later, he withdrew it and held his closed fist in front of Gengar.

"Hey, Gengar! Guess what I’ve got?"

He was smiling rather suspiciously.

Gengar narrowed his eyes.

He looked from Mike’s face to his closed hand.

’What’s he up to now?’

Then Mike opened his palm.

Resting in the center was a beautiful purple orb.

Gengar froze.

"GEN?!"

His eyes widened.

’HE DID IT AGAIN!’

’HE PULLED ANOTHER ONE OUT OF NOWHERE!’

Mike had somehow produced another Toxic Orb as though he were performing a magic trick.

He smiled at Gengar, although his throat suddenly felt a little dry.

"Here! It’s for you. Want it?"

Gengar’s expression changed instantly.

His earlier complaints vanished.

An enormous grin spread across his face.

"GENGAR!"

[I KNEW IT! MIKE TREATS ME BETTER THAN ANYONE! HEHEHE!]

Watching the delighted Ghost-type, Snivy shook her head with an affectionate sigh.

She’d already spent enough time around Mike to understand most of his little tricks.

A Toxic Orb wasn’t anything particularly surprising anymore.

Besides, she was certain that Mike would have something for her too.

He’d never been the sort of Trainer who showered one Pokémon with gifts while forgetting the others.

Sooner or later, everyone would receive something.

But then... Snivy’s eyes returned to Mike’s hand.

The Toxic Orb.

His bare hand.

’Wait...’

Her expression changed.

’WAIT A SECOND!’

Snivy whipped her head around and stared at his open palm.

"SNIIIIIIIII!!"

Her shriek echoed across the snowy mountains.

[WHY ARE YOU HOLDING A TOXIC ORB WITH YOUR BARE HAND?!]

Mike blinked.

Gengar had already accepted the Toxic Orb when Snivy’s warning finally registered.

"Ohhh..."

Mike suddenly understood something.

"No wonder my throat’s been feeling so dry! I’ve been wanting a drink this whole time!"

He looked toward Snivy with an expression of realization.

"So I was getting poisoned! Snivy, hel—"

He didn’t finish the sentence.

His eyes rolled back.

Bubbles appeared at his mouth.... then he toppled backward into the snow.

THUMP!

"GENGAR!"

[IT WASN’T ME THIS TIME!]

"SNIVY!"

"HATTREM!"

"MEOW!"

Rotom’s cheerful voice followed immediately.

"Mike’s third recorded poisoning incident has been logged, roto~!"

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