Chapter 157

Chapter 157: Chapter 157

When the storm finally loosened its grip, Gyarados glared toward Mike.

Gengar and Snivy had already positioned themselves directly in front of him.

Pain continued pulsing through Gyarados’s body.

After several tense seconds, the wild Pokémon finally turned away and swam into the distance.

Mike watched until it disappeared.

Then he released a long breath through his regulator.

’Yeah.’

’The ocean is definitely more dangerous than land.’

On solid ground, there were usually plenty of ways to escape from a powerful wild Pokémon.

Underwater, your options were far more limited.

Fight.

Or get to the surface fast.

And this wasn’t exactly Gengar or Snivy’s natural battlefield either.

Mike gave both Pokémon a grateful nod, then resumed the ascent.

A short while later, his head finally broke through the surface.

"Whew!"

The sunlight above was almost painfully bright after the muted blue world below.

Mike pulled the breathing mouthpiece free.

Dragonite immediately swooped down, grabbed Mike under the arms, scooped up Gengar and Snivy as well, and carried all three back toward shore.

Mike landed on the sand with a heavy thump.

He wiped seawater from his hair and felt an unexpected wave of relief simply from having solid ground beneath him again.

The underwater world was beautiful.

But Mike had to admit that he preferred land.

The sea was breathtaking precisely because it was unfamiliar—and dangerous.

The delivery employee hurried over and began helping Mike remove the equipment.

"So? How was it?"

"Really good. The suit barely restricted my movement at all."

Mike paused.

"The ocean itself, though? Pretty dangerous."

He explained the encounter with Gyarados.

The employee laughed.

"That danger is one of the reasons the ocean remains so mysterious. It isn’t only because the sea is enormous and incredibly deep. A large part of the problem is simply that underwater environments are hostile to humans."

"Land and sky are places where people can operate relatively comfortably. The ocean belongs to marine Pokémon."

He became more serious.

"Even an ordinary Magikarp can become dangerous under the wrong circumstances. Humans can’t breathe underwater naturally, and many marine Pokémon attack in groups."

"When we were testing the diving suits in deeper water, for example, we once ran into a pack of several dozen Carvanha and Sharpedo."

Mike imagined that situation.

Then immediately stopped.

A human being surrounded by dozens of Carvanha and Sharpedo would probably end up with bruises everywhere.

And several missing pieces.

"Yeah," Mike muttered. "Definitely dangerous."

The employee gestured toward the crates.

"Want to test the imitation drones next?"

"Sure."

Mike paired one of the units with his tablet, then placed the Magikarp-shaped drone into the water.

The mechanical Magikarp immediately submerged and began swimming away from shore.

A live image appeared on the tablet.

The picture quality was excellent.

Mike watched for a while.

Technically, there was almost nothing to criticize.

And yet...

Something felt missing.

Especially after he had just experienced diving for himself.

The equipment could capture the underwater scenery perfectly, but it couldn’t reproduce what Mike had felt while physically being there.

The screen showed something beautiful and peaceful.

It lacked the uncertainty.

The tension.

The fear.

The thrill of not knowing what might appear beyond the next patch of sea grass.

The occasional rush of discovering something unexpected.

The employee noticed his expression.

"How does it look?"

"The equipment is excellent. The image is extremely clear, and most wild Pokémon probably wouldn’t realize it isn’t real."

Mike considered his words.

"But it lacks the feeling of actually being there."

"The feeling of being there?"

"Yeah. When you’re actually in the ocean, there’s this constant awareness of how enormous it is and how little you know about what’s around you."

Mike looked toward the water.

"There’s uncertainty, fear, excitement, and the occasional surprise. Watching footage through a screen is beautiful, but you don’t feel any of that."

The employee thought about it.

Then laughed.

"When you put it that way, I understand."

He nodded.

"No wonder The Wide World of Pokémon feels so immersive. A lot of it comes from the fact that you’re personally standing behind the camera."

"Exactly."

Mike tapped the tablet.

"But these are still incredibly useful. If I need footage from somewhere too dangerous or physically impossible for me to reach, this kind of equipment would be perfect."

He smiled.

"Overall, they’re better than I expected."

The employee quietly recorded every word.

"Understood. I’ll pass your feedback to headquarters."

Mike looked at him.

"Headquarters?"

The man nodded.

"Delivering the equipment personally was only one reason I came. I also wanted to collect your evaluation and practical impressions of our diving products."

Mike raised an eyebrow.

"So this was user research."

The employee repeated the term thoughtfully.

"User... research?"

Then he nodded.

"Yes. Exactly. User research."

Mike laughed.

"All right. Every time I dive, I’ll write down how the equipment performs and send you my notes."

The employee clearly hadn’t expected that.

He blinked, then bowed deeply.

"If you’re willing to do that, thank you very much."

He straightened.

"I’m sure the company will compensate you appropriately. Detailed feedback from an experienced explorer who actually uses the equipment in the field is extraordinarily valuable."

"You’re giving me too much credit."

Mike smiled and recalled the imitation drone from the water.

"I’m still learning."

The employee began packing up his own belongings.

"Then I won’t take up any more of your time. If any of the equipment develops a problem, please contact me directly."

"Will do."

He hesitated.

"Mr. Mike, could I ask one more favor?"

Mike looked up.

"What is it?"

"Could I have your autograph?"

The employee opened his bag and carefully pulled out a poster.

It showed Mike standing together with Gengar, Snivy, Beedrill, and Glameow—the same group photograph Mike had once uploaded to PokéVid.

Mike stared at it.

Then laughed.

"Wait. Am I actually famous now?"

"You always have been."

The answer came so smoothly that Mike almost admired it.

"How did I not notice?"

"You’ve been very busy lately, so you probably haven’t had much time to pay attention to what people are saying online."

Mike’s mouth twitched.

He looked at the employee strangely.

’Busy?’

Then he suddenly reconsidered.

’Actually... yes.’

’I’m extremely busy.’

A brilliant excuse had just been handed to him.

The Academic Summit was approaching.

Didn’t he need to prepare research?

No, scratch that—he wasn’t writing another paper.

But didn’t he need to make presentation slides?

Didn’t he need to get himself mentally prepared?

Didn’t he need to eat properly, sleep properly, and maintain peak condition before such an important academic event?

Yes.

Excellent.

He was incredibly busy!

This excuse had an enormous potential!

"Got a pen?"

"Of course."

Mike accepted it and signed his name across the poster.

Then he looked toward Gengar and the others.

"Want their autographs too?"

The employee’s eyes widened.

"Can I?"

"Sure."

Mike called his Pokémon over and explained what the poster was for.

Gengar, Snivy, Beedrill, and Glameow gathered around and each left a paw, claw, or other personal mark beside Mike’s signature.

Mike handed it back.

"Sorry. They can’t really write their names, so you’ll have to settle for prints."

"No, no! This is even better."

The employee’s smile became so wide that he could barely close his mouth.

"Perfect."

Mike returned the pen.

The employee carefully put the poster back into his bag as though it were a priceless artifact, then climbed onto Dragonite.

"I’ll be going, then."

Mike waved.

"Take care."

Dragonite launched into the air.

Once they were high above the beach, the employee immediately pulled the poster back out, took a photograph, and posted it in the fan group.

[ProtectOurHair: No way. Surely there aren’t still people here who DON’T have Mike’s autograph plus prints from Gengar and the others, right?!]

[Genie_Unshackled: ...]

[Genie_Unshackled: !!!]

[Genie_Unshackled: WHY DO YOU HAVE THAT?!]

Mike pulled out his phone, saw the messages, and burst out laughing.

"So that’s who he was."

Apparently the lead designer had been lurking in the fan group the entire time.

Mike put his phone away, then looked down at his body.

His skin and clothes beneath the diving gear still felt damp and sticky with saltwater.

He grimaced.

"All right. Let’s pack everything up and head back."

He stretched.

"I feel disgusting. We’ll get an early night today."

Then he looked toward the ocean.

"Tomorrow, we’re going offshore."

Gengar immediately threw both hands into the air.

"Gar!"

[YEAH!]

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