Chapter 167

Chapter 167: Chapter 167

In Paldea, the helicopter continued through the night.

"Master, are we returning directly to Mesagoza?" the butler asked.

Manryo looked at the Gimmighoul sleeping against his shoulder.

"Take us to Cabo Poco."

"Of course."

The butler spoke briefly with the pilot, and the helicopter changed course through the night sky.

...

The next morning, Mike finished packing, hung his camera around his neck, and left the hotel room.

Gengar followed behind with the backpack.

The moment they stepped outside, Mike saw Forsythia and Roserade waiting near the entrance.

"Forsythia? How long have you been here?"

Forsythia had been staring into space, but she quickly came back to herself when she heard his voice.

"Not long."

She walked over.

"Come on. I’ll buy breakfast before you leave."

The moment Gengar heard that Forsythia intended to pay, he immediately objected.

He floated between the two of them and shook his head furiously.

"Gar!"

Forsythia looked confused.

"Does Gengar... not want breakfast?"

She couldn’t understand what he was saying and turned toward Mike.

Mike smiled.

"No. He means it’s his turn to pay today."

"But you bought dinner yesterday."

"That was me. This is Gengar."

Mike turned toward a breakfast shop.

"Come on. Let him treat us."

Forsythia followed in confusion.

"That counts as different?"

Mike found a table and sat down.

"You don’t understand the rules."

He glanced toward Gengar.

"Gengar only buys meals for people he considers friends, so there’s no need to feel awkward about accepting."

Forsythia smiled.

"Then thank you, Gengar."

Gengar proudly patted his chest.

No problem.

After breakfast, Mike and Forsythia walked together out of Floaroma Town.

Once they reached the road leading toward Eterna Forest, Mike asked a passerby to take a photograph of the two of them with their Pokémon.

"Have a safe journey."

Forsythia waved toward Mike, Gengar, and the others.

"Thanks."

Mike gave her a slight bow.

"If we pass through Floaroma again someday, we’ll come visit. Hope you won’t mind us showing up."

"I’ll be waiting."

Forsythia smiled.

Mike and his Pokémon waved one final time before turning toward Eterna Forest.

Forsythia watched them leave, glanced down at the group photograph on her phone, then turned and began walking back toward Floaroma Town.

Mike and Forsythia hadn’t known each other for very long, but that had never stopped them from becoming friends.

Traveling together for months wasn’t a requirement for friendship. Sometimes sharing meals, helping each other, and spending a few ordinary days together was enough.

Melodi had been like that.

Forsythia was too.

Someday, if Mike retraced this journey, he was certain he would visit the people he had met along the way, even those he had only known briefly, and remember what traveling through these places had felt like the first time.

...

In Paldea, Manryo finally arrived in Cabo Poco.

He gently pushed open the old wooden gate and stepped inside.

Much of the property had fallen into disrepair.

This was the house where he had lived while studying as a child, but after leaving for Mesagoza to continue his education, the place had eventually been abandoned.

Manryo couldn’t even remember the last time he had returned.

It wasn’t that he lacked the money or ability to restore the property. He had simply never wanted to come back.

For years, this place had represented the childhood he felt had been locked away by rules, expectations, and endless studying.

Yet now, standing inside the old gate and looking at scenery that felt both familiar and foreign, he discovered that his emotions were more complicated than he had expected.

There was resentment in those memories, certainly, but there was nostalgia too.

Gardevoir and the others emerged from their Poké Balls.

Sylveon ran toward an old wooden fence and quickly found a small hole beneath it.

He turned toward Manryo and called.

Manryo approached.

"Vee."

[Here. This is where I used to crawl through when I came to play with you.]

Sylveon pointed toward the gap and looked up at him. ℯℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Manryo crouched and ran his fingers along the edge of the old opening.

When he raised his head, he could see the window of his former room.

Sylveon even tried reenacting the way he used to squeeze through the hole as an Eevee, but evolution had made him far too large to fit anymore.

Laughing, Manryo reached down and lifted him free.

"I remember. Come on. Let’s go upstairs and see the room."

"Vee."

Sylveon nodded happily.

The butler produced a key and opened the main door.

A cloud of dust immediately rose into the air.

He looked at the neglected interior and hesitated.

"Master, perhaps you should wait outside while I clean—"

"No need."

Manryo shook his head.

"I’m not that delicate."

Still holding Sylveon, he walked inside.

Dust covered the sofa, dining table, television, and nearly every other surface.

Some of the old wooden furniture had begun to crack or rot.

Sylveon stared around the house in confusion.

It looked nothing like the home preserved in his memories.

"Vee?"

Manryo sensed his confusion and gently stroked his head.

"Houses deteriorate when nobody lives in them for a long time. Come to think of it, we really haven’t been back here in years."

Sylveon still didn’t entirely understand why an empty house would start falling apart, but Manryo didn’t try to explain further.

"Come on. Let’s see our old room."

He carried Sylveon upstairs while Gardevoir followed behind, using Psychic to clear the dust from their path.

Manryo stopped outside one particular door.

His feelings became complicated again as he pushed it open.

Inside stood a modest desk.

A lamp shaped like Chandelure still rested on top.

Manryo walked over and gently brushed his fingers across the desk before pressing the lamp switch.

Nothing happened.

After all these years, it had probably stopped working.

This had been his study.

Several of his childhood certificates still hung on the walls.

Manryo walked closer and began reading them.

[Outstanding Improvement Award: Manryo...]

[First Place: Manryo achieved...]

One certificate had a small pawprint stamped across it in dried ink.

The sight immediately dragged an old memory to the surface.

A little boy had been proudly putting up his certificates when an Eevee accidentally knocked over an ink container.

One ink-covered paw had landed directly across the paper.

Manryo smiled.

"Look. That’s the pawprint you left when you were causing trouble."

Sylveon remembered too.

His eyes curved happily.

Still carrying him, Manryo moved toward the bookshelf.

Then he saw it.

The book he had loved most as a child—a book about Pokémon.

Back then, he had been so afraid someone would find it that he used a chair to hide it on the highest shelf he could reach.

Only now did Manryo realize that the place that had once seemed impossibly high was barely above eye level. He didn’t even need to stretch.

He pulled the book free.

Gardevoir gently brushed the dust from its cover.

"Garde~"

She seemed to remember it too.

Manryo opened the book.

A photograph slipped from between the pages.

Gardevoir bent down, picked it up, and handed it to him.

The moment Manryo saw the image, his pupils contracted.

The photograph had faded with age.

A young boy stood in the center holding an Eevee in his arms, while a Ralts stood shyly beside him and a Gimmighoul dragged its chest nearby.

The boy was smiling brightly.

Eevee had one paw pressed against his cheek.

Ralts had lowered her head bashfully.

Gimmighoul clung to his trouser leg.

If someone looked closely enough, they could also see a middle-aged man in a butler’s uniform standing half-hidden behind a tree, watching the boy and his Pokémon with a warm smile.

The framing was imperfect.

The pose wasn’t carefully arranged.

Yet the affection captured in the photograph was impossible to miss.

For the first time since returning to this house, Manryo smiled from the heart.

Outside the room, the butler lowered his head and quietly wiped at the corner of his eye.

Manryo placed the photograph back inside the book and handed it to him.

The butler accepted it carefully and held it against his chest.

Then Manryo moved to another door.

He placed one hand against it, took a deep breath, and pushed.

The hinges creaked softly.

Manryo stepped inside.

Sunlight streamed through a broken window and fell directly across the corner of the room.

There, beneath layers of dust and cobwebs, sat an old treasure chest.

Manryo’s voice came out quietly.

"So it really was here..."