Chapter 252

Chapter 252: Chapter 252

While Mike continued patiently teaching the Jynx, some of the viewers had already started working on something else.

They took recordings of Mike singing and edited together several clips from the lesson.

Then they combined his vocals with the harmonica accompaniment he’d played the previous day.

Before long, a complete fan-edited version of Tori no Uta, featuring Mike’s harmonica performance, had been assembled.

The edited video was uploaded online.

And it didn’t take long for people to notice.

As the video began circulating, more and more viewers followed it back to Mike’s livestream.

The audience count started climbing rapidly.

[BlacKuro: I’M HERE! I’M HERE! Is this the guy who composed Tori no Uta?!]

[Crab_King_Of_Cash: FIRST! TORI NO UTA IS AMAZING!!!]

[Lakshya_Agrawal_6088: Whoa! He’s pretty handsome! Is he putting together a band with wild Pokémon or something?!]

[Justindemigod: Wait, he’s teaching Jynx to sing? That’s actually adorable!]

The sudden influx of new viewers made the livestream chat livelier than ever.

Naturally, the longtime fans were more than happy to introduce Mike to the newcomers.

[Mat_tokki: Welcome, everyone! That’s Mike! He’s the creator of The Wide World of Pokémon!]

[Lion_Comet: Wait, WHAT?! You’re telling me this streamer created The Wide World of Pokémon AND he’s a Pokémon Professor?!]

[AkshatS: HOLD ON! Isn’t he also the guy responsible for bringing Wyrdeer back?!]

[Mimikyu_DCX: Yep! That’s him!]

[VCReading: HOLY CRAP! THIS GUY IS AMAZING!]

The discussion continued growing as more viewers learned about Mike’s accomplishments.

Unfortunately, Mike had absolutely no idea what was happening.

He was far too busy teaching the Jynx.

And since Rotom had been ordered to mute himself earlier, there was nobody reading the comments aloud to interrupt him.

For once, Mike was able to concentrate entirely on his lesson.

After teaching the same sections several times and helping the Jynx practice their pronunciation, he finally decided they had earned a break.

"All right, let’s rest for a little while!"

He lowered his hands and let out a breath.

"You can practice among yourselves for now. There’s no need to rush. We’ve got plenty of time."

The Jynx happily nodded and began practicing the melody together.

Mike, meanwhile, accepted a cup of warm water from Snivy.

He took a sip.

The pleasantly warm water immediately soothed his throat, which had become a little strained after so much singing.

"Ahhh... That’s better."

Then he looked toward Snivy curiously.

"Hey, Snivy, where did you get the hot water? How did you heat it up?"

Snivy pointed toward the narrow passage between the surrounding rocks.

Mike followed her gesture.

There, tucked away in a sheltered spot, was a small Will-O-Wisp flame.

Apparently, Snivy had asked Gengar to prepare the flame earlier.

She’d then used it to heat the water so that Mike would have something warm to drink after finishing his singing lesson.

When Mike realized how much thought she’d put into such a simple thing, he felt a pleasant warmth spread through his chest.

He reached out and gently stroked her head.

"Thanks, Snivy. You really do take such good care of me."

"Snivy~"

She didn’t say anything more.

Instead, she closed her eyes and leaned into his hand, quietly enjoying the affectionate attention.

Mike smiled and continued stroking her head for a little while.

Nearby, the Jynx were still practicing the Japanese song he’d taught them.

Their beautiful voices echoed gently through the frozen canyon.

Everything seemed peaceful.

Until Gengar decided that he wanted to contribute something special.

"Ahem! Ahem!"

Gengar cleared his throat loudly.

Then he picked up his slender bamboo switch.

He looked around for Beedrill and gestured toward the top of the stick.

Beedrill understood what he wanted.

Using String Shot, he wrapped silk around the upper end of the bamboo switch until it formed a round ball.

The finished object resembled a rather crude microphone.

Gengar examined his new creation with obvious satisfaction.

Then he turned toward the Jynx and the hovering camera.

He bowed politely.

After straightening up, he gripped the bamboo switch in both hands, positioned the round silk-covered end beside his mouth, and began singing at the top of his lungs.

"GENGAAAAAR!"

[WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!]

The sound exploded through the canyon.

Gengar’s voice was so loud that it completely drowned out the Jynx’s singing.

The Jynx immediately stopped practicing.

One after another, they clapped their hands over their ears, looking as though they were facing the most terrifying enemy they’d ever encountered.

Mike’s heart gave a violent jolt.

"PFFFFT!"

The warm water he’d just taken into his mouth came spraying straight back out.

Glameow sprang off his lap in alarm, leaping so high that her blanket went flying.

Beedrill, who’d been hovering peacefully nearby, abruptly dropped out of the air.

Rotom froze.

The expression on his screen disappeared as the device seemed to enter a complete system crash.

Hattrem began staggering around in circles, looking as though she’d somehow gotten drunk.

Even Snivy was affected.

Her eyes went blank, and for a moment, she simply sat there staring into space.

Gengar, however, was having the time of his life.

He gripped his makeshift microphone even more tightly and threw himself into the performance.

"GENGAAAAAR!"

[WAAAAAAH! WAAAAAAH! WRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!]

His voice grew even louder.

The more he sang, the more enthusiastic he became.

Apparently convinced that he was delivering the greatest performance of his life, Gengar began putting even more effort into every note.

Mike could practically feel his heart tightening inside his chest.

The noise was unbearable!

"GENGAR! STOP!"

He shouted as loudly as he could.

Unfortunately, Gengar was far too absorbed in his performance to pay any attention.

If anything, he seemed to be getting even more enthusiastic.

The livestream chat had already descended into complete chaos.

[Paster10: AAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!]

[_Dark_lorD_: MY EARS! MY EAAAAARS!!!]

[Randomguyno1: GENGAR! PLEASE! I’M BEGGING YOU! STOP SINGING!!!]

[Darling_Vasu: WAAAAAAAAH!!!]

Viewers began fleeing the livestream in droves.

The audience count dropped dramatically as people scrambled to escape the horrifying noise coming through their speakers.

But Gengar kept singing.

And singing.

And singing!

By now, the Pokémon around him were practically on the verge of losing consciousness.

Mike couldn’t take another second of it.

He grabbed Gengar’s Poké Ball.

A flash of red light shot forward.

Before Gengar could finish his next dreadful note, Mike forcibly recalled him into the ball.

And just like that, the singing stopped.

The canyon fell silent.

For a moment, nobody moved.

Then, as everyone slowly realized that the nightmare had finally ended, they collectively breathed a sigh of relief.

Mike, however, didn’t even have the strength to celebrate.

He simply fell backward into the snow and lay there without moving.

His eyes stared blankly at the sky.

’Why...?’

He genuinely couldn’t understand it.

’How the hell does Gengar’s singing have THAT much power?!’

It wasn’t even a normal kind of unpleasant singing.

Listening to that voice had felt as though his very life force was slowly being drained out of his body.

And Mike had absolutely no idea how Gengar had managed to accomplish something so terrifying just by opening his mouth.

...

Paldea Region — Hisaishisai Group Headquarters

Inside his office, Manryo sat motionless in his chair, staring blankly at the ceiling.

There was a Sylveon lying in his lap, although the poor Pokémon wasn’t in much better condition.

Its eyes were vacant, and it seemed to be seriously reconsidering every decision it had ever made in its life.

Neither of them had quite recovered from what they’d just heard.

If Gardevoir hadn’t forcibly closed the livestream, Manryo suspected that Gengar’s singing would have left him with psychological trauma he’d never recover from.

And he wasn’t the only one suffering.

...

Over at Sinnoh League headquarters, three members of the Elite Four were currently sprawled across the sofas in their office, looking as though someone had just put them through the most exhausting battle of their lives.

Flint, Aaron, and Lucian were all lying there without moving.

"Seriously... Who the hell thought letting Gengar sing was a good idea?" Aaron muttered, staring at the ceiling with lifeless eyes.

Flint wasn’t doing much better.

"I haven’t even gotten myself a Hisuian Pokémon yet, and I’ve already been hit by Gengar’s psychic attack..."

He sounded utterly defeated.

Lucian, meanwhile, wasn’t saying anything at all.

In fact, he hadn’t moved for quite some time.

Flint lay there for another moment before suddenly noticing how quiet his colleague had become.

"Huh? Why isn’t Lucian saying anything?"

Normally, Lucian would have had something to say about a situation like this. At the very least, he’d probably be complaining about how much trouble Mike and his Pokémon were causing.

But today...

Flint sat up and looked toward the other sofa.

Lucian was lying perfectly still, his eyes tightly shut.

"..."

Flint froze.

’Wait a minute.’

He leaned forward.

"Lucian?"

No response.

Flint got up and walked over, giving Lucian’s shoulder a cautious shake.

Still nothing.

Flint’s expression changed.

"LUCIAN?!"

He grabbed his colleague by both shoulders and began shaking him more vigorously.

"LUCIAN! HEY, LUCIAN! WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOU?!"

Lucian remained completely unresponsive.

Flint’s face went pale.

"LUCIAN! DON’T SCARE ME LIKE THIS! WAKE UP!"

Aaron, who’d been trying to recover on the other sofa, finally noticed the commotion.

He sat up, looking irritated.

"Flint, what the hell are you yelling abou—"

Then he saw Lucian.

And Flint desperately shaking his motionless body.

Aaron’s eyes widened.

"LUCIAN?!"

He practically threw himself off the sofa, rushed over, and grabbed Lucian by the legs.

"LUCIAN! NOOO! YOU CAN’T LEAVE US LIKE THIS!"

The two Elite Four members began wailing as though they’d just lost one of their closest friends.

Under their combined shaking, pulling, and increasingly hysterical shouting, Lucian finally stirred.

His eyelids fluttered open.

For a moment, he simply stared at the office ceiling, looking rather confused.

’What’s going on?’

’Wasn’t I watching Mike’s livestream? When did I fall asleep?’

And more importantly...

’Why is it so damn noisy?’

Lucian turned his head slightly and discovered Flint and Aaron making an absolutely ridiculous amount of noise beside him.

He frowned.

"What are you two crying about? I’m not dead yet, you know!"

The wailing stopped.

Flint and Aaron froze, then slowly looked toward him.

Lucian was already sitting up.

He stared back at them, clearly wondering what had gotten into them.

Flint blinked.

Then he wiped the tears from his eyes and spoke with complete sincerity.

"Lucian... So you’re not dead after all!"

Lucian: "..."

’What the hell is that supposed to mean?!’

His eyes narrowed.

"I just fell asleep! What do you mean, I’m not dead?!"

"Ah! No, no, that’s not what I meant!" Flint hurriedly tried to explain. "What I meant was... Why aren’t you dead? I mean, weren’t you supposed to be dead? Wait, no, that’s not—"

Aaron slowly turned toward him.

"..."

Flint realized a little too late that he’d somehow managed to make things worse.

Lucian stared at him for several seconds.

Then he reached for a Poké Ball.

"Wyrdeer! Psyshield Bash!"

A flash of red light filled the office.

Wyrdeer appeared and immediately charged toward Flint!

"AAAAH! WAIT! I’M SORRY!"

Flint barely had time to turn around before the enormous Pokémon came rushing at him.

"I SAID IT WRONG! I MEANT SOMETHING ELSE! LUCIAN, HELP! I’M SORRYYYY!"

...

A little while later, the office had finally settled down.

Lucian was sitting on the sofa, rubbing his temples as he tried to make sense of what had happened.

"So, let me get this straight. I fell asleep while watching the livestream, and you two thought Gengar had actually killed me with his singing?"

Aaron nodded immediately.

"That’s right! You didn’t hear it? Gengar’s singing was absolutely HORRIBLE! I swear, that sound was enough to kill someone!"

Beside him, Flint was sitting rather awkwardly, one hand pressed against his backside.

Wyrdeer had rammed him several times during the earlier commotion, and his rear end was still throbbing painfully.

Lucian looked between them.

"No, I don’t think I heard it. I must’ve fallen asleep while Mike was singing, because I don’t remember anything that happened afterward."

He paused, looking genuinely curious.

"Was Gengar really that bad?"

Flint and Aaron exchanged glances.

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

Then Aaron’s expression twisted with outrage.

"WHY?!"

He pointed accusingly at Lucian.

"WHY DO YOU GET TO ESCAPE?! YOU BASTARD! You could’ve fallen asleep at any other time, but NO! You just HAPPENED to fall asleep right before Gengar started singing?!"

The more Aaron thought about it, the angrier he became.

It was completely unfair!

He’d been forced to endure that dreadful noise, while Lucian had apparently slept peacefully through the entire thing.

Flint immediately agreed.

"EXACTLY! That’s not fair at all!"

He stood up, temporarily forgetting about the pain in his backside.

"Nope! Absolutely not! I’m opening the livestream again. If we had to listen to that nightmare, then you’re going to listen to it too!"

Flint reached for his phone.

Unfortunately for him, Lucian reacted even faster.

"Ahem!"

He snatched the phone out of Flint’s hand before the man could open anything.

Then he gave both of his colleagues a stern look.

"All right, that’s enough fooling around. We’ve already rested for quite a while, haven’t we? It’s time to get back to work!"

Having made that declaration, Lucian rose from the sofa and stretched.

He let out a long, tired yawn.

"Anyway, I’ll leave the remaining League business to you two. I’m exhausted, so I’m heading home to get some proper rest."

"Wait, WHAT?!"

Flint and Aaron stared at him.

Lucian paid absolutely no attention to their horrified expressions.

He recalled his belongings, called Wyrdeer over, and calmly walked out of the office.

’Heh. Nice try.’

Lucian allowed himself a faint smile once he was out of sight.

’You seriously thought you could trick me into listening to Gengar sing? What do you take me for, an idiot?’

Judging by Flint and Aaron’s reactions, whatever Gengar had done during the livestream must have been truly dreadful.

’I should probably be careful the next time I meet Mike. If Gengar suddenly starts singing, I’m getting out of there immediately.’

As he made his way out of League headquarters, Lucian took out his phone and checked the fan group.

Unsurprisingly, the chat had descended into chaos.

Almost everyone was complaining about Gengar’s singing, and some of the messages sounded as though their authors had barely survived a major disaster.

Lucian also noticed that several people had sent him private messages.

One of them was from Manryo.

[GholdengoIsNumberOne: Hey, Overtime! I heard you fell asleep during the livestream? How about listening to the full version of Mike’s song? Someone edited a recording together, and I’ve got a copy! Want me to send it over?]

Lucian stared at the message.

Then he let out a cold chuckle.

’Oh, please.’

Only Flint and Aaron knew he’d fallen asleep during the livestream.

If Manryo had somehow heard about it already, then the two idiots had clearly been talking.

’You know I missed Gengar’s singing, and now you’re trying to trick me into listening to some recording?’

’Dream on!’

Lucian didn’t bother replying.

He simply turned off his phone, climbed onto Wyrdeer’s back, and headed toward his residence.

Once he got home, he intended to wash up and get some sleep.

As for everyone still suffering from Gengar’s performance?

That was their problem.

...

Back inside the Elite Four office, Flint and Aaron were staring miserably at the piles of League paperwork waiting on the desk.

They’d barely recovered from Gengar’s devastating singing, and now they were expected to spend the rest of the day working.

Flint looked at the documents.

Then at Aaron.

Aaron looked back.

Neither of them said anything for a while.

For the first time, they were seriously beginning to question whether being highly valued members of the Sinnoh Elite Four was actually a good thing.

Apparently, the more important you were, the more work people dumped on you.

What a miserable life!

----

There, i include some new chatter to blend in with the old one, i put the rest of the names on next stream.