Pokémon：Trainer's Gambit

Chapter 466 - 0467: Jigglypuff's Ballad: BoBo-Go-Bo

The round pink puffball before them had a curly forelock, big azure eyes, and twitching cat-like ears.

"Jigglypuff! (o`ε′o)"

Jigglypuff puffed its cheeks, inflating like an angry balloon.

Natsume hastily raised his hands:

"Easy there, Jigglypuff! Let's talk this out!"

Though he didn't know why it was here,

it must've tailed Ash into the studio.

After hearing Ash's awful singing voice, Jigglypuff, a 'singer' with a willful and capricious personality, couldn't help but feel a little angry.

"Jigglypuff!"

Jigglypuff puffed its cheeks and bounced onto the control panel.

"Gengar? ('-')ノ)`-')"

Gengar was shoved aside by Jigglypuff's tiny hands pressing against its face, forced to relinquish its spot.

Under Natsume's curious gaze, Jigglypuff aimed at the microphone and shouted toward Ash and the others in the recording booth:

"Jigglypuff!(`^′)"

Inside the booth, Jessie and James turned to Meowth:

"What's that guy saying?"

"It says we sound terrible and need a professional to teach us, meow!"

After translating, Meowth angrily brandished its claws at Jigglypuff:

"Are you looking down on Meowth?!"

Jigglypuff grew even angrier, its plump body turning red:

"Jigglypuff!"

Immediately, Jigglypuff leaped off the control panel, pattering into the recording booth and swinging a Double Slap at Meowth.

"Jigglypuff!"

"Meow, that hurts! ( ̄ε(# ̄)Σ"

Meowth, helpless against the slaps, clutched its reddened cheeks and whimpered:

"Ugh, Meowth isn't great at battling!"

Jessie clenched her fists in fury: "This bratty little one—Wobbuffet, teach it a lesson!"

James quickly wrapped his arms around Jessie's waist, laughing nervously to defuse the tension:

"Come on, come on! We're all here to help the Executive. Let's not cause trouble!"

"This guy... was also invited by the Executive?" Jessie paused, thoughtful. "Huh, now that I think about it, it is a good singer..."

Ash, spotting Jigglypuff, spoke with a hint of delight: "Jigglypuff, long time no see!"

"Jigglypuff!" Jigglypuff grinned, nudging Pikachu aside and holding the microphone up to Ash.

Pikachu stood on its hind legs, scratching its ear with an innocent expression.

"Pikachu?"

Ash glanced at Jigglypuff, then at the microphone, and grinned:

"Are you here to teach me how to sing?"

"Jigglypuff!" Jigglypuff nodded cheerfully.

"Great! With everyone's help, I'll definitely nail these vocals!" Ash declared, full of determination.

Natsume scratched his head in confusion.

Jigglypuff... teaching Ash to sing?

Wouldn't that mean everyone here would get hypnotized?!

Still, Jigglypuff meant well, and it was one of the Pokémon world's top vocalists...

Natsume cleared his throat. "Rotom, start the recording later."

"System Overload... (O_o?)" The Rotom Pokédex's screen displayed a question mark.

"Last time, you recorded Gengar's Perish Song, right?"

Natsume said, "This time, maybe we can capture Jigglypuff's Lullaby too."

Rotom suddenly understood, replying in an electronic warble: "B↑u↓t↑ I↓ s↑t↓i↑l↓l p↑r↓e↑f↓e↑r↓ t↑h↓i↑s↓ s↑t↓y↑l↓e~?"

"Turn off that creepy effect right now!"

Inside the booth, Meowth refused to let Jigglypuff steal its role as instructor.

If this kept up... the album might feature Jigglypuff's Song instead of Meowth's Song!

"Meowth won't allow this!"

Meowth swung Fury Swipes, clashing with Jigglypuff's Double Slap in a blur of afterimages.

The scene resembled nothing so much as two cats brawling.

However, Meowth's combat ability fluctuated wildly - weaker against weaker opponents - and ultimately proved no match for Jigglypuff.

"Meowrgh!" Meowth rubbed its reddened cheeks again. "Fine... let's collaborate! Meowth will also teach the twerp!"

"Jigglypuff~"

Jigglypuff basked in the attention, holding its microphone aloft with pride.

Outside the recording booth...

Natsume produced an eye mask from somewhere, put it on, and reclined in his office chair lazily:

"Gengar, I'm taking a nap. We'll have lunch when I wake up."

"Gengar?" Gengar looked thoroughly confused.

This particular Jigglypuff had a 100% hypnotic success rate with its singing and loved pulling out markers to doodle on sleeping faces.

If Jigglypuff's Lullaby was unavoidable, he might as well enjoy it.

Mask in place and arms pillowing his head, Natsume yawned.

At worst, he'd wash his face after waking and continue training Ash.

With both Jigglypuff and Meowth - two singing legends - present, even that dense kid should pick up something...

As he pondered this, a soft melody drifted to his ears.

Unlike Ash's singing, this was feather-light, like moonlight dancing on a lake's surface, casting silver ripples.

"Puff puff-puff-puff, puff-lii, puff puff-lii puff"

Microphone in hand, Jigglypuff closed its eyes, completely immersed in its song.

This was Natsume's first time experiencing Jigglypuff's lullaby firsthand. His weariness gradually melted away as his body surrendered to sleep.

"This is actually..." Natsume rubbed his eyes drowsily, "a godsend for insomniacs..."

"R-recording in progress, rotom..."

The Rotom Pokédex wobbled unsteadily before collapsing onto the console, blowing a snot bubble.

"Gengar Gengar"

Even in sleep, Gengar's mouth curved in a grin as it sang along with Jigglypuff's tune.

This was clearly the move Sleep Talk.

Fortunately, the singing was too quiet for Perish Song to activate, leaving Jigglypuff's performance uninterrupted.

"Puff puff-puff-puff, puff-lii, puff puff-lii puff"

The song continued, Jigglypuff standing center stage like a performer taking their final bow.

Yet the expected applause never came.

Jigglypuff looked around at the sprawled, snoring crowd, took a deep breath, and puffed its cheeks in outrage.

"Jigglypuff! (`~′)"

Pop!

Jigglypuff uncapped its marker with a flourish and hopped angrily over to Ash's side.

"Pikachu... I won the Championship..." Ash mumbled in his sleep, drooling.

"Pika... chu~" Pikachu lay curled against Ash, murmuring his name.

Scritch-scratch!

Jigglypuff rapidly covered Ash and Pikachu's faces with doodles.

Then it leaped over to the sleeping Team Rocket trio, scribbling furiously.

Finally, Jigglypuff marched outside the recording booth—

"Jigglypuff! Σ(°Д°;"

Utter disbelief covered its face.

Before it stood a yawning black-haired young man... and a Gengar munching on a berry.

"On second thought, washing my face seemed like too much trouble."

With his last shred of consciousness, he'd stuffed a Chesto Berry into his mouth and swallowed it whole.

Natsume offered Jigglypuff an apologetic smile:

"If you're still upset, feel free to keep doodling on Ash and the others... but spare me, okay?"

Chesto Berries could cure sleep conditions - more importantly, they were essentially just chestnuts!

The roasted chestnuts at Natsume's place a few days ago had used these very berries, which Gengar always carried!

"Gengar~ ( ̄~ ̄)" Gengar held up a chestnut, then offered it to Jigglypuff.

Jigglypuff stared blankly at Natsume... then burst into a radiant smile:

"Jigglypuff!"

Its greatest dream was finding a friend who could stay awake through its entire song.

For this dream, Jigglypuff had wandered far and long.

But today, that dream finally came true!

"Jigglypuff~" It rose onto tiptoe and spun happily... then froze.

Natsume yawned again, his expression complicated:

"This hypnotic effect... even a Chesto Berry can't fully counter it?"

I should have known!

Jigglypuff could put superhumans to sleep... I didn't take enough this time!

With that, Natsume slumped back into his office chair for a comfortable nap—

"Zzz~~"

Jigglypuff looked thunderstruck, clutching its head and shaking violently:

"JIGGLYPUFF!! (〃>皿