Different from the tone of other bullet comments.
"Something strange happened?"
Lovy's curiosity was piqued. "You're up!"
If something truly unusual had happened, then tonight's livestream was going to be a hit.
As a streamer, Lovy didn't just connect to evaluate Pokémon—he always had to think about the content quality. Otherwise, how could he keep these picky viewers watching?
There were too many streamers now. The competition was brutal.
[You've initiated a connection with the user "Husband's Not Home."]
[Connection successful!]
As the call connected, the bullet comments flew across the screen.
[That username though— Lovy, did you choose her because her husband's not home?]
Lovy ignored the comments and smiled knowingly.
What are you thinking? Am I that kind of person? Even if I were… wouldn't I message privately?
"Hello, streamer."
On camera appeared a young, beautiful woman in pajamas, hair slightly messy, and looking a bit uneasy.
[Wow, pretty sister!]
[Times are changing—young girls love mature women!]
[She looks this good without makeup? Imagine if she had makeup on!]
[Lovy knows how to pick them!]
Lovy was a little taken aback by her beauty.
But he studied The Spring and Autumn Annals—pure appreciation only.
"Hi there, Miss. You said something strange happened? Is it Pokémon-related? This is a Pokémon appraisal stream, you know."
Lovy got straight to the point, keeping control of the stream's pace while observing the camera feed.
After all, the internet was full of weirdos. He'd learned his lesson from the Li Pi siblings incident.
It was clear the young woman was in her own room. The space was fairly large, but the lighting was dim. The decor looked a bit old-fashioned.
"It's Pokémon-related, but I'm not sure how to explain. At first, I didn't think much of it. But lately, something feels really off… I'm scared."
Lovy noticed the woman was curled up at the corner of her bed, clutching a small Pokémon in her arms.
"Pichuuu…"
The Pokémon also seemed scared, shrinking into its owner's embrace.
Lovy focused on the scene. People can lie, but Pokémon never do.
(Well, except that one talking Meowth…)
[Miss, can you angle the camera down a bit? I want a better look at your adorable Pokémon.]
[I know what you're thinking, dude above.]
[Wow! Pichu is so cute! Looks fun to squish!]
[Yeah, looks super soft and squishy.]
Lovy sometimes suspected the bullet comments were from two different planets—but he had no proof.
Normally, including its long, diamond-shaped ears, Pichu stood at about 0.3 meters tall.
This one looked extra young—so even smaller.
Pichu's head was round like a ball, its body pale yellow except for the ear edges, neck area, and tail, which were black.
Its limbs were short; front paws had two toes, back paws were round like a kitten's but a bit flatter.
With big black shiny eyes and two rosy cheek sacs, Pichu looked just like a baby. Absolutely adorable.
Appraisal Vision activated—Pichu's stats popped up:
[Tiny Mouse Pokémon: Pichu]
[Level: 2]
[Type: Electric]
[Gender: Female]
[Base Stats: D (205)]
[IVs: D (29)]
[Ability: Static]
[Nature: Timid]
[Moves: Tail Whip, Thundershock, Charm]
[Status: Afraid]
[Evolution Line: Pichu → Pikachu → Raichu]
[Trait: None]
Lovy instinctively glanced through the stats.
Low base stats, low IVs, and a timid nature...
This Pichu was more suited as a companion pet than a battle partner.
But the girl probably bought her as a pet anyway.
[Is Lovy already appraising?]
[Appraising? He's admiring!]
[So what's your rating, Lovy—B-tier or C-tier? Hard to tell through the screen.]
Lovy glanced at the comments—some were too ridiculous to respond to.
He turned to the camera and said:
"Miss, pull your pajamas up a bit—be careful not to expose anything. So, what exactly is going on? I don't get it from what you've said."
[Whoa, Lovy! That's ruthless!]
[You're just an online acquaintance—ease up on the control issues!]
[Honestly, she's not explaining clearly…]
"It's like this, Lovy. I took annual leave from work and moved back to my old countryside home for a break. I bought this little one from a street vendor."
She stroked Pichu's round head. "Everything was fine at first. I was settling into the quiet life. But a few days ago, Pichu suddenly seemed frightened—shaking all over. I didn't know why. But lately, I've seen another Pokémon near the house…"
"At first, I thought maybe a random Pikachu wandered over and scared my Pichu. I didn't think much of it. But yesterday, I saw that Pikachu again. Even from a distance, I could tell—something was very wrong with it. It was creepy. Really scary!"
Her eyes widened as if remembering something terrifying. She hugged her Pichu even tighter.
[It's nighttime—don't scare me like this!]
[Good grief, how scary must it be to freak her out this much?]
[Pikachu is cute! How scary could it be? Ugly?]
[Reminder: you can breathe.]
[Could it be a ghost Pokémon?!]
Lovy listened carefully, his face turning serious. It really did sound legit.
He couldn't help but think of some Pokémon urban legends.
Like Lavender Town's "White Hand," or the "Seven School Mysteries" on Melemele Island, or even the Pokémon corpses in the Special Manga Red…
In this Pokémon world, there were similar stories—like "Pokémon that die and become ghosts," or "Ghost-types are actually spirits of dead Pokémon or people."
Ghost-type Pokémon were extremely mysterious and rare—more so than even Psychic-types.
In Gen 1, for instance, the only Ghost-line was Gengar's evolutionary family.
"Pikachu… a ghost? Could it be…?"
Lovy had a vague theory, but wasn't sure yet.
After all, he couldn't blindly apply knowledge from the games or anime to this real Pokémon world.
Still, he quietly opened a search page to look into his suspicions.
"Go on—what exactly was off about it?"
The woman furrowed her brows, trying to suppress her fear as she recalled:
"At first, that Pikachu would just appear occasionally near the house. When I was collecting laundry or opening windows, I'd see it flash by—usually at night. I couldn't see clearly then."
"But later, it started getting closer. That's when I realized something was off. Pikachu should be bigger—but this one looked about the same size as my Pichu. I thought maybe distance fooled me."
"Then last night, I heard a 'Pika Pika' sound. I thought that Pikachu had come closer again. I brought out some Pokémon food to feed it, called out to it… but then I saw—it wasn't a real Pikachu! Its body looked soft and saggy, like a rag. The eyes and mouth looked fake, like a cheap doll. Its tail looked like a piece of dried wood…"
She trembled harder as she spoke, swallowing her fear.
"Do you know that feeling? Like when someone waves at you from the road, and when you get close—it's not a person, just a mannequin. But it moves! It has human features, but they're fake. It's like something is trying to imitate a person, to lure you over!"
[Okay, I admit, I'm officially scared now.]
[That sounds like the uncanny valley effect—human-like but not quite human. Super creepy.]
[I just Googled 'uncanny valley' and almost threw my laptop across the room!]
[Girl, aren't you scared it's under your bed right now?!]
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