IS03

Nothing But Rumors (Japanese: ウワサのみ) is the third entry of the Japanese Illust Story web series. It tells the story of , , and from , illustrated by Ryo Ueda, HYOGONOSUKE, and Naoyo Kimura, respectively. The story was first published on December 3, 2021 and is written by Saji Komori.
==Blurb==
<ab>Between you and me, just as unusual Pokémon are rumored to be Legendary or Mythical among people, it would seem that Trainers and Poké Balls are much talked about among Pokémon as well. This is the tale of that morning, when Snorunt heard the alluring but dangerous rumor from Druddigon.</ab>
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===Japanese transcript===
<ab>ここだけの話だが、珍しいポケモンが人々の間で伝説や幻と噂されるように、ポケモンたちの間でもトレーナーやモンスターボールの話題が出ることがあるらしい。その朝、ユキワラシがクリムガンから聞いたのは、甘くて危険な「ウワサのみ」の話だった。</ab>
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==Plot==
<ab>Between you and me, just as unusual Pokémon are rumored to be Legendary or Mythical among people, it would seem that Trainers and Poké Balls are much talked about among Pokémon as well. For some reason, rumors have an alluring—but dangerous—scent about them, just as they do with people.
It was the morning after the first snowfall when heard the rumor. After patiently waiting inside a cave for summer to pass, in recent days, a chill had finally come in from outside.
"Yo, it's been half a year."
With the sound of sharp claws slashing rocks, Snorunt's roommate turned up. Even if they were called roommates, there isn't a time when they live together. The territory in this cave is to be used in both summer, by the Snorunt weak to the heat, and in winter, by the Druddigon weak to the cold.
"You're later than usual, aren’t you? Hasn’t it already turned awfully cold outside? ...since it snowed last night."
"You sure understand it well, even at the heart of the cave. Well... it was because of all sorts of things."
All sorts of things. Snorunt's round eyes opened with amazement. Reporting the things each other had seen outside became a regular occurrence during the transfer of ownership. Druddigon swiftly started telling his story. 
This past spring...
While I was in the meadow, sharpening my claws on the trunk of a tree growing there, a sent a leaf flying towards me from above. Cherubi is a talkative fellow that resembles a red berry. "There are places in this world where the sun doesn’t rise and the seasons don’t change," the fellow said confidently, as it regularly does.
"I’ve never seen that before, but how do you know? Neither you nor I can go that kind of distance, and you can't live without bathing in sunlight, right?" snapped Druddigon suddenly. Because even though he has wings, he can't fly with them.
"If you meet the Legendary creature, it's said that you can see it: all sorts of scenery from around the world!" Cherubi instantly responded, blushing even more red than usual.
The story goes that that Legendary creature, known as "traveler" or something, carries a red and white fruit that can be tossed. Only those that eat the fruit can see the world together with them.
Becoming carried away by his story, Cherubi finally disappeared from the meadow in pursuit of the legend.
"It was an interesting story, but after coming to my senses, I returned to the cave," Druddigon laughed.
"Since, on second thought, you always tell me about the heavy snow days, the frozen rivers, and the other things I can’t see. And that’s enough to get me through the winter."
Snorunt thought so too. Snorunt didn’t know about things from around the world, but when reminded of Druddigon's stories, like the whole meadow being completely covered in flowers, even those dark nights alone aren’t so lonely.
It's been a long while since that time—the time when that dazzling first snow piled up and reflected off the ground. Snorunt pondered about the legendary "traveler" he had just heard. A lie or the truth, he did not know. But, if he were to encounter this legend, and if he ended up considering wanting to eat the fruit, maybe he wouldn’t be able to return to that cave. Snorunt let out a single breath of ice, shivering. He didn't know whether it was out of curiosity... or fear. 
Even this story, again, is no more than a rumor.
</ab>
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===Japanese transcript===
<ab>ここだけの話だが、珍しいポケモンが人々の間で伝説や幻と噂されるように、ポケモンたちの間でもトレーナーやモンスターボールの話題が出ることがあるらしい。噂というのは何故か魅力的で危険な香りがするのも、人のそれと同じだそうだ。
ユキワラシがその噂を聞いたのは、初雪の翌朝のことだった。洞窟の中で夏が過ぎるのをじっと待ち続け、近頃ようやく外から冷気が入り込むようになってきていた。
“よぉ、半年ぶりだな”
岩を切り裂くするどい爪の音と共に、ルームシェアの相手、クリムガンがやって来た。ルームシェアと言っても一緒に住む期間はない。夏の間は暑さに弱いユキワラシが、冬の間は寒さに弱いクリムガンが、この洞窟のひと区域を使うことになっているのだ。
“遅かったですね。もう外は随分寒くなったでしょう。昨晩は雪も降ったのでは？”
“こんな奥にいてよく分かるもんだな。まあ、色々あったんだよ”
色々、と丸い目を更に丸くするユキワラシ。お互い外で見てきたことを報告するのが、家主交代の際の恒例行事になっていた。クリムガンは滔々と語りはじめる。
過ぎた春のこと。草原に生える木の幹で爪を研いでいたら、上からチェリンボが葉っぱを飛ばしてきた。チェリンボっていうのは赤い実に似たおしゃべりな奴のことだ。そいつが“この世界には太陽が昇らない、季節が変わることもない場所があるんだよ”と自信ありげに話すもんだから、“見たこともないのに何故分かる？　俺もお前もそんな遠くには行けないし、光を浴びないと生きられないだろ”とつい突っかかった。クリムガンには翼があるが、それで飛ぶことは出来なかったから。すると“伝説の生き物に出会えば見られるんだって。世界中のどんな景色も！”と、赤いチェリンボがもっと紅潮する。いわく、その伝説の生き物「旅人」とやらは赤と白の果実を持っていて、それを投げ与えられ、食べた者だけが一緒に世界中を見られるらしい。チェリンボは熱に浮かされたようにその話ばかりするようになり、ついに伝説を追って草原から姿を消してしまった。
そりゃあ気になる話だったが、我に返って洞窟に戻ってきた、とクリムガンは笑った。
“だってよく考えたら、大雪の日のこととか、凍った川のこととか、俺が見られないものはお前が話してくれる。俺が冬を越すにはそれで十分なんだよ”
ユキワラシも同感だった。世界中のことは知らないが、クリムガンの話す、一面の花で埋めつくされた草原を思い浮かべれば、暗いひとりの夜も寂しくはなかった。積もった初雪が反射して眩しい久々の地上で、聞いたばかりの「旅人」とかいう伝説の噂を反芻する。嘘か真かは分からない。でも、もし出会ってしまったら、その実を食べたいと思ってしまったら、あの洞穴には戻れなくなるかもしれない。ユキワラシは氷の息をひとつ吐き、身震いした。それが好奇心からか恐れからなのか、自分でも分からないまま。
この話もまた、噂に過ぎない。</ab>
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==Trivia==
==External links==
*Official webpage
==References==
Category:Illust Story