The negative emotions of Dragapult, absorbed by the red light, softened at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"Waddles?"
It blinked, looking around as if unsure of its surroundings, and then glanced at Baimu nearby, realizing its current environment and situation only after seeing the rice bowl beneath it.
But it couldn't get angry at all.
The bite from Shuppet made it serene, leaving no trace of dissatisfaction or resentment, only the joy of tasting delicious food.
So it lowered its head and quietly nibbled a little bit at a time, chewing slowly.
Because of its triangular-shaped head, its mouth structure is quite unique. Eating too much at once would certainly lead to spillage, which previously had made it look foolish.
To be fair.
The food was tasty enough to give it another reason to stay.
Dragapult didn't have a grudge against Baimu personally; it only disliked the human part of him, applying a "hate by association" mindset. It stubbornly believed all humans were alike, unable to distinguish one from another.
However, over the past two days of interacting with Baimu and other Pokémon like Aggron, it vaguely realized it didn't have to be so hostile to the former.
Yet the thought of past experiences inevitably stirred its resentment again.
Only after all negative emotions were absorbed by Shuppet did it gain the ability to objectively view its situation.
It even had a change of heart towards Baimu, who captured it.
Of course.
It didn't show this thought.
By nature, it wasn't the type of Pokémon to be flamboyant; it preferred silent observation to expression.
"Now's a good time to improve the relationship!" Emily quietly nudged Baimu with her elbow, winking. "At least you can communicate well for an hour."
"An hour? That long?"
He was quite surprised.
"Of course, many of our guests come because they've had conflicts with each other and don't know how to communicate, so they come here after hearing about us. Once the negative emotions are absorbed, the conflicts naturally resolve, allowing good communication. That's why we're somewhat well-known," Emily said.
What a forced-calming technique.
Baimu looked at Dragapult, thinking that he truly didn't know what to say to it at the moment.
After all, he didn't even know why it hated humans, let alone how to untangle that, especially since he hoped to communicate using Dragon's Heart...
Should he ask now?
Forget it.
Shuppet only managed for an hour; if the heart knot wasn't smoothly untied within that time, it might backfire.
"I'd better follow my own pace," he replied with a smile.
Emily didn't insist, continuing to enjoy the delightful taste of the luminous cuisine, feeling so good that it brought tears to her eyes.
After eating quickly, she asked Baimu if his family ran a restaurant, saying that if they did, she'd visit no matter how far it was.
He told her the authentic luminous cuisine was located in Lumiose City, Carlos, at a three-star restaurant called [Golduck's Smile], stating he only learned a bit of the basics from Lokomoko's recipes.
"Just learning from a recipe you can cook so well?" Emily looked at the luminous cuisine, then at the young man in front of her, full of disbelief.
How did it feel like someone claimed to have read a few books and ended up building a rocket?
Baimu merely smiled without responding.
While the two were chatting.
Aggron and other Pokémon were also whispering, focusing on Dragapult. Since leaving Mauville City, two days had passed, yet they had hardly communicated with Dragapult, not even Blissey.
This guy, apart from eating, mostly stayed invisible, leaving even Hydreigon, who had a few things to say and intended to find an opportunity to trouble it, speechless.
Moreover, it discovered that if Dragapult focused on hiding without attacking, even if its nose could detect this guy's exact location, it still couldn't catch it—
The movement speed was too fast.
Hydreigon had to admit it couldn't handle this guy.
And for the other Pokémon, they didn't know how to get along with a new companion intentionally avoiding them. Though Galarian Corsola appeared similar at first, one was lazy, and the other was evasive, with a fundamental difference between the two.
Compared to this, the Dreepy Siblings were simply too well-behaved. Especially Sister Dragapult; everyone liked this sensible little one. Brother Dragapult was mischievous but at least very lively and cheerful.
Ignore Dragapult?
That wouldn't do.
All on the same boat, who knows how long they'll be together; the Trainer probably wouldn't agree to that sort of thing either.
It's really challenging.
Aggron and the other Pokémon exchanged looks, feeling a blockage in their chests.
After lunch.
The rain outside stopped completely, and the air was filled with moist fog, taking a deep breath of the refreshing scent.
Baimu mixed Hydreigon's fur with various herbs, trying a simple formula from the handbook for a special essence called [Motivation Fragrance], but unfortunately, the final product wasn't pleasant.
The smell was strange.
A bit like the scent of fermented Orange Fruit, with a suffocating feeling, showing no sign of motivation effect.
Failed product.
He exhaled a sigh of turbid air, noting that it said using the fur of a sufficiently ferocious Pokémon would suffice, but clearly not all fierce Pokémon were suitable.
"Still need to find the kind specified in the formula..."
He muttered softly, tidying up the bowls and cleaning the kitchen, preparing to leave.