"Think carefully about the steps I just took!"
Wu couldn't help but voice his guidance.
Baimu didn't disappoint him. As the Deino began its rampage, he swiftly intercepted it in stride, naturally extending his elbow.
However, this Deino didn't bite the protective wristband like its siblings. Instead, it flexibly swung its slender neck and bit down on his palm.
Crunch!
A crisp sound came from his palm.
Baimu and the Deino with its eyes fully covered by its bangs exchanged silent glances, neither making a sound.
"Whoa! Let go! Quickly, scratch its chin to make it let go!" Wu, startled by the crunch, feared the Deino might gnaw off the entire hand and hurriedly rushed over.
Unexpectedly, Baimu extended his free hand, signaling him not to approach.
Instead.
Baimu began gently scratching the Deino's chin with utmost tenderness, "Good boy~ good boy~ don't be nervous, let go of my hand, good boy~"
"Mmm~"
The Deino let out a muffled growl, slowly opening its mouth.
He took the opportunity to withdraw his hand.
"Are you okay?"
Wu asked, a bit nervously.
"I'm fine, it wasn't squeezing hard. The sound earlier was its teeth hitting the metal edge of the wristband." Baimu raised his hand, showing the dented palm. Translucent saliva was proof he wasn't lying.
Wu breathed a sigh of relief, then smiled, "See, I told you, you could do it. You really do have innate talent as a Dragon Tamer."
"Is that so?"
Baimu's expression turned a bit complex, though it seemed to be true at first glance—
Crunch!
A crisp sound echoed again.
He stiffly turned his head, only to find the Deino once more gnawing on his hand, precisely on the palm, "Does this really count as success?"
"...Yeah, it's a success, it's just that it likes you, wants to get closer." Wu awkwardly chuckled.
True success would obviously mean behaving like the other five Deinos beside him, lying down calmly. But the one in front of Baimu was evidently still excited.
"Try again!"
"I'll try again!"
Baimu nodded confidently and scratched Deino's chin again, and the latter contentedly purred like a cat, eventually letting go.
But in the next moment, it snapped back.
There wasn't any blood, but the bite marks were still painful.
"Hey!"
Wu found it strange, "Let me try!"
Baimu hurriedly handed the wristband to Wu.
Unexpectedly, the Deino "looked" at him, sniffed with its nose, and then cheerfully ran up to Baimu, lightly leaping towards his slightly raised hand and chomping!
There was no sound this time.
Because the wristband was with Wu, a crunch would mean trouble.
"..."
Baimu looked at the Deino on his hand, then at Wu, who was equally dumbfounded. "What's going on? Why did it come over just to bite me?"
"Maybe... maybe it's more familiar with your scent," the latter said softly, then raised a finger, "Or maybe it likes you!"
He nodded confidently, leaning in to say, "As a Dragon Tamer, being liked by Dragon Attribute Pokémon is quite normal—Ow!"
He yelped in pain because the Deino bit his head.
"I think it likes you more!"
Baimu said with certainty.
"Good boy~ good boy~ open wide, good boy~" Wu scratched for a while, the Deino did open its mouth, yet it still showed considerable interest in their hands and heads.
It was quite embarrassing.
Originally intending for the young one to gain some experience, who knew they'd encounter such a handful.
"You take your time with it, dinner time is about here, I'll go prepare it." Baimu, sensing Wu's awkwardness, decided to take his leave, "I'm afraid there's not much fancy ingredients at home, so please bear with me if it's not to your taste."
"No worries! I can eat anything!"
Wu waved a hand with the air of a hero, resolving to finish everything, no matter how unpalatable his junior's cooking might be.
How can a Dragon Tamer not have a stomach of iron!?
——
An hour later.
Wu started licking his plate, diligently not leaving a single grain of food behind.
His only companion from the Ore Region—a Haxorus—sat elegantly nearby, eating.
It couldn't help but be elegant.
The axes on its face were too large, requiring specific utensils to accelerate its eating.
Not far off, the Deinos were diligently eating like little piglets being fed, emitting a satisfying crunching sound that oddly felt soothing.
The Mawile, having finished its meal, watched the Deinos with interest.
"Chidor?"
"Not really."
Baimu shook his head. Although he had some ideas about these Deinos, Wu wasn't necessarily the one with authority over them; thus, requesting to raise one from him was pointless.
The real person responsible for assigning the young dragons to trainers was the Dragon Land's Grandma, akin to the leader of the village.
Wu explained that due to the time difference between the Ore Region and the Unova Region, they should wait until evening to contact the other side, to avoid disturbing Grandma's rest.
"Thanks for the meal!"
Wu put down the plate, full of cheer, "I used to think staying indoors would feel suffocating and unendurable, but with your cooking, I could stay indefinitely!
"Isn't that right!"
He turned to shout at Haxorus and the group of Deinos.
"Oh no!"
"Moo no!"
Both Haxorus and some Deinos responded to his call and then lowered their heads to finish their meals swiftly.
Of course, these little ones weren't the obedient type and would inevitably squabble over each other's food, even fighting at times.
Thankfully, Aggron helped mediate. Though the Deinos couldn't see its large figure, they could sense its intimidating aura in other ways.
They immediately calmed down.
"The epitome of a strict father!"
Baimu couldn't help but jest about Aggron, who bashfully scratched its head.
Truth be told, it just thought that on its own turf, apart from the Trainers and Mawile, every other Pokémon should be mindful of its authority.
It was the boss!
If it said go east, they weren't allowed to go west!
"Alright, stop adding more food, moderation is key, I know you, doting mom, will overdo it." Baimu held Chansey back, realizing it was wise not to teach it how to make glowing dishes just yet.
These Deinos were already so full their bellies were like basketballs, yet it kept feeding them!
"Lucky~"
Hearing those words, Chansey reluctantly put down the big spoon used to serve more food.
It's really like feeding pigs.
Baimu grumbled internally, finally looking at the eagerly watching Mawile, "As for you... the mischievous sister?"
"Chidor!"
Mawile made a face at him, asserting it didn't want to be just a sister to the bunch of Deinos, but the big sister boss!
Soon enough.
The delightful dinner experience came to an end.