"Hiss—"
Baimu, with his head finally free, sat on the edge of the bed inhaling deeply, not even bothering to wipe the saliva off his face, his chest heaving slightly.
Even though Hydreigon didn't bite hard when it clamped down on his head, its saliva was truly foul and abundant, and a lick from its large tongue almost asphyxiated him, nearly making him reincarnate.
He felt as if a carousel of life was spinning in front of his eyes, just one step away from declaring he had no regrets in this life.
Fortunately, Mawile and Aggron rescued him in time; one pried open its jaws while the other pulled his head, and the rest tugged on its tail.
They finally forced this Hydreigon to open its bloody maw.
Speaking of which.
What would happen if he really died?
It's highly likely he'd turn into a wandering soul like in animations, then be taken by a Ghost-type Pokémon like Duskull to the mysterious Spirit Realm.
What's that saying again?
The chances of being murdered by your own Pokémon are slim, but never zero.
After catching his breath for a moment, his mood and body had completely calmed down, and he patted the Blissey next to him, "Don't worry, I'm not that easy to kick the bucket."
"Happy~"
Blissey, worried, put down the water cup it was holding and wiped the saliva off his face with a towel.
Not far away.
Hydreigon was being surrounded and criticized by the other Pokémon. Its mischievous behavior wasn't just a day or two old, but this was definitely the first time it had gone this far.
The Trainer was bitten till he convulsed!
How dangerous!
Aggron and the other Pokémon showed extreme seriousness, their aggressive looks nearly making Hydreigon hang its head on the ground.
Galarian Corsola floated in mid-air, its usually drooping mouth corners were now secretly upturned, and its red eyes full of schadenfreude.
Though it did worry in the beginning that it'd be "out of a job," it was relieved to see its boss was still alive, and prepared to thoroughly taunt this typically foolish Dragonair.
Even the usually reserved Porygon launched a relentless protest, mainly because it bore a grudge for not being able to battle Yasha, despite being in the team.
Wouldn't it be great to evolve after winning just one battle, yet they insisted on two?
Too frustrating.
Porygon kept fanning the flames on the side, feeling slightly guilty, but luckily no one was probing its opportunism in this situation.
Surrounded in the middle, Hydreigon knew it almost made a big mistake this time, and the entire dragon became depressed, full of grievance mixed with a little guilt, letting out low, hoarse whimpering sounds.
"Dolu..."
"Grr!"
Aggron blamed it incessantly; if it hadn't watched Hydreigon grow up since it was small, and known this guy didn't do it on purpose, it would've surely lectured it about why flowers are so red.
But compared to the generous Aggron, Mawile's emotions were extremely straightforward, gritting its teeth and thumping Hydreigon on the head three times.
Pa! Pa! Pa!
"Dolu..." Hydreigon only whimpered and shrank its head, the petal-like fur on its neck drooped.
"Alright, alright, why are you surrounding and scaring it? It wasn't intentional, just pay attention to oral hygiene next time."
Baimu, after recovering, stepped up to comfort the indignant Pokémon.
Seeing Aggron and the rest care so much about him, Baimu was deeply touched by the thought that all the care and affection he usually showed toward them wasn't in vain.
Indeed, there are rewards for caring for Pokémon.
"Grr!" "Chido!"
Upon hearing this, Aggron and Mawile both gave a look like, "Go ahead, spoil it."
"Alright, alright, that's enough! I get it, you guys care about me..."
Baimu patted each one on the head as a reward, even including Galarian Corsola, then looked at the pitiful Hydreigon, which didn't dare come closer, so he pinched its cheek.
"I'm not mad at you, so don't be sad on such a happy day. Next time, remember to leave me some room to breathe; at least one of the three holes on my face."
"Shasa..."
The aggrieved Hydreigon could no longer hold back and laid its head on the Trainer's shoulder, whimpering as if it were crying.
It knew it got a bit carried away, but as the Trainer's favorite, how could it intentionally harm Baimu?
Seeing the Trainer was on its side, it both apologized and explained.
"Got it, I know you're well-behaved." Baimu hugged its big head and gave it a pat, insisting on letting the matter go, and instructed the otherwise idle Pokémon to attend to their own activities.
With nothing to do, they should go soak in the hot springs.
Galarian Corsola, whose mouth corners had started to lift again in anticipation of witnessing a scene, frowned again in speechless frustration and went to sleep.
It had been looking forward to it for so long but didn't get to see what it hoped; just how much does the Trainer spoil this one?
Porygon, failing to stir up trouble, was equally disappointed, turned away, planning to fly off, but found itself stopped by the Trainer, who apologized for not letting it battle today.
"Next time, you'll definitely get to perform, promise."
Baimu patted its head.
"Pali!"
Comforted, Porygon broke into a smile, brushing away the disappointment from its heart, and cheerfully wobbled its blocky legs, heading off to learn Shadow Ball.
With one more Attribute move, it could add another change in Texture, becoming a bit stronger.
Which also meant better chances of getting a match.
Turning away.
Baimu also individually comforted the other Pokémon to avoid these fellows thinking he was overly favoring Hydreigon, thus avoiding resentment and friction towards it.