The Zangoose exchanged glances.
"Meow-oh!"
"Meow——"
A terrifying growl echoed in his ears, clearly an attempt to intimidate him into leaving from their bristling stance.
But having finally found a place to shelter from the rain, there was no way Baimu would leave.
"Milotic! Hypnosis!"
Milotic glided forward, her eyes shimmering with a soft blue light, and a pink-purple wave spread forward. The two at the front were caught off guard, and their eyelids grew heavy.
Seeing the predicament, the two in the back lunged forward with a roar. However, due to the narrow environment, they couldn't avoid colliding with their companions ahead.
It looked inexplicably a bit comical.
"Angularization!"
Porygon II transformed into an irregular wall, blocking the attacking route of the two Zangoose. A hysterical howl resonated within the tree hollow.
Shortly, in a flash of white light, the wall formed by Porygon II vanished like smoke.
The two furious Zangoose broke free.
But at this moment, Milotic's next round of hypnosis was waiting for them.
Thus.
Baimu now had four sleeping white-furred cats beside him.
To ensure they slept peacefully, he even pulled out some sleep-inducing essence, and the expressions of the four Zangoose instantly shifted from struggling to relaxed.
"Peacefully resolved~"
He smiled at his Pokémon companions.
Neither beating up these wild Zangoose nor forcing them out into the rain was what he wanted; it was best for everyone to quietly wait out the rain together.
Baimu took off his raincoat, released Brother Dragapult from his ball, and used a towel to dry him off. Luckily, as a Pokémon with the salamander as its prototype, Dreepy's body is covered in scales rather than fur, so a towel was sufficient to dry him off.
"Husha~"
Brother Dragapult shook himself, his eyes drifting toward the Zangoose deeper in the hollow, a light sparking in his eyes, "Husha——"
Pa!
Sister Dragapult silently grabbed his tail and lightly hit him on the head, "Husha!"
Just knew you'd go over to cause trouble!
Brother Dragapult covered his head with an aggrieved look, "Husha~"
"Hahaha... No need to worry, unless they're attacked, they're unlikely to wake up easily. You should trust in the power of hypnosis and aromatherapy."
Baimu laughed as he patted their heads, sniffing lightly with a peculiar expression.
As he had previously mentioned, a notable characteristic of wild Pokémon is the distinct and varied musky scent clinging to their fur; described flatteringly, it's the smell of the wild.
This scent mixing with the aroma... presents a unique flavor?
He couldn't resist pulling out an aromatherapy manual to search through it, indeed finding several "experimental" formulas relying on animal Pokémon body fluids for making scents.
The manual explained that these fragrances often aren't well-received due to their peculiar smell, but they actually have a considerable effect.
"Effectiveness, huh..."
Baimu looked over the written effects, discovering it to be a form of therapeutic aromatherapy, primarily targeting emotional despondency, clearing away various negative emotions, and so on.
Some even had the side effect of stimulating Pokémon's emotions, making them enthusiastic and agitated.
Berserker Potion?
He thought, feeling slightly tempted to concoct a bottle, but after glancing at his surroundings, he sighed and gave up.
Before long.
The torrential downpour outside the hollow showed signs of tapering off and stopping.
Baimu waved to the four still-sleeping Zangoose, leaving several energy blocks in front of them, marveling at the plush feel he had just experienced; Pokémon with lots of fur are indeed great.
Unfortunately, most Dragon-type Pokémon are the kind covered entirely in scales.
Continuing along the river towards Verdanturf City.
He hadn't anticipated that after less than a kilometer, the silhouette of a building would faintly emerge at the forefront of the dense forest.
"In such a deep forest... a haunted house?"
He blinked, recalling that in the animation, old manors were ubiquitous, each with signs of haunting, typically filled with mischief-making Ghost-type Pokémon.
Since his journey in the Spirit Realm, Baimu's fear of all kinds of ghosts had greatly diminished, perhaps due to realizing that in the face of absolute strength, ghosts weren't so frightening.
But as he drew closer, Baimu discovered it was a hotel.
He glanced at the sign beside the entrance, falling into reminiscence.
"Shuppet's Hotel... Ah, it's Xiaosheng's Shuppet!"
In the main animation, Xiaosheng established a friendship with a playful Shuppet in an old manor, and upon discovering that the supernatural incidents in the house were due to Shuppet's, the homeowner decisively planned to build a hotel using Shuppet's power.
Presumably, this was the place.
But didn't Xiaosheng take Shuppet with him...
Beep beep.
He pressed the doorbell of the iron gate, which automatically opened to reveal neatly trimmed lawns and many shrub sculptures shaped like Shuppet. Just from this, it was clear this wasn't a haunted house.
Unless one is interested in gardening, or suffering from delusions, no Ghost Pokémon would bother grooming the lawn.
Meanwhile, the wooden doors of the mansion opened inward at the end of his line of sight.
A woman in a small dress curtsied to him, accompanied by a Shuppet.
"Welcome to Shuppet's Hotel, do you have a reservation?"
"Uh, sorry, no, I don't."
Baimu responded softly, staring at the Shuppet in confusion.
Didn't it leave with Xiaosheng? Could it be that Xiaosheng later caught other wild Shuppet elsewhere?
Upon entering the hotel lobby, he saw a second, then a third Shuppet, realizing that there were already more Shuppets in the hotel.