Baimu stood motionless for half a minute.
Memories of Kitakami flooded his mind, filling the gaps in his muddled thoughts.
It was as though a curtain that should have fallen had been wrenched aside, revealing a vivid play to the audience.
For a moment, he felt as if he had woken from a long dream.
"Whew..."
Baimu rubbed his temples, ignored the bewildered looks on his Pokémon's faces, strode through the door, and grabbed one for a mighty sniff!
Inhale—
Ahh!
That was it! How he'd missed that smell!
Baimu sniffed Blissey, then Shiny Gengar. Then Hydreigon, then the Dreepy Siblings. He spared none of his Pokémon, not even the invisible Dragapult or the Galarian Corsola by the bed.
He even sniffed Mawile awake from a dead sleep. Annoyed and embarrassed, she pushed his face away.
"Chido!"
What was wrong with him at this hour?!
Baimu wouldn't stop. He kept rubbing his face against hers and squeezing her, as if he wanted to replenish all the Pokémon energy he'd missed these past few days.
Only when Mawile was about to lose her temper did he finally put her down.
Then he whipped around and sniffed Hydreigon, who wanted to come closer but didn't quite dare.
"I missed you so much, Husky Dragon!"
He called Hydreigon by its nickname, pried open all three of its mouths, and breathed in that familiar smell of saliva.
Whoa!
That familiar sour smell!
The satisfied look on Baimu's face frightened Hydreigon.
He had always complained about its mouths. When had its Trainer ever looked at them like that?
If the smell, voice, and even his manner hadn't all matched, Hydreigon would have been certain this man was an impostor.
Which somehow made it even scarier!
As Baimu inspected its teeth, Hydreigon's tail went stiff with