Three days passed after Xiaosheng left.
When the Galarian Corsola finally developed the habit of eating on time, opening its eyes to search for food with more precision than an alarm clock,
Baimu knew his opportunity had come.
So.
He deliberately didn't prepare a lunch for the Galarian Corsola, as if he forgot, and started eating by himself.
The other Pokémon buried their heads in frenzied eating, paying no attention to anything other than their meals.
The Galarian Corsola looked left and right, couldn't find its bowl for a long time, and its expression, already gloomy, visibly turned even gloomier.
It tentatively stretched out its feelers, waving them in hopes of catching Baimu's or the surrounding Pokémon's attention, but nobody responded.
Its whole face instantly displayed an even more depressed stance.
Galarian Corsola: (′へ`,)
Baimu remained outwardly calm, but inwardly began to anticipate it would come to complain to him, or perhaps directly grab food from the other Pokémon.
… It seemed a bit mean, but it was mainly to provoke the Galarian Corsola, encouraging it to use three or four hours of its usual twenty-three hours and fifty minutes of idleness to take the first step towards a normal Pokémon's activity frequency.
Turning the thought of acquiring food into motivation seemed better than curling up all day.
Coercion was certainly involved, but it was limited to the phase of enticement.
Unfortunately, the Galarian Corsola had been idle for so many years, not something a small tactic by Baimu could easily change from passive to active.
No food?
Then no eating.
The Galarian Corsola immediately shut down, closing its eyes and halting its float, dropping to the ground with a thud.
Baimu: "..."
The Pokémon like Aggron who were already on edge: "..."
Deino: "Du-du-du~"
As expected, no major problem.
Although he undoubtedly hoped otherwise, it was quite normal for the Galarian Corsola to continue being silent.
The real tug of war had just begun!
Baimu swiftly finished his meal, placed the Galarian Corsola on the bedside like a decoration, and didn't bother playing with it like usual, appearing to head to the Battle Area with the Pokémon.
In the moment of closing the door.
The Galarian Corsola opened its eyes, then quickly shut them.
Baimu, who was watching the surveillance footage outside with his phone, breathed a sigh of relief; he was somewhat worried the Galarian Corsola might slip away.
Despite the windows being closed, a mere piece of glass was nothing for a Ghost-type Pokémon to pass through at will.
It seemed now this one didn't even bother to sneak away.
He didn't go to the Battle Area.
Baimu ordered a cup of coffee in the leisure area and trimmed Deino's fur while watching the surveillance, with the morning passing swiftly like flowing water.
Noon.
He specially made some food with a particularly strong aroma and packed it up to bring back to the room.
Opening the door, he saw the Galarian Corsola staying where it should at the bedside, noticeably aware of his return, but made no reaction.
Baimu didn't mind, took out the lunchboxes, and began distributing food to Aggron and others, catching a glimpse of the Galarian Corsola opening its eyes, and deliberately waved its food bowl.
When the actual eating began, he quietly hid the bowl again and purposefully piled up Aggron's portion to give the illusion that Aggron had taken the food.
Lunchtime arrived.
The Galarian Corsola, according to habit, slowly floated over like a snail.
Ghost-type Pokémon naturally have the ability to leave the ground even without the Floating Trait, but their speed varies.
The Galarian Corsola's movement speed was in the slow category, whether due to its nature or its laid-back attitude influenced by its indecisive genes.
All the Pokémon started their meal.
The Galarian Corsola arrived, rotated 360 degrees on the spot, but found nothing of its own.
This creature seemed like a frozen system, stunned into stillness.
The Chansey inexplicably felt sympathetic, pleading with Baimu with its gaze, only for him to shake his head silently and raise a single finger.
One day.
If one day doesn't work, then it's time to try something else.
The Galarian Corsola clearly hadn't caught on to the small gestures between Chansey and Baimu, as its nearly shelled brain took a moment to process.
No food to eat?
Then just don't eat.
The Galarian Corsola silently turned around, heading back towards the bedside.
Baimu, upon seeing this, wasn't disappointed at all; instead his eyes brightened, considering the fact that while earlier it would shutdown when there was no food, now it still knew to float back as a form of progress.
Because of this.
He didn't prepare afternoon tea, dinner, or late-night snacks for the Galarian Corsola, letting it enthusiastically come for meals and disappointedly return.
"That should about do it,"
Baimu casually glanced at the Galarian Corsola, deliberately placing the "leftover" food on the dining table in front of it, covering it with a lid.
Before bed that night, he stealthily positioned a camera aimed at the bedside.
A Pokémon like Galarian Corsola might not need several meals a day, perhaps just one or every few days, would be sufficient, but typically it's tough to withstand after getting used to multiple meals a day.
Would it fly into a rage and try to steal his essence? Would it attempt to steal food from the table?
Two options now lay before the Galarian Corsola, both requiring it to take the initiative, and once caught, he could employ further verbal strategies.
——
Baimu slept soundly.
To facilitate the Galarian Corsola's moves, he specifically put Deino back into its Pokeball.
This little one was rather restless; if the Galarian Corsola moved, it would definitely wake up and peer around, and that ruckus might just make the latter give up.
An undisrupted and advantageous space had to be created.
He made his breathing steady, creating the illusion of entering a dream.
As the minutes ticked by, movements began at the bedside.
With his eyes closed, Baimu couldn't tell exactly what it was doing, he just waited patiently. If it were trying to drain his essence, there should be a cold sensation, along with the immobility of sleep paralysis.
——But there wasn't.
He waited a while, and nothing happened, his arm under the blanket could still move slightly, indicating perhaps the Galarian Corsola went for the "leftovers?"
Thinking this, Baimu opened his eyes expectantly.
"Oh crap!"
The crimson eyes mere inches away startled him, almost twisting his face.
Who else could it be but the Galarian Corsola?
Baimu, in a huff, pushed it aside, unsure if it was an illusion, but felt that when he was startled, the Galarian Corsola's mournful face suddenly turned into a smiling one.
Regrettably, the scene was fleeting and couldn't be captured.
The Chansey at the foot of the bed quickly opened its eyes, seeing Baimu push the Galarian Corsola away and rise, it moved over with concern.
"Lucky?"
"No, no draining, no draining."
The latter waved it off, gazing speechlessly at the Galarian Corsola, who neither revealed its angles nor returned to sleep, just staring at him with those red light-like eyes, very creepy.
Suddenly.
"Sa…." The Galarian Corsola spoke.
"Lucky?"
The Chansey was taken aback.