"Sob... I'm not lying," Woodland Fawn wept. She read the skeptical messages flooding the live chat.
"Um... Ms. Woodland Fawn, please stop crying," Miles said. His voice was steady and authoritative, carrying a reassuring weight. "Take off the gas mask. I can't hear you clearly."
"No! I won't take it off!" Woodland Fawn shook her head desperately. Her voice grew even more choked. "Master, you don't understand! It's far too stinky!"
"If I take off this mask, I'll pass out. I've already fainted from the fumes three times! It's completely unbearable for a normal human!"
She cast a conflicted, agonized glance at the Oddish huddled in the corner.
"You don't know what I've been through. I used to live in the school dorms, but my roommates threatened to cut ties with me because of the stench. I was forced to move out and rent my own place!"
"I'm spending an extra fifteen hundred a month just to keep it! But... but it just keeps getting worse! My clothes, my hair, my blankets—everything reeks!"
"When I go to class, people avoid me like I fell into a cesspit."
"Now, my landlord is drowning in complaints from the neighbors. They think I've hidden a corpse in my apartment... I'm out of options! I love it, but I really can't keep it anymore!"
Sobbing, she pointed an accusing finger at the little Pokémon.
"I even asked a doctor, and they told me an Oddish shouldn't smell this bad unless it evolves into a Gloom. If it reeks this much before evolving, wouldn't it outright kill someone once it does?"
"I'm too scared to keep raising it. Master, please tell me, is my only choice to abandon it?"
Even through the screen, Miles could feel her absolute despair.
Meanwhile, the Oddish had buried its head as low as possible, curling its small body into a tight ball.
It knew it had caused endless trouble for its trainer. It didn't blame her; it only hated itself for smelling so horrific.
In the live chat, the resident troll reared his head again:
[Viewer "I_Troll_With_Pride": Keep making things up! How bad could an Oddish possibly smell? Fainting from the fumes? This is obviously a sob story for donations and sympathy! Streamer, if you can prove this Oddish is actually that stinky, I'll livestream myself doing a handstand while washing my hair!]
[Viewer "Kindergarten Lunch Thief": I hate to agree with the troll, but... this is pretty absurd. I've never heard of an Oddish stinking this badly.]
Miles chuckled as he read the chat.
'Why is there always someone eager to play the clown?' he thought.
"To our troll friend in the chat, you'd better get your shampoo ready," Miles stated plainly.
He then turned his full attention back to Woodland Fawn, his gaze turning sharp.
"Ms. Woodland, do you think your Oddish is a freak? Do you believe it has contracted some incurable disease?"
"Yes, exactly!" Woodland Fawn nodded frantically. "I took it to the Pokémon Center, and the doctors said they couldn't find anything wrong. All its vitals are normal. But it just stinks! It smells worse than an open sewer!"
"Normal?" Miles retorted. "That's because those doctors only know how to read data. They don't know how to read 'fate'."
Miles raised a finger, pointing through the screen at the Oddish in the corner. His tone grew deadly serious.
"Do you realize you are on the verge of making a colossal mistake? You are about to throw a downtown mansion straight into the trash can!"
"W-what do you mean?" Woodland Fawn was completely bewildered.
A mansion? Who? The Oddish?
Miles adjusted his breathing and initiated his professional appraisal mode.
"Let's put the smell aside for a moment. Tell me, is your Oddish usually incredibly well-behaved? It doesn't make a fuss, doesn't like fighting with other Pokémon, and... does it frequently hide in corners, terrified of even brushing against you?"
Woodland Fawn froze. Her eyes instantly reddened.
"Yes... it's incredibly well-behaved. Whenever I used to hug it, it would go completely stiff and refuse to move. Lately, it's become more and more withdrawn. I honestly thought it hated me..."
"It doesn't hate you. It loves you too much," Miles sighed, his voice softening. "It knows it smells bad, and it's terrified of suffocating you. That's why it's holding it in."
"Holding it in?" Woodland Fawn asked, thoroughly confused.
"Exactly. It's suppressing itself."
Miles pointed at the floating data screen that only he could see, seamlessly weaving his authoritative explanation.
"I can see spiritual light gathering above this Oddish's head. Though its leaves are drooping, their veins are as clear as polished jade. This is a classic [Modest] Nature, accompanied by unimaginably high potential!"
He paused to let the words sink in.
"In terms you can understand, this Oddish is a genius. The Poison-type energy within its body is overwhelmingly potent—so strong that its small frame can barely contain it."
"But because it desperately wants to avoid harming you, it is constantly compressing and suppressing that internal energy."
"It's exactly like a pressure cooker brewing a top-tier broth, but you've completely sealed off the exhaust valve! When just a tiny fraction of that pressure leaks out, how could it not be overwhelmingly pungent? How could it not 'stink'?"
At this, Miles's voice suddenly rose, carrying a deafening, commanding momentum.
"What you are smelling isn't a stench at all! It is a medicinal fragrance that has been compressed hundreds, thousands of times over, and hasn't fully finished its transformation!"
This explosive theory didn't just stun Woodland Fawn; it completely paralyzed the entire livestream chat.
Calling a foul stench a "medicinal fragrance"?
That was like pointing at a pile of crap and calling it chocolate!
It was beyond absurd—it was opening the door for absurdity to move in!
The chat feed instantly exploded:
[Viewer "I_Troll_With_Pride": Hahahaha! I'm dying of laughter! What the hell is a 'medicinal fragrance'?! Streamer, did you used to work in a pyramid scheme? You're calling something this foul 'fragrant'? Why don't you crawl through the ethernet cable and take a whiff yourself?!]
[Viewer "Kindergarten Lunch Thief": I know the streamer is talking out of his ass, but... somehow, looking at that handsome face of his, I actually kind of believe him?]
[Viewer "Melon Eater": This theory is way too avant-garde. An Oddish compressing its own poison gas? That's not scientific at all!]
Woodland Fawn was similarly steeped in disbelief. She glanced at the shivering Oddish in the corner, then back at Miles on her screen.
"M-Master, you aren't joking, are you? This is really a fragrance? But... but it smells like a mixture of rotten eggs and rotting salted fish!"
"That's only its current state!" Miles interrupted her with absolute certainty.
"The reason it stinks is because it is still in its 'fermentation' stage. Furthermore, you are pushing it too hard! Your visible disgust, your gas mask—everything you do is telling it: 'You stink, stay away from me.'"
"As a result, it feels even more inferior, suppresses itself even harder, and that internal energy goes completely 'sour'!"
He leaned closer to the camera.
"This entire situation will resolve itself once it evolves. Do not abandon it! If you throw it away, you will regret it for the rest of your life!"
"Congratulations, Ms. Woodland! You aren't unlucky; you've hit the absolute jackpot!"
"Once it evolves, it will absolutely become a one-in-a-million, completely odorless, top-tier Gloom!"