Logan's voice rang out through the mic, sharp and forceful. In a livestream with just over two hundred viewers, it hit like a thunderclap.
But instead of cheers, the screen filled with question marks and ridicule.
In this world's common knowledge, Gloom was exactly what its name implied—stinky.
It was written in textbooks. Carved into everyone's DNA.
Its nectar was said to smell like rotting garbage. Its pollen could knock someone out for three days straight.
And now he was saying it not only wouldn't stink—but would be top-tier? Absolutely odorless?
That was like pointing at coal and calling it snow. Like pointing at crap and calling it curry-flavored. Total nonsense.
The chat exploded, the mockery ten times louder than before.
[TrollKing99: HAHAHAHA! I can't breathe! A Gloom that doesn't stink? Are you redefining biology now? You're throwing common sense out the window just to cover your lie!]
[RandomGuy: I want to believe the streamer, but... isn't this breaking the laws of nature? The textbook says Gloom's smell is used to defend against predators.]
[Kindergarten Food Theif: If you said it was strong in battle, I'd buy it. But fragrant? That's pushing it. Miss, don't listen to him. You'll gas yourself into getting emphysema!]
Even Fawn in the Woods, the person involved, looked stunned.
She'd still held onto a tiny sliver of hope—maybe Logan had some secret deodorizing trick.
But the moment she heard the words "evolve into Gloom," her face turned pale, and the light in her eyes dimmed again.
"M-Master..."
Her voice trembled with despair beneath the heavy gas mask. "Are you making fun of me? My Oddish can already knock out my landlord. If she evolves into Gloom... will this place even be livable? Won't it just turn into a toxic gas chamber?"
She glanced at the trembling Oddish in the corner, tears welling in her eyes.
"I really can't take this anymore... Even if she's S-rank material, I can't raise a walking septic tank..."
In the corner, the Oddish seemed to understand.
The head she'd just slightly lifted after hearing Logan's praise drooped again.
Her yellowing leaves hung limp. She curled into herself even tighter, slowly retreating into the shadows—trying to hide so her trainer wouldn't have to smell her.
—I'm sorry. I'm useless.
—I'm sorry. I smell so bad.
Watching this, Logan let out a quiet sigh.
What a considerate child.
She had the golden Fate Strand [Fragrance Queen], yet because of prejudice and improper care, she'd grown so insecure she'd shrunk into dust.
"Miss Fawn!"
Logan suddenly raised his voice, a sharp edge of frustration cutting through. "Look at me! Not the chat—look at me!"
Startled, Fawn in the Woods instinctively looked up at her phone.
On screen, the young, handsome streamer stared at her with unprecedented seriousness. His gaze felt like it pierced through the screen and into her soul.
"You think I'm lying to you? You think I'm gambling my career for a joke?"
He pointed at the viewer count, which had just climbed to three hundred.
"I already said this—if I'm wrong, I'll swallow a Poké Ball on the spot and delete my account. I'll never stream again. Is that bet enough?"
"I..." She froze.
"As for you saying it's unscientific?"
Logan let out a cold laugh and launched into his explanation.
"Have you heard of musk? Ambergris?"
"Those top-tier fragrances, when highly concentrated, smell absolutely foul. Worse than your Oddish—hundreds of times worse."
"But once diluted, once they undergo chemical transformation, they become some of the most enchanting scents in the world."
"Your Oddish is a block of raw musk that hasn't been refined yet! The Poison-type energy inside her is too pure, too concentrated. And because she's suppressing it for your sake, it can't circulate or metabolize. That's what's causing the stench!"
"This is what they mean by extremes reversing. From the lowest point comes rebirth."
"Once she evolves, once that suppression threshold breaks and the energy flows freely..."
"The peak of stench will become the peak of fragrance!"
His words fell like stones, the logic strangely airtight. It sounded mystical—but if you thought about it carefully...
The chat stalled for a moment.
[PopcornEater: Damn... my biology sucks, but that actually kind of makes sense. Ambergris is whale vomit, and it does stink when fresh...]
[KindergartenLunchKing: Oh no. I think I'm getting brainwashed. Why am I actually looking forward to this?]
Only the troll refused to back down.
[TrollKing99: Bullshit! False equivalence! That's perfume, this is a Pokemon! Totally different! Miss, don't believe him. He just wants you to take off the mask so he can watch you embarrass yourself!]
Logan glanced at the jumping troll and smirked.
"Miss Fawn, the choice is yours."
His tone softened, coaxing.
"You can believe the keyboard warriors and let your Pokemon wither away in insecurity—eventually abandoning her and letting her die heartbroken..."
"Or you can believe me and take a gamble."
"Bet on a miracle."
"Heartbroken... and die?"
Those four words made her shudder.
She looked toward the corner.
The Oddish was secretly peeking at her. There was no resentment in her eyes. Only cautious longing... and a trace of quiet resolve—as if she'd accept disappearing if she wasn't needed.
This was her first Pokemon.
The one who'd stayed with her through lonely nights. The one who'd rubbed against her leg when she failed her graduate exams.
"..."
Heavy, rapid breathing echoed from inside the gas mask.
"I'll bet!"
Her voice suddenly turned firm. It still trembled, but the hesitation was gone.
"Master, what do I do?"
Logan's lips curled slightly.
"Step one. The hardest step."
"Take off that damn gas mask. And strip off that burial-shroud-looking protective suit."
"You need to let her know you don't despise her. You have to accept her with your real senses."
"Ah?!"
Even with mental preparation, she instinctively shrank back at the idea of removing the mask.
The smell in this room could be detected even through full protection.
If she took it off...
Wouldn't she just die on the spot?
[TrollKing99: HAHAHA! There it is! The truth comes out! He just wants to watch the girl puke! What a filthy mind!]
"Shut up!"
Fawn in the Woods suddenly shouted at her phone.
She didn't know where the courage came from. Maybe she was angry at the troll. Maybe she was responding to Oddish's fragile love.
She took a deep breath—through the mask.
Her trembling hands reached for the buckle behind her head.
Click.
The sound of the clasp releasing was crisp in the silent room.
Then the zipper.
Under the watchful eyes of hundreds of viewers, she squeezed her eyes shut like someone heading to the gallows and ripped off the gas mask, peeling off the protective suit in one swift motion.
In that instant—
A pale, delicate face, slick with sweat, was exposed to the air.
And so was the toxic gas that had been fermenting for months.
Though the viewers couldn't smell it, they could almost see the faint yellow-green haze hanging in the air.
"Ugh—!!!"
The moment the mask came off, her face shifted from pale to green.
She clutched her mouth and gagged violently, her body swaying as she nearly collapsed.
The smell was overwhelming.
Like a hundred rotten eggs, a ton of spoiled fish, and three years' worth of sewer sludge boiled together in a sealed container.
It shot straight to the brain. It burned her eyes.
In the corner, Oddish let out a panicked cry.
"Odd!" (Trainer!)
She desperately tried to retreat, trying to crawl under the bed. She knew she'd hurt her trainer. She never wanted that.
[TrollKing99: See? I told you! She's about to die! Streamer, this is murder! Mods, shut this down!]
[Kindergarten Food Thief: Oh no, she's going to pass out. This has gone too far.]
...
And yet—
Just when everyone thought Fawn in the Woods would bolt for the door or collapse—
The seemingly fragile girl did something that left everyone speechless.
She endured the stomach-twisting nausea, braced herself against the bed, and forced herself upright.
Tears and snot streamed down her face from the irritation, but her eyes locked onto the Oddish trying to hide under the bed.
"D-Don't... don't hide..."
Her voice was hoarse, each word dragged out through pain.
"Don't hide... I don't hate you..."
She staggered forward.
No escape.
No disgust.
She grabbed those drooping leaves and, ignoring the sticky residue on them, pulled the source of the stench tightly into her arms.
"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..."
She buried her face into Oddish's head and sobbed.
"It's my fault... I shouldn't have made you wear a mask... I shouldn't have made you hold it in..."
"I'm your trainer... If even I reject you, how much would that hurt?"
"Oddish! Listen to Master! Stop holding it back! Let all the poison out! Even if it stinks me to death... I'll accept it! We're family!"
In that chaotic, foul-smelling, absurd little apartment, something raw and powerful erupted.
This was what it meant to be a trainer.
This was a bond.
The chat went completely silent.
Even the troll stopped typing.
As if responding to the warmth of her tears—
Oddish froze.
She felt her trainer's body heat. Felt those trembling arms that refused to let go.
So... Trainer doesn't want to abandon me.
So... I don't have to endure it anymore?
So... this is what it feels like to be loved?
"ODDISH!!!" (I love you too!!!)
A cry filled with release and resolve burst from her mouth.
The next second—
Boom—!!!
A blinding white light erupted from the tiny body of the Oddish, illuminating the dim apartment in an instant.
It was the light of evolution.