LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 1299: The Alluring Fragrance
On the way back from the Pokémon private club, Yuga happened to pass by the police station. He decided to stop in and inquire about the situation. As it turned out, it wasn't that Yuga was out of touch with local events—the Ancient Plant Research Institute really hadn't reached out for help from the town.
The police station wasn't even aware of what was going on there.
Yuga decided not to mention the situation to the police right away. He planned to investigate himself first. Since the research institute had shown no signs of activity, it might just be a false alarm. It was better to gather more information before reporting anything.
Once home, Yuga approached the Xatu leader, asking it to take a few of its kind to the Ancient Plant Research Institute and check things out.
After listening to Yuga's instructions, the Xatu leader silently nodded its head and disappeared.
Recently, the Xatu had been busy training the new tenants—Reuniclus—intending to integrate them into the surveillance system of the YoYo Day Care. This was part of their effort to further enhance the surveillance network's functionality.
Thinking back, Yuga felt a twinge of regret. He should have secretly brought back the machine designed to amplify the psychic power of the Reuniclus and enhance Zoroark's illusion abilities. If he handed it over to Mewtwo for research, it might have proven invaluable.
Unfortunately, that specialized machine had already been taken by the Unova League. Retrieving it now would be difficult.
Still, the promised reward from Unova hadn't arrived yet. Maybe he could bring it up during negotiations and see if he could get something useful in return!
Yuga made a mental note to call them about it later.
After delegating the task of investigating the Ancient Plant Research Institute to the Xatu, Yuga put the matter out of his mind and went about his usual business.
However, as the day drew to a close, the Xatu had yet to return with any report.
Logically, the research institute was located just outside Verdanturf Town. A round trip for the Xatu shouldn't take more than a few minutes. Even accounting for some time spent investigating, it was unusual for them to remain absent until nightfall. Yuga had only asked them to scout, not engage in any other tasks.
Sensing that something was amiss, Yuga immediately summoned Dragonite and rode it toward the direction of the Ancient Plant Research Institute.
To be cautious, he also brought along Ninetales.
Dragonite flew at incredible speed, and in no time, Yuga was soaring over the outskirts of town.
From a distance, Yuga could already see the entire Ancient Plant Research Institute completely enveloped by a mass of green vegetation. There wasn't a single trace of the buildings left visible.
As Dragonite flew closer, Yuga noticed that the plants were covered with tiny pink flowers, each no larger than a coin. The flowers exuded a captivating fragrance.
Just as Yuga found himself wanting to take a few deeper breaths, Ninetales' urgent voice suddenly echoed in his ears. "Don't breathe it in! This scent seems to have a hallucinogenic effect."
Yuga snapped out of his daze, jolted by the warning. He realized he had indeed been feeling a bit lightheaded, as though something had been subtly controlling him.
Turning to Dragonite, he saw the Pokémon reacting the same way he had been. Dragonite had stretched its neck toward a nearby flower, seemingly entranced.
"Get out of here now!" Ninetales shouted sharply. Yuga quickly urged Dragonite to retreat.
It wasn't until they had flown beyond the range of the Ancient Plant Research Institute that Yuga's mind felt fully clear again.
Dragonite shook its head vigorously, clearly shaken by the experience.
Still feeling a lingering sense of dread, Yuga turned to Ninetales. "I owe you one. If not for your warning, I wouldn't have realized I'd been affected." His earlier investments had certainly paid off.
Ninetales shook its head and said, "Nothing." Its mental strength was incredibly resilient, and the moment the hallucinogenic effects of the floral scent activated, it noticed.
"What are those plants? How did they grow like this? Could everyone in the research institute be in trouble?" Yuga asked, frowning as he gazed at the Ancient Plant Research Institute, now completely unrecognizable.
As for the origin of these plants, there was no doubt the research institute must have brought this upon themselves.
At this moment, Yuga was extremely worried about the Xatu. He fervently hoped they hadn't encountered any danger.
Ninetales admitted it had never seen such plants before and bluntly suggested, "Why don't I just burn them all to ashes?"
Yuga glared at it angrily. "What if there are still people inside? Do you want to burn them along with the Xatu?"
Despite racking his brain, Yuga couldn't come up with a solution. He debated whether to return to the town and seek help from others. He even released his other Grass-type Pokémon to brainstorm for ideas.
Considering it was a plant-related issue, perhaps the Grass-types might have a way to handle it.
Eventually, Venusaur offered to give it a try.
However, Venusaur couldn't guarantee success and intended to go in alone.
Yuga, worried about Venusaur's safety, looked concerned and said, "Maybe we should think of another way." Returning to town might take more time, but it would certainly be safer.
But could the Xatu hold on until then?
"Venusaur~"
Venusaur shook its head, insisting it would be cautious and urging Yuga not to worry.
Reluctantly, Yuga agreed to let Venusaur go alone, trusting it due to his concern for the Xatu 's safety and Venusaur's determination.
Venusaur took deliberate steps toward the research institute. Just as it was about to step into the flower-scented zone, Yuga noticed a pink mist emanating from the flower on Venusaur's back.
The mist surrounded Venusaur, creating a protective shield as it entered the research institute.
That's when Yuga remembered that Venusaur's Sweet Scent was different from that of other Grass-type Pokémon. Its scent contained trace amounts of toxins, giving it hallucinogenic and beguiling effects, albeit not as potent as the floral scent in the area.
Was this some kind of "using poison to fight poison"?
Shortly after Venusaur left, Yuga noticed a passing Taillow succumb to the floral scent, falling straight into the bushes.
The plants covering the research institute seemed to be a type of thorny vine, covered with barbs. The intertwined vines were so thick that some were even broader than Yuga's thighs.
Yuga couldn't fathom how these plants had grown so wildly in such a short period.
After Venusaur left, Yuga immediately contacted the police station and informed Masato Shirai about the situation at the research institute. Masato Shirai assured him that he would bring reinforcements immediately.
Yuga emphasized the importance of bringing plenty of gas masks; otherwise, their efforts would be futile.
Although he wasn't sure if gas masks would even be effective.
Before Masato Shirai and his team could arrive, Venusaur returned, using its vines to drag several unconscious Pokémon, including the Xatu Yuga had sent earlier.
These Pokémon had been knocked out by the floral scent and collapsed outside the research institute.
Seeing that the Xatu were still breathing, Yuga breathed a sigh of relief.
After placing the unconscious Pokémon to the side, Venusaur retracted its vines and informed Yuga that the entrance to the research institute was blocked by a dense wall of thorns. It couldn't get inside.
Those thorny plants were incredibly sturdy. Despite Venusaur's repeated attacks, the thorns remained intact, only showing superficial damage to their outer layer.
Soon after, Masato Shirai and his team arrived, equipped with gas masks.
Yuga directed some officers to transport the unconscious Pokémon to the Pokémon Center while the rest joined him and Masato Shirai in investigating the research institute.
The gas masks provided by the police also had versions designed for Pokémon, so Yuga equipped Ninetales with one.
As for Venusaur, it didn't need one—it wouldn't fit anyway. The police's custom gas masks were made for Pokémon like Growlithe and Arcanine, not for Venusaur's massive face.
Led by Venusaur, the group arrived at the research institute's entrance.
Just as Venusaur had described, the entire institute was encased in a thick layer of thorny vines, with the entrance being particularly overgrown. The vines were interwoven and covered in sharp thorns, making them nearly impenetrable.
Although Venusaur couldn't break through the vines, Ninetales had no such issue. With a powerful swing of its tails, the thorny vines snapped one after another.
The thorns posed no threat to Ninetales's Iron Tail.
"Alright, let's head inside."
The research institute's doors weren't locked, and once the vines were cleared, the entrance became visible.
However, just as Yuga lifted his foot to step inside, a wave of dizziness suddenly hit him, accompanied by tightness in his chest and a bout of nausea.
"This isn't good! The gas mask isn't fully blocking out the scent of the flowers!" Yuga said, gripping the doorframe for support.
Sure enough, Masato Shirai, the other officers, and their Pokémon were all exhibiting similar symptoms.
Seeing this, Venusaur quickly extended two vine whips, pulling both Yuga and Ninetales onto its back. A pink mist began to swirl around Venusaur's body, forming a barrier that kept the flower's scent at bay. The dizziness Yuga felt immediately subsided.
"Director Shirai, you should lead your team out of here. Leave the rest to me," Yuga urged.
Though clearly suffering, Masato Shirai nodded and agreed, "Alright, but you must be careful." He then led his team, all stumbling, back out.
If not for the gas masks reducing the potency of the flower's scent, they likely would have collapsed on the spot, just like the other Pokémon earlier.
Once Masato Shirai and his team had exited, Venusaur continued carrying Yuga deeper into the institute.
Yuga was amazed that Venusaur could utilize the pink mist from its Sweet Scent to create a barrier that blocked the flower's scent entirely.
Due to Venusaur's massive size, navigating the institute's narrow entrance was challenging. Combined with the thorny vines obstructing the path, their progress was painfully slow.
Thanks to Venusaur's help, the faint flower scent no longer affected Ninetales. Ninetales even removed its gas mask altogether, opting instead to burn away any obstructing vines with a controlled burst of flames.
Despite the fire, Ninetales kept the flames tightly controlled, ensuring no other parts of the institute were damaged.
As they ventured deeper into the institute, Yuga began to notice that the flowers on the thorny vines were starting to wither. Small, green fruits had begun to appear where the flowers once bloomed.
The farther they went, the more the vines bore ripe fruit, their color shifting from green to deep purplish-red, emitting a faint fruity aroma.
Of course, this aroma was blocked by the barrier of Venusaur's Sweet Scent, leaving Yuga and Ninetales unable to smell it. Only Venusaur could detect the fragrance clearly.
"Nngh~" Venusaur couldn't help but swallow its saliva, thinking: These fruits look so delicious.
Before anyone could stop it, it reached out with its vine whip, plucked a fruit, and popped it into its mouth. Smack, smack—delicious!
"Venusaur, don't… don't eat that… ah!" Yuga barely had time to react.
"Venusaur, are you okay? How could you eat something randomly like that? What if it upsets your stomach?" Yuga scolded.
"Venusaur~ Venusaur~"
I'm fine! It tastes great!
"Really?" Yuga examined Venusaur and found it in good spirits, finally relaxing.
As they moved deeper into the research facility, Yuga noticed that more and more ripe fruits were hanging on the thorny vines. Each fruit was about the size of a fist, plump and glossy, looking incredibly enticing.
Yuga had Venusaur pluck one for him to inspect. However, as soon as the alluring aroma reached his nose, he fell into a daze. Ninetales had to slap him awake with a paw.
When Yuga regained consciousness, he was so startled that he immediately tossed the fruit away.
Meanwhile, Venusaur was happily munching as they went along, using its vine whips to grab fruits and stuff them into its mouth. Its mouth was soon dripping with juice.
"Is it really that tasty?" Yuga asked skeptically.
"Venusaur~ Venusaur~"
Delicious, absolutely delicious!
Venusaur mumbled with its mouth full.
Both Yuga and Ninetales eyed the purple-red fruits warily, deciding they were better off avoiding them. These fruits, along with the thorny vines they grew on, seemed to contain a high concentration of hallucinogenic toxins. Regular Pokémon would be overwhelmed by the toxins' effects.
Venusaur, however, claimed that eating the fruit made its entire body feel warm and comfortable.
Yuga thought to himself: If Venusaur can eat them, I wonder if Roserade could too.
Unfortunately, Roserade, like the others, became dizzy and disoriented from the floral scent and couldn't navigate the thorny vines as effortlessly as Venusaur could.
As they ventured further, Yuga and his team found several researchers lying unconscious within the facility.
Upon examining them, Yuga confirmed that none were in life-threatening danger; they were simply in a deep state of unconsciousness. No amount of shaking or shouting could wake them.
Some were even mumbling in their sleep, smiling brightly as though they were having the happiest dreams.
Since Yuga needed to continue investigating the facility, he couldn't escort them out immediately. He gathered them all in one place for the time being.
They've been unconscious for a while now; a little longer shouldn't make much difference, he reasoned.
Strangely enough, even though Yuga, Venusaur, and Ninetales had cleared away a large number of thorny vines, they still couldn't locate the roots of the overgrown vegetation.
The vines were so tangled that it was impossible to determine the right direction to trace them back to their source.
If they could find and destroy the root system, the thorny vines would no longer be a threat.
Venusaur, meanwhile, continued snacking as they searched. Before long, it was completely stuffed and started packing leftover fruits into Yuga's spatial backpack.
Yuga couldn't argue with Venusaur and had to empty out his own backpack, transferring his belongings into the system's storage, and handed over the now-empty bag.
Venusaur only stopped when the backpack was full. It then handed the bag back to Yuga, signaling for him to keep it safe.
Yuga sighed. Between eating and hoarding, Venusaur acted like this research facility was its personal orchard. Anyone unaware of the situation might genuinely think so.
To be honest, Yuga didn't want anything to do with the fruits—they were far too dangerous. But with Venusaur staring at him expectantly, he had no choice but to take the bag.
Thankfully, the aroma was sealed inside the spatial backpack once the fruits were packed. Otherwise, Yuga wouldn't have dared touch it.
After wandering for what felt like ages, Yuga and his team finally reached the botanical garden within the ancient plant research facility. It was there that they discovered the origin of the thorny vines.