Win, Go to Jail; Lose, Go to the Hospital

Xingye suddenly threw a punch, smashing Mihao in the face and knocking him onto the beach. The situation was so abrupt that nobody had time to react.

"You..."

Mihao gritted his teeth and climbed up from the ground. The intense pain in his face finally brought him back to his senses, but what awaited him was a kick flying straight at his face!

"You treat your own Pokémon like merchandise?"

"They only became your Pokémon because they acknowledged you or believed in you, and they were willing to fight for you and do other things for you!"

"And as a Trainer, you actually treat that trust like something to be traded, trampling all over it! Trash like you—I'll beat the hell out of you!"

Xingye fired back word by word. Even worse than irresponsible scum were the scumbags who deceived Pokémon with trust and promises, staining their dreams for their own benefit!

Ceruledge and Delphox heard every word, especially the former. Something seemed to shift in its eyes at that moment, but it vanished in an instant, leaving only coldness behind.

Xingye's blows landed solidly. Enduring the pain and humiliation, Mihao finally erupted. Better to rely on himself than beg others; better to rely on himself than Pokémon.

As an adult and a Trainer who had traveled for years, Mihao was by no means physically weak. He had simply been frightened by Ceruledge earlier, then caught off guard and beaten before he could react.

Now that he had recovered, he could no longer remain passive. He grabbed Xingye's leg, threw him onto the sand, then rolled over and punched him. "How I deal with my own things is none of your fucking business!"

The two humans instantly began grappling on the beach while a group of Pokémon watched from around them. Gladion looked equally stunned and muttered, "Is this the even rarer Trainer battle beyond Pokémon battles?"

Stunned as he was, wasn't this also an opportunity for him? After all, neither of them was paying attention to this side right now...

Cyclizar swayed back and forth, watching Xingye roll around in the sand with Mihao while also keeping an eye on Lycanroc. It had no idea what it should do.

Gladion's gaze immediately settled on Delphox. This was the only Pokémon he wanted. Under the current circumstances, he could simply snatch it away!

But Ceruledge was still there. He had seen it instantly defeat Toxicroak earlier, so he still needed to fight it. He only had to stall it!

"So I can only use it..."

Gladion turned sideways and threw out a Poké Ball. Ceruledge shifted its attention over at that moment, and its eyes paused slightly when it saw the Pokémon he had sent out.

This Pokémon looked rather strange. Its forelegs resembled those of an insect, while its hind legs and body looked more like those of a beast.

Its tail resembled a fish's, and its overall coloring was dark, like some stitched-together monster assembled from several different creatures.

A strange mask-like device was embedded on its head, looking extremely heavy. Its neck was locked by a cross-shaped object, as though its power had been deliberately sealed away...

Gladion raised a hand in front of his face, striking an extremely theatrical pose as he shouted, "Type: Null, show me your power!"

"..."

Ceruledge had never seen such a strange Pokémon as Type: Null, but the sight of something locking down a Pokémon's head greatly displeased it. Seeing Type: Null obey Gladion's command and charge toward it, it immediately swung its blade!

Clang—

Bitter Blade struck Type: Null's mask head-on, sending brilliant sparks flying. Yet strangely, it did not even leave a crack behind.

"..."

Ceruledge was clearly stunned for a moment. In that brief instant, Type: Null had already raised its foreleg and brought down Shadow Claw...

Seeing that everyone and every Pokémon had been held up, Gladion immediately moved to grab Delphox. But he had still underestimated Ceruledge's strength.

With one hand, it blocked Type: Null's attack. With the other, it swept its blade through the air, igniting a wall of ghostly blue fire between them and separating both sides.

"This guy!"

Gladion shot it a stunned glance and was just about to take out a Poké Ball when police sirens suddenly sounded from the distant night market.

The commotion from the battle by the sea had finally caught the police's attention. While Pokémon battles generally were not prohibited outside public venues,

it was already so late, and they were fighting in a place without even any lights. Naturally, the officers maintaining public order had come over to ask what was going on.

"Tch..."

Gladion curled his lip and recalled both Type: Null and Lycanroc. He no longer bothered with Delphox either. Apparently unwilling to be questioned by the police, he turned and left.

Ceruledge did not chase after him. Instead, it leaped away and vanished. It was unclear whether it had left directly or was hiding nearby to observe in secret.

The two people, seemingly still unaware that the police were coming, continued grappling on the beach. Blood sprayed everywhere, and their gear was scattered all over the ground.

However, Xingye had not rested for two days, and his stamina had fallen behind. Though he had started it, he had now become the one getting beaten up.

"Cyclizar!"

Cyclizar ran over to help, clenching its fist. But the two kept rolling around in the sand and constantly switching positions, leaving it unsure where to strike.

Xingye, already beaten nearly beyond recognition, struggled to shout, "Hit his head, hurry and hit him! Aim for his head! I'll hold him down!"

"Cyclizar..."

Cyclizar stopped hesitating. Seizing the opportunity, it threw a punch—but Mihao seemed to have been waiting for that exact moment. He suddenly exerted himself and switched positions in an instant!

Before Xingye could react, Cyclizar's fist struck him in the head. His legs instantly went rigid, and he croaked on the spot...

"Cyclizar!!!"

Seeing Xingye seemingly die, Cyclizar cried out in overwhelming guilt. Mihao immediately broke free, and a disdainful smile appeared on his battered face.

"A schoolkid like you thinks he can fight me?"

As he spoke, he heard the distant police sirens as well and knew he had to escape quickly, while Cyclizar was still too grief-stricken to recover.

Pain radiated from all over his body, but fortunately, he had not suffered any serious injuries. Still, he had never expected to be beaten into such a state by some brat. What rotten luck!

He took out Poké Balls and recalled Toxapex and Toxicroak. Then he took out another one and looked at Delphox, which was crouching on the ground nearby. His mood grew even more irritated, because everything that had happened today had begun because of this thing!

"Get back here, you useless trash!"

Mihao aimed the Poké Ball at it and was about to recall it when Delphox, with its back to him, slowly stood up. A branch had appeared in its hand—the item Xingye had dropped earlier. Then flames suddenly ignited at the branch's tip!

At the very moment the Poké Ball's red light shot toward it, despair in its eyes turned into resolve. It suddenly spun around and forcefully blew the flames from the branch forward. Fire Spin hit directly!

"Ah!!!"

A scream rang out, making the police hurry their pace. Flames wrapped around Mihao's entire right hand. He dropped to his knees and tried to smother them with sand, but the Poké Ball burned to ash in the fire. Delphox had completely severed its ties with him!

"Delphox!"

Delphox tucked the branch, its flames extinguished, back into its tail. It no longer paid any attention to that scumbag and hurried anxiously toward Xingye...

Woo-woo~ Woo-woo~

The police sirens continued to blare. Some Trainers had no idea what had happened, only seeing several police cars stop on the road by the sea, while an ambulance had already arrived.

Mihao's injuries were not severe. After Joy treated him on the spot, he was handed over to Jenny for temporary detention pending questioning about the incident.

As the Pokémon involved and witnesses to the entire event, Cyclizar and Delphox were taken away as well.

Xingye, who was the most seriously injured, was immediately carried into the ambulance and sent to the hospital for emergency treatment.

He lay on the stretcher, beaten beyond recognition, while Slowking was somehow standing beside him. Through telepathy, it slowly said, "How embarrassing. If you don't have what it takes to be bad, don't go picking fights. And even if you do fight, you got beaten this badly and nearly lost your life."

Upon hearing that, the motionless Xingye suddenly opened his eyes. With his mouth crooked, he answered with a somewhat smug smile, "Doesn't matter. I know how to make things entertaining."

"Doesn't matter. I put the medical expenses on your tab. Remember to pay them back after you're discharged."

"Fuck!"