The Sudden Surge in Worth

The sudden female voice drowned out his command.

Boom!

The ground not far to the left of the Hound Team member suddenly exploded, and a silver shadow pounced straight out of it!

"Just as I thought—an ambush!"

He hurriedly threw himself to the right, opening another Poké Ball hidden in his palm. "Don't worry about me! Grab her!"

His shout made the two canine Pokémon that had turned their heads continue charging forward.

Bang!

A flash of white shot out and transformed into a bronze circular mirror with six copper beads set around its edge. It blocked the way and collided with Aron.

Clang!

A piercing explosion rang out!

The Hound Team member had thought it would at least be able to block the attack, but he never expected the Levitate Bronzor to be sent flying by Aron, causing the latter to crash heavily onto his chest.

"Pfft!"

Damn it! It can't even withstand a single Aron!

His throat turned sweet, and he nearly spat out a mouthful of blood. He immediately turned to look at his other two Pokémon.

As long as they captured the enemy, there was still a chance to turn things around—

How was that possible?!

The Hound Team member widened his eyes and stared at the scene not far away in disbelief, coughing and struggling frantically.

The "enemy" had been pinned down by Houndoom, whose foul-smelling maw was clamped around her neck in a false bite. Mightyena rapidly scanned the surroundings and, realizing that something was wrong with their Trainer, tried to rush back and help.

Yet neither of them noticed the Vibrava that had somehow appeared atop the rock behind the "enemy."

"Dragon Breath!"

Boom!

Indigo flames gushed from its mouth, blasting the returning Mightyena away!

"Arf!?"

Houndoom raised its head in astonishment. A sudden force of extraction came from beneath its paws. When it looked down, it saw that the enemy had been dragged away. Turning its head again, it realized that the one doing the dragging was one of its own?

That uniform was the Hound Team's, right? Right?

It was at a loss and wanted instructions from its Trainer. Just as it turned toward the Trainer's position, a tremor emerged alongside the command!

"Earth Power!"

Vast orange-red energy shook the ground and suddenly surged up from beneath its feet!

Rumble—!!

Like a volcanic eruption, the blazing energy sent it flying!

In midair.

Houndoom let out a pained whine before crashing heavily to the ground. After twitching a few times, it stopped moving.

It had clearly been "one-shot" and knocked unconscious on the spot.

But it wasn't over yet.

The Hound Team member struggled to push Aron away, but Aron responded by smashing a Headbutt into his forehead, making his vision swim with stars.

Not far away, Bronzor, which had been sent flying, adjusted its position and prepared to counterattack. Blue light shone from its eyes as it used Confusion.

Mightyena, which had been blasted away by Dragon Breath, also staggered back to its feet. It bared its sharp fangs viciously, but just as it was about to take a step, tiny electric currents began jumping across its body.

[Paralysis], a secondary effect of Dragon Breath.

Baimu pressed his advantage and threw a Smoke Ball toward the Hound Team member.

Pfft!

A large amount of purple smoke spread as the ball exploded. With its vision obscured, Bronzor's blue light flickered repeatedly, forcing it to change direction and manipulate Baimu's body.

It never expected that Baimu had already dashed into the smoke.

Bronzor hesitated, unsure whether it should pursue him inside.

Mightyena was panting heavily and about to make a move when three red beams shot out of the smoke. They swept left and right, sucking in the Pokémon that had suddenly realized the danger and tried to flee.

Then.

Even the unconscious Houndoom was carried away by the red light.

"...Phew. It's over."

Baimu emerged from the purple mist with Aron, dragging the Hound Team member with one hand and holding the man's backpack in the other.

He said to the female Hound Team member, who was rubbing the back of her neck, "You really worked hard. I didn't expect this guy to be such a nuisance. The ambush almost failed."

"..."

The female Hound Team member said nothing. She merely looked at the bewildered, dazed Hound Team member.

"--Huo Wu! You betrayed the Hound Team!"

The latter came back to his senses when he saw her and said viciously, "You bastard! Just wait until I get out! I'll make sure the higher-ups kill you!"

"Get lost! I didn't betray anyone! You were too useless to see through the trap, so why blame me?"

Huo Wu shouted back, "You'd better worry about your own life first! Idiot!!"

Hearing that, the Hound Team member immediately raised his right hand to call for help, only to discover that Baimu had already taken his Bracelets.

In other words, he had lost the right to decide his own fate.

"Mm..."

"Heh heh heh. Kid, get a clear idea of your situation."

Baimu pressed one knee onto the Hound Team member's back, making him let out a pained grunt while also stopping him from making any funny moves. "Or do I need to break one of your legs before you'll understand?"

"..."

The man slightly raised his head, his gaze shifting between Aron and Vibrava. He stopped talking.

Baimu tied up his hands and feet, then searched him, successfully pocketing a number of small items, including a blade. "You're not very honest... In that case, I have no choice."

He returned Aron and Vibrava to their Poké Balls, thanked them, then took out another Poké Ball and opened it.

Bang.

"Lucky?"

Chansey looked around blankly.

He patted the other Pokémon's fluffy head. "Please use Sing and let this guy sleep well."

"Wait! Don't! Wait!" The Hound Team member's expression changed drastically as he struggled desperately.

Baimu found a piece of cloth and stuffed it into the man's mouth before giving another command.

"Lucky~"

Chansey nodded slightly. Raising both hands and closing its eyes, it began to sing. Under the pale pink sound waves, the Hound Team member soon fell asleep.

He and Huo Wu also lowered the hands covering their ears.

Normally, one could resist Sing by covering one's ears and avoiding the pale pink sound waves.

The Jigglypuff in the anime had purely been created as a "Legendary Pokémon" for entertainment value, much like the all-powerful Bewear in Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon. It couldn't be used as a standard.

In principle, it was much the same as Pokémon being unable to leave their Poké Balls of their own accord.

The dust settled.

One of the two Rotom Drones flew away, while the other slowly descended.

"You have received a total of 2.4 million in rewards."

"--How much!?"

Baimu stared at the Rotom Drone in astonishment, then looked at the equally stunned Huo Wu. "2.4 million?"

The Rotom Drone gave no response and rose back into the air.

Huo Wu nodded with a complicated expression. "That is indeed the number."

2.4 million.

Baimu fell into deep thought. The sum was enormous for him at present, but he wasn't surprised. Instead, he began wondering whether accepting the money would bring trouble.

Should he offer his thanks?

Who would reward him with such a large sum? Had someone lost a bet and given him the winnings?

After thinking it over repeatedly, he still bowed slightly toward the Rotom Drone. "Thank you for your reward. I am deeply honored."

Regardless of who the donor was, anyone capable of throwing around this much money was someone Baimu couldn't afford to offend. There was no need to display any rebellious attitude at a time like this.

At the Silicon Beryllium City banquet.

Baimu's respectful expression of thanks was clearly displayed on the screen. The guests praised him and applauded, while Ejin smiled from the second floor.

Without a doubt, that old man had started things off by rewarding Baimu with one million PokéDollars. The guests had followed suit, eventually contributing nearly two million. The rest had come from rewards elsewhere.

The amount hadn't grown even larger because each person had a maximum single reward of one hundred thousand PokéDollars. Only Ejin possessed the authority to give more.

Besides, the contestant's rewards couldn't be allowed to become too excessive. They had to remain within certain limits.

Outside the arena.

In the competition's control room, Ayana was beaming. She barely cared about the outcome of the battle on the other side anymore. She glanced at the dark-faced man whose expression had turned livid and let out a derisive laugh.

The man had just lost five hundred thousand. It wasn't a huge sum, but losing face was another matter.

At the Quicksand Team's base, nearly everyone was in high spirits.

They had bet on Baimu to win and had made a fortune. If they had had a way to give rewards, they certainly would have joined in.

The rescued Quicksand Team member watched the screen as jealousy, envy, regret, and other emotions repeatedly flashed across his face. He glanced at his bandaged legs and let out a helpless sigh.

"Haah..."

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