The Ultimate Scumbag

Baimu had imagined many possibilities for encountering Jian.

But being "ambushed" had genuinely taken him by surprise.

Still.

What puzzled him more was why, after confirming his location, Jian had not launched an attack immediately. Instead, he had stood there casually, chatted for a while, and only then requested a battle.

Confidence in his own strength?

That was the only explanation. People could not understand one another completely; no one could truly see through someone else.

At that moment, something else baffled him.

The battle request had been accepted, yet Jian still did not attack. Instead, he glanced from afar at the Hound Team member whose cheek was pressed against the scorching ground at Baimu's feet. "Just one?"

"More than one."

Baimu placed a hand behind his back and discreetly gestured downward at Aron in the shadows.

Aron understood and silently dug underground.

"If that's the case, let's exchange hostages," Jian said, seemingly unaware of his little move.

Exchange hostages?

Leaving aside whether Jian even had a hostage, the loser would be at the other's mercy anyway. Was there any need to exchange hostages beforehand?

As Baimu wondered, the other man pulled out a bloodstained headscarf covered in mottled, strange patterns.

This was—

"I think you should recognize this, right? Hehehehe. This guy's got a really hard mouth."

Jian waved the headscarf, a smug smile plastered across his face. "I beat him for over ten minutes, and he still wouldn't tell me where you were. He could've just made something up, said he didn't know, and I would've let him go. But he just had to keep his mouth shut.

"So I smashed his teeth, crushed his fingers, and broke his legs. Hahahahaha! You know he cried? Hahaha, it killed me."

Baimu: "..."

"He's still got a few breaths left, but if he keeps baking under the sun, who knows how much longer he'll last. Don't you agree?"

Jian casually tossed the headscarf to the ground and viciously ground it beneath his foot. The malice pouring from him was nearly tangible as he arrogantly said, "So, are you going to trade? Hehehehe..."

Stay calm.

Keep calm.

Baimu tried hard to settle his emotions.

He more or less understood why Jian was doing these meaningless things—for the show.

By using every possible method to break his opponent's spirit, Jian could create dramatic livestream highlights, draw more attention, and earn tips and rewards.

This guy really was smart, and he had firmly grasped what many Pyrite Town viewers enjoyed—violence, humiliation, hatred, and hysteria.

And to some extent, exchanging hostages was also a way to curry favor with his organization.

"Look, I'm saving one of our own! Shouldn't someone as dependable as me be rewarded and cheered for?"

Therefore.

If one peeled away the filthy outer layer of malice and distortion, what lay beneath was the essence of money and power melding together.

A maggot willing to do anything to climb higher.

What was even more terrifying was that someone like this would not be condemned in Pyrite Town. On the contrary, he would receive widespread adoration...

It was nauseating.

Baimu felt deeply irritated. Perhaps because of Otsuka, perhaps because of Jian's arrogance... or even because of Pyrite Town, which had spawned scum like him.

After all, there was never just one of these bastards. There were likely countless more.

Just thinking about it...

"I'm going to throw up."

Watching Jian divert part of his attention toward the camera, Baimu abruptly raised a hand and opened a Poké Ball.

Bang!

Bzzz—

The noisy beating of wings sounded beside him.

"Watch the left!"

Baimu did not shift his gaze, decisively pointing toward the shadows behind him to the left.

The instant he spoke, a pitch-black bird abruptly emerged from the shadows and swooped down like an arrow!

"Caw—"

Honchkrow let out a piercing screech.

"Vibrava!"

Warned in time, Vibrava reacted a fraction too slowly. Fortunately, there was still quite some distance between them, allowing its wings to accelerate to an extremely high frequency!

A cyan vibration wave that warped the air suddenly blasted forward.

Bug Buzz!

Choking smoke billowed everywhere.

Had it landed?

No, it had not.

As the ear-splitting sound waves weakened slightly, Baimu turned his head and saw Vibrava and Honchkrow flying high into the sky.

The two chased and evaded one another, clearly locked in a drawn-out aerial battle.

"Oho? A Pokémon from the executives really is something else. Honchkrow finally has some fun."

Jian seemed completely unconcerned that Honchkrow might lose. As though he had already seen the inevitable victory, he leisurely said, "Such a good Pokémon is wasted on you."

Baimu did not respond, recalling the hurriedly approaching Chansey into its Poké Ball.

Jian was indeed a particularly vicious opponent. He had hidden his Pokémon beforehand and deliberately exposed a small flaw. If Baimu's senses had not been sharp, he truly might not have noticed Honchkrow lurking in hiding.

For all he knew, the remaining two Pokémon were hidden somewhere as well.

As for intelligence, Jian had said before the battle that someone had tipped him off. It was only natural for him to know Vibrava's origins.

Baimu took out another Poké Ball.

To his surprise, Jian waved dismissively. "Alright, alright. I know you like using Dig. I know your Aron was lying in wait ahead of time. Who are you trying to fool with an empty Poké Ball?"

As he spoke, he abruptly backed away.

Boom!

The sand and dirt burst apart!

The silver-glinting Aron shot out, but missed. Looking up, it saw only the white light of a Poké Ball opening.

Bang.

"Crunch!"

"Awwooo!"

A howl rang out. A chilling, gaping maw rushed in from the distance with incredible speed, dark black light flowing over it.

In an instant, Dark-type energy coated its jaws!

"Iron Defense!"

Crack!

Amid a hurried cry, Mightyena's fangs viciously clamped down on Aron's head. Even as energy exploded, it did not let go, the vicious aura it emitted chilling to the bone.

But unfortunately, no matter how hard it tried, its canine teeth could not pierce Aron's silver, steel armor.

Seeing that its bite could leave only shallow marks, Mightyena began to retreat.

Jian's command came just in time. "Fall back!"

"Rock Tomb!" Baimu shouted.

Aron raised its forepaws and smashed them into the ground. Countless fragments of stone flew toward Mightyena under the push of some force.

Unfortunately, Mightyena retreated too quickly. Most of the stones missed, with only a few striking its head and abdomen. The distance was too great for them to deal meaningful damage.

"Phew..."

Baimu, now behind Aron, breathed a sigh of relief. He had rushed out after Jian the moment Jian retreated, preventing his Pokémon from becoming separated from him.

Chansey did not have the ability to fight independently. If Aron had been lured away by Jian's Mightyena like Vibrava, then Baimu would have had to fight by himself.

Fight a Pokémon barehanded?

He could.

But there was no need.

Compared to Baimu's relief, Jian's expression was far from pleasant.

Although he had seen through Aron's sneak attack, Mightyena's Crunch had failed to take it down. Iron Defense was certainly one reason...

But Aron's reaction speed and endurance also proved that Baimu was no ordinary scrub.

"You really piss me off!"

Jian's arrogant expression darkened. He pressed the switch on his second Poké Ball and released the Galarian Linoone inside.

"Maash!"

The strange black-and-white creature stuck out its long tongue and cried out with malice.

Baimu did not dare lower his guard, releasing Chansey to support Aron.

"Lucky~"

Chansey stood behind Aron. It was uneasy, yet unlike before, it did not try to hide. It was not stupid; it had immediately sensed the malice coming from those guys across from it.

There was no running away.

For a moment.

The four Pokémon watched one another as tension naturally filled the air.

"Body Press Chansey! Use Swagger to hold Aron back!"

After less than five seconds of stalemate, Jian gave the first command.

He clearly had little patience, and he understood Chansey's healing abilities well. Thus, he decisively attempted to take it down first.

But to mislead Baimu, he did not specify which Pokémon would use which move.

The moment his words fell.

Mightyena charged ferociously at Chansey's position, with Galarian Linoone following close behind.

"Aw!"

"Gah!"

Aron could not hold back from wanting to meet them head-on, but Baimu loudly stopped it.

"Fall back! Get in front of Chansey! Rock Tomb!"

The moment it heard him, it decisively abandoned the collision with Mightyena, retreating in front of Chansey and stomping its forepaws into the ground!

Boom!

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—

Countless stones flew toward Mightyena. A dark-red glow lit up across its body, and even as the rocks came flying, it showed no panic. It allowed the stones to strike its body, its expression utterly arrogant.

Seeing that expression, an inexplicable blaze of indignation rose within Aron, nearly burning away its reason.

Fortunately, the scattering rocks not only obstructed Mightyena's path, but also partially blocked their lines of sight, causing Swagger to fail.

But behind Mightyena, Galarian Linoone leaped into the air. Surrounded by red light, it displayed terrifying jumping power, easily vaulting over Aron's head and narrowly skimming past Rock Tomb.

"Maash!"

Its scarlet tongue hung out as it aimed directly at Chansey within the swirling smoke—

Huh?

Where was the egg?

It froze for a moment. After landing behind Aron, it stared wide-eyed at Baimu nearby. The large Chansey had suddenly vanished without a trace.

So.

Rather cleverly, it stopped dwelling on Chansey and continued leaping forward.

If it could not catch the Pokémon, catching the Trainer worked just as well.

Capture the leader first!

"I was waiting for you."

Unexpectedly, Baimu seemed to have anticipated its plan. He covered his eyes with one arm and viciously threw something in his hand to the ground.

Boom!

A burst of blinding light and deafening noise erupted!

Though it was noon and the surroundings were fairly bright, Galarian Linoone, being closest, still had its vision severely impaired, while a constant ringing filled its ears.

Mightyena and Jian, farther behind, were in better condition, but they were affected as well.

This gave Aron an opening. Its back was to the flashbang, and only its ears had suffered.

Iron Head!

It recalled Baimu's command and acted immediately. Beneath a silver halo, its mask-like head shone with a distinctive radiance.

"Mightyena, get back here!"

Jian repeatedly blinked his stinging eyes as he hurriedly backed away.

How could he have expected this bastard to have flashbangs on him? For all he knew, Baimu might come charging at him next.

Yet the instant his vision returned, Aron, which he had expected to rush toward him, had somehow turned around and rammed its head into Galarian Linoone's waist!

Bang!