Baimu had imagined many possible ways he might run into Jian.
But being ambushed had genuinely caught him off guard.
However.
What puzzled him even more was that, despite confirming Baimu's location, Jian hadn't launched an attack immediately. Instead, he'd stood there brazenly, chatted for a while, and only then issued a battle challenge.
Confidence in his own strength?
That was the only explanation. People couldn't understand one another, and no one could completely see through another person.
At that moment, something else that confused him happened.
The battle challenge succeeded, yet Jian still didn't attack. Instead, he glanced from afar at the Hound Team member beneath Baimu's feet, his cheek pressed against the scorching ground. "Just one?"
"Not the only one."
Baimu put his hands behind his back and secretly gestured downward toward Aron in the shadows.
Aron understood and silently dug into the ground.
"Since that's the case, let's exchange hostages." Jian seemed not to notice his movement and said something that made little sense.
Exchange hostages?
Putting aside whether Jian even had a hostage, the loser could be dealt with however the winner pleased. Was there any need to exchange hostages beforehand?
While Baimu was puzzled, Jian pulled out a bloodstained headscarf covered in mottled, bizarre patterns.
This was—
"I think you should recognize this? Heh heh heh heh. This guy's mouth was really tough."
Jian waved the headscarf around, his face full of smug delight. "I beat him for more than ten minutes, but he still refused to tell me where you were. He could've just made something up and said he didn't know, and I'd have let him go. But he insisted on being stubborn.
"So I smashed his teeth, crushed his fingers, and broke his legs. Hahahahaha! This guy cried, you know? Hahaha, it was hilarious."
Baimu: "..."
"He still has a few breaths left in him, but if he keeps baking in the sun like this, who knows how much longer he'll last. Don't you agree?"
Jian casually threw the headscarf onto the ground and viciously ground it underfoot several times. His dense malice seemed almost tangible as it spilled out, and he said with rampant arrogance, "So, are you exchanging them now? Heh heh heh heh..."
Stay calm.
Keep calm.
Baimu worked hard to steady his emotions.
He more or less understood why Jian had done all these pointless things—for the show's effect.
He used all sorts of methods to provoke his opponents into losing their composure, creating dramatic moments for the livestream and making it more eye-catching so that he could earn more tips.
The man really was clever. He had also firmly grasped the tastes of many Pyrite Town viewers—violence, humiliation, hatred, and hysteria.
To some extent, exchanging hostages was also a way of currying favor with the organization he belonged to.
"See? I'm rescuing one of our own! Shouldn't someone as dependable as me be rewarded and cheered?"
Thus.
Strip away the filthy mud of malice and distortion covering this man's exterior, and what lay beneath was the essence of someone assimilated by money and power.
A maggot who pursued advancement by any means necessary.
What was even more frightening was that someone like him wouldn't be condemned in Pyrite Town. On the contrary, he would receive a great deal of adoration...
Disgusting.
Baimu felt sickened from the bottom of his heart. Perhaps it was because of Otsuka, or perhaps because of the overbearing Jian... or even Pyrite Town, which had bred a scumbag like him.
After all, there were probably countless bastards like this.
At the thought of that—
"I feel like throwing up."
He watched Jian shift part of his attention toward the camera, then suddenly raised his hand and opened a Poké Ball.
Bang!
Bzz—
The noisy flapping of wings rang beside his ears.
"Watch the left!"
Without shifting his gaze, Baimu decisively pointed toward the shadows behind him to the left.
The moment he spoke, a pitch-black bird abruptly emerged from the shadows and swooped down like an arrow!
"Screech—"
Honchkrow let out a piercing cry.
"Vibra!"
Vibrava reacted a little slowly after receiving the warning, but fortunately, there was still a considerable distance between them. It accelerated its wingbeats to an extremely high frequency!
A cyan shockwave that distorted the air suddenly blasted forward.
Bug Buzz!
Choking smoke billowed everywhere.
Had he taken it down?
No, he hadn't.
As the ear-splitting sound wave gradually weakened, Baimu turned his head slightly and saw Vibrava and Honchkrow flying into the sky. 💔♜ 🍔🔥
The two chased one another, clearly locked in a drawn-out aerial battle.
"Oh? A Pokémon from a commander really is something else. Honchkrow finally has someone to play with."
Jian seemed not the least bit worried that Honchkrow would lose. In fact, he spoke leisurely, as if he'd already seen the victory that would eventually arrive. "Such a fine Pokémon. What a waste to have you as its Trainer."
Baimu didn't respond. He recalled Chansey, which had hurried over, into its Poké Ball.
His opponent was an unusually vicious character. He'd hidden his Pokémon beforehand and deliberately exposed a small opening. If Baimu's senses hadn't been particularly sharp, he truly wouldn't have noticed Honchkrow lying in wait.
The other two Pokémon might be hiding somewhere as well.
As for the information, Jian had said before the battle began that someone had been feeding him information. It was perfectly normal for him to know Vibrava's background.
Baimu took out another Poké Ball.
Unexpectedly, Jian waved his hand in disgust. "All right, all right. I know you like using Dig, and I know your Aron was buried underground in advance. Who are you trying to fool with an empty Poké Ball?"
As he spoke, he suddenly retreated.
Bang!
Sand and earth burst apart!
Aron, gleaming silver, shot out, only to miss its target. When it looked up, it saw nothing but the white light of the Poké Ball opening.
Bang.
"Crunch!"
"Awwoo!"
A howl rang out. A huge maw filled with chilling air rushed from afar at incredible speed, dark, gloomy light flowing across its surface.
In an instant, Dark-type energy gathered around it!
"Iron Defense!"
Crack!
Amid the urgent shout, Mightyena's sharp teeth clamped down fiercely on Aron's head. Even when the energy exploded, it refused to release its bite. Its savage aura made one's blood run cold.
Unfortunately, no matter how hard it tried, its fangs couldn't penetrate Aron's gleaming steel armor.
Seeing that its bite could only leave tiny marks, Mightyena began to retreat.
Jian's order arrived just in time. "Fall back!"
"Rock Tomb!"
Baimu shouted.
Aron raised its forelegs and slammed them into the ground. Countless fragments of stone flew toward Mightyena, driven by some unseen force.
Unfortunately, Mightyena retreated too quickly. Eight or nine stones out of ten missed, while only a few barely struck its head and abdomen. The distance also prevented them from dealing any significant damage.
"Whoo..."
Baimu arrived behind Aron and breathed a sigh of relief. He'd rushed forward the moment Jian retreated, preventing himself from being separated from his Pokémon.
After all, Chansey couldn't fight independently. If Aron were dragged away by Jian's Mightyena just like Vibrava had been, Baimu would have to fight on his own.
Fight a Pokémon with his bare hands?
He could.
But there was no need.
Compared to Baimu, whose tension had eased, Jian's expression looked terrible.
Although Mightyena had seen through Aron's ambush, its Crunch had failed to take Aron down. Iron Defense was certainly part of the reason...
But Aron's reaction speed and durability also proved that Baimu was no ordinary weakling.
"You really know how to piss me off!"
Jian's arrogant expression turned gloomy. He pressed the switch on his second Poké Ball and released the Galarian Linoone inside.
"Maa-s!"
The strange black-and-white creature stuck out its long, slender tongue and let out a malicious cry.
Baimu didn't dare lower his guard. He sent Chansey out to support Aron.
"Lucky~"
Chansey stood behind Aron, nervous but no longer trying to hide as it had in the past. It wasn't stupid. At a glance, it could see the malice radiating from those opponents.
There was no escape.
For a moment.
The four Pokémon watched one another, and a tense atmosphere arose naturally.
"Body Press Chansey! Use Swagger to hold Aron back!"
The standoff lasted less than five seconds before Jian issued his orders.
Clearly, he had little patience. He also had a clear understanding of Chansey's healing abilities, so he decisively tried to take it down first.
But to mislead Baimu, he didn't specify which Pokémon should use which move.
As soon as his voice fell.
Mightyena charged toward Chansey's position with a ferocious expression, while Galarian Linoone followed close behind.
"Aw!"
"Guh!"
Aron couldn't hold itself back and tried to charge forward, but Baimu shouted to stop it.
"Fall back! Get in front of Chansey! Rock Tomb!"
Upon hearing him, Aron decisively abandoned its head-on collision with Mightyena, retreated in front of Chansey, and stomped the ground with its forelegs!
Bang!
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—
Countless rocks flew toward Mightyena. A dark-red glow lit up around its body. Even when the stones reached it, it remained completely unruffled, allowing the rocks to strike its body while wearing an extremely arrogant expression.
Seeing its appearance, Aron felt a surge of inexplicable fury in its chest, nearly burning away its reason.
Fortunately, the flying rocks not only obstructed Mightyena's path but also partially blocked the vision of both sides, causing Swagger to fail.
But behind Mightyena, Galarian Linoone leaped into the air. Surrounded by red light, it displayed terrifying jumping power, easily clearing Aron's head and narrowly brushing past the Rock Tomb.
"Maa-s!"
It stuck out its scarlet tongue, aiming straight at Chansey amid the swirling smoke—
Huh?
Where was the egg?
It froze for a moment. After landing behind Aron, it found itself staring wide-eyed at Baimu nearby. Chansey's huge body had suddenly vanished without a trace.
And so.
It cleverly didn't dwell on Chansey any longer, instead leaping up and lunging forward again.
If it couldn't catch the Pokémon, catching the Trainer worked just as well.
Capture the leader first!
"Just as I expected."
Unexpectedly, Baimu seemed to have foreseen its plan. He covered his eyes with one arm and hurled an object in his hand viciously onto the ground.
Boom!
Blinding light and noise exploded!
Although it was midday and the surroundings were already quite bright, Galarian Linoone, being the closest, was still severely affected. A constant ringing filled its ears.
Mightyena and Jian, farther behind, were in slightly better condition, but they were affected as well.
That gave Aron, whose back was turned to the flashbang and whose ears were the only part suffering, an opening.
Iron Head!
It recalled Baimu's command and acted at once. Beneath a silver halo, its mask-like head glimmered with an extraordinary radiance.
"Mightyena, come back!"
Jian blinked rapidly against his stinging eyes and frantically retreated.
How could he have known that this bastard had a flashbang? At this rate, Baimu might even come after him next.
Unexpectedly, the instant his vision recovered, the Aron he'd expected to charge forward had somehow turned around and slammed its head into Galarian Linoone's waist!
Bang!