Acting Foolishly

Just how many Pokémon had the Quicksand Team stuffed in here?

Baimu was speechless. He had been down here for less than thirty minutes and had run into three groups of Pokémon in a row. This last group had even caught him red-handed.

What now?

Should he use his backup plan?

He touched his pocket and watched Aron nervously.

For some reason, though, Aron did not attack. Instead, the Pokémon remained watchful, faint curiosity visible in its azure eyes.

After more than ten seconds of standoff, Baimu was briefly puzzled when Aron still did not attack. Then, as if he understood something, he slowly reached toward his collar.

At the same time.

A faint buzzing of beating wings suddenly came from behind him.

Oh no!

Those two Vibrava had come back!

When it rained, it poured. One Aron was troublesome enough, and now two Vibrava had shown up as well.

Wasn't this just driving him into a dead end?

Seeing that Aron still showed no sign of attacking, Baimu inexplicably had the urge to pull the Pokémon into his arms and hide together.

Otherwise, even if he hid, Aron would expose itself.

Who would have thought that Aron would take several steps back, study him a few more times, then glance toward the source of the wingbeats? The Pokémon ran to the rock wall, swiftly dug out a small hole, and slipped inside.

The movement was stealthy and nimble, truly astonishing.

This guy...

As Baimu hid, he could not help touching the iron ingot on his chest. He wondered whether the clue pointed to this Aron.

But it had clearly said "obtainable" Pokémon. How was he supposed to obtain Pokémon released into the test site by the Quicksand Team?

Could it be... a Pokémon that had been abandoned?

That was possible, but only if the test site had not been inspected carefully. Besides, the clue did not necessarily point to Aron. Plenty of Pokémon in the world were interested in iron ingots.

In any case, anything was possible.

Baimu held his breath and tried to minimize even the slightest movement, lest the Vibrava notice him.

These desert-dwelling Pokémon were extremely aggressive and would not spare any enemy they spotted.

"Buzz—"

He silently counted down in his heart, holding his breath.

Shortly afterward, he narrowly avoided the two Vibrava once again.

Only after the buzzing had completely faded did he move slightly and look toward the small hole Aron had dug.

He had expected Aron to poke its head out, but even after waiting for over a minute, there was no sign of the Pokémon.

"Gone... Was that Pokémon really abandoned?" Baimu touched the shrunken Poké Ball in his pocket.

The two Vibrava had returned too quickly. He had not even gotten the chance to test the waters.

Did I really miss my chance?

He rubbed his brow to clear away the distracting thoughts. Passing the test was what mattered most right now. Even if he truly missed out, becoming an official member would still earn him a Pokémon.

He should keep moving.

Baimu switched on the lamp on his miner's helmet and adjusted its brightness. The dim path became clear without drawing the attention of Pokémon sensitive to light.

Not long after he left.

Aron poked its head out of the hole and looked in the direction Baimu had gone. A little dust puffed from the four small black holes on its face as the Pokémon calmly followed after him.

Huff, huff, huff...

Cheng Hong ran in panic. The Rhyhorn pursuing him from behind was like a death warrant, making him flee without regard for direction.

Without a doubt, treating the traps as though they did not exist had been an extremely reckless move.

So, naturally, Cheng Hong suddenly stepped into empty air and fell into a deliberately constructed pit. The jagged rocks at the bottom easily tore his skin, and blood instantly soaked through his clothes.

"Hehehehe, a bunch of trash that doesn't know its place, and you still want to pass the test?"

Above the pit, Rhyhorn poked its head over the edge. Several loathsome faces stood beside the Pokémon.

One of them sneered. "Tell me where Baimu is early, and if I'm in a good mood, I might let you go."

"Dream on! Just wait! Once Baimu finds out, he definitely won't let you off!"

Cheng Hong glared at Shibata resentfully.

After they had gotten separated from Baimu, they had been incredibly lucky along the way. Not only had they avoided all kinds of traps, they had barely encountered any test Pokémon.

When they reached the depths and saw the scattered pieces of Jade Mine ore, they thought victory was in sight. Who could have expected Shibata to have already brought people and cheating Pokémon here to lie in ambush, catching them completely off guard?

One companion after another had fallen. Now, even Cheng Hong, the only one who had escaped, had fallen into a trap.

"Let you go? Hahahaha! I'd like to see how he plans to not let me off! A bunch of worthless poor bastards! Rhyhorn! Kill him!"

Shibata laughed in fury and abruptly waved his hand, intending to kill Cheng Hong.

Cheng Hong crossed his arms before himself in terror and squeezed his eyes shut, believing he was doomed. Though he was terrified, he instinctively clenched his teeth, unwilling to show an ugly side while awaiting death. In his heart, he shouted for Baimu to avenge him.

Yet after waiting for quite a while, he did not feel any pain.

He could not help opening his eyes and looking up.

"Huh? Where did they go?"

Shibata, the others, and Rhyhorn had vanished at some point.

He had actually been spared? How was that possible?

Cheng Hong was filled with confusion.

Above the pit, Shibata watched Rhyhorn turn and leave with a stiff expression. The Pokémon had clearly been sent by his uncle to help him, yet he could not command it at all!

The contemptuous look Rhyhorn gave him before leaving also stabbed at his heart.

Damn it!

Even a Pokémon dares look down on me!

Remembering how Rhyhorn had plainly treated him as beneath notice, Shibata's face nearly twisted with malice. His fists were clenched, his body taut. Seeing his expression, the people beside him did not even dare raise their voices.

They were afraid of getting caught in the crossfire.

"It's all that damned Baimu's fault! I'll definitely kill him!"

In the end, Shibata blamed everything on Baimu for refusing to submit to him. Without Baimu, how would those poor bastards dare act so tough? Shibata would not have been constantly scolded by his family for failing even at such a minor task and embarrassing them.

That was right.

It was all Baimu's fault!

Returning to the area near the Jade Mine, Shibata looked at the "poor bastards" lying all over the ground and groaning softly. He grinned viciously. "Beat them! Make them scream! The more pain they're in, the better! Let that little bastard Baimu know this place is here!"

"Um, Shibata..."

"Hm!?"

The speaker avoided Shibata's bloodshot eyes. The others exchanged glances, wanting to say that this could easily draw other Pokémon over, but none of them dared defy an enraged Shibata. They could only do as he said.

In an instant.

Agonized screams echoed through the underground mine, sending chills through many Quicksand Team grunts exploring nearby.

What had they encountered to scream so miserably? Was the test really this terrifying?

Baimu, who was moving forward slowly, noticed it as well. He could even tell that the howls sounded somewhat familiar, and he could not help quickening his pace.

Whether he passed the test or not did not matter. He was only worried that they might lose their lives because of it. He was not so cold-blooded that he could ignore familiar people in mortal danger.

And in the shadows, unnoticed by everyone, a tiny symbol-like figure that seemed to have grown out of a gray rock slab held a miniature camera and secretly watched the grunts taking the test.

In Pyrite Town, a dignified man held a glass of red wine as he watched the many screens before him and sighed.

"The Quicksand Team gets worse with every generation."

The security company that had originally been founded to protect the mine had fallen this far.

"Runerigus, have the Yamask keep an eye on them. Don't let too many people die."

"Gyaah!"

The ghostly purple eyes on the enormous gray stone engraved with a strange serpent-like symbol blinked gently, then Runerigus vanished from the spot.

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