Escaping Unscathed

"You take them out. There aren't many steps left."

"Ah? You're going back?"

"Yes."

"I'll--"

"Don't waste time. Once you go out, you can't come back in. If you don't go out, who's going to carry them? Hang in there."

"...I'm sorry, Baimu. I'm truly sorry. We dragged you down. Ah, take this with you!"

"Alright, go."

Recalling the moment he parted ways with Cheng Hong—the latter's face a mix of reluctance and guilt—Baimu carried a hammer he had picked up near the exit, turned on his headlamp, and breathed evenly.

He knew Aron might not necessarily lose to that Rhyhorn. He also knew that even if it couldn't win, Rhyhorn might not necessarily take Aron's life either.

Based on a comprehensive forecast, there was no need for him to turn back; such dangerous things were unnecessary to do.

Yet he still came back.

Come to think of it, he had always felt that he was actually quite selfish. All his means of getting along well with people were disguises, aimed at utilitarian purposes such as satisfying the need to fit in, huddling together for warmth, and reaping benefits.

Therefore.

Coming back was naturally to gain Aron's favor, to uphold the principle of returning kindness for kindness...

Baimu constantly clarified his intent in his heart, persuading himself like self-hypnosis.

If not for that, facing that red-eyed Rhyhorn, he probably would have wanted to run away, right?

"Charge and crush him!"

Shibata's shout rang out abruptly, and Rhyhorn charged fiercely in response.

Rumble...

The ground trembled with the running, and countless small stones were shaken into the air, flying everywhere.

Rhyhorn just wanted to finish its mission early, so it simply obeyed Shibata's idea of knocking this person in front flying to shut Shibata's endlessly nagging mouth.

Yet in this mine cave invaded everywhere by falling rocks, the dodging space was truly minimal, and wanting to avoid Rhyhorn's fierce charge was exceedingly difficult.

But he only needed to dodge once.

Just once.

Baimu stepped back two steps, standing behind the pile of rubble stacked on the far left. These things couldn't stop Rhyhorn's charge, but they could shield its line of sight to a certain extent.

Even Ground-type Pokémon had no way of seeing through stone and dirt.

Come on.

He took a deep breath, staring straight at the crazed Shibata and Rhyhorn, which lowered its gaze and thrust its single horn forward.

There was nothing to say. There was only success; failure did not exist.

Bang!

The moment the pile of rubble was smashed apart by the ferocious giant beast, Baimu abruptly turned on his headlamp—which he had adjusted to its maximum brightness in advance—and rolled to the right, not caring whether it dazzled Rhyhorn's eyes or not!

"Ugh!"

A sharp pain came from his left arm and left ribs, feeling as if he had been struck by a bullet.

Yet Baimu understood he had dodged it; the pain came from the shattered stones knocked flying by Rhyhorn, and from this point alone, it was enough to prove just how terrifying the force of the opponent's dash was.

When he got up, a burning pain came from his scraped right elbow and shoulder area.

Endure!

Press the attack!

Baimu turned around and looked at Rhyhorn, which had crashed into the wall diagonally behind. Shibata on its back urged Rhyhorn to turn around and go again.

"Eat shit!"

He roared and hurled the hammerhead in his hand. Shibata didn't even have time to react before he was knocked to the ground by a hammer blow, screaming continuously as he didn't know which spot had been hit.

This guy's headlamp had never been turned off from start to finish—his target was simply too obvious!

"Moo!"

An empty back made Rhyhorn flustered, and its bulky body stepped back one step, accidentally trampling on Shibata's leg.

"Ah—my foot!!"

Another scream.

Rhyhorn's movement stiffened, and being somewhat clumsy to begin with, it had even less idea of what to do.

Objective achieved!

Baimu ran toward Aron's location without hesitation.

Pokémon were also a kind of living creature in nature, so he never mythologized them. In fact, as long as one understood Pokémon, one could find ways to "battle" them.

To catch the bandits, catch their leader first.

Since Rhyhorn was Shibata's helper, it definitely wouldn't just ignore him.

"Let's go!"

Baimu swiftly scooped up the semi-conscious Aron from the ground, surprisingly finding that it wasn't very heavy.

He turned and ran forward, bypassing Rhyhorn at top speed as the latter tried to rescue Shibata. Sensing that he was escaping, Rhyhorn immediately had the intention to pursue.

"Moo--"

"Shut up!"

Baimu pulled another ball from his pocket and smashed it fiercely onto the ground.

Bang!

A terrifying flash of intense light instantly swallowed the entire cavern!

"Moo!?"

Rhyhorn was suddenly stabbed in the eyeballs, its eyes turning completely blank as it could no longer see a thing. In its panic, it actually went berserk, charging wildly about and causing Shibata to let out continuous screams.

"Don't—spare me—ah! Help..."

"Hoo... hoo..."

Baimu ran forward blindly, covering twenty or thirty meters within a few breaths. He hurriedly glanced back, saw Rhyhorn crashing around frantically and Shibata's voice gradually fading, and let out a fierce sigh of relief.

Fortunately, he hadn't foolishly used this flash bomb given by Cheng Hong earlier; its power was massive, directly messing the target up with confusion.

Could that guy have not used it earlier for precisely this reason?

Baimu shook his head, driving away distracting thoughts and running with all his might.

Truth be told, since he was in the middle of escaping right then, even if Aron was unwilling in its heart, using a Poké Ball to store it away for greater convenience was also an objective fact.

With the opponent out of its right mind, the possibility of it breaking free was not high.

But...

Better forget it.

What if his earlier guesses were all wrong, and it was a Pokémon arranged by the Quicksand Team?

What if Aron would rather die than enter a Poké Ball? Who knew? Pokémon mostly had firm convictions, refusing to turn back once they set their minds on a matter.

Instead of thinking about so much useless stuff, he might as well run a bit faster!

Baimu violently shook off the mask on his face, trying to inhale more oxygen so that his running speed could increase further.

The uphill slope was truly life-threatening.

Fortunately, right until white light symbolizing the exit appeared ahead, no sound of pursuit came from behind. The moment he rushed out, fresh air rushed over in a scramble.

The blowing sandy wind also turned cool.

"Ha... ha..."

Baimu panted heavily, the fierce sunlight making it hard for him to keep his eyes open as he barely managed to keep from collapsing onto the ground.

He ignored the startled gazes and cries around him, fished out the jade stone, and tossed it to the middle-aged examiner. "Token!"

The middle-aged man caught it, glanced at it casually, and then looked toward the battered Aron, frowning as he asked, "You brought the Pokémon from inside out?"

"No, it should be wild..." Baimu shook his head.

"How could that--"

The middle-aged man's words cut off abruptly because a Galarian Yamask suddenly flew out from inside the cave, ran up to him, and shook its head.

He immediately changed his words, "--Someone send him and Aron to the hospital! Quick!"

Stretcher-bearers among the lackeys immediately stepped forward, carefully inviting the person and the Pokémon onto it before carrying them away.

Baimu glanced at that Galarian Yamask, and softly said to Aron beside him, "We're safe, don't worry."

Saying this, he himself couldn't help but slowly relax.

Though the trip to the mine cave was brief, it was incomparably perilous, especially the part about turning back to save Aron. Looking back on it now, he really felt he had been risking his life.

"Sigh..."

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