The victim came knocking

"That's enough."

"Recall your Goldeen," Dian said calmly.

Only then did Haya seem to recover from the rapid turn of events. She hurriedly pulled out her Poké Ball. "Thanks for your hard work, Goldeen."

A beam of red light struck Goldeen squarely and drew it back inside.

She let out a sigh of relief, looking surprisingly untroubled by her defeat.

After putting away her Poké Ball, Haya thanked Dian. "This is for your help."

She took thirty thousand in cash from her clothes and prepared to hand it straight to him.

As expected of a beautiful, wealthy young lady, she carried large bills around with her.

Just as Dian was about to accept it, an Eevee darted over and planted itself between him and Haya.

Its eyes sharp, Eevee scraped a slender, brown-furred leg across the ground, sending a spray of sand and gravel at Dian.

Dian's system immediately came online, displaying a timely notification.

"Sand Attack: throws sand into the opponent's face to lower their accuracy."

He took one glance and did not even bother dodging.

"Mis!"

Misdreavus's gaze immediately turned fierce. A black wall rose out of nowhere, not only blocking Sand Attack but carrying the flying sand back toward Eevee.

"Vee!"

Eevee was horrified. Its danger-sensing Ability told it how dangerous the incoming move was. A direct hit would probably leave it barely able to fight.

But it glanced at Haya behind it and resisted the urge to dodge with Quick Attack. Instead, its eyes shifted, taking on a curiously knowing look, and it hurriedly met Misdreavus's gaze.

Indeed, this Eevee only grew calmer as the danger mounted. It had actually thought to use the Fairy-type move Ominous Eye.

The move used a disarming gaze to distract the opponent, making them hold back and weakening their move.

"Mis?"

Misdreavus had been putting everything into Shadow Sneak, but for some reason, Eevee's gaze piqued her curiosity. Her concentration slipped, and Shadow Sneak involuntarily lost some of its power.

Bam!

"Eevee!"

In the end, Shadow Sneak still hit Eevee head-on, sending it flying backward.

"Rongrong!"

At the same time, a familiar voice rang out.

Tap, tap, tap...

Alina ran over, her face full of worry. She hurriedly scooped up Eevee, who still seemed capable of fighting. "Rongrong, it's all right now."

She immediately glared at Dian. "Robbing Trainers out on the road, and such an innocent girl at that! Now you've hurt my Eevee, too. Do you want me to call Officer Jenny?"

Alina tried hard to maintain her angry expression, but her calves had already started trembling. She was clearly an adorable paper tiger.

"Alina!"

The laid-back, yellow-haired young man shouted and ran over, panting as he asked between breaths, "Are you all right?"

"Hmph!"

Alina, who was only brave around her own people, immediately regained her spirit when faced with the yellow-haired young man and snorted.

"Mis?"

Lady Misdreavus seemed to remember something. She leaned close to Dian's ear and gave a soft cry.

Dian nodded silently to show he understood. Had he stumbled into the right place by accident? They really had run into the victim.

But this was precisely when he could not afford to show any nerves.

"Huh..."

Haya seemed to finally understand what was happening. She hurried over. "That's not what happened, Alina, Rolf! Mr. Dian is a very good person!"

Good-guy card, acquired...

Dian silently accepted his good-guy card.

All he wanted now was to take his money and leave. His instincts told him that the longer he stayed with these people, the more trouble he would face.

Besides, the adorable Weather Forecaster Azisa was still waiting up ahead. There might be a delectable little girl here, but Hoppip was more important.

While Dian was trying to figure out how to extricate himself and still collect his money, Haya apparently finished explaining the situation.

"I see..."

Rolf nodded silently, then took out a Poké Ball. "In that case, let's have a battle, too."

He gave a cold smile. "What's so impressive about bullying a little girl? Try bullying me if you've got the guts."

Bully you...

I...

Dian looked at him, and countless thoughts immediately flooded his mind. They all boiled down to one thing: this guy was dangerous, in every possible way. He needed to keep his distance from now on. No, he needed to make Rolf take a detour whenever he saw him!

He found the other man's gaze increasingly unbearable. He decided to grant his request and make sure he never wanted to see him again.

"OK."

Dian nodded silently and walked off to one side with Misdreavus.

"Heh heh!"

Rolf covered his face with one hand and gazed lovingly at the Poké Ball in the other. "Go, my darling Poochyena!"

"Darling..."

For some reason, a chill ran through Dian's entire body. He glanced at the two well-bred young ladies watching beside the pool and finally understood why their parents had agreed to let them travel with a "yellow-haired" young man.

They had probably sent who knew how many detectives to investigate every detail of his private life long ago. So he was that sort of "safe" young man.

After sending out Poochyena, Rolf looked at Dian smugly.

A Dark-type Pokémon had just the advantage he needed against Misdreavus.

"Yip!"

With red eyes and sharp fangs, the dark gray Poochyena glared fiercely at Dian and Misdreavus.

It immediately relaxed its forelegs and tensed its hind legs, its fluffy gray tail bristling high as it threatened its opponent.

"Come on, send out your Misdreavus."

Rolf looked at Dian "eagerly."

Misdreavus...

Dian stroked Misdreavus, who was playing with his hair. The little lady did not seem interested in this Poochyena.

Without any expression, he called, "Beedrill!"

Whoosh!

An afterimage flashed past. Beedrill suddenly appeared behind Poochyena, a venomous stinger already pressed against its back. Yet Poochyena remained oblivious, still searching everywhere for its opponent.

"Yip?"

Poochyena took a few running steps and turned in several circles, but still found no trace of its opponent. "Yip!"

It suddenly let out a happy howl. Had its imposing appearance scared its opponent away already?

"B-B-Beedrill..."

Rolf's face went pale, as though he had remembered something unpleasant.

He pointed at Beedrill behind Poochyena, seemingly forgetting for a moment to even warn Poochyena to watch its back.

"Rolf! What are you doing?!"

Even Alina could not stand watching anymore and shouted in frustration from the sidelines.

"R-right... Nobody knows about that. I'm not scared. I'm no coward!"

Rolf kept repeating these assurances to himself.

He did his best to avert his gaze from Beedrill. "Poochyena, behind you! Use Bite, then immediately follow up with Assurance!"

Dian raised an eyebrow. So that was it. No wonder Rolf was so confident.

Like Bite, Assurance was a Dark-type move.

The difference was that Bite could sometimes make the opponent flinch, while Assurance dealt greatly increased damage if the opponent had already been hurt, doubling its original power.

Of course, those were merely numbers. In reality, it simply tore open an existing wound again. It certainly became more powerful, but the effect also depended on the user's own strength.

Bite followed by Assurance was indeed an attack combination well suited to Poochyena.

Poochyena were incredibly stubborn, persistent Pokémon. Once they settled on their prey, they would pursue it relentlessly.