A sudden female voice drowned out his command.
Bang!
The ground not far to the left of the Evil Dog Team Member suddenly shattered, and a silver shadow leaped out from it!
"There is indeed an ambush!"
He hurriedly fell to the right, opening another Pokeball hidden in his palm, "Don't worry about me! Just catch her!"
The shout made the two dog-like Pokémon continue to rush forward,
Bam!
White light shot out, turning into a bronze round mirror with six Copper Pearls embedded around the edges, blocking him in front and colliding with the Aron.
Clang!
A piercing explosion!
The Evil Dog Team Member thought this would surely block it, but unexpectedly, the floating Bronzor was knocked flying by the Aron, causing the latter to land heavily on his chest.
"Puff!"
Damn it! Couldn't even withstand an Aron!
He felt a sweetness in his throat, almost spitting out blood, and immediately turned to look at his other two Pokémon.
As long as they could catch the enemy, there was still a chance to turn the tables—
How could it be!
The Evil Dog Team Member widened his eyes, disbelief written all over his face as he looked at the scene not far away, coughing and struggling in his haste.
The "enemy" was pinned down by the Houndoom, its head held down with a foul-smelling mouth biting at its neck. The nearby Mightyena quickly scanned the surroundings, realizing something was wrong with the Trainer and wanted to aid.
But they hadn't noticed an additional Vibrava on the rock behind the "enemy," appearing out of nowhere.
"Dragon Breath!"
Whoosh!
Indigo flames spewed from its mouth, blasting the aiding Mightyena away!
"Woo!?"
The Houndoom looked up in astonishment, suddenly feeling a pulling force beneath its paws, and looked down to find the enemy being dragged away. Turning its head, it realized it was its own teammate doing the pulling?
That outfit looked like the Evil Dog Team uniform, right?
It was at a loss, wanting to get instructions from the Trainer, and just as it turned to look at the Trainer's location, a tremor surfaced along with the commanding voice!
"Power of the Earth!"
Vast, orange-red energy shook the ground, rising suddenly from beneath its feet!
Rumble——!!
The energy flames erupted like a volcano, sending it flying!
In mid-air.
Houndoom let out a painful whimper, then landed heavily, twitching a few times before going still.
Evidently "knocked out" on the spot, falling into a dazed state.
But it wasn't over yet.
The Evil Dog Team Member struggled to push the Aron away, but the latter headbutted him directly on the forehead, making him see stars.
Not far away, the Bronzor, which had been knocked away, readjusted its stance, ready to launch a counterattack, its eyes glowing blue as it used Telekinesis.
And the Mightyena, which had been blasted away by the Dragon Breath, also staggered up, baring its sharp fangs with a grimace, but just as it was about to step forward, tiny currents surged over its body.
The [Paralysis], a secondary effect of Dragon Breath.
Baimu took the advantage, throwing a Smoke Ball at the location of the Evil Dog Team Member.
Poof!
A large amount of violet smoke disseminated with a burst, and the Bronzor, having lost its sight, flickered with blue light continuously, forced to shift its direction to control Baimu's body.
Not knowing that the latter had already dashed into the smoke.
The Bronzor hesitated, unsure whether to pursue inside.
And just as the Mightyena, panting heavily, was about to take action, three beams of red light shot out from the smoke, sweeping left and right, engulfing them as they suddenly realized and attempted to flee.
Then.
The unconscious Houndoom was also taken away by the red light.
"...Phew, it's over."
Baimu walked out of the violet mist with the Aron, dragging the Evil Dog Team Member with one hand, and holding the member's backpack with the other.
He said to the female Evil Dog Team Member who was rubbing the back of her neck, "You've worked hard, I didn't expect this guy to be so troublesome, almost failed the surprise attack."
"..."
The female Evil Dog Team Member didn't speak, just looked at the dazed and bewildered Evil Dog Team Member.
"——Huo Wu! You traitor of the Evil Dog Team!"
The latter snapped back after regaining composure: "You bastard! Wait till I get out! I'll make sure the boss kills you!"
"Get lost! I never betrayed anyone! You can't even spot a trap, so don't blame me!"
Huo Wu retorted, "You better worry about your own neck, you fool!!"
The Evil Dog Team Member, hearing this, immediately raised his right hand to call for help, only to realize his wristband had already been snatched away by Baimu.
In other words, he had already lost control over his own fate.
"Ugh..."
"Hehehe, young man, understand your situation clearly."
Baimu pressed his knee against the Evil Dog Team Member's back, causing him to grunt in pain and stopping any sneaky attempts, "Or do I need to break a leg to make you understand?"
"..."
The man lifted his head slightly, his gaze moving between Aron and Vibrava, and said nothing more.
Baimu tied up the man's hands and feet and searched him, successfully pocketing a series of small items including a blade, "You're not very honest... so there's no other choice."
He recalled Aron and Vibrava, thanked them, and took out a Pokeball, opening it.
Bang.
"Lucky?"
Chansey looked around in confusion.
He patted Chansey's furry head, "Please sing a lullaby so this guy can have a good sleep."
"Wait! No, wait!" The Evil Dog Team Member's face changed drastically as he struggled desperately.
Baimu stuffed a cloth into the man's mouth and issued the command again.
"Lucky~"
Chansey nodded slightly, lifted both hands high, closed its eyes, and sang. Enveloped by pale pink sound waves, the Evil Dog Team Member soon fell asleep.
He and Huo Wu also let go of their covered ears.
Under normal conditions, one can block their ears or evade the pale pink sound waves to resist the lullaby.
The Jigglypuff in the anime was created solely for entertainment as a "Divine Beast," much like the all-powerful Bewear in Sun and Moon, and shouldn't be considered a standard.
In essence, it's similar to Pokémon rarely being able to escape from Pokeballs on their own.
The dust settles.
One of the Aerial Rotom flew away, while the other descended slowly.
"You've received a reward totaling 2.4 million."
"——How much!?"
Baimu looked at the Aerial Rotom in shock, then at Huo Wu, who was similarly stunned, "2.4 million?"
The Aerial Rotom did not respond, rising back into the sky.
The latter nodded with a complex expression, "It is indeed that amount."
2.4 million.
Baimu fell into deep thought. This money was a massive sum for him at the moment, but instead of feeling delighted, he began to ponder whether holding this money would be troublesome.
Should he express gratitude?
Who would give such a large tip? Someone who lost a bet and tipped afterward?
After much thought, he gave a slight bow to the Aerial Rotom, "Thank you for your generous reward, I am sincerely grateful and humbled."
No matter who the tipper was, anyone who could splash money like this was not someone he could afford to offend—it was unnecessary to act defiant at this time.
Silicon City Banquet.
Baimu's respectful thank-you gesture was clearly displayed on the screen, earning praises and applause from the guests, while Ergin on the second floor looked on with a smile.
No doubt, the old man had just started the tip by rewarding Baimu one million Pokémon Yuan, prompting guests to follow suit, gathering close to two million in total, with the remainder coming from elsewhere.
The reason it didn't escalate further was due to the maximum tipping limit per person being 100,000, only Ergin had higher privileges.
Moreover, they couldn't allow the contestants' rewards to become too outrageous and had to restrict them to a certain extent.
Outside the arena.
In the main control room of the match, Ayana was in high spirits, even unconcerned about the battle outcome on the other side, casting her eyes towards the black-faced man whose expression was livid, mockingly laughing at him.
The latter had just lost 500,000, though not a huge sum, it was a loss of face for sure.
At the Quicksand Team Base, almost everyone was jubilant.
Because they had bet on Baimu's victory, they made a huge profit. Had they had a tipping channel, they might have joined in with tips too.
The rescued Quicksand Team Member watched the screen, emotions of jealousy, envy, and regret flashing on his face, glancing at his bandaged legs, sighed helplessly.
"Sigh..."