Chapter 165: The

Then again.

Baimu brought Aggron and Chansey over in front of Onix.

The latter slightly raised its eyelids, and its body trembled faintly when it saw Aggron.

It was obvious this massive beast had already developed a fear of the great monster; the wild-born "the weak submit to the strong" system had successfully triggered.

This also let Baimu quietly breathe a sigh of relief.

The worst fear was Onix stiffening its neck and refusing to back down.

One-on-one, hard head-on, was indeed the right call. If it had been a group ganging up on Onix alone, even if they won, the thing probably wouldn't have been truly convinced.

"Mm… sorry about that, suddenly releasing you and then immediately beating you up, but it looks like you understand we're not people to be messed with."

He began to adopt a soft-touch policy, stuffing berries into its mouth while shooting Chansey a look.

Chansey circled around Onix's front, and while Baimu was stroking it, quietly used Heal Pulse, restoring its lost stamina and a small amount of its injuries.

Onix felt the gentle touch on its head, chewed the berries, and a comfortable warm current slowly welled up inside its body; its mood quickly relaxed.

"Rooar…"

"You must be hungry, right? Try this too."

Baimu took out the glowing dish he'd prepared long ago and stuffed it into Onix's mouth.

Don't look at Onix when its mouth is closed—its teeth are neat and pretty—but once it opens, the teeth are actually arranged top and bottom, like missing teeth, spaced one apart.

It really was a bit comical.

And after being beaten up, Onix was actually a little hungry in its belly; smelling the food's aroma, it couldn't wait and started eating.

Unfortunately, the quantity was really too small and couldn't satisfy its stomach.

It carefully glanced at Aggron, then revealed a look of longing.

"Still want more?"

"Rooar!"

"Then follow me from now on. It's Big Brother, and I'm Big Brother's Big Brother. Come on, call me Big Brother!"

"Rooar!"

"Call me Big Brother's Big Brother!"

"Rooar!"

"Oh right, there's also a Big Sister here. Call her Big Sister."

"Rooar!"

Two crisp pops of Poké Balls opening.

Baimu pointed at Mawile again. "This is Big Sister's Big Sister! Call her Big Sister's Big Sister!"

"Rooar!"

Pointing at Snom, "This is… this is our little bro, no need to call out to him."

"Rooar… rooar?"

By now Onix had already entered a state of "whatever Baimu says goes"—whether it actually understood the specific content was doubtful.

To test the result.

Baimu stuffed the last bit of food into its mouth, stepped onto its enormous platform-like skull, patted it lightly, and said, "Stand up!"

Onix slowly straightened its upper body.

Allowing a person to stand on its head basically confirmed that Onix had truly submitted.

Before its head touched the ceiling, Baimu swiftly lay flat, then couldn't help but burst into laughter; this feeling of "standing on the summit, surveying all below" was simply too exhilarating.

"It seems Boss Cang Zhi Lang may indeed be well-versed in the way of PUA, but he doesn't understand the hearts of Pokémon."

Baimu sighed.

Catching Onix went far more smoothly than he'd expected; he'd thought it would take at least some back-and-forth. Looking at it now, the investment hadn't been a loss—it was a massive profit.

Speaking of which.

Being able to command level-60 Pokémon, how many Badges was that equivalent to?

If he went to compete in a Conference right now, could he win…?

Probably not. He only had two Pokémon at level sixty, and he hadn't even gathered the minimum six. Anyone competing in a Conference, to play it safe, would prepare at least nine, to avoid not having a Pokémon at one hundred percent condition for the next match after a brutal previous one.

"A long road ahead and a heavy task, you've worked hard. Put me down."

Baimu patted Onix's head lightly, signaling it to let him down.

Onix obediently did as told.

And since the other party had now become a teammate, Aggron reined in its ferocious aura and showed Onix a smiling face.

bidige.

The latter was flattered on the spot and started swinging its head.

The thick tail behind it also swayed along with it, just like a little dog.

"We've already got one dog at home, you should behave yourself and pick a different character setting." Baimu said softly. Under Onix's puzzled gaze, he recalled it, then recalled Aggron and the rest of his Pokémon.

"Good work, all of you."

He walked out of the room to check out with the owner.

The owner said cheerfully, "So? Pretty sturdy, right?"

"Mm, not bad. If I get the chance next time, I'll come back here." Baimu nodded, handed the key to him, and left.

"Thanks for your patronage~"

The owner was all smiles.

Two minutes.

The boss came to Baimu's room to inspect the damage, humming a little tune as he walked, "My cute little~ nest, damn!"

He stared dumbfounded at the walls of the room, which were full of craters big and small, many of them already riddled with cracks, pushed to the limit of metal fatigue.

Some were even completely broken through.

A carpet-bombing couldn't have done much worse, could it?

"What... what kind of person is this..."

The boss sucked in a breath of cold air, recalled Baimu's face, and exclaimed: "Now I see why he looked so familiar! It's him!"

Baimu's nickname had spread not only among the major organizations but had also reached the ears of the various merchants in the underground city. After all, as merchants they needed to be well-informed, and making money at a juncture like this required even sharper eyes and ears in all directions.

Otherwise, one day their own shop might get robbed and they wouldn't even know who did it.

"Incredible, truly incredible."

The boss quickly snapped photos of the walls, sent them to their underground city merchants' group chat, and attached a message.

The Bizarre Tree came to patronize the business today! This young talent really is extraordinary! (? ′? `?)

Really?!

The new executive from the Quicksand Team?

Mr. Ikegami has gotten in touch with the Bizarre Tree? I wonder if it'd be convenient to help with an introduction?

Same here.

Same here.

Below, the screen was quickly flooded with emoji stickers.

The boss looked at his phone screen, his vanity greatly satisfied; as for introductions like that... he himself hadn't even gotten familiar with the guy yet, introduce my ass!

——

Back at the villa.

Baimu was finally able to release Steelix.

The clear blue sky further relaxed the latter's mood; for a creature of its size, that half-enclosed battle arena had been far too oppressive.

"Rooaar~"

"I prepared it for you long ago, eat up."

Baimu walked out of the room carrying a huge washbasin of food and set it down in front of Steelix.

To be honest.

Given the size difference, the washbasin was actually still too small, but three round trips would be about right. One reason was eating smaller meals more often; another was that in terms of food quality, the various nutrients and calories inside were already sufficient.

If Steelix wanted a sense of fullness, it could eat soil and rocks containing iron sand — that stuff was usually the staple food of wild Steelix.

But once it got used to it, there was no need to eat that much at once.

Steelix wasn't some big-eater like Snorlax that ate however much and digested it all.

But even so.

Having raised two giant beasts like Aggron and Steelix, plus the gold-devouring household of Axew, Baimu had to start thinking about his wallet.

"In this house, the two of us have the smallest and most frugal appetites."

He looked at Chansey and Mawile, overcome with endless emotion.