Chapter 25: A Clear Hierarchy

The case of the Vibrava proved that sometimes, when a move is used correctly, the opponent will bring about their own destruction.

Still, having Chansey step in was, strictly speaking, cheating.

It had the look of a two-on-one.

Baimu used the brush prepared at the edge of the field to wipe down Vibrava's body and face, thinking about how to persuade it once it woke.

"Goo?"

"Hard to say. I'm hoping it'll cooperate a little, after all, it's a borrowed ally."

"Lucky…"

"No need to be so sad. You didn't do anything excessive; ending its pain early was the right call."

He chatted idly with the two Pokémon, and Vibrava slowly came to.

"Lafu!"

The moment it woke, it jerked sharply and flew backward several meters, glancing at Roggenrola and Baimu with wariness; but when its gaze swept over Chansey, it fell into thought.

"La… fu?"

"Lucky~"

Whatever Vibrava said, Chansey gave a meek little nod.

"Lafu!"

The fellow suddenly grew excited, eyes shining as it drew closer; this agitated behavior startled the latter badly, and it hurriedly ducked behind Baimu.

"Hold on—what are you trying to do to my little partner?"

Baimu also stepped directly in front of Chansey to shield it, while Roggenrola moved forward a few steps and let out a warning growl at Vibrava.

It tilted its head, glanced again at the timid little pink egg, then settled onto the ground and walked forward on its four long legs, waving its antennae up and down as it tapped the young man's hand before it.

"Lafu!"

"Mm?"

Baimu looked at its docile attitude and felt quite surprised.

What could have caused such a change in attitude from the unruly Vibrava…

Oh~

When he saw the fellow acting as though it very much wanted to get close to Chansey, then looking a touch disappointed when the latter dodged, the answer had perhaps already been revealed.

"Looks like you've racked up a ton of affection points." Baimu couldn't help but laugh as he turned to Chansey.

"Lucky?"

The latter looked a little blank.

"Don't get it? It means Vibrava is really grateful to you." He patted that fluffy little head. "Go on, accept its thanks."

Baimu once again nudged Chansey in Vibrava's direction.

Along the way he exchanged a glance with Roggenrola, and the two of them traded opinions on whether the fellow was faking surrender.

The conclusion was—

One could not afford not to be on guard.

And so.

Roggenrola stared at Vibrava as it edged toward Chansey, ready at any moment to headbutt it away.

Fortunately, Pokémon were mostly rather simple creatures, colored by their trainers.

Baimu's and Roggenrola's worries were unnecessary—Vibrava really was grateful to Chansey, and had judged from its cries who it was that had soothed its emotions.

Just as Team Rocket's Ekans and Koffing said, it's because their trainers are bad guys that Pokémon do bad things; if the trainer is a good person, the Pokémon naturally does good things—in other words, Pokémon themselves have no stance.

—A remark that treats them quite like tools.

And Chansey, having received Vibrava's gratitude, felt that nameless tension ease somewhat, and the smiles on its face grew more frequent.

Roggenrola, egged on by Baimu, sidled over as well, and the three Pokémon gradually began to mingle.

"Looks like the most basic conditions for the competition are in place."

He let out a breath and pulled from his pocket that sheet of paper covered in writing.

He had to admit this reinforcement had come at just the right time, and it was exactly the individual he needed most right now—ranged mobile offense.

Roggenrola could take a beating, sure, but for the moment it had no ranged attack capability; if at this point he added the flying unit Vibrava, plus Chansey as support—

A barely complementary team could be considered formed.

Unfortunately, what was borrowed was still borrowed; Vibrava would leave sooner or later, so he would have to find a third Pokémon after the competition ended to fill the gaps.

Looking at the crumpled paper again now, Baimu slowly built up the entries that suited his eye.

【Pokémon: Vibrava】

【Type: Ground + Dragon】

【Gender: Male】

【Height: 162 cm / 33 kg】

【Ability: Levitate】

【Level: 39】

【Moves: Bite / Mud Slap / Stomp / Sand Tomb】

【Rock Slide / Supersonic / Dragon Breath / Earth Power / Bug Buzz】

To judge whether a Pokémon is strong, a rough look uses level and the number of moves mastered as the standard; a closer look requires comparing the Pokémon's build, health, and the quality and proficiency of its moves.

Some Pokémon may have learned a whole pile of moves, but the ones they actually use are usually just a handful; the rest are no different from filler.

And a Pokémon that plays its moves well is no slouch in strength either—take Ash's Pikachu, for instance, who's practically turned Quick Attack into an art, using it as a trampoline one moment and a shield the next; its plasticity is formidable.

All things considered, this Vibrava was definitely not bad.

Its build far exceeded that of its kin — a height of one meter sixty plus those two pairs of powerful wings meant carrying him in flight was no problem at all. Few skills it had, but were Rock Tomb, Earth Power, Heavy Stomp, or Bug Buzz any of them lacking?

Including moves like Sand Tomb and Supersonic, used in the right environment they were bound to produce miraculous effects.

Worthy of being an executive's partner — even though clearly not a main battle Pokémon, it could still guarantee such outstanding combat power.

That Aron had managed to edge slightly ahead of it in the fight just now was purely the result of this fellow's arrogance and reckless underestimation of its opponent. With a trainer commanding it, it certainly wouldn't have fallen to such a state.

Speaking of which, the combat strength of each tier within Team Sandstream was surprisingly well-organized.

According to what All Baimu had learned from others, generally speaking, for ordinary grunts, their Pokémon's levels were usually capped at twenty or thirty at most — any higher and the Pokémon simply wouldn't listen.

The docile ones would occasionally still follow orders, battling according to their trainer's wishes. The unruly ones, like Ash's Charizard, would simply refuse to fight at critical moments no matter how much you tried to persuade them.

And once you reached the squad leader level, Pokémon's levels were generally around forty.

An executive's main battle Pokémon basically exceeded level fifty.

The top executives' Pokémon were on yet another tier — rumor had it they generally crossed the great threshold of level fifty-five or even sixty, terrifyingly so.

As for how strong the top-tier boss of Team Sandstream was, nobody knew.

Of course this wasn't absolute — there were always outstanding individuals and anomalies, just like in cultivation novels where a Foundation Establishment cultivator could fight a Golden Core, but the bulk of combat strength followed this pattern.

However, the Team Sandstream members participating in next week's tournament were basically all at the strength of regular grunts, none exceeding it.

"Still need to work hard."

All Baimu watched the three Pokémon drop their guard one by one and play without a care in the world, and couldn't help but smile.

Beep beep beep—

The shrill sound interrupted their movements.

"Time's up, everyone." All Baimu patted the dust off himself. "Happy times are always especially short — we should head home."

The three Pokémon exchanged glances, somewhat reluctant, but still slowly gathered over.

He recalled the three Pokémon with Poké Balls, and after opening the door got a fright.

"Eh?"

By the door, Otsuka was riding a Donphan and playing some strange handheld game with great enthusiasm. Seeing him come out, he immediately stopped. "Done?"

"You've been waiting at the door this whole time?" All Baimu looked at him with a strange expression. "Didn't go play?"

Otsuka shook the handheld. "Bought this thing and came right back. There were too many tempting things — I was afraid once I started buying I wouldn't be able to stop."

In a situation where almost every trainer was living paycheck to paycheck, the Otsuka family actually had savings of at least two million — truly not easy, presumably having withstood many temptations.

"Want to play?"

"No."

All Baimu declined this fellow's kind offer, feeling a bit embarrassed upon realizing the other had waited at the door for over an hour.

But there was no helping it — some private matters absolutely could not be shown to outsiders. Extra people inside also wouldn't be conducive to him connecting with his Pokémon.

The two set off on the journey home.

Since it happened to be noon, All Baimu treated Otsuka to a meal at the restaurant from last time, and along the way chatted about the loan.

"Interest definitely has to be paid — taking advantage of people isn't right, even brothers should settle accounts clearly. As for how much interest… what would you like it to be?"

"I really don't want any — alright, since I paid eight hundred eighty thousand, how about rounding up to nine hundred thousand? As for the loan term… ten years?"

"Ten years?"

"Twenty years is fine too!" Otsuka, thinking All Baimu was unhappy, hurriedly waved his hands. "Twenty-five years, thirty years…"

"One year."

He tapped the tabletop. "One year. Principal plus interest, rounded to nine hundred thousand, I'll pay you back."

Otsuka opened his mouth, then quickly closed it again, saying nothing.

All Baimu raised an eyebrow. "You don't believe it?"

"Paying back nine hundred thousand in one year, no matter how you look at it, it's still…" Otsuka didn't dare meet his eyes, muttering extremely awkwardly.

This money of his wasn't just saved by him alone — it included the savings of his entire family, even his grandfather's generation, only just barely scraped together that much, and now he was saying it'd be paid back within a year?

"Relax. One year means one year."

All Baimu said in a tone that brooked no argument: "In a couple of days once I learn to write an IOU, I'll write one for you."

"Ah? Um…"

Otsuka nodded, hesitated a moment, then tentatively asked: "Can you really earn that much in a year?"

"You'll know when the time comes."

He didn't say more — with the simulator on him, failing to earn a million in a year would be too pathetic; it's not like it was a hundred million or two hundred million.

Unexpectedly, the moment these words left his mouth, Otsuka's eyes lit up as he asked: "Can you bring me along?"

"I'm not talking about doing business… alright, if there's a chance, I'll bring you along."

All Baimu said casually.

Currently he still didn't trust Otsuka a hundred percent, but tools like this — weren't the more the better? As long as you paid them enough.