Chapter 5: Acting the Fool

Just how many Pokémon did the Quicksand Team pack into this fortress?

Baimu was speechless. In less than thirty minutes since coming down, he had run into three waves of Pokémon in a row, and this last wave had even been caught on the spot.

What to do?

Should he use his trump card?

He fumbled at his pocket, watching the Aron nervously.

But for some reason, the other side did not attack, instead holding an observing posture; a hazy curiosity could be seen in those teal-blue eyes.

The standoff lasted about a dozen seconds. Baimu, who had waited and waited for Aron to attack, was baffled for a moment, then seemed to understand something and slowly reached his hand toward his collar.

At the same time.

A faint buzzing of wings suddenly came from behind him.

Not good!

Those two Venonat had come back!

When it rains, it pours. One Aron was already hard enough to deal with, and now two more Venonat showed up.

Wasn't this plainly pushing him toward a dead end?

Baimu looked at the Aron, which still had not taken an attacking stance, and on a wild impulse got the idea of scooping it into his arms and hiding them both together.

Otherwise, even if he hid, the Aron would still expose itself.

Who would have thought the other side took a few steps back, looked him over carefully, then glanced toward the direction the wing-buzzing came from, ran to the rock wall and scraped out a little pit with a scratching sound, and burrowed inside.

The movements were stealthy and agile, truly astonishing.

This guy…

Hidden away, Baimu couldn't help touching the iron ingot at his chest, wondering if the clue might be pointing to this Aron.

But the clue said a Pokémon that "could be obtained"—how could a Pokémon the Quicksand Team let in be obtained?

Could it be… an abandoned individual?

There was that possibility, but only on the premise that the examination site hadn't screened things carefully. In the end, the clue didn't necessarily point to Aron; under the heavens, plenty of Pokémon were interested in iron ingots.

In any case, anything was possible.

Baimu held his breath, striving to minimize the small movements of his body so as not to be detected by the Venonat.

This kind of Pokémon, which lived in the desert, was extremely aggressive and would not let go of any enemy its gaze caught.

"Buzz-buzz—"

The clamorous sound, like a buzzer, kept stimulating Baimu's nerves; if his endurance hadn't been fairly decent, he would most likely have lost his patience by now.

He silently counted down in his mind, holding his breath.

A moment later, he once again narrowly missed those two Venonat.

Only when the buzzing could no longer be heard did he stir slightly and look toward the little hole the Aron had dug out.

He had expected the other to pop its head out, but after waiting over a minute, there was still no sign of it.

"Gone, huh… Was this guy really abandoned or not?" Baimu touched the shrunken Poké Ball in his pocket.

Those two Venonat had come back too quickly; he hadn't even had a chance to test the waters.

So this counts as a miss?

He rubbed his brow to dispel the stray thoughts. The most important thing right now was to pass the examination; even if he really had missed it, the status of a full member would bring him one.

Let's keep moving.

Baimu switched on the lamp on his miner's helmet, adjusted the brightness so the dim path became clear, but not so bright as to draw the attention of light-sensitive Pokémon.

Not long after he left.

Aron poked its head out of the hole, looked in the direction he had left, blew a little dust from the four small black holes on its face, and unhurriedly followed after him.

——

Huff, huff, huff…

Cheng Hong ran in panic; the Rhyhorn chasing him from behind was like a death warrant, making him flee with little care for where he went.

Without a doubt, his act of treating the traps as nothing was rather reckless.

So, as was only fitting, Cheng Hong suddenly stepped on empty ground and tumbled into a deliberately made deep pit; the jagged rocks at the bottom easily tore his skin, and blood instantly soaked through his clothes.

"Heh heh heh heh, a bunch of overestimating trash, still thinking you can pass the examination."

Above the pit, Rhyhorn poked its head out, and beside it were several annoying faces.

One of them sneered: "Tell me where Baimu is sooner, and if I'm happy about it, I might just let you off."

"In your dreams! Just you wait! Once Baimu finds out, he definitely won't let you get away with it!"

Cheng Hong glared at Shibata with hatred.

After they had gotten separated from Baimu, the lot of them had been very lucky along the way—not only avoiding all kinds of traps, but also barely running into any trial Pokémon.

When they reached the depths and saw those scattered jadeite ores, they had thought victory was in sight. Who would have guessed Shibata had long since brought men and cheating Pokémon to lie in wait here, catching them completely off guard.

One companion after another fell; now he, the only one who had escaped, had also fallen into a trap.

"Let me off? Hahahaha, I'd like to see how he doesn't let me off! A bunch of good-for-nothing poor bastards! Rhyhorn! Kill him!"

Shibata flew into a rage that turned to laughter, and with a sudden wave of his hand, prepared to have Cheng Hong killed.

The latter, terrified, crossed his arms in front of himself, shut his eyes tight thinking he was done for; despite his immense fear, he instinctively clenched his teeth, unwilling to cut a sorry figure while awaiting death, and shouted in his heart that Baimu must avenge him.

Yet after waiting for ages, he still felt no pain.

This made him unable to stop himself from opening his eyes and looking up.

"Huh? Where are they?"

Shibata's group and that Rhyhorn had, at some unknown point, already vanished.

He had actually been let off? Impossible!

Cheng Hong's heart was full of doubts.

Above the pit, Shibata's face stiff as he watched the Iron Armor Rhino turn and leave—the latter was clearly a Pokémon his uncle had sent to help him, yet he couldn't command the creature!

The contemptuous look the other party had given him before leaving also stung his heart.

Damn it!

Even a Pokémon dares to look down on me!

Recalling the Iron Armor Rhino's attitude just now that plainly didn't take him seriously, Shibata's face was almost twisted by his vicious aura, fists clenched tight, body taut. The people beside him, seeing him in this state, didn't dare raise their voices even when speaking.

Afraid of being implicated.

"It's all that damn Baimu! I have to kill him!"

In the end, Shibata blamed everything on Baimu, who refused to submit to him. If not for the latter's existence, how would those paupers dare be so stubborn. He also wouldn't have been constantly complained to at home for failing to handle such a small matter, embarrassing them.

That's right.

It's all Baimu's fault!

Returning to the vicinity of the jade mine, Shibata looked at the "paupers" sprawled all over the ground, softly moaning, and grinned viciously. "Beat them! Make them scream! The more pain the better! Let that little punk Baimu know about this!"

"Um, that Shibata…"

"Hm!?"

The speaker dodged Shibata's bloodshot eyes. The others exchanged glances, wanting to say this would easily attract other Pokémon over, but how would they dare defy Shibata in his current temper? They could only do as he said.

In an instant.

Heartrending screams of agony rang out from the underground mine, sending chills down the spines of many Quicksand Team grunts who were exploring.

What on earth did they encounter to scream so miserably? Is the exam really this terrifying?!

Baimu, advancing slowly, also noticed. He even caught a hint of familiarity in the howls, and couldn't help quickening his pace.

Whether the exam passes or fails doesn't matter—he just worried the other party might lose their life over it. He wasn't cold-blooded enough to ignore an acquaintance in mortal danger.

And in a shadow no one had noticed, a symbol-figure that seemed to have grown out of a greyish rock slab held up a miniature camera, secretly spying on these grunts taking the exam.

Inside Iron Town, a man of noble bearing held a glass of red wine, gazed at the many screens before him, and sighed.

"The Quicksand Team—each generation is worse than the last."

The security company originally established to guard the mine had fallen to such a state.

"Death Slate, let the Yamasks keep an eye out—don't let too many people die."

"Geh-hiss!"

On a massive grey rock painted with a strange serpentine symbol, a ghostly purple eye blinked gently, then vanished on the spot.