Chapter 163: The Boss

They claimed they would take away two-thirds of the combat strength.

But in practice, it wasn't as simple as Cang Zhi Lang had described.

The Sandflow Team was not a disciplined army; its overall cohesion barely relied on money and brotherhood, and it was nearly impossible to convince them to abandon everything they had gained to rescue a boss far away in Silicoberyllium City with just a few words.

Fortunately, the upper echelons remained resolute about rescuing the boss, having just wiped out a peer organization that collapsed due to the absence of its boss—no one wanted to end up like the Evil Dog Team.

So.

Under the upper leadership's concealment of certain key intelligence, an operation named "Reclaiming the King of Sandflow" was launched.

Led by Cang Zhi Lang, certain high-ranking members relinquished their share of benefits, and the redistributed rewards successfully spurred the middle and lower ranks to sign up en masse.

Sandflow Team members enthusiastically enlisted; former Evil Dog Team members also joined actively, hoping to secure a position in the new organization.

Baimu watched all of this with indifference, not on the preliminary list.

"The Sandflow Team will delay the arrival of Silicoberyllium City's secret forces—we'll gain more time to secure a precious chance for survival in this upheaval."

Shan Ren's tone was no longer as light as before.

Clearly, he had observed everything happening in Huang Tie Town—even had his own schemes in motion—but some outcomes were still not what he wished to see.

"You must continue to grow. This mission is simple yet arduous. You should understand that although Chester participated in the operation to reclaim the Sandflow Team's boss, he will inevitably contribute only in name."

Shan Ren whispered: "If Chester returns under this pretext, you will need the strength to stand against him."

The strength to stand against him.

When this man said those words,

Baimu involuntarily looked toward the Pokémon Cang Zhi Lang had given him—

Steelix.

In terms of building a complete battle team, Steelix and Probopass share many similarities, including but not limited to extreme physical defense, slow speed, and certain type weaknesses.

Even their preferred moves and abilities have much in common.

But these two Pokémon are ultimately different; one must also consider factors beyond basic game stats—size, personality, intelligence, preferred moves, body structure, attack habits, and more.

For Baimu, since he did not refuse to accept this Pokémon from Cang Zhi Lang, he had a duty to uncover Steelix's unique potential.

Of course.

All of this depends on first being able to tame Steelix.

Information gathered from the Pokémon Center and the Pokédex confirmed this thing was no easy opponent—no wonder Cang Zhi Lang temporarily set it aside after being injured.

【Pokémon: Steelix】

【Type: Steel + Ground】

【Gender: Female】

【Height: 1835 cm / 1531 kg】

【Ability: Rock Head】

【Level: 60】

【Moves: Tackle / Bind / Knock Off / Dragon Breath / Curse】

【Rock Slide / Sand Tomb / Gyro Ball / Slam / Sandstorm】

【Dig / Iron Tail / Rock Throw / Heavy Slam / Earthquake】

The moves are numerous but clearly unrefined by a trainer; at this level, it should have over twenty moves—this Steelix likely reached this stage through natural wild growth.

But more than that, Baimu was struck by its absurd size.

Eighteen meters…

He had checked the average length of Steelix—just over nine meters. Eighteen meters meant it was twice the size of its kind. Even if only about two-thirds of its length stood upright, it still stood nearly twelve meters tall.

Typically, one floor is about three meters high—meaning this Steelix was as tall as a four-story building!

Its weight was only three to four times greater than normal, but given Steelix's already abnormal mass—hollow inside, similar to sheet metal—it wasn't worth overanalyzing; the effect likely stemmed from its unique body structure.

The Pokédex said it was harder than any metal, comparable to diamond—effectively a special lightweight metal with diamond-level hardness.

In short.

The boss Pokémon wasn't that impressive—no wonder Cang Zhi Lang favored it. Too bad it ultimately fell into the hands of this traitorous little brother, Baimu.

Fate, destiny.

"Level 60."

Baimu stared at Steelix's level, hesitating slightly.

This level felt to him like his former Gyarados had once been.

With his team's current strength, taming this level-60 Steelix would be extremely difficult—Probopass and Gyarados were at level 50 and just level 51 yesterday, respectively, nearly ten levels behind.

Bidege

Steelix's weight was also absurdly high; taking it on alone was virtually impossible.

Multiple-on-one might defeat Steelix, but whether it would truly submit was a huge question mark.

However.

The accumulated simulator reward levels already exceeded ten levels; if applied to Probopass, it would instantly match Steelix's level, greatly aiding his self-preservation and potential taming of Steelix during the coming chaos.

But what made him hesitate was that level 60 was uncharted territory for him—raising Probopass so abruptly might bring negative side effects.

Such as excessive energy surging, triggering a berserk state, and so on.

As for disobedience, it was not in his consideration.

Probopass, as his first Pokémon caught by his own hand, was meant to be his Pikachu.

And Pikachu, aside from initially ignoring Ash, remained inseparable from him ever since—unless the script forced drama—and even helped create the iconic Bonding Move, Pikachu-Z.

Probopass had no reason to disobey.

And after Cang Zhi Lang and the others left, Sandflow Team's territory would inevitably attract the greed of surrounding factions—when else but now to use these stored levels? The time for accumulated strength to erupt is today!

Thinking this, All Baimu—

All Baimu had made his decision.

—

The rear courtyard battleground.

All Baimu locked eyes with the Blastoise seated on the ground, speaking in a low voice.

"The times are turbulent. We've finally gained a place to call our own — we absolutely cannot let others take it from us."

"Gurr!"

"Just as I've said before, Blastoise — we will support each other, striving for our respective dreams and goals. Right now I desperately crave your strength, and I earnestly hope you'll stand by my side."

"Gurr!"

Blastoise didn't understand why its trainer had suddenly said these things, but it knew that at this moment, simply giving an affirmative answer was enough.

It would surely stand firm in front of All Baimu, no matter what enemy it faced, no matter what desperate situation it encountered.

Even death could not part them!

As if sensing Blastoise's resolve within its heart, All Baimu opened the simulator, channeling the reward levels through touch, slowly infusing them into the former's body.

Level one, level two, level three…

He watched Blastoise's appearance intently — should any sign of rampaging appear, he would stop at once.

But from start to finish, Blastoise maintained a calm, steady posture the entire time, its azure eyes like an undisturbed lake surface, revealing its temperament.

There was some noise.

It lay in the growth of Blastoise's physical body.

Energy levels certainly boosted elemental energy the most, but to a certain extent they also fed back into Blastoise's physique — put plainly, its six stats, the six ability values from Defense to Speed.

Level ten was already a rather terrifying number.

Not long after.

The accumulated levels had all transformed into Blastoise's strength.

As it slowly rose, its original two-meter-three frame had once again grown!