Chapter 34: Skyrocketing Price

The sudden female voice drowned out his command.

Bang!

The ground not far to the left of the Hound Squad member abruptly exploded, and a silver shadow burst straight out of it!

"Just as I expected, there's an ambush!"

He hurriedly threw himself to the right, opening another Poké Ball hidden in his palm. "Don't worry about me! Just grab her!"

His shout made the two canine Pokémon that had turned their heads keep running forward,

Boom!

A white light shot forth, transforming into a bronze round mirror edged with six copper beads, blocking in front of him and colliding with the Aron.

Clang!

A piercing explosion!

The Hound Squad member had thought this would at least block the attack, but he never expected the Levitate Bronzor to be sent flying by the Aron, causing the latter to crash heavily onto his chest.

"Pfft!"

Damn it! He couldn't even hold back a single Aron!

A sweet taste rose in his throat, and he nearly spat out a mouthful of blood. He immediately turned his head to look at his other two Pokémon.

As long as they caught the enemy, there was still a chance to turn things around—

How could that be!

The Hound Squad member's eyes went wide as he stared in disbelief at the scene not far away, coughing and struggling in his panic.

He saw the "enemy" pinned by the Houndoom, its foul-smelling mandibles feinting a bite at the neck. The Poochyena beside it swiftly scanned left and right, noticed something was wrong with its trainer's side, and wanted to rush back to help.

But none of them noticed that atop the rock the "enemy" was leaning against, a Venipede had appeared at some unknown point.

"Dragon Breath!"

Boom!

Indigo-blue flames surged from its mouth, and the Poochyena rushing back was instantly blasted away!

"Whine!?"

The Houndoom looked up in shock, only to feel a sudden pulling sensation beneath its claws. Looking down, it saw the enemy being dragged away. Turning its head again, the one dragging was actually one of its own?

That outfit is the Hound Squad uniform, right? Right?

It was at a loss, wanting to get instructions from its trainer. Just as it turned its head toward where the trainer was, a tremor rose along with a command!

"Earth Power!"

Vast orange-red energy shook the ground, surging up violently from beneath its feet!

Rumble—!!

Energy flames like a volcanic eruption sent it flying on the spot!

Midair.

The Houndoom let out a pained whine, then crashed heavily to the ground, twitched a few times, and went still.

It had clearly been "one-shot" on the spot, falling into a faint.

But it wasn't over yet.

The Hound Squad member struggled to push the Aron off, but the latter saw what was happening and headbutted him right on the forehead, making him see stars.

Not far away, the blasted Bronzor adjusted its posture, preparing to counterattack. Its eyes lit up with blue light as it brought its Psychic powers to bear.

Meanwhile, the Poochyena that had been knocked back by Dragon Breath also staggered to its feet, baring its sharp fangs with a vicious look. But just as it was about to step forward, tiny currents of electricity crackled across its body.

【Paralysis】, the secondary effect of Dragon Breath.

Baimu pressed the advantage, hurling a Smoke Ball at the Hound Squad member's position.

Puff!

A large amount of purple smoke spread from the explosion. The Bronzor, having lost sight, kept flashing its blue light and had to redirect to manipulate Baimu's main body.

Little did it know that the latter had already sprinted into the smoke.

The Bronzor hesitated, unsure whether to pursue inside.

And as the Poochyena panted heavily, about to make a move, three red beams flew out of the smoke, sweeping left and right and sucking in the suddenly alarmed Pokémon trying to flee.

Then.

The fainted Houndoom was also taken away by the red light.

"... Phew, it's over."

Baimu walked out of the purple haze with the Aron, dragging the Hound Squad member with one hand and carrying the man's backpack with the other.

He said to the female Hound Squad member rubbing the back of her neck, "That was really hard work for you. Didn't expect this guy to be so much trouble—almost failed the ambush."

"..."

The female Hound Squad member said nothing, only looking at the dazed, stunned Hound Squad member.

"—Gou Wu! You traitor, you betrayed the Hound Squad!"

The latter came to his senses upon seeing the former and said viciously, "You bastard! Just wait till I get out! I'll have my lord kill you for sure!"

"Get lost! I didn't betray anyone! You were too incompetent to see through the trap, so why blame me!"

Gou Wu shot back, "Worry about your own sorry life first! Idiot!!"

Hearing this, the Hound Squad member immediately raised his right hand to call for backup, only to find that his wristband had already been stripped off by Baimu.

In other words, he had already lost the right to decide his own fate.

"Ugh..."

"Hehehe, young man, get a grip on your situation."

Baimu pressed one knee onto the Hound Squad member's spine, drawing a pained grunt from him and putting a stop to his little tricks. "Or do I have to break one of your legs before you learn some sense?"

「……」

That person slightly raised his head, his gaze shifting between Roggenrola and the Larvesta, and said nothing more.

Baimu bound his hands and feet, then frisked him, successfully pocketing a series of small items including a razor blade. "You're not very honest, are you… then there's no helping it."

He recalled Roggenrola and the Larvesta, thanked them, then took out a Poké Ball and opened it.

Pop.

"Lucky?"

Chansey looked around in a daze.

He patted the other's fluffy big head. "Please use Sing, let this guy have a good sleep."

"Wait! Don't, wait!" The Houndoom squad member's face changed wildly, struggling desperately.

Baimu found a cloth to gag the man's mouth, then issued the order once more.

"Lucky~"

Chansey nodded slightly, raised both hands high, closed her eyes, and sang. Bathed in the pale pink sound waves, the Houndoom squad member was asleep in no time.

He and Hao Wu also lowered the hands that had been covering their ears.

Normal Sing can be resisted by covering one's ears and dodging the pale pink sound waves.

The Jigglypuff in the anime is purely a "legendary beast" born for the sake of the show's effect, like the Bewear in Sun and Moon that can do anything anywhere — it cannot be used as a standard.

In principle, it's about the same as Pokémon being unable to come out of their Poké Balls on their own.

The dust settled.

One of the two Rotom Drones flew off, while the other slowly descended.

"You have received a total of 2.4 million in tips."

"—How much!?"

Baimu stared at the Rotom Drone in shock, then looked at the equally stunned Hao Wu. "2.4 million?"

The Rotom Drone did not respond, rising back into the air.

The latter nodded with a complicated expression. "That is indeed the figure."

2.4 million.

Baimu fell into thought. This sum was quite enormous for him at present, but he did not feel delighted; instead, he began to consider whether this money might be too hot to handle.

Should he express thanks?

Who would tip such a large sum? Someone who lost a bet against the gambling queen?

After much deliberation, he still bowed slightly to the Rotom Drone. "Thank you for your tip. I am deeply honored and humbled."

Regardless of who the tipper was, anyone able to fling out such a sum was someone he could not afford to offend; there was no need to display any unruly temperament at this moment.

Veilstone City banquet.

Baimu's respectful expression of gratitude was clearly imprinted on the silver screen. The guests praised and applauded one after another, and on the second floor Elder Ejin wore a smile.

Undoubtedly, the elder just now had taken the lead in tipping Baimu one million Pokédollars, prompting the guests to follow suit, ultimately pooling nearly two million, with the remainder coming from tips elsewhere.

The reason it did not become even more was that each person's maximum single tip was only one hundred thousand; only Elder Ejin possessed a higher authorization.

Moreover, the tips a contestant received could not be allowed to be too exaggerated, so they were limited to a certain degree.

Outside the arena.

Lady Ayana in the main control room was beaming with joy, barely caring about the battle results on the other side. The corner of her eye swept toward the dark-faced man whose face had turned ashen, and she let out a snort.

The latter had just lost five hundred thousand; although it was not a huge sum, losing face was real.

At the Quicksand Squad base, almost everyone was in high spirits.

Because they had bet on Baimu to win and made a killing. If they had a tipping channel, they would certainly have tipped along as well.

The rescued Quicksand Squad member watched the silver screen, his face flashing through emotions of jealousy, envy, and regret. He glanced at his bandaged legs and let out a helpless sigh.

"Sigh…"