Such domineering remarks!
Foreign trainers exchanged looks.
Most of the Arena trainers were filled with righteous indignation, feeling they were deeply insulted, yet only a few pondered over what Baimu had said.
Ying Ma's expression was eager; he absolutely didn't want the Arena people to break up with Baimu in a bad way.
Regardless of the reason.
Yet, Boss Ying Yuan, who should have stepped out to mediate, chose to just watch at this moment, as if he wasn't the boss of the Arena trainers.
Otsuka and others had a mocking expression; there was a time when they weren't even worth a glance from the people in front of them, but now their status had completely reversed, Rainbow Team had become a semi-administrative body in Pyrite Town, whereas the Arena...
At most, it was just a club providing a venue for battles.
Of course.
What they were mocking wasn't the difference in status but the fact that the Arena people were seriously inexperienced, oblivious to the attitude they should assume even with a cost-free opportunity to become stronger right in front of them.
Were they even fit to call themselves Pyrite Town People?
If not for the reluctance to publicly contradict Baimu, they would have already persuaded their boss to retreat to the Rainbow Team territory, teaching those Little Doudings who also wished to train Pokémon instead of these blockheads.
Ayana silently recalled the content of the three battles, feeling joy at the vast world she had glimpsed, her mind frantically absorbing all the knowledge that could make her stronger.
In the battle arena.
Kendall's emotions surged as he gazed at Baimu, who stood across with composure and confidence, a slight smile on his lips. The anger that had surged after his defenses were broken had all dissipated with his earlier venting.
What replaced it was bewilderment.
The proclamation that broke his defenses on the surface targeted this Rainbow Team boss, but it was actually questioning Boss Ying Yuan, who had maintained a spectator's stance all along.
How many trials and tribulations have we been through together?
So many brothers steadfastly followed him despite the upheaval in Pyrite Town, yet he casually handed them over to outsiders for management!
Teach them to battle?
Clearly to give them another boss!
At this point, Kendall barely held himself back, following orders was his principle in life, even proactively stepping forward to give Baimu a show of power.
But winning wasn't enough, he had to find ways to belittle him.
Persistence?
Can persistence lead to victory?
Kendall remembered very clearly, back when this Rainbow Team boss battled with Shanren, Lairon persisted until it evolved, but still lost to Claydol.
The end was exactly the same.
If that's the case, what's the point of persistence?
Belief in Pokémon? The trainer is the leader in battle! Standing from the third perspective, we can make more calm and correct judgments!
"..."
Kendall opened his mouth, attempting to refute Baimu's point, yet for some reason, he couldn't make a sound.
His gaze fell on the nearly half-buried Mamoswine in the sand, even its sturdy ivory only halfway visible, yet despite that, it kept its unwavering gaze on the Garchomp in the sky.
Familiar with it, Kendall knew that Mamoswine was waiting for his command.
Without his command, this guy absolutely wouldn't take the initiative to attack even if it was about to be swallowed by the quicksand.
Why?
He suddenly realized he completely didn't understand Mamoswine.
No orders for so long, Mamoswine, who was equally familiar with him, couldn't possibly not know that he had already surrendered.
Clearly about to be buried, yet not at all fearful.
Thinking it wouldn't die?
No.
Wrong.
Kendall knew Mamoswine wasn't that smart; this clumsy creature would only smile foolishly at him, dashing madly in the direction he pointed...
He suddenly froze, recalling a memory from long, long ago.
Back then, he wasn't yet the second-in-command at Pyrite Arena, just a regular member of a punk group in Pyrite Town, valued by the boss at the time for his daring and fighting spirit.
However, the punk group couldn't last long, making too many enemies. They soon faced siege from other punk groups.
The boss quickly died, and the remaining members either fled or were killed.
The impulsive young him fought obstinately, cornered by a group of people with their Pokémon, covered in wounds, just a step away from death.
How did he survive back then?
Kneeling to plead?
Being spared?
No.
It was the Piloswine, heavily injured and already to the point of should have fainted, that suddenly erupted, allowing them to break through the encirclement and be discovered by Boss Ying Yuan, admired for resilience.
The scars from that battle remained on Piloswine, even through evolution.
On its back, there remains a long mark, hacked by Scyther, where no hair can grow.
Only because in near despair, he gritted his teeth and shouted—
"Piloswine! Charge forward!"
Back then, he didn't give up, he didn't surrender when just one step away from death, choosing to trust Piloswine, trust this partner that never let him down.
He especially hoped.
That Piloswine, skilled in charging ahead, could also, as it did in the past, carve out a path for them with brute courage.
The final result, Piloswine didn't let him down. It even won a broader future for them, their fate changed from that day.
He gradually grew, acquiring more and more Pokémon, step by step rising to become the second-in-command at the arena.
He changed.
Became less impulsive, became more savvy, hiding all his sharp edges.
But Mamoswine didn't change.
From the beginning to the end, it has been that foolhardy Pokémon waiting for his command, waiting to charge forward, no matter the time or place, regardless of its own situation.