As soon as they decided to fight, they did.
Even before Baimu could give a command, Mawile, who had long been displeased with Yoshikawa, suddenly stomped the ground. Its body was enveloped in crackling electricity as it charged forward like a blur!
The bosses screamed and dodged, causing tables and chairs to tumble over. The long white table in the center cracked and collapsed with a snap.
Yoshikawa and the underlings behind him turned pale, also trying to dodge. But as Mawile's main target, Yoshikawa was too late to evade.
Mawile's fist enlarged in front of him in an instant—
"Defend!"
"Shuckle!"
Two shouts, one high and one low, were heard.
Boom!
The air erupted with a deafening bang as red and green lights flared up, transforming into a surging blaze of light that appeared out of nowhere and exploded, causing the whole dance hall to shake violently.
Soon, thin white smoke curled up.
Mawile emerged from the smoke and returned to Baimu's side.
Cheng Hong and the others stared in disbelief at the Pokémon, which had always appeared very cute and seemingly not very combative, rapidly thinking if they had ever offended it.
Some who had considered patting its head now quietly repented.
"Shuckle!"
Mawile paid them no mind and let out a rather serious-sounding cry.
Baimu initially wanted to reprimand Mawile for acting without a signal, but hearing its cry, he somehow understood and looked into the dense smoke at the deepest part of the dance hall.
In the hazy dust, several dark figures emerged as the smoke cleared.
It turned out to be Yoshikawa and his companions, who were still trembling with fear. At some point, a yellow-tentacled, red-jar-like creature had appeared on his shoulder.
Shuckle, the fermentation Pokémon.
A miraculous being with super strong dual defenses.
A long string of data flashed naturally in his mind.
"Do you know the rules, damn it!? Didn't your elder brother ever teach you not to fight indoors!?"
Yoshikawa shouted angrily, his face full of relief and lingering fear, his voice particularly loud, "Damn, where does this reckless kid come from!"
"Yeah, yeah!"
"So young and doesn't know the rules! How did your elder brother teach you!"
A group of Quicksand Team Members behind him also shouted.
Rules?
Though Baimu also didn't want to fight indoors, he had no idea about any rules, so he straightforwardly avoided the topic.
"Just a little lesson in advance so you'll remember."
Since the enemy wasn't down, he surely couldn't casually reprimand Mawile now, as questioning a Pokémon publicly could easily cause Mawile to lose face.
Pokémon also have their dignity.
Yoshikawa continued cursing in the distance, "Damn it, a hillbilly is still a hillbilly, if your elder brother doesn't teach you, I will!"
Cheng Hong seemed to realize that Baimu truly didn't understand the rules and quietly reminded him.
After a few words, Baimu understood.
In short.
Deciding success through Pokémon battles remains customary. Both parties set the rules and wager something before beginning the fight. Everything goes as long as no one dies—
Listening to Cheng Hong's explanation and looking at Yoshikawa and the others' pompous demeanor, Baimu sighed inwardly. Hoping for intense internal conflict wasn't very realistic, after all.
Even when cursing their bosses, they must maintain the most basic "friendly" posture.
Just like in Hong Kong films where both sides shout and cheer, ready to start a fight but the leaders end it with some trash-talking and brandishing knives.
But there's no way around it. The rules for resolving internal conflicts are set by the Quicksand Team Leader, and no one dares to defy them, even the top three highest-ranking managers.
"Return to the Pokeball for now."
He quietly consulted with Mawile before retrieving it back.
——
They arrived at the battleground on Copper Mill Street.
Baimu's squad and Yoshikawa's squad stood on opposite sides, glaring at each other.
Crowds of onlookers gathered around, among them many bosses, many idle Quicksand Team Members, and some laymen stealing some leisure.
"Yo! The Sand Group and Crystal Team are at it again!"
"Who's leading each side?"
"Who else but Baimu and Yoshikawa! They've been the most high-profile these days!"
"Let them fight, let them fight!"
Ignoring the noisy chatter of the onlookers, Baimu and Yoshikawa leaned in to discuss the so-called bet.
As expected, the latter proposed that he should relinquish the territory in Districts One and Two and return it to the Crystal Team, perhaps knowing he had used cunning schemes to seize it, so his tone wasn't loud.
"I refuse."
Baimu didn't hesitate, "I won't bet on anything else; I'm wagering for all your teeth."
"You damn—!"
Seeing this kid not taking the bait, Yoshikawa repeated his tactics, "Who's betting on such trivial things with you? Or are you scared? Afraid you'll lose and forfeit your territory, like your sissy—"
"Fine! I'll bet with you!"
Baimu abruptly raised his voice, overwhelming his opponent's old tactics, ensuring all the onlookers heard, "Everyone here, be witnesses! Whoever wins gets to knock out all of the other's teeth!"
"Who's agreed with that!"
Yoshikawa was stunned, furious, "You're talking nonsense!"
"Folks! He admitted he's scared! As soon as I said it to you, Yoshikawa from the Crystal Team chickened out! Afraid of us, the Sand Group brothers!" He continued, shouting even louder.
The Quicksand Team Members in the crowd couldn't help but join in cheering.
Crystal Team's people cursed and grumbled.
"I just ask you! Dare or not! Say you won't bet, and we'll go our way!" Baimu turned his gaze back to an infuriated, red-faced Yoshikawa, "You Crystal Team people can't all be all talk, with mouths tougher than any other part of your bodies, can you!?"
Even before the parties involved could react, Crystal Team onlookers couldn't stand it.
"Damn it! Agree to it!"
"Yoshikawa, don't chicken out!"
"Go get him, don't chicken out!"
Under the crowd's relentless persuasion, Yoshikawa, whether willing or not, had no choice but to agree.
Ultimately.
The match between the two team bosses, a three-on-three single battle, officially began.
It was vastly different from what Yoshikawa had originally planned.
"Idiot."
Baimu couldn't help but laugh at this mess, saying if he weren't smart, he could still manipulate those bosses and provoke others to fight him.
But if he were, he'd find it hard to back out, embarrassed to demand the district territory the big boss carved out and reclaim it, even speaking quietly?
Just like Chester, the big boss of the Crystal Team, he damn cared about his reputation.
People from the same team shouted a few words, and he gave in.
"Baimu, are you sure about this?"
Cheng Hong looked at the returning Baimu with some concern, "Although this guy is a newly appointed squad leader, I've heard he could've been promoted years ago, just didn't have enough merits."
"No worries."
He shook his head, reassuring Cheng Hong and others.
Mawile's qualities exceed the average level of Pokémon in Pyrite Town. As long as Yoshikawa isn't some fake Manager Level, victory is foreseeable.
Moreover, Lairon isn't an easy target, having leveled up on its own over the past week, with Level 3 obtained yesterday.
Solely at the energy level, it's already at the doorstep of Level 40.
Of course, Pokémon battles are ever-changing; no one dares to claim they'll certainly laugh till the end.