Baimu and his group soon arrived near the mine.
In the black of night.
The raging flames and smoke were exceptionally conspicuous, indicating that the mine itself had indeed been attacked, and that the enemy had even infiltrated inside, causing a considerable disturbance.
"What do we do?"
Otsuka and the others turned to Baimu, their pillar of support.
Although they had thoughts of making a name for themselves, faced with such an event, they inevitably felt at a loss, not knowing what to do.
"...Find a place to hide, I'll go in and check the situation."
He turned his head and said to the four: "Once we're able to counterattack, you can come in, or I'll bring Cheng Hong and the others out, and we can all escape together."
Relying on the secret passage inside the mine was unrealistic.
When such a passage starts to be used to move people and things, it can hardly be called secret anymore, and it's too easy to get blocked.
Being blocked underground is definitely not an entertaining prospect.
Otsuka was shocked, "Isn't it too dangerous for you to go alone? I want to go too!"
The other three echoed his sentiment.
"What use is it for you to go? You're not even squad leader level, you can't even protect yourself. You too, going will only hold us back. I'm already set on rescuing Cheng Hong and the others, I don't want to rescue you too, understand?"
Baimu spoke bluntly, leaving Otsuka and the others speechless.
Their lack of strength meant they could only watch on, as getting involved would easily lead to immediate death.
Similarly, Baimu's lack of strength meant he couldn't directly take out all the intruders, and could only sneakily rescue his teammates, preserving himself as Flop had suggested.
Let's not talk about other things.
If they possessed powerful Pokémon from the main series regions, with the terrifying destructive power to blow through a street with a Destructive Death Beam, what would the Evil Dog Team amount to?
Unfortunately, Baimu was still too far from that level.
"Then...then we'll hide and wait for you!"
Otsuka ultimately didn't dare cause a hold-up, the experience from the charity tournament hadn't entirely faded away, and he knew his own capabilities well.
Though the other three were unwilling at heart, they chose to agree.
Baimu said: "Alright, find a place to hide, remember not to run too far, but not too close either. If the outer members who went scouting earlier come back, don't meet up with them, there might be infiltrators inside."
"Yes!"
The four responded in unison.
——
Departing from his teammates.
Baimu placed Mawile in front of him, swiftly dismantling the side car that might become a hindrance, cranking the throttle to its limit and making the hoverbike speed forward like a cannonball.
He planned to rely on the hoverbike to rush into the mine to check the situation. At high speed, it could bring danger, but it could also make his agility a safety factor.
There are pros and cons.
However.
Before he could get close to the mine, the ground on the roadside ahead abruptly exploded, with several massive dark blue rocks surging upwards, seemingly alive as they hovered in mid-air.
Electric light flickered around these stones, forming a chaotic, massive network distributed across the ground.
Baimu knew that just squeezing the brakes wouldn't stop him, urgently steering the bike in a wide arc to dodge, but overestimated his riding skills, causing the bike to suddenly lose control.
Out of complete desperation.
He had no choice but to release the handle and hug Mawile, abandoning the bike.
Mawile was smart enough, using Electromagnetic Levitation immediately, allowing both itself and Baimu to land safely.
"Nosepass's Electromagnetic Wave...they even have time to set traps, how many people did these guys bring?" He frowned, seeing the true forms of the attacking Pokémon.
Those stones like human heads were, indeed, Compass Pokémon Nosepass.
Meanwhile.
Seven or eight people emerged from behind the massive rocks, accompanied by the constant growling Mightyena.
"There really were people rushing over, Master Jillard predicted this perfectly."
One of the group who seemed to be the leader chuckled, while the Nosepass flew back towards him, presenting their sides to Baimu.
The characteristic of Nosepass is that they always face north.
"Hey, you're a squad leader, aren't you? Where are your teammates?" Though the man couldn't see Baimu's face clearly due to his sandproof mask, he could spot the badge on his chest.
At the same time.
"Sigh..."
Baimu also noticed the leader's badge representing squad leader level, and couldn't help but sigh.
"Passing the Baton."
Without considering any chit-chat with those in front of him, he switched out Mawile, transferring its Electromagnetic Levitation state to Aggron.
The massive, dark form like a mountain quickly stiffened the expressions of the laughing Evil Dog Team members.
"Sacrifice Charge, let's finish this quickly!"
"Roar!"
The next moment.
The 400-kilogram Aggron emitted a blinding white light all over its body, charging towards the group of Evil Dog Team Members at a speed completely disproportionate to its weight, like a meteor!
"Stop it!"
"Howl—Wuwuwu!"
The Mightyenas tried to block Aggron's charge under the orders of the Evil Dog Team Members, but they were knocked aside like tofu blocks, unable to withstand its Sacrifice Impact.
The Nosepasses flew forward to stop it, but their fragile magnets couldn't compare to hard steel.
Aggron easily knocked them away, leaving a few cracks on the Nosepasses, while only some friction marks were left on itself.
"Boom—!!"
The excited Aggron roared to the sky, its hard head completely unharmed by the recoil, and its charging speed became faster and faster.
In an instant, the Evil Dog Team Members fled in panic, crying for their lives.
Some unfortunate people hit by Aggron were sent flying on the spot, spinning to the ground, groaning in pain.
Clearly, they didn't have much combat ability left.
"Speak! How many of you are there? Which bigwigs have arrived?"
Baimu was racing against time to gather information.
He quickly learned that this Evil Dog Team had brought along three executives, a devastating blow for the mining site where only Ayana was left as an executive.
And now all three executives had gone inside to command others to destroy the equipment, leaving just a few people on the perimeter to prevent sudden reinforcements.
"Damn it!"
Baimu casually threw the wailing man to the ground; he had no time to finish off these "cripples" scattered around, and besides, finishing them off now would be meaningless.
Aggron, after all, was just an individual and couldn't chase all the opponents at once, allowing the Squad Leader to dispatch their Pokémon to report inside the mining site—although he himself was knocked aside, his life or death unknown.
Time was of the essence!
Baimu quickly checked the hoverbike and, finding it scrapped, immediately jumped onto Aggron's back.
"Charge!"
He planned to direct it to break into the interior of the mining site directly.
"Roar!"
Aggron growled low, carrying Baimu toward the chaotic mining site, not caring about the blood and fire in front of the main gate, focused only on what lay ahead.
However.
Just as Baimu rode Aggron into the mining site attempting to begin a search.
A person suddenly emerged from a dark corner.
"So it's the famous 'Demon Wood' who broke in so easily. It's really something to see in person," the man said, slightly thin, with a refreshing crew cut and a casual demeanor.
Beside him was a humanoid creature holding three leaves, with long white hair covering its entire face and wooden clogs on its pointed-nosed feet—
The evil Pokémon, Shiftry.
"...Executive?" Baimu asked softly after a moment of silence.
The man smiled and nodded, "Yes."
This reply caused Baimu's expression to collapse instantly, and he sighed uncontrollably, "Sigh... the more you don't want something to happen, the more it does..."
"Don't be nervous, rest assured, I can spare your life if you kneel and beg me. After all, you are quite famous." Jillard said with a smile, then shook his head, "No, I've decided to kill you. Someone like you is just too dangerous."
With those words, a person's fate was decided.
In response.
Baimu just felt deeply helpless, "Really... can't we just pretend we didn't see each other? There are three of you, and Ayana can't hold you off..."
"Fate is against me... Flop, it's not that I don't want to escape, he's forcing my hand."
He looked at the executive Jillard and said with a perplexed expression: "Capturing you alive would be more valuable than bringing back a corpse, right?"
"—You brat!!"
Jillard's smile froze, his blood boiling instantly as he shouted angrily, "Flying Leaf Swift Blade!"
Two green glows as fast as lightning sped towards Baimu on Aggron's back, but at the moment they approached, a massive steel head rose to block them perfectly.
Clang! Clang!
The sound of hard impact echoed.
Baimu seized the opportunity to leap off Aggron's back.
"Quicksand Hell."
The next moment.
An overwhelming torrent of sand surged, encompassing Baimu and Aggron in a furious, indiscriminating mass that swept towards Jillard and Shiftry!