"You take them out, it's only a few more steps."
"Huh? You're going back?"
"Yes."
"I also—"
"Don't waste time. Once you're out, you can't come back in. If you don't leave, who will carry them? Hang in there."
"... Sorry, Baimu. Really sorry, we dragged you down. Here, take this!"
"Alright, go on."
In his mind, Baimu recalled Cheng Hong's unwilling and apologetic face when they parted ways. Shouldering the hammer he found near the exit, he turned on his headlamp and took a deep breath.
He knew Aron might not necessarily lose to that Rhyhorn. He also knew that even if Aron lost, it wouldn't necessarily endanger its life.
Taking everything into account, there was no need to turn back; it was too dangerous to do so.
Yet he still returned.
To be honest, he always considered himself rather selfish. All his benevolent gestures were a façade, driven by practical goals like maintaining harmony, camaraderie, or obtaining benefits.
Therefore.
Coming back was, of course, to earn Aron's favor, to adhere to the principle of repaying kindness...
Baimu continually solidified these intentions in his heart, convincing himself as if under hypnosis.
If not for this, facing the blood-red eyes of the Rhyhorn, he might've wanted to run away?
"Charge at him for me!"
Chaitian's sudden shout echoed as the Rhyhorn charged forward.
Rumble—
The ground trembled along with its gallop, countless small stones vibrated upwards, flying everywhere.
The Rhyhorn now only wanted to complete its mission quickly, so it simply complied with Chaitian's wishes and charged at the man before it to silence his endless nagging.
In this mine dominated by fallen rocks, there was very little room to dodge. Avoiding the Rhyhorn's charge seemed nearly impossible.
But he only needed to dodge once.
Just once.
Baimu stepped back two paces, positioning himself behind a pile of rubble on the far left. These wouldn't stop the Rhyhorn's charge, but they could partially obscure its vision.
Even ground-type Pokémon can't see through rocks and sand.
Come on.
He took a deep breath, staring straight at the manic Chaitian and the Rhyhorn charging horn-first.
Nothing to say, only success exists, failure does not.
BAM!
As the pile of rubble shattered under the beast's ferocious crash, Baimu suddenly switched on his headlamp to its brightest, ignoring whether it dazzled the Rhyhorn, and rolled to the right!
"Ugh!"
Intense pain shot from his left arm and ribs as if hit by a bullet.
But Baimu knew he had dodged it; the pain came from debris kicked up by the charging Rhyhorn, showing just how powerful its charge was.
When he stood up, his abraded right elbow and shoulder throbbed with burning pain.
Endure!
Press the attack!
Baimu turned around, looking at the Rhyhorn that had slammed into the wall behind, while Chaitian hastened it to turn around for another charge.
"Eat dirt!"
He shouted, tossing the hammer he was holding. Chaitian didn't even have time to react before being hit and knocked to the ground, screaming ceaselessly from who knows where he got hit.
This guy never turned off his headlamp, such an obvious target!
"Roar!"
The sudden lightened load made the Rhyhorn panic, and its colossal body took a step back, inadvertently stepping on Chaitian's leg.
"Ah—my leg!!"
Another scream followed.
The Rhyhorn's movement froze; already cumbersome, it became even more clueless in its actions.
Mission accomplished!
Without hesitation, Baimu dashed towards where Aron was.
Pokémon are also creatures of nature, so he never mythologized them. Understanding Pokémon was key to finding ways to 'battle' them.
Capture the leader first.
Since the Rhyhorn was helping Chaitian, there's no way it would ignore him.
"Let's go!"
Baimu quickly scooped up the semi-conscious Aron from the ground, surprisingly finding it not very heavy.
He turned and sprinted, rushing past the Rhyhorn that wanted to rescue Chaitian. It realized Baimu was escaping and immediately had the intention to pursue.
"Roar—"
"Shut up!"
Baimu took another ball from his pocket and smashed it to the ground.
BAM!
A blinding flash instantly engulfed the entire cave!
"Roar!?"
The Rhyhorn's eyes were suddenly seared, turning its vision a milky white, leaving it blind. In panic, it rampaged, causing Chaitian to scream again.
"Don't—spare me—ah! Help..."
"Huff... huff..."
Baimu sprinted with his head down. Within a few breaths, he had run twenty or thirty meters and quickly turned to look back, seeing the frenzied Rhyhorn and the gradually silenced Chaitian, breathing a sigh of relief.
Luckily, he hadn't stupidly used the flash grenade Cheng Hong had given him earlier. Its power was enormous, causing chaos immediately.
This guy not using it before, could there be a reason for it?
Shaking off distracting thoughts, Baimu ran harder.
To be honest, while in a life-or-death escape, even if Aron was unwilling, using a Pokeball to capture it for convenience was a fact.
Given its unclear consciousness, the possibility of it breaking free was also low.
But...
Forget it.
What if his earlier guesses were completely wrong, and it was a Pokémon sent by the Quicksand Team?
What if Aron would rather die than enter a Pokeball? Knowing Pokémon mostly have firm beliefs, once set on something, they seldom turn back.
Thinking too much was pointless, better to run faster!
Baimu tore off the mask from his face, trying to inhale more oxygen to further increase his running speed.
Running uphill was indeed exhausting.
Thankfully, until the white light symbolizing the exit appeared ahead, there was no sound of pursuit behind, and as he dashed out, fresh air rushed towards him.
The wind that carried sand became refreshing.
"Ha... ha..."
Baimu panted heavily, the glaring sunlight made it hard for him to keep his eyes open, barely standing upright instead of collapsing to the ground.
Ignoring the shocked looks and shouts around him, he fished out a token and tossed it to the middle-aged examiner, "Token!"
The middle-aged man caught it with a glance, then turned to the battered Aron, frowning, "You brought the Pokémon from inside out?"
"No, it should be wild..." Baimu shook his head.
"How could that be—"
The middle-aged man's words stopped suddenly, as a Galar Yamask flew out of the cave, shook its head at him in denial.
He immediately changed his tune, "—You there, take him and Aron to the hospital! Quickly!"
Immediately, some goons carrying a stretcher came forward, carefully placing Baimu and the Pokémon onto it, and carried them away.
Baimu glanced at the Galar Yamask, softly speaking to Aron beside him, "We're safe now, don't worry."
As he said this, he couldn't help but gradually relax too.
The mine exploration was short but extremely dangerous, especially the part where he went back to save Aron; thinking back on it now, he indeed felt a bit reckless.
"Sigh..."