The difference in treatment is way too obvious!
What Ying Ma didn't notice was that his brother Ying Yuan's tense body slowly relaxed, and he quietly glanced at the calm young man beside him.
In that split second just now, Ying Yuan almost felt that the one standing next to him wasn't a human, but an extremely ferocious Dragon-type Pokémon.
Why a Dragon-type Pokémon?
Because Ying Yuan had a deep impression of the Dragon Tamers who had helped the Rescue Organization back then; every Dragon-type Pokémon they commanded carried an aura that inspired fear.
"Everyone, rest assured. During the period I'm temporarily managing this arena, I only plan to do two things—one, raise your battle level; two, take you to 'exchange' battles with other arenas."
Baimu lifted two fingers with a faint smile. As his gaze lowered, still no one dared meet his eyes.
But faint muttering could be heard.
"Raise battle level, how? Swap Pokémon? What's the use of just theory."
"What does going to battle other arenas mean? Take us to go wreck other people's turf? Why doesn't he take the Rainbow Team!"
"Ayana! Saying that kind of stuff doesn't convince us!"
"Exactly, exactly!"
Someone got bold and shouted.
Baimu beckoned in delight. "I've been waiting for that line! Who said it just now? Come on, come on, let's 'discuss' how to convince you through a battle."
As his words fell.
The arena instantly went so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
The guy who'd just spoken looked awkward and didn't dare show his face; partly he was a bit intimidated by Baimu, partly he felt that talk was talk, but actually standing up to go head-to-head would definitely disrespect the boss Ying Yuan.
Ying Ma wanted to speak but was stopped by his brother's shake of the head.
Ayana stared at the one who'd just spoken, considering whether to step out and point him out so Baimu could smoothly give these people a harsh lesson.
At that moment.
Kendall, who'd been silent till now, suddenly spoke: "Since Boss Baimu has the thought of personally guiding us, why don't I be Boss Baimu's test subject."
"Works for me."
Baimu agreed in a flash.
He just wanted to quickly win these people over, hurry up and start teaching; it didn't matter who he used to establish authority.
The group of arena Trainers who didn't dare make a sound all breathed a sigh of relief, then turned to look at Ying Yuan. Seeing no reaction on his face and that he was letting things run their course, they quickly got excited.
"Brother Kendall, go for it!"
"Beat Demon Wood! Take him down a peg!"
"That's right! When we were raising Pokémon, he didn't even—"
The line didn't dare finish. That person saw the terrifying look Ying Yuan shot over and understood that talking tough was one thing, but some things couldn't be said carelessly.
They moved to the nearest field.
Baimu's hand fumbled at his waist, then he took off a Pokeball and said to Ayana, "The battle coming up might give you some inspiration."
"I'll watch carefully."
Ayana nodded seriously.
Kendall took his position on the opposite side, and a bunch of visiting Trainers also crowded over.
Then, under the expectant gaze of the many arena Trainers, both sides threw their Pokeballs and released their chosen Pokémon.
Bang, bang!
Light flashed.
A huge inverted Pokeball with a human-like face landed, its whole body crackling with electric light.
"Maru!"
"Mii~"
The altered-color Milotic flicked its tail, its dazzling golden scales shining faintly.
Quite a sight to behold.
But its expression couldn't be called happy; though being indoors avoided direct Sun exposure, it couldn't avoid the still-dry air.
Used to the humid Hoenn Region, the longer it stayed in the Ore Region, the more uncomfortable it felt.
The visiting Trainers all sucked in a breath at the sight of Milotic. This kind of Pokémon was rare to begin with; an altered-color individual, as long as it wasn't artificially dyed, was exceedingly rare.
And the arena's Trainers, seeing Milotic, instinctively felt it had to be expensive.
Clearly, they still hadn't shaken off the mistaken notion that Pokémon were all about buying.
By the time they snapped out of it—
The arena Trainers burst into loud cheers. Electric Attribute versus Water Attribute, they'd basically already won half the battle!
Ying Ma only smiled without speaking. Just looking at Attribute Compatibility and already getting ready to pop champagne—how much that resembled his own stupidity back then.
Baimu carefully observed the Electrode, then shook his head in disappointment and turned to Ayana: "The current environment in Pyrite Town is quite unfavorable for Water-type Pokémon. It's absolutely not a problem you can solve by frequently watering your Pokémon. The environment's impact on Pokémon is extremely serious."
What was he doing?
The battle's started!
This kind of "eyes-on-nobody" attitude enraged the watching arena Trainers, and they all looked to Ying Yuan, who remained expressionless.
Kendall frowned, lips parting slightly.
Ayana, nodding to show she understood, quickly reminded him: "The other side's about to attack!"
"Hundred Thousand Volts!"
The shout from the other side was clearly audible.
Then the short, dense crackling of boiling currents rang out in succession.
Baimu turned his head back, looking at the Electrode wreathed in electric light, but what he said was: "Bringing out a Pokémon's hidden physical traits is also one piece of boosting its combat power. Watch closely."
He snapped his fingers.
Pa!
Crack!
With a crisp sound, the altered-color Milotic's fan-like tail fin suddenly shifted into a paddle-like shape, and at the same time, a waist-thick bolt of Thunder shot over from the other side!
"Tornado."
Baimu gave the order, unhurried.
The arena Trainers sneered in unison. What use was using a Technique now? Way too late!
The next instant.
An indigo dragon-twisting vortex, at a speed they never imagined, tore across the whole field with a rumble, tangling together with the Thunder that was racing in!
Everyone stared with mouths agape in shock.
How was that possible! The move came out that fast!
Kendall wore the same disbelieving look. Even when the first move was called by an Electric Attribute known for speed, it could still be blocked?
Baimu continued speaking to Ayana: "By making rational use of a Pokémon's physical structure, and combining it with a relatively low-power Technique, you can very quickly brace against an enemy's move. And that's not all—watch further."