"Ka-woo!"
Tapu Koko cried above the arena.
Hala knew that call like an old song.
He burst into laughter.
"Hahaha—so the guardian deity wants to come judge in person!"
Then he turned to Bai Chen.
"Also, Tapu Koko requests a 2v2 tag battle."
Bai Chen blinked.
A single "ka-woo" could say so much?
Still—Tapu Koko's wish suited Bai Chen perfectly.
Alone, he couldn't be certain of victory.
With Nergigante at his side, everything changed.
Hala raised the question anyway.
"Shall we make it a doubles match? You may decline, of course."
"No problem," Bai Chen answered.
"Come, Nergigante."
Given Bai Chen's go-ahead, Nergigante bounded from the pack.
In three strides, she was perched upon his shoulder.
Her golden vertical pupils locked on the sky where Tapu Koko hovered.
A low, threatening growl rolled out from her throat.
Hala's eyes widened.
Now he understood Tapu Koko's sudden interest in Bai Chen.
This pairing—
"You never cease to astonish."
Hala produced two Poké Balls from his pocket.
He opened his half-closed eyes wide, tone steeled.
"If the guardian deity stands to watch, then I must bring my full passion to the fight."
Before Bai Chen could react, Hala tossed his Poké Balls into the air.
"Go! Hariyama! Kingler!"
Red flares blossomed, and two Pokémon stood opposite Bai Chen.
A quick glance at their levels made Bai Chen choke.
"Hey—hey—this old man has no honor!"
Kingler's level was within reason—level 38.
But Hariyama—Hala's ace—towered at level 52.
Bai Chen was only level 31; Nergigante was level 30.
A gap of twenty levels—no mere skill could bridge that.
And Hariyama boasted three Master-rank moves.
"That old codger sent out his main pet? Shameless!" Bai Chen muttered inwardly.
Hala laughed, energized.
"You spoke of being true to your desire; your words moved me. Now let us battle with passion!"
"I said be true to your wish, not whatever you want to twist it into!" Bai Chen scowled.
Doubt fluttered through Bai Chen for a fleeting moment.
Tomorrow, he would return to the Monster Hunter world—if he gave up now, he'd lose the chance for a month.
"It's not fatal. Quitting now would be a waste."
Nergigante spread her wings atop his shoulder.
She cast off Miniature Form.
Black wings swallowed the sky over the arena.
Her full thirteen meters of ancient-dragon form filled the air with crushing presence.
Hariyama and Kingler took a half-step back.
Hala's expression sobered.
"This Pokémon truly exudes an astonishing aura."
"Ka-woo!"
Tapu Koko announced the trial's start.
Bai Chen struck first, drawing the Cursed-Flame Blade and lunging at the lowest-level threat—Kingler.
To win, he had to eliminate a foe quickly.
"Skill—Bulk Up."
"Skill—Agility."
"Skill—Thunderbolt Flash!"
Speed rose to his peak; muscle and reflex synchronized.
He moved so fast that Lillie and the others could barely track him with their eyes.
"Hariyama, use Smash Strike!"
A clap of giant orange hands—Bai Chen's Cursed-Flame Blade was caught barehanded.
"Now use Palmsweep!"
Hariyama slammed downward; the blade flew from Bai Chen's grip and skittered across the dirt.
Quickly, Bai Chen drew Venom-Eater and stabbed behind Hariyama—aiming for the rear.
"Power Punch!" Kingler countered with a brutal blow.
The crab's punch met the blade and blocked it.
Bai Chen's assault had been dismantled; his plan understood.
"Hariyama—close combat!"
Hariyama stepped forward and lashed a palm at Bai Chen's chest.
A flurry of five crushing slaps.
Bai Chen became a meteor, slammed into the arena wall, and shattered it.
"Mr. Bai!" Lillie rushed—but Lusamine held her back.
"Not yet," her mother whispered.
Close combat—one of Fighting-type's deadliest strategies.
It traded defense for obscene damage; the hit Bai Chen took should have left him gravely wounded.
Lusamine's voice cut through the panic:
"Stay calm—he is not reckless."
At that moment, a dark shape plummeted from the sky like a meteor.
Boom—!
The arena floor split.
Nergigante crashed down, gravity multiplied by her hundred-meter mass, and landed a practiced Elder Crush—a practiced strike of Mastered Smash and Strength.
Kingler was eliminated in one devastating blow.
Nergigante's tail swept away the Cursed-Flame Blade; it struck into the broken wall beside Bai Chen.
Then she rose, putting distance between herself and Hariyama.
Lusamine's eyes brightened.
"A beautiful decision."
Lillie finally understood.
In an instant, Bai Chen and Nergigante had taken a course of action—no words exchanged, no signals given.
"Their bond… it's already that deep?"
Bai Chen spat blood and hauled himself from the crater.
He glanced at his chestplate—there was a five-centimeter depression.
"That armor I just had repaired—ruined. My ribs… have slight fractures."
As a human, Bai Chen's type was Normal—Fighting moves struck him for double damage.
Combined with a Rarity-6 level skill, had Hariyama's Close Combat been Master-rank, he might have been finished.
He stripped off his armor, letting it clatter to the ground.
Gauntlets, greaves—off.
Even his shirt came away, revealing carved muscle.
"This shirt was expensive—hope it survives," he muttered, a small defiant grin on his face.
Hala's jaw dropped.
"You're not seriously planning to tank Hariyama bare-chested, are you? Are you mad?"
Bai Chen did not explain.
He wrenched the Cursed-Flame Blade free from the wall with his left hand, Venom-Eater and the Nergigante Longsword still sheathed at his back, and stepped back into the arena.
The sting of Hariyama's earlier barrage did not deter him—it fueled him.
Nergigante above glowed with battle-lust and destructive intent; even a human could feel the oppressive force pouring from them.
Hala's muscles tensed; sweat soaked his back.
"By the guardian—this pair…"
He swallowed, voice trembling.
"They are quite possibly the worst combination in the world."
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