At first, Bai Chen felt awkward having someone feed him.
But gradually, he surrendered to Lillie's care and found he quite liked it.
He ate while checking the skills he'd copied from Hariyama before he passed out.
With the last of his strength, he'd grabbed three:
Heavy Slam (Rarity 6), Close Combat (Rarity 6), and Detect (Rarity 3).
From the five abilities Hariyama originally held, he'd kept the Dominant Aura (Rarity 6) and Iron Wall (Rarity 4).
Seeing the three newly copied skills, Bai Chen felt a twinge of regret.
Hariyama's kit had been a perfect combo: Endure + Last-Ditch Resurgence.
Endure would let him survive any blow; Last-Ditch Resurgence would erupt into tremendous power when he was near death.
A shame I didn't copy those two.
When he'd been on the edge of blacking out, he hadn't had the luxury of clever choices.
He'd prioritized the Detect that had been tormenting him, then took the highest-rarity moves he could.
He sighed and let it go.
Endure and Last-Ditch can be obtained later. Heavy Slam and Close Combat will do just fine.
Both Close Combat and Dominant Aura could be learned by him and Nergigante.
They fit perfectly with a trade-injuries, attrition style of fighting.
Heavy Slam scales with user weight—perfect for Monster Hunter beasts.
Take a Diablos-like brute from the New World: a standard sixteen-meter titan might weigh around twenty-five tonnes.
In the Pokémon world, few things could compare.
And the true ancient dragons—Old Mountain Dragon, Peak Mountain Dragon, Magma Mountain Dragon—their masses were beyond imagination.
Bai Chen dared not picture what a high-rank Heavy Slam would do to one of those.
Maybe one hit could tear a mountain apart.
For now, ordinary monsters were enough.
He still held a trump: Dominant Aura.
If he or a partner gained that aura, size and mass would grow—the base multiplied.
A 1.5× size increase could tack on another twelve tonnes to a beast.
That's the power of a large base number.
With Lillie's help, he finished dinner.
His body healed quickly.
Knock, knock, knock—
A soft rap at the door. The room wasn't closed.
Looking up, Bai Chen found Lusamine at the threshold, amusement on her face.
"Hope I'm not intruding?"
"Mother!" Lillie flushed scarlet.
Lusamine walked in, smiling.
"How are you feeling? Any pain?"
"Thanks to Lillie, I'm recovering fast," Bai Chen answered.
Lusamine nodded and produced a black wristband and an orange Z-Crystal from her pocket.
"What's this?" Bai Chen asked, eyes bright.
"A Z-Ring and a Fighting-type Z-Crystal. A reward for passing the trial."
He slid the Z-Ring onto his left hand with a grin.
On his right wrist, the Bond Stone rested.
"Normally Hala would have given these himself," Lusamine explained. "But he had to go quell a disturbance in the wilds after your battle—so I deliver them instead."
"I'll thank him in person," Bai Chen promised.
He took the Normal-type Z-Crystal from his bedside and placed it in the ring as well.
Now he possessed two Z-Crystals of different types—both usable by Nergigante.
Lillie's voice drifted from the bed.
"You're not planning to test a Z-Move right now, are you?"
Catching Lillie's admonishing look, Bai Chen offered an embarrassed laugh.
"Of course not—"
"Hmph—you better not!" she snapped. "I'll be watching you. Don't think of training until you're fully healed."
"I wouldn't be that reckless," he answered with a cheeky grin.
Lusamine chimed in gently.
"You should rest. No need to rush using Z-Moves."
Bai Chen nodded, trying to hide his disappointment.
Lusamine noticed and clapped once to grab his attention.
"You passed the Island Challenge—let me give you a little gift."
Lillie fetched a tray from outside.
Bai Chen sat up, curious.
On the tray rested five white Poké Balls.
Their tops were sprayed with dense black spikes that formed the shape of a pair of wings—clearly modeled after Nergigante.
"What are these?"
"I call them Monster Balls. Made specifically to contain monsters from your world."
Joy flooded Bai Chen.
He'd hoped Lusamine might develop such balls within twenty days, but it had seemed impossible.
Twenty days of research and testing—yet she had succeeded.
"Want to try one?" she asked.
He whistled for Nergigante from the roof.
She padded down, nosing at him affectionately.
Bai Chen tapped the Monster Ball to her head.
The ball opened; Nergigante glowed into red light and dove inside.
Like any capture, the sphere rocked back and forth as she settled within.
Three shakes.
A thump.
A star popped.
The Monster Ball sealed—Nergigante captured.
Bai Chen laughed with disbelief.
It actually works!
Lusamine breathed out, relieved.
"I only had time to make five today. Next time I'll triple the output. I also reinforced this trainer belt—can withstand over 3,000°C and protect from absolute zero cold. Solid craftsmanship."
She handed him the remaining four Monster Balls and the sturdy trainer belt.
Bai Chen's excitement bubbled—he clipped the belt on, slipping a bell of possibilities into his heart.
He smiled tiredly at the absurdity of it all—worlds, wars, rankings, monster balls—and felt the warm certainty that, no matter what, the hunt would go on.
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