The stream chat scrolled with familiar doubts:
"Wait, I just remembered, isn't Qingque's Meowth the lazy kind that hates fighting?"
"That seals it. Forging a bond doesn't strictly require battle, but fighting is the cleanest, most direct route. Any other method takes days or months to prove itself. Without a real clash, this trial is basically a write-off."
"What a shame. I was genuinely looking forward to seeing what rewards drop after clearing the stage."
"Don't count it out just yet. Watching what happens when someone fails is still good television. Besides, what about Guinaifen? People are already spamming her chat to get over here."
A few veteran viewers, remembering Meowth's total lack of combat drive, voiced little optimism for the outcome.
Standing on the cosmic floor, Qingque kept her eyes glued to the small feline, desperately searching for a way through.
The truth was, she had never taken battles seriously before, and her time with her partners had always been lighthearted and relaxed. Expecting to manifest a profound bond through sheer sentiment in a matter of seconds was pure wishful thinking.
Even with her best efforts, pushing through multiple rounds of plates had already exceeded her expectations.
Yet she wanted to clear this trial. She refused to gamble something precious to her on whether Julian had a soft heart.
Looking at Meowth, who was currently sitting back and grooming its forepaws without a single care in the world, Qingque felt her resolve waver.
Here she was, sweating bullets to protect it, while the cat acted like it was lounging on a sunny windowsill. Should she just let the curtain fall?
The thought lasted less than a second before she cast it aside.
The little guy was only relaxed because he had no clue what was happening. If he understood the stakes, she believed he would never back down from a fight.
Yet Meowth was not Gardevoir. He possessed no telepathic link to read the subtle nuances of her speech, and explaining the intricate crisis through plain words was impossible. Except for psychic species and a few gifted companions, Pokémon could not fully decipher human dialogue.
Stirring a fiery fighting spirit through heartfelt speeches, the way she had done with Gardevoir, was out of the question here.
How do I wake up his will to fight?
Her gaze drifted toward the gleaming golden coin resting flat against Meowth's forehead. A sudden, wild idea sparked in her mind, though even she felt it was a little absurd.
Whatever. At this point, any road is better than hitting a dead end.
Seeing no other path forward, she decided to take the leap.
Waiting until Meowth looked away to lick a paw, Qingque slipped behind him, playfully flicking a finger against his brow while unhooking a small, shimmering brass pendant from her own sash. With a clean snap of her wrist, she hurled the glittering trinket straight toward Arceus's platform.
"Meow?!"
Feeling the sudden lightness on his forehead, Meowth patted his brow in panic, whirling around to find his treasure gone.
Before the cat could process what happened, Qingque pointed an urgent finger directly at the creator deity, shouting with theatrical horror:
"Oh no! Meowth, look! That giant just snatched your lucky coin! Let's get it back!"
The viewers watching the stream instantly saw through the charade, with dozens of comments laughing at her dramatic, overacted delivery.
Yet the creature on the field was a companion raised in the digital wild, not some worldly, street-smart feline. Seeing the flash of gold flying across the dark void and placing absolute trust in his trainer, Meowth believed every single syllable.
Fury flared in his wide eyes. His ears flattened back against his head, and sharp claws snapped out with a vicious gleam.
"That's the spirit! Meowth, use Fake Out!"
As she called the opening move, Qingque casually tucked her own shiny pendant into her waistband.
What she had tossed was merely a cheap decorative bead to draw his eyes. Where it landed didn't matter in the slightest; the goal was making sure Meowth couldn't find it.
If he couldn't spot his treasure, he would only become more certain that the colossal entity on the dais had hidden it away.
Meowth might dislike fighting, but he loved shiny coins above all else. Anyone who dared touch his fortune was going to taste cold claws.
"Meow!"
With burning indignation, Meowth vanished in a burst of speed. Crossing the starlit arena in a single heartbeat, he appeared directly before the creator deity, delivering a stinging, furious slap straight across the divine cheek.
Qingque's heart leaped into her throat.
Striking an ordinary opponent was fine, but this was the supreme creator of all things. Even if the blow carried little physical weight, the insult was unmistakable.
What if the deity took offense at the brazen slap, skipping the early plate rotations and going straight into full-power annihilation mode?
Meowth lacked the elusive spatial mobility of a psychic partner. Even with her sharpest reads, Qingque felt surviving past the tenth wave of plates was their absolute ceiling, and that was assuming perfect execution.
Unlike her earlier partners who had frozen in awe, Meowth showed zero reverence. Growling through his whiskers, he raked his claws across the deity's face twice more before a shockwave of divine pressure forced him skidding backward across the floor.
Fortunately, the golden eyes showed no trace of personal anger.
Qingque let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding.
Then, the bitter memory of her hesitation with Gardevoir flashed through her mind.
Stop overthinking things. Pour everything into the fight. We finally got him fired up, and I am not letting this chance slip away again.
"Don't back down, Meowth! He's just toughing it out! Show him what happens when you mess with our savings!"
"Use Pay Day!"
"Meow, meow, meow!"
Meowth swung his arms in a frantic circle, hurling a dense cascade of gleaming golden coins straight at Arceus like shrapnel.
Arceus answered with a sphere of dense, concentrated fighting energy, the projectile ripping across the stars with terrifying velocity.
"Evade to the left, then strike with Dark Pulse!"
"Meow!"
Leaping clear of the concussive blast, Meowth gathered shadow energy between his paws, unleashing a rippling wave of darkness that crashed against the deity's chest.
"Keep the pressure on! Swift!"
Golden stars poured from the cat's tail, curving around incoming elemental needles to pepper the central platform.
"Now! Close the distance with Aerial Ace!"
Qingque stripped every extraneous thought from her mind, losing herself entirely in the rhythm of the duel. At this moment, she wasn't calculating puzzle rules or trying to outsmart a trial mechanic; her only objective was bringing down the giant standing before her.
Meowth shared the exact same focus. Spurred by Qingque's frantic encouragement, the cat saw Arceus as nothing less than a thieving scoundrel who had stolen his beloved fortune. Nothing mattered except knocking the thief flat and taking back what was his.
Their thoughts snapped into complete alignment, and a strange, radiant warmth began to swirl between trainer and partner.
"Am I losing my mind? I'm getting the exact same shivers I felt during Guinaifen's tournament run."
"Is this real? Qingque is actually pulling off a genuine bond? With a Meowth of all things?!"
"I threw a small bet on her clearing the stage earlier just because the odds were crazy! I was only joking around, but she might actually do it! I should have put down real money!"
"Still, watching a bond forged entirely over stolen pocket money feels a little unhinged."
"A weird bond is still a bond!"
Qingque had no time to read the passing comments. Lacking the instant repositioning of a psychic partner, every defensive turn had to be earned through sheer timing and split-second rolls.
As Arceus rotated more elemental plates into the fray, holding ground became an agonizing uphill climb.
The weight pressing down on girl and cat grew heavier with every exchange.
After barely slipping past the crossfire of the ninth plate, the tenth slab drifted into position, glowing with brilliant, unyielding light.
Qingque knew their line was about to break. Meowth's stamina was running on empty, and surviving another full rotation was impossible. Everything had to be placed on a single, decisive strike.
"Meowth! Put everything you have into this! Take back what belongs to you!"
"Double-Edge!"
"Meow!"
Girl and companion shouted in unison, their voices cracking under the strain.
Completely lost in the heat of the clash, neither cared about elegance or dignity anymore.
Meowth's crimson aura erupted outward like a rising storm, amplified by the surging warmth between their hearts.
With a heavy stomp against the starlit floor, the celestial chessboard seemed to shudder under his weight. A colossal, roaring silhouette of a cat manifested behind him, charging forward like an unstoppable comet straight into the heart of the creator god.
This time, the ocean was moved.
Meowth's charge did not dissolve against an immovable wall. The impact struck dead center, shattering the shimmering barrier surrounding Arceus with a sharp, resonant crack, scattering a fractured halo of light across the void.
Qingque saw the broken ring of light clear as day.
Though Arceus eventually raised a divine leg to halt the charge, the message was unmistakable: the impenetrable barrier had fallen, and the trial had been answered.
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