Pei Jingguo looked as calm and composed as ever.
But the slight movement of his throat—a tiny swallow he tried to hide—couldn't escape Su Bai's eyes.
So this guy could get nervous after all…
Watching Pei Jingguo stride confidently into the portal, Su Bai shook his head with a smile.
Perhaps the only thing in this world capable of making Pei Jingguo nervous…
Was cultivation.
The next second, the old television crackled with static.
Pei Jingguo's figure appeared on the screen.
The moment Su Bai saw the scenery inside the television, he was slightly stunned.
Maybe it was because the television was simply too old, but the resolution was terrible.
Yet somehow, the scene on the screen looked surprisingly similar to playing Pokémon Scarlet and Violet on a handheld console!
Even the camera angle was slightly tilted upward.
"Where's my controller…? Where did I put my Pro Controller…?"
Su Bai couldn't help complaining silently to himself.
"This feels way too much like Scarlet and Violet. If they bring out a Legendary Pokémon motorcycle next…"
Just as Su Bai was staring at the television, finding the scene increasingly familiar, several lines of text suddenly appeared on the screen.
[The trial is a timed challenge. Each challenge has a thirty-minute time limit.]
[During the challenge, both the trial participant and their Pokémon may encounter obstacles related to their personal growth. Resolving these obstacles will extend the trial time and allow the participant to proceed to the next challenge.]
[This timed trial consists of two stages.]
[The timer for the first stage will begin in three minutes!]
"What… does that mean?"
"A timed challenge?!"
Su Bai was slightly stunned.
On the television screen, Pei Jingguo had obviously seen the notification as well.
He and Pawniard immediately became serious and prepared themselves.
The next moment, phantom-like figures began condensing one after another beside Pei Jingguo.
In an instant, a huge number of Pokémon appeared!
Everyone was familiar with their appearance.
They looked exactly like the Pawniard standing beside Pei Jingguo.
The only difference was that within each gathered group of Pawniard, there was one figure that looked particularly arrogant and unruly.
"That… Holy crap! Is Pei Jingguo supposed to fight that many?!"
Wang Tao stared at the television in disbelief.
After a moment, his expression turned sympathetic.
"That trial reward really isn't easy to get…"
"And it's timed, too! Thirty minutes isn't nearly enough, even if Pei Jingguo goes all out…"
"Well, that settles it. Pei Jingguo isn't even getting past the first stage…"
People in this world had never really played proper games before.
But the concept of a timed challenge was easy enough to understand.
Clearly, if Pei Jingguo had to defeat that many Pokémon all at once…
Unless he had actually managed to subdue that Legendary Pokémon inside the consciousness space back then, there was no way he could do it!
"Of course they aren't going to make Pei Jingguo's Pawniard fight that many Pokémon by itself!"
Su Bai glanced at Pei Jingguo, who was looking down and meeting Pawniard's gaze, before explaining.
"You guys still don't understand Pawniard well enough."
"This is a very special Pokémon."
"Pawniard is a species that lives in groups, with their leader—the Bisharp—at the center of the group."
"Becoming the leader of a group like this isn't easy, either. One of the most important requirements is that you can't back down when faced with a challenge…"
"The Pokémon on the other side may look like there are a lot of them, but in reality…"
"There are only three."
.............
Inside the trial realm.
Pei Jingguo paid no attention to the passing time.
He simply stared intently at his Pawniard.
"It's been… a long time. You've been by my side for a very long time."
He spoke to Pawniard, who was clearly nervous and already understood what it was about to face.
"So… how many?"
Given the level of understanding between Pei Jingguo and Pawniard, Pawniard could completely understand what he meant.
However, the shock on its little face made it obvious that even Pawniard hadn't expected Pei Jingguo to ask it such a question!
How many?
How many what?
Bisharp?!
Pawniard looked at the Bisharp sitting on a rock nearby.
The Bisharp was silently rubbing its two arms together, sharpening the blades on them.
Pawniard's little face showed a hint of hesitation.
That was the leader of the entire group.
Before it had come to Pei Jingguo's side, that was the big boss it had always been afraid of!
Seeing Pawniard hesitate, a noticeable ripple appeared in Pei Jingguo's eyes.
Strictly speaking, Pawniard used blades, while he used a sword.
The reason he had drawn Pawniard as his Pokémon had more to do with its personality than its actual attributes!
He had originally thought that Pawniard would be just like him—a Pokémon that never backed down from a challenge, even if it meant risking its life.
And, in truth, their previous battles had already proven that.
Pawniard had a certain madness when it fought.
Even when facing Articuno, it had dared to raise its blades and charge forward.
But when faced with its former "big boss," perhaps it still carried some psychological trauma…
"…It's okay. If you really don't want to, we can give up on this trial."
Although there was a trace of disappointment in his eyes, Pei Jingguo was never the kind of person who would force his Pokémon to do something against its will.
Pawniard had been with him for such a long time.
It was also his first Pokémon.
The two of them had already gone through countless battles together.
If Pawniard didn't want to do this, then although giving up on the trial would be a little regrettable…
It wasn't unacceptable.
Pawniard's hesitation toward Bisharp came from an instinct ingrained in it from birth.
Under the normal growth process of a Pawniard, this was far too early for it to stand on its own and challenge a Bisharp.
But when it saw the expression on Pei Jingguo's face, Pawniard suddenly froze.
The next second, its little eyes became resolute.
It was just about to raise its arm and say something when a brilliant light suddenly enveloped its body!
............
"It evolved?!"
In front of the television, Su Bai and the Trainers stared at one another in astonishment.
"Pei Jingguo can make his Pokémon evolve just by giving it a little motivational speech?!"
"What kind of ridiculous ability is that?!"
Wang Tao was utterly shocked.
"Can you do that for my Pokémon, too?!"
Su Bai was speechless.
"What the hell are you talking about…?"
He rested a hand against his chin and thought for a moment before speaking.
"Actually, considering its battle experience, Pawniard really should have evolved by now…"
Pawniard needed to reach roughly Level 52 before it could evolve into Bisharp.
For a Pokémon, that was undoubtedly a very long time.
Even when playing Scarlet and Violet, unless you were a longtime player, there was a good chance you wouldn't evolve your Pawniard until you had already beaten the game.
And because of that, not many people chose Pawniard as one of their main Pokémon for completing the game.
But in terms of battle frequency, Pawniard had already experienced quite a number of fights as one of the first Pokémon to arrive in this world.
Wang Tao and the others had already evolved their starter Pokémon into their final forms, while Pei Jingguo's Pawniard was still only at its second stage.
That was, in itself, somewhat unusual.
Now it seemed…
The problem had actually been with Pawniard itself?
It simply hadn't realized…
That it had already grown enough.
Enough to challenge the leader it had once feared!
Because it didn't want to disappoint its Trainer, Pawniard had taken the initiative to overcome the knot in its heart.
And so…
It evolved!