While the Pokémon in the digital world were woven from light and code, the affection Qingque had poured into them was entirely real.
Had it been a creature she rarely deployed, losing it might not have stung so deeply. But for the companions that accompanied her through every journey, the sting was sharp. Worse still, upon defeat, the game forced an intimate reel of recollections into her thoughts, tracing every milestone from their very first meeting to their quietest days in camp.
It was as though the system feared she might let them slip from her mind, deliberately dredging up every warm memory to make the loss cut deeper.
People often grieved bitterly when an ordinary pet passed away, sometimes sinking into sorrow for months. How could watching an expressive, loyal companion dissolve before her eyes feel any less agonizing?
Above all the others, Meowth was the one partner Qingque refused to lose.
Treating Meowth as an auspicious mascot was certainly superstitious. Yet as a diviner of the commission, she understood that lucky days, auspicious talismans, and symbols of good fortune were never mere superstition. They served as a tangible boost to one's confidence and focus.
Experience had shown her that when a person genuinely believed an endeavor would succeed, their chances rose dramatically. Good cheer and calm nerves naturally cleared the way for good fortune.
Maintaining such unwavering belief on one's own was difficult, and keeping an unclouded mind during hardships was harder still. Having a tangible presence like Meowth nearby gave her a steady anchor, lifting her mood and keeping her thoughts clear.
Naturally, that peaceful mindset led to sharper decisions and better outcomes.
Because of this, Qingque treasured Meowth beyond all her other companions. She had spent a good portion of her savings on a projection projector to bring the little feline into her living quarters, along with sensory feedback bands so she could feel the gentle brush of its fur against her palms.
She had long considered Meowth a true partner in her life.
If Julian truly took a cruel turn and wiped Meowth from her archives forever, she felt her peaceful temperament might snap, bringing on a bout of early Mara right then and there.
Refusing to let that nightmare come to pass, Qingque cast aside all thoughts of taking it easy, channeling every shred of focus into the arena before her.
"Take the field, Milotic!"
As the serpentine form coiled gracefully onto the celestial tiles, the air around it shifted. A focused, razor-sharp edge gleamed within Milotic's eyes, reflecting the quiet fire burning in its trainer.
The stream chat noticed the change immediately:
"Am I seeing things? Chief Que suddenly looks completely dialed in."
"Look at her eyes! She is actually playing for keeps!"
"What is going on? Did the sun rise in the west? The grandmaster of slacking off is trying?!"
"Something definitely triggered this. She glanced at the chat once after that memory pause, and now she won't even look back at the camera."
"Could it be a secret narrative route? An exclusive cutscene that only displays inside the neural rig?"
"That makes sense! Just like those mythic encounters, they keep the critical moments hidden from external broadcast feeds!"
"I am dying to know what could possibly make our resident lounger sit up straight."
"My bet is on an obscene pile of credits!"
"I bet it is a legendary jade tile carved from pure crystal!"
"Maybe a truckload of Meowth coins? Just kidding."
The viewers pieced together the clues with surprising accuracy, their curiosity burning hotter with every passing second.
Yet Qingque paid the scrolling comments no mind. Even the flash of expensive donation banners failed to draw her gaze away from the arena. Sensing her complete absorption, the audience gradually quieted down, holding their breath to watch the duel unfold.
Qingque had never taken battles seriously, but she had lived under Fu Xuan's watchful eye for years. Having observed countless top-level matches, those memories now resurfaced as fertile ground for her instincts, rapidly sharpening her timing.
The tactical habits Fu Xuan had demonstrated during the Masters Tournament began to shine through Qingque's commands.
She calculated every firing arc, anticipated enemy reactions, and guided the opponent's attention toward subtle openings.
Mortal minds could not rival high-end calculation engines, but the world of Pokémon was too vast and organic for rigid algorithms to dominate. Without immense processing reserves, standard programs could not outmaneuver an intuitive, flexible strategist.
Formidable as Arceus was within the simulation, the developers had not granted it infinite computational power; it remained a trial meant to test a trainer's resolve.
Qingque's reads were not as peerless as Fu Xuan's, yet she managed to anticipate several moves ahead, nudging the creator deity into predictable paths with seventy to eighty percent consistency.
Milotic's water strikes struck the white form with increasing frequency, yet the core problem persisted: the blows could not breach the deity's innate resilience.
When Arceus called upon six elemental slabs at once, unleashing a sweeping volley from multiple vectors, the sheer volume of attacks overwhelmed Milotic's evasive route. A crushing blast caught the serpent mid-turn, tumbling it across the stars.
Like Garchomp before it, Milotic dissolved into a swirl of pale, drifting light.
"Wait, is this a Feebas? It looks pretty plain, but look long enough and it has a funny charm to it."
"Stick with me, and I promise you will become the most breathtaking partner across the fleet!"
"Milotic, your scales are so luminous, look how beautiful you are!"
The familiar wave of memories washed over her mind.
Having braced herself beforehand, Qingque shook her head, drawing several deep breaths into her chest. She stood in silence for a moment, processing the lingering warmth before taking her next ball in hand.
"Altaria, lend me your wings!"
She knew that overcoming this trial demanded the bond spoken of in the legends.
Yet having treated the game as a casual pastime, she had never felt that profound resonance herself, and had no idea how to cross into that state of mind.
Remembering the fierce matches from the tournament and Julian's exhibition bout against Silver Wolf, she recognized that unity was an exceptional state of being.
Since she lacked a direct path into it, all she could do was push her tactical synergy to its absolute peak. Only by drawing out the best in herself and her companion could she hope to touch that distant threshold.
Her plan was simple: use the early rounds to refine her rhythm and absorb the rhythm of the battle, saving her final partners for a desperate push against the trial's defenses.
Under Qingque's crisp, measured guidance, Altaria danced through incoming arcs with remarkable grace, holding out until Arceus activated eight hovering slabs simultaneously. The overlapping barrage sealed off the sky, scattering the cotton bird into light.
Allowing herself a brief moment to swallow the ache of the lost memories, Qingque raised her hand once more, sending Alakazam into the cosmic ring.
Watching their beloved slacker navigate through dense barrages of elemental light proved utterly mesmerizing for the audience.
As Qingque guided each partner through progressively deadlier plate formations, viewers began placing bets on how many layers she could dismantle, wondering whether she might actually pull off an impossible victory.
"Is Chief Que really this capable? Is this still the same person who hides behind jade tiles all afternoon?"
"I swear I can see Master Diviner Fu's shadow hanging over her play. Am I losing my mind?"
"She works in the Divination Commission, so sharing similar calculation habits makes sense, but this level of discipline is completely absurd for a casual player!"
"My palms are sweating just watching her slip past those beams. She is weaving through that barrage like it is second nature, and here I am questioning my own rank."
"Don't feel bad. Even top-tier players would struggle to survive against six rotating slabs at once. This encounter is practically unfair."
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