I didn't answer Arpit immediately.
Not because I didn't want to.
Because I needed to think.
The clearing he described—trees split, ground torn apart—that wasn't Blue-tier damage. That wasn't even Green-tier. Something Orange at least. Possibly something that had forced multiple entrants to retreat.
Teaming up meant splitting risk.
But it also meant splitting reward. According to rules defeating orange with two entrants granted you three points each and with three entrants two points each. More than three entrants gives no points. So the two of us could take on orange scarfs and earn three points each.
I glanced at my watch again.
35 points.
Comfortable.
Not safe.
The exam wasn't about surviving comfortably. It was about proving you could escalate when needed.
I looked at Charmeleon. His flame burned steady, no longer wild like yesterday, but not calm either. It carried hunger now. Not reckless rage—purpose.
Meowth met my eyes for half a second and gave the slightest nod.
He was fine with it.
I turned back to Arpit.
"Alright," I said. "We team."
His shoulders relaxed subtly—not in relief, but in confirmation. He had expected me to accept.
"I want higher-ranked targets too," I continued. "Orange alone is risky. Together, manageable."
Arpit nodded.
"Two entrants versus Orange gives three points each," he said. "Three entrants gives two. More than three—zero."
He was thinking the same way I was.
Efficiency.
We didn't need a crowd.
Just coordination.
"Let's move before someone else finds it," I said.
We advanced together.
Mightyena walked slightly ahead of Arpit, scanning left and right with controlled aggression. Meowth mirrored the posture on my side, occasionally slipping into the underbrush to scout ahead before returning. Charmeleon stayed close to me, conserving energy but alert.
The forest shifted subtly as we approached the direction Arpit had mentioned.
When we reached the edge of the clearing, the air itself felt heavier.
Arpit hadn't exaggerated.
Trees were not merely broken—they were uprooted. Thick trunks snapped at mid-height as if struck by something immense. The earth was gouged with deep claw marks, and patches of soil were scorched black.
"Not Green," I murmured.
"No," Arpit replied quietly.
Mightyena's fur bristled.
Charmeleon's tail flame flickered brighter.
We stepped carefully into the clearing.
A shape emerged from behind a fractured tree.
Large.
Quadrupedal.
Steel-gray hide plated like armor.
A massive horn curved forward from its snout.
Around its thick neck—
An orange scarf.
Rhydon.
It stepped fully into view, heavy feet cracking the ground with each movement.
And then I saw its eyes.
Red.
Not sharp. Not focused.
Burning.
A thin trail of reddish smoke curled intermittently from the corners of its mouth, dissipating into the air like heat haze.
Not controlled.
Not testing.
Unstable.
Arpit's expression changed instantly.
"Something's wrong," he said, voice low but urgent. "That's not normal behavior."
Rhydon exhaled sharply, the red-tinged vapor thickening for a brief second before fading.
Its gaze locked onto us—
And the ground beneath its feet fractured.
"Enraged state," Arpit added, sharper now. "We need to be careful. "
I felt it too.
This wasn't a measured Orange-tier opponent.
This was something pushed beyond its baseline.
My grip tightened slightly.
_____________________
Inside the observation chamber, multiple screens tracked the clearing from different angles.
The moment Rhydon stepped into view, the room quieted.
And when its eyes glowed red—
That silence tightened.
A subordinate leaned forward, frowning. "Sir… that Rhydon—its behavior parameters don't match standard Orange-tier. Should we intervene?"
Aakash Patil stood with arms folded, gaze fixed on the screen.
He didn't answer immediately.
He watched.
The breathing pattern.
The micro-movements.
The instability.
Then he spoke.
"Not yet."
The subordinate hesitated. "Sir, if it's in an enraged state—"
"We monitor," Aakash cut in calmly. "And we prepare."
His eyes didn't leave the screen.
"Deploy teams on standby near their sector. If either of them enters fatal danger, we step in immediately."
A brief pause.
Then, more quietly—
"But until then… we let them handle it."
Because this—
This was the difference between passing an exam…
And proving they deserved to go further.
__________________
Back to the Clearing
We had just begun to weigh whether retreat was the smarter option when the decision was taken out of our hands.
Rhydon noticed us.
There was no warning, no territorial display, no pause to assess.
It lowered its head—
And charged.
Full speed.
The ground shattered under its weight as it accelerated, far faster than something that size should have been able to move.
"Move—!" I started, but there was no time to complete the thought.
"Charmeleon—Flamethrower!"
Flames roared forward, a concentrated stream aimed directly at Rhydon's face—
And it ran straight through it.
The fire washed over its armored hide, distorting the air around it, but it didn't slow, didn't flinch, didn't even blink.
Its eyes burned brighter.
Locked on us.
"Rakesh—!"
Too late.
It was already on us.
Then—
A blur of dark fur.
"Mightyena!"
Arpit's Pokémon slammed into both of us from the side with full force, knocking us clear just as Rhydon's horn tore through the space we had occupied a fraction of a second earlier.
The impact still caught Mightyena partially.
The edge of Rhydon's charge clipped its side.
Not a direct hit—
But enough.
The force alone sent Mightyena hurtling backward, its body slamming into a tree with a sickening crack before dropping to the ground.
Rhydon didn't stop.
It plowed forward and crashed into the tree behind us.
The trunk splintered instantly.
Wood cracked, split—
And the entire tree collapsed, crashing down into the clearing with a thunderous impact.
For a brief moment, dust and debris filled the air.
"Mightyena!" Arpit called, already moving.
"I'm here," he answered himself a second later, kneeling beside it, checking quickly. "It's hurt—but conscious."
Relief, brief and sharp.
No time to dwell.
Because Rhydon was already turning.
It came again.
Not with the same straight-line charge—but with heavy, deliberate steps, each one cracking the ground, each movement carrying unstable bursts of force.
"New plan," I said quickly, forcing my breathing steady. "We don't try to stop it. We break it down."
Arpit nodded once, already adjusting.
"Mightyena—can you stand?"
A low growl answered.
It pushed itself up, unsteady but functional.
Good.
"Meowth," I called, "we go for disruption. No commitment unless it's safe."
He flicked his tail once in acknowledgment.
Rhydon exhaled.
The red smoke thickened again.
Then it moved.
Faster than before.
"Spread out!" I ordered.
Meowth darted wide, circling. Mightyena stayed mid-range despite the injury, forcing Rhydon to divide attention.
"Charmeleon—angle attacks, not frontal!"
Flamethrower struck from the side this time, washing across Rhydon's flank. The armor held, but the heat forced a shift, just enough to alter its line.
"Now—Mightyena, Bite!"
It lunged low, targeting the rear leg joint again, jaws clamping down with force.
Rhydon reacted violently.
Its tail whipped around in a brutal arc.
"Pull back—!"
Too slow.
Mightyena released just in time to avoid a direct hit, but the tail still caught it across the shoulder, sending it skidding across the ground again.
Not as bad as before.
But worse than we could afford repeatedly.
"Meowth—Fury Swipes, same joint!"
Meowth slipped in during the opening, claws striking rapidly against the same weakened point, each hit precise, controlled, and immediately followed by disengagement.
We weren't overpowering it.
We were accumulating damage.
Rhydon roared.
The sound carried strain now—not just rage.
It slammed both feet into the ground.
The earth convulsed.
"Earthquake—brace!"
This time we didn't try to fully evade.
We rode it out, jumping at the initial shock, adjusting to the secondary fractures, minimizing damage instead of avoiding it completely.
Charmeleon landed hard but steady.
Mightyena stumbled.
Meowth adapted mid-air, rolling through the impact.
"Keep pressure," I said, voice tight but controlled. "It's burning through energy."
And it was.
The movements were still powerful—
But less clean.
Less stable.
The red smoke from its mouth was thicker now, its breathing heavier.
Whatever it had ingested…
Was taking its toll.
Unseen by us, beyond the fallen tree line—
Figures moved.
Silent.
Coordinated.
Uniformed personnel spread out along the perimeter, maintaining distance.
Some held position with Growlithe at their sides, muscles tense, ready to intercept.
Others stood beside Staryu, their cores glowing faintly, prepared for ranged support or emergency extraction.
No one stepped forward.
No one interfered.
They watched.
Waited.
Ready.
Back in the clearing, the battle dragged on.
Minutes stretched.
Every exchange cost something.
Charmeleon's flames were slower to build now, breath heavier between attacks.
Mightyena's movements had lost some sharpness, favoring one side slightly.
Meowth remained the most agile—but even he was beginning to tire, reactions a fraction slower than before.
Rhydon—
Was worse.
Its charges had shortened.
Its turns were delayed.
Its attacks still devastating—but increasingly inconsistent.
"Now," Arpit said quietly.
I saw it too.
The opening.
"Commit," I replied.
"Meowth—Fake Out!"
The sharp clap rang out, stunning Rhydon for a split second.
"Mightyena—Crunch!"
It lunged again at the damaged joint, teeth sinking deeper this time.
"Charmeleon—full Flamethrower!"
The fire struck immediately after, concentrated on the already weakened section of armor.
Rhydon roared—
Tried to move—
But its leg gave.
Not fully.
Just enough.
Its balance broke.
It staggered—
Took one step—
Then another—
And finally, its massive body collapsed onto the ground with a heavy, earth-shaking impact.
The red glow in its eyes flickered.
The smoke thinned.
Its breathing slowed, then steadied into exhaustion rather than fury.
Silence returned to the clearing.
This time—
It held.
We didn't move immediately.
Didn't celebrate.
Didn't speak.
Because we all understood—
That hadn't been a clean victory.
That had been endurance.
Adaptation.
Survival.
And just beyond the fallen trees—
The unseen watchers finally relaxed, if only slightly.
But they did not leave.
Not yet.