Mashaduo, emerging from the ruins, felt a bit disheartened.
It silently praised that this candidate was indeed personally selected by Ho-Oh.
Not only was his soul pure and flawless, but his strength was also so formidable.
The methods of examination it used in the past seemed truly unable to test the trainer before it.
Mashaduo pursed its lips and realized that calling the Three Sacred Beasts to help had been a very wise choice.
If it were only up to its own trials, Fang Yuan would have almost certainly passed with ease, earning a meeting with Ho-Oh by now.
But that would be too easy for Fang Yuan, and it would make Mashaduo seem quite useless.
Considering the situation from Ho-Oh's perspective, Mashaduo felt that Ho-Oh certainly wanted to give Fang Yuan a bit of adversity.
How to cause Fang Yuan to experience setbacks, and to make him understand the true essence of The Brave of the Rainbow, was also Ho-Oh's trial for it, Mashaduo.
Therefore, Mashaduo immediately had an epiphany, and decided to make reasonable use of its ability to summon the Three Sacred Beasts.
Who said the examiner had to step into the fray themselves? It would craft the questions, and let the Three Sacred Beasts help with the examination!
Arranging the content of the examination properly and making reasonable use of abilities were also part of its professional ethics as an examiner—
Ho-Oh certainly wanted to see this.
Although calling in the Three Sacred Beasts might greatly increase the pressure on Fang Yuan and even lead to his failure, Mashaduo decided to intensify the examinations for the sake of its own future.
In its view, this trial was a "do or die" battle.
Making Fang Yuan end up dirty and disheveled was acceptable, but not for itself!
Anyway, it didn't mean Fang Yuan couldn't pass the final trial if he lost face a bit; it just had to ensure the trial's value and prevent him from meeting Ho-Oh too easily!
Yes, it absolutely couldn't allow Fang Yuan to pass through the trials that easily and meet Ho-Oh.
That would make it appear rather useless.
"Masha!!!"
As Mashaduo emerged from the ruins, it let out a shout, and the next second, the Three Sacred Beasts perched on the rocks were startled, turning their gaze towards the disheveled Mashaduo.
At this moment, the Three Sacred Beasts were also perplexed.
The trials for The Brave of the Rainbow were starting again?
Ho-Oh hadn't informed them.
Although Mashaduo was always the examiner for the trials of The Brave of the Rainbow, occasionally the three of them would appear in person to verify if the candidate truly possessed the qualifications to become The Brave of the Rainbow.
Of course, they would simply watch the trials conducted by Mashaduo and not intervene.
But this time... it seemed the situation was different from the usual for Mashaduo.
The Three Sacred Beasts fell silent for a moment, then leaped up in unison, rushing towards Mashaduo to inquire about the nature of this trial from the Guide of Shadows.
…
Meanwhile.
"We won...?!"
As the smoke around them dispersed, Master Fan's face was brimming with joy.
Didn't that mean that Fang Yuan had passed Mashaduo's trial?
He quickly looked towards Fang Yuan, but Master Fan couldn't see any signs of happiness on Fang Yuan's face.
"Master Fan, you're celebrating too soon; Mashaduo doesn't seem to want to end the trial that easily," Fang Yuan said, pointing in Mashaduo's direction.
"Uh..."
What did that mean?
Master Fan looked over in confusion, only to see that, following the rule of 'where there's smoke, there's no harm,' Mashaduo emerged from the smoke with utter composure.
Behind it were three majestic Pokémon.
Seeing these three Pokémon caused Master Fan's face to freeze in shock. The Three Sacred Beasts?
Mashaduo and the Three Sacred Beasts approached Fang Yuan and his team together.
While walking, Mashaduo communicated with the Three Sacred Beasts about the current situation.
Ho-Oh had selected a new candidate for The Brave of the Rainbow, but the process of this trial would be different from before!
The Three Sacred Beasts... needed to assist it, Mashaduo, with the examination!
After conveying its thoughts, Mashaduo's expression remained unchanged, and behind it, the Three Sacred Beasts looked up at Fang Yuan as they approached, their gazes scrutinizing.
It was as if they were examining whether Fang Yuan was qualified to become The Brave of the Rainbow.
As The Brave of the Rainbow, under certain circumstances, could command them, they also held the choice in high regard.
They hadn't expected... Mashaduo to invite them over to assist in the exam...
The Three Sacred Beasts harbored various thoughts, each holding different opinions. Since they were asked to help with the exam… they wouldn't go easy!
"Masha!!"
Although it had lost the fight, having the Three Sacred Beasts show up versusided its confidence again, and Mashaduo walked back, all the while glaring fiercely at Gengar sitting on a nearby rock patting its belly.
Even daring to eat a Z-Move, this guy was outrageous.
"The Three Sacred Beasts..." At this point, Master Fan's focus was entirely on the Three Sacred Beasts.
Fang Yuan also watched the three Legendary Pokémon, who didn't seem very friendly, with a smile.
"Bwoo!" Eevee jumped onto Fang Yuan's shoulder, intent on observing as well.
It was said that the Three Sacred Beasts were once three unknown Pokémon that died in a fire at the Burned Tower and were only revived by Ho-Oh, turning into their current forms. Eevee had always been curious about their original forms...
Hmm... It wasn't clear, but he firstly ruled out a walking and standing Monferno.
"Masha!! (You've passed the second trial, but there are three more to go, to be completed by them.)" After walking over, Mashaduo stared at Fang Yuan and said.
"What? There's more!"
Before Fang Yuan could react, Master Fan exclaimed in surprise.
"The Three Sacred Beasts... Aren't they not supposed to participate in The Brave of the Rainbow's trials?"
If Master Fan wasn't mistaken, the Three Sacred Beasts and Mashaduo, though they were both under Ho-Oh, had different duties. During The Brave of the Rainbow's trials, the Three Sacred Beasts were only supposed to watch, not interfere too much...
"Mashaaa! (I make the rules!)"
Mashaduo turned its head and glared at Master Fan, leaving him speechless.
"I can handle it, so what's the test?" Fang Yuan asked, "A battle, perhaps...?"
As Fang Yuan spoke, Eevee slowly jumped down from Fang Yuan's shoulder.
Hmm... Better not to battle.
Battling Mashaduo was one thing, but taking on the Three Sacred Beasts, who were not inferior to Moltres and even Mewtwo, Eevee thought it wasn't that unoccupied.
"Mashaaa..."
Mashaduo turned to look at the Three Sacred Beasts behind it, then turned back, pondered for a moment, and immediately conveyed the next phases of the test to Fang Yuan and the Three Sacred Beasts.
It raised its head to look at Fang Yuan, revealing a mischievous smile.
"Mashaaa!"
Although Fang Yuan had an innocently pure soul, it didn't mean all his Pokémon partners were also so flawless. The next test was to examine the hearts of Fang Yuan's Pokémon!
Just now, Fang Yuan used his special power to help Gengar break free from its soul disturbance, but that didn't mean Fang Yuan could also help his Pokémon withstand the power of the Three Sacred Beasts!
Shui Jun, wielding the Cleansing Water, a source that could purify all impurities. Any enemy washed by it who harbored even a speck of darkness in their soul would suffer fatal injuries.
The first challenge was for one of Fang Yuan's Pokémon to endure the baptism of the Cleansing Water!
As soon as Mashaduo finished speaking, Master Fan swallowed hard. Shui Jun's Cleansing Water? Even putting Pokémon through a test..? That was too difficult!!
Upon hearing this, Shui Jun nodded calmly; Mashaduo's arrangement was quite to its liking.
Trainers who could raise Pokémon with untainted souls wouldn't be bad. They deserved to be The Brave of the Rainbow.
"No problem..." Fang Yuan said with an odd expression.
Milotic was always surrounded by Cleansing Water. This challenge, wasn't it basically a giveaway for it?
"Mashaaa!" Mashaduo said contentedly, announcing the second challenge.
Lei Gong, the master of special Heavenly Thunder. Thunder and Lightning could shake the soul, heighten fear, obliterate all darkness and evil. Any who wavered in the face of the Heavenly Thunder would be destroyed.
The second challenge was for one of Fang Yuan's Pokémon to withstand the test of Heavenly Thunder!
Master Fan swallowed hard again, looking at Mashaduo. Had the decades changed its challenges to be so stringent? Heavenly Thunder from Lei Gong... Lei Gong was a Legendary Pokémon!!
"Roar." Lei Gong growled calmly, using Heavenly Thunder as a test was not a bad idea.
"That's no problem either," Fang Yuan said, once again with an odd expression.
Heavenly Thunder, huh? The Guardian God of the Alolan Archipelago, Tapu Koko, also had control of it. Previously, it had administered several types of shiny lightning special training to the Self-detonating Magnetic Monster, with Heavenly Thunder being one of them. For the Self-detonating Magnetic Monster, which had a Soul Heart, mental power several times that of regular Pokémon, and superb resistance to Thunder and Lightning, this challenge was also too easy, wasn't it just another giveaway?
"Mashaaa!" Mashaduo said contentedly, announcing the third challenge.
Emperor Yan, possessing the Sacred Fire taught by Ho-Oh. The Sacred Fire could incinerate the soul, the flesh, the will. Any life facing the Sacred Fire without a strong will would be completely burned by the Sacred Flames, losing all conviction!
The third challenge is that one of Fang Yuan's Pokemon must be able to withstand the searing of the Holy Fire!
Meanwhile, the three Pokemon Fang Yuan sends out cannot be the same one!
Emperor Yan nodded indifferently, while Mashaduo glanced at the Gengar that was emitting an evil aura; if the Pokemon Fang Yuan cultivated were all like this guy, they might be strong enough, but they definitely couldn't pass any of the aforementioned tests!
I've got this!!
Glutton: 凸(艹皿艹)
"How... How could one possibly pass this?" Master Fan, standing by the side, was already flabbergasted. The difficulty of this test seemed to be dozens of times harder than the one he had faced before.
And to think they have such high expectations for the Pokemon cultivated by the Brave of the Rainbow...
Mashaduo, are you sure you're not being biased against this Gengar that defeated you???
The Gengar, which had consumed a few Pokemon as well as a great deal of Life Power and Soul Power, was undoubtedly the most evil and complex in terms of strength in Fang Yuan's team. Even the Fire of Life did not recognize it, and these three tests involve three kinds of 'purifying powers', each one dealing multiple times more damage to Gengar.
"No problem..." As a warrior, Fang Yuan feared no tests.
Fang Yuan's confident response made Mashaduo slightly taken aback, and it also earned the preliminary approval of the Three Sacred Beasts. At least, the candidate for the Brave of the Rainbow before them was not a coward.
However, Fang Yuan soon asked, "But Mashaduo, won't being burned by the Sacred Fire cause very serious injuries?"
"Mashado!!" Mashaduo confirmed. To withstand the Sacred Fire, one needed both willpower and physical strength; although willpower was the most important, one should also be prepared for the body to take a heavy beating.
The Sacred Fire of Emperor Yan, although not as strong as Ho-Oh's, was still not something an average Pokemon could endure.
Fang Yuan fell silent.
After the silence, he said, "Then can we change the order of the challenges? Let's take on the trial of the Sacred Fire first."
"Mashado?!!" Mashaduo was completely bewildered.
The order didn't really matter, but was there some sort of significance to them?
Fang Yuan remained silent; he planned to let Monferno take the trial of the Sacred Fire first.
But why insist on Monferno going first...
Fang Yuan didn't know if there was some hidden mysticism in it, but in his team, every Pokemon seemed to always chant that whenever Monferno got hurt, they would become stronger. As a non-superstitious trainer who understood science, Fang Yuan didn't believe this.
Getting stronger was due to hard training; what did it have to do with Monferno?
There couldn't be such a thing.
But what about it? After Monferno gets injured in the trial of the Sacred Fire, would the other Pokemon collectively break through? He didn't believe it.
Fang Yuan intended to clear Monferno's name; these Pokemon were always bullying Monferno, which was too mean. They should learn more from Monferno's spirit of perseverance!
That's the real reason for getting stronger...
"Right, Eevee?" Fang Yuan said through Mind Induction.
Whatever Fang Yuan thought, Eevee naturally knew.
Eevee: ◑ω◐ playing dumb.
However, Eevee thought it was better not to try it; otherwise... Monferno might end up ruined.