"Huh...? B-bear guy?" Howard sputtered as a spotlight shined in his face. His hat averted most of the light, but he still turned away from it as Machoke dragged Howard into the ring, he was hamfistedly tossed into the ring, rolling and spiraling to a stop. "Hey...?"

It was Bear Guy! In more ways than one! Kazimir looked like he could wrestle an Ursaluna into submission. Bear Guy had been a big help in tracking down that Ursaluna that had been lurking in the swamp, and Howard knew first hand how strong he could be from that experience alone.

That didn't mean Howard knew he was a wrestler. Howard had won tickets to this event at a raffle. That had been lucky. Now, he got to get his ass kicked by someone who could kick him to Petalburg. Lucky him! He would feel really lucky as Kazimir sent him to the hospital.

"It's me!" Howard jumped to his feet in remarkable fashion, before taking a bow. "Howard Slayte! Wrestling fan, fossil fan, Ursaluna hunter!" Howard grinned and waved. The Machoke handed him a Pokeball from his belt, and Howard frowned and inspected it.

"What's going on? Is this a Pokémon battle orrrrrrr...?"

Oh, if only he knew.

---

Kazimir Wynter

"I..." Howard rubbed his eyes and looked at Kazimir once, and then shuddered. "You're aware that we're in entirely different weight classes, right? You're about double my weight, and I don't think I can beat your toaster. I've dug myself out of worse pits before."

The crowd must've sensed Howard's reluctance, because he was immediately booed by dozens of spectators. Several put their thumbs down to signify disapproval and Howard threw up his hands. What did these people want? Howard could throw hands, but Kazimir could throw him in the hospital. The wrestler likely knew his own strength, but Howard knew his own.

It was hardly a fair match...

Unless...

An uncomfortably heavy ball shook at Howard's belt. It shook again, and Howard groaned. The Gigaton Ball was malfunctioning again. It did that whenever Howard mentioned digging. Or anything, really. It was notoriously unstable. He needed to get that fixed.

"Alright, then. You want a fight...?" Howard climbed up to the ropes. He reached towards his belt and plucked the Gigaton Ball, showing it to Kazimir. The professional wrestler would be able to tell from a glance: not only was the ball unique, but it was heavy.

"Then you've got one!" The ball flew through the air, thudding onto the mat. It twitched once, twice, and then burst open. Kazimir would be met with an old friend from a recent adventure. The Bloodmoon Ursaluna sniffed the mat, before looking around.

"Grr?" The bear growled at the Iron Hands. Howard took a pose. "Ta-da!!!"

---

Kazimir Wynter

The bear was a fighter. Howard was not.

The Ursaluna looked pretty tough, having done a lot of damage during a certain excursion to Route 119. Howard had seen it tear through heads like cottage cheese, and it had survived a lot on that day. Plus, it had to belong to a strong trainer. Nobody just carried a Gigaton Ball around unless they were ready to throw hands.

Yet still, Howard didn't like Team Bear's odds. The bear could cause some serious damage. Howard ranked it on the Howardometer at about 1.2 Iron Hands. Not too bad. Not too bad.

Yet Kazimir? He was worth at least ten Howards. Not good odds. Assuming that a Howard was worth 0.1 Iron Hands, he'd need another Bloodmoon Ursaluna to take on Kazimir Wynter. That made sense. Wasn't he a famously powerful trainer? Not a Pokemon Trainer—he was good at that too—but like, a trainer trainer?

He looked like he could deadlift Howard's Ursaluna and toss it at him.

"Alrighty, um..." Howard sucked in air as he quickly thought. He hadn't used the Ursaluna in a battle like this yet. He needed time to prep and cry beforehand! "Hammer Arm!"

The Ursaluna raised its mighty fist, clashing with the Iron Hands. Arcs of electricity danced through the arena, and Howard ducked to dodge one. He looked over at Kazimir.

"Please don't kick my ass too badly? Pretty please?" Howard held up his fists as he cautiously approached. "Is there a medic on site? Maybe a Blissey? Do I have to pay for that or—"

---

Kazimir Wynter

Kazimir knew a lot about the human body, and how much punishment it could withstand. He was a wrestler who had fought on dozens of battlefields. He was one of the Pokémon League's strongest trainers, both physical and otherwise. Bear Guy was strong, and Howard was less so.

That didn't stop him from throwing up his arms to attempt to block the jab. Howard's depth perception wasn't particularly good, and he misjudged the distance it would take for Kazimir to throttle him. That, or Kazimir was faster than Howard anticipated. Probably both. Wait, just how fast was his fis-

The jab struck Howard's partially raised arm, knocking him backwards, and his wind along with it.

"You just broke my backbone..." Howard wheezed as he caught his breath. Kazimir was big. He was a big lad. All that weight had to come with some lessened agility, right? Dance like a Butterfree, sting like a Combee.

Howard danced towards Kazimir, attempting to predict his swinging range by bobbing and weaving with several jabs.

Doug, meanwhile, laughed at the Iron Hand's Thunder Punch. Arcs of electricity danced off the Ground-type, a pleasant numbing sensation. Fighting spirit? Doug sneered at that. Predators had no need for such childish notions. Abominations had no need for something as human as 'spirit'.

No, all Doug would do was fight for survival. Just like he had on Route 119. With a roar, the bear lunged towards the Iron Hands with a Headlong Rush.

---

Kazimir Wynter

"I wish I was out cold..." Howard muttered as he gave the wrestler a wry smile. "You're pretty good, yourself."

By 'pretty good', Howard meant 'insanely good'. For a moment, there was a respect between the two fighters, before Howard realized that if he elected to run, he'd likely get domed by the crowd as he made his escape. If anything, this was essentially just a more theatric thrashing of the one given to him by Isaac Merlo at the Regice Ruins.

Compared to that, this was pleasantly demeaning. Hey, maybe Howard had a shot. He could start his own wrestling care-

WHAM! Kazimir's uppercut sent the archaeologist flying towards upwards, before having him fall into the ropes that lined the ring. Aerodactyls danced in front of his eyes as Howard's brain rattled around in his skull. "Whazzat?"

The archaeologist's hand reached out, and it found the smooth leg of a chair-like object.

Meanwhile, Doug took the Force Palm, growling in a mixture of rage and pain. The strike caused the bear to roll over onto its back, exposing its belly. This was the opportune moment to strike!

Yet Doug knew this. As if anticipating the oncoming assault from Kou-Z, the bear channeled its inner power. Suddenly, a bright red orb appeared over the arena, casting it into a harsh light...

---

Kazimir Wynter