These youngsters are Riders,
continuing their quest to find blackened Kinship Ores
and stop the Black Blight, spreading across the world.
Ratha's been stricken with the Black Blight.
Who should appear before Lute but Cheval and his team!
He's afflicted with the Black Blight--
an enemy that must be destroyed!
Cheval, I won't give up till we understand each other!
Our Kinship can never be broken!
After a sad parting,
Lute finds a new resolve, still believing
they'll understand each other one day.
Thus determined, he then runs into
the Hunter Reverto!
We're going out on a quest.
Huh? A quest?
Now? Right away? Immediately? ASAP?
It has to do with one of that mad scientist's mecha-monsters.
"Monster Hunter Stories RIDE ON"
"Episode 31: Be the Forest, Be the Beast"
Huh?! Manelger's monster escaped?
Word is it's set up a den in the mines.
No doubt about it--some of us have been attacked.
We can't do any repair work on the collapsed shafts...
We're in a real bind.
I'm pretty sure you have Hunters here in town.
So why me?
You're the only one I could go to for this quest!
Aha...
He asked for you by name! That's the lone-wolf Hunter Reverto for you.
Please!
I'll help.
I'll keep you safe, mister!
Well, you sure do talk big.
Show you through the mines?
I understand it's a complex maze of shafts and tunnels.
I'd be much obliged if you could be our guide.
That's out of the question.
Of course, if there's any danger--
Don't you be lookin' down on us miners!
We ain't afraid of monsters!
But... That mine...
Lately... Things happen there.
"Things"?
There's somethin' in there!
What do you mean, "something"?
There's a ghost in there.
Huh?
A ghost?!
We can hear it--a girl's voice,
cryin' pitifully from deep down a shaft!
More than a few of us have heard it, too.
Just thinking about it gives me goosebumps!
I'd take mecha-monsters any day.
But a ghost? No can do.
Huh.
That's why no Hunter in town would take this on.
This place ain't like the big city.
We got a lotta devout folks here.
Nowadays they call it "the cursed mine."
No one'll go near it.
Damn.
Oh, well.
We've got that map of the mine from Dmir--
let's go it alone.
--No way! --Huh?
Navirou wouldn't do it for a thousand donuts!
Wha-a-at?
What're you trying to accomplish in that ghost getup?
Hup! Hup! Hup! Hup!
You didn't have to come, you know.
Yes, ghosts are scary!
But what if a ghost showed up while Navirou was left all alone?!
It wouldn't.
Besides, if ghosts do exist, don't you want to meet one?
Absolutely not!
Another dead end.
I can tell this map won't be of much use.
What's that?
The g-g-g-ghost?
Evil spirits, begone! Evil spirits, begone!
Like that's going to work.
But if there's something there...
...it could be a monster.
Huh? Debli?!
Eh?
I get it. So you need someone to show you around these tunnels.
I've been known to do just that-- given the proper compensation.
We can think about compensation...
...but can you really show us around?
I'm the guy who sneaked into the doctor's lab
and nicked all kinds of stuff.
You could say this place is kinda like my backyard.
That's... not something to brag about.
What were you doing down here, anyway?
I thought you'd never ask!
No one comes near this mine thanks to the ghost rumors,
so the price of ore is on the rise!
Oh. So it's about money again.
Hmph! Mocking money makes for money misery!
All right, all right.
Just show us around, okay?
Ah, there's the lone wolf-- cutting right to the chase!
I'm a real helpful guy!
Who'll split at the first sign of danger, no doubt.
Urk!
Hit that nail on the head.
So hot!
There can't be any monsters here!
In fact...
...there are lots of monsters around here who do just fine in lava.
Like Agnaktor.
Huh?
Whoa!
Check it out: This here is Dragonite Ore!
This'll fetch a pretty zenny!
There you go again: money, money, money.
Now look here!
There are some things money can't buy,
but way more things that you can't buy without it!
This is true.
You can't buy donuts without money!
That...
...that hit Navirou where it hurts!
Now you're digging, too?!
Debli! How much for this one?
Mmm, that there is just a rock.
What is it?
Lute? He's fine.
He's got an expert Hunter with him.
He'll be back in no time.
Lot of damage here--probably because this was near the lab.
Look at all these goodies from the lab!
Might be some treasures in here!
Leave this to Navirou!
Sheesh. Guess he's not so scared of ghosts after all.
Oh? Could this be a treasure?
Manelger's.
Guy's got some seriously bad taste.
Manelger...
Just think about it!
If we have complete control over monsters,
we could use them to hunt other monsters,
creating a peaceful world where no one gets hurt!
What's up?
Nothing!
He-ey!
Debli! Found something that might be worth a lot!
Huh?
Th-That's... a Powderstone!
Isn't it hot?!
Eh?
Navirou's pawpads are on fire!
Get rid of it! Throw it away!
Oh! Right!
Phew! Thank goodness!
Oh?
What's that?
Is that...
Eeeyikes! A mecha Uragaan!
"Uragaan"
Oh, kind sir Reverto...!
Boys?
Yeah?
Run!
Say what?!
Why are we running?!
I can't swing my sword with all this rubble!
Urgh! Dead end!
What?!
What'll we do?
Oh!
There's a gap over there!
All right: go!
Hurry!
Mister?
He's a pancake!
Rest... in peace...!
Who you callin' a pancake?
Where are we?
You're the guide, Debli!
It's all collapsed over there! I can't guide you through that!
At this rate, we'll all turn into ghosts!
Huh?!
What's that?
It can't be...
Is that--
Ride On!
Rathalos!
The ghost?
The ghost of the cursed mine?!
Were the rumors true?
Evil spirits... Begone!
I'm gonna go look for the ghost!
What?
You'll get cursed!
But don't you want to meet it?
We do not!
Fine, then. I'll go alone.
Be careful. Can't rule out monsters in here.
Got it!
It sounded like it came from over here...
Who's there?
Aw, there's nobody.
Is someone there?
There it is! The ghost!
Eh?
A Felyne?
Save me...
Almost there...
Got it!
Come this way!
Sheesh. So the "ghost" was a Felyne who didn't make it out in time.
Things happen in an emergency.
Navirou'll share his donut with her!
Has Navirou seen you before?
Navirou!
Pansy?!
Pansy, it is you!
Navirou... I...
Pansy?
Pansy!
You know her?
Yeah.
Pansy's a Felyne from Koapni Village on Naubaka Island,
where Navirou washed up after he lost his memories.
Navirou...
Pansy! You're awake?
Uh-huh.
That's great, Navirou!
But why didn't you make it out in time?
The other Felynes managed to escape.
I... went back. To get something I'd forgotten.
What'd you forget?
A shell from Naubaka Island.
When mew put it to your ear like this,
mew can hear the island waves...
This is what sustained me.
Pansy...
He-ey!
I found a way out!
Right over here!
But that's just a wall.
When the lab was here, this is where they kept the fake Kinship Stones.
Musta sneaked in here a million times!
And if there's a way in, there's a way out!
So where is this way out?
Right there!
That air vent leads to the surface.
Ah, I see.
Okay--let's go!
Gotta gear up to slay monsters again.
Yeah.
But first, we need to get Pansy patched up.
Wh-What's that?!
The mecha Uragaan!
Lucky for us it's out in the open!
I'll take it down!
Me, too!
Navirou'll help!
Ride On!
Glavenus!
He sure picked one heck of a Monstie!
Navirou!
Okay--
do a pincer attack!
What the--?!
Wha-a-at?
You mean there's two of 'em?!
Debli, get out of here!
Don't have to tell me twice!
I said I'd keep you safe, didn't I?
You take that one!
Got it!
We're on it!
I'm the one you want!
Glavenus! Use your breath!
Cheval!
That's enough! That monster hasn't been Blighted!
Yes! It's working! It's working!
One more oughta do it!
You can't protect anyone thinking like that, Lute!
Lute! What are you doing?!
We have all these tragedies because Lute puts monsters before people.
Lute! Snap out of it, Lute!
Are you gonna keep Reverto safe or what?!
Lute!
I will!
I will keep him safe!
Look at them move...
Crossblaze!
Did I do the right thing?
It was do or die.
At any rate, you saved me.
I owe you one.
Did I really keep you safe?
So you Riders tame monsters and ride on them...
Those Kinship Stones really are wondrous things.
There's a strong Kinship between us and our Monsties.
You become a Rider when your hearts are one.
In other words, they're one and the same!
One and the same, eh?
That's how you were moving, all right.
Something my hunting teacher told me a long time ago:
"Be the forest, be the beast."
"Be the forest, be the beast"?
What's that mean?
This is back in my newbie days.
I didn't know what it meant, either.
I took on my first monster as if my life depended on it.
Hacking and slashing with abandon...
Before I knew it, I was down on the ground.
Thought I'd lost.
I was sure my time was up.
After a while, I heard the whistle of the wind,
the roar of water.
The wind was my own breath,
and the water my blood flowing.
I was alive.
When I finally sat up, the defeated beast lay sprawled beside me.
For a second, I was confused:
Was I the monster, or was the monster me?
That's how much I had become one with the monster's movements.
At that moment, I was part of nature, part of that forest.
One more beast, no different from the monster.
"Be the forest, be the beast":
I felt like I'd begun to understand what those words meant.
Neither monsters, nor Hunters.
We become the forest, become the beast,
and as Hunters, become one with the monsters--
and live our lives with their blessing.
It's because there are monsters that we Hunters exist.
And that's "Be the forest, be the beast"?
Riders become one and the same with their monsters...
Maybe we're alike after all.
I'd thought Hunters and Riders were totally different.
But you're right: we might actually be the same.
That's why you need to show people:
What is a Rider? What does it mean to have Kinship with a monster?
Yeah.
Looks like you perked up a bit.
There's only one thing I know...
Hmm?
Riders can't be bending monsters to their will.
The two are equals!
And that's why they form Kinship and make their hearts one.
So that's "one and the same"...
Yeah.
I want to get that across to Cheval.
I have to.
All right, I'll be waiting in Gildegaran.
Okay!
Pansy, you're going back home to Koapni Village, right?
Uh-huh.
I'd like mew to come too, Navirou.
Th-This is all rather sudden...
Navirou's not sure he's mentally prepared.
I'm pawsitive that meeting mew here, like this,
just has to be destiny!
You're so forward, Pansy!
And right here in front of everyone?
The thing is...
Naubaka Island, home to Koapni Village, is in a bad way!
I want mew to save it!
Eh? Save it? Huh? Wha-a-at?!
My village...
It's under attack by a strange monster, all dark and hazy!
Does she mean...
The Black Blight!
Let's go, Navirou--to Naubaka Island!
Yeah!
"Monstie Manual"
The Monstie Manual!
"Monstie Manual"
Navirou here will fill you in on some Monsties!
Get your Media Trigger smartphone app ready!
And you've got your egg with you, right?
Okay, time to form Kinship with your Monstie Egg!
And now, the moment of new life: awaken!
"Monstie:"
Our Monstie this time is Glavenus!
"Glavenus"
Awesome tail, right?
"Type: Power"
"Species: Brute Wyvern"
Just like a Hunter's Great Sword!
"Overall Length: 450.3 cm"
"Overall Height: 151.6 cm"
It can even spark fires with its iron-rich tail.
"Leg Size: 56 cm"
It's set Lute's heart on fire, all right!
What Monstie will hatch for us next time?
"Next Episode Preview"
Lute here!
We're enjoying a relaxing cruise to Naubaka Island!
Or we were...
...until that Seregios attacked!
"All-Out Airborne Assault!"
Next time: "All-Out Airborne Assault!"
Ride On!