In Iono's eyes—widened by sheer shock—Jason moved.
He gave the sunbathing Smoliv no time to react. Leaving a blur where he'd been, he sprang into the group with grasshopper-like agility that fit his "Nymble" form perfectly.
"F-fam…" Iono's voice even stuttered, but she forced herself to stay professional on stream, "we can see the Nymble has initiated! He's going… one… one versus six!"
[No way! 1v6?! This dude's bold!]
[Streamer don't freeze—commentate! Snacks are ready!]
…
Jason only wanted a swift, clean win.
Facing the six Smoliv thrown into chaos by the opening hit, he didn't pause.
Skitter Smack!
A pale green wave rippled out from him, sweeping over every Smoliv. Under the effect, they all felt their inner energy weaken at once.
After the AoE, he locked onto one Smoliv and fired Lunge—his body a ghost through their ranks so they couldn't form any counter line. Then Bug Bite—each snap of his jaws found a soft spot, light damage but precise enough to drop them out of the fight.
In under a minute, the sixth Smoliv fell with a reluctant thud. Silence returned.
Jason hadn't taken a scratch.
Then, under Iono's gaze—and that of tens of thousands in her stream—
splut.
Jason turned back into Ditto.
"…"
Iono was stunned.
The cheerful, camera-ready smile froze on her face. Her lips parted; in those big pretty eyes, the only reflection was that purple puddle.
Ditto became Fletchling, Fletchling became Nymble, Nymble became Ditto…
This time she was a hundred percent sure.
It was a Ditto. Not some "Fletchling in a Ditto skinsuit."
"Does this Ditto really not have a trainer?" she murmured. "Abandoned, maybe? Its battle sense is so good—it doesn't need a single command to fight this clean."
And the mystery burned hotter: how could a Ditto turn into Pokémon that weren't even present? What kind of Ditto was this? Super Ditto? Transforming at will?
Meanwhile, chat had gone nuclear.
[Hacks! Absolutely hacking! Reported on sight!]
[Stop coping—this Ditto is SICK.]
[Streamer, don't just stand there—catch it! That's gotta be a legendary-tier Ditto!]
Viewership rocketed straight up. A Ditto that could transform freely—too juicy a hook. Crowds poured in to see it for themselves.
Watching the numbers and gifts spike in her dashboard, Iono snapped out of it. She hadn't expected a spur-of-the-moment outdoor stream to hit a jackpot like this.
A fierce thought bloomed:
She was going to catch that Ditto.
Sure, publicly she claimed to only love and raise Electric-types. But if this Ditto could become Fletchling and Nymble, then it could definitely become Electric-types—Bellibolt, Electivire—totally her vibe.
How could she not catch it?
Fire lit in her eyes. She yanked a Luxury Ball from her belt, stretched those long legs, and sprinted toward Jason—
—and froze as a figure burst from the trees and beat her to it.
A straw-hatted kid in shorts, a giant bug-catching net in one hand and a Poké Ball clenched in the other, skidded to a stop in front of Jason.
Iono halted mid-charge. Someone had stolen her mark.
But as a Paldean celeb and Gym Leader, she didn't pitch a fit about "first come, first served." The kid was already in stance and had sent out his first Pokémon, so she let it go, turned to camera with a helpless shrug, and said with a touch of regret:
"Aiya… looks like Iono-sama was a step late—somebody got there first."
[??? Who is this guy? Rude! Stealing from Iono-sama?!]
[With that outfit he's a Bug Catcher, right? Bro, aren't you supposed to be in the grass catching Caterpie?]
[What if he's one of us in chat? Broooo ask Iono-sama for an autograph!!]
While chat wailed and joked, the Bug Catcher tossed his ball.
Light flashed—and a Cetitan hit the ground with a boom.
"…"
Iono shot the camera a regretful look and sighed. "Welp, fam… seems this strange Ditto really wasn't meant to be mine."
A heartbeat later, the regret vanished; she snapped back to full pep.
"Which is perfect! Even if Iono-sama doesn't get to battle, we can take this chance to see just how strong our Paldean Cetitan really is!"
Chat had the same thought: once Cetitan hit the field, the suspense was gone.
[Bringing an ace to stomp starter mobs? Really?]
[What's the point—Cetitan's HP base stat is 170. Ditto has a pathetic 48…]
[Pure mass diff. Even if Ditto turns into Cetitan, 170 vs 48—not the same league.]
[Outcome locked. F in chat for Ditto.]
…
Jason eyed the straw hat kid who'd barged in, boasting he'd catch him, and snorted.
"What Bug Catcher? Catch me? Dream on."
Then the Cetitan dropped—and he lost his cool for a second. Only one giant complaint filled his head:
"Dude… seriously?"
"Aren't you a Bug Catcher? Did you net that Cetitan with your bug net?"