When the sea-blue, dolphin-like Pokémon hit the field, both Jason and distant Iono lit up.
Almost the instant he saw Palafin, a full response plan clicked into place in Jason's head.
Iono, meanwhile, was surprised. Who was this trainer, to have even a Palafin? His commanding skills weren't great… so how did he catch Palafin and Cetitan? A hand-me-down from another, maybe?
No matter—she seized the moment and, brimming with pride and excitement, turned to the camera:
"Wow! Look, fam! This trainer sent out one of Paldea's fan favorites—Palafin!"
"It even has a super cool title: the Hero of the Ocean!"
[Aw, what a cute dolphin! Looks harmless—does it even attack?]
['Hero of the Ocean'? Bit chuunibyo, no?]
[Not gonna lie, very pettable. Wonder how it fights.]
Iono's smile turned sly. She curved her eyes to crescents, wagged a slim finger at the lens, and teased:
"Heehee. Its battle power… you'll see! Palafin is not just cute~"
While chat's curiosity peaked, Jason was already moving.
He stayed as Glimmet, calmly using Harden to boost his Defense.
"Hmph! That little defense buff won't save you!" the Bug Catcher sneered, flinging out a command. "Palafin—don't let it breathe! Flip Turn!"
In a blink, Palafin wrapped itself in a torrent, torpedoing toward Jason.
But Jason reacted even faster.
Protect!
A pale green barrier popped up just before impact.
Wham!
The surging water slammed the shield, spray bursting wide—then Palafin recoiled, snapped back as red light, and auto-returned to its Poké Ball. Another ball on the Bug Catcher's belt popped open, swapping in a black-and-white raptor-like seabird—Bombirdier.
"So you can read me?" The Bug Catcher blinked at his perfectly stuffed Flip Turn, then smirked. "I can read you too. You're lining up a Rock move for my Bombirdier, aren't you?"
"Too bad—Bombirdier's just passing through. U-turn!"
Bombirdier blurred into a green afterimage and slashed in—another hit-and-run just like Flip Turn.
Faced with the incoming Bug-type strike, Jason didn't even sidestep. He simply used Harden again.
Glimmet is Rock + Poison; Bug is resisted. With multiple Defense boosts stacked already, the hit was a love tap.
Thunk.
Bombirdier left only a faint scuff on the crystalline petals—then popped back as red light.
The Bug Catcher stared. "You… didn't throw a Rock move?"
He didn't dwell on it. In his mind, he still held the edge. He immediately brought Palafin back out—
—and this time, the change was dramatic.
Gone was the harmless dolphin. The body was taller, bulked with powerful lines; a heart-shaped crest glowed on its chest; the aura screamed strength.
[???]
[Wait—same Pokémon?! How did the style flip that hard?!]
[GOOD LORD, the muscles. No wonder they call it a hero.]
As chat reeled, Iono's clear, proud voice chimed back in:
"Heehee—spooked you, huh? That's Palafin's true power! Its Ability is Zero to Hero—once it returns to the party and re-enters, it shifts from its normal form to this awesome Hero Form!"
"In Hero Form, its base stat total rockets from 457 to a terrifying 650!"
Six-hundred-fifty.
Silence. Then chat exploded.
[650?! Did I hear that right?! That's above pseudo-legendary!]
[Palafin is busted. Sure, there's a setup condition, but once it sticks—top-tier bruiser.]
[GG—Ditto's done. Palafin's numbers are insane!]
[Chill—BST isn't everything. Hard work matters! Ditto, I believe! Flip the script!!]
["Hard Work" a legendary to death, then. You know what that takes?]
While everyone wrote Ditto off, Iono dropped a bomb.
She tapped a finger to her pink lips and smiled meaningfully at the lens.
"But my read? The Ditto still wins."
"Look," she pointed to Jason—still relaxed, still glowing in place. "It anticipated Palafin's form change. From the start it never pressed damage—just quietly stacked Defense."
"At this point its bulk is probably obscene. Whether Palafin can break it is an open question."
The Bug Catcher fumed at the calm Ditto. He felt disrespected—ignored. Buffing in his face, like it could read every decision—infuriating.
"Damn—! Palafin, show it a hero's might—Jet Punch!"
Palafin's signature: water surging over its fist, a blink-fast, always-first haymaker.
A blue sonic-boom punch ripped toward Jason—
—but even priority couldn't outpace his transformation.
A flash: the stony Glimmet became a tiny Sunkern.
BOOM.
Jet Punch smashed the seed, sending Jason skidding and tumbling.
"Tch… Palafin hits hard," he hissed, steadying himself with a breath.
Chat lost its mind.
[WHAT—1 HP?!]
[How did a Jet Punch on a Sunkern not obliterate it?!]
[Streamer, explain! My brain is melting!]
Iono wore an "as expected" look the moment he swapped to Sunkern, and laughed:
"Easy. Sunkern's Defense is tragic, but you're forgetting all those buffs. Two Hardens, plus a full-stat spike from Ancient Power earlier—its Defense isn't ordinary anymore."
"Also, Water's resisted by Grass. With multiple Defense boosts and type resistance, tanking Jet Punch isn't shocking. Frankly, unless this Palafin is cracked beyond reason, any Grass-type could eat one after that much forting."
The Bug Catcher, seeing Palafin still not finishing the job, snapped:
"Don't stop—Acrobatics! Finish it!"
Jason rolled into his favorite stall line.
Synthesis.
Growth.
Palafin hit hard, but not hard enough to one-shot. If it couldn't one-shot, Jason could Synthesis the damage away—and steal windows to Growth, ramping Attack and Sp. Atk.
The stalemate turned surreal: a mighty Palafin pouring out damage on a tiny Sunkern that simply wouldn't die—while the seed casually healed and kept glowing brighter.
At last, when he felt his power crest—no more room for Growth—Jason stopped.
Across the field, the constantly swinging Palafin was breathing hard.
He transformed again—this time into a light, two-leafed Hoppip, with a Sp. Atk a tick higher than Sunkern's.
Then he fired the kill shot.
Bullet Seed!
Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat! Seeds packed with Grass energy spewed from the fluff on his head like a gatling gun, drenching Palafin in fire.
Watching his ace get shredded by a wimpy-looking Hoppip, the Bug Catcher threw trainer decorum out the window. He yanked out Bombirdier's ball again—
2-on-1.
[Bro what—calling another mon mid-beating?]
[So dirty. This trainer's shameless.]
[Even if you "win" and catch that Ditto, it won't respect you!]
Jason glanced at the new Bombirdier and sighed inwardly.
"Dressed like a Bug Catcher—without a single bug in the team. What are these comps?"
"If I couldn't flex forms on demand, I'd actually be in trouble here."
No more hesitating. He transformed—
—into Bellibolt.
Then, as Palafin and Bombirdier converged from opposite sides, he unleashed the finisher.
Discharge!
Blinding gold surged out from his tiny body like an expanding dome, racing across the field in an instant.
Electric hits Water and Flying super-effectively—and earlier Growth had pumped his Sp. Atk to absurd levels.
So…
KRA-KOOOM!