With a thunderous boom, the two powerful Pokémon cried out within the burst of lightning and collapsed at the same time, unable to battle!
[Defeated Bombirdier…]
[Bombirdier Dex completion +10%]
[Bombirdier Dex current completion: 10%]
[Defeated Palafin…]
[Finizen Dex completion +20%]
[Finizen Dex current completion: 20%]
…
The wind stilled.
Iono's chat filled with a wall of 6's.
The straw-hat Bug Catcher dropped to his knees, eyes vacant, muttering, "My Palafin was so strong… how… how is this possible…"
Jason dropped the Bellibolt form and turned back into a wobbling purple jelly, breathing hard and feeling a wave of weakness wash through him.
Back to the grind if you're bad—train more, buddy.
Off in the distance, Iono finally snapped out of it. The look in her eyes toward Jason had completely changed—not just curiosity or hype for the stream.
It was possessiveness.
Her trainer's heart pounded wildly. What trainer sees a powerhouse and doesn't try to catch it?
She drew a steadying breath—her chest still rising with excitement—then forced her voice back to cool.
With a stylish turn, she swung the Rotom drone to frame her fully. A sly grin bloomed on her cute, delicate face. She clenched a tiny fist and, in her most infectious tone, declared to the viewers:
"Family! You saw it! This is our Paldean Ditto!"
"And now, Iono-sama has decided—"
Her eyes locked on Jason like a dragon eyeing a priceless treasure.
"I'm going to catch it! From today on, this Ditto will be mine!"
[Here we go—streamer's finally stepping in!]
[Take it! TAKE IT!!]
[OH YES—Bellibolt vs. God-tier Ditto, I can't wait!]
[But if Ditto beat that Palafin and Cetitan, can she really catch it?]
Iono glanced at the doubter in chat and chuckled.
"I don't like talking behind someone's back, but that boy's commanding and those three Pokémon were all failing grades to me. Iono-sama could handle all three with one Pokémon—no setup needed~"
As the stream hit a fever pitch and everyone waited to see if she'd catch the Ditto, Jason finally noticed Iono.
He'd felt eyes on him before, but mid-fight with Palafin and Cetitan, he couldn't spare the focus.
Now, with the battle over, he caught her voice. Not because his senses were sharp—because Iono was loud.
"Huh? Isn't that Iono?"
While he wondered why she was here, Iono jogged up.
"Ditto-chan, I'm here to catch you!"
She stood over him, looking down from on high. Jason glanced up—and caught a glimpse down her neckline, shivering head to toe.
Iono blinked, baffled. "Are you hurt from the fight?"
Jason drew a deep breath and took a step back. He knew exactly why she'd rushed him—swept away by his brilliance, eager to cuddle him to sleep—er, no, eager to catch him.
He worried if he kept looking up from her feet, he'd lose all restraint and surrender on the spot.
Then he did something no one in chat expected.
He eyed Iono's "already in the bag" expression, feeling nothing. He knew he was in lousy shape and couldn't win a straight fight—but he also knew he was probably being streamed to the whole net. Iono was Paldea's mega-influencer, after all.
He didn't run. He lazily stretched his jelly body, cocked his "head" at her, and struck a "come at me" pose.
Just as Iono inhaled to throw the ball, a lazy, perfectly enunciated human male voice came from the Ditto:
"Hold it."
…
"…"
Iono froze mid-motion. The rosy excitement on her cheeks drained into pure bewilderment.
Who am I? Where am I? Is this still Paldea?
Her small mouth dropped—big enough to fit a whole Jason. Her amethyst-purple eyes went saucer-wide. CPU overheating.
Behind her, after a heartbeat of silence, chat detonated.
[??????????]
[Am I deaf? Blind? Crazy? That voice… came from the purple jelly puddle?!]
[HOLY—IT TALKED! THE DITTO TALKED!!!]
[Streamer! Check its typing! That's not a Ditto—it's a new species!]
[I don't buy it. Pokémon can't speak human. Must be streamer dubbing it for the bit!]
[Paldean Dittos are cracked—can talk and solo tactics? Booking my trip to Paldea.]
Viewership blew past all-time records and kept rocketing. Expensive gift effects poured down like a storm, drowning the screen.
In a luxury villa somewhere in Paldea, Nemona gripped her Rotom phone, watching breathlessly. The instant Jason's familiar voice came through the speaker, she sprang off the plush sofa. Her sunny face twisted with the sting of a missed chance.
"It's him! I knew I didn't imagine it!"
She clenched her phone. "No way—I'm finding that Ditto!"
She packed and headed straight for Iono's area. "This time, I will catch that Ditto!"
…
With Iono staring, stunned, forgetting to even throw a ball, Jason seized the opening.
He flashed into Fletchling form, winked at the camera in a very human way, and waved a wing—like saying goodbye to the entire chat.
By the time Iono finally reacted and tried to command a block, he'd already surged skyward on beating wings.
A drawling voice drifted down from above, perfectly clear to the stream:
"Don't fall for me—I'm just a legend."
"When I make my money, I'll be Iono's #1 top gifter!"
Iono's cheeks flared scarlet—shock flipping to flustered fury. Hands on hips, finger jabbing at the sky, she puffed her cheeks—furious, but at a loss for words.
The Ditto… was her fan?
…
Jason escaped.
He left behind a wind-tossed Iono, a Bug Catcher sobbing himself senseless…
…and a chat spamming disbelief.
Iono stared at the empty sky, then at her Rotom phone lagging under the flood of comments and gifts, and sighed helplessly.
Careless—she let that Ditto slip away. A pity.
Just then, her Rotom phone chimed. The caller ID:
Geeta.
Iono answered.
Geeta's level voice came through: "I watched your stream."
"That Ditto is… interesting."
Iono quickly summarized what happened. On the other end, Geeta was quiet a moment, then cut to the point:
"Before it fought the Cetitan, the Ditto transformed into Glimmet, correct?"
"Yes, Champion," Iono replied.
Geeta's tone turned thoughtful. "There are Glimmet in Area Zero. Is it possible this Ditto came from Area Zero?"
Iono's heart jumped. Was the Champion suggesting the Ditto had fled Area Zero?
She quickly found she agreed. It would explain its trainer-level tactics, human speech, and strange transformations.
"But," Geeta continued, a thread of puzzlement returning, "that raises a new problem. Its transformation ability breaks known rules, and its appearance is indistinguishable from an ordinary Ditto."
"We can't tell whether it's a 'Past Paradox' or a 'Future Paradox.' It's a paradox we haven't seen."
Her voice hardened.
"Iono, take this seriously from now on. I'll send people to investigate."
"And you—being the first Gym Leader to engage it up close and 'announce' it to the world—need to stay alert."
"If you find it again, report to me immediately."
The call ended.