After the Tinkatuff ran off to chase Gastly, Jason didn't rush to observe the Tinkatink. He used the window to scout around.
If he happened to run into a weaker, isolated Tinkaton, beating it would speed up his Dex progress a lot.
When he silently rolled himself to the center of the ruins, he ran into the third species living here.
It was an ancient bronze-colored mirror, its surface etched with ritual totem-like patterns. In the sunset glow it reflected a cold, eerie light.
It hovered motionless at the peak of a mound made entirely of metal ore in the middle of the ruins.
Bronzor.
As a veteran player in his past life, of course he recognized it.
Steel/Psychic dual-typing gave it excellent resistances. Floating in midair meant it ignored Ground—a usual fatal weakness.
From any angle, this was a tough nut to crack.
Jason's heart sank.
This one did not look easy to mess with.
He could feel its presence. Though it hadn't evolved, it didn't seem weak—and the aura rolling off it was clearly stronger than the Talonflame he'd fought.
Looking closer, he noticed the Bronzor seemed to be guarding something—the ore mound beneath it, piled with top-grade metal.
Just as he was considering a tactical retreat, that mischievous Gastly drifted out again.
Apparently it hadn't learned its lesson from being chased by Tinkatuff—still acting like "as long as I run fast enough, nobody can catch me."
It wandered through the ruins; when it noticed the glittering ore hill, curiosity beat out fear.
Cackling "keh-keh-keh," tongue lolling, it tried to slip closer to see what treasure might be there.
Right before it crossed into the mound's range—
Vmmm!
The Bronzor that had been statue-still suddenly flared with a blinding psychic light, oppressive with mental force!
An invisible pulse of telekinesis—like a super-compressed air cannon—smashed into Gastly.
"Gyaaah!"
Its translucent body twisted violently as it shrieked, flung away like a ball swatted by an invisible hand. It tumbled off and fled into the shadows again.
One hit. Just one hit to maul the same Gastly that had run rings around Tinkatink and even escaped Tinkatuff.
Right then, the hammer-wielding Tinkatuff arrived, panting. It didn't see Gastly, but its gaze locked instantly on the gleaming ore mound.
Greed and desire burst in its eyes.
That hill was stacked with premium hammer-forging material—hundreds of times better than the scrap they scrounged on the outskirts.
It swallowed. Since I'm here… can't go home empty-handed, right?
Cautiously, it reached out to sneak the smallest chunk off the very edge.
Suddenly—
Vmmm!
Brilliant psychic light flashed from Bronzor again. Without even turning, it targeted the Tinkatuff. A powerful telekinetic force pressed onto it, forcing the foreman to draw back, scowling, then reluctantly give up.
Jason took it all in.
Now he got it.
These quiet ruins hid roiling undercurrents.
His mind spun through the board state.
Interesting.
His eyes tracked between the three parties. He knew with his current strength he couldn't suppress them all; safely maxing the Tinkatink entry was nearly impossible.
If there's no incident… make one.
Only with chaos here could he speed up his Dex work.
He needed a starting point.
Whom to pick?
His gaze landed on a corner of the ruins.
The Gastly Bronzor had just swatted was hiding behind a broken steel pipe, forlornly tracing circles on the ground with its tongue, radiating sour resentment.
Looking at that cowardly, troublemaking little thing, an idea clicked.
Looks like the Gastly's the easiest mark.
Start by grabbing its entry… and then… heh heh heh.
…
Once Bronzor went still again, Jason slid over behind the broken pipe.
"Keh-keh-keh…"
Gastly's laugh sounded like it was crying.
Jason's face twisted. Is that laughing or sobbing?
Lost in its own gloom, Gastly never noticed the "gear" beside it had turned back into a Ditto.
It was lonely. It just wanted someone to play with.
As it wallowed, a purple, gelatinous creature rolled up silently.
Gastly blinked. In its half-moon, grudge-filled eyes a spark of curiosity flickered.
What is that? New Pokémon on my turf?
Seeing a fresh face, its troll instincts kicked in. Time to "welcome" the newcomer.
"Keh!!"
It surged forward and pulled a face—mouth yawning wide to bare fangs, tongue lashing out, ghostly energy pouring into a threat:
Scary Face!
But Jason's reaction left it dumbfounded.
The purple jelly just stared, then slowly tilted its "head."
His sesame-seed dot eyes blinked—purely innocent.
A single "head tilt" popped the carefully built horror like a balloon.
"Keh…?"
The ghastly visage sagged and deflated back to normal. Confusion spread across its face.
Figures. My scary act still stinks. Can't spook anyone…
As it wilted, Jason spoke.
"What are you staring at?"