Thanks to Cynthia, Jason experienced—for the first time in his life—what it felt like to fly through the sky on a Champion-class Pokémon.
Garchomp.
A ruler on land, a king in the air.
It had no wings, yet the jet-engine intakes on its head gave it terrifying speed that rivaled any Flying type.
Jason carefully clambered onto Garchomp's broad back. To his surprise, the skin wasn't the sandpaper roughness he'd imagined, but a strangely smooth texture—great mouthfeel, if a Ditto could have one. He found a stable spot and sprawled flat. Beside him, Gast bobbed around, giddy with excitement.
"Hold on."
Cynthia said it lightly, then sat side-saddle with arms folded, all calm poise.
The next second, Garchomp crouched and launched.
Jason immediately burrowed into Cynthia's arms.
Fwoosh!
A powerful surge slammed his back; with a ripping roar, the world blurred. They didn't take off like an arrow—they went like a cruise missile, straight into the clouds.
Wind hammered them head-on, squashing his lavender body into funny shapes. He clung tight to Garchomp just to keep from peeling off.
Too fast.
Faster than any vehicle he'd ever taken, by orders of magnitude.
The Naranja Hotel shrank to a matchbox below, then all of Levincia shrank into a tabletop diorama. The green plains, winding rivers, rolling mountains of Paldea swept past beneath them in a single, breathtaking scroll. Cynthia stood steady in front as the gale tossed her golden hair and black coat, both snapping in the wind.
He didn't know how long it was before Garchomp started to slow. They touched down smoothly on open ground outside Zapapico.
Solid earth underfoot drew a long sigh from him. He and Gast slid down, still savoring the feel of speed.
That was when a voice, dripping with superiority, reached his ears.
"Jason—how was that?"
Garchomp slowly turned its massive head, giving Jason a half-smile, half-smirk from above. The corners of its mouth curled with just a hint of mockery.
On any other day, Garchomp wouldn't stoop to squabble with a Ditto. But Jason had turned into a Gible and competed for its Trainer's favor. Clearly, the hotel episode still stuck in the dragon's craw. It was trying to reclaim some seniority—with the thing it was proudest of: flight.
"Can you carry a person and fly that fast like I can?"
No attempt to hide the brag.
Jason looked up at the land dragon and, in an even voice, said, "I can Dragon Dance."
Four little words froze the "praise me" smile on Garchomp's face.
D… Dragon Dance? The top-shelf buff that raised both Attack and Speed—coveted by dragons across the world—and the one it could never learn?
"Rooar!"
Garchomp went red-hot. So what if it couldn't Dragon Dance! Did that dent your twer— The golden pupils flushed crimson; draconic energy surged over its skin. It briefly regretted holding back yesterday.
At that critical instant, a gentle hand smoothed the tense scales.
"Garchomp. Easy~"
Cynthia's voice wasn't loud, but it doused the blaze like cool spring water. The fury ebbed; the red faded from its eyes. It growled twice, low and aggrieved—like a scolded child—but the temper was gone.
With her ace soothed, Cynthia turned back to Jason with a fond, exasperated look. "Jason, don't bully our Garchomp."
He extended a soft ridge to mimic hands and made a helpless little shrug. "I wasn't bullying—just stating facts."
Garchomp snorted twin blasts through its nose.
Cynthia had to smile at the pair. But his line sparked another thought. She crouched to meet his eyes, gray irises keen.
"So, Jason—you can turn into any Pokémon whenever you like? Any you want?"
He nodded… then shook his head.
Cynthia blinked. He tilted his face to the sky. "One day, I'll be able to."
I see. So the ability had limits—there was a growth and unlock process. She remembered clearly: after a day of sparring with her ace, he'd been able to become Gible; on the Tinkatuff's turf, he'd trained and then suddenly could become Tinkatuff. His potential ran deeper than she'd thought.
A bright cry cut the air.
"Iono-sama is here~!"
They looked up. A black-and-yellow seabird Pokémon folded its wings and dove—Kilowattrel, Iono's partner. It landed cleanly, and Iono hopped down in a practiced motion.
She shot a jealous glance at Garchomp, then puffed out her cheeks at Cynthia. "Miss Cynthia, your Garchomp is too fast! My Kilowattrel nearly beat its wings off trying to keep up!"
Garchomp swelled on the honest compliment, lifting its chin and slanting a proud look at Jason. "Dragon Dance this, Dragon Dance that—out here, strength talks. Can you fly fast?"
Jason only smiled and let it go. Dragon or not, it was strong.
With everyone together, they moved out without delay, Iono leading toward East Province (Area Three). The terrain here was unlike much of Paldea—broken and jagged, riddled with caves and ravines as if some enormous Pokémon had plowed the land.
Cynthia's brows knit as she eyed the bottomless holes. "These… don't look natural."
Iono drew breath to explain when, without warning, the ground under their feet shuddered.
Rrrrrumble—
The quake surged up from below, sudden and violent, like a giant turning over in the deep earth.
"Yah!" Iono yelped, nearly losing her footing. Gast zipped to Jason's side in a blur.
"Jason! Something huge is down there! I can feel the ground shaking even while I'm floating!"
Cynthia moved first—battle face on in a blink. Her gaze flashed across the rolling stones.
"Garchomp!" she snapped. "See who's stirring below!"
"Rooar!"
Garchomp roared, dug in, and dove straight underground.
~~~
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