"How about it—want to team up and have a little fun with those two idiots?"
Miraidon froze for a beat.
It hadn't expected this Ditto to take the initiative and propose a partnership at a moment like this.
It glanced from Iron Treads and Great Tusk—still preening over their "flawless" plan in the distance—to Jason's beady eyes, which were glittering with mischief.
The same idea popped into Miraidon's mind.
In that instant, the so-called god of the future and a seemingly ordinary Ditto reached a wordless understanding.
The metal-sheened corner of Miraidon's mouth lifted by the slightest, almost invisible degree.
Seeing its reaction, Jason knew it had agreed.
He was thrilled.
Not everyone gets the chance to scam someone alongside a legendary.
"Ready?" Jason asked Gast and Iron Valiant.
"Ready for what?" Gast was still enduring the pain of holding back laughter.
"Ready to watch a good show," Jason said, speechless.
As soon as he finished, he stepped out from the shadow of the rocks with Iron Valiant and Gast, no longer bothering to hide, and appeared right in front of Iron Treads and Great Tusk.
The sunlight stretched their shadows long, casting them neatly across the two big brutes who were still excitedly discussing how to torment their prey.
Iron Treads was in the middle of a sentence when the light seemed to dim.
It looked up on reflex—then the excitement froze on its face.
Not far ahead, three Pokémon stood quietly, staring at them with the kind of look you'd give an idiot.
At their head was the Ditto they'd already "killed" a thousand times over in their minds.
"Uh…" Iron Treads' mouth was still shaped for speech, but not a single sound came out.
Great Tusk reacted about the same; the tusk it had just been using to demonstrate how it would skewer Jason stopped mid-air.
For a heartbeat, the very air seemed to congeal.
Both their brains hard-crashed like frozen hardware.
They blinked, unable to believe what they were seeing.
Was… was this a hallucination?
Why were these three here? Weren't they supposed to be deeper in the desert, locked in a life-and-death fight with that terrifying one?
How were they standing here without a scratch?
And those eyes—were they… pitying us? Why pity us now?
A storm of question marks spammed across the two lugs' minds.
"Y-you…" Iron Treads stammered, its voice shaking with shock and fear. "How are you here? Didn't you… didn't you go challenge Miraidon?"
Jason didn't answer; his smile only deepened.
Watching prey step into a trap one careful foot at a time was just too delicious.
When Jason kept silent, the dread in Iron Treads and Great Tusk's chests ballooned out of control.
A terrible premonition settled over them.
They weren't stupid—slow, sure, but not brainless.
Even toe-thinking said something was wrong.
Run.
It was the only thought that flashed across both minds at once.
Staying meant a bad end—no question.
The two giants showed remarkable synchronicity, whipping around in the same instant to bolt the way they'd come.
But the moment they turned—
They froze mid-escape.
Terror on their faces collapsed into utter despair.
Because behind them, without their noticing, two more Pokémon had appeared.
One was Sandy Shocks.
And the other—sleek, purple, its electronic eyes flickering with pale blue data streams, arcs of dangerous current jumping around its frame—
Was the very Pokémon they'd planned to drive into a mutual beat-down with Jason's side: Miraidon.
Right now, Miraidon was glaring at them, absolutely fed up.
Sandy Shocks stood at its side, eyes just as fierce, locking onto the two uninvited guests.
Jason, Iron Valiant, and Gast in front.
Miraidon and Sandy Shocks in back.
They were surrounded.
By the two factions that, in their plan, were supposed to tear each other apart.
Iron Treads and Great Tusk went rigid.
Their legs felt like they'd been poured full of lead—they couldn't move an inch.
Cold sweat streamed down their hides.
Done for.
Those were the only words left in their heads.
Miraidon paced forward a couple of elegant steps.
It was still injured, but the pressure that belonged to a legendary had lost none of its weight.
Tilting its head at the two stupefied Pokémon, it spoke, voice cold with a thread of mockery.
"Were you looking for me?"
That single, taunting question snapped the last support beam in Iron Treads and Great Tusk's minds.
Staring at the three unfriendly faces ahead and feeling the legendary's icy presence behind, despair swept through them.
Finished.
This time they were really finished.
The strength and size they prided themselves on felt ridiculous and useless now. Like rabbits caught between two predators, they couldn't even muster the courage to run.
Gulp.
Great Tusk forced down a mouthful of spit. Its huge body started to shake uncontrollably, making the ground tremble.
"I… we…" Iron Treads opened its mouth, wanting to say something to salvage the situation, but its teeth were chattering so hard it couldn't form a sentence.
Regret hit it so hard its guts turned green.
It never should've believed the rumors that the big one inside was badly hurt.
It never should've let revenge boil its brains and come here looking for a cheap win.
And now? No win—and they were about to lose their lives.
Seeing the two brutes pale with fright, the mockery on Jason's face grew even richer.
He didn't attack right away; like a patient hunter, he savored the prey's last thrashings.
That silent pressure frightened Iron Treads and Great Tusk more than a direct blow.
At last, Great Tusk's mental defenses collapsed completely.
With a thud, its front legs buckled and it dropped to its knees in the sand.
"D-don't… don't kill me!" it begged through tears. "I-It wasn't my idea! It was him! It was Iron Treads! He said we could swoop in and profit! I didn't even want to come!"
To save its own skin, Great Tusk sold out its partner without hesitation.
"Y-you liar!" Iron Treads blurted, stunned and furious.
Who would've thought that the usually honest oaf would stab it in the back at the critical moment.
"I'm not lying!" Great Tusk snapped, jabbing a tusk at Iron Treads. "It was you! You said the big guy inside was badly hurt and no threat! And look! He's standing right here! Were you trying to get me killed?"
Iron Treads was struck dumb.
That… was exactly what it had said.
Panicked and angry, pride forgotten, it wheeled toward Jason and Miraidon—and dropped to its knees too.
"Please, sirs, spare us!" Its posture was even humbler than Great Tusk's. "I didn't know who I was dealing with! I lost my head! I won't do it again! I'm begging you—pretend I'm an air and let me go!"
Watching the once-arrogant pair kneel like pitiful worms, snot and tears running as they begged, Gast's face was full of disdain.
"No spine at all," it muttered.
Jason figured they'd had enough fun.
The show was over; time to take out the trash.
He didn't want to waste any more time.
"Do it." His voice was flat, unreadable.
But to Iron Treads and Great Tusk, those two words sounded like death warrants from hell.
They knew pleading was useless now.
Survival instinct snapped them upright for a last, cornered lunge.
But the gap in power was absolute.
The instant they sprang, Jason moved.
That soft, pink, blobby body began to change.
A wild, primal aura exploded off him.
Dark-red energy wrapped his frame; his size surged.
A savage draconic head, razor claws and fangs, a pair of vast wing-like blades—every part of him screamed destruction.
Roaring Moon.
In that moment, Jason became the ancient form of Salamence—Roaring Moon.
A pressure far more terrifying than before swallowed the whole area.
The bit of defiance Iron Treads and Great Tusk had scraped together shattered again when they saw the killing lust in Roaring Moon's eyes.
They knew all too well how strong that form was.
At the same time, Miraidon moved behind them.
Injured as it was, it couldn't fight for long.
But mustering everything for one heavy strike? That, it could do.
Zzzrak!
A blinding flare of electricity erupted over its body, condensed into a thick bolt, and slammed toward Great Tusk at a speed the eye could barely track.
Roaring Moon, meanwhile, let out an earth-shaking roar. Its massive wing-blades snapped once.
Its silhouette vanished, reappearing as a dark-red streak hurtling at Iron Treads.
"Dragon Claw!"
"Thunderbolt!"
Two entirely different attacks, carrying the same annihilating force, hit their targets almost simultaneously.
Boom!
Bang!
The twin detonations came one after another.
Great Tusk didn't even have time to scream before the furious lightning charred it inside and out. It collapsed in a smoking heap, out cold.
Iron Treads didn't fare much better.
Roaring Moon's claws tore straight through the metal armor it was so proud of, and a brutal swat hammered it into the sand, leaving a deep crater. It twitched twice, then followed Great Tusk into unconsciousness.
The whole thing happened so fast it made your eyes spin.
From Jason's transformation to the two brutes being wiped, only a few seconds passed.
That's what overwhelming power looks like.
When the dust settled, Jason dropped the Roaring Moon form and turned back into Ditto.
He glanced at the two senseless louts on the ground without a flicker of emotion.
For enemies who wanted him dead and wanted to toy with him along the way, he had never felt the slightest mercy.
But just as he finished on his side, something went wrong behind him.
Forcing out that attack had tugged at Miraidon's old injuries.
Its currents went haywire, and the light in its electronic eyes dimmed fast.
Its body wobbled and finally crashed to the ground.
"Miraidon!"
Sandy Shocks, which had been standing guard, cried out and rushed over to support it, but it was at its own limit too—left to circle in a panic.
Jason, Gast, and Iron Valiant noticed the commotion and hurried over.
Seeing them approach, the already-battered Sandy Shocks forced itself upright again, dragging its mangled body to shield Miraidon.
It growled a warning at Jason's group.
Even barely able to stand, it still did its duty as a guard.
"Go… leave…" Miraidon's weak voice came from behind it. "Forget me… you can't beat them…"
Sandy Shocks said nothing and didn't look back.
Its actions made its resolve clear.
It wouldn't abandon Miraidon and run.
It fixed Jason with a fierce stare. "If you want him, you'll have to step over my body first."
Miraidon looked at that resolute back, a flicker of helplessness and gratitude crossing its electronic eyes.
It struggled to lift its head and met Jason's gaze as he reached them.
"Heh…" it let out a self-mocking chuckle. "As I am now, I probably can't even lift a finger. If you're going to do it, just do it."
Its tone was calm, as if it had already accepted its fate.
"Grr—don't come any closer!"
Sandy Shocks barked at Jason.
Jason could only sigh.
"Who said I was going to hit you?"
He spread his hands, looking innocent.
Miraidon clearly didn't buy it.
"Heh, you don't have to pretend," it said, voice weary. "To the victor the spoils. Right now I really can't fight. My injuries won't even let me stay on the move for long. This is your best chance, isn't it?"
From its point of view, everything Jason was doing was just a cat-and-mouse game.
~~~
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