Miraidon's electronic eyes flickered a few times, then it shook its head. "There isn't enough information. The energy residue is very faint. All I can tell is the battle was sizable, and one side was using Psychic-type moves."
"Psychic-type…" Jason repeated.
Hearing that made Gast even more frantic. "Big Sis is the worst at dealing with Psychic-type Pokémon!"
"Calm down," Jason said more firmly. "Panicking won't solve anything. We split up and search around the mine—maybe we'll find clues or a witness."
He headed toward the perimeter first. Intel came first.
Iron Valiant nodded and strode off in another direction. Miraidon carried the now slightly calmer Gast toward a third.
Jason combed along the mine's edge. The terrain was complicated—huge rocks and steep cliffs everywhere. He squeezed through cracks, climbed dirt mounds, and checked every possible nook.
Soon, under the shadow of a boulder, he found a few trembling Nymble. They were tiny, curled together, scared out of their minds. When they saw a strange Ditto approaching, their legs went weak—they couldn't even run.
Jason slowed down, trying to look less threatening. "Don't be afraid, I mean no harm. Do you know where the Tinkatink and the Tinkatuff who lived here went?"
The Nymble stared at the Ditto in terror—then one, slightly braver than the rest, hesitated and answered in a voice as thin as a mosquito's: "W-Who are you? Why are you looking for them?"
"I'm their friend," Jason said. "I'm Jason. This is my friend Gast—he used to live here. We came back to visit and found the place empty."
At the name "Gast," the Nymble relaxed a little. "Gast? That noisy Haunter?"
They clearly knew of him—maybe they'd been spooked by him before.
"That's the one," Jason nodded.
Once reassured, the brave Nymble finally explained what happened two days ago, its voice still trembling as it recounted the awful scene.
"Two days ago—yes, that afternoon. We were sunning ourselves like usual when lots and lots of strange Pokémon showed up. As soon as they appeared, the air felt weird and made you dizzy."
Jason immediately thought: Psychic-types.
"And then?" he pressed.
"Then… they rushed straight into the mine," the Nymble said, voice shaking harder. "The Tinkatuff Big Sis led the Tinkatink out to fight back. The clanging went on for a long time. We were far away; we couldn't see clearly—just hammers flying everywhere in the sky and beams of all colors.
"That Big Sis was really strong—her hammer was huge. One swing and an enemy went flying. But… there were too many of them. Their attacks were strange—they didn't even need to get close, and the Tinkatink fell one by one. In the end even the strongest Tinkaton was hit by a weird light and couldn't move.
"After that, those strange Pokémon took all the Tinkatink—and the Tinkaton—away."
It started shaking again. "After they grabbed everyone, they checked the area. We hid in the rocks and didn't even dare breathe. Luckily they didn't care about little bugs like us—they looked around and left."
"They left? Which direction?" Jason seized on the key detail.
The Nymble lifted a spindly leg and pointed east. "That way… they all went that way."
Jason looked east—an endless plain. With the lead in hand, he didn't linger. "Thank you. That helps a lot."
He thanked the Nymble and sprinted back toward the mine to tell the others.
By the time he reached the center, Gast and the rest had returned from their own searches, empty-handed from the looks on their faces.
"Jason, anything?" Gast asked urgently.
Jason nodded gravely and relayed everything he'd learned. When Gast heard that the Tinkaton and all the Tinkatink had been taken by a group of Psychic-type Pokémon, it wobbled in midair and nearly fell.
"All… all taken?" it said, guilt creeping into its voice. "It's my fault… I should've come back sooner… If I'd been here, maybe I could've helped…"
Its little body shook with agitation and grief; it was about to lose control.
Jason patted it gently with his soft body. "Now's not the time. We know the enemy are Psychic-types and which way they went. There's only one thing to do next."
He paused, looking each of his companions in the eye. "We're bringing them all back."
Gast looked up at him. Iron Valiant nodded silently and tightened its grip on its blades. Miraidon's eyes flashed red and its engine gave a low growl—its answer.
"The Nymble said they went east," Jason said, pointing. "No time to waste—move out!"
East.
Miraidon was blisteringly fast; at full tilt the world blurred into streaks of color. Even so, half a day of nonstop travel carried them a long way. They only paused at forks or when they spotted local Pokémon.
"Miraidon, stop a sec," Jason said, tapping its neck.
Up ahead, a Clodsire lounged in a mud pit, half its head above the surface, perfectly content. Miraidon braked and came to a steady halt at the edge.
Gast zipped over and waved. "Hey, big guy—question."
Clodsire opened its eyes lazily, glanced at the purple floater, then at the oddball trio behind—a Ditto, a robot, and a future motorcycle. It took two seconds to process the combo, then drawled, "Hmm?"
"Did you see a bunch of Psychic-type Pokémon pass by? About two days ago, with a group of Tinkatink," Gast asked.
Clodsire blinked, thinking. One second… two… ten…
Jason figured it might have fallen asleep. Just as Gast was about to lose patience, Clodsire finally spoke: "Seems… there was… a group… of Pokémon…"
"And then? And then?" Gast prodded.
Another blink. Another long think.
Jason cut in. "Which way did they go?"
Clodsire slowly lifted a forepaw and pointed toward a southeastern fork. "Oh… that way…"
"Thanks," Jason said, and waved the team onward.
They set off again. "These guys are impossible to talk to!" Gast grumbled. It was the fifth Pokémon they'd asked; every clue had been vague, or the responder painfully slow.
"Be grateful—they all pointed us roughly the same way," Jason said calmly. "That means we're on the right track."
"By cross-checking the five responses, we can constrain the destination to a specific zone in the southeast," Iron Valiant added. "Margin of error within two kilometers." It even scratched a quick map in the dirt and circled a red area.
Gast stared at the circle until its head felt like one too. "Say it in words I get."
"He means we're close," Jason translated.
Sure enough, after a bit further the terrain changed—plains giving way to rough hills. Miraidon's eyes flashed. It stopped and murmured, "Energy signature ahead."
They perked up, crested the last ridge, and a pitch-black cave opened before them. The mouth was wide; scattered nearby were Tinkatink hammers, warped by Psychic-type force.
This had to be the place.
Gast looked around; it was more remote and desolate than their old mine. It sidled up to Jason and whispered, "Jason, do you think Big Sis and the others were brought here?"
Jason peered into the darkness—no light, no sound. "Looks that way. Check the hammers."
"Then let's hurry and go in!" Gast could barely hold back; it just wanted to confirm Big Sis's safety.
Jason had been about to say "take it slow." By all accounts, the group that took the Tinkaton were strong. Charging in blindly could go badly. The best move was to scout, size up numbers and strength, then craft a rescue plan—safe and sensible.
But…
He looked over his lineup: one legendary (Miraidon), one Paradox (Iron Valiant), a Haunter with tricky moves (Gast), and himself—a Ditto who could morph to match anything.
With that roster… did they really need to wait? Plan? They were already at the door.
"Alright, no scouting," Jason said, changing his mind. "We go straight in."
He turned to Miraidon and Iron Valiant. "Prep for battle."
Iron Valiant nodded; light-blades snapped from its arms. Electricity crackled around Miraidon.
"Gast, stick behind me—look for chances to use Confuse Ray or Hypnosis."
"Got it!" Gast said, face suddenly serious.
"Let's go!"
On his order, Jason charged into the darkness.
Meanwhile, deeper inside—
A vast natural cavern hung with stalactites. Glow-ore embedded in the walls lit the space in a flickering half-light. The mood at the center was suffocating.
A group of Tinkatink huddled in a crude telekinetic cage, shivering, too scared to make a sound. Outside the cage, a much larger Tinkaton was bound to the ground by thick bands of psychic light. Her massive hammer lay tossed aside, webbed with cracks.
This was Gast's "Big Sis." Somewhere along the way, she'd evolved from Tinkatuff to Tinkaton.
Arrayed before them stood a crowd of Pokémon. At the front were two strange Paradox Pokémon—Iron Crown and Iron Leaves—silent, expressionless, watching coldly. At their side stood an Armarouge, its crimson armor gleaming in the dim light; the cannons on its shoulders spat tiny sparks, a sign of the fury inside.
Behind them massed a host of Lokix, Espathra, and Farigiraf—rank-and-file muscle hemming the Tinkaton in, eyes unfriendly.
Iron Crown and Iron Leaves simply watched. The one running the interrogation was the Armarouge. He glared at the immobilized Tinkaton and barked, "I'll ask one more time—did you take out my underling, Hypno?"
"I'm telling you, he went to your mine and then vanished!"
"If you dare lie to me, I'll show you what real pain is!"
~~~
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