Iron Crown was pressing Iron Valiant hard and never expected Jason to switch targets.
It only felt a gale crash down from above—far too late to dodge.
Boom!
Jason's hammer slammed squarely into Iron Crown. With a pained grunt, the massive body was driven into the floor, leaving a deep crater.
"Nice hit, Jason!" Iron Valiant seized the moment to fall back and reset.
But before Jason and Iron Valiant could celebrate, a green blur cut in from the side—Iron Leaves!
It fired off Sacred Sword, thrusting for Jason's flank. He whipped his hammer around to parry.
Clang!
Hammer met blade again. This time, in Tinkaton form, Jason wasn't as agile as Iron Leaves. One sharp stroke knocked his hammer aside, opening a huge gap. Iron Leaves pounced and kicked Jason square in the chest, driving the hulking body back step after stumbling step.
At that instant, Iron Crown roared up out of the pit and, ignoring Iron Valiant's block, rolled into a brutal high-speed slam that crashed into Jason before he'd found his footing.
Thud!
Jason was blasted across the ground, tumbling several times before stopping—then shifted into a Garchomp.
The tempo was blistering—both sides constantly hunting for openings while adapting to each other's styles. A dead-even slugfest.
Minutes later, all four Pokémon were winded and banged up.
"Damn… these two are a pain," Iron Crown muttered. It traded a look with Iron Leaves; both saw the same gravity in the other's eyes. They hadn't expected their foes to be this stubborn—especially that shapeshifting Ditto, a total Swiss-army knife that kept fighting in new forms.
They couldn't keep dragging it out.
A sly glint flashed in Iron Leaves' eyes. It flicked a signal; Iron Crown understood at once.
The next moment, the two Paradox Pokémon suddenly abandoned their opponents and unleashed a ferocious strike toward Gast and Tinkaton in the rear—two Hyper Beams, left and right, converging from both sides on the non-combatants.
"Bad!"
Jason and Iron Valiant blanched. They hadn't imagined their foes would stoop to this—attacking their companions. Without thinking, both dropped guard and lunged to intercept.
Which was exactly what Iron Crown and Iron Leaves wanted.
A feint.
The instant Jason and Iron Valiant turned and exposed their backs, the two attacks swerved.
"Now!"
Iron Leaves, fastest of the lot, flared with a blinding light and slammed into Iron Valiant in an all-out charge—Giga Impact!
At the same time, metal energy surged across Iron Crown's frame, condensed in a blink, then detonated outward—Metal Explosion!
They were going all-in with their strongest bets. Jason and Iron Valiant had barely cut off the feinting Hyper Beams when the deadly threat hit them from behind—too late to turn.
Kaboom!
Apocalyptic force crashed into their backs. A massive blast rocked the center of the cavern; the shockwave powdered the surrounding stone.
"Iron Valiant!"
"Jason!"
Gast and Tinkaton screamed.
When the smoke cleared, a giant pit yawned at ground zero. Iron Valiant lay at the bottom, its glow completely snuffed, armor cracked in multiple places—clearly out of the fight. In front of it, Jason—still in Garchomp form—had barely managed to shield it with his body, but he was a wreck, swaying on his feet.
"Cough… cough…"
Jason dropped the morph and reverted to Ditto, head spinning, body feeling like it might come apart. He planted himself before the fallen Iron Valiant and stared coldly at Iron Crown and Iron Leaves in the distance.
They weren't in great shape either. After such huge moves, both were briefly stiff, gasping for breath—the blow had cost them most of their strength. They and Jason were all down to fumes.
"Heh… heh… it's over," Iron Crown panted with a smug laugh. "The two of us together—you've got no chance."
"Give up," Iron Leaves said coolly. "We might let you die quickly."
Jason didn't answer. He silently morphed again—this time into a Lucario—and moved first, charging the pair.
"Courting death!"
Startled and furious, the two rushed to meet him—only to be shocked a heartbeat later. How was he still this strong? As Lucario, Jason fought as if the last hit hadn't happened; every punch and kick carried potent aura, maddeningly hard to deal with.
The battle deadlocked again—two on one now, and Jason on the brink.
Then a ruthless gleam flashed in Iron Leaves' eyes. As it and Jason crossed, it suddenly veered and body-checked Iron Crown.
"You—!"
Iron Crown never saw it coming. The heavy body caromed straight toward Jason—turned into both shield and projectile.
Jason's Meteor Mash was already mid-swing—too late to pull it. Iron Crown reflexively countered.
Boom!
Fist and metal collided head-on. The result was final: mutual ruin. Jason was blasted away, tumbled across the floor, dropped the morph, and couldn't stand. Iron Crown roared in unwilling fury and crashed down, completely spent.
It lay there, staring in disbelief at Iron Leaves with its last scrap of strength—why betray me at the key moment?
Iron Leaves didn't care. It gave the fallen partner a chilly glance and curled its lip. "Winning means doing whatever it takes. Next time I'll let you throw me like a sandbag if you want."
Then it turned to the helpless Jason, Sacred Sword gathering once more. "Looks like I win."
It lunged.
Jason couldn't block this one, no matter what.
"Don't you touch Jason!"
Gast shrieked and tried to charge, but with a flicker of thought Iron Leaves pinned it in place with invisible force, freezing it where it hovered.
Watching its blade about to strike the limp Ditto, Iron Leaves could already taste victory. But Jason still lay there, unhurried, not even trying to defend—then said, in an almost casual tone:
"You're not really planning to watch me die, are you?"
Iron Leaves' motion hitched. What did that mean? Was there… someone else here?
It swept a wary look around. Aside from the terrified Tinkatink and the furious Tinkaton, it sensed no other threat. Bluffing, then—stalling for time. If there was a hidden ally, why hadn't they helped in the earlier brawl?
It hesitated no longer and brought the sword down—
—and a lazy, faintly annoyed voice drifted from the black tunnel.
"I thought you could handle them. I accidentally fell asleep."
Iron Leaves snapped its head toward the entrance. Who—?
Before it could see, a searing bolt of electricity lanced from the darkness, impossibly fast, and cancelled out the Sacred Sword aimed at Jason. A moment later, a suffocating aura rolled out from the tunnel.
When a Pokémon clad head-to-toe in future-tech armor, body mounted over two massive wheels, eased into view—
Iron Leaves went blank.
Miraidon?
What was it doing here?!
Its mind emptied. That outline—it knew too well: the apex legend at the top of every Paradox food chain in the depths of Area Zero. How could it be here? By all logic, something of that tier wouldn't leave the energy-rich zone—certainly not show up in a backwater cave with thin energy.
And why was it helping a Ditto?
Questions froze its limbs. Helplessness crept in.
"Miraidon…" it blurted, its own voice trembling without its noticing. "Why are you here?"
Miraidon didn't even spare it a glance. Instead it shot a very grumpy look at Jason, sprawled out like he was about to keel over, and said in a tone dripping with petty resentment:
"Can't be helped. I'm too weak, didn't have the courage to stay in Area Zero, so I ran away."
Flat on the floor, Jason rolled his eyes. Still mad about that line, huh. What a grudge-holder. He didn't bother arguing—it had been his mouth that slipped. Right now every cell in his body was protesting the overclocked fight; he just wanted a breather.
Iron Leaves, wound tight as a wire, heard the line—and completely misunderstood.
Ran from Area Zero? Too weak?
There were two Miraidon in Area Zero's legends. Could this be… the weaker one? It studied the newcomer again. The aura was powerful, but perhaps… not as aggressively overwhelming as the "king" from the tales. And it was—hanging around with a Ditto? That didn't fit the king's image at all.
That had to be it—this was the weaker Miraidon.
A faint spark of hope rekindled. It still didn't relax— even the weaker Miraidon was far beyond it alone. A legend was a legend, on a higher rung of life.
What it didn't know: this Miraidon wasn't just the weaker one—it was also badly injured and still not fully recovered, far from its peak strength. Had Iron Leaves known, it might have considered other plays.
As it was, it made what seemed the only rational choice with any chance to live. It dismissed its move, bowed in submission, and made its pitch in a honeyed tone:
"Great Miraidon! Since you're here, surely you don't want to stoop to ruling a tiny cave!
"I, Iron Leaves, and my partner Iron Crown, are willing to serve you as our lord—your most loyal vassals!
"If you wish it, we can rally all the Paradox Pokémon that made it here and sweep aside every obstacle for you! After that, we can march back to Area Zero—and putting all of Paldea under notice wouldn't be impossible!
"Together, we can usher in a new era for us Paradox Pokémon. What do you say?"
The words dripped with seduction.
Face-down, Jason couldn't even be bothered to lift an eyelid. He was honestly speechless. Why was every critter coming out of that big Paldean crater obsessed with carving territory and ruling the world? Couldn't they get a hobby?
Miraidon cocked its head at the speech. A few seconds later, it answered:
"Not interested."
~~~
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