Miraidon finished speaking—and moved.
There was no warning at all.
A thick bolt of lightning burst from its body and, in the blink of an eye, was in Iron Leaves' face.
Iron Leaves' pupils snapped tight. It hadn't imagined the other side would attack the instant it refused.
In a panic, it raised another Sacred Sword to block. It was pointless.
Boom!
The lightning shredded the Sacred Sword like paper and slammed square into Iron Leaves' body. It didn't even have time to scream before it was blasted across the cavern, smashed into the far wall, and slid to the floor trailing wisps of smoke—completely unable to fight.
One strike.
Just one.
Miraidon hadn't even bothered to call the move. The swaggering Iron Leaves had been swatted aside as if it were nothing.
Silence fell over the cavern.
The Lokix and Espathra who'd been watching from the sidelines were petrified, staring at the legendary Pokémon wreathed in crackling arcs, their bodies shaking uncontrollably.
Armarouge outright rolled his eyes back and "played dead" on the spot. He was terrified the legend might "tidy him up" next, just because.
Miraidon acted as if it had swatted a fly. It flicked its tail, padded over to a clean patch of ground, lay down, and closed its eyes like it was ready for a nap.
"Took one off your hands. You can handle the rest, right?" it said to Jason.
Jason pushed himself up and flexed his squishy body. He'd gotten a sliver of strength back in the lull.
"No problem," he nodded.
Twisty as the path had been, the end was in sight. Step by step he walked over to the two Paradox Pokémon on the ground—Iron Crown, betrayed and double-KO'd; and Iron Leaves, one-shotted by Miraidon and still out cold.
Sensing him approach, Iron Leaves' eyelids twitched—it actually woke up again. Both it and Iron Crown looked at the pink, harmless-looking Ditto with complicated eyes.
They'd lost. Completely.
Not to Miraidon, but to this little thing and its friends.
"Kill me if you want," Iron Crown croaked first—voice ragged, spine unbent.
Iron Leaves snorted, shut its eyes, and lifted its neck like a condemned man. Strong as they were, they had their pride.
What Jason said next stunned them both.
"Heh-heh," he chuckled twice. "Relax—I'm not going to kill you."
"In your current state, you still have… other uses."
"So I'm sending you to a nice place—to reunite with your old buddy, Iron Boulder."
Iron Boulder?
Both Iron Crown and Iron Leaves froze.
Their eyes flew open in shock. "Iron Boulder, that guy… No wonder we haven't heard a peep—don't tell me… you caught it too?" Iron Crown's voice was incredulous.
Jason grinned and nodded, which was answer enough.
Words couldn't capture their shock. Iron Boulder was their peer—had left Area Zero ages ago. They'd always found it strange that it vanished without a trace after reaching the outside world. So… it had already fallen into this Ditto's hands.
For the first time, they felt a chill from the inside as they looked at Jason. What was this little thing's real deal?
The once-cocky underlings didn't even dare breathe. Armarouge doubled down on playing dead, terrified of drawing any attention. The remaining Lokix and Espathra huddled in a corner, trying to erase their presence.
Jason let out a long breath. His whole body felt like it was coming apart. The fight had been grueling.
He produced a few healing meds—treated the badly injured Iron Valiant first, then swallowed a couple himself. Only then did he pull out his Rotom Phone.
The screen lit up; he dialed a familiar number. After a few rings, a steady female voice answered.
"Hello, Jason?"
"It's me, Chairwoman Geeta," Jason said, keeping his tone light. "Sorry to bug you again."
On the other end, Geeta sounded puzzled. "What happened?"
"Nothing big," Jason said breezily. "Went to visit a friend, and along the way nabbed two unruly types. Mm… same deal as that Iron Boulder you handled last time—they seemed keen on building a little 'empire' here."
Silence. He could picture the helpless look on Geeta's face.
A few seconds later she sighed, fatigue in her voice. "Send me the location. I'll dispatch a team immediately."
"Got it."
Jason chuckled, hung up, and sent the pin.
Done. Leave the pro work to the pros.
As they waited, the tension bled out of the air. The rescued Tinkatink, once they were sure the danger had passed, bounced back to their lively selves, chirping as they swarmed Big Sis with fussing and questions.
Tinkaton soothed her kin, then walked over to Jason and Gast. Looking at these familiar yet changed companions, she was full of emotion.
"Jason, Gast—really, thank you," she said solemnly.
"Hey, Big Sis, don't be so formal!" Gast thumped its round belly with pride. "Didn't you help us back then? This was nothing—we've got you!"
Tinkaton couldn't help but smile. She reached out to ruffle Gast's head like before, then realized it had evolved into a Gengar and gotten much bigger—suddenly she wasn't sure where to start. "You little… you've really grown up. Not just evolved—way stronger, too. If not for you just now, that Armarouge would've been a pain."
"Obviously!" Gast puffed up. "I've been through tons of special training with Jason! I can use Shadow Ball, Ice Punch, and Thunderbolt now!"
To prove it, a tiny arc crackled in its claws—then zapped itself and made it shiver. Jason watched, trying not to laugh. Still loves to brag.
"What about you, Jason?" Tinkaton turned to Jason. "You've gotten incredible—switching into more and more forms, and every one of them strong."
She'd watched the whole fight from the side—Ceruledge, Tinkaton, Garchomp, Lucario—every morph was perfectly timed, every kit expertly used. It shocked her.
"Not bad," Jason said modestly. "Just practice."
"Right, Big Sis—what happened?" Gast asked. "Why was that Armarouge so set on catching you? And what was that about you taking out his underling?"
At that, Tinkaton's face clouded. "Here's what happened…"
She laid it all out. Not long after parting ways with Jason and Gast, she thought things would quiet down after they'd dealt with Hypno. She hadn't expected Hypno to be Armarouge's underling. Two days ago he'd shown up with a troop of Psychic-types, demanding revenge. The rest matched what the Nymble had described. She'd evolved into Tinkaton in the crisis and grown stronger, but they were too many—two fists can't beat four hands—and they'd been captured and brought here.
"So that's it," Gast ground its teeth. "Those jerks are shameless—lose and they call a mob!"
Jason nodded. Iron Valiant, pale, glanced at Gast. "You're one to talk—don't you scream 'Jason! Jason!' the moment you're in danger?"
Gast flushed. "Mind your business!"
While they were catching up, footsteps sounded at the entrance. A woman in League uniform with a crisp, capable air arrived with a squad.
Paldea's Top Champion—Geeta.
The moment she stepped into the cavern, she saw the wreckage and the shivering Pokémon in the corner. When her eyes fell on the two downed Paradox Pokémon, she froze—then looked, half exasperated, at the Ditto waving at her.
"Jason… I can't believe it," she said, half laughing, half crying. "You've already bagged two more special Paradox forms?"
She sounded like he'd gone shopping, not adventuring. Even as she spoke, she directed her team to restrain Iron Crown and Iron Leaves with special gear.
Then, by chance, her gaze landed on Miraidon resting in the corner—and her face went still.
"Wait… is that… the legendary that escaped from Area Zero?" Geeta's eyes went wide. "We've been looking forever with no leads. How… how is it with you?"
Every eye turned to Miraidon and Jason. He chuckled, stepped casually between them.
"Chairwoman Geeta, don't even think about it," he said, half-joking, half-serious. "It's my adventuring partner now."
At the word "partner," Miraidon's ear twitched, though it kept its eyes shut.
Geeta understood immediately. She looked hard at Jason, then at the seemingly unguarded Miraidon—and let the idea go. Forcibly taking a legendary from a trainer—especially a Paldea League trainer—was out of the question. And from the looks of it, Miraidon had acknowledged Jason. Forcing it would backfire.
"Alright," she sighed, dropping it. With Jason, the impossible tended to just… happen. She turned back and issued a formal invitation.
"Jason, I've seen your strength more than once. Interested in entering the Paldea Gym Challenge? With your power, I'm sure you'll gather eight badges quickly and qualify to challenge the Elite Four—and me. Then you'll be a bona fide Champion-tier trainer of Paldea. After that, traveling to other regions will be easier, and you can enter all kinds of tournaments."
By the time she finished, her team had already secured Iron Crown, Iron Leaves, and even the still-pretending Armarouge.
"Think about my offer," Geeta said—and turned to leave with her people and the "spoils."
In as fast as they'd come, they were gone.
With Geeta and her unit departed, the cavern finally fell completely quiet. Only the faint smell of smoke from battle lingered—and the jubilant chatter of little survivors.
"Yay! We're saved!"
"Big Sis is okay!"
The Tinkatink bounced around Tinkaton, some hugging her legs, others clambering for her shoulders. A long-lost smile bloomed on her face as she patted each little head, eyes full of warmth.
Watching the cozy scene, Jason felt his exhaustion lift. He walked to the corner and patted the still-sulking Miraidon.
~~~
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