But just then, the Yawn bubble drifted up to Miraidon and popped against its armor.
A hint of drowsiness crept into its eyes.
"Uh-oh!" Gast cried. "It landed! Jason, Miraidon's gonna fall asleep!"
"It's not over yet!"
In the middle of the field, Hassel's Dragalge had already gathered a huge mass of Sludge Bomb.
At the same time, Gast's Shadow Ball flew toward it.
"Interrupt it!"
"Too late!" Hassel shouted.
Just before the Shadow Ball hit, Dragalge loosed its Sludge Bomb—
not at Gast, but into the very center of the field.
Boom!
Shadow Ball and Sludge Bomb collided midair.
A blast of toxic sludge mixed with ghostly energy exploded outward.
"Wah!"
Gast was the closest; the shockwave slammed her through the air.
"Cough—cough!" She tumbled several times before regaining balance, smeared with purple sludge. Not poisoned, but definitely worse for wear.
"Damn… he predicted the intercept," she snarled. Even if it was a glancing blow, it stung.
"Miraidon has fallen into drowsy status," Larry reported from the booth. "Gengar has taken minor damage from the explosion."
"Nice job!" Rika clenched a fist.
In that first exchange, the League had managed to lock down Miraidon and chip Gast.
"Jason…" she drifted over, wounded and sulky.
"It's fine. Just a scratch," Jason said after a quick glance. "Go rest in the back for a bit."
Then he looked to the drowsy Miraidon.
Miraidon shook its head, but it would be asleep next turn.
"You think you can put my Miraidon to sleep?"
His voice turned cold.
"No chance."
Under the League's stunned gaze, his pink body shifted again.
He did not choose an attacker form.
A massive, dark-green mushroom cap "sprouted" from his back. His body thickened into a stump-like stem with two stubby legs.
He'd become Brute Bonnet.
Ancient Paradox Grass/Dark-type.
"Another Paradox?" Hassel's face tightened.
"He turned into a mushroom—why?" Poppy asked, baffled.
"Be careful," Geeta snapped, suddenly on high alert. "It's Brute Bonnet!"
"What's he planning?"
Jason grinned.
"Iron Valiant, charge—target Dragalge!"
"Gast, cover me!"
Iron Valiant needed no second telling; he blurred forward straight at Hassel's Dragalge.
"Hassel, watch out!"
"Dragalge, Toxic!" Hassel commanded.
But Jason was faster.
He stayed where he was. The great mushroom cap above him began to shudder violently.
"Come on, everyone."
"Spore."
A visible, thick cloud of yellow-green powder erupted from his cap.
Carried by the charged air of Electric Terrain, the spores spread across the entire field in an instant.
"No—Spore!" Rika's face drained. "Everyone, move!"
"Camerupt, Flamethrower! Burn it off!" she yelled.
Camerupt opened its mouth—but it was too slow.
Before it could spit fire, the spores had already settled on its body.
It froze mid-motion.
Its eyes glazed over—
Thud.
It toppled sideways, fast asleep.
"Magnezone, up! Up!" Poppy shrieked.
Magnezone tried desperately to gain altitude, but the spores were everywhere. Its three "saucers" spun slower and slower.
"Bzz—"
Its central eye flickered twice—and went dark.
It fell asleep hovering, motionless in midair.
"Veluza, into the pool!" Geeta ordered.
Veluza reacted quickly, flicking its tail and darting for the water section—but the spores had already dusted its scales.
Half its body slipped beneath the surface—then stopped.
Sploosh.
It rolled belly-up and floated.
Out cold.
The Champion Hall went dead silent again.
One move.
He'd used just one move—
and three of the League's Pokémon were all asleep.
"This…" Rika was speechless.
"How…?" Poppy's jaw dropped.
"Camerupt: asleep. Magnezone: asleep. Veluza: asleep," Larry said, sounding genuinely dazed.
"How… how did Spore hit everyone…?" Hassel couldn't process it.
"Just how strong is this Ditto?"
On the field now, the League had only one Pokémon still awake:
Hassel's Dragalge.
Luckier than most—it had slipped the spore cloud.
But standing against it—
were a fresh Jason, an Iron Valiant at about eighty percent, a lightly wounded but furious Gast, and—
"Hrrnn… hrrnn…"
Miraidon's deep snoring from the corner.
"Perfect timing, buddy," Jason muttered, exasperated.
"Forget him!" Hassel seized his last chance. "Dragalge, take out Iron Valiant now! Sludge Wave!"
"With you?" Iron Valiant was already in its face.
"Iron Valiant—have some fun," Jason said. "I'll buff you."
As he spoke, he shook his body; a few Leech Seeds shot out and latched onto Dragalge.
Then he spat a cloud of Toxic poison.
"…," Hassel felt his stomach drop.
Curse. Leech Seed. Toxic.
Just how "dirty" was this Ditto's toolkit?
Dragalge was now poisoned, being drained, and about to eat a front-line assault.
"Finish it."
Iron Valiant's blades flared pink again—Fairy energy crackling.
"Spirit Break!"
One more Spirit Break.
With Poison/Dragon typing, Dragalge had no hope. Poison and draining sapped its strength; the Fairy strike did the rest.
Boom!
Dragalge flew backward.
"…Dragalge is unable to battle," Larry announced.
Hassel quietly recalled his second Pokémon.
He was down 0–2.
"Alright." Jason rolled his shoulders and stared at the three sleeping targets in the middle of the arena.
"Cleanup time."
"Iron Valiant, make it quick."
Iron Valiant didn't hesitate. He dashed toward the sleeping Magnezone.
"Close Combat!"
He dropped all fancy moves and went for simple brutality—punches, kicks, and blade strikes landing in a flurry.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Magnezone never woke up. It simply came apart under the onslaught.
"Poppy!" Geeta shouted.
"A-ah! I—I'm recalling it!" Poppy panicked, yanking Magnezone back into its ball.
Iron Valiant pivoted, charging Camerupt.
"Close Combat!"
Another merciless combo.
Camerupt never stirred before being sent off the field.
"Rika," Geeta said.
"…Got it," Rika replied through gritted teeth, recalling Camerupt.
"The last one!" Gast had shaken off the worst of the blast. She floated over Veluza, still bobbing on the pool.
"Heh heh. You dared hit me?"
"Dream Eater."
Happily, she devoured its dreams—and its HP.
"Veluza is unable to battle."
"Second round: the League side's entire team has been defeated," Larry called out.
"Challenger Jason's team wins."
Battle over.
Miraidon's snoring sounded louder than ever.
"Hrrnn… hrrnn…"
Victorious, Iron Valiant retracted his blades—but this time, he didn't stay upright.
He stabbed one blade into the ground and used it like a cane, dropping to one knee.
His body trembled; he gulped air. Two straight rounds of all-out bursts—especially those reckless Close Combats—had gutted his defenses and HP.
"Iron Valiant?"
Jason reverted to Ditto and drifted over.
Iron Valiant was under fifty percent. Gast was still rubbing at her side; the explosion had left her with some internal ache.
He glanced at snoring Miraidon, at the exhausted Iron Valiant, at injured Gast.
They'd won the second bout—but "battle damage" had finally caught up.
Across the field, the League side looked like a storm front.
Geeta drew a deep breath.
She eyed Jason's team.
One fatigued, one banged up, one asleep.
"They're not at full strength either," she thought coolly. "This is our opening."
"Third round. Full physical team," she ordered.
Her command revived the other three Elites.
"Hah, finally we get to cut loose," Rika said, sending out her third ball.
"Donphan! You're up!"
A gray elephant-like Pokémon clanked onto the field, armored from head to toe—pure Ground-type Donphan.
"My child, Haxorus," Hassel said, releasing his ace.
The green-scaled Dragon-type strode out, twin axe-like tusks gleaming.
Haxorus, pure Dragon.
"Corviknight! I'm counting on you!" Poppy cried.
The huge raven with metal-black feathers took wing—Flying/Steel.
Finally, Geeta sent out her third Pokémon.
"Kingambit."
A tall, blade-studded humanoid appeared, aura cold and oppressive.
Dark/Steel Kingambit.
The League's third-round lineup was complete.
Donphan. Haxorus. Corviknight. Kingambit.
"Well, would you look at that," Jason said, floating as he eyed the "blender squad."
"All physical attackers. So you're ready to go all in."
He looked back at his own team.
Iron Valiant was gasping. Gast's wounds weren't serious, but both Kingambit and Corviknight had strong answers to her.
And Miraidon… was still fast asleep.
"Jason…" Gast drifted closer, worry in her voice. "Miraidon, it…"
"Forget him," Jason cut her off. "He'll wake up in a minute."
His eyes hardened.
This round was going to be rough.
"Round three—begin," Larry called weakly.
"Now," Geeta's voice cracked like ice.
"Kingambit, Sucker Punch—Gengar!"
"Hassel—Haxorus, Dragon Claw—hit Iron Valiant!"
"Poppy—Corviknight, Bulk Up!"
"Rika—Donphan, Rapid Spin—clear the field!"
Their commands fired off as one.
They'd correctly identified Jason's weak points.
Kingambit blurred into a black streak, Dark energy around its blade as it lunged at Gast. Haxorus roared, tusks glowing with Dragon Claw light as it charged the flagging Iron Valiant.
"Not good!"
Jason reacted instantly.
"Gast—Protect!"
"Iron Valiant, meet it—Close Combat!"
The orders landed.
"Eep!"
At the last second, Gast threw up a Protect barrier. Kingambit's blade smashed into the green shield and deflected off.
She'd avoided disaster by a hair.
Not so on the other side.
Clang!
Iron Valiant braced both blades against Haxorus's Dragon Claw. But his HP was just too low. Under that raw Dragon power, he was driven back across the floor, leaving long grooves, his blades dimming noticeably.
"Damn…" he growled through ragged breaths.
"Nicely done!" Hassel shouted.
Meanwhile, Poppy's Corviknight completed its Bulk Up—attack and defense both rising. Rika's Donphan spun up, Rapid Spin clearing the field of stray hazards—prepping for Earthquake.
"We can't let Iron Valiant tank anything else," Jason thought, eyes narrowing.
His form shifted in midair.
He didn't pick another attacker.
His body shrank, plating over in pink and teal metal. A comically oversized hammer materialized in his hands—utterly disproportionate to his frame.
He'd become Tinkaton.
Fairy/Steel.
That one transformation flipped the matchup.
Steel resisted Haxorus's Dragon Claw and Corviknight's Brave Bird.
"Wow!"
Across the field, Poppy's eyes lit up the instant she saw him.
"Jason! Jason! You turned into my Pokémon—it's Tinkaton!" she squealed, forgetting for a moment this was a real fight.
"Poppy." Geeta turned and gave her a glacial glare.
She quickly clapped a hand over her mouth.
"Watch closely, Poppy," Jason said—his voice now crisp and brimming with power.
"This is how you use Gigaton Hammer."
He hoisted the conjured hammer, ignoring both Kingambit and Donphan. His target: the Haxorus that had just blown Iron Valiant back.
"Iron Valiant—take care of the elephant!"
"Gast, keep that general busy!"
"Miraidon!"
He glanced back at the still-sleeping legendary.