On the other side, Cynthia's Pokémon also halted their attacks.
Garchomp, Lucario… all of them were panting, bodies scored with wounds of varying depth, but their attention had been completely seized by the impossible scene before them.
Cynthia herself cut off the command that was about to leave her lips.
Undisguised shock filled her face.
Ferried to safety by Milotic, Nemona and Iono were even more tongue-tied.
The battle-hungry spark in Nemona's emerald eyes had vanished, leaving only bewilderment. Her mouth hung open as if to speak, but no words came.
Iono's Rotom Phone kept faithfully recording, but the smile she always wore for the camera had gone slack.
After a brief freeze, the livestream chat exploded, refreshing at a manic rate.
[????????????]
[What did I just see? Am I hallucinating?]
[It… blocked it? Just like that? That was a full-power strike from two Paradox ancients!]
[What is that shield? This is absurd!]
[What on earth is that little turtle?!]
Amid the extreme clamor and an equally extreme hush, at the very center—beneath that green shield—Liko slowly lifted her head.
She was still holding Jason tightly; the warm, springy feel under her arms was so real.
She could feel her heart, thundering with fear a moment ago, gradually steadying.
Dazed, she stared up at the small figure floating above her, glowing gently.
The jewel-bright little turtle, as if carved from gemstones, hovered quietly. Its eyes were closed as if asleep, yet the calm, powerful presence it radiated gave Liko a sense of safety she had never known.
Her thoughts hadn't quite caught up. She looked at the unfamiliar turtle over her head, then, almost reflexively, felt at her now-empty neck.
In a sleepwalking, slightly airheaded tone, she voiced the question everyone wanted answered.
"Huh? How did my pendant turn into a Pokémon?!"
Seeing Liko's worried face, Jason explained, "That little guy is called Terapagos. Whoever gave you the pendant probably wanted it to protect you."
At that, Liko instinctively looked up at Terapagos and murmured, "Grandma…"
She didn't have time to think more. Across the way, Walking Wake and Raging Bolt had completely lost their patience.
Their probing strike failing had stung their pride. Power roiled inside them; the air prickled with danger—they were clearly winding up an even stronger second salvo.
Jason glanced up at Terapagos floating overhead.
"Will you fight with me?" he called, issuing a party invite.
Terapagos tilted its tiny head, clear eyes studying Jason. As a legendary, it could see the essence of things at a glance. Though this creature looked like an ordinary Ditto, Terapagos could feel he was anything but. And with that closeness between Jason and Liko, the choice took almost no thought—Terapagos nodded.
It drifted down, settling in front of Jason and Liko to show where it stood.
"Heh—good stuff!" Jason grinned.
The next second, his body glowed softly and reshaped—into a charcoal-black, red-cowlicked Charcadet.
"Jason, what are you doing?" Liko pointed, startled.
"Fighting!"
"But—"
Jason waved his little hands, then sprang lightly and straddled Terapagos's shell.
"Relax. With it here, I'll be fine!"
Before, he'd have worried. With Terapagos backing him now, he didn't have to.
He patted the smooth crystal carapace—nice feel, cool to the touch. "Our duo's the 'Turtle Knight'! Charge!"
Jason thrust an arm up and cried the order to advance.
Terapagos seemed to like the grand title; it gave a rumbling chirp, crystal legs churning, and shot toward Walking Wake and Raging Bolt in a streak of light.
"Skree!"
Wake struck first—a thick column of water blasted from its jaws, a high-pressure lance with crushing force.
Raging Bolt joined in at once; lightning crackled along its mane and a golden bolt chased tight on the water's heels.
Seated steady on the shell, Jason didn't flinch. In front of Terapagos, a hex-tiled energy shield flowered into being. The water beam and thunder smashed against the Tera Shield, kicking up concentric ripples—and didn't even slow Terapagos down.
Every attack washed out harmlessly against that flimsy-looking wall.
"That defense—insane!" Jason couldn't help admiring. A walking super-fortress.
Raging Bolt and Wake plainly hadn't expected the turtle to be so outrageously tanky; both wore startlingly human expressions of surprise.
In that heartbeat of distraction, Terapagos had already carried Jason into melee.
Jason's target was clear: the giraffe-necked thunder beast. It looked thick-skinned and tough—perfect to try out a new form's bite.
Raging Bolt dipped its massive head, glaring disdainfully at the Charcadet on the shell.
In its eyes, the little thing wasn't even as big as a toe—what a joke.
"Heh. That tiny trinket wants to fight me? Who gave you the guts?" its voice boomed like muffled thunder. "I'll stand still. If you can even leave a white scuff on me, I'll admit you're something."
Classic arrogance.
Jason just smiled. "You said it—better not move a muscle!"
Light flashed. Mid-quip, the rider atop the shell stretched taller; black became violet armor, and two arm-blades sprang into being, burning with baleful ghost-flame.
Ceruledge.
It happened so fast Raging Bolt hadn't processed it—the "runt" was suddenly a knee-high swordsman radiating danger.
"Dragon Claw!"
Jason barked, crossing twin burning blades and carving two purple arcs across Raging Bolt's lower leg.
Crack!
A crisp report; the beast's rock-hard hide split, violet fire licked along the wounds and seared flesh beneath.
"!"
Pain tore a bellow from Raging Bolt; it stumbled back into the rock wall, making the cave tremble.
It was stunned. It looked at the gashes on its leg, then at the floating blade-fighter, question marks filling its brain.
Evolving mid-fight? No—he was a Ditto!
But how could a Ditto transform into a species not even present—and hit that hard?
While Bolt reeled, a lithe shape slammed in from the flank—Cynthia's ace, Garchomp!
Pressed hard moments ago, it seized the opening the instant Jason landed his cut.
"Raaah!"
Garchomp roared, both claws flaring white—another Dragon Claw, twin to Jason's, raked the other leg.
Raging Bolt, rocked by Jason's strike, had no time to evade—another clean hit.
"Aaargh!"
Two solid blows and its base was gone. The titan toppled backward, crashed down, and filled the cave with dust.
Garchomp, high on the hit, glanced at Jason, a glint of satisfaction in its eye. After being smothered for so long, it felt good to pay the pain back.
"Nice work, Garchomp!" Jason called, already swinging toward Walking Wake.
By now, Cynthia's other Pokémon had reset and swept back in.
"Lucario, Aura Sphere!" Cynthia's voice was cool and clear.
The blue orb snapped from Lucario's palms toward Wake as it tried to cover Bolt.
"Milotic, Ice Beam—pin it down!"
From the safe line, Milotic's ice-blue ray lanced out, freezing the stone at Wake's feet and dragging its motion.
"Togekiss, Air Slash!"
"Glaceon—Weather Ball!"
Crescent wind blades and a pulsing orb came from offset angles, forcing Wake onto the back foot.
The field split neatly. Under Cynthia's crisp direction, five Pokémon locked Walking Wake down—and couldn't shake free.
On the other side, Jason and Garchomp tag-teamed the fallen Raging Bolt.
"Don't let it stand!" Jason shouted.
Garchomp understood, jaws opening—Hyper Beam roared for Bolt's head. The titan threw up a foreleg to block—but Jason's strike came from a nastier angle.
"Shadow Claw!"
He ghosted to the side, purple-flame blades becoming talons that slashed across the long neck.
Blow after blow, Bolt was stuck eating hits. It tried to counter, to swat the maddening Ceruledge—but every strike splashed harmlessly against the Tera Shield. The little turtle shadowed Jason like a devoted bodyguard, the perfect bulwark.
Bolt's power couldn't touch Jason at all, and the futility was worse than defeat.
"Coward! Stop hiding behind a turtle shell!" it roared.
"Maybe stop being such a big target? Who else am I supposed to hit?" Jason shot back between swings.
Garchomp fought in high spirits; Dragon and Ground moves pounded down—Dragon Rush, Earthquake—turning Bolt into a giant sandbag.
Across the way, Wake still hit like a truck, but the net tightened. A sweeping Water Pulse blasted Cynthia's line back—but she had counters ready.
"Hydro Pump!"
Wake locked Jason again. Take out the shapeshifter and the rest would fall.
But something moved even faster than that water cannon. Terapagos slid into place and popped the Tera Shield.
BOOM—steam billowed through the cavern. When it cleared, Jason stood intact behind the barrier and even waved at Wake.
"Is that all?"
The taunt sent both ancients into a blind rage. Anger didn't change the math. With an untouchable spear (Jason) and an absolute shield (Terapagos), the balance of victory had tipped.
Cynthia's commands stayed cool and exact; her team executed ruthlessly. Garchomp paid the pressure back a hundredfold.
Seeing the tide turn, Wake and Bolt faltered. With Terapagos on the field, they might not be able to break Jason's line at all.
Just as the pair began to think of cutting their losses—
Terapagos glanced at Jason. "Tired. I'm going back to sleep."
Then it toddled back to Liko, flashed, and reverted into a pendant.
Jason: "???"
Buddy, are you kidding me?
~~~
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