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Under the cover of another volley of rockfall, Jason's silhouette slipped soundlessly into the cliff's shadows.
Bombirdier wheeled twice overhead and noticed the ground fire had abruptly stopped. It dipped its head, razor eyes scanning below. Iron Valiant was still there—but the other Pokémon had vanished.
"Hrr? Ran off?"
It barked a puzzled cry. Right then, Iron Valiant also ceased countering, sprang away in a few nimble bounds, and took refuge behind a farther boulder—as if it, too, had given up the fight.
Bombirdier grew smug. In its mind, these two little ground-crawlers had finally been cowed by its crushing air superiority.
It trilled a triumphant note and prepared to press the advantage—one nastier barrage to finish that eyesore of a Valiant—when, out of the corner of its eye, it noticed something on the cliff where the other one had disappeared: something new.
A… flower?
A creature like a flower sculpted from blue-violet crystal hung upside down from the sheer wall by six broad, gleaming petals, utterly still.
Bombirdier cocked its head. It was sure nothing like that had been there seconds ago. Could that shapeshifter have turned into… this?
It beat its wings experimentally, lofted a few pebbles, and pelted the crystal bloom.
"Clink, clink!"
The stones rang off the crystal with clear, bell-like notes, not so much as scuffing it.
That did it: this sturdy "flower" had to be the shapeshifter.
But hang on—why become a motionless blossom and cling to the wall?
Giving up? Playing turtle?
The thought ticked over in the bird's skull. The more it considered it, the more certain it felt.
These two had been tamed by its might.
"Caw! Cowards!"
It circled loftily, flinging down taunts. It would grant this stench-spewing, turtle-playing wretch the most flamboyant execution.
Wings tucked, the black warplane dove, screaming down at the crystal bloom hanging upside down.
Closer… closer…
Fifty meters! Thirty! Ten!
It could see the facets on the petals now. Its iron beak gaped, primed to drill straight through flower and cliff alike with a single perfect Drill Peck—
—and in that instant, the "dead" bloom snapped all six petals wide!
From the heart of the flower, a storm of violet-glinting triangular spikes and a hail of ochre-lit razor rocks exploded outward like fireworks.
Toxic Spikes! Stealth Rock!
A blanket trap, saturating a dozen meters in every direction.
Bombirdier, mid-stoop, never saw it coming. It tried to pull up—too late.
"Thp-thp-thp!"
Spikes and stones punched into feathers and wings. Sharp stone split skin; the purple barbs pumped venom in.
"Caw!"
The shriek of pain tore across the valley. Poison burning and wounds screaming, Bombirdier's flight faltered, its line wobbly and slow.
"Valiant—now!"
Jason's voice landed right on cue.
"—Valiant!"
Primed and set, Iron Valiant launched at the call, legs detonating beneath it. It became a white streak rising from behind the rock, spearing toward the reeling bird.
Poisoned and hurt, Bombirdier was a step slower. It watched that white flash swell in its vision and could only twist, barely.
"Zrrt!"
The mind-charged blade bit across its belly, carving a bone-deep gouge; gray-black feathers drifted down, beaded with red.
Another ragged cry—and rage, pure and hot, took over. It ignored pain and poison, forced its wings steady, eyes blazing. No more pea-gravel. It hooked a rock the size of a compact car in its beak, heaved it skyward, then hurled it down at Jason and Valiant's position.
If that hit, it would be lights out.
Jason remained ice-cold. The instant the boulder fell, he dropped the crystal-bloom guise; light washed his body—
—and a sinewy, moon-winged, night-feathered paradox dragon burst forth.
Roaring Moon.
The bird was heated anyway; end it in one go.
"ROAR!"
Jason ripped the air, ignored the falling mountain, and surged up like black lightning to meet it. Pale dragon energy flared along his claws.
"Dragon Claw!"
KRAK!
Midair, black comet met stone—spiderweb cracks raced, then the boulder detonated, shards fountaining in all directions. Jason slid through the gravel rain unscathed and hung in the air.
No pause. Red-black energy whorled around him.
Dragon Dance.
Power and speed spiked.
"Scale Shot!"
He snapped his wings; a monsoon of blade-scales hammered the stunned Bombirdier. Its altitude sagged again, control sloughing away.
That heartbeat of drag was enough.
"Dragon Rush!"
Jason became a cobalt meteor and slammed into the bird. THUD.
Bombirdier tumbled like a shot-down plane. As the blow landed, Jason flipped forms mid-drop—light flickered, and a purple-armored duelist stood astride the falling body.
Serrated twin blades fused into one, then fell.
"Bitter Blade!"
At the same time, Iron Valiant leapt and caught Bombirdier's back as old force spent and new hadn't risen, blades coalescing with a surge of psychic force.
"Spirit Break!"
BOOM.
Pinned between sky and ground, the Sky Titan screamed once, then crashed and lay still.
The fight was over.
Bombirdier sprawled in the dirt, gashed and glassy-eyed. It glanced over the ravaged roost, then at the pot it had smashed—which, cursed thing, still seeped a faintly sinister smell.
"Okay, okay—I yield!"
After a thorough drubbing, it finally behaved. It understood: these weirdos weren't here to gas its territory. They were just… terrible cooks.
Jason dropped the form and exhaled. He quickly located the Titan's stash and pulled out the second Herba Mystica—Spicy.
This time he'd learned. He stuck to bread and fresh berries and made honest sandwiches.
When the spicy-sweet perfume rolled out, Jason handed the largest portion to Bombirdier. Warily, it pecked. Its eyes bulged.
Delicious.
Amazingly delicious.
So… this treasure I guard can be eaten like this?
Two sandwiches vanished; aches eased. It stood, stepped over, and very gently patted Jason's shoulder with a wing.
Call it a meal's truce.
If you can't beat them, make up.
"You're pretty good!"
And just like that, the sandwich solved everything. Relations with the Sky Titan improved fast. Mostly it was Jason talking and Bombirdier listening. When it learned Jason's crew had just thrashed that swaggering Klawf in South Area Three, the whole "bird" lit up.
"Hrr—seriously? You flattened that sideways-walking tin-dope?"
It flared, kicking up a little dust devil. A new warmth crept into its gaze.
"I've had it with that clown—always strutting around 'cause his shell is thick, mocking me for flying instead of crawling. Pah! If he's so great, let him fly up here! One day I'm eating crab roe!"
Jason had to stifle a laugh while Bombirdier roasted Klawf from shell to yolk.
Riding that momentum, Jason brought up their next target.
"You're going after the False Dragon Titan?"
The bird's babble died. Shock—and fear—flashed in its sharp eyes.
"You… you're really going to challenge that thing?" Even its voice hitched.
"Yeah. Problem?"
"N-no… no problem at all…" Bombirdier's gaze skittered; its wings folded in tight.
Gast floated over, emboldened now that the big bird was pally. "Ke-ke. Since we shared lunch, give us some intel on the False Dragon Titan? Weaknesses? Signature moves?"
Bombirdier recoiled like a cat on a live wire, hopped back a full stride, and shook its head so hard it blurred. Wings waved frantically.
"Nope nope nope! I don't know anything! Don't ask me!"
Jason and Gast blinked.
"I'm telling you, I'm not close with that guy at all!" the bird sputtered, desperate to distance itself. "If I spill anything today, he'll be here tomorrow to settle accounts! That thing is petty—believe me!"
And before they could say another word, it kicked into the air.
"Uh—thanks for the sandwiches! Great stuff! I've got… errands! Take care!"
The Titan that had oozed swagger a minute ago shrank to a black dot and vanished, fleeing faster than it had fought.
Jason, Iron Valiant, and Gast stared at each other.
"Ke?" Gast crept to Jason's side, full of question marks. "Jason, is that thing really that scary? Look how it spooked Big Bird."
Even Iron Valiant shrugged—about as expressive as it got—signaling its own bafflement.
"Doesn't matter," Jason said, a glint in his eye. "We go and find out."
~~~
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