Just then, Iono—who'd been fiddling with her phone—let out a cheer.
Her signature black-and-yellow jacket fluttered with excitement, the two big hair clips atop her head wobbling along.
"Family! Signal's back! Iono's Electric Live is officially revived!"
She deftly opened her streaming app. The lens snapped from blur to razor-sharp in a tenth of a second, locking perfectly onto the distant clash.
Iono dropped her voice to a conspiratorial whisper: "High-energy warning up ahead! A future-species Paradox fight caught in the wild—absolute first-hand footage! Follow Iono so you don't get lost—get lost and you'll pay dearly!"
Her chat exploded at once, "Gogogo" and "streamer OP" flooding past.
Beside her, Nemona couldn't hold back anymore. A few strands of her signature red-and-green hair literally stood on end with excitement. Leaning forward, fists clenched, eyes shining with hunger to learn, she urged, "Let's get closer! With a brawl that intense, we can learn so many battle tricks!"
She was already stepping in when—
"Don't rush in to feed them."
The lazy voice floated from Liko's shoulder. Jason lay there without even lifting a lid. "Charge in now and they'll lump you in with the 'peacemakers'—and punch you too. Figure out what we're looking at first."
Flat as it was, his tone had a strange calming effect. Nemona—seconds from wearing the word BRASH on her face—halted mid-stride, the heat draining from her cheeks. She scratched her head and laughed sheepishly. "You're right."
Liko exhaled and patted Jason on her shoulder, relief in her eyes.
They agreed to be model bystanders first. Keeping low and using the towering crystal clusters as cover, they ghosted toward the fight.
Soon they found the perfect vantage point. From behind a fan of cool blue crystals, everything lay in full view.
In the center, a lithe, elegant Pokémon was in dire straits. Its body gleamed with a chill metallic sheen; blade-like fins extended from either side of its head; in its right hand, a pure pink energy saber burned.
Iron Valiant.
Right now the Valkyrie was being mobbed by three Pokémon:
High overhead, Iron Jugulis circled, metal wings shrieking. It spat condensed, violet-black Dark Pulse bombs in relentless runs, acting like a never-ending bomber—harassing and suppressing.
On the ground, Iron Thorns planted itself, arcs crackling visibly around its hulking frame, spreading a massive Electric Terrain. Anyone who stepped into it had their movement throttled.
The finisher was Iron Hands—a bruiser. Lightning skittered across those ludicrously thick arms; every punch crashed down with a mountain's weight—wide, brutal swings, close-quarters pressure, Thunder Punch and friends on repeat.
Their teamwork was disturbingly tight—clearly not their first rodeo. A cold, efficient kill squad with one goal: break Iron Valiant.
The outlook was grim. Valiant fought like a demon, the right-arm saber weaving tight pink curtains that batted away most attacks. But numbers tell. Several deep gouges marred its armor—one down to the core, energy bleeding out. Its movements had started to hitch.
Thoom! Another sledgehammer Thunder Punch. Valiant caught it on the blade—barely. The force split the earth underfoot and sent it skidding backward in trenches.
Catching the moment between spent force and fresh breath, Iron Jugulis dipped and fired—one hyper-dense Dark Pulse drilled into Valiant's kneeling frame.
BOOM.
Violet-black energy blossomed. Valiant grunted, more ragged than before.
Behind the crystals, faces said it all.
Cynthia murmured, "These Paradox Pokémon's aggression—and tactical execution—are beyond expectation. The coordination's seamless. This isn't their first surround."
Liko's gentle face was etched with worry. She watched Valiant struggle under the swarm, blue eyes full of pity. "Iron Valiant looks so pitiful… it's about to fall. Should we… help it?"
"We should help—but how is the problem." Nemona's battle fervor had cooled; pragmatism took the reins. Frowning, she analyzed, "It's one-versus-three with flawless synergy. If we rush in blindly, we'll wreck our tempo—and put our partners at risk."
Then she glanced at Cynthia. "Of course, if Ms. Cynthia gets involved, pretend I said nothing."
Cynthia smiled. "Don't worry—I won't steal your thunder. Unless it's necessary, I'll keep my hands off. You're here to learn."
Iono, still keeping the stream up, added sotto voce, "Family, are you seeing this? This is the horror of future-forms. Iron Hands looks like it could pancake my Bellibolt with one punch. Charging in now would be dumb."
Chat split into two camps: "Save Valiant!" versus "Streamer don't int."
While they hesitated, Jason decided.
"Save it."
"But…" Nemona tried—
He didn't let her. "Iono—Bellibolt targets Iron Thorns. Forget everything else. Use Parabolic Charge and drain its field dry. Kill its control."
"Roger!" Iono snapped to it, that goofy streamer mask swapped in an instant for a capable Gym Leader's edge.
"Cynthia—hold Garchomp," Jason went on. "Wait for my signal. On go, your target is Iron Hands. Prep Dragon Rush—end it in one."
Cynthia gave the purple puddle on Liko's shoulder a long look—and nodded. "Understood."
Jason was saving Valiant first; without that, it might not last until their plan landed.
"Liko, Nemona—stay together. Not one step. Guard yourselves."
They nodded hard.
"Bellibolt—your turn!" Iono called first. The faux eyes on Bellibolt's head lit up.
"Bell!"
Power surged; a green arc leapt out and lanced into Iron Thorns. Parabolic Charge!
The effect was immediate. The terrain Iron Thorns had laid down looked like it hit a black hole—current streamed along the arc into Bellibolt like floodwater. Thorns' sparking dimmed by the eye-blink; Bellibolt's aura climbed and climbed.
Controller: offline.
The sudden shift cracked the trio's rhythm. Iron Hands snarled—finish Valiant now, then swat gnats. Its assault surged even meaner; lightning swelled to a crackling peak on both arms.
Wild Charge.
A yellow bolt in humanoid shape, Iron Hands dove for the exhausted Valiant. Staggered by the last Dark Pulse, Valiant was locked up—helpless but to watch that blazing fist fill its world.
It was over.
"Now!"
Jason's calm cut like a trigger in Cynthia's ear. She tightened her eyes, ready to launch—
—but something moved faster.
At the exact instant Jason spoke, he detonated into a white flash too bright to look at. It burned for a heartbeat and vanished. The cutesy Ditto was gone.
In its place stood a dual-bladed specter wreathed in purple hellfire—slim frame, deep violet armor, forearms forged into burning ghostly sabers.
A revenant knight.
Ceruledge.
Shff!
The moment the form set, Ceruledge blurred to a purple smear. No bunkering to meet Wild Charge—that would be foolish. He matched speed with speed, offense with offense.
Phantom Force.
A shadow image remained; the body slipped into nothing.
Iron Hands' all-in missed cleanly, hammering the earth and blasting a crater. The surge spilled in crackling waves.
The whiff made it hitch—its simple routines failing to parse what just happened.
In that hiccup, death breathed up behind it.
Ceruledge snapped into being at its back—twin blades carving a perfect "X."
Bitter Blade.
No drag, no mercy—the cross cut landed dead center, where the core lay thinnest.
A wet sskkt—
Purple flame writhed like a living thing, devouring the core while a clean stream of energy rushed back up the blades, refueling the cost of shift and speed.
Iron Hands roared—pain and disbelief—
Lightning died on its arms; the giant shuddered, then toppled forward in a plume of dust. The optic flickered twice… and went dark.
Fainted.
From transform to delete, the whole sequence flowed like water—over before anyone could blink. Three seconds, tops.
Everyone stared, stunned. Iono's chat went nuclear after a beat of silence—
What just happened? Did I hallucinate?
Phantom Force into Bitter Blade—holy—Jason's combo is filthy!
Streamer hush, camera on the Jason-god flexing NOW.
Mom asked why I'm kneeling…
Cynthia's Garchomp hadn't even moved; the biggest threat was already wiped off the board. Cynthia watched the lone, purple-flamed silhouette standing over the fallen, and shock flickered in those usually placid gray eyes.
Not bad—stronger again.
Jason threw her a cheeky look. "Sis Cynthia—looks like I misjudged. Doesn't seem we'll need you after all!"
She smiled. "All the better."
Nemona stood slack-jawed, eyes like saucers, feeling her entire sense of battle cave in. Liko clapped a hand over her mouth, disbelief sparkling there.
With the spearhead gone, Iron Thorns and Iron Jugulis panicked. The core collapsed; their teamwork fell apart. From there, it was Iono and Nemona's show.
"Pawmot—Double Shock!"
"Bellibolt—Thunderbolt!"
Under crisp commands, the fight wrapped fast. Iron Thorns and Iron Jugulis fell back in disarray, howling their frustration as they fled for the depths.
~~~
Patreon(.)com/Bleam
— Currently You can Read 50 Chapters Ahead of Others!