Miraidon and Iron Valiant at ringside were just as puzzled.
But Jason's eyes flickered. He knew this seemingly ordinary Sudowoodo was actually Brassius's true ace.
Brassius ignored Gast's quizzical look. He raised his right hand high, and the Tera Orb on his wrist burst into dazzling light.
"Let the world witness my ultimate art—bending typing and upending convention!" he cried, emotion peaking.
The Tera Orb's glow resonated intensely with the Sudowoodo on the field. A rainbow pillar descended and wrapped it completely. Within the brilliance, intricate crystalline patterns surfaced across Sudowoodo's body. Then, above its head, an ornate crown of emerald-green crystals materialized—like a grass-type chandelier cut from pure crystal.
When the light faded, Sudowoodo's typing had shifted—Rock had become pure Grass.
The stunning change drew the first startled sound from always-composed Gast.
"Heh?" She drifted two circles around the terastallized Sudowoodo, eyeing the glittering crown on its head. "So this is Terastallization?"
She could feel it—the creature's aura had changed completely. The heavy, stony weight was gone, replaced by a surging vitality.
"That's right! Paldea's unique miracle—Terastallization!" Brassius's smile turned fervent. "Now it's my most perfect piece! Come, let's begin Act Two!"
As a pure Grass type, Sudowoodo's power spiked.
"Wood Hammer!" Brassius ordered.
Green light flared along both arms. Sudowoodo thundered forward and brought those power-laden arms crashing down. The swing wasn't fast, but the force in it made Gast feel threatened for the first time. She didn't dare slack—she blinked away.
She had barely reappeared when the next attack was already there.
"Stone Edge!"
Even as a Grass type, Sudowoodo could still use its old moves. Jagged stones speared up from the floor, neatly sealing every lane of escape. Gast had to short-hop through space again and again, her movement a little ragged. For the first time all match, she was being pressed head-on in power and tempo. Tricky.
Post-Tera, the opponent's stats were way up. She tried a Shadow Ball, but when it struck that crystallized body the result was poor—just a faint mark. Her attacking rhythm was broken. The queenly calm on her face slipped for the first time.
Seeing her stumble, Brassius pushed. "That's it—Double-Edge!"
Sudowoodo tucked in and began to spin, a giant stone wheel careening across the field, crushing Gast's space smaller and smaller. Flustered, she kept firing Shadow Balls but couldn't meaningfully dent the whirling target. She even tried to close in, only to be blown back by the wind shear off its rotation.
Just as she faltered, a calm voice came from the sideline. Jason, who'd watched in silence, finally called:
"Gast, don't wrestle it for raw power. Poison it."
His words hit like a lightning strike, snapping her out of the funk. Right—why trade blows with something that hard and strong? She was a ghost.
She caught his meaning instantly and flipped her style. No more home-run swings. She merged into the floor and reappeared behind Sudowoodo. No attack—just a small plume of violet gas from her mouth.
Toxic slipped in unnoticed and tagged the still-charging Sudowoodo.
It stuttered, glanced at its body, seeing nothing wrong—then the venom began to bite. A purple sheen traced over its surface; its HP started leaking away, faster and faster.
"Useless!" Brassius shouted. "We'll finish you before it falls—keep attacking!"
Sudowoodo lunged again. This time, Gast refused to tussle. Using her terrain-ignoring tricks, she streaked around the arena—sometimes underground, sometimes through sculptures. Sudowoodo was powerful, but its bulk made agility a fatal flaw. It slammed Wood Hammer after Wood Hammer into the tiles, gouging craters—never so much as brushing her shadow.
While toying with it, Gast's eyes flashed oddly.
"Confuse Ray."
A warped beam struck Sudowoodo. It hitched; its gaze went glassy. Now Poison—and Confusion. Under the twin status effects, its stamina bled out rapidly. Its attacks lost all form—smashing empty space, sometimes even clipping itself in its daze.
Gast, the elegant huntress, waited for her prey to wither—punctuating every opening by popping in from impossible angles with Night Shade. Fixed damage, defense-agnostic—perfect for shaving down a thick-skinned foe.
With a single line from Jason, the field flipped.
In the end, between Toxic's steady rot and self-inflicted confusion, even a terastallized Sudowoodo couldn't turn it around. It flung one last wild Wood Hammer, then sagged; the great body crashed down. As it hit, the ornate Tera crown scattered into motes of light, revealing its exhausted true form.
Battle over.
One versus five.
Gast had soloed the entire gym.
She hovered quietly, glanced at the fallen Sudowoodo, then down at her unscathed hands. A strange feeling welled up—more than simple joy. A little dazed, a little thrilled, she murmured in a voice only she could hear:
"Heh… when… did I get this strong?"
In her memory she'd always been the playful lady trailing after Jason—pulling pranks, spooking roadside Pokémon, scrapping now and then but mostly enjoying an easy life. She knew she wasn't weak—she'd never imagined she could be this strong. Alone, unscathed, defeating a veteran gym leader's full team.
In that moment she wasn't just a mischievous, willful "young lady" anymore. She gained a clear, deep recognition of her power—and herself. Not just a win: this was her greatest metamorphosis since leaving home to follow Jason.
She—Gast—was strong. Very strong.
The arena was silent, save Brassius's heavy breathing. He looked from his five toppled Pokémon to the grinning, untouched Gengar and sank into a long hush. The artful tactics he'd prized, the gorgeous moves, the clever synergy—shattered by the most direct, brutal approach. Jason expected him to sulk, maybe spit a bitter line.
What Brassius did next completely surprised him. The man began to tremble—eyes blazing not with despair, but something near fervor. The look of an artist facing a perfect work.
"Too… beautiful!" he suddenly shouted, breaking the quiet. "Perfect! This unorthodox, rule-breaking, absolutely powerful battle—this is… this is true art!"
He hurried to Jason, cheeks flushed, voice brimming with heat. "I see it now! I've chased a static beauty—balanced composition! But you—you and your Pokémon showed me another path! A brutal beauty! The art of destruction and rebirth!"
Jason stared at the seemingly possessed artist, at a loss. Dude… are you a masochist?
Brassius didn't care what he thought. He solemnly took a badge from his pocket and offered it with both hands. "The Shenbo Gym Badge—yours by right! No, this wasn't a simple gym match; it was an artistic baptism. I should be thanking you!"
Jason took the badge. Then Brassius clasped a small piece of his body with both hands, pleading in a near-beg. "A-Che! I have a request—just a tiny request!" His voice shook with excitement. "Please let me paint you—paint all of you! I must fix this burst of inspiration on canvas forever. Please!"
Faced with those sincere, fever-bright eyes, Jason couldn't find a reason to refuse. He nodded.
The scene shifted from the arena to Brassius's private studio—smaller than the outer workshop, but even more… chaotic. Finished and half-finished canvases leaned on floor, walls, even the ceiling; the air was heavy with turpentine and paint.
Wired on inspiration, Brassius hauled out a massive blank canvas, prepped brushes and pigments at a sprint, muttering nonstop: "Light—yes, from here… composition, bold, emphasize the pressure… color—highest contrast…"
Minutes later, everything was set. Brush in hand, he beckoned brightly. "Alright, my works of art—strike your poses!"
Getting everyone posed, however, was its own battle.
Iron Valiant was easiest. Planted where Brassius pointed, it became a flawless humanoid statue—every angle immaculate, arms at rest, eyes locked on a point in the void.
"Oh! Beautiful—Iron Valiant is beautiful!" Brassius gushed. Iron Valiant didn't flicker, still as a sentry.
Gast was the exact opposite. She could not sit still.
"Er—Gengar," Brassius tried, "could you give me a dignified victory pose?"
She grinned and pulled an outrageous face, tongue lolling. Brassius's mouth twitched. "No, no—that's not the vibe. Please float quietly. Yes—hold that."
She floated obediently—until his brush lifted, whereupon she started flickering in and out, phasing between solid and ghost so fast he couldn't catch her outline.
"Stop! Please—stop!" Brassius was fraying.
Gast reappeared with an innocent look—then, while he turned to mix paint, she drifted behind him and stretched a ghostly claw toward his palette, clearly itching to stamp a one-of-a-kind spectral handprint.
"Gast," Jason said, resigned.
Her claw froze midair. She glanced back, stuck out her tongue, and floated to her mark. Watching the little menace bounce around, Jason knew normal tactics were useless—so he pulled out the ace.
He took a small box from his bag and flipped it open. A heady fragrance—mixed aromas of many Berries—filled the studio. Inside lay several brightly colored, jewel-like Energy Cubes.
The scent snared Gast at once. She went still, nose twitching, eyes locked on the box.
"Want some?" Jason waggled it.
Her head bobbed like a woodpecker; stars lit her eyes.
"Then be a good model," he said. "When we're done, they're all yours."
Overwhelmed by the promise of treats, Gast did a 180. She zipped back to her spot, puffed out her round chest, planted her hands on her hips, and held what she thought was the most regal pose ever—then nodded furiously to show she'd be on her absolute best behavior.
~~~
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