Iron Valiant didn't answer—just tilted its head.
Iono looked past it to Gast and Miraidon. Gast guiltily drifted back a little. Miraidon stared at her with innocent electronic eyes.
"You… oh, forget it." Iono sighed.
"The gym challenge is for Jason to challenge me," she announced to the group. "The rest of you—stay put. No more fighting! And stop bullying my Pokémon!"
With that, she spun on her heel and strode back into the lounge.
Bang—the door shut hard.
She walked up to Jason, still annoyed. "You need to keep your Pokémon in line!"
"It just wanted a little sparring," Jason said with a smile.
"Who 'sparrs' by knocking the opponent out? That's not a battle!" Iono shot back.
"Maybe it went a bit hard."
"A bit?"
She plopped onto the sofa, still fuming. Jason followed and sat beside her.
"Alright, don't be mad." He lowered his voice. "That one's on me. I'll apologize for it."
"And what good is that? My Bellibolt's out cold." Iono turned her head away.
Watching her puffed-up profile, he almost laughed. After a beat, he leaned to her ear and whispered, "Then… as compensation—how about I go easy on you in the challenge?"
His breath tickled her ear; it was itchy. She stiffened, and her ear reddened visibly. She jerked her head to glare at him, only to find his face very close, a smile in his eyes. Whatever she'd been about to say got stuck.
"Wh-who needs you to go easy," she stammered, gaze skittering away.
"So you're not mad anymore?" he pressed.
"I…" Iono didn't know how to answer.
Seeing her like that, the smile deepened at the corner of his mouth. He said nothing more, just sat quietly beside her. Silence fell again, but the air felt different now.
After a while, Iono spoke, voice small. "Does that 'challenge' you mentioned still count?"
"Of course," Jason replied at once. "You can't quit a gym challenge halfway." As he spoke, he slowly scooted closer. The space between them shrank again.
Time crawled out in the arena. Since Iron Valiant floored Bellibolt, the atmosphere had turned… odd. Iono's remaining Pokémon—Luxray, Mismagius, and Electrode—spread into a loose ring around Iron Valiant. They didn't attack immediately. Iron Valiant did nothing further either; it dismissed its blades and stood there like a statue.
Gast hovered, glancing from the closed lounge door to the standoff below, nerves fraying. Miraidon crouched in a corner, looking from the lounge to Iron Valiant and back.
Ten minutes passed. No movement from the lounge.
Luxray, impatient, scraped a paw over the floor, making a faint rasp.
Twenty more minutes. Electrode started rolling in place a little, switching up its stance. Gast went from worried to bored, drifting around on Miraidon's head. Miraidon growled low in protest; she ignored it. Iron Valiant still didn't budge—its patience was astonishing.
An hour. The tension was gone. Luxray yawned and lay down, tail swishing lazily. Mismagius lowered altitude, watching Gast play with mild curiosity. The arena was quiet—only Gast's occasional giggles and Miraidon's put-upon rumble.
Two hours. Gast tired out and flopped on Miraidon's back, dozing. Iono's Pokémon fully relaxed, each finding a comfortable spot.
Two and a half hours.
Three hours.
Just as Gast was about to nod off, a soft click sounded—the lounge door. Like a signal, every Pokémon snapped awake. Luxray sprang to its feet; Mismagius rose. Even Gast shot upright, sleep gone. A red glint lit Iron Valiant's eyes. Finally—time for the gym challenge? A real battle?
All eyes fixed on the door. The handle turned; it cracked open. First to appear was Iono, smiling as usual. Her clothes were a touch rumpled, her hair not obviously messy. Leaning on the frame, she waved to the tense Pokémon below.
"Hi, thanks for waiting—challenge's over," she called, light and teasing.
The Pokémon stared, stunned. The… challenge is over? But there wasn't any sound of fighting. And where was Jason?
As they puzzled, Iono stepped aside, revealing what she held in one arm: something soft, a familiar purplish-pink.
Jason.
Right now he was completely limp—like a puddle. His eyes were half-closed and unfocused, as if even getting them to lock on anything was hard. His limbs dangled and swayed with Iono's steps. The whole Ditto radiated the aura of someone thoroughly wrung out.
Silence slammed over the arena.
Gast's mouth fell open; disbelief filled her eyes. Iron Valiant leaned forward, sensing how weak he was, and a chill killing intent began to spill from it. That woman! That bubbly gym leader—so strong? What had she done to Jason? In three short hours, she'd turned the confident powerhouse into this?
Gast felt a massive shock—she'd never seen him so drained. In her mind he was always invincible. Iron Valiant's reaction was simpler: if Jason was badly hurt, whoever did it was the enemy. Blades began to form at its wrists on their own.
Iono, cradling Jason, stepped out and walked steadily to the center, smiling, seemingly unaware of Iron Valiant's dangerous aura. She stopped before Miraidon. The legend tensed, rumbling a warning. Iono ignored it. She bent and, with gentle hands, settled the limp Ditto onto Miraidon's broad back.
The moment he touched down, he spread out like a pancake, unwilling to move. Straightening, Iono took a shiny badge from her pocket—the Levincia Gym Badge, two crossed screw heads wreathed with lightning motifs. She bent again and set it lightly on Jason.
Metal clicked faintly against his soft body. Iono's smile brightened. She clapped and proclaimed, loud enough to fill the gym:
"Congratulations to Challenger Jason on completing the Levincia Gym challenge and earning the Electric Badge!"
The three Pokémon froze. Won? Looking like that—he'd won?
They stared from the limp Jason to the gleaming badge, brains lagging. It looked like he'd lost, didn't it?
Jason seemed roused by Iono's voice. He forced his eyelids up, glanced at the badge, then at Iono. His voice was weak, tinged with unwillingness. "Next time… I'll show you what I can really do…"
Saying it in fits and starts seemed to drain what strength he had. Iono's smile only widened. She leaned and whispered into his ear, words only they could hear:
"Okay~ I'll be waiting."
Her tone brimmed with delight and anticipation. Then she straightened, stepped back, and gestured toward the exit.
"The challenge is over—you can head out."
Flopped on Miraidon, Jason couldn't move a muscle. He signaled Miraidon, which turned toward the door. Iron Valiant's killing aura ebbed away. It still didn't understand what had happened, but the badge—and Jason's own acknowledgement—were enough; it holstered its hostility, following behind. As it passed Iono, it gave her a long, deep look.
Gast drifted up beside Jason, worry all over her face. "Jason, are you okay?"
"I'm… fine," he rasped. "Just… a little tired."
They left in silence—across the arena, through the hall, to the front doors. Iono followed to see them out.
"Safe travels," she said from the doorway, waving. Jason could barely lift a hand in reply.
Miraidon bore him away, vanishing into Levincia's glittering streets. Iono stood there, watching them go. The smile faded; her gaze grew unfocused, thoughtful. She stood a long time—until they were completely out of sight. Only then did she seem to come back to herself. She exhaled a long breath, turned, and slowly swung the heavy doors shut.
Thud.
The doors sealed, blocking out light and noise. The lobby fell into dim stillness. As they closed, Iono's body wobbled. The straight line of her back suddenly collapsed. She grabbed the wall to steady herself—her legs were going soft whether she liked it or not. She'd been forcing it in front of them, playing the cool, unruffled victor. Now that she was alone, that façade drained away as if pulled from a plug.
A fine sheen of sweat beaded on her forehead. She slid down the wall until she sat on the floor. The tiles were cool—not that she cared. An indescribable exhaustion welled up from everywhere at once.
After a long rest, she managed to stand, steps a little wobbly, and shuffled back toward the lounge. Her footsteps echoed through the empty gym.
Back inside, she didn't even glance at the furnishings—she fell face-first onto the soft sofa and buried her face in a pillow, not wanting to move at all. Those "three hours of intense challenge" had drained her completely. She felt more spent than after a marathon stream.
Much later, she rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling, a complicated look on her face: tired, savoring, and a little happy. She lifted a hand to her lips and murmured, "Jason… worthy of a Ditto. Way too good…"
"I'm done—I need a few days off."
She picked up her phone, fingers trembling slightly as she opened her socials and typed a new post:
"Attention, fans: Levincia Gym will be temporarily closed for three days due to internal line maintenance. Sorry for the inconvenience to challengers. —Gym Leader Iono."
Tap—sent.
She tossed the phone aside and closed her eyes. She fell asleep almost instantly. In her dreams, she could still feel her legs trembling.
~~~
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