"That's Iron Hands!"
"The other one is a future Paradox Pokémon too — but I've never seen it before."
Hannah and Garke were both stunned at the sight of the two Pokémon blocking the elevator entrance, especially since neither of them could identify the second one.
[LV60 Iron Hands / Champion]
[LV65 Iron Valiant / Pseudo-Legendary]
"Blastoise, come out."
The moment Gary laid eyes on the two Pokémon, he released Blastoise without a word.
"HANDS!"
The instant Iron Hands saw Gary send out his Pokémon, it thrust one of its enormous palms forward. Crackling with electricity, the massive hand rocketed toward Blastoise.
Iron Hands could manipulate magnetic force. Its palms were controlled entirely through magnetism, allowing it to fire them off like projectiles and reel them back in at will.
"KAMI!"
Blastoise didn't hesitate for a second. The twin cannons on its back roared, firing two silver beams. The first knocked Iron Hands' palm clean off course, while the second slammed into Iron Hands itself, hurling it ten meters backward.
"HANDS...!"
Iron Hands was shaken. Its heavy frame had been sent flying by a single attack. Its opponent was far stronger than it had anticipated.
"VAL!"
Iron Valiant's right hand shifted into a double-edged blade. It closed the distance on Blastoise in an instant, bringing the gleaming weapon down in a vicious arc.
Clang!
With no time to counter, Blastoise threw up Iron Defense and caught the blade head-on.
"Dynamic Punch!" Gary ordered.
Blastoise immediately swung a fist at Iron Valiant, but the Paradox Pokémon sprang backward to open up space, then split into more than a dozen shadow clones to throw Blastoise off.
"Eevee, that one's yours," Gary said.
"VEE!"
Eevee nodded and charged straight at Iron Hands.
Iron Valiant spared Eevee only the briefest glance. It made no attempt to intercept, keeping its full attention locked on Blastoise.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh...!
A dozen Iron Valiant clones surged forward as one. The gleaming blades in their hands abruptly shifted to a vivid green — Leaf Blade.
Iron Valiant had already analyzed Blastoise's typing and selected a Grass-type move to exploit it.
"Aqua Cutter!" Gary ordered.
"KAMI!"
Blastoise withdrew into its shell and began spinning at high speed. Water streamed across its surface, and the rotation shaped it into a whirling blade of pressurized water that tore through Iron Valiant's assault without mercy.
Bang!!
The force behind Aqua Cutter blasted Iron Valiant more than ten meters back.
"VAL!"
The instant it recovered, Iron Valiant used Double Team again. It was remarkably sharp — it didn't simply keep attacking blindly. The moment an offensive failed, it fell back on clones to muddy its opponent's aim.
"Flush it out with Aura Sphere," Gary ordered coldly.
Bang! Bang!
Two Aura Spheres launched from Blastoise's cannons, locking onto Iron Valiant and homing in automatically.
Iron Valiant was caught off guard — it hadn't expected Blastoise to have a move that could track it. It swept its blade around and twisted its body, cleaving both spheres in two.
Boom! Boom!
The severed Aura Spheres detonated anyway. The shockwave swept Iron Valiant's hair back dramatically, lending it an oddly graceful silhouette for a brief moment.
That elegance didn't last. Two silver beams came screaming in.
Caught completely off guard, Iron Valiant could only raise its blade to shield itself. But the instant the beams connected, it was driven back more than ten meters, crashing through a large tree before finally skidding to a halt.
"VAL...!"
Enduring Blastoise's Flash Cannon had drained Iron Valiant almost completely. As a Fairy/Fighting dual-type, it was hopelessly vulnerable to Steel-type attacks.
Bang!!
Clang!
A commotion erupted from the other side of the field.
Eevee's Dig had erupted beneath Iron Hands, flipping the massive Pokémon flat onto its back.
Iron Hands was built much like Hariyama — once that bulk hit the ground, getting back up was no easy feat. For several long seconds, it could only flail helplessly.
Eevee burst out of the earth and slammed Iron Hands with Psychic. The blow drained whatever fight it had left.
Even Iron Valiant looked briefly taken aback. It hadn't expected its partner to go down that fast.
Seeing Iron Hands defeated, Gary pulled out a Poké Ball and hurled it at the downed Pokémon.
Bang!
The ball struck Iron Hands and pulled it inside.
Gary didn't spare it another glance and immediately called out, "Blastoise, Hydro Pump!"
"KAMI!"
Not about to be outdone by Eevee, Blastoise compressed the water energy in its cannons and unleashed two thick, roaring torrents.
"VAL!"
Iron Valiant scattered into clones once more — but it had badly underestimated Blastoise.
Blastoise simply swept its body to the right, and the twin water columns swung with it, carving across the entire battlefield. Every clone was blown apart, and Iron Valiant's real body was caught in the deluge along with them.
The full force of Hydro Pump drove Iron Valiant into the rock face, carving out a deep crater before the water finally died down.
Iron Valiant hung embedded in the wall, eyes spiraling, completely unconscious.
[Ding! Iron Hands captured. Mission reward has been sent to System Storage.]
"VEE!"
Eevee trotted back to Gary, cradling the Poké Ball containing Iron Hands.
Gary took it, then walked over to the wall and looked up at the unconscious Iron Valiant. He drew a second red-and-white ball and threw it.
Iron Valiant was captured without the slightest resistance.
[Ding! Iron Valiant captured. Mission reward has been sent to System Storage.]
After reviewing the data on both Paradox Pokémon and finding nothing especially noteworthy, Gary walked over to Professor Sada.
"Professor, these are yours." Gary handed over the two Poké Balls.
Professor Sada accepted them, her voice full of admiration. "Gary, I truly underestimated you. I think you're already strong enough to go toe-to-toe with Chairwoman Geeta."
Professor Sada hadn't encountered many genuinely powerful Trainers in her life. The strongest Trainer in the Paldea League was Geeta.
Geeta had been down to Area Zero herself and captured Pokémon there, and she'd made it look every bit as effortless as Gary just had.
Until now, Professor Sada had simply regarded Gary as a Trainer with tremendous potential. But after coming to Area Zero and watching how casually he dismantled these Pokémon, her assessment had changed dramatically.
She had witnessed Gary capture Iron Bundle, but she hadn't seen his battles against Iron Thorns or Iron Treads. This time, she'd watched him take on two Paradox Pokémon single-handedly — and the sight had left her genuinely shaken.
"You're overstating it. Chairwoman Geeta is still stronger than me. I've still got a way to go before I reach Champion level," Gary replied modestly.
Geeta may not have held a ranking in the World Coronation Series, but that hardly meant she was weak. She had simply dedicated herself entirely to the Paldea Region and never had the time to compete on the world stage.
After all, what lurked within the Great Crater of Paldea was far too dangerous. Paradox Pokémon in particular were considered extraordinarily hazardous — and to this day, no one knew where they had truly come from.