Chapter 506 - 504
Hikaru was a little surprised, but Miraidon was far too timid in battle. Add in the fact that its time-travel arrival was off, plus its model being too outdated, and it suddenly felt perfectly normal that it was being "managed" by Iron Crown, this "latest weapon."
"Aniki, this machine, this Future Paradox Pokémon, what is it even buzzing about?" Arven had finally caught his breath, but he couldn't understand the electronic tones of the Future Pokémon at all.
Hikaru gave a simple explanation. "This is Iron Crown. It's the Future Paradox form of the Legendary Swordsman Cobalion, or you could say it's a Pokémon created using that Legendary Pokémon as the template."
"I know it. Uh, so what exactly happened here? Is Iron Leaves here?"
[Human! Your arrival is perfectly timed!]
Iron Crown nodded.
[Iron Leaves was severely damaged in the previous battle. Here in Research Station No. 4, there are no Pokémon capable of repairing her, and our own maintenance has also run into problems.]
[Taking advantage of this brief chance to breathe, I would like to ask you to perform a restoration on her. You came to Area Zero for some plan or work of your own, correct? In any case, you have saved us once again. Thank you very much.]
[We lack sufficient mechanical materials for repairs. We can only dismantle instruments within the station to use as temporary replacements. More and more of our companions have crashed during battle. Due to an error in my decision-making, my companions have been forced into this dangerous situation. I bear responsibility.]
[Long-term maintenance is necessary. The professor who signed the maintenance agreement with us, and promised to send us back to the future, suddenly underwent a drastic change in personality. Regarding the "Tera Project" and the "Paradise" she spoke of…]
[She intends to turn this place into a paradise where ancient Pokémon can exist. According to what the professor's duplicate stated, that is the world the original dreamed of during her lifetime.]
[However, the appearance of Future Pokémon was an accident. It is said to have been the dream of another professor. Thus, the married couple planned to let the ancient and the future coexist. Yet now it appears the primal, foundational power from the distant past is simply far too violent.]
[According to the professor's duplicate's evaluation, their vitality will destroy the modern ecosystem. But the professor herself said this, too, is a "natural result."]
[Our calculations cannot understand it.]
[Pokémon from different worlds, forcibly integrated together. Is that not extremely strange? What "natural result" could this possibly be?]
[We attempted to persuade her. The professor's duplicate agreed to our request, and she also believed this was incorrect. But now everything has changed.]
[At present, we cannot determine how far the Tera Project has progressed. We only know the time machine is still continuously summoning ancient Pokémon here. Of course, mixed among them are strange mechanical Pokémon like Iron Bundle, which are not aligned with our faction. It seems to be acting under someone's orders. At times it appears near the research stations, and even launches attacks.]
[We, meanwhile, have been abiding by the past agreement. Protocol 3: protect Area Zero, and forbid ancient Pokémon from leaving the crater and causing destruction. However, we have failed to fully uphold this protocol.]
[Containment has failed.]
Iron Crown explained everything in exhaustive detail.
The appearance of the Future Pokémon began with a single transmission by the time machine, many years ago now. Back then, the other professor was even still alive.
This also matched the notes found in Research Station No. 3, where the author referred to themselves as "we," not "I."
Koraidon or Miraidon was transferred first. After that, Professor Sada obtained a new "treasure," meaning she became pregnant with Arven. At the same time, the transfers of ancient and future Pokémon gradually succeeded, one after another.
By the time things reached Research Station No. 4, Professor Turo had died, Arven had been born, and with manpower insufficient, for abnormal and unknown reasons, Professor Sada's duplicate was created. That was the AI Professor.
It was only then that the time machine truly began to be perfected.
Before that, the time machine had been an incomplete "half-finished product."
In other words, it was something like the time machine developed by Dr. Taim and Dr. Buck, except far more impressive. After all, this one really could continue transferring Pokémon in a sustained manner.
Hikaru led Arven into the research station. Walking Wake, Archaludon, and Aerodactyl stayed outside, squatting there to keep watch over the defeated Paradox Pokémon.
At the same time, among the Future Paradox Pokémon nearby, Hikaru spotted a familiar face.
"Mecha Tyranitar?!"
[Hello, Creator. I am Iron Thorns!]
The one that looked exactly like a mechanical Tyranitar spoke.
"No, I know your name. But you're calling me 'Creator'?"
[This one appears to be a descendant of Mecha Tyranitar, or rather, a subsequent modified type,] Iron Crown explained. [Although it comes from a different era than ours, it is said to have arrived from an extremely distant future, supposedly one billion years later.]
"But it's still Rock plus Electric."
Iron Thorns, Tyranitar's Future Paradox form, is considered to be based on the Unova movie tokusatsu series "Super Tyranitar," a Pokémon created with Mecha Tyranitar as its inspiration.
In fact, there is another Pokémon of that type: Duraludon.
But after Duraludon evolves into Archaludon, it can be said to have completely broken away from the "Mecha Tyranitar" stereotype and turned into Bridge Arrows.
Iron Thorns looks extremely similar to Tyranitar, yet its lore portrays it as extremely calm and disliking pointless conflict.
Because of its metallic armor and high intelligence, there are even rumors that Iron Thorns is what Tyranitar becomes a billion years into the future.
Still, due to its unimpressive base stat distribution, despite its cool appearance, it lacks many strong moves in battle. Its highest-damage set is absurdly something like Tera Bug Pin Missile.
On top of that, compared to the original's Sand Stream, Quark Drive is, without question, a massive downgrade.
As a result, in competitive battling, Iron Thorns was once a frequent benchwarmer, and it even spawned the meme that "future evolutions aren't necessarily buffs, they can be nerfs."
And an even more famous nickname: "Iron Trash."
Why is it called Iron Trash?
Sure, a quadruple weakness is the mark of the strong. But the Iron Thorns with a quadruple weakness to Ground does not seem to belong among the strong.
So, which Paradox Pokémon do you think is the weakest, and why?
[Objection!]
At that moment, Iron Thorns spoke up. Its eyes flickered as it explained to Hikaru.
[I inherited Tyranitar's genes, but at the same time, I possess the program of Super Tyranitar. Therefore, my typing can be switched.]
[Creator, the one who granted us this kind of change is you. Because you modified Mecha Tyranitar, we gained additional typing.]
"Additional typing?" Hikaru was suddenly surprised. "Don't tell me it's…"
Iron Thorns:
[Depending on the program and battle conditions, I can switch between Rock plus Electric, or Steel plus Electric.]
[According to ancient data records, Super Tyranitar M.B.'s typing is Steel.]
Steel and Electric.
Hikaru's expression shifted noticeably.
Even if it was still quadruple-weak to Ground, it gained a whole pile of extra resistances.
"Super Tyranitar M.B. is depicted in the movies as pure Steel type."
"And Super Tyranitar M.B. Type-2 is Steel and Electric."
"Wait, so because I operated Super Tyranitar, Iron Thorns ended up becoming Type-2 instead?!"
Now this really wasn't "Iron Trash" anymore.
Of course, Iron Thorns still had issues like its Ability and STAB moves being underwhelming. As for speed, while in competitive battling it would still lose to "Queen" and "Chicken Bro" even after one Dragon Dance, in real combat this wasn't much of a problem.
Its speed was a bit low, but it was really only "1 point" low.
"If it could learn Magnet Rise, it'd be truly nasty. Even the quadruple weakness could be dodged."
Iron Thorns' objection was only a brief interlude.
Inside Research Station No. 4, just like in the game, broken and toppled instruments and canisters littered the place. It looked like something had rampaged through here. Blast marks clung to the walls, refusing to fade. Some equipment had been dismantled for use in repairing the Future Pokémon.
At the same time, the Terastal phenomenon had begun to erode everything here.
In the corners around them, several crashed Future Paradox units had been placed. Iron Leaves was among them, kneeling in a corner, battered all over, looking as if it were completely wrecked.
After all, this thing was quadruple-weak to Bug. If it ran into a random Slither Wing, it really could get punched dead in one hit. That weakness was something Iron Leaves simply could not avoid.
"The notes in Research Station No. 4…"
[We are short on manpower, and we are out of time. That person also left after the child was born. Even if we call in new people, we cannot build trust immediately. They are of no use at all. If only there could be one more me.]
[We added one researcher. Efficiency has doubled. This researcher possesses knowledge and technical ability equal to mine. They are a bit too rigid, but flawless. Another Koraidon transfer succeeded as well. Individual No. 2 has an extremely violent temperament.]
The original notes were unchanged.
Though, after the transfer, Individual No. 2 should have started destroying things. Did the author really still have time to write notes?
Hikaru kept flipping, and then he saw something different.
[When synchronizing the transfer of ancient Pokémon, future Pokémon occasionally also appear. This must be a backdoor left behind by that person.]
[Even now, with the time machine's development at this stage, this issue has not been resolved. I have decided to repair this backdoor.]
[That Future Paradox gave me a very bad feeling, but it offered suggestions regarding my method of repairing the time machine.]
[Future Pokémon possess high intelligence, and can even control certain machinery. It said this is a basic capability of Future Paradox units. I held a discussion with it as future types. Even it believes Future types are too cold and emotionless.]
[On that point, I agree with it.]
[Closing the one-way transfer from the future, and only retaining the transfer from the past, is necessary. During our conversation, I discovered its views and techniques share a high degree of similarity with that person's. Does this imply Future types can rapidly learn certain technologies?]
That was where the new notes ended.
But in Hikaru's heart, a grim suspicion began to form.
In the Pokémon world, the motives behind major incidents are often not hard to guess. A lot of supposed "darkness" never goes beyond a shallow surface.
Aside from self-absorbed schemers like Ghetsis, and money-obsessed bosses like Giovanni, most villains are either shut-ins and idiots, or outright lunatics.
So, combined with the notes in Research Station No. 3…
Hikaru told Iron Crown the contents of the new notes from Research Station No. 3. It nearly pushed the leader of the Swords into an overload state.
Iron Crown's buzzing electronic tone was filled with disbelief, regret, and pain.
[Iron Boulder. The successor of Terrakion. The final piece of the future Three Swords. Even though we, as managers of the future metropolis, searched continuously, we were never able to find the Iron Boulder that had been modified by an evil organization. Then the answer is because…]
[At the point in time when we were searching, it had already been fully modified, and had already been transmitted away.]
[Combining the transmission timing of Iron Serpent and calculating based on the information you provided, this is a plausible, high-probability event. Therefore, as the first Future Pokémon to be transferred…]
[Iron Boulder is not aligned with us.]
[Everything has become clear. The reason the professor's duplicate suddenly changed in personality is now also clear. If it has control of Professor Turo's technology, then hacking the time machine's program is indeed possible. It is the hijacker.]
[As for the reason for the hijacking, I can roughly guess it as well. As a weapon modified by an evil organization, its objective can only be one thing.]
[It refuses to shut down the time machine, and it refuses to send us back to the future.]
[I never imagined that we, the Future forms of the Three Swords, would end up becoming weapons one after another. This is shameful.]
[Even more unexpectedly, the time machine contains a battle program.]
[That is why the Area Zero lab suddenly sealed and locked itself, and forbade Pokémon inside from entering or leaving. However, the time machine's operating range is the entire bottom of Area Zero's crater, so ancient Pokémon are still being summoned here without end.]
"No. The lab sealing itself probably has nothing to do with it. It might even be locked in there as well."
"Besides, even if the battle program was activated by it, the higher-level Paradise navigation program probably isn't something it could hijack. It might even have been turned into a weapon in reverse."
"And sending things back to the future isn't simple. In fact, that machine is very likely a one-way transfer device."
Hikaru waved a hand.
The four locks in Area Zero had been sealed long ago. In the original plot, they existed too. It's just unknown who set them.
Anyway, the AI professor cannot leave Area Zero, and the original professor is dead, so the locks have no "normal" user.
And the time machine transfer itself is a trap of its own.
The AI professor said it personally. Once the "mass" reaches the level of a human, it can't be sent back. It doesn't matter whether you pull it over here or travel over there.
If Future Pokémon want to go back, they can only be dismantled into parts and transmitted piece by piece.
At that moment, Iron Crown was in mental overload.
Why would a time machine have a battle program?
"Uh, it's to prevent others from shutting down the time machine. The original professor set more than one layer of defensive measures. The battle program is only the first line of defense. Like I said, there's a more powerful program after that."
Iron Crown:
[Cannot understand. Why insist on creating a false paradise where coexistence is impossible, and even protect the time machine to such an extent?]
Although Hikaru was talking with Iron Crown, for Arven, who couldn't understand anything on Iron Crown's side, he could only catch what Hikaru himself said.
But by now, Arven already had an awful feeling.
"Aniki."
Arven abruptly cut in, staring at Hikaru. "You… you keep saying AI professor, and original professor. What does that mean?"
"The one inside the lab right now… is that really my mom?"
"Of course it's your mom." Hikaru waved a hand. "Since we're at Research Station No. 4, it's about time I told you the truth. You've followed me all the way here. This isn't a place just anyone can reach."
"Though yeah, it's my first time here too."
"Your mother ran into a bottleneck in her research, so she couldn't go home. She stayed here to build the paradise she envisioned, where she could live happily together with ancient Pokémon, and she used the time machine to keep transferring Pokémon."
"Didn't you live with Koraidon for a while?"
Arven nodded. "Yeah. You told me that before, Aniki, though I don't know how you knew. Back then, Koraidon hurt other Pokémon around it, so my mom took it away."
"I always felt like it stole Mom from me. So I didn't like it."
"Mom said it was the deepest fighting instinct and wildness hidden inside Koraidon that made it attack other Pokémon. Now that I've seen the ancient ones in Area Zero, I can understand that wildness."
"They're not like the Future Pokémon. They look like they're angry all the time."
Hikaru said, "The notes here recorded what happened."
"After you were born, and after you lived with Koraidon for a while, your mom brought Koraidon back here, right into Research Station No. 4."
"And to keep developing the time machine, Professor Sada used some unknown technology. She created an artificial intelligence based on her own knowledge and memories. That's the AI professor we've been talking about. She has exactly the same technique and ability as your mother, and she fully inherited your mother's personality and emotions."
"Then your mom performed another time machine transfer. This time, a second Koraidon came through. This individual was extremely violent, and it triggered a massive explosion in the station."
"And so, Professor Sada died in that explosion."
Hikaru told Arven everything in full. Arven had already prepared himself mentally, at least a little, but at that moment his head still buzzed, and his mind went completely blank.
Mabosstiff seemed to understand, too. It held its mouth slightly open in disbelief, sniffing repeatedly, searching for the lingering scent Professor Sada had left behind here.
"M-my mom, she… she…"
Even though he hadn't spent much time with Professor Sada, Arven still loved this mother in his heart. Now he was being told she was just gone, and his emotions surged out of control. Tears and snot poured out in an instant.
Iron Crown:
[Based on what we know, Professor Sada misjudged the power of Pokémon. In order to rescue the first Koraidon, she stepped forward, and thus died.]
Hikaru nodded. "That's right."
That was also what the original Sada AI said.
She claimed it wasn't the Pokémon's fault, but the professor's misjudgment.
From her attitude, Sada AI did not support Professor Sada's Tera Project, so she likely could not understand the professor's actions.
Still, Sada AI also said that if the professor knew the Koraidon she protected was still alive and well, she would feel very comforted.
"The second Koraidon really is violent, and its level is quite high, but…"
That so-called paradise guardian dragon is only Level 72, while Iron Crown is Level 75.
Well, that's under normal circumstances.
Right now, Iron Crown clearly didn't have power above Level 70 anymore. But Iron Boulder might.
"I'll repair Iron Leaves and the others. It won't take too long."
Hikaru prepared to start restoring these Future types. He'd done this kind of work once before. With future-tech on hand, material shortages weren't a big issue.
Because standing right beside him was a "forging knight."
Armarouge's psychic power plus sacred flame meant that if he needed any component, it could be hand-crafted on the spot. It was even more convenient than Hikaru's own strength.
And also, there was another one.
[Hello! Long time no see!]
Iron Valiant emerged from a Cherish Ball. When it came to repairing Future Paradox Pokémon, Iron Valiant also had corresponding technical modules.
She greeted Iron Crown, though in truth the two weren't especially close.
Iron Crown:
[It has been some time, Unit 1. Seeing you in such excellent condition brings me joy. Unit 2 Iron Valiant will be pleased as well.]
Inside Research Station No. 4, on one side were the Future types waiting to be repaired, and on the other was Arven, sinking into himself like a shut-in kid.
Of course, Hikaru didn't need to spell it out. After Arven's mood crashed, he quickly realized the truly important point.
A mom copied with all of the professor's knowledge, personality, emotions, and memories meant he still had another mom.
If the first mom was already…
Then at the very least, he had to save the second mom.
"A-Aniki, you're going into the lab this time, right? You are, right! You said before you were entrusted by my mom. What was that about?"
"M-my second mom, what's going on with her now?"
Arven looked at Hikaru.
While Hikaru was repairing Iron Leaves, he thought for a moment.
"Since you understand the time machine, you should understand one thing."
"You have many mothers, watching you from different worlds. She was obsessed with ancient Pokémon, and because of that she neglected your existence. But for the AI professor, I think what she inherited wasn't only Professor Sada's personality and memories."
"I think she also inherited the part the professor could never properly express."
"Namely, a family's love for you."
"So no matter which timeline it is…"
"You can be sure your mom loves you."
Light slowly returned to Arven's eyes.
And inside Hikaru's backpack…
[Soulheart] began to glow with faint radiance, as if resonating with some kind of emotion or energy.
(End of Chapter)
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