Chapter 507 - 505
[Confirmed. Reboot successful!]
[Very happy to see you, human mechanic! Very happy to see you, Iron Valiant!]
With Hikaru, Iron Valiant, and Armarouge handling repairs, the broken Iron Leaves, Iron Hands, and the other Future Pokémon were quickly brought back online.
And every single one of them was a Pokémon they had once seen in the Future City.
"The Pokémon in the city weren't that numerous to begin with. Transferring several over at once, and all from the same batch, who's managing the Future City now?"
Iron Crown replied, [By order of authority, it is currently managed by Unit 2 Iron Valiant. However, it is still unknown whether she has been transmitted.]
Mentioning Unit 2 again put a trace of worry into Iron Valiant's eyes.
Now, she had already recorded all kinds of emotions very completely, and was gradually learning which feelings would surface in which situations.
Once the heart was filled in, growth like this was only a matter of time.
"If Iron Crown is the Autobots, then Iron Boulder is the Decepticons. A comrade from the same faction turning traitor, isn't that literally Beast Machines Season 2?"
"Got it. Iron Boulder is Rhinox Warrior."
After unlocking Research Station No. 4, there was only one target left.
Breaking into the Zero Lab was basically effortless now. Once the lock was undone, it didn't matter how tightly the lab's gate was sealed.
Because Hikaru had "entry authorization" for the lab, and even more importantly, the "Blue Disk."
[About what you said earlier, I want to confirm something,] Iron Crown asked.
[If mass reaches the level of a human, then returning to the past or future becomes impossible. Is that true?]
[The professor's duplicate guaranteed to us that she would develop a time machine capable of round trips.]
"Yeah, at that stage she was probably still in her 'career rising' phase, so she was full of confidence about the future."
Hikaru spread his hands. "But the machine really does have limitations. In the end, you aren't normal time travelers. Using an instrument to force space-time traversal, you're going to run into all kinds of problems."
"Sure, I won't rule out Sada AI eventually perfecting it into something that can properly travel back and forth. But even so, I don't recommend doing that."
[You say you don't recommend it?] Iron Crown didn't understand at first, but then it thought of that enormous being that had once granted them hearts.
[Is it because that Pokémon dislikes it?]
"More accurately, every world has a being like that. Sometimes more than one."
Hikaru explained to Iron Crown, raising three fingers.
"Time, space, and antimatter. Those three forces form the universe we live in. And three Pokémon were given the mission of overseeing those three worlds. They orbit the real world in motion. Above them is the world of the true creator."
That was what the movie Arceus and the Jewel of Life had alluded to.
"Our world," "Dialga's world," "Palkia's world," "Giratina's world," and "Arceus's world."
In each space-time, the Pokémon universe could be roughly divided into five worlds.
"Among them, you've already seen the Legendary Pokémon that governs space. Space is a part of the mind."
"And the other one, the Legendary Pokémon that governs time. In theory, all time travel happens under its witness. But as the pillars of the world, even if you travel through time, they won't necessarily say anything."
"However, if you can freely travel back and forth through time, there's only one Pokémon that fits that description. The Mythical Pokémon called Celebi."
"You probably don't know this."
"The past can be rewritten. That's why only Celebi can travel across eras. And because of Celebi's activity, more than one past and future has already been altered."
"The birth of Paradox Pokémon, and many things in Area Zero, are consequences of time travel."
At that moment, Iron Crown understood.
[The time-governing Legendary Pokémon has the power to rewrite the past, yet even ordinary lifeforms traveling through time can rewrite history. Seen that way, it is truly merciful and tolerant.]
[Space-time traversal itself is not the problem.]
[But the professor's idea was wrong from the beginning. Even the duplicate does not believe it is correct.]
[I understand. The state of Area Zero is the disastrous outcome of abusing time-travel technology.]
[Therefore, your view is that the time machine must be shut down, or even destroyed? Then a more peculiar point emerges.]
[Even in the future era, there is no such thing as a time machine. The only two time machines I have seen were made by people of the past. Why?]
"Shutting this time machine down, it's easy to say it, and it's easy in one sense. But in another sense, it really isn't that simple."
Hikaru glanced at Arven, who had just managed to pull himself together again.
The so-called "official" shutdown method was actually wrong.
The real method was…
Arven's second mom would have to "die" one more time, or vanish outright.
That was beyond insane.
Professor Sada would do anything to prevent the time machine from being shut down. She even treated her duplicate as an insurance policy.
"These ancient Pokémon's impact on the modern era is far more violent than even fossil Pokémon."
"If they leave Area Zero, they really will slam into Paldea's ecosystem."
Iron Crown thought for a moment, then answered.
[Even if we cannot return to the future, we must force our way into the Zero Lab.]
[The heart of Cobalion tells me I cannot stand by and do nothing.]
[At the same time, we still have a sliver of hope of returning to the future. And with Iron Boulder also inside the lab, we cannot ignore this even more.]
[You should be confident you can defeat that program and Iron Boulder, correct?]
"No problem. If it really comes down to it, I can step onto the field myself." Hikaru patted the Capture Styler, only to see Iron Crown's puzzled expression and go instantly speechless.
"I'm not joking. I mean it."
"Humans have plenty of ways to fight. The Capture Styler… fine, you've never seen this thing, and yeah, it might not work on Future Pokémon, since I've never tested it. Maybe I'll test it on you guys?"
"But against ancient Pokémon, it's extremely effective. And besides, I have weapons."
Capture Styler, high-tech light cannon, Instant Sword, E-bullet gun.
Which corresponded to:
Support. Long-range.
Melee. Pacification.
And even though there wasn't anything that looked "defensive," the Instant Sword was both an offensive tool and a defensive, parry-and-counter tool.
Aside from getting bullied when facing A-Jin, this sword had been the highlight in basically every other fight.
Iron Crown didn't understand.
But it was deeply shocked.
After a moment of thought, it turned to Iron Valiant.
[To prepare for unexpected incidents, I judge it necessary to copy our special capability programs to you.]
[One is a blade of particles. One is an intangible blade of the mind.]
"I was thinking about that too!" Hikaru looked at Iron Crown. "By your unique capabilities, you mean Tachyon Cutter and Psyblade, right!"
Now that was perfect alignment.
Those two moves were the signature techniques of Iron Crown and Iron Leaves. Since they were mechanical weapons, these moves were likely certain attack devices built into their bodies. If the manufacturing method could be learned, then other mechanical Pokémon could theoretically be fitted with them too.
Granted, one was Steel and one was Psychic. For Iron Valiant, a Fairy and Fighting type, neither received STAB.
But Iron Valiant didn't have many Steel-type moves she could use. In certain situations, a guaranteed-hit, two-strike Tachyon Cutter could become extremely useful.
And Psyblade was even more fitting for a "strongest psychic Pokémon" style of technique. On Electric Terrain, its power would rise by 1.5 times.
"…man?"
While Hikaru, Iron Crown, and Iron Leaves were communicating, Palafin sensed a special energy, like a whisper from the mind. The source of that "voice of the heart" was Hikaru's huge backpack resting on the floor.
At the same time, Hikaru also felt the tremor of psychic power. Following Palafin's hint, he found the true source.
A small core, flickering with faint light, was releasing a special energy.
The "voice" Palafin sensed was coming from Soul-Heart. The reason Palafin noticed first was because some of Palafin's abilities resembled Finizen's. Those Pokémon used ultrasound to sense a living being's mood.
And Soul-Heart possessed a similar power, sensing and syncing emotions.
[What is that device?]
Iron Crown detected the power inside Soul-Heart. The energy output of this spherical device wasn't high yet, but after analysis, Iron Crown reached a frightening conclusion.
If this energy were scaled up proportionally, it would become a truly terrifying device.
What was this, exactly?
[An unfinished mechanical device?]
"Yeah. It was originally an unfinished Pokémon, an existence created using ancient mysterious science." Hikaru answered, soothing it. "It's normal to feel a bit afraid. The technology used to create Soul-Heart resembles something called the Ultimate Weapon."
"But don't worry. Magearna doesn't have that kind of power yet."
"Magearna, are you awake?"
Hikaru addressed Soul-Heart, and received an answer.
Magearna: "Your Majesty, where is this? I… I'm awake again. Being awake feels so good. But why?"
"I can feel the power in my heart gradually filling up. Power keeps flowing into my heart. There are so many forces, like the forces of nature, affecting me, and so many, so many Pokémon speaking."
"I can feel it. So many Pokémon here have hearts full of pain."
Hikaru said, "In the legend from five hundred years ago, Magearna could synchronize consciousness, sense the feelings of other Pokémon, even humans, their thoughts, and physical condition. If a Pokémon is injured, she feels its pain and hardship, and desperately tries to help."
"The reason you can wake up is probably because we're already close to the lower depths."
"The crystals inside Area Zero hold unbelievable energy. They can change a creature's capabilities, improve a machine's performance. Pokémon Terastallization comes from this energy too."
"Even though you're a product of mysterious science and not the same as this technology, your mechanical performance will still improve because of it. Terastal energy will replenish your power. And also, maybe there's one more reason."
Ability: Soul-Heart.
Whenever any Pokémon on the field is knocked out, Special Attack rises by one stage, ally or enemy.
Soul-Heart was the core of an artificial lifeform created after the genius scientist and leading authority of mysterious science, Eliphas, collected Pokémon life energy.
Even as a defective, failed product, it could still absorb a small amount of life energy.
Holding Soul-Heart in his hand, Hikaru suddenly had an idea.
If Iron Valiant could be fitted with special programs and learn two new signature moves, then in Area Zero, where Future Pokémon fought as teammates, her card ability "Solemn Sword" would become extremely powerful.
Then if he also let Iron Valiant carry Soul-Heart…
"Could it trigger both Quark Drive and Soul-Heart at once? Using Magearna's power, while defeating opponents, it could also absorb a bit of life energy."
"That should be helpful for repairing Magearna."
Because without the mysterious-science technology, proper repairs were impossible.
But by collecting life energy, Soul-Heart would become more active. The more energy stored, the more it would help Magearna's shattered mind, and the strength she would have later, once she was truly reborn as a Pokémon.
Life-energy technology was something Hikaru didn't approve of. Usually, Pokémon that had their life energy extracted would become weak.
However…
These ancient Paradox Pokémon ran around like lunatics every day anyway. For those guys, losing a little life energy might be no big deal at all.
It might even be replenished immediately by Terastal energy.
"Ancient vitality… I didn't expect it to be such a good fit with Soul-Heart."
In normal competitive formats, Mythical Pokémon were usually banned. But once Mythical rules were enabled, the battlefield's lineup became:
"Extreme Speed Arceus and Magearna's awakening."
And the other Mythicals were practically nowhere to be found.
To be compared side by side with Arceus was enough to show just how absurdly powerful Magearna's Soul-Heart was.
"That Iron Bundle manufacturing tech should be analyzed too. It'll be useful."
Hikaru gathered parts from the research station, built a temporary container cassette for Soul-Heart, and mounted it onto Iron Valiant's back.
Now Iron Valiant looked like she was wearing a high-power upgrade pack.
"A multi-purpose assault pack… no, it should be called a Soul-Heart pack."
"For now, we'll borrow Magearna's power. And while we defeat more opponents, we'll collect ancient life energy for Magearna."
[Understood. I will take good care of Magearna.]
Iron Valiant nodded. Her light blades glimmered. Next came the program upgrade and mastering the new moves.
Iron Crown said, [We have equipment here that we replaced earlier. Use those for the upgrade. Once the program is input for compatibility, you will master it immediately.]
With the Future Swords' assistance and program input, and with many shared technical standards, it barely took any time.
Plus the light of Prism Star.
Program input and copying went unexpectedly smoothly. Before Iron Crown could even give further modification guidance, Iron Valiant was already swinging her arm.
[Program fully copied. Compatibility reached 100%. Move authorized for release.]
[Moves acquired: Tachyon Cutter and Psyblade.]
Iron Crown was stunned. [Acquired? The device has not been upgraded. How can this be?]
It couldn't make sense of it, so it could only attribute the result to some kind of technical modification Hikaru had performed on Iron Valiant. In any case, that part didn't matter.
[All units, prepare. Once the analysis of Iron Bundle's technology is complete, we depart Research Station No. 4 and breach the Zero Lab.]
Iron Crown began mobilization, though many Pokémon here had only just been repaired and their strength had not fully recovered.
If not for the Terastal energy enhancing mechanical performance, they would have already been completely scrapped.
Meanwhile, Hikaru began analyzing Iron Bundle's technology.
"Even though it's 'ultra-ancient' tech, it doesn't conflict with future-tech at all. Most of it is basically the same."
[Learned: Ultra-Ancient Manufacturing!]
[Description: A large portion of Iron Bundle's manufacturing technology matches future-tech, but it also incorporates a different technology: Ultra-Ancient Manufacturing. Using special ancient mechanical techniques and a special energy-creation technique, it surpasses the limits of ultra-ancient civilization.]
[Note: Can manufacture the "Fleur Cannon," namely Magearna's right arm. (Her right arm contains a special mechanism device, therefore it differs from other body parts.)]
[Craftable items:]
[Golden Eye, Spoon Crystal, Black Crystal Stone, Sealed Golden Bell!]
[Craftable items:]
[Ultra-Ancient Pokémon Capture Device (Rayquaza Capture Device); Armor People mechanisms; Mysterious Shrines (Seven Great Shrines) mechanisms.]
[Craftable items (New):]
[Item Printer!]
Seeing the results, Hikaru's expression turned complicated.
"Golden Eye is the tool from the original series used to seal ultra-ancient Alakazam and ultra-ancient Gengar."
"The device that captures Rayquaza is a machine developed by the Hoenn League and the Berlitz family in the Adventures manga. It can even actively manufacture a grass-green orb… no, that orb should be called the Emerald Orb."
"Armor People and the Seven Great Shrines are mechanisms from ancient ruins in Oblivia."
"But the Item Printer!"
"That's the ridiculous machine the students at Blueberry Academy hand-built. Its construction is Blueberry Academy's secret. You put Pokémon drops inside, inject BP, and it converts them into items."
"This thing… it's every artisan's mortal enemy."
Now that was truly "the power of science is incredible."
Outside Research Station No. 4.
Walking Wake, Archaludon, and Aerodactyl were watching Iron Thorns, while also staying on guard. Nearby, the ground was littered with ancient Paradox Pokémon sprawled in all directions after being defeated.
Walking Wake and Archaludon knew about the Super Tyranitar "machine dinosaur." Back then, Archaludon had still been Duraludon. Walking Wake had been locked inside a ball as a spectator. Aerodactyl, on the other hand, had never seen this thing at all.
And this Iron Thorns guy could even switch typings.
That made Aerodactyl think of itself.
Dragon energy existed inside its body too, but ever since leaving the ancient era, it could no longer switch typings.
The ancient flying dragon started scheming again, until Iron Thorns suddenly began a Dragon Dance, startling Aerodactyl.
Are you a Dragon? You can Dragon Dance too?
[By comparing ancient-world data, many non-Dragon-type Pokémon also master the move Dragon Dance. Therefore, one cannot use "knowing Dragon Dance" to determine whether a target is a Dragon.]
Iron Thorns swung its arms. Typing-switching was its proudest trick, and it all stemmed from the modifications to Super Tyranitar back in the Future City era.
[Steel and Electric typing grants me exceptional durability. Although the quadruple weakness to Ground does not change, as long as I do not encounter Ground-type Pokémon such as Great Tusk, there is no problem.]
[Do not worry. There are no Ground-type Pokémon here.]
"Waaah kiiinnng waaake!"
The dragons laughed and chatted, and then heard an electronic roar and instantly turned to look.
A Pokémon shaped like a steel tread appeared, like a mechanized Donphan, like an electronic elephant made of iron.
The ground thundered. A violent shockwave swept through the area.
[This is bad. A Ground-type Pokémon used Earthquake. It is super effective against me!]
Iron Thorns went down with a thud.
"Raaah!"
Walking Wake roared, immediately snapping its head toward its side.
Archaludon had taken an Earthquake too, and was dizzy, but it quickly recovered.
[Walking Wake is about to send out Archaludon!]
[Beep beep beep beep!]
A bizarre chorus of electronic chicken-screeches rose up. Walking Wake whipped its head around.
The "Iron Bundles," those Delibird-like ultra-ancient Pokémon, had gathered at some unknown time, from some unknown direction, as if receiving an order. They raised the bundled weapon outlets and aimed them all at Walking Wake and Aerodactyl in an instant.
Move: Freeze-Dry!
The target is rapidly frozen. Sometimes it becomes frozen solid. This move is also extremely effective against Water-type Pokémon!
"Boom boom boom!"
A deep roar came from above. Lightning flashed and thunder boomed, like war drums, echoing across the entire lower region.
One Iron Bundle looked up.
A brilliant golden bolt arrived first, striking it so hard its head popped off, black smoke pouring out as it collapsed with a crack to the ground.
Move: Thunderclap!
A priority move that can strike first with an electric attack!
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Heavy footsteps approached, from far to near. Walking Wake and Aerodactyl turned toward the sound. The gathered Iron Bundles, and the Iron Treads commanding them from behind, also snapped their gaze in the same direction.
Then, a massive body wreathed in blazing flame climbed nimbly along the crystal rock wall and slammed down with a boom, smashing Iron Treads into the ground.
A burning Flare Blitz, and Iron Treads, doubly weak to Fire, was one-shot.
"Grrraaaaooo!"
The lion-dragon threw its head back and roared.
Then, the two of them looked at Walking Wake together.
"Rrrruuuhhh…"
The ancient Three Beasts, assembled here!
(End of Chapter)
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