Chapter 508 - 506
When Hikaru, Iron Crown, and the other Pokémon left Research Station No. 4, this was the bizarre scene they saw.
A gigantic Pokémon, huge like a sauropod, almost like a thunder-brontosaurus, was stomping its way over.
And another Pokémon, its whole body blazing, like a ceratopsian mixed with a lion, was spewing ferocious flames.
The Iron Bundles had clearly received some kind of order, but the moment they saw Iron Treads had already been headbutted into a crash state by that horned beast, they started popping their heads out with loud bangs and shrieking in high-pitched beeps.
Chirp chirp chirp. Can't win, retreat!
In the future, you watch the chickens before you act.
Watching those panicking Iron Bundles trying to scatter, the two that had charged down from the upper levels, Raging Bolt and Gouging Fire, roared together in provocation.
Hmph, trying to run?
Flames wrapped around Gouging Fire's body.
Heat Crash!
Looking at Iron Bundle swarms flying in all directions, Gouging Fire carving through them like a butcher, and Raging Bolt thundering nonstop, Entei's voice drifted out of the Dream Ball.
"I never thought we'd meet again like this. That thing isn't Gouging Fire, the one summoned from ancient times?"
"It is. My sense is not wrong. It's the same individual."
"Then if Walking Wake is Suicune's ancient form, and Gouging Fire is Entei's ancient form…"
"Then that huge beast that's drawing storm clouds has to be… Raikou's ancient form!"
Hikaru nodded. "Right. Gouging Fire, and Raging Bolt."
"They've been transferred successfully."
"Hm. Along with Walking Wake, the ancient Three Beasts have reunited in a pretty weird way. But honestly, these three don't really match the word 'Beasts.' Even in ancient times they had populations."
"And I finally saw Iron Treads. Only one. Looks like it already crashed."
Iron Treads lay on the roadside, its pixel eyes showing X's. Gouging Fire had deleted it in one move. Of course, this steel mammoth wasn't completely without achievements.
[Sorry. I got taken out.]
Iron Thorns lay on the ground, but its system was still tough. Unlike Iron Treads, it hadn't passed out completely.
Seeing Iron Crown approach, Iron Thorns spoke with perfect calm.
[Apologies, Leader. I failed to notice the appearance of a Ground-type Pokémon!]
Iron Crown replied, [It's fine. You drop at light speed to Great Tusk too.]
Iron Leaves added, [This area is full of Pokémon that counter you. You truly cannot perform here.]
Iron Thorns said, [Leader Iron Leaves, I am pleased to see you restored. Um, could someone pick me up?]
While the future trio clowning around, Hikaru looked toward the fleeing Iron Bundles.
"Miraidon, use Parabolic Charge!"
"Miraidon?"
Hikaru turned around and saw Miraidon watching Iron Bundles sprinting everywhere and blasting Ice Beams, and it was so scared its tail had curled up.
"Chugaas!" Miraidon shook its head hard.
Hikaru read the timid lizard's thoughts.
"You're saying you don't dare charge in because you're afraid of getting hit by Ice Beam?"
It was normal for Dragon Pokémon to fear Ice, sure, but look at the other dragons here, including Raging Bolt, which is also weak to Ice.
That one was booming with thunder like it owned the place.
You're both Electric Dragons. Your performance is seriously not it.
Hikaru sighed. "Miraidon, looks like you're only good for official matches. For field fights…"
"Agaas!" Miraidon waved both forelimbs frantically and shrank its neck back.
Nearby, Falinks were already charging into battle, crackling and smashing several Iron Bundles.
One Iron Bundle twisted its head a full 360 degrees, then saw Falinks' captain's shield.
"Waaahg!"
Fall over for me!
At that moment, Raging Bolt, still rumbling with thunder, suddenly swung its massive neck.
As the thundercloud-like fur draped around its neck spread out, a huge electric net had somehow already been laid throughout the cavern. It dropped down in a single sweep, slamming over everything below.
Electroweb. Base power 55. Attacks with an electric net that also lowers the target's Speed.
Its effective range was every enemy Pokémon it could reach.
Pachachachacha!
The violent electricity dropped the Iron Bundles, which were doubly weak to Electric, one after another. A few tried to counterattack, but before they could even move, a streak of lightning slammed them first and flattened them on the spot.
"Thunderclap!" Hikaru saw that lightning arriving first and knew it was one of Raging Bolt's signature moves.
It was basically an Electric-type Sucker Punch, striking before the opponent's attack.
In competitive battling, Raging Bolt's usage was somewhat similar to Miraidon's, but also different. That was because this massive sauropod, or thunder-brontosaurus, had access to moves Miraidon couldn't learn.
Electroweb was one of them. As Pikachu's signature move in the anime, its utility and flexibility didn't need explanation. Of course, in actual game battling you can't do anime nonsense, so people rarely run it.
More importantly, Raging Bolt had two key moves. One was its signature Thunderclap. The other was Rising Voltage.
Rising Voltage wasn't a signature move, but it might as well be, because the only Pokémon that could truly make it disgusting was Raging Bolt.
Compared to Walking Wake, which could act as both "sun" and "rain" brother, Raging Bolt was even more of a three-way mercenary.
In sun, it was the sun brother, boosted by Protosynthesis.
In rain, it was the rain brother, Thunder always hits.
In Electric Terrain, it was the electric-field brother, Rising Voltage doubled in power.
A fortress-style turret. Ancient Raikou. Cheating priority.
A true "bolt from the blue."
Raging Bolt, truly heaven-blessed. Give it an Assault Vest.
Boom boom boom!
Raging Bolt stomped closer. It wasn't fast, but every step carried massive power, with huge strides.
Then Raging Bolt's eyes fixed on Hikaru, and there was something strange in that gaze.
So that was it. The owner of Walking Wake. Just being near him made the draconic power feel stronger, like this human wasn't human at all, but a dragon wearing a human shell.
And yet, being able to wipe out so many Great Tusks in one push, what kind of strength was that?
Hikaru said, "I can read admiration in your eyes. So that's it. Great Tusk often roam the mid-levels, which means you can't easily enter the lower levels."
"Your personality is… you respect strength. You look at the strong differently. You sensed Walking Wake here, so you came. Looks like you two aren't as hostile as I thought."
"But in terms of raw power, you're much stronger."
Raging Bolt's level was extremely high, while Walking Wake, when Hikaru first met it, probably hadn't been very strong.
Walking Wake let out a low "rrruuuhh," staring at Raging Bolt stomping in. It also looked confused.
It hadn't even met this Raging Bolt that many times in ancient days, so why was it following it now?
"Rrrroooaaah!"
Raging Bolt's fur crackled with electricity.
It didn't know either. It just felt there was some mysterious connection, and because of that connection, it had been paying attention to Walking Wake, and also to another one.
Gouging Fire.
"Grrraaaaooo!" Gouging Fire paced over, shaking its head at Hikaru.
"Heh. Long time no see."
The Dream Ball opened and Entei came out to join the fun. The instant Gouging Fire saw the phantom Entei, it immediately understood.
Huh? You aren't the real Entei, but the one that appeared in my dreams before.
Also the one that fought alongside me and the real Entei.
"Right, that's me."
Entei walked closer to Gouging Fire. "For certain reasons, I'm no longer a fake construct of dreams. In the cracks between dream worlds, in the Dream Rift, I gained life. Perhaps this life was granted by Ho-Oh."
"The hidden connection between you exists because your forms are the same as the legendary Three Beasts. Even if there is no 'Paradox Ho-Oh,' the relationship between template and derived form will not disappear."
"The future influencing the past is itself a paradox."
Raging Bolt rumbled as it stared at Entei, finding it extremely strange that there could be a Pokémon that looked so similar to Gouging Fire.
But if you looked closely, the differences were obvious.
We are the ancient ones, yet you claim the future Pokémon are our templates. That is difficult to understand.
And Ho-Oh, I've never even heard of such a Pokémon.
But this mysterious feeling between us, was that Pokémon the one that gave it?
Then where is it?
"Ho-Oh? I'm a latecomer, and I'm not the real Entei," Entei said, shaking his head. "I don't know where Ho-Oh is."
Hikaru also said, "Even Ho-Oh's own guardians wouldn't know where Ho-Oh is."
Raging Bolt fell into thought.
Interesting.
If it was a god that created certain Pokémon, then Raging Bolt wanted to meet it.
After all, staying here meant fighting. Aside from that, it was just roaming around looking for interesting things and tasty food, then meeting different powerful beings and battling them.
"Searching for interesting things fits sauropods' lifestyle. They migrate in herds, don't build nests. Wherever they go, the earth trembles and dust rolls."
[Do you know these two ancient Pokémon?] Iron Crown asked Hikaru, then explained. [They were individuals transferred during the incident at Research Station No. 4. Though they are ancient Pokémon, they did not attack us, and we have not seen any more of the same individuals transferred afterward.]
[They live in Area Zero's upper levels. We do not interfere with each other.]
"I know one of them. The other I didn't, but their purpose is simple. They sensed one of my Pokémon, so they came."
"In short, the three of them are a set. Ancient Pokémon that existed as templates for the legendary Raikou, Entei, and Suicune."
"Rrrruuuhh!" Walking Wake looked at Gouging Fire, then at Raging Bolt. The husky dragon started negotiating, rummaging in its mane and tossing out treasures it had picked up like a traveling merchant.
Hey, even if we weren't friends before, it's not too late to be friends now!
[Entei,] Iron Crown looked at Entei. [According to past records, you are the legendary Entei, so why do you say you are not?]
Entei snorted. "I'm merely a counterfeit born from some child's dream. Even now, I'm only following this human to gather travel and experience."
Iron Crown didn't press further. Every Pokémon had its secrets.
[In any case, it appears they can be trusted as companions.]
Facing this ridiculous lineup, Arven had already gone completely blank in the back.
Of course, "Arven-senpai" felt the same. Ever since he followed Hikaru down here, he'd been running into incredible things nonstop. Even if he asked questions and satisfied his curiosity, so what?
The secrets on Aniki's body were endless.
Not only did he find legendary seasonings, he was also an Elite Four member and an Area Zero investigator. He could do mechanical repairs. He was connected to Arven's mom. Now he even knew ancient Pokémon.
Arven had never seen a person with so many secrets. If he kept asking, he'd never finish even in a full day and night.
Right. Now wasn't the time to interrogate that.
Getting to the lab was what mattered.
Arven clenched his fist. "Aniki, should we move out now?"
"Yeah. We leave now." Hikaru looked down. From Research Station No. 4, you could see the Zero Lab's massive gate, but you still had to take a long winding route to reach it.
[All units, advance downward!] Iron Crown issued the command, and the repaired Future Pokémon followed closely behind their leader.
After leaving the station, not far away was one of Area Zero's mysterious plaques.
[While moving deeper into Area Zero, we discovered a buried plaque etched with mysterious symbols.]
[This plaque is made of a special metal material that modern science cannot identify. Even cutting it causes no damage whatsoever. Why the symbols were drawn, and how they were drawn, remains a mystery.]
This was recorded in the Scarlet Book. This plaque was also one of the reasons Hikaru came to Area Zero.
What was funny was that it sat there like a tourist signboard, placed not far from the research station, completely unlike the Scarlet Book's description. A map of Paldea was drawn on it.
"Area Zero of Paldea."
"This is the plaque introducing Area Zero. Its material is…"
[Secret Craftwork: Mysterious Plaque.]
[Description: A special metal plaque found in Area Zero. It is etched with a planar light cone diagram related to time. However, the two light cones that should converge at the present have broken past the original point of convergence. This may be the root cause of Pokémon from parallel worlds arriving here.]
[The plaque's material may incorporate iron from Meltan.]
[It possesses the traits of an Imprint Plate. By drawing specific trajectories, it can remotely summon Pokémon.]
[Learned: Mysterious Plaque manufacturing method. (All prerequisite processes learned.)]
[The replica Mysterious Plaque you manufacture does not possess this plaque's other properties. As an imitation, it can only use the Imprint Summoning function.]
[You may add summoning trajectories for any Pokémon. Trajectories may be set freely. Maximum: 3.]
[Trajectories have existed since antiquity. Machines are merely the product that materializes plate trajectories.]
[Find more Imprint Plates and record special trajectories. This can increase the maximum number of trajectories. New trajectories can summon new Pokémon.]
"Grrh!" Archaludon's eyes lit up when it saw the plaque.
It had just eaten an Earthquake and was feeling weak.
That metal plaque looked incredible. It looked like metal with a lot of chew to it.
"That's something important. You can't eat it." Hikaru waved his hand, pushing away the bridge dragon's huge iron face.
Honestly, this mysterious plaque really did have some imprint-plate traits, but its main purpose still wasn't explained at all.
Which was normal. Pokémon Scarlet and Violet loved digging holes and never filling them. Maybe they never even decided what the plaque was supposed to do.
The light cone diagram clearly connected it to time, but as far as Hikaru was concerned, time travel…
No, to players, whether in anime, manga, or games, time travel by Pokémon and humans was already a well-chewed trope. Making a mysterious metal plaque to act cryptic didn't really mean much.
And that turtle's light-cone travel also made you lose some memories afterward. Sure, compared to garbage like Ultra Wormholes, it at least had "after-sales service," but if you're going to time travel, you should still choose official channels.
If you time-travel through Dialga or Celebi in unofficial ways, memory loss is basically routine. You become a "space-time drifter."
"I had Unit 1 Mewtwo help search for Imprint Plates. I wonder how it's going. It's been so long since I entered the dream…"
"But if a forged Mysterious Plaque only has the Imprint Plate trajectory function, and I make it smaller, doesn't that look exactly like activating a Magic Card?"
Magic Card, Ancient Rules!
Special Summon one Level 5 or higher Normal Pokémon from your hand!
[The Zero Lab is ahead. We have reached the lowest level!]
[This is Area Zero's bottom layer. The lab is currently sealed.]
Because of the earlier battle, all the Paradox Pokémon here had been defeated. Aside from the occasional Glimmora passing by, and those without aggressive intent, there weren't any other Pokémon around.
Hikaru looked at the device in front of the Zero Lab and couldn't help shaking his head.
That device was used to unlock the lab's gate, and the Blue Disk also needed to be used through this device. Leaving it outside like this was insane. What if one day an ancient Pokémon snapped and smashed it?
"This massive lab's exterior is already almost completely crystallized. Terastal power can interfere with the operation of other energies, strengthen itself, and even erode buildings and rock. In a sense, it's an extremely overbearing kind of energy."
"But the little turtle that serves as the source of Terastal power, with its Ability Teraform Zero, produces a power that's unexpectedly gentle."
[Unlock. Highest authorization. Confirmed.]
Hikaru made a few quick inputs. The permissions granted by the Sada AI from another world in the time stream were, of course, valid here.
Once the four locks were opened, the gate would be released. Of course…
"Prepare for battle. Once the gate opens, other Pokémon will rush out!"
"Sunny Day prep. Electric Terrain, Domain expansion."
Sunny Day was for powering up the ancient types. Electric Terrain was to empower the future types.
At the gate, the ancient Three Beasts roared and stomped. The future two swordbearers buzzed in electronic tones.
Archaludon pounded its chest. Iron Valiant snapped her light blades out.
It felt like being back in the Future City.
Along with even more Future Pokémon and the members of the raid squad, Armarouge, Palafin, Falinks, and Entei were all brimming with battle spirit.
"What an insane battle lineup…" Arven stayed behind Mabosstiff and Garganacl, staring at the Pokémon whose fighting intent was surging, and he felt his own emotions getting pulled along too.
Victini flapped its little wings, still invisible, and hopped onto Arven's head.
Earlier was dangerous, but honestly Arven could have just swung a punch and launched that Iron "Chicken" away. But he was still a kid, so in the end Miraidon had saved him.
"Agaas."
In the middle of all the roaring Pokémon, Miraidon secretly puffed out its chest too.
Everyone's badass, I'm badass. Everyone's scared, I… I run away on the spot!
Arven said, "Why do you look like you're riding someone else's reputation? Miraidon, your name is so similar to Koraidon, so why are you so cowardly?"
"Gaas!" Miraidon shouted at Arven in protest.
Hey. I saved your life earlier. And now you talk like that. Next time I'm not saving you.
So what if I'm cowardly? Because I'm cowardly, I'm still alive, right? I was developed as a weapon, but look at these Future types. They're all weapons too. One more of me doesn't matter, one less of me doesn't matter!
[Beep. Blue Disk reaction detected.]
[Insert Blue Disk to expand access privileges.]
"No need. Open the gate for me."
[Confirmed. Zero Lab gate opening.]
[Bzzzz.]
The lab's broadcast speakers crackled to life. The voice coming out was Sada AI's, hijacked by the battle program.
"Why do you have the Zero Lab's highest authorization? Obstructive pest. I do not know who you are, but opening the lab gate is courting death!"
"The power of the ancient and the future will wipe you all out at once!"
(End of Chapter)
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