Chapter 519 - 517
"So you still remember that. But Terapagos..."
"Here- uh!" Aegislash casually waved its shield.
Come on, you said it yourself. It wasn't a legend before, but now it is, and it's even got the story of the Hidden Treasure of Area Zero behind it.
That endorsement definitely carries weight, okay? And now we've even got its Trace. That gives us a bunch more reasons for our 'divine right of kings' argument!
After that, Aegislash ran off to exchange insights on the way of the Sacred Swordsman with Iron Treads and the others, because Aegislash was the fourth Sacred Swordsman, while Keldeo had become the fifth, which left them utterly stunned.
Of course, if more Sacred Swordsmen joined in the future...
Then the total number of Sacred Swordsmen would reach eight!
Iron Treads: [According to available records, only those who pass Kyurem's trial can be called true Sacred Swordsmen. From that perspective, we don't really qualify.]
Iron Leaves: [Perhaps if the opportunity arises, we can travel to Unova and take the test ourselves. To think that aside from our originals, there are other Pokémon who also obtained this recognition... truly astonishing!]
[But considering that you are a royal Pokémon, achieving this much also seems perfectly reasonable!]
Over on AI Sada's side, she explained things to the three future Sacred Swordsmen and laid out the idea of using Terapagos's power to operate and develop a reverse time machine.
That would take a very long time, but the future swordsmen said they didn't mind.
In fact, they even admitted that if they stayed long enough, they might not want to go back at all.
But the other future Pokémon that still had attachments to their own era, along with the far too numerous ancient species, absolutely had to be sent back.
AI Sada handed Hikaru the time machine research data. That had also been one of the tasks and rewards entrusted to him by the other Sada, and AI Sada felt the trade had been more than worth it.
All the hidden dangers had been eliminated. She had gained freedom and a child. Paldea had gained a legend. And the little turtle could finally come out and breathe fresh air.
As for Hikaru, he began repairing Iron Boulder.
With the help of the yellow crystal's power, he completely purged the program some organization had implanted into it. The old program was scrapped on the spot, and there wasn't even a chance to open any backdoor access anymore.
Meanwhile, AI Sada took the opportunity to restore communications between Area Zero and the outside world.
As for Arven, after wandering around in circles for a bit, he realized he understood absolutely nothing about all that mechanical research and couldn't help at all.
So in the end, he could only find a giant pot and start cooking.
Well, even if Mom was a robot now and didn't need food, Big Bro and all the other Pokémon still had to eat, right?
"Leave the cooking to me! Victini, help me keep the fire going! Whoooooa!"
————————
Near the Area Zero gate.
Larry looked visibly more exhausted than before.
And as soon as she got the news, Rika rushed over immediately as well.
At first, when she saw the pile of Pokémon Larry was containing, Rika broke out in a cold sweat and was deeply shocked by Larry's real strength.
"This is seriously dangerous. There's never been an incident this severe before. Larry, you're amazing. Just as expected of the Chief-"
Larry looked like he was on the verge of dying from exhaustion, and with the last of his strength, he cut Rika off.
"Please... don't say that. I... can't hold on anymore."
Larry was utterly drained, so Rika stepped in to take over the watch.
Fortunately, though, it seemed all the trouble had been concentrated during the stretch Larry had handled. Once Rika took over the defense, none of the Pokémon from below came up anymore.
That left the two of them confused.
To ease the strange mood, Rika joked casually,
"There hasn't been a single ancient Pokémon showing up for an entire day. Could it be because Hikaru wiped them all out in one go?"
But the joke didn't make Larry "smile." Instead, he thought about it very seriously for a while, then nodded.
"Based on the power of Armarouge's 'wide-area combat power' that I saw... the ones down there weren't his opponents."
"It's not really a matter of wiping them out in one go."
"It should be called unstoppable."
Rika pondered that for a moment, and her expression turned serious too.
"I was only joking, but I do have a lot of confidence in his strength."
"Unstoppable, huh... in a place that dangerous? Yeah, somehow that really does feel like him."
"You never know what Pokémon he'll pull out, what obscure move he'll use, or what secrets and stories he still knows."
"And what's even more outrageous is that he's strong even without using Pokémon."
And so, what had started out as a joke gradually turned into a power-scaling discussion.
That was human nature. Everyone was a battle-power fanatic at heart.
They didn't just discuss where Hikaru ranked among the Elite Four. They also talked about the Elite Four in other regions, Frontier Brains, and figures of that level.
[Barrier Restarting - ]
Along with the broadcast announcement, the severed communications signal was restored.
Larry froze for a moment. Then life immediately returned to his eyes.
He succeeded.
"The Area Zero barrier restarting means he made it to the lab... and resolved the unknown situation."
[Area Zero gate, is that Elite Four member Larry? Ah, Miss Rika is there too.]
AI Sada's voice came through the channel.
[I am Professor Sada. Communications have now been restored. Elite Four member Hikaru is currently at the Area Zero laboratory.]
[Everything that happened has been completely resolved. However, there are some matters I hope to discuss in detail with Chairwoman Geeta. You will be informed of the contents afterward, so please help make contact.]
[What I can tell you in advance is this: the dangerous situation in Area Zero has been fully brought to an end. All rampaging ancient Pokémon have been completely suppressed!]
[Some of the future Pokémon are now our friends, while the hostile portion has already been completely defeated and is now undergoing repair and modification!]
[At the same time, we have invited future Legendary Pokémon to become part of Paldea's own legends, and the investigation into the Hidden Treasure of Area Zero has also been perfectly completed! The work Heath failed to complete 200 years ago, we have now fully accomplished!]
Larry and Rika both froze at the same time.
Then Rika looked at Larry, whose face was expressionless but whose eyes were clearly shaken, and laughed helplessly.
"Ha!"
"Larry, your guess came true!"
At the same time, Rika quietly clenched her fist and took a deep breath.
There was no question that her rival had gotten even stronger again... but this was too outrageous.
If it were only a matter of reaching the deepest part of Area Zero, then she could do that too.
But "completely suppressing all the rampaging Pokémon in Area Zero" was a much broader concept.
Larry turned his head slightly and corrected her seriously.
"That was your guess."
"But how exactly did he solve every problem down there by himself?"
"Ancient and future... are those classifications and names for the Pokémon in Area Zero? Let's wait until the detailed report is in hand."
Inside one of the Pokémon League's research rooms.
Professor Juniper had already fallen asleep slumped over the desk from exhaustion.
Meanwhile, Geeta sat with a solemn expression, conducting a remote conversation with AI Sada. What had happened in Area Zero was so far beyond anything she had imagined that she also came to understand that the Terapagos Plan had actually been divided into two parts.
"Professor Sada... may I continue calling you that?"
AI Sada replied, "If you think that's fine, then you may continue calling me that."
Geeta nodded.
"First, I offer my condolences for the passing of the original Professor Sada."
"Second, I welcome you, as the new Professor Sada, as a true member of the Paldea League... Although that may be a slightly strange way to phrase it, please forgive me. Right now, I'm simply too overwhelmed. My thoughts are a bit of a mess."
AI Sada nodded.
"Chairwoman Geeta, there's no need to rush. I'll take over Professor Sada's work. At the same time, I'll also take on the role of Arven's mother, so I would like to discuss overtime policy with you."
Geeta: "..."
"Well... yes, I do think that isn't something we should force too quickly. Family really is more important."
She rubbed her temples, filled with complicated emotions.
"Thank goodness I sent someone truly capable down there. Otherwise the results would have been unimaginable."
"As expected of someone who once served as a Boss, his strength has already exceeded my expectations. But he's actually a Ranger too, and he's only telling me that now. Was he worried I'd make him do something strange?"
"Honestly... I wouldn't issue orders to someone assisting the Ranger Union anyway. After all, the only ones who can command Rangers and their assistants are the Ranger Union itself."
From the perspective of organizational hierarchy, a regional League simply wasn't high enough in rank to issue orders to personnel from an international organization.
Although AI Sada mentioned that in other worlds, other Champion-level trainers might have helped resolve this disaster, Geeta felt that those were matters for other worlds. Things like parallel timelines were far too remote for her.
She hadn't even finished managing her own world. Where would she find the time to worry about some other one?
With that in mind, Geeta continued speaking with AI Sada, as well as Hikaru, who had joined the conversation.
"The time machine incident has been perfectly resolved. The Terapagos Plan is permanently terminated. Elite Four Hikaru, you protected Paldea's rich and diverse ecosystem. I must thank you on behalf of the entire Paldea region for your help!"
"The reverse time machine project truly needs to be put on the development schedule. Far too many savage ancient lifeforms have been transported over!"
"The investigation into the Hidden Treasure of Area Zero has solved a mystery that has lingered over Paldea for 200 years - no, for 2,000 years! And it was completed in full! This is an achievement that surpasses history itself, one worthy of being recorded in the academy's annals!"
"And just like that, Paldea gained three new Legendary Pokémon - no, counting the two Paradise guardian dragons, that should make five, right?"
Hikaru nodded.
"Yeah. But Koraidon's issue is a major one, and only the professor can manage it. As for the three future Sacred Swordsmen, regarding Area Zero management, their future status, and their role going forward, they'd like to have a direct call with you."
Geeta immediately inclined her head.
"No problem at all. I would be delighted to welcome them as members of our region!"
"And I hope they can become senior members of the League!"
"The future Pokémon possess considerable intelligence and rationality. I believe they can serve as administrators. Leaving Area Zero's management in their hands would be ideal!"
"Everything you saw, investigated, experienced, and the Pokémon you encountered in Area Zero has all been logged into the Pokédex and Professor Sada's database. That adds an enormous amount of new material to our records all at once. We need to immediately reassign researchers to handle the integration work."
"Whew... suddenly there's a mountain of work again. Also, the thing you proposed - building a challenge facility in Area Zero, or making it part of the Champion Assessment?"
Hikaru nodded.
"Dangerous places are what temper real strength. Didn't you want a challenge facility? I think that kind of thing has already existed there all along."
"And with all the new treasures I've left in this region, there should be more than enough, right? If treasure hunting and challenge can happen at the same time... then I think Area Zero would be a very solid option."
Geeta fell briefly into thought, but her eyes were shining.
"That proposal is extremely dangerous, but also extremely challenging!"
"Especially with the presence of the three future Sacred Swordsmen. Trainers who pass the Champion Assessment might obtain special titles, or even earn recognition from Legends themselves. That alone would be enough to motivate students!"
"The search for Herba Mystica, the challenge of the Titan Pokémon, gourmet cuisine, the trials of the future sword saints, powerful Tera Orbs as prizes, the import of glittering vegetables, the increase in works of art, new Pokémon evolutions, research into climate and land, and those treasures from the Far East spoken of in legend..."
"And finally, the Champion path that leads into Paradise."
"You truly returned with an unbelievably rich harvest."
"You directly changed the Paldea region. The effects are immediate and visible... Recruiting you truly was the correct decision!"
"Of course, I also deeply feel that requesting Ranger assistance for environmental protection is an urgent matter."
"And as for candidates for the Champion path, now that your proposed Area Zero plan has been added, we have a total of three options!"
(End of Chapter)
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