Arven didn't know much about machines, and he definitely wasn't some genius tech kid. Even though he lived in Cabo Poco by the Lighthouse Laboratory, he was still completely confused by the whole idea of "kidnapping."
"What's that even supposed to mean? I've never heard of it."
"It's normal that you haven't." Hikaru paused, choosing his words carefully.
To be honest, trying to explain Professor Sada's "Terale" plan to the Arven in front of him—one breath, no omissions—was genuinely difficult.
Terastallization, the Great Zero Cavern, the Paradise guardian dragon, the battle program, the Paradise Defense Protocol… putting all of that aside—
Just the single fact alone was already brutal:
Your mom may already be dead, and the one being 'kidnapped' is both your mom… and not your mom.
A real person can't be "kidnapped" like that.
So the "professor" now was already an AI professor.
After all, the explosion incident at the Fourth Research Station had already happened. Great Tusk had slipped outside, Miraidon had even caught a ride out, and there was basically no way the professor survived that blast.
No matter which parallel world it was, that incident was fixed—only the identity of the victim changed.
How do you explain to a kid who isn't even ten yet… that his mother is dead?
Arven's ability to accept things was strong, but dumping that on a child out of nowhere was still a mess.
"…Go to the space teleporter panel first. Get back up to the surface. I'll handle your mom's situation. After I resolve it, I'll have her contact you."
Hikaru crouched halfway and lightly patted Arven on the shoulder.
But Arven's expression wavered. He didn't move.
"P-Please—can I ask something?"
"Big bro… I-I… what happened to my mom, exactly?"
For Arven, he barely knew anything about Sada at all—he'd said that himself.
He glanced toward the teleporter panel, then shook his head and started quietly sobbing.
"Mom… Mom, she…"
"I-I mean… I've barely even seen her my whole life. She only cared about research. She never came home."
"Cooking, laundry… I did it all myself. When I wanted to talk to someone, I could only go to Mabosstiff, so I don't know anything about my mom at all."
"My mom is amazing. I kept telling myself that, over and over."
"But even if she wasn't amazing, that'd be fine. I still just… wanted her to be with me…"
"She used to email me, but now there's nothing. No contact at all. I'm really worried. I really wanted to see her, so I came here! But this place is terrifying!"
"Do you know something? Is my mom in danger right now?"
Faced with Arven's questions, Hikaru fell silent for a beat.
Danger?
If you called it "danger," then the kidnapping situation in Area Zero wasn't actually that dangerous for the AI professor herself. It was dangerous for outsiders who entered.
The battle program was part of the time machine. As long as it drove off intruders, it would go into sleep mode and return control to the AI professor. But if the intruder was too strong, the battle program would escalate into the Paradise Defense Protocol.
The AI's own system wouldn't be damaged. Once the program was beaten, the AI could seize control again.
Because the AI professor wasn't something this era's technology could truly produce. There was no doubt she belonged to something born from "Tera energy."
Hikaru said, "It's hard for me to explain all of this to you, but the Lower Layer and Bottom Layer of Area Zero really are dangerous. Your mother is in the Zero Lab—down there. The facility is at the very bottom."
"For a kid like you, going down there is still too early. You need more training first."
Hikaru walked over to the station's equipment. Some research notes were laid out there—documents left behind by Professor Sada and Professor Turo.
[After inventing a prototype for the Tera Orb, I accepted investment from a corporation. With that funding, I was able to build a laboratory at the lighthouse research facility near Cabo Poco. I hope that before long I can return to the crater and restart my research on the crystals.]
[Confirmed: the crystallization of energy is influenced by an as-yet provisional factor. I hypothesize the primary cause is the shell's multilayer hexagonal structure. I will name this phenomenon "Terastallization."]
Hikaru reached into his pocket and took out that special Tera gemstone.
"The parts that were smeared or illegible should be referring to the Terapagos gemstone—a teal-blue hexagonal crystal."
"Arven. What's wrong?" Hikaru looked over.
Arven was frozen in place, thinking hard. He wiped his tears, and suddenly it was like he'd made up his mind.
"P-Please…"
"Big bro! You're strong, right? You said you're Elite Four! You chased those monsters away in one shot, so you're strong—right?!"
"Can you… can you take me to the lab? I-I'll pay you back!"
Hikaru folded his arms and studied the boy. Arven looked determined on the surface, but he was still shaking.
Under Hikaru's gaze, Arven got so nervous he started stuttering.
"I-I know this will cause you trouble… I'm really sorry."
"But I… I really want to… I really want to— I don't know why, but I feel like if I don't go now, then… then I'll never…"
Huh.
A kid's intuition?
Hikaru considered it.
Arven as a character carried plenty of "paradox" traces himself, and sometimes he was freakishly sharp.
In the Path of Legends story, Arven sensed early on that the AI professor's identity was off, and later he even asked outright, "Are you really my mom/dad?"
He wasn't sensitive to machinery or tech, but emotionally and instinctively…
Arven was unexpectedly strong.
And he accepted new information ridiculously fast. When he first heard about the time machine, he almost instantly processed it and asked, "So that's what you were researching… and you actually finished it…?"
"…Alright. I get it."
Hikaru nodded. "From a safety perspective, I should force you back to the Zero Gate. But emotionally, I don't have a good reason to refuse."
"Because the reason I came to Area Zero this time… is connected to you, too. It's your mother's request."
It should count as your mother's request, anyway.
The other Sada AI Hikaru had met in the past had asked him for one thing: that the AI in this era stay behind and give Arven the family affection he was missing.
"For you, that time in Cabo Poco—together with Koraidon and your mom—wasn't very long."
"But it was probably the happiest stretch of childhood you ever had."
"Big bro, you… you know where I live? You know about me and my mom?" Arven's eyes widened with curiosity. "But I don't think I ever met you when I was little."
"I've met you," Hikaru said, patting Arven's head, "just not when you were aware of it."
Patting Arven's head and teasing him like a little kid—this was basically the only window of time where it felt appropriate.
A bit older, and Arven would gain that "grown-up vibe," clamp down on his emotions, and it wouldn't be as fun.
"Going to the Zero Lab… you were supposed to do it with companions. And it was supposed to happen later."
"I know a lot, but I can't tell you. Still, since you've made your choice…"
"I—I'll pay you back! Really!" Arven clenched his fists, wracking his brain. "I-I'm really good at cooking! I heard there's a special seasoning called Herba Mystica—I know what it does, I can find—"
"You mean this?" Hikaru flicked his wrist, and a small golden sprout appeared in his hand.
Herba Mystica — Sour.
"Huh?" Arven blinked, looking between the seasoning and Hikaru, then fumbled with his backpack like he was going to dig out a book.
"Don't bother. That's Herba Mystica — Sour." Hikaru laughed. "Looks like you saw the recent TV news."
"The news said some Pokémon called Titans were discovered, guarding special seasonings. It also confirmed the Herba Mystica story was real. That's what you saw, right?"
"That's true—because the person who found them was me. So I don't need you to repay me."
Arven went blank. He stared at Hikaru, his face collapsing into pure dejection, like all the strength drained out of him.
The one thing he'd thought he could offer as payment…
Was the food written about in the Scarlet Book.
Think. Think! What else can I offer as a reward?!
"No need." Hikaru waved it off, leaving Arven frozen.
Then he explained, "You already paid me. And this Sour Herba Mystica is yours."
After all, if Arven and the protagonist hadn't searched for them and exposed the truth, Hikaru wouldn't have known about these things at all.
This was "gained from the future, used in the past."
Hikaru said, "That said—going to the Bottom Layer of Area Zero, like I told you, is extremely dangerous."
"So on the way, I'm going to make you stronger."
"In other words, you'll need more real combat power—and you'll need to catch more Pokémon."
"Paldea doesn't have the 'must be ten years old' rule for battling. That's part of how they rapidly cultivate strong Trainers."
"Of course, in other regions that rule is mostly optional anyway. It seems like only Kanto and Johto enforce it strictly."
"Victini, I'm counting on you to protect him."
A cheerful cry rang out.
"Tini~!"
Arven felt a small weight settle onto his shoulder. He turned his head and saw a red-and-yellow Pokémon that looked almost like an eeared fox.
"Wow, it's so cute! What Pokémon is that? Why didn't I see it earlier?"
Arven cautiously tried to pet Victini. Victini didn't dodge—instead it reached out and patted Arven back.
There, there.
That made Arven a little embarrassed, but then he laughed, and the dread and gloom inside him eased a bit.
And then—
"So warm…"
For some reason, when that Pokémon patted him, it felt like power flooded into his body.
Hikaru said, "Its name is Victini. It can turn invisible and it can fly, so sometimes you won't see it."
"But it's always nearby."
"And it didn't pat your head because it thinks you're a little kid. That was Victini's power—Victory Star—sharing strength with you."
"Shh." Hikaru raised a finger. "This journey will carve itself into your memory, but you have to keep Victini a secret from other people."
"I'm not saying you can never talk about it. Just… don't go bragging about it everywhere, got it?"
"Legend says Victini brings victory. It produces limitless energy and can share that energy with anything it touches. If you receive that endlessly generated power, your whole body fills with strength."
"So that power you're feeling isn't fake. It's because of it that you can keep moving forward right now."
Arven's eyes went huge.
He was young, but he wasn't stupid.
Hikaru had said something like that, and Arven had never even heard of a Pokémon called Victini before.
He immediately realized something.
This Pokémon… is a legend.
Paldea only had one native Legendary Pokémon. Everything else—whether the Treasures of Ruin or the box legends—were "outsiders."
And that one native legend, Terapagos, wasn't known to the public.
So for Paldeans, "no legends" was practically a regional feature.
Because there were no legends, there were fewer people trying to misuse legendary power for evil.
A thousand years of exploration had burned out most people's greed. The ancient kings who'd chased treasure and authority had turned to dust, leaving only nameless tombs—quietly visited by Raifort.
"Okay! I won't tell anyone!" Arven clenched his fist and shouted. "A promise between men!"
That made Hikaru laugh.
Little Arven was genuinely entertaining.
And "little" was relative—he was only four or five years younger than the Scarlet and Violet era.
But for a teenager, four or five years was enough time for a lot to happen.
Enough time to create history.
Those few years alone were enough to produce Sinnoh's Champion, Unova's hero, Kalos's legend, Alola's king…
Hikaru said, "Here. Take these."
"These…? Poké Balls!"
"That's right—Poké Balls." Hikaru nodded. "You know how it goes. When kids set off on their journey, the Pokémon Professor in each region gives them five or ten Poké Balls."
"Tools for catching."
"I'm not a professor, but I'll play the part this time."
"And as for what you're catching… I already picked the target. Come with me."
Hikaru didn't take the notebooks. There was no need. They were just notes—nothing precious.
Arven's Poké-device still had no signal here. It was probably being jammed by the battle program.
If you could create a barrier covering the entirety of Area Zero, then basic radio suppression was trivial.
In that regard, even the International Police couldn't compete.
"Woof, woof!" Mabosstiff wagged its tail, comforting Arven.
Don't worry! You've got that strong human—and you've got me!
"Thanks, Mabosstiff."
Arven didn't understand the words, but he understood the feeling.
When they stepped outside again, the grass was lush and the open area was empty—no Pokémon moving around.
But in the distance, he spotted something.
It rose with a heavy rumble. It wasn't fast, and it didn't look eager to fight.
It looked like a white fortress crossed with a giant.
"See that?" Hikaru pointed at the stone giant that looked like it had walked straight out of Minecraft.
"A new Pokémon. A new partner. A new strength."
"That's your catch target."
"You've seen this species before, right? Or maybe you haven't?"
"It's called—Garganacl."
Arven stared at the wandering stone giant and nodded.
"I know it! It evolves from Naclstack, and it shows up around Paldea's salt mines all the time."
"But I've only seen the giant evolution in books. I've never seen a real one."
"The salt on Garganacl's body is rich in minerals. The book says a ton of Pokémon gather around it just to lick that mineral-rich salt."
"And if it rubs its fingertips and sprinkles salt on an injured Pokémon, even the worst injuries heal instantly."
"In the market, Garganacl's salt is also a super high-end seasoning!"
When it came to cooking, Arven knew a lot.
He even mentioned that among the eight Gyms, there was supposedly a Gym Leader who was famous for using Garganacl.
"That's right," Hikaru said. "The Rock-type Gym Leader—Ms. Tyme."
The one who would later become a Ghost-type Gym Leader… though right now she was still Rock-type, and the Gym Leader situation wasn't exactly the same.
Tyme was the later-school teacher who taught math. She used to be a Rock-type Gym Leader.
Her name looked the same as "Dr. Tym" from Unova at a glance, but they were different.
Ms. Tyme's name came from thyme, the herb.
Dr. Tym's name came from time.
But what Hikaru really wanted to tell Arven was—
It wasn't just Rock-type Gym Leaders who were experts at using Garganacl.
Someday, you would be, too.
"Garganacl's design is pretty cool, right?"
"In other regions, there are legendary golem-like giants with similar silhouettes."
"And there's also the Claydol-like giant created by ancient people."
If you pulled Garganacl out of context, someone who didn't know better might think it was related to that "Mr. Golden Toilet" nonsense.
But as far as Rock-types went—even if its base stats weren't as high as Regirock's—
Its effective value, its Ability, and its signature move more than made up for it.
Garganacl's HP was twenty points higher than Regirock's. Its Defense was lower by seventy, sure, but it had self-recovery, and that alone was outrageous.
Most "giant" Pokémon had two or three signature tricks.
Except Mr. Golden Toilet.
The three Regi pillars had insane resistances. The dragon "Regi" had speed, HP, and a signature move. Golurk had Klutz + Trick nonsense, No Guard + Dynamic Punch, and the whole "flying utility robot" vibe.
And Garganacl was downright cursed. Salt-type wasn't Rock-type.
Hikaru shook his head helplessly.
"Terastallize into Water to cover the Rock weakness. Moveset: Salt Cure, Protect and/or Iron Defense, Rock Slide and/or Body Press, Recover."
"And its signature move even punishes Steel and Water Pokémon."
Its movepool was insane. It even had Fissure as an Egg Move.
And beyond that: Wide Guard, Earthquake, Gravity, Smack Down, Stealth Rock, the elemental punches, Iron Head, Rain Dance, Sandstorm, Sunny Day, Avalanche, Rock Tomb, Explosion—
It had everything.
"In ranked battles, it's called the 'Salt King.' The new era's Wall of Sighs. A despair giant. A model design for ordinary Pokémon."
"Five hundred base stat total, looking down on the world."
"The glorious Rock-type 'Regi' of salt."
"Same Rock-type… it makes me think of Regirock."
"Also, our expedition team is missing a healer. I can do it, but honestly Garganacl is better suited for that job. This is way more convenient than Riolu spamming Heal Pulse."
"Ability: Purifying Salt. Because its salt is pure, it can't be inflicted with status conditions. It also halves damage taken from Ghost-type moves."
"Sure, it makes using Rest awkward—but Garganacl has Recover anyway, so does that even count as a drawback?"
"Poison, burn, paralysis, freeze, sleep… all of it gets negated."
"And you call yourself a medical class while being this nasty? Well, yeah. Healers have to be able to fight first, right?"
"And its other Abilities—Sturdy and Clear Body—are both strong too."
"Honestly, I should catch a Garganacl myself. Purifying Salt is useful for all kinds of crafting and cooking."
"And when I get back to Sinjoh, I can show the three Regi pillars: this is the new region's Salt 'Regi'!"
"That 'stellar crystal' Garganacl down in the Great Zero Cavern might be perfect."
Hikaru looked at Arven. "Go. I know you're not great at battling, but Victini's here—don't worry."
"If you want to go deeper, learning to fight is mandatory."
Arven nodded. Courage surged up, and a limitless strength welled inside him.
"Garganacl's weaknesses are Fighting, Ground, Steel, Water, and Grass!" Arven recalled what he'd read. Rock-types had a ton of weaknesses, and as a single-type, it didn't have the benefit of dual-type resistance shifts.
"Mabosstiff—use… use Trailblaze!"
The mafia-godfather dog charged in.
Arven's Mabosstiff was level 63. Its Ability was Intimidate.
Arven didn't train it—his mom did.
"Woof!"
Trailblaze: a nimble, grass-cutting rush that attacks the opponent and raises the user's Speed by one stage.
The strongest wild Garganacl in the crater only reached the low 50s. Its endurance was excellent, so it didn't need to fear super-effective moves too much—especially when Trailblaze was a low-power Grass-type move.
Mabosstiff's Trailblaze hit. Garganacl only swayed slightly, then its blocky eyes turned toward them.
"Garr!"
Garganacl swung its arm—and a flood of salt and soil sprayed out from its body.
Salt Cure.
Arven watched Mabosstiff get struck. Crystallized curing salt began forming around its legs.
His nerves spiked.
"Mabosstiff—keep using Trailblaze!"
"Woof!"
Mabosstiff refused to back down, repeatedly striking Garganacl, but Garganacl's body began to glow.
"Harden. Garganacl raised its Defense." Hikaru pointed forward. "And—Recover."
Of course. Even a wild Garganacl could run that smooth little combo. Harden and Recover were both moves it learned early.
And if Harden got trained further…
"Garr!" Light flared. Garganacl's steel-hard body slammed Mabosstiff away.
"Mabosstiff!"
Arven panicked and sprinted forward.
With Victini's boost, the kid who already had a reputation for being ridiculously fast became even more unbelievable. He was almost as fast as Dendra.
"Mabosstiff is strong," Hikaru said, "but without proper command, it gets solo'd by a wild Salt 'Regi.' Dark-type moves won't do much damage, either."
"So, Victini—grant it strength."
Hikaru looked at Victini.
The little V-creature flashed a peace sign, then patted Mabosstiff on the head.
In the next instant, Mabosstiff's eyes went wide.
Limitless power exploded out of its body. Watching the Salt King stomp forward with Heavy Slam, Mabosstiff let out a furious roar.
How dare you bully my kid?!
You really think I don't matter?!
It slammed all four paws down and fired off Double-Edge!
Normally, a Normal-type attack wasn't great against Rock—even if Double-Edge had 120 base power.
But this hit still sent Garganacl flying.
With a heavy crash, the Salt King toppled in the distance. Its blocky eyes flickered rapidly. It had no facial expression to read, but its voice was full of disbelief.
In Area Zero… it got launched by a dog using a Normal-type move?!
Was its Rock typing fake?!
"Still," Hikaru said, "even with that infinite power, Salt Cure won't go away. It'll keep dealing damage over time. So we treat first."
"Right now's our opening. While Garganacl is stiff, switch to another Pokémon."
Hikaru tossed Arven a Dive Ball.
"Switching is important in battle. I'll lend you one."
"Be careful. Salt Cure is brutal against Water-types, but Garganacl itself is also scared of Water."
"So do it in one move."
A blaze of light.
The successful man—Palafin—returned to the field.
"Ah! Th-This… could it be Palafin?!" Arven's eyes lit up. "I've read about it in storybooks! The hero of the sea!"
He never imagined a storybook hero would actually appear in front of him.
Palafin glanced at the giant getting back up and immediately nodded at Arven.
"Man!"
E-HERO—time to move.
A legend of justice starts here.
All evil will be brought to justice.
And your Ability and moveset are… way too evil, Garganacl.
You're getting punished.
Arven said, "A Water-type move—right! Palafin, use Liquidation!"
A watery crash that slams into the target. Sometimes lowers the target's Defense.
I'm actually commanding Palafin…
Arven's heart pounded. Hugging Mabosstiff, he felt the fear get wiped clean.
"Man!" Palafin wrapped itself in a surging torrent and drove forward, unstoppable—one brutal elbow smashing Garganacl's arms and legs into pieces.
Justice Power—Liquidation!
Arven's face snapped pale. "Ah! I broke it—did it die?!"
"How could it?" Hikaru laughed. "That's what Garganacl is like. It doesn't fall just because it breaks apart. It'll Recover. Its true body is the huge, pyramid-like salt structure on it."
"But it's weakened now. This is the perfect chance to catch it!"
(End of Chapter)
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