In the end, the Arven AI's instigation didn't come to fruition.
The reason was very simple.
Although the Time Machine had started working, re-confirming their position among countless nodes on the timeline was a massive computational undertaking.
Therefore, even though the crisis in Area Zero had been temporarily resolved, bringing both groups who had gone to the past and future back to reality would still require a little more time.
And judging from the slow progress on the Time Machine terminal, the entire process would likely take at least half a year.
The two professors expressed that this was perfectly normal—after all, it had taken them several years just to build the Time Machine, and the time spent anchoring the two special spacetime coordinates was countless.
For researchers like them, patience was what they had in abundance.
After locking the coordinates, the time flow on both sides finally aligned. They could even regularly report their findings to Paldea through the Time Machine.
It was practically no different from being inside Area Zero.
So Arven's "rebellious punch" would likely be unable to find its target for the time being.
For some reason, Aiden always felt that when Arven heard this news, there seemed to be a hint of disappointment on his face?
After Arven, Aiden also chatted briefly with his own parents through the Time Machine.
Mainly to report that he was safe, and to briefly summarize his achievements over the past year.
Of course, absolutely no showing off was intended!
Regarding their son's sudden inheritance of the Gym, the two Gym Leader spouses originally hadn't held high expectations.
After all, the Pokémon world was a magical place—truly talented prodigies became famous at age 10, realizing their potential early on.
But they never expected—
After they left, Aiden alone had actually managed the Sunshine Gym thriving, directly promoting it to the ranks of the eight major Gyms?
Moreover, Aiden also held multiple positions—not only was he already a registered teacher at Naranja Academy, becoming an official Elite Four member was only a matter of time.
Regarding Aiden's "achievement report," the two were of course happy.
So, they immediately made a decision—"Excellent! Since Aiden, you're so reliable now, we can finally retire early!"
"Once this incident is over, the around-the-world trip I promised your mom can finally be arranged~"
"So just keep up the good work, everyone has high hopes for you~"
"Wait, so you two just want to be hands-off managers? Did you ask for my opinion—"
"Alright, it's happily decided then!"
And so, under Aiden's stunned gaze, both sides of the Time Machine simultaneously disconnected.
"...
When he turned back, the students who were trying hard to suppress their laughter began to face difficulty in their facial management, but the smile at the corners of their eyes couldn't be concealed at all.
Aiden's face was full of black lines.
He hadn't expected there would be a second hurdle.
He had originally planned to run off to Sinnoh once his parents returned, but ended up being countered instead—
What a miscalculation.
"If you want to laugh, just laugh. Don't hold it in and hurt yourselves."
But in the end, he still magnanimously waved his hand, and then the three led by Nemona truly stopped hiding it, bursting into belly laughter.
"Pfft—hahaha~"
Only Red remained standing in place, trying his best to lower his cap brim and conceal the curve forming at the corner of his mouth.
He had originally thought this would be a very dangerous journey, but the final result was a family reunion comedy.
Was this also within Teacher Azure's calculations?
Indeed, as long as Teacher Azure was around, any danger was no problem. The reason he brought them newcomers down this time was simply to give them a chance to practice.
Having such a reliable elder as Teacher Azure, the students of Paldea were truly fortunate.
"Speaking of which, the Time Machine problem has been solved, right?"
After quite a while, Nemona finally reacted belatedly and looked at Aiden.
"So Teacher Aiden, should we head back?"
"No, there seems to be one more thing—"
Aiden shook his head but didn't explain. Instead, he stared blankly at the Time Machine before him.
Because before his eyes, several lines of text had unexpectedly appeared once again after a long absence.
[Main quest "Path of Legends" has been updated.]
[Current quest: Lift the League's blockade of Area Zero, enter the Area Zero Underdepths to resolve the crisis. (Completed)]
[Congratulations, you have completed the "Path of Legends" quest series!]
[Reward: Future Tech Energy Conversion Device, distributing—]
Hmm?
Aiden completely hadn't expected that the system would trigger at this moment.
Speaking of which, he hadn't sensed its presence in a long time. He thought some Creator Deity had gotten embarrassed after he exposed its disguise and simply discarded the system.
But it seemed He was still quite enjoying it!
And there did seem to be such a quest, though he had completely forgotten about it long ago.
Since it was a reward from Ar—the system, it should be something new that surpasses the technology of the Pokémon world, right?
Just as Aiden was curious, he indeed soon felt an obvious weight in his palm, so he subconsciously tightened his grip and grabbed it.
It was a very tech-sense cylindrical device with a hexagonal groove on top, connected to several buttons below.
This thing, why did it feel like a party popper?
After observing carefully for a few seconds, information about it quickly appeared before his eyes.
[Energy Conversion Device (Prismatic): A peculiar creation from a flash of inspiration by a genius scientist of the future. After storing energy within, it can convert it into multiple energy outputs.]
[Note: Requires embedding a special energy source to use!]
Aiden blinked, then looked at the palm-sized hexagonal groove at the top of the device.
Wasn't this hint a bit too obvious?
Bro, couldn't you at least pretend a little?
What else besides the gem formed by little turtle Terapagos could match its shape—
Forget it, fine.
Since they were already here, they might as well go down and check on the little turtle. Perfect timing to see if it had woken up yet.
Aiden shook his head and turned to look at the students waiting for him.
"Come on, since we're already here, I'll show you the deepest part of Area Zero—the legendary Area Zero Underdepths!
Nemona and the others: ?
"Who would have thought, the elevator into Area Zero actually has a B2 level!"
Sitting on the elevator moving downward at constant speed, Nemona appeared very excited.
After all, they were heading to a completely new area she had never heard of before!
For Nemona, adventure and exploring the unknown had always been part of the joy of travel, so becoming this year's Champion was really worth it!
"The true Area Zero Underdepths?"
In stark contrast to Nemona's excitement, Arven was full of worry, lost in thought.
"Legend says the Area Zero Underdepths formed approximately 2 million years ago. After multiple collapses, it continued sinking underground. Its current depth has exceeded one thousand meters, yet it has remained stable—"
"I really don't know how that person named Heath reached this place."
They could ride the elevator to quickly reach the underground depths naturally because the professors had led investigation teams here back then, and also used the power of technology to build this elevator deep into the earth's core.
But going back 200 years, what about the expedition team led by Heath?
This was a pit over a thousand meters deep, you know?
Even riding the elevator took several minutes!
Truly a terrifying group. No wonder they were mistaken for madmen by later generations.
"Apparently Heath still has descendants, and they even left behind the legend of the 'Hidden Treasure of Area Zero.'"
Aiden picked up the topic, smiling as he supplemented the students with new knowledge.
"That is a Pokémon named Terapagos. Legend says it has survived from the most ancient period of Paldea to the present. Perhaps the very existence of Area Zero is related to it."
"And the Terastallization phenomenon in Area Zero also seems to be related to it."
"There's actually a Pokémon that can live this long? Then it should be a Legendary Pokémon just like the others!"
Nemona's curiosity was indeed immediately piqued.
To this, Aiden neither confirmed nor denied.
In classification, Terapagos was indeed a Legendary Pokémon, but it seemed besides sleeping inside Area Zero, it hadn't done anything else.
The "Terastallization" phenomenon discovered and gradually popularized by Paldeans actually originated from the energy it unconsciously emitted while sleeping.
Having slept for 2 million years, the entire Area Zero Underdepths was naturally covered from top to bottom with Tera Crystals.
Therefore, the deeper one went, the higher the ore density, after all, it was closer to the sleeping Terapagos~
After about five minutes, the elevator finally reached the bottom level.
The moment the elevator doors opened, all the students including Aiden subconsciously widened their eyes.
Despite being a large deep pit, almost everything in sight was Tera Crystals emitting faint light, completely enveloping the rocks and forming all sorts of wonderful shapes.
"The Tera Crystals here, if brought outside, would probably never run out—"
Arven subconsciously made this conclusion, while suddenly noticing a desk and chair beside the elevator.
The desktop was covered with temporary research logs and reports left at the bottom level—had someone deliberately left them behind?
He casually took one and opened it, then immediately recognized his parents' handwriting at a glance.
[Research Report on the Area Zero Underdepths]
[In the lower levels of Area Zero, there exists a massive crater. I originally thought this was just a legend.]
[But only after coming here personally did I finally understand the essence of the Terastallization phenomenon.]
[Terapagos, or the Hidden Treasure of Area Zero, sleeps in the deepest part of that crater, continuously releasing energy outward.]
[Its crystallized body protects it from external enemies, allowing it to sleep peacefully here, not knowing when it will awaken.]
[Perhaps influenced by it, a completely new Terastallization phenomenon never seen on the surface is occurring within the Great Crater, gradually extending outward to directly contact Area Zero.]
[That is a Tera encompassing all types, capable of overwhelming any Tera type—]
[I have decided to temporarily call this Tera type 'Stellar.']
"This is—"
After reading, Arven immediately reacted.
So his parents had already been here?
But since even the elevator had been built, knowing this was normal.
But if so, why did they block all information about Terapagos?
Arven's doubts deepened.
So he handed the materials to Aiden, and soon got an answer from him: "Because Terapagos is extremely important to Area Zero. The energy it produces while sleeping is not only the origin of Terastallization, but also the energy source for that Time Machine."
The Time Machine that the two professors spent their lives building—if it instantly collapsed because of problems on Terapagos's end—
That would obviously be unacceptable to them.
From their perspective, they truly couldn't determine whether Terapagos leaving the Area Zero Underdepths would cause irreversible damage to Area Zero.
So, being a bit cautious wasn't wrong.
But with Aiden here, he wouldn't care about all that.
Take it up with Arceus if you have issues—He sent me here anyway!
After walking into the depths of the Area Zero Underdepths, Aiden soon saw a completely blocked-off passage.
Blocking the passage were countless hexagonally-shaped, very regular Stellar crystals, looking quite sturdy.
According to the process—wasn't he supposed to defeat nearby Pokémon that had absorbed Stellar energy?
After brief consideration, Aiden observed the surroundings again and soon discovered a Glimmora shining with rainbow light, hanging in a corner of the wall.
"—Nemona, I'll leave this Pokémon to you!"
"Got it!"
The moment she heard there was a battle to be fought, Nemona immediately rubbed her fists and palms as she walked over.
However, when she saw that this time the opponent was just a commonly seen Glimmora in Area Zero, she couldn't help but show disappointment.
"—Teacher Aiden, maybe you should leave this kind of opponent to Red instead!"
"Really? Don't regret it later~"
"Hmm—?!"
Before Nemona could react, she saw Red suddenly step forward, blocking in front of her, completely obscuring her line of sight.
"Alright, Red, go play with this little fellow."
Aiden said with a smile upon seeing this.
"The Pokémon around here have all absorbed Terastal energy for a long time, so they can maintain a special 'Stellar' phenomenon at all times."
"As for the specific effects, I won't spoil it—experience it yourself!"
"However, the Pokémon here aren't hostile. Just make them leave voluntarily."
"Once they leave, the crystals blocking the path will disappear on their own."
"Okay."
Red certainly wouldn't be polite. After thinking briefly, he directly threw out a Poké Ball, sending out the "heavyweight" Snorlax from his team as the vanguard.
And just as Aiden said, the Glimmora with colorful crystals on its head only curiously sized up the opponent, then smiled and made a spinning motion toward Snorlax.
Looks like the match was successful.
As Aiden nodded inwardly, he discovered Nemona beside him looking at him with extreme resentment.
"Teacher Aiden, why didn't you say earlier—"
"I want to battle Stellar Pokémon too!"
"It's fine, there will be plenty more opportunities later."
Aiden could only smile and comfort her emotions, then looked toward the depths of the crater blocked by crystals.
Finding Terapagos really wasn't easy.
------------------------------------------------------
30+ Chapters Ahead: patreon.com/EphemeralShadow
There's something for free patrons too! Free Patrons receive 1 chapter in advance :)