Hikaru sighed with emotion. "This really is an excellent item. The 'precious thing' you mentioned is, indeed, extremely precious."
If it were only a Tera Orb, it wouldn't be all that special. Sure, it was valuable, but in practice it came with massive usage restrictions.
That kind of thing was like a Dynamax Band. Step outside Galar and it immediately turned into a useless fashion accessory.
Unless you did what Blueberry Academy did and built a Terastal ecosystem core in every region, but that kind of project required obscene amounts of money. Not every academy director had deep pockets the way Cyrano did.
But this raw, original-state Tera Jewel was different.
Not only could it strengthen a Tera Orb, it could also "transform" into a Tera Raid Battle boss, truly the source of all evil. On top of that, it could boost machine performance, function as a powerful hidden backup energy source, manufacture ultra-high-tech products like bio-androids, and could even pull off some occult nonsense like calling back souls.
Sure, Hikaru could also call the dead back into the present world, but borrowing the island guardians' divine power was a shortcut. It was fundamentally different from Terastal power's brutal, direct summoning.
Most importantly, the "dead" that Terastal power called back actually returned in the state they had before they died.
In other words, rather than "reviving the dead," it was more like this: on the current worldline, you could only summon someone who was already dead, but the essence of it was still dragging a person from the past into this worldline through temporary time travel.
The Crystal Pool in Kitakami had gathered enormous amounts of special crystal, which was why it could cause that kind of phenomenon. Now that Hikaru thought about it, those special crystals in that pond might very well have been these same Tera Jewels, or Stellar crystal fragments.
But as for why something from Paldea would appear in faraway Kitakami, even in the games that was an unsolved mystery.
From Hikaru's shifting expression, Geeta got the answer she wanted, and smiled as she nodded.
"This is an original, unprocessed gemstone. It retains its most primal power, so it can't be embedded into a Tera Orb for use. But if you're satisfied, then that's wonderful."
"Of course, this Tera Orb will be delivered to you as well. At the same time, there's also a special move that's uniquely suited to Terastallization. It's a move that only Paldea, where Terastal energy is everywhere, can make practical use of."
Geeta pressed her fingers lightly to her brow. Then, from who-knew-where, she produced a TM.
Geeta said, "The formal name of this TM is Tera Blast. It's a move that uses Terastal power in battle. After the user Terastallizes, the move's type becomes the user's Tera Type. It's powerful, and extremely convenient."
This move was basically the Pokémon releasing Tera-Type energy as an attack while Terastallized, then comparing its Attack and Sp. Atk and using the higher value to deal damage.
You could even say it was a higher-power, conditional version of Hidden Power that could switch between physical and special.
If it weren't locked behind the requirement of Terastallizing, Tera Blast really would have been more convenient than Hidden Power.
Because that trait, "treated as a physical move or a special move depending on the situation," was originally something Hidden Power had too, and then got removed later.
Geeta handing over the Tera Orb and Tera Blast was basically standard benefits. Anyone granted a Tera Orb usually received this TM as well.
Hikaru took a slow breath and nodded, accepting everything. Geeta was pleased. This meant the first step of their deal, and Hikaru's "onboarding," had been achieved.
Hikaru immediately followed up. "Then about exploring Area Zero. Rika-san already made an agreement with me, but the final decision—"
Geeta answered at once. "Of course. Rika's response is my response. You will be granted permission to enter Area Zero, and you may go in to explore at any time. There's only one thing you must keep in mind, and that is the deepest part of Area Zero."
She cleared her throat.
"In principle, the research station in the deepest section of Area Zero, meaning the Zero Lab, is not a place outsiders are allowed to enter."
"Up to now, the research on Area Zero hasn't concluded. New things are still being discovered continuously. Professor Sada's pace of publishing papers and research findings has slowed, but she continues to submit meaningful results to us."
"You will also become Paldea's Elite Four, so you have the right to know this portion."
"Sada?" Hikaru latched onto the key point. "Then what about Professor Turo?"
A hint of surprise appeared on Geeta's face.
She closed her eyes, repeated the motion of rubbing her brow as if to relax and organize her thoughts, and only after several breaths did she respond.
"You even know about Professor Turo."
"But unfortunately, in research from a long time ago, he… something happened. He has temporarily left the research team. However, his research成果 have been inherited."
Hikaru thought to herself: in this world, the one still publishing papers is "Sada," so the main timeline should be the Scarlet worldline.
The Paradox Pokémon that got sent over should be—
"But you said his research成果 were inherited. What do you mean by that?" Hikaru asked.
She stroked her chin, a very bad premonition creeping in.
Geeta shook her head. "On that point, I'm afraid I cannot explain."
But Hikaru's mind produced a shocking hypothesis.
Even if the Scarlet worldline was the main one, could it be that, because Hikaru had gone to the Paradox future world, some changes had also occurred here?
Because in the Paradox future world, all past points in time didn't intersect. So even if Hikaru went to the future not long ago, it could still have an effect on Professor Turo, who existed in the past.
The most straightforward manifestation was—
"So the research contents have already changed?" Hikaru said.
Originally, the timelines for the two professors were anchored to whichever one survived.
If Professor Sada survived, this was the Scarlet worldline.
If Professor Turo survived, this was the Violet worldline.
Then their corresponding bio-android AI would appear to assist their work, and that would be the opening act for the time machine.
But no matter which one survived, in the end they still died in the explosion accident at Research Station No. 4, as if they had completed their historical mission.
Of course, the Academy also differed between versions. In Scarlet it was Naranja Academy, and in Violet it was Uva Academy.
Before Hikaru arrived in Paldea, the Academy's name here had been "Paldea Academy"… but it had both an orange and a grape branch, with Naranja as the main one.
"Yeah. Because of changes in the Paradox future, the distant past has also changed."
"It might even be that future space-time turbulence directly affected an even more ancient era."
Schrödinger's Paldea, huh.
A closed time loop was a common theory. A single action in the future might influence the past. All of that was because Dialga wasn't doing its job.
"Area Zero isn't going to have both ancient Paradox and future Paradox at the same time, right? If they started fighting, I don't even want to imagine the scale of the conflict."
Now Area Zero really would be a place that was "dangerous to the extreme."
Ancient Paradox were brutal and bloodthirsty.
Future Paradox were bloodthirsty and brutal.
That was the usual story, anyway. But if the future Paradox here were the batch Hikaru had seen, then they probably wouldn't be bloodthirsty anymore. The AI had basically corrected—
"In other words, this 'Turo left the research team' really means Turo is dead."
"And from the fact Sada's publication frequency has dropped, Sada should also already be dead."
"Right now, the one operating inside Area Zero, reporting research results and writing papers, is actually Sada AI, maintaining the Zero Lab's operations as an administrator."
"And the explosion at Research Station No. 4 was actually a Pokémon attack."
"From the later game content, it's probably either Koraidon or Miraidon, or Great Tusk or Iron Treads. One of those four."
Hikaru thought for a moment, then said to Geeta, "Even though you say the Zero Lab is off-limits, I have a reason I must go in. You might not believe me, but…"
"I actually know Professor Sada. We've met once. She entrusted me with going to Area Zero."
Geeta's expression turned deeply confused.
"…I've never heard of such a thing."
"And Professor Sada has been doing research inside Area Zero for many years. Given her age and yours, if you had any interaction, any委托 between you two, that would have been at least five to seven years ago, yes?"
"No. It was in the future," Hikaru said with a mysterious smile.
Geeta blinked, then fell into an unexpected silence.
She didn't understand what that answer meant.
But as Paldea's Top Champion and League Chairwoman, and as the advocate and sponsor behind the development of the Tera Orb, as well as the inspector and manager of Area Zero, she did know what was being researched there.
The Tera Orb was merely a "byproduct" of that thing. In the process of studying the true function of Terastal power, in order to secure support from major companies, the Academy, and the League, Professor Sada and Professor Turo developed this device that could control Terastallization.
Thus, the proposal that Terastallization could be controlled was placed on the table. Major companies realized Area Zero's potential and began investing aggressively. The Academy and the League also threw their weight behind further Terastal research.
At the same time, Professor Sada and Professor Turo were able to build a research institute at the lighthouse in Cabo Poco.
"Could it be that the thing Sada and Turo were truly researching…?"
Even Geeta herself wasn't clear on the machine's specific function. All she knew was that Sada and Turo had declared it might be the greatest device of all, one that could turn Paldea into an unbelievable paradise.
What development value it really had, Geeta didn't understand either. But it was part of a "research exchange project," so it couldn't be lightly halted.
"I understand." Geeta's voice softened. "I still can't fully make sense of it, but I believe you."
Area Zero's research had continued for over eighty years. A few things that defied common sense had already happened.
Rika, standing off to the side, was totally lost.
This wasn't her job scope.
As for Iono, Geeta didn't even need to gesture. The livestream had already cut to the other side, where Mela was working with the red-haired girl to study the paintings and sculptures in the exhibition room.
As for Brassius, he was gone. He'd locked himself in his studio, and constant banging and clattering sounds could be heard from within.
Geeta rubbed her brow again.
"In fact, lately there have been some strange rumors as well."
"They say that some kind of legendary monster appeared near an ancient watchtower in the desert, and that a passerby was nearly attacked."
"Some people claim it was a Titan Pokémon, but its appearance was something Paldea has never seen before."
"I am deeply skeptical of that."
"At the same time, I also considered that it might have escaped from Area Zero. But there's no evidence. So the League conducted multiple investigations in the desert, and found nothing."
"And the information coming out of Area Zero's research has indeed decreased substantially."
"I strongly feel it's necessary to rapidly restart the investigation of Area Zero. Perhaps that mysterious and dangerous region is undergoing changes we never anticipated."
The moment she said that, Hikaru froze.
Behind Geeta, Rika also jolted, and her expression instantly became extremely strange.
So that's what it was.
The same sentence rang out in both Hikaru and Rika's minds at once.
This woman really is—
She probably planned to restart Area Zero exploration ages ago, but kept shelving it because she didn't have anyone who was good at investigation and also had high combat power.
Larry, Larry couldn't take any more extra shifts.
Some "desert monster rumor," sure. If it was just a Titan Pokémon, there'd be no need to investigate, right? But just because it looked unfamiliar, she immediately lumped it into "ferocious Area Zero wildlife"?
Rika thought: So the Top Champion quietly collected some information nobody else knew, huh. Is she trying to do a surprise inspection of Professor Sada? But that violates the agreement in principle, so she's sending the newly appointed Elite Four member, who also wants to investigate Area Zero anyway, to go in?
"You really know how to squeeze every last drop of value out of people. Putting objects to full use, assigning people to their roles." Hikaru didn't bother hiding it and said it straight to Geeta's face. "As expected, if you work under you, there's no escaping overtime."
"You really are the type who's got nothing in your head but yourself!"
Exposed like that, Geeta simply laughed.
"Isn't it killing two birds with one stone?"
"The moment you made those demands, I was genuinely surprised. But I quickly realized this was a good opportunity."
Since she'd been called out, she didn't bother pretending anymore.
Geeta coughed lightly. "However, I truly haven't hidden anything about the Zero Lab. That area is indeed, in principle, forbidden to outsiders. After all, it's one of Paldea's research secrets."
Hikaru said, "I get it. You want more reports on Area Zero research and investigations, plus the recent situation inside Area Zero, right."
"Fine. For me it's just a matter of convenience. So the earlier deal really wasn't free, huh. Then as agreed, anything in Area Zero that catches my eye, I'm taking it with me."
Geeta laughed. "Other than certain essential items, everything else is at your discretion. As for those essentials, we've studied them for a long time. Some things still have no conclusion even now. So if you can uncover new results, I hope—"
Hikaru's gaze flickered. "I know. Share research成果 with the Paldea League, right. Sure, early-stage findings can't necessarily be used to make new tools anyway… but that's hard to say."
Geeta didn't mind. "Research exchange terms are negotiable."
At this point, Hikaru couldn't help but complain internally.
Paldea League investigators were absolute useless deadweights. It was honestly humiliating.
Given the current situation, no wonder Geeta wanted to apply to the Pokémon Ranger Union for a few Rangers.
Those superheroes who physically wrestled monsters, who could brawl barehanded with Pokémon, who could soar into the sky and dive into the sea, were obviously more capable than the League's office workers.
And the key was: they didn't even charge money. Pure love of nature. Pure public service.
For a freeloading fiend like Geeta, there was actually a deal this good in the world?
You apply, there's a chance they dispatch an expert, and you don't even need to pay much back. Just pure contribution to society.
You really didn't know until you visited the Union Tower. One trip and your worldview got flipped.
Pokémon Ranger Union: "We'll protect Paldea. You can go."
"Also, isn't this Area Zero investigation job supposed to be Briar's job in The Indigo Disk?" Hikaru muttered to herself. "If I do it now, doesn't The Indigo Disk plot just vanish?"
Well, that plot was basically "equal to nothing" anyway. If it disappeared, who cared. The main content was just Kieran going off the rails and trying to catch the little turtle, then gifting the world that famous Master Ball explosion scene.
Seriously, why didn't they have Nemona do the work?
As one of Paldea's three newly minted Champion Rank Trainers, even ignoring Anna who only appears in the novels, why was Nemona acting like she had nothing to do but battle people all day, while every other job got dumped on the Gen 9 protagonist?
"Cough, cough. So our deal is completed?" Geeta smiled, in an excellent mood.
Not only had she increased Paldea's combat power.
She could also restart Area Zero exploration.
The personnel gap was filled.
And this new Elite Four member was also a famous artist.
Geeta already had an idea, so she immediately proposed, "Next, we can discuss salary and benefits. Also, if you have time, I hope you could teach art at Paldea Academy as well…"
"Your artwork is truly astonishing. I was thinking, if we let more people understand this kind of beauty, maybe it could lead them onto entirely new lives, wouldn't it?"
"Just like that red-haired girl you brought. I saw dreams in her eyes."
Hikaru said, "Paldea Academy really is a renowned Academy. But before that, I already agreed to teach at other academies, so that's probably not possible."
Hikaru had prepared for this long ago.
So long as she completed the onboarding paperwork at schools in Unova and at Blueberry Academy, she wouldn't need to work at Paldea Academy.
One Naranja Academy was already annoying enough, and there was also a Uva branch. You were straight-up treating teachers like cattle.
Also, I'm not even a teacher.
And the Academy director right now was Harrington, plus a bunch of faculty and administrators who tolerated bullying. If Hikaru went there now, she might have to lean on her "martial artist" specialty and start playing real-life Mortal Kombat.
Besides, if Hikaru became an art teacher, what was Hassel supposed to do, take on more overtime?
"I see…" Geeta paused to think.
But she had no intention of giving up.
"Then perhaps you could be a Special Guest Instructor? Salary and can be increased, too."
Geeta tossed out the setting with great enthusiasm.
Hikaru was speechless.
Blueberry Academy was supposed to be the one inviting people from Paldea as Special Guest Instructors.
How did you reverse it?
This was truly flipping the heavens on their heads.
(End of Chapter)
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