Even though she lost the battle, Geeta's mood actually became noticeably brighter.
After she confirmed with Hikaru when they would be heading to Area Zero next, and learned that Hikaru was looking for a special "item" while taking Charcadet on a loop around Paldea, she fell silent in thought for a moment.
Hikaru suddenly went on alert. "Whenever you start thinking like that, I get the feeling you're up to no good. You're not thinking, 'Since you're already circling Paldea anyway, why not conveniently squeeze in Gym evaluations or something,' are you?"
Wasn't that exactly how the protagonist of Scarlet and Violet got talked into things?
"Oh my, how could you think that of me? You wound me." Geeta put on a show of sadness, then immediately returned to her perfectly polite smile. "If that were the case, the overtime you'd be taking on would be too much. I know you're firmly anti-overtime, and the workload you already have is more than enough."
Hikaru said, "But you definitely thought about it just now."
Geeta smiled. "Thoughts don't count unless they're said out loud. Relax. If I ever assign you work, I'll always give you a heads-up."
Mm. The only person who gets assigned work without being told is Larry.
Back at Blueberry Academy, Larry, one of the Elite Four, had once run into something absolutely outrageous like that.
Geeta asked Larry whether he could do basically any job, and then went and signed him up for a tournament in some region without asking, causing Larry to completely short-circuit on the spot.
And as if she could read what Hikaru was thinking, Geeta suddenly added, "Your final destination will conveniently be Medali, right?"
"Larry's over there, and the Area Zero gate is there too."
Geeta gave a brief explanation about the Area Zero gate. From an official standpoint, it was the only way to enter Area Zero.
You absolutely should not assume that having a Flying-type Pokémon meant you could just bypass the gate and enter the Great Crater of Paldea from "high altitude." In practice, it simply did not work.
Hikaru rubbed his chin. "So you're saying there's an invisible barrier around Area Zero?"
"Yes." Geeta nodded. "To prevent the anomalous ecology inside Area Zero from affecting the outside world. And like I told you, it seems there were dangerous creatures in the past that broke through the Area Zero barrier and reached the outside. Because of that, there's an invisible barrier encircling Area Zero, and that barrier is also one of the outcomes of applying Terastal energy."
Hikaru nodded. "Understood. I won't try to Fly in from above."
It wasn't some Paldea-only black-tech, either.
Hoenn's high-tech city, LaRousse City, had something similar. That transparent barrier was so sturdy that even Rayquaza couldn't break in.
It was just that Area Zero's "barrier" was on a truly ridiculous scale. Still, considering the amplification from Terastal energy, covering the center of an entire region didn't actually feel that surprising. Terastallization wasn't merely an "energy source," after all.
Geeta paused, then looked over at Rika.
"Rika, have you been wanting to take a vacation lately?"
"Huh?" Rika froze, then immediately understood. Geeta had noticed the shift in her expression earlier, and knew that, as things stood, it would be hard for Rika to calm down and throw herself back into her usual work routine.
"I probably don't need one yet. I still have a lot of work left to finish."
Rika didn't want to add pressure to her colleagues. If she took time off, Hassel and Larry would be the ones stuck doing overtime.
"I see. Then we'll push the vacation back a bit." Geeta smiled. "I only asked because I saw that rare spark in you again, like when you challenged me back then. It's a look I haven't seen in a long time."
"When a new strong person arrives, collisions between people create strange changes. That saying was…"
"All life meets other life, and then something is born from it." Hikaru snapped his fingers. "That's a legend passed down in Sinnoh."
Geeta looked genuinely pleased. "A perfect description."
Then she turned back to Rika. "Since you don't want a vacation, let's adjust your upcoming work a little."
"It's about time for the routine Gym evaluations to begin. Could I trouble you to go in my place?"
"To assess whether each Gym Leader can gently guide those aiming for Champion level, and whether their strength has declined…"
"Me?" Rika jolted. "But I'm not strong enough. That sort of thing should be done by the Champion, or someone at Champion level, right?"
Even if that was the theory, Paldea didn't exactly have a surplus of usable, up-and-coming Champion-level candidates.
Geeta's eyes curved with a smile. "It's fine. I have high expectations for your future. Rika, you'll definitely grow stronger again."
"Besides, isn't a true rival just a friend who's also traveling, and battles you from time to time?"
"You know the three battle legends of Kanto, right? They reached the level of regional Champion while still young, and they even crushed the power of an evil organization on distant soil. Truly astonishing."
Rika nodded. "Yes, I know."
Even though she'd moved away from Johto long ago, those three were simply too famous. Paldea was far from Kanto, but it still kept a close eye on world news and major incidents.
Unless it was somewhere genuinely far away like Oblivia, or somewhere absolutely remote like the Ferrum region, most powerful Trainers knew what had happened in Kanto back then.
A big part of that was simply because Team Rocket had been enormous.
Before the truth came out, they were a major cross-regional publicly traded corporation. They even recruited new employees every year and invested all over the world.
When a company that big suddenly imploded, of course it drew attention and investigations from every direction.
Still, thanks to Team Rocket's exposure, some large corporations in other regions seemed to have been "shaken" a bit, and their movements on the world stage had quieted down.
"Precisely." Geeta nodded. "Because they endured harsh travel and battle, they reached those heights. For you, setting out again after all these years, you'll surely gain something new from it. Time gives us what we are owed."
"Of course, the Gym Leaders are talents I personally selected, so there shouldn't be any issues. Consider it a formality."
"I was going to say that, but… perhaps it's better if they fight you at full strength. That way, you can recover the feeling of traveling like you used to, right?"
Rika shook her head and muttered, "Honestly… you were planning to send Hikaru-kun, weren't you?"
"After all, as Paldea's newest Elite Four member, this would be a great chance for him to show himself in front of everyone."
Geeta clasped her hands behind her back and gave a quiet, amused snort. "If he refused, there's nothing to be done. Next time, I'll ask him to help with other work."
Hikaru fell silent at the side.
These two clearly thought they were whispering.
But to a Psychic, that kind of conversation was crystal clear.
And this "evaluation" wasn't nearly as light and breezy as Geeta made it sound. If a Gym Leader performed poorly, they could potentially lose the job. It was obvious at a glance that this model was imitating Galar's Major League and Minor League Gym system.
That said, the model didn't really work on people like Brassius and Iono. In the story, Brassius even said something like, "Just report whatever you want," and then ran off to do art.
Because people in Paldea have real day jobs. To them, the Gym is simply a place to express their strength, not their entire livelihood. They're not like many Galar Gym Leaders, who are essentially "celebrity athletes," where being relegated to the minor leagues feels like the sky falling.
So in Paldea, this system didn't run particularly well.
By comparison, the "League inspection and evaluation" processes in other regions were often more normal. Sure, there were rare evaluators who'd casually bring out something like a Latias, but that was the exception.
Those evaluators would investigate whether a Gym followed Pokémon League regulations, and also examine the Gym Leader's battle content and attitude toward challengers. If a Gym failed standards, it could be forbidden from awarding badges, but the Gym Leader wouldn't lose their job unless the situation was especially severe.
Like Giovanni. Though Giovanni basically didn't work at the Viridian Gym anyway, so shutting it down was inevitable.
"Ahem. Then the first ones I have to evaluate are Brassius and Iono, right? They're both here anyway." Rika pressed a hand to her forehead. "Fine. Let's just decide it like that."
"As for Brassius, he's still creating art. In that state, he won't come out of his studio. But with his sculpting speed, he won't keep me waiting too long. When inspiration is flowing, Brassius is seriously strong."
"Then we'll start with Iono."
"What about you, Hikaru?"
"I still need to teach Mela how to paint. I'll stay in Artazon for two more days." Hikaru smiled. "So after you finish the evaluations, you should head out first."
"A true rival is someone who finishes the challenge before you do, trains at a few special places, and then sends you a battle invitation afterward."
Rika laughed. "Ha. If you put it like that, I'm going to remember it. Next time we meet, I'll definitely be stronger than I am now. Let me think. Before you leave Paldea, or before you enter Area Zero, we should battle at least twice more. No, at least three times!"
Hikaru didn't really care either way. "That sounds fine."
Sure, in the games, farming the Elite Four is a convenient way to make money. But in Paldea, after you clear the main story, you can't just repeatedly beat up the Elite Four forever, so you can't farm cash that way.
And in real life, outside of battle facilities, it's still rare for people to just hand you prize money immediately after a battle. Unless you go pick fights with battle-loving rich people. Sometimes they even enjoy getting beaten up, and then casually gift you a huge pile of cash.
At that moment, Iono, who'd been filming a collab video with Mela, had no idea disaster was about to strike.
She was immersed in her own world of video editing, praising Mela for being cute and extremely camera-friendly.
After the work arrangements and salary negotiations were settled, Geeta said she would return to the League to draft the documents. All Hikaru needed to do was visit League HQ once to report in and complete the remaining procedures.
"As for the investigation into Area Zero, I'm looking forward to you returning with rich results!"
She still had plenty of work, including research into Kingambit, so she immediately left Artazon.
But before she went, she repeated that she would be anticipating the special incident Hikaru had mentioned.
Iono, who'd finished filming the art exhibit content and was editing and polishing the video, got caught by Rika.
When Iono learned what she was about to face, she froze for a beat. But instead of being annoyed by this "sudden calamity," she lit up with sudden excitement.
"Hee-hee. Rika-onee-san wants to co-star with Iono? OK, OK. So this is the plotline!"
"If I co-star with Rika-onee-san, my popularity's going to explode even more? Hehe, hee-hee-hee!"
Iono entered fantasy mode.
Then she remembered something and stretched a hand toward Hikaru. "Hey. Lend me that. Let me use it!"
Hikaru handed Iono the small flying robot. "Sure. I already modified it. Take it. Just don't forget our agreement."
Iono spun in place and gave an adorable smile. "Tee-hee-hee. I'm a top influencer. I won't forget. If you need anything, come to me. I'm super familiar with product promotion, you know!"
That was true.
In the newer anime, Iono often ran ads for various food brands in Levincia, cashing sponsorships like it was nothing.
And in the games, Grusha also said that Iono later kept taking corporate deals, with ads in almost every stream and video.
When it came to selling products, she was genuinely professional.
"With this machine, my future is definitely going to get better. Yay!"
"Once I'm done with this evaluation, we'll talk details!"
Iono happily went off with Rika to do the test, keeping that flying machine at her side to film a full 360 degrees, no dead angles. She was already imagining how much attention this kind of footage would grab.
And it really would.
"A Rotom Phone won't appear for at least a few more years. And even in the Rotom Phone era, a little machine like this still won't be outdated."
Of course, before heading into Area Zero, to be safe, Hikaru still needed a special item. While staying in Artazon, he might as well assemble it.
A Capture Styler.
As someone who only assisted Rangers, he didn't have the qualifications to use a Capture Styler, so even if he built a modified one, using it would be illegal.
But considering Area Zero could easily turn into a "brawl" situation, Hikaru figured that bringing this along would at least give him a bit of protection if he got attacked by Paradox Pokémon along the road.
In the anime, the Capture Styler could only capture one at a time.
But in the games, depending on the installed add-ons and upgrades, the capture limit could actually reach as high as four to eight.
"I've wanted to try this in real life for ages. Hm. Since it's an illegal Styler, the core tech will differ from the Ranger Union's, but at least when it comes to being in sync mentally, I have plenty to say."
Hikaru withdrew his gaze and looked at the reserved red-haired girl.
"Oh, have you been waiting long? Let's start learning to paint."
Hikaru greeted Mela. Now, art class officially began.
As for why?
It was simply teaching, driven by personal interest.
"Knock."
Charcadet had arrived outside the studio at some point. It knocked, then pushed the door open and walked in.
Hikaru immediately waved it over.
"Perfect timing, Charcadet. Are you here to see her?"
"Then how about you be our model for the painting? We'll definitely make something really beautiful."
Charcadet, wearing its cloak, thought for a moment, then looked at Mela.
Then it struck a cool pose.
Knight, transform!
You better paint me a little more handsome, okay?
Someday, this might become the portrait of a legendary knight of justice.
(End of Chapter)
[Get +30 Extra Chapters On — P@tr3on "Zaelum"]
[Every 300 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter Drop]
[Thanks for Reading!]