President Silph finally came back to his senses. "The second matter isn't anything major," he said. "I mainly wanted to ask for your help with something."
"Please, go ahead."
Nozomi was in excellent spirits. He had just secured a lucrative endorsement deal, and his impression of Silph Co. had improved dramatically. If it was just a small favor, he'd gladly lend a hand.
"I'll let my assistant explain," said President Silph, gesturing to the person beside him.
After all, as the head of a massive corporation, he couldn't possibly handle every detail himself—he'd work himself to death if he tried.
The assistant nodded and placed a document in front of Nozomi.
"The situation is like this," the assistant began. "A week ago, during one of our institute's field research expeditions, we discovered traces of a group of ancient Pokémon."
"So, we immediately launched a full-scale investigation of the discovery site. As our exploration continued, and with help from our instruments, we found that a large number of ancient Pokémon fossils were buried underground. After extensive study, our research team concluded that there might actually be living ancient Pokémon beneath the surface."
"Sorry to interrupt," Nozomi said, raising his hand. "Where exactly is this place you're talking about?"
For some reason, the story sounded oddly familiar to him.
"The Grampa Canyon," the assistant replied.
Seated inside the helicopter heading toward the Grampa Canyon, Nozomi's thoughts were in turmoil.
He hadn't expected the ancient Pokémon that were supposed to appear later in the original storyline to be discovered early by Silph Co.—and that they would invite him to take part in the expedition.
The Grampa Canyon was an episode from the original Pokémon anime.
It told the story of Ash, Gary, and the others excavating fossils there, only for Team Rocket to accidentally blow open the ground with explosives. Everyone fell into an underground cavern and discovered ancient Pokémon that had been sleeping below.
Nozomi wasn't sure why, in the original timeline, Silph Co. had never discovered the sleeping Pokémon beneath the valley.
He speculated that perhaps Team Rocket's interference had forced Silph Co. to abandon the project, or maybe some other circumstance had caused the company to halt its investigation—leading them to miss the opportunity to encounter the ancient Pokémon.
But in this altered reality, after he had crossed into this world, it seemed Silph Co. had no intention of stopping the expedition.
In the distance, a camp came into view.
The helicopter descended toward the landing pad that had already been prepared.
A group of people was waiting nearby. As soon as Nozomi stepped off the aircraft, they hurried forward to greet him.
"Hello, Mr. Nozomi, and welcome!" said a middle-aged man in a white lab coat, clearly a scientist. "My name is Arl, and I'm the lead researcher in charge of this expedition."
He was exceedingly polite—after all, his superiors had informed him that this young man, personally received by President Silph himself, was an individual of great importance. Arl didn't dare act casually in front of him.
Nozomi gave him a once-over. Judging from his name and accent, this Arl was clearly not from Kanto.
"Nice to meet you, Arl. I'm Nozomi. How's the situation?"
Nozomi wasted no time on small talk and went straight to the point.
Arl blinked, momentarily thrown off. He'd prepared a series of pleasantries to ease into the discussion, but all of that now seemed unnecessary.
Still, he didn't mind Nozomi's directness—on the contrary, he appreciated it. As a researcher, he wasn't particularly skilled at social niceties anyway.
"We've completed preliminary scans," Arl explained, excitement creeping into his voice. "About thirty meters underground, we detected a massive hollow chamber. The readings are faint, but we've confirmed signs of life within. This is an incredible discovery!"
While it was true that scientists had already developed machines capable of reviving ancient Pokémon from fossils—as long as the fossil contained a complete genetic sequence—those revived Pokémon were artificial recreations.
They might resemble the real thing in appearance, but they lacked natural behavior, instincts, and hunting methods that could offer insight into their ancient ecology.
These living specimens, however, were different. They could provide genuine data on how ancient Pokémon once lived and survived.
According to their hypothesis, these Pokémon had merely fallen into a deep hibernation. If they could be awakened, it might reveal invaluable information about ancient Pokémon lifestyles.
That would be a monumental breakthrough for their research.
Nozomi didn't particularly care about their scientific ambitions. His mission was simple—protect the scientists from harm. Whatever they wanted to study was none of his concern.
In exchange for providing protection, Silph Co. had promised him the right to choose any ancient Pokémon or fossil discovered during the expedition to take with him.
"Can we begin now?" Nozomi asked directly.
Since he already knew from the original story that there were ancient Pokémon below, he didn't see the point in waiting around.
He had other things to do—no reason to waste time here.
"Right now?" Arl hesitated. "It's possible, but our preparations aren't fully complete yet. For safety reasons, I'd recommend waiting a few more days."
Despite his excitement, Arl still maintained the cautious professionalism expected of a scientist.
He wasn't about to risk lives for the sake of progress.
"That won't be necessary," Nozomi said calmly. "With me here, nothing will happen to you."
They were dealing with ordinary ancient Pokémon, not a sleeping Rayquaza. He wasn't worried in the slightest.
Arl still looked uncertain.
But after seeing Nozomi's quiet confidence—and recalling the impressive credentials his superiors had mentioned—he clenched his teeth and decided to trust him.
Even if Nozomi were exaggerating, Arl knew his own bosses wouldn't lie about someone personally endorsed by President Silph.
"Alright," he finally said. "We'll prepare to enter the underground chamber immediately."
He turned and shouted toward the nearby researchers, "Everyone, finalize the preparations! We're heading below!"
"Yes, sir!"
The entire team sprang into action.
Nozomi stepped forward to the edge of the massive drill hole that had been bored into the earth and peered down.
From deep within the darkness came faint, eerie roars echoing up from the cavern below.
No wonder President Silph had wanted him to guard this expedition.
No one could be sure just what kind of mysterious Pokémon awaited them in the depths of the Grampa Canyon.