Arven splutters with ughter that sounds half-hysterical, half-amused.

  “Crazy girl! Well… I suppose she DID ask… And I can’t stand idly by and watch while a friend heads into danger on her own. So, I guess I’M going, too! ‘Sides, I’d love to give mom a piece of my mind, too.”

  He rolls up his sleeves. “Alright, Carmina! Outside! We’re gonna have a battle to see if we’re really ready to head into Area Zero or not! Mostly to see if I’m ready or not! Let’s go!”

  I nod and follow him.

  “Sounds like a pn. We’ve battled alongside each other, but only against each other once, on the day I started school. I’ll be happy to see how much you’ve grown!”

  I follow my friend out of the b as he locks it up, readying myself. Outside, Arven’s Mabosstiff is already out of its ball, and ‘ruff’-s at me in a friendly way.

  “Alright! You ready to battle, Carmina?!”

  “Yeah! Let’s go for it, all out!”

  “Excellent! You’re ready too, right, Mabosstiff?”

  “Bu-wuff! Wuff!”

  I grin. “Looks like Mabosstiff says he’s ready! Are you sure, though? He only recovered a little while ago!”

  “Okay, yeah, I can see why you’d be worried… but my buddy here’s bursting with energy! You’d never know he was so weak! Won’t leave me alone- always whining at me, wanting to battle you and your Pokémon!”

  Laughing, Arven rubs Mabosstiff’s huge head. “It’s been so long I nearly forgot, but he always did love to battle. Even if we always lost to that battle-maniac student council president girlfriend of yours.”

  Turning to me, Arven fshes a huge grin.

  “Anyway, my point is there’s no need to worry! We’re a brand-new Arven and Mabosstiff! And we’re feeling audacious- or maybe herbaceous? Let me give you a taste of what we can do!”

  I smile and skip back, sending Azumarill out to face-off against Arven’s Greedent. Liquidation puts the fat squirrel out for a nap, and Arven sends Toedscruel in for his next, the ground octopus shing out with Power Whip, before an Ice Punch downs the unfortunate squid.

  Scovilin comes out, and I’m forced into Py Rough, since water and ice moves aren’t as effective as I'd like them to be due to Scovilin’s dual Grass/Fire typing.

  Arven’s Garganacl forces me to go with Galde, a couple of Sacred Swords bringing the salty Rock-type down. Arven’s Cloyster comes at me with Iron Defence, but Azumarill’s Py Rough still takes it out in a single attack.

  Finally, Arven’s Mabosstiff comes out, and I switch in my Annihipe, banking on its Fighting type and a Close Combat to handle it, as Arven Terastallizes Mabosstiff, making me intensely gd I’d picked such a hard-hitting move.

  Mabosstiff reels back, falling, and I wince.

  “Sorry, puppy…”

  Arven recalls his st Pokémon and we heal up our teams, before the boy runs a hand through his hair.

  “Dang… so this is the strength of someone who could take down those Titan Pokémon, huh? Yeah, much as I hate to admit it… I do think we’re gonna need some more support. The Pokémon in Area Zero are super strong, and there are all sorts of weird machines there, too. I’d say we need at least two more people. Somebody with Champion-level skills and somebody who can deal with crazy tech.”

  I grin.

  “I have two people who cover those bases! Nemona’s got the battle skills, and I know this girl, Penny, who’s a whiz at computer stuff!

  “The student council president DOES have the battle skills needed. She can take on any Pokémon that comes at her. She’s a beast! And, if YOU’RE recommending this tech-whiz girl, she must be pretty good. I’ve gotta say, you’ve been making some useful friends! I’ll reach out to them and organize things; you just make sure you’re there, okay? The meeting pce will be the Zero Gate. It’s this facility out on the edge of the Great Crater. I’ll send you the info on how to find it, so don’t keep us waiting forever!”

  I smile. “Sounds good. I’ll go and get us all some items, like Full Restores and Ultra Balls and stuff, so we can be prepared!”

  While Arven starts blowing up Nemona’s Rotom phone, I head on up to Mesagoza and buy up a bunch of supplies for the four of us, as well as snacks and drinks. Might as well have some stuff in case we spend a couple days in the Great Crater. Then, checking through the info and map data Arven sent my way, I call a Flying Taxi to take me to Medali, the closest city to the Zero Gate.

  As I pay the Taxi and disembark, my Rotom phone starts blowing up. I answer it, smiling.

  “Nemona! Good morning, how are you? I guess Arven managed to get in touch with you and fill you in, chica?”

  “Oye, Carmina! Yes, Arven told me what’s happening! And you would be right; I’d LOVE to test myself and my team against these super-strong Pokémon he mentioned! Where are you?! We’re already here!”

  I can hear a grumpy Penny in the background, protesting about not having had coffee yet. I smile and buy some camping cups, a huge thermos and some hot Café con Leche to fill it, before turning my attention towards scaling the outside of the Great Crater, up towards my destination.

  Just up the way from Medali, I pass through a tunnel, its locked gate standing open, and emerge on the inside of the Great Crater, the building from Arven’s map data standing at the edge of the cliff overlooking the inside of Area Zero. Arven is waiting outside, waving at me.

  “Heeey! Over here!”

  I hurry over to meet up with him.

  “This is the Zero Gate, huh?”

  “Yeah. It was made so researchers could try to observe the inside of the Great Crater of Paldea… what folks call Area Zero. It’s our ticket down into the crater. Oh, and speaking of the crater… you know that Pokémon of yours? The one I gave you? Area Zero is apparently where Koraidon was born or something like that. Maybe it’ll be happy that it can finally come back home? Not that I really care or anything… anyway, our two new teammates are waiting for us inside the Zero Gate. Guess we should head in.”

  The doors glide open as we step inside the building. Arven squints into the lightless chamber.

  “Whoa! Kinda dark in here…”

  Nemona appears out of the gloom, waving.

  “Ho, Carmina! I’m here, baby!”

  I hug her, happy to see my girlfriend, as Arven huffs.

  “Once she heard she’d get to meet some awesome and strong Pokémon, she was here in a second.”

  Scowling at Nemona, Arven grumbles, “You’re an annoying little pest at the academy, but I guess you could come in handy for this.”

  I elbow him. “Be nice, Arven, she agreed to help!”

  Nemona pokes my cheek affectionately. “Yeah, he’s talking like a guy who wants to get beaten in a battle! But more importantly… why’s it so dark? And where are the awesome Pokémon?!”

  Arven tilts his head back. “Yeah, it IS weird that the lights are off… the st time I was here, the electricity was up and running. But now…”

  K-CHNK-WHIIIRRRRRRR!

  The room brightens up, and we all blink owlishly as the lights flicker into life.

  Nemona ughs, “Well, NOW the lights are on!”

  Arven frowns. “But why?”

  A voice that I’ve come to recognize well comes from one side of the room.

  “I… I turned them on. Seems like they were on power-saving mode.”

  I smile.

  “Hi, Penny!”

  The Gigantamax-Eevee-bag-wearing girl approaches us.

  “I hacked into the system controls and overrode the settings…”

  Nemona gasps, “The Eevee bag girl!”

  I nudge her. “This is Penny; she agreed to help us, darling. No challenging her to a battle, now, we all need to be in peak condition!”

  Nemona nods. “Well, hey! We never got to actually talk! I’m Nemona! I’m in css 1-A! You must be some kind of tech whiz!”

  Penny looks nervous. “Urk… you talk… like, way too much…”

  I pat Nemona’s hand. “Penny’s not as battle-obsessed as us, Nemona. Ease up a little, okay?”

  Smiling at Penny, I produce the thermos and the cups.

  “Thanks for agreeing to help, Penny. I have a feeling I’ll owe YOU one for this little expedition.”

  Pouring us all a drink, we stand around, sipping and savouring the caffeine working its way through our veins.

  Suddenly, a mechanical voice chimes in.

  “Biometric identification in progress…”

  The professor’s voice follows.

  “Hello, Carmina. I have been expecting you. And it seems you have gathered a group of formidable allies as well.”

  Penny blinks, her gsses steamed up from her cup.

  “Uh… sorry, who are you?”

  Arven sighs. “That’s… my mom. Probably…”

  Nemona gasps, “What? That’s Professor Sada?!”

  “Nemona. Student ID number 805C001. And Penny. Student ID number 803B121. I thank you for coming.”

  Nemona csps her hands to her chest in excitement. “Of course, Professor! Oh my gosh, it’s such an honour to meet you in person! I mean, maybe not ‘in person’, exactly…”

  Meanwhile, Penny turns to the only boy of our little band.

  “Uh…Arven? Did you… um… tell your mom about us?”

  Arven shakes his head. “When would I have done that?”

  Professor Sada interrupts, “To begin with, I’d like to ask you all to make your way down into the Great Crater of Paldea. You can reach the lower chamber using the elevator you can see to your right.”

  A door slides open to the right of our group, exposing an elevator, just as the professor said.

  Arven steps up.

  “Um… Mom?”

  “… Please proceed below.”

  I wince as Arven’s head lowers. Ugh, what a horrible woman! I can’t wait to throw the stupid book at her face. Ooh! Maybe I’ll even manage to break her nose!

  Penny whispers to me, “are they… not on good terms?”

  I sigh, shaking my head. “No, the Professor’s kinda a shit mother.”

  Nemona blinks at my choice of nguage. I shrug and grab her hand.

  “Well, we won’t make any headway in getting our chance to sock her in the chin if we just stand here! Let’s go!”

  Arven snrrks despite himself, as he and Penny follow us into the elevator. When it stops moving down, there’s a massive door ahead of us. Sada’s voice chimes in again from some hidden speaker or something.

  “Biometric identification in progress… Identities confirmed. Access granted to lower level.”

  The door opens, exposing a ptform that extends out over the lip of the Great Crater.

  I huff, as Nemona cps her hands. “Oooh! It opened for us automatically!”

  Penny shakes her head, cleaning her gsses. “Not quite… looks to me like someone’s controlling this thing remotely.”

  “Once you step through, you will be above Area Zero. Carmina… you have brought Koraidon with you?”

  I nod. “Yes. I have Rairai here.”

  “I thank you for bringing it with you on your many adventures. If you utilize Koraidon’s gliding capabilities, you should be able to descend into the depths to reach Area Zero.”

  Penny squeaks, “Wha? Isn’t there, like, an elevator or something? And wait, did you say Koraidon can fly?!”

  “When you reach the bottom, I will get in touch once again. I hope your trip is uneventful.”

  Arven snarls, “Railroading people into stuff, just like always…”

  I sigh. Nemona pnts a kiss on my cheek.

  “I can’t wait to see what Pokémon live down in Area Zero! Let’s go!” she sprints towards the open door. Penny gasps, “That girl… is she incapable of fear, or what?!”

  I smile as I watch my girlfriend, my friend in Team Star, and my chef friend Arven, all make their way towards the ptform.

  Releasing Koraidon from its ball, I rub under its chin. “Look, Rairai. We need you to carry us all on your back down into the Great Crater. Can you do that for me, please?”

  “Agia!... Agia…”

  Koraidon sits, lying down at the edge of the ptform with a miserable look on its reptilian face. I pat it on the side as I mount up, Nemona behind me, Penny in front of me, and Arven at the back.

  “Hold on tight, everyone! Don’t let go, no matter what!”

  Rairai rears, and then leaps, its head fins unfurling to catch the wind as three out of four of us scream. I’ve been riding Rairai for a while now, so I’m used to this. Down, down, through the thick fog that boils just below the lip of the caldera, plunging through the cold, damp mist. As we plummet, gliding and swooping in vast loops, the sun begins to burn the mist away, revealing the grassy bottom of the Great Crater.

  Finally, Koraidon skips and bounces to a stop, digging up rills of turf, as it shakes its head, the fins on its head rolling back up.

  Arven lets out a sigh. “… And now I’m back here again…”

  Penny pants, face pale. “Hah…Hah… I think I might’ve died once or twice there…”

  Rairai hunkers down, trembling.

  “Agia gia…”

  I give it a cuddle, rubbing its head and chest.

  “It’s okay, bud… we’re with you.”

  “Gias!” Rairai looks a bit happier, shaking itself out again.

  Then it returns to its Pokéball of its own volition. Penny blinks.

  “Wait, why’d it do that?”

  Arven grumps, “It’s probably just hungry or something.”

  I’m not so sure. It didn’t look like Rairai was hungry. It looked… scared… but it faced down a Houndoom when we met! What could scare such a brave Pokémon???

  Arven suddenly yells, “Wait a second… where’s the student council girl?!”

  Sure enough, there’s no sign of my girlfriend. Penny gulps, “Y-you don’t think…?”

  “E-everyone! You have to see this!”

  I whip round at the sound of Nemona screaming. She comes sprinting up the path towards us.

  “Area Zero is AMAAAAAZING!!! Come on already!”

  Penny blinks. “I guess your Ability would be Own Tempo, huh…

  My Rotom phone buzzes, flying out of my bag and hovering in front of my phone. Sada’s voice drones from the speaker.

  “Biometric identification in progress… Four humans identified. Condition satisfactory. Vital signs all within normal range. It appears you were able to make the descent without being harmed.”

  Arven puts his hands on his hips.

  “Hah, yeah, sure! Smooth sailing! Who could compin about a nding like that?”

  “That is good. I had concerns you might fail, given the crudeness of the only avaible access method.”

  Arven folds his arms and scowls. “Hm…?”

  Penny snarks, “I think your mom’s sarcasm detector needs fixing…”

  Nemona doesn’t seem to be picking up on the sardonicism either.

  “Aw, you were worried about us? That’s so sweet!”

  “You should now make your way to me at the Zero Lab, in the deepest part of Area Zero. However… the entrance to the b is barred by four locks, installed on the exterior, which I cannot unlock.”

  Penny pushes her gsses up. “Four locks?”

  “On your way to me, you must visit four research stations that were constructed inside the crater. At each station, you will be able to disable one of the locks. Do so as you make your way down. I hope you succeed.”

  The professor hangs up. Nemona grabs my hand. “Yesss! Let’s disable the four locks and get into that b! Huh… sounds kinda videogame-y when you say it out loud! Anyway, come on! Time to find our way to the deepest part of Area Zero!”

  I nod. “We’re already here. Might as well go and see what the Professor has to say for herself. Maybe she’ll be more communicative without a screen in front of her dumb face.”

  It takes over an hour to reach the first research station, mainly due to the fact that Area Zero is PACKED with wild Pokémon, each and every one of which seem intent on trying to stomp us into the dirt. Luckily, we manage to drive them off, though not without leaving a trail of knocked-out wild creatures in our wake. It mostly falls to me and Nemona to keep our little party from being overwhelmed. Arven hadn’t been lying when he said the pce was dangerous. A normal Trainer wouldn’t stand a chance in here! Even with my girlfriend’s team working in tandem with mine, it’s all we can do to keep some of the bigger beasties from getting past us and trying to go after Penny and Arven.

  Eventually, we stumble upon a white building, made of prefabricated sheets and struts, partially overgrown with vines.

  “That must be one of the buildings the professor was talking about!”

  Nemona’s still as peppy as ever, despite the constant battles. She really is incredible…

  We traipse towards the building, before a Glimmora gets in our way. Penny freaks out, and Nemona and I both smile.

  “La Primera uses that Pokémon in her team! Come on, Carmina! Let’s take it on together!”

  I nod, stepping out in front, next to my girlfriend. The wild Glimmora seems really ticked off, and I ready my Azumarill. Nemona’s Lycanroc appears next to my aqua-bnuuy, and I match Nemona’s Drill Run with Azumarill’s Liquidation, battering the wild Glimmora from one side to another, as it turns tail and flees.

  Nemona chews her bottom lip.

  “Are there gonna be a lot more of these rare Pokémon down here, do you think?”

  Arven lets out a short chuckle.

  “You think THAT was something? Please. You’ve got no idea how terrifying Area Zero really is.”

  Penny rolls her eyes.

  “Wow. Patronizing much?”

  I look at her. “Arven’s been here before. He knows this pce better than we do. I think he’s right, honestly. Just look at what happened the moment we arrived. If it was just me trying to fight off all these crazy wild Pokémon, we’d already be dead. “

  Penny gulps. Nemona pats my shoulder.

  “Easy, you guys. Let’s just head inside the research station, yeah?”

  Inside the research station, we’re met with nothing but an abandoned building. Nemona gasps, “Are these some kind of ancient ruins?!”

  Penny shrugs. “They look far too recent for that.”

  Professor Sada chimes in through the building’s speakers. “It appears you have reached your first research station without incident. This facility was constructed 87 years ago as a way station for those surveying Area Zero.”

  Nemona nods thoughtfully. “So that’s why there’s a bed in the corner! Looks like we can use this pce to rest up if we need to!”

  “Carmina, if you would be so kind as to disable the first lock on the b using that central panel.”

  However, I don’t do so just yet. I’d spotted a book lying next to the bed, and approach, picking it up and skimming the text.

  “Thanks to my prototype Tera Orb, I secured corporate funding for my research and made a boratory in the lighthouse near Cabo Poco. Someday, though, I’ll return to the crater and resume my study of these crystals.”

  Huh. Looks like the professor wrote this. Weird. I go and check another book.

  “We’ve determined that this energy crystallization is linked to the being we call ______. The interlocking hexagonal ptes on _____’s shell must somehow cause this phenomenon, which I’ve dubbed ‘Terastallizing’.”

  This book seems to have been written by Professor Sada, too. Now, finally, I go ahead and disable the first lock. One down, three to go.

  “Well done. Please continue your efforts at the remaining research stations.”

  I look at my companions. Aside from Nemona, the rest of us are physically and mentally exhausted. I smile. “Let’s take a break, okay? I think we could all use a few minutes, maybe an hour or two, to recoup.”

  I dig some sweets and drinks out of my bag and set them out for an impromptu picnic, before sitting down with a bottle of water. I make sure my team’s recovered with Potions, before divvying up the extras I’d bought. “Here, guys. I got some stuff for everyone!”

  Handing out all the stuff I’d got, I finish my water, feeling the prospect of three more stations looming. Ugh, this is going to take forever…

  After a rest, we leave the research station, and make our way deeper. The second station comes into view after another hour or two, and the wild Pokémon seem to have calmed down enough that we aren’t getting attacked every other minute or two. Penny groans, “The second research station! About time, too.”

  As we approach, Nemona leans against me, panting. She looks shattered, and I support her. She gasps, “phew… let’s… let’s head in and… take a breather…”

  I help cart her inside. Arven fires off, “I thought you’d have a bit more stamina, student council girl.”

  I kick his ankle as I pass. “Come on, dude. Be chill.”

  Penny pauses as a pink, round Pokémon ambles past.

  “Oh, hey! Look, a Jigglypuff! It’s good to see some nice, familiar Pokémon down here too.”

  The Jigglypuff turns to look at us. Its eyes are wide yellow orbs. It has… fangs, and a long, sweptback plume.

  “Puuu?”

  Penny coos, “Ohmygosh! So cute…”

  She approaches, as the strange Jigglypuff warbles, “Pu.”

  Then, it screeches, “PurraAAAAGH!”

  Penny screams as the creature bounds towards her on its stubby little legs, gnashing at her ankles. I leap in front and send out my Azumarill, giving Penny time to back up and bring out her Umbreon.

  It eats an Ice Punch from me, and a Dark Pulse from Umbreon, then Liquidation finishes the battle, and I help Penny up from where she fell.

  “Seriously, what WAS that? Damn thing scared me half to death…”

  Nemona joins us. “Yeah, it was definitely kinda… ferocious for a Jigglypuff, wasn’t it?”

  I nod. “No kidding. See what Arven meant now, girls?”

  Penny shivers. “Come on, let’s get inside already. One more jumpscare like that and I’m done for…”

  Inside the second research station, it looks exactly the same as the first. Luckily, it doesn’t look like any wild Pokémon come in here, so we should be safe to rest here for a while. Arven fills the others in. according to the Scarlet Book, the messed-up Jigglypuff is known as Scream Tail, and it’s like the Great Tusk he and I battled. A creature from the distant past…

  Penny scoffs nervously. “Oh, come on. There’s no way that’s possible…”

  Professor Sada’s voice confirms what her son had just said.

  “The Zero Lab, where I am located… contains a time machine. It summons the ancient Pokémon to this pce.”

  Arven clenches his fists. “So, the thing my mom was working on, down here all this time… She finally got it working?!”

  “Indeed… though the cost was catastrophic.”

  Arven swallows. “The… cost?”

  Penny gasps, “But… a time machine? You mean you can actually travel to and from the past?”

  “It is theoretically possible to travel to the past. However, for a being such as a human, it would not be possible to return to the present.”

  Penny pushes her gsses up her nose. “Well, THAT’S horrifying…”

  Arven steps forward, looking around to locate the speaker.

  “Mom, you- why… why did you call us here to Area Zero?”

  There’s a long pause, the only telltale sign that Professor Sada’s still connected the faint electrical crackle.

  “Arven, I… … … … If possible, I would like us to speak when we can meet face to face. It will be easier for you to understand once you can see the situation for yourself.”

  Arven’s head lowers once again. I feel really bad for him. He doesn’t deserve this, to be kept in the dark and treated like some mindless errand boy by his own mother…

  “Now then, Carmina. Please use the central panel here, and disable another lock on my b.”

  Instead, I head for one of the two books lying on the bed. Picking up the first one, I begin reading.

  “The crystals’ power is tremendous! Their unstable output made our corporate backers fret, but… if we can harness this energy, it will open up research possibilities we’d only dreamed of! At st, paradise will be ours to create.”

  The other book continues,

  “At st I can resume work on the Tera Project! I’ll move my research to the Zero Lab this month. My team will be smaller, but no matter. The strong influence of the crystals makes our experiments much more unstable.”

  Finally, I hit the button on the console, and the second lock is disabled.

  “Well done. Please continue your efforts at the remaining research stations.”