Postwick was a small town in southern Galar, a peaceful and quiet pastoral region where people made their living through livestock.
The local landscape gave visitors a sense of time passing across long ages. Compared to the distant Sinnoh region, it sat at a higher latitude and was a cold place.
Because natural disasters such as typhoons and earthquakes were rare, its trees and rocks had retained their ancient forms. The sunlight was not as strong as it was in Alola or Hoenn either, so the trees grew slowly, creating the feeling that time itself had stopped.
The terrain rolled gently, and the rivers flowed at a leisurely pace. Because of that, the lakes and rivers reflected the light beautifully, like mirrors.
Fog was also common here, and moss grew across the rocks and trees.
The area preserved the appearance of preindustrial Galar to the greatest extent possible. It was surrounded by forests, high mountains, long rivers, and streams. Though the climate was cold, every household had a hearth, so survival was not a concern.
Stories of "the strong" had once been passed down here. This was a land brimming with power, but now, that old history had long since been forgotten. The newest strong person most widely known to the world was Leon, Champion of the Galar League.
Near the edge of the rustic houses, a fence led toward the forest. That way had been sealed off, because in the mouths of the townspeople, Slumbering Weald was a dangerous place, often covered in fog and easy to get lost in. Some said that once a person entered the depths of the mist, they would become lost in the world of the dead.
Others said that at the end of the fog lay a utopia far removed from the mortal world.
And today, from that forest long forgotten by the mortal world, violent explosions rang out. Deep within the forest, many Pokémon were startled into wandering about. They appeared and vanished within the sky-obscuring fog and among immortal ancient trees, then disappeared into nothingness alongside strange waves of light.
"What's going on? The fence got smashed open!"
"Wooloo, where did you go? It's my fault! I shouldn't have compared you to Charizard. Come back!"
"Wooloo has its own strengths too, I know that! We'll go to the Pokémon League together someday!"
No Wooloo. No Wooloo was absolutely not acceptable!
Hop worried that something had happened in the forest. He planned to go in, but because there was no "other reliable friend" present, he hesitated.
Still, his concern for his partner ultimately overpowered both his fear and the lectures adults had given him. He was just about to step onto the road leading into the forest when a familiar voice called out from behind him.
"Hop? Isn't that Hop?"
Hop turned his head in a daze and saw a familiar older sister from the nearby town.
Of course she was familiar. She was his big brother's childhood friend!
"S-Sonia! You're back!"
Postwick and Wedgehurst were called two towns, but in reality, they were connected by a single stone bridge. Other areas around them also overlapped and blended together, so they could be regarded as a single town.
Because of that, people from the two towns often came and went, and their industries complemented each other in many ways.
Hop stared blankly at the people stepping down from the Corviknight Taxi.
The one greeting him was Sonia, her face full of worry. Behind her was a black-haired girl who looked like a punk rocker.
Of course, that was not the type Hop was interested in.
Whether in the anime, game, or manga, Hop was a Gloria-only devotee—or Shield, Shieldmilia Tate. As for Marnie, Hop only saw her as a powerful rival. Beyond that, she had not left as deep an impression on him as Bede had.
However, if one looked at Sword and Shield's original draft, Marnie's involvement in the plot was extremely high. Though in terms of her final status, she was only one of the "new Elite Four," rather than occupying Hop's Blue-like position.
But at the very least, the part where Hop's battle spirit was shattered midway through remained the same in the official Sword and Shield release. Even the one who destroyed Hop's heart was still Bede. He was a mountain Hop could not cross no matter what.
But never mind the backpacked man behind them, who was currently on the phone.
The third person walking over, also carrying luggage, wearing martial-arts clothes, with gray-white hair, and slightly older than Hop, was—
"Ah! It's you!"
"You're the one who beat my brother!"
Hop's mind became a tangled mess. He had never expected the person who defeated his brother to appear in this remote border town so quickly after the match ended. The setting sun was already sinking, and the sky had darkened. To take a Corviknight Taxi from Wyndon and fly here at ultra-high speed—
"Since when can a Corviknight Taxi fly that fast?!"
"Yo, young man! Don't underestimate my Corviknight!" The taxi driver leapt down from Corviknight's back and patted his partner. "Whenever the Champion gets lost in the wilderness, I'm usually the one who goes to pick him up!"
The divine-speed Corviknight and Leon's awakening.
The hidden expert among Galar taxi drivers—Geoffrey!
The true protagonist of Pokémon: Twilight Wings.
The passengers this taxi had carried included Leon, John, Tommy, Wooloo, Bea, Nessa, Chairman Rose, Oleana, Allister, and Gloria/Victor!
He was known as Galar's fastest man and crow.
He once flew from the Wild Area to Wyndon within an hour. His record could be verified!
Moreover, the man who blocked the road leading to Wyndon and recited the Corviknight legend was none other than him. He owned two Pokémon: one that flew through the sky and one that burrowed through the earth!
Corviknight. Level 45. Ability: Unnerve.
Flygon. Level 46. Ability: Levitate.
"Beat my brother..." Bea's gaze flickered, and she looked toward Sonia. "Is this Mr. Leon's younger brother?"
Sonia smiled. "That's right! His name is Hop. Ever since he was little, he has admired Leon-kun very much. He has watched every single one of Leon's battle videos without missing any, and he studies battle moves too. Though he still isn't quite at the point where he can travel by himself. His partner is Wooloo—"
"Wooloo! Wooloo!" Hop suddenly remembered that he could not afford to do anything else here. He immediately broke into a sprint toward Slumbering Weald.
Sonia shouted in a hurry, "Wait! Hop! That's the forest! I fainted in there before! There are terrifying things inside!"
"Wooloo might've broken through the fence and gone in! I have to find it!"
Hop's voice vanished along the little path as he charged upward, leapt over the fence, and rushed into Slumbering Weald.
Marnie said, "Looks like he's the reckless type."
"But Slumbering Weald... That's where the legendary Sword and Shield are sleeping, right?"
"We can't let Hop go there alone. We need to go in right away too! To become heroes."
"If you want to become a hero, disaster always comes with it. Mr. Hikaru, I'm going in first!"
Without the slightest hesitation, Marnie ran deeper into the forest. Sonia tried to stop her, but she was too late and immediately grew flustered. Bea stepped forward.
"It's all right. I'll go with her. Miss Sonia, if you're worried, you can wait here."
"That's not what I meant. Wah—why is everyone going in?! Ugh, fine. I'm going too!" Sonia took a deep breath. "I came here for this in the first place."
"Hahaha. Passenger, if you're scared, I can lend you Corviknight." Geoffrey gestured toward Sonia. "That forest does have terrifying legends about it, and something seems to have happened inside."
"Something on you is ringing."
Sonia froze, then immediately took out the machine she carried. Her expression became extremely serious.
"A Power Spot. The Power Spot Detector is reacting?!"
"That's impossible. Slumbering Weald is a place with no Power Spots! There's a large amount of Galar particles inside?! A Wishing Star!"
"Don't worry. One of my partners has already gone after them." Hikaru made a gesture toward Sonia, and Sonia saw a fleeting figure like a fennec fox.
What was that?!
"A Pokémon has been following us the whole time, always in an invisible state. It's one of my partners, and one of the members of my expedition team."
"We'll leave the road ahead to it first. We'll follow now."
"If someone has appeared here, it doesn't take much thought to figure out who it might be. Power Spots, Wishing Stars, Galar particles, the sword-and-shield heroes, and... people who have come to obtain the sword and shield."
Hikaru shook his head.
Wooloo breaking through the fence and running into the forest on its own, then Hop and Gloria chasing after it and fainting after encountering Zacian or Zamazenta—wasn't that the opening of Sword and Shield?
But when combined with Chairman Rose's words and Avery's disappearance, the answer he could infer was—
"Sordward and Shielbert! The descendants of the ancient royal family devoted to erasing the legend of the sword-and-shield heroes and refounding Galar!"
They had jumped straight into the postgame.
Sonia had not even written her book to restore the heroes' reputation yet. Had Sordward and Shielbert already been unable to hold back and come here? Come to think of it, their family must have records of the legend of the two kings. The fifth tapestry was probably burned by their own hands.
In Pokémon Adventures, those two had known about the sword and shield long ago, which was why they cooperated with Chairman Rose. In the games, the ones who invested in Macro Cosmos and later sponsored the Star Tournament were also them.
Speaking of which, after causing such a massive uproar, the two of them could still openly participate in the Star Tournament. What was one even supposed to say about that?
Sometimes, if Chairman Rose were around, he could still place some restrictions on those ancient royals.
However, in the manga, their ending was far more miserable than in the games. They held the sword and shield, thought they could unleash divine power, and startled Eternatus—only for Eternatus to realize that the two of them had no real ability at all. So it directly treated them as small fry and farmed them.
Experience +3. Goodbye!
Even Chairman Rose said that if only their legends were true, things would have been wonderful. Then he personally entered the fight, only to be farmed as an elite soldier too. He was not much better. Though he did contribute the famous scene of Ferrothorn hanging the two of them upside down from the tower.
"Oh, right, one more thing." Hikaru looked toward the panicked Sonia. "If someone applies to work at your lab, you must thoroughly investigate their ancestry."
"There are many descendants of the ancient royal family. Some consider themselves celebrities, but others become researchers. In order to obtain various technologies, they sneak into research facilities disguised as researchers, then swagger away after stealing technology and experimental materials."
Sonia had suffered that loss in the postgame, tricked by a female researcher who stole a Wishing Star. But Chairman Rose had used similar methods against Aether as well. It truly could be called one unbroken inheritance. A Galarian tradition.
True business warfare was theft!
Hikaru said, "Mr. Geoffrey, please wait here for a little while."
Geoffrey, the driver, said, "Oh! Oh! No problem."
Hikaru said, "If anything unusual happens, please recall Corviknight into its Poké Ball."
Geoffrey said, "Huh? That's a requirement too? Got it!"
As "Galar's fastest man, always ready for a brawl," Geoffrey's strength was quite reliable. There was no need to worry about his side. With him here, Postwick should be safe.
What they should worry about more was what was happening inside the forest.
Thud!
A violent punching sound rang out. Hikaru and Sonia had not been in the forest long when they saw a Skwovet that had been knocked unconscious.
The one throwing punches was not a Pokémon like Machamp.
It was Bea herself.
Bea said, "That was dangerous just now. Are you two all right?"
Marnie patted her chest, still shaken. "It attacked out of nowhere. Good thing you were here. Miss Bea, you're really dependable."
Her eyes moved slightly, showing a bit of envy and admiration. That made Bea rather embarrassed.
Hop's side, meanwhile, was far more exaggerated.
"N-no, I'm fine. But... you... you beat a Pokémon with your fists?!"
This completely refreshed Hop's worldview.
Even his big brother had never shown that kind of ability!
No, wait. At a time like this, weren't you supposed to send out your Pokémon and defeat those wild Pokémon in a heated battle? What was this about a Trainer personally taking the field and drawing aggro?
Bea said, "I train in martial arts with my Pokémon often, so I can fight a little."
Hop said, "That kind of strength..."
"Although it isn't a Pokémon battle, as a human, I acknowledge that your strength is above my brother's!"
Hop's imagination even began to run wild.
Judging by the speed and force of that punch just now, how many hits could his brother take before passing out?
His mind did not even contain the option of "Leon counterattacks and wins."
Hikaru walked over. "You can't exactly put it that way. When your brother gets lost, he can climb straight up a mountain peak in the Wild Area. That isn't something an ordinary person can do either. Even if he isn't a martial artist, his stamina is top-tier."
"But Bea is right not to use Pokémon."
"Look at the Pokémon up ahead. Something's off about them. It looks like they have a glowing rune on their heads."
"Although I would very much like to say those are runes or something like that, unfortunately, they aren't that kind of wonderful mystic object."
A spiral-like light would appear over a Pokémon's head. That was the sign of mental control. Only Pokémon that possessed aura could resist it slightly and transmit their thoughts to the humans who came to rescue them. Otherwise—
Only Pokémon that had been captured by a Ranger before could become immune to this influence!
"Of course, for me, there are better options. Machines that perform this kind of mental control aren't that rare. Team Rocket and Team Plasma have both made similar things."
The solution was to use the power of crystals to weaken the machine's influence and turn it into scrap metal. That was Professor Hastings's solution.
Another option was to use electromagnetic wave shields. That was the International Police's solution.
"If they are using Gigaremo units, then we can't just destroy them at random. They require a large amount of fuel to operate, so one mistake could cause a forest fire."
"Slumbering Weald hasn't faced this kind of situation in a thousand years, has it?"
Hikaru looked deeper into Slumbering Weald.
Even more Pokémon were surging over.
"Fight under the protection of the crystal light. Though the range of the two pendants is limited."
The level gap between the Pokémon in Slumbering Weald was very large. The Pokémon on the outskirts were only level 2 or 3, while the Pokémon in the depths would suddenly jump all the way to level 47.
"Show them that move!"
Hikaru sent out a Pokémon and handed the blue crystal pendant to it.
Urshifu, Rapid Strike Style!
"Rain Dance!"
"Moo!" The water bear raised its aura. Rolling dark clouds surged into the sky, causing large quantities of rain to pour down. Torrential rain drenched the leaves and moss, falling onto the forest path and turning the battlefield muddy.
However, the water bear's momentum continued to rise.
"Then I'll do it too!"
When Bea saw the crystal glow, she also sent out her new partner.
Urshifu, Single Strike Style!
"The Water-and-Darkness duo!"
The two Urshifu struck poses as though they were about to split heaven and earth.
Combined Strike Style!
"And now that it's raining, what do we do?" Hikaru looked toward Marnie, who immediately understood.
"I have two partners that are good at fighting in rain!"
Rain teams had excellent synergy with all kinds of Pokémon. Marnie had learned battling from Piers since she was young. Although her formal Gym Challenge would not happen until much later, like Hop, she was also someone who started with "other partners" at the beginning.
Not just the Morpeko Piers had given her when she was five years old.
Her early team also included Croagunk and Scraggy. Most likely, she had caught them herself near Spikemuth. What was somewhat counterintuitive was that Liepard and Grimmsnarl, two of her representative Pokémon, were already in their final forms when they joined her team.
In the same way, Marnie and Bea were also alike. Both liked fighting five against six, with one slot always missing from their teams.
On that point, Hop was stronger than both of them. Why could Hop become the strongest rival and still have a huge amount of postgame content?
Because his team was a full roster of six. After catching the king of Sword or Shield, his actual number of team members even became seven. Aside from the eternally unchanged Dubwool—speaking of which, Dubwool was actually quite good too. Hop just did not play it well!
In other words, if Hop truly did not hold back, the player would have no experience. In order to let Gloria ascend to the Champion's throne, Hop did not even use the smooth little combo of Cotton Guard + Body Press + Baton Pass, let alone the fact that this little sheep could actually use Copycat and Guard Split. He truly went to great lengths!
"Aside from always thinking about Double-Edge, there's nothing really wrong with it!"
Hikaru looked at Hop, who was currently somewhat dazed and had not yet started his journey. Faced with the battle scene before him, Hop was completely unable to do anything.
Because the sheep had run off!
"Morpeko!" Marnie sent out her Pokémon and gave an order toward a berserk Pokémon rushing out of the grass.
"Thunder!"
By all rights, one should not use lightning strikes in an ancient forest like this, because it could easily cause a mountain fire.
However, in rain, Thunder always hit its target. In other words, it would not go astray!
A brilliant electric light blasted the Butterfree.
"Break forward!" Bea took a stance. "Wicked Blow!"
After the Dark-type bear blasted away the Pokémon blocking the path with a fierce punch, Hikaru's water bear dashed out in one swift step.
Under the rain—
"Brutal Surging Strikes!"
The Pokémon rushing out of the forest were Corviknight and Butterfree. The former had extremely powerful Steel/Flying resistances, while the latter's various powder moves were highly troublesome.
However, before Urshifu, their strength still was not enough.
The water bear's fierce fist knocked a Corviknight out of the sky. The iron crow crashed to the ground, scattering black iron feathers everywhere. For Hikaru, those were rare treasures that could not easily be obtained.
Back when he fought Rika's Corviknight, he had farmed a wave of steel feathers. Now, he could collect quite a few more. Unfortunately, in terms of typing, Corviknight overlapped with Celesteela. Otherwise, Corviknight was also a Pokémon he liked very much.
But Celesteela's advantage was that the young lady did not need to eat normal food. She only had to eat meteors from Meteor Swarm.
"Corviknight, capture!"
Bea threw a Poké Ball. Although her specialty was Fighting types, if she had a Corviknight that could let her travel freely between different places for training, that would be very convenient.
"I caught one too."
Beside the Great Ball Bea had thrown, there was also a Dusk Ball. Marnie had thrown that one.
"Corviknight has excellent resistances. For Dark types, the troublesome opponents are Fighting types and Fairy types. Corviknight isn't afraid of Fighting and resists Fairy, so for me, it's exactly the useful partner I need to round out my team."
Marnie picked up the Dusk Ball and handed it to Hikaru. "How's it look?"
Hikaru checked it. "Hm, this Corviknight's Ability..."
"I see. The Abilities of these two Corviknight—yours has Unnerve, and the other has Pressure."
Although neither was the Hidden Ability, for a Steel/Flying type, Pressure and Unnerve were both far from useless. The main reason was that Corviknight's stat distribution was excellent.
It was a pity that Celesteela could not learn Body Press under normal circumstances, but Heavy Slam made up for that.
Why play Iron Defense + Body Press when Garganacl could already use that move? Lord Salt even had a hand of Toxic Salt Cure. Lady Celesteela just needed to lock in Heavy Slam and refuse to let go like a dump truck.
"But there's something up ahead..." Hop, shocked by Butterfree's flight and Corviknight's defeat, looked left and right. In the thick fog, he suddenly saw an enormous body.
"Wahhh! The sun...?! Or a planet?! No, what nonsense am I saying?"
Sonia raised her head. "Ah! That's Galarian Weezing! A Dynamaxed Galarian Weezing!"
What appeared before everyone, blocking the road ahead, was none other than the Galarian form of Weezing.
"N-no, this is bad! Hold your breath!" Sonia suddenly became very panicked. "The toxins stored inside Weezing's body turn into high-density poisonous gas and leak out, drifting around its mouths!"
"Even inhaling only a tiny amount of that gas can paralyze your entire body and leave you unable to move!"
Hikaru gazed at the Dynamaxed Weezing, which had begun to rampage like a capitalist.
"In the era when factories once filled the land and the air was severely polluted, Galarian Weezing somehow became like this. It absorbs pollution from the atmosphere and uses polluted air and poison gas as nutrition."
"In other words, its mutation happened only after the Industrial Revolution of the last two hundred years. That said, two hundred years isn't exactly a short time."
"This is further evidence of human activity influencing Pokémon. Human activity and survival can change ancient regional conditions, causing some Pokémon to undergo abnormal evolution or develop subspecies. Another Pokémon of the same type is Alolan Muk."
"In Galar, the gases inhaled by Weezing have their toxins removed. Then fresh air is released through the smokestack-like top hats on its heads. The air it releases has been purified, becoming very clean and fresh. This is its method of excretion."
"Right now, the field is covered in fog. Every Pokémon's Ability has been erased by it!"
"Category: Poison Gas Pokémon."
"Ability: Neutralizing Gas."
"Typing: Poison + Fairy."
"Then which Pokémon counters both poison and fairy? The answer is... a Steel + Psychic type Pokémon!"
Hikaru tossed a Poké Ball toward Urshifu. The water bear narrowed its eyes at the enormous self-destruction bomb, gripped the Poké Ball tightly, then took a throwing stance.
The Discobolus! Stella!
Move: Fling!
However, although it was called Fling, not only did the move itself have power, but the Pokémon being thrown would also use its own move!
"This is a Pokémon entrusted to me by another powerful Trainer. It excels at battling in snowy countries and can detect changes in magnetism. The colder the environment, the stronger it becomes. Because of that, I had my partner Aegislash teach it a special move."
"You could call it a self-destruction style skill."
"Here it comes... Beldum!"
From the Poké Ball that Urshifu threw at ultra-high speed, brilliant silver light erupted, illuminating the rain-and-fog-shrouded dark world like a great comet.
Silver comet impact—
Marnie narrowed her eyes and used her elbow to shield her face. "Th-that's a Pokémon move?! It's so bright I can't open my eyes."
Bea could not open her eyes either. "A silver light explosion... I feel like I've seen it somewhere before. That should be..."
Hikaru said, "Of course it's Steel Beam!"
In the Galar region, this was the final Steel-type secret art that only Raihan had mastered!
"Dum!"
Beldum did not have much emotion. Its mind was rather cold. Since it had been given a battle mission, it intended to complete it fully. Also, before it evolved—
Its processing power was not high enough.
But then again, even if it evolved into a Metagross with richer emotions, what of it? In the games, even if its brain surpassed a supercomputer and exceeded Master Hu by far, it still could only learn four moves.
That rampaging Galarian Weezing had opened its mouths and was about to release poison gas when the suicide attack launched by the water bear and Beldum struck it directly. Steel Beam exploded inside its mouth, creating a massive blast.
"Although for me, as someone who uses Steel types, Poison types are something I counter, my team happens to be missing a toxic specialist."
"Then I've decided. It's you!"
It ate by absorbing poisonous gas. This was also a money-saving Pokémon!
Galarian Weezing was blown apart, and Beldum plummeted rapidly from the sky. The water bear leapt up and caught it in one hand, then landed with a thud. Beldum blinked, looking at the blown-up and unconscious Weezing. For the first time, it showed a fluctuation of emotion.
Its first battle was the decisive battle. One successful self-destruction on its first outing!
Clang!
"How about using a Heal Ball for the capture?"
Hikaru threw the Poké Ball and caught the incapacitated Galarian Weezing.
Aside from Neutralizing Gas, Galarian Weezing also had the Hidden Ability Misty Surge. It could be called a lower-tier island guardian.
Of course, it was also known as the Regigigas starter!
Once Neutralizing Gas appeared on the battlefield, Abilities such as Slow Start would immediately stop working.
"The road is open! That was amazing! That was a Beldum! A very rare Pokémon." Sonia excitedly walked forward.
Even in the Galar region, where high-level Pokémon were as common as dogs, Beldum only existed in the Crown Tundra. It did not exist in mainland Galar!
"Speaking of which, it's been bothering me since earlier..." Sonia looked at Hikaru's hand. "Has your Rotom Phone been connected this whole time?"
The call on his Rotom Phone had never been hung up.
Hikaru said, "Yes. I've been reporting the situation to some people."
——————————
Voice mail.
The call was a multi-person communication. The recipients were Chief Sven of the Ranger Union headquarters and Wendy.
Hikaru said, "...That's right. Dark Crystal fragments have appeared beside Galar's royal family and upper aristocracy."
"...Before that, I need to briefly explain the composition of Galar's unique energy product, Wishing Stars. They are meteorites from space, one of the stars that returned with the Millennium Comet."
"Wishing Stars release Galar particles, causing living creatures to grow gigantic or berserk and granting them power."
"Combined with crystal fragments, if the opposing side has Gigaremo units or Miniremo units, it becomes possible for remote-controlled Dynamax Pokémon to appear."
"As for the investigation results regarding the Chroma Highlands, may I ask—"
Sven replied, "Ah, the investigation is underway, and we've already made considerable progress. We have indeed discovered some suspicious locations! But because large numbers of Pokémon have gathered in the surrounding area, it's somewhat difficult to investigate deeply."
The Pokémon near the Chroma Highlands had preserved the phrase "original flavor" to the greatest possible extent. In other words, they were extremely aggressive. Whether a person or a dog walked nearby, they would be beaten. Want to enter the highlands?
At the entrance to the highlands, there was a huge group of wild Tauros. As soon as someone got close, they would be chased violently. If they were gored, they would go flying.
Once inside the highlands, did you think you could catch your breath?
The highlands were full of Carnivine sharpening their knives and lying in disguise. If you got even a little close, you would end up like James, with your head getting bitten. And those things were everywhere.
There were also Rapidash setting fires all across the highlands, Skarmory using Steel Wing to attack innocent passersby, and even Bastiodon that had somehow survived from some unknown era appearing around roadside corners.
It truly was a place where experts were as common as clouds. If you wanted to enter the highlands, you should first borrow two extra lives from the Land of Light.
Sven said, "The Chroma Highlands... The Nurie Highlands once prospered as an oil-producing region, but at some point, it was abandoned. The highlands are located across a large area in northeastern Almia. We did once try to investigate the relationship between Altru Inc. and the Chroma Highlands."
"But things did not go smoothly."
"Altru Inc.'s employees always have great enthusiasm for their company. All we know is that the first president was named Doyle Hall, and that Altru Inc.'s original site was not its current location."
Rangers infiltrating other organizations to gather intelligence looked almost like the FBI or CIA. Those kinds of operations required at least several months to thoroughly understand the other side, just like in the Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea movie, where Jack "Jackie" Walker did it.
He climbed to a position around middle management within the other side's pirate crew. Otherwise, he never could have gotten close to the boss and successfully brought back the prince's egg.
Truly, three years after three years. Boss, if you don't close the net soon, the enemy organization is about to give me insurance and benefits.
Hikaru said, "It has nothing to do with Doyle Hall. Although he was the early founder of Altru Inc., the more important person is his son, Brighton Hall."
"Altru Inc.'s early address was in the Chroma Highlands. Although I can say it was at an oil-extraction site, the exact location... The Chroma Highlands once had many extraction points, so finding the correct coordinates all at once won't be easy."
"That cabin hasn't been visited by humans for more than fifty years, so of course it won't be found easily."
"However, I imagine Brighton Hall is already dead."
The names of those three generations came from dream, aplite, and black hole.
Wendy said, "We've also found corresponding items related to the Gigaremo units! Team Dim Sun has begun acting. They use a strange machine to control Pokémon. The machine looks like a small rocket, or maybe a coffee maker? But compared to that, the newly discovered thing called a Miniremo seems even more dangerous."
"In areas affected by Gigaremo units, a faint purple mist appears in the surroundings. The scene is also mixed with the shrill sound of the Gigaremo. And what is extremely troublesome is that the thing is abnormally heavy. Four people can't even lift it. Also, as long as even one Gigaremo unit is still running, the surrounding Pokémon remain in an abnormal state!"
"And we've even seen situations where the Capture Styler can't capture Pokémon. Add in the Miniremo too—is this also the influence of the black crystal?"
"I need to judge the current point in time. Although the investigation of the Chroma Highlands has been moved much earlier."
Wendy asked, "Moved earlier?"
Hikaru said, "Yes. But our investigation was moved earlier, and the other side's transfer seems to have been moved earlier as well. In the end, I already told Mr. Sven before that the transfer of that crystal and its surrounding crystalline derivatives happened decades ago."
Sven said, "If it was transferred to Altru Inc., we have no evidence to prove it. We have also tried sneaking into the Altru Tower under construction, or using Staraptor to observe it from a distance, but we have not found any large crystal."
Hikaru thought, Of course.
Because during the progression of the second Pokémon Ranger game, the player could personally watch that tower be built. If the crystal had been on the tower from the start, it would have been seen long ago.
In fact, no one knew where the Shadow Crystal was hidden before the tower was built. Or rather, no one knew where it controlled Blake Hall and hid itself.
"When does the Ranger School hold graduation season?"
Sven said, "That... Why ask that all of a sudden? Uh, it should be September, right?"
Wendy said, "Sven, you can't even remember your school days anymore, can you? How could it be September? It's June, of course!"
June.
In other words, it had been exactly half a year?
The Almia arc's events actually stretched across the eras of HeartGold and SoulSilver, Fiore, and Sinnoh. The Shadow Crystal plotline was quite long.
The blue gem discovered in the Almia region would be escorted to the area near Kanto and Johto. This distribution-event content corresponded to Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea. In other words, once its incident ended, the movie's work would begin immediately.
The blue gem would be stolen by pirates along the way. Jack would infiltrate the pirate ship, recover the gem, and head for the Sea Temple, Samiya.
"The Shadow Crystal was discovered by Altru Inc. decades ago, but the transportation of its remaining crystals should only have been fully completed recently. Because they finally made a useful machine capable of capturing the Mythical Pokémon that protects the crystal."
"Deep inside a ruin on the Chroma Highlands, there are large quantities of light-colored crystals and dark-colored crystals. The light-colored crystals have very poor effects, while all of the crystals inside the Gigaremo units are derivative dark-colored crystals."
"For some unknown reason, the crystals filled the cavern below, constantly multiplying over thousands of years, just like the darkness in human hearts constantly accumulating. This characteristic is very similar to another type of crystal: Tera crystals."
Speaking of which, the king and the three princes turning their souls into crystals—how was that not a kind of "human Terastallization"?
Wendy said, "But if the black crystal was discovered and used decades ago, why did something like the Gigaremo only appear now? Was the machine's development really that unsmooth? I don't understand."
Hikaru said, "It truly was unsmooth. Supposedly, Altru Inc.'s old scientists spent more than ten years developing that machine, yet made no progress at all."
"Then why did progress happen recently?"
"Because Altru Inc. planted a mole inside the Ranger School."
A mole appearing inside the training school of the Ranger organization was simply unbelievable. But on second thought, in some regions' Leagues, even Elite Four members were villainous organization executives. Thinking that way, one's tightly furrowed brow could immediately relax.
At least there were no villainous executives inside the Ranger Union headquarters. On that point alone, it was much better than certain Leagues.
"Someone infiltrated the Ranger School and became a teacher. His true identity is the Team Dim Sun executive Kincaid, or rather, 'Mirror Card.'"
"His laboratory is beneath the Ranger School. His catchphrase is 'Do not run in the halls.' Why would he say that? Because he hates overly energetic young people. Therefore, the one who ultimately catches him must naturally be a student who runs wildly through the halls."
"Doesn't the Ranger Union have training courses for mechanics? To find—or rather, obtain—the genius mechanic who only appears once every hundred years, Kincaid hid inside your organization's school for quite a long time. Until the previous class of students graduated."
"If you do a follow-up visit now, you'll probably learn that Kincaid first requested long leave under the excuse of returning to his hometown, but in reality, he had already written a resignation letter. That was because there was no longer any need for him to remain at the school."
"That mechanic graduate had already developed a machine said to 'bring benefits to humans and Pokémon.' Naturally, that would be the two kinds of remote-control devices you've seen."
"Ten years... No, perhaps I should say fifty years of work was finally completed by one genius student. That's absurd enough, isn't it? Supposedly, that kid's IQ is as high as 163. He even has a younger sister."
"Although, outside invention, his emotional intelligence is terrifyingly low. Let me think. His name should be Isaac, right?"
Hikaru could roughly guess the current point in time.
Kincaid's identity had not yet been exposed. After all, the Ranger plot involving the raid on the undersea oil field happened after the highland investigation. Moreover, the Almia incident lasted unexpectedly long, approximately close to three to six months, or even longer.
That was why it could run through the timelines of three regions. Among all protagonist adventures across the generations, it could be considered one of the longest.
So, Kellyn or Kate, as well as their rival Keith, had not yet been named Top Rangers.
The twelve Top Rangers had not all gathered yet.
Speaking of which, Top Rangers were a setting that only appeared in the second game. In the first game, Ranger Rank 10 was the highest Ranger Rank. Because of that, even Lunick and Solana, who solved the Fiore region's major incident, did not seem to be appointed Top Rangers.
During the DP anime arc, when Kellyn met Ash, he was already one of the Top Rangers. Meanwhile, Solana, the previous protagonist, could only appear as Kellyn's subordinate. That could be seen from the way she reported work to him.
The levels of their Stylers also differed by one tier, enough to prove that Solana had never leveled up.
Combined with the fact that later, during the Almia incident, Solana and Lunick did not appear, and Keith was the one who calmed the chaos in Fiore, as well as Solana's appearance in the AG anime—
The reason she did not get promoted was that Miss Solana had been sent on a business trip to Hoenn. Although she met Ash and the others, she missed the chance for promotion and merit.
The timing lined up perfectly!
"However, in the plot, Keith's strength and technique are far below Kellyn's. As one of the twelve Top Rangers, he can actually be counted as the weakest. He is also the only Top Ranger kidnapped by a villainous organization and turned into the ultimate hostage."
As an Area Ranger or assisting Ranger, being defeated or kidnapped by villains because one lacks strength is normal. But as a Top Ranger, getting kidnapped makes him seem somewhat watered down.
Also, because he had only just become a Top Ranger, Keith once said that always acting together made them not look like Top Rangers at all. So he went off to investigate alone, and that was precisely why he was beaten up and captured by the villainous organization. Compared to Jack, who infiltrated a pirate den alone and still escaped unharmed, Keith's purity was obviously greatly lacking.
So this kid's urgent priority was not becoming some Top Ranger, but changing his name to any one of the Ultra Brothers.
"There's a mole in the Ranger School! If Principal Lamont finds out, he'll definitely—"
The information Hikaru revealed shocked both Sven and Wendy. But Kincaid had already completed his objective, resigned, and run off. Even if they found his family address and doxxed him, what they dug up would probably be fake.
Sven said, "In other words, it started half a year ago. Back then, we hadn't even met! Saying now that we should have prepared earlier really is hindsight."
"But a student with an IQ of 163... Do you know that child?"
"How could I know him? Just treat it as me predicting the future." Hikaru answered casually. "And since you mentioned the Miniremo, I hadn't expected that thing to appear so quickly either."
"The Shadow Crystal's activity is also unprecedented, so after observing things here for a while, I immediately contacted you."
"Begin preparations."
"You should already have figured out how to destroy the Gigaremo units. Miss Erma, the Ranger Union's strongest mechanic, should already have cracked them, right? Then, the manufacture and development of the Miniremo is taking place deep out at sea, away from the mainland, at Altru Inc.'s Oil Field Hideout."
"Even if you can't find the ruins on the Chroma Highlands, you should be able to find the Oil Field Hideout, right? After all, that facility is still in use now."
"Also, as I said, Isaac has a very high IQ, but his emotional intelligence is extremely low. Sometimes, he even makes people feel like he's kind of stupid... Though maybe that's too harsh an assessment of him."
"Therefore, if he invents some strange machine again, then as a fellow mechanic, I recommend another young expert who can match him."
"Rand, the Area Ranger of the Oblivia region, lives on Renbow Island!"
Wendy said, "Rand?! He's just an ordinary Ranger stationed in that paradise lost. Although he counts as one of the stronger Area Rangers, I've never heard that he's good with machines!"
"The communication signal with the Union every month is terrible, because that place only has one wireless base. Once the wireless base has problems, Rand directly tries to beat the machine with his fists to make it work again. Could it be...?!"
Hikaru said, "Ugh, I haven't finished yet. How could fists repair a machine?"
"Rand himself really isn't a machine expert. But his daughter is."
"His daughter, Nema, is an even stronger genius mechanic than Isaac. As for upgrades to the Capture Styler, if the Union's two researchers, Bhat and Naji, are confused, you may as well let that young girl go help."
"Isaac can crack any program code within 1.5 to 5 seconds, but Nema's dismantling and modification of various programs, no matter how difficult the machine is, will not take more than five minutes."
"Genius versus genius. It's sure to be an incredible scene. And this is rare: neither side will use Pokémon. It'll be a pure contest of intelligence and technology."
"However, Isaac was only deceived. So take his younger sister Melody with you and go bring him back from Altru Inc. This is also to prevent his sister from being captured by the other side and used to threaten him."
This was what it meant to use the sword of a later version to cut down officials of the previous dynasty!
The experts in the second game were indeed numerous.
But that did not mean the experts of the third game were weak!
As the saying went, each generation surpassed the last. Every generation was claimed to be the strongest. If a new work did not suppress the old work, then why make a new work at all?
Although to balance protagonist combat strength, later protagonists were not necessarily stronger than previous protagonists. At most, the official side just kept things even. But when it came to supporting characters, there was not that much concern.
Besides, were there not plenty of "complete outclasses" in Pokémon? Later characters instantly beating earlier ones was the natural answer.
Before a fourth Pokémon Ranger game appeared, Nema of the third game had already crushed every predecessor in the mechanic role!
Erma, Isaac, Kincaid—whether righteous or villainous, they were all merely stepping stones for Nema!
Hikaru said, "Rand's home is on Renbow Island, so go find him immediately. As long as you have his daughter's help, modifying Altru Inc.'s machines and developing a Wind Styler that can integrate crystal power should be trivial."
Wendy said, "Right, her mother is Professor Leanne. She seems to be a mythologist and archaeologist. She may be going to the Sinnoh region with Professor Hastings this year. What a coincidence! I'll head out immediately!"
"But the Wind Styler—is that the new Styler Professor Hastings mentioned? What does it mean to mount crystals on it?"
Hikaru said, "Batonnage. It isn't merely an ancient word. It is also the important method for using the three-colored crystals. As long as an impossible mysterious program is created, the power of the three-colored crystals can be mounted onto a new type of Capture Styler, thereby allowing it to capture controlled Pokémon."
Wendy said, "Is this the newest countermeasure? But even if you say that, what kind of program is this mysterious program?"
"Unfortunately, that will have to depend on the Ranger Union's researchers. Nema should be able to provide the answer. Though that program also has a bit of mysterious science in it. Part of its content should be recorded in Brighton's diary."
Sven said, "If that's the case, we must find the cabin in the Chroma Highlands."
"I've also gathered corresponding information about the three-colored crystal pendants."
"The blue crystal pendant can be bought from Grandma Winter in the snowy country. It was picked up around the ancient castle. People in the snowy country basically buy one to protect themselves."
"The yellow crystal pendant can be bought from merchants in the desert country. Because they sold very well, I also bought a few to give to the Union receptionists."
"The red crystal pendant is extremely rare. Supposedly, it used to be ejected from volcanoes during eruptions. But for some reason, someone made them into pendants, yet they simply would not sell. Then they disappeared."
"...Wendy, why is your side so noisy?"
Wendy said, "Ah, sorry. That's because... Could we add one more person to the call? Someone wants to give an opinion."
——————
Ranger Union headquarters.
Wendy wore a very apologetic expression as she tried to calm another angry girl.
Erma, mechanic of the Ranger Union headquarters, said, "My technology is already the strongest, but now you're saying there's another mechanic in some Oblivia region who's stronger than me?"
"And Isaac, who came out of the Ranger School and got poached by Altru Inc., is stronger than me too? You've got to be kidding! You're saying this machine was developed by a student?! If there are that many geniuses in this world, then what's the point of me ending up covered in oil stink every day? I'm the Disassembly Queen!"
"Connect me to that call! You said the person on the other side is a mechanic too? I want to ask what he thinks of the remote-control device!"
————
In the mist-filled region, Hop strode forward with his head down, shouting loudly while his heart was filled with tension. But deep within the fog, he saw blazing firelight, as well as many berserk, howling Pokémon.
"Everyone, hurry! Over here!"
The moment Hop's words fell, fierce move attacks appeared ahead!
"Noble Extrasensory!"
"The royal family's exclusive Mud Shot!"
A bell-like Pokémon and a Pokémon clad in great armor were battling with all their strength in the forest against two battered Pokémon.
Sordward said, "Hmph. To think he dares barge alone into this ancient forest. He has some nerve, elder brother."
Shielbert said, "Quite right, dear brother. But it seems this boy is Wooloo's Trainer. Perfect. Let us use this Pokémon to test the machine."
Avery said, "W-wait! You two! Shouldn't we quickly go collect the important items? That person is still only a child."
Sordward said, "Silence, Mr. Avery! Although you now possess powerful psychic ability, ultimately, between you and famous descendants of royalty like us, there is an uncrossable gap in status. At most, you are a second-rate aristocrat."
Shielbert said, "Exactly. You only need to continue leading the way and guide us with Teleport. You are merely the guide assigned by that great one! If you no longer intend to continue, your psychic power will be reclaimed. Surely you do not wish to lose your dignity?"
"Our objective has now been achieved! We have obtained both the Rusted Sword and the Rusted Shield!"
Sordward said, "Mm-hm, celebrity!"
Not only that.
When the fairy lake had exploded, what appeared from those two rocks were the two inferior kings drawn by the sword and shield!
Although Sonia's Book had not yet been written to expose the royal family's fraud, and the mural in Stow-on-Side had not yet been destroyed to reveal the true statues within, Sordward and Shielbert had still found scattered words in their ancestors' documents.
Their ancestors had once brought two canine Pokémon with them and quelled the Darkest Day together. However, the fifth tapestry that had been burned and torn apart was precisely their own masterpiece.
The heroes who drove away the Darkest Day were, of course, humans.
How could they possibly be Pokémon?
As for humans and Pokémon working together as one—as descendants of the ancient royal family, all credit naturally belonged to their ancestors!
Although they did not know what those two Pokémon looked like, with the revelation of the Dark Crystal, the two of them had finally found this place by borrowing Avery's psychic power.
If they stole the sword and shield, those two Pokémon would certainly appear!
And so, the remaining machines came into play.
"The Galar particle injection machine! Even the legendary heroes cannot resist it! They have already gone berserk and started rampaging. That is enough to prove that they are inferior kings!"
"Altru Inc.'s Gigaremo! A diamond-shaped Dark Crystal has been embedded inside, so even extremely powerful Pokémon can be controlled! Ah... though its effect on those two does not seem very good."
"What a difficult battle we endured, brother."
"Yes. As celebrities, when facing such a dangerous scene, we should have been chilled with fear. Yet my heart was filled with black courage!"
"This is the power of royal blood!"
"But!" The two said in unison, their sword-and-shield hairstyles swaying in the firelight and fog, twisting like vengeful spirits.
"Those two Pokémon fled toward the Crown Tundra! How miserable... Hehehehe! The true heroes holding the sword and shield drove away the false heroes! This is our complete victory!"
With the help of a Psychic, everything became half as difficult. As long as one grasped Teleport, one could go anywhere in the world—provided one had been there before!
Technology plus brutal additives. What else could possibly stop them?
"Come, boy. Let your partner attack you!"
"Wooloo, use Tackle!"
Hop's controlled partner Wooloo gave Hop a Charizard-style "hungry sheep roar." The spiral beam over its head indicated that it was completely under control. However, even Sordward and Shielbert could not help laughing.
"Wooloo? Hahaha! What can a Wooloo even do?"
They had no expectation that this Pokémon could produce any real damage. They only did this to satisfy their contemptuous celebrity mentality, and that made Hop furious.
"Give me back my partner!"
His partner had been humiliated, yet he was powerless. That pain stabbed deeply into Hop's heart.
The Wooloo across from him looked as if it was about to cry too.
But then, a hand rested on Hop's shoulder.
"They're wrong." Hikaru patted Hop's shoulder. "Wooloo is a very strong Pokémon."
"Copycat, Cotton Guard, Body Press, Baton Pass—this is one of the Pokémon with infinite possibilities. Let me draw out your partner's true strength!"
Hikaru took out his Capture Styler.
"Capture, on!"
(End of Chapter)
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