"Alright, then I'll share my thoughts."
As long as Geeta kept her word and didn't betray his trust.
"Aside from Iono and Grusha, and Tulip and Ryme whom I never got to challenge, the other four Gym Leaders are not very strong. It's not that their personal levels are lacking, but the Pokémon they use for Gym battles are all too weak. They have no distinguishing characteristics and can't execute any real tactics."
Gary continued, "The bigger issue is that compared to their responsibilities as Gym Leaders, these people care far more about their side businesses. They spend too much time on those, which has led them to neglect improving their Pokémon's levels."
"Also, the Gym Leader Larry from Medali is a bit of a disgrace. Although the Pokémon he sends out to deal with Gym battles are passable, his command is full of obvious flaws. He's a member of the Paldea Elite Four, so mistakes like those shouldn't be happening."
When Gary mentioned Larry, Geeta showed a helpless expression. "The other Gym Leaders can be corrected to some extent, but as for Larry… just let him be."
Gary was surprised. He hadn't expected that even Geeta couldn't do anything about Larry. He wondered what kind of background Larry had that would leave even Geeta unable to deal with him.
If Geeta knew what Gary was thinking, she would have told him the truth right away.
Larry didn't have any special background at all. He was simply too lazy. Whether it was being a Gym Leader or a member of the Elite Four, he was equally lazy about both and had never once taken either role seriously.
"That's about all I have to say," Gary said.
"I understand. Then Gary, please go and prepare. Since you've arrived early, I'll take you to the Paldea League headquarters tomorrow," Geeta said.
"Isn't it the day after tomorrow?"
"Since you've arrived early, you might as well go there early. The investigation team there can set off at any time. They were mainly waiting for you."
Gary was speechless. What a flexible departure schedule.
"Remember, you can only bring three Pokémon into the Great Crater of Paldea," Geeta reminded him.
"Why?"
"Because the exploration team will be investigating the Great Crater for a week, and the observation station inside needs repairs. The supplies you can carry in are limited. Between you, the exploration team members, and their Pokémon, there may not be enough food to go around," Geeta explained.
"There's nothing to eat inside the crater?"
Although Gary had never been to the Great Crater of Paldea in reality, he knew that the crater had its own ecosystem. There were wild Berries growing inside. Any wilderness survival expert could live in there.
"Of course there is food in there, but for your health, it's best to eat what you bring in. I'm just looking out for you," Geeta said.
"Alright, then I'll go prepare."
Gary thought that bringing only three Pokémon might not be enough, but this was someone else's territory after all. He was an outsider, so he still had to follow their rules.
After leaving Geeta's office, Gary went to the treatment center at Naranja Academy, because there was a Pokémon teleporter there.
Gary sent most of his Pokémon back to Professor Oak's laboratory and brought over three Pokémon: Blastoise, Eevee, and Charizard.
Eevee could be responsible for scouting and keeping alert.
Blastoise could handle water transportation.
Charizard could provide aerial flight.
These three could ensure Gary's safety in the Great Crater of Paldea. And when Gary went into the crater, his main goal was to capture Paradox Pokémon.
Since Paradox Pokémon had already appeared, that meant the time machine had been successfully developed and was very likely located inside the Great Crater. Perhaps there would even be a chance to encounter Paradox Pokémon directly.
After teleporting the three Pokémon over, Gary also took the opportunity to prepare some energy blocks to carry as emergency food.
If there were other Paradox Pokémon in the Great Crater, then Miraidon and Koraidon were likely among them. Both of those Pokémon were comparable to top-tier Legendary beasts.
It was hard to imagine that Cyclizar would evolve into Koraidon in the distant past, and in the far future, it would evolve into Miraidon.
The key thing Gary was curious about was whether the Professor was still alive. According to the game's plot, the Paradox Pokémon in the Scarlet version were sent from the past to the modern era, while the Violet version was the opposite—Paradox Pokémon were sent from the future to the present.
After all, Professor Sada had been to the Kanto region before, and at that time, the time machine may have already been built by Professor Turo. The Paradox Pokémon were also brought to the modern era by the Professor.
These were all just Gary's guesses. When he arrived at the Paldea League headquarters tomorrow, he should be able to see these two Professors. After all, they were the ones who had been studying the Tera crystals, and they should be the main researchers responsible for investigating the Great Crater.
After a night of rest at Naranja Academy, the next morning, Gary had breakfast in the school cafeteria.
Geeta then took Gary to the Paldea League headquarters.
Because the Great Crater of Paldea had not yet been thoroughly studied, the Paldea League had established its headquarters right next to the crater to prevent any unexpected incidents.
They arrived at the airport beside the Alliance headquarters.
Special personnel were there waiting. After welcoming Geeta and Gary, they escorted them directly to the president's office inside the headquarters building.
The president's office only had some basic office furniture and a few potted plants. There was nothing else.
"I don't normally work here, so it's a bit bare. Let's sit down for a moment. The relevant personnel will be here shortly," Geeta said.
Geeta led Gary to a sofa and they sat down.
"Miss Geeta, you're the President of the Paldea League. Is it really alright to stay at the academy all day?" Gary asked curiously.
The president of the League didn't sit in headquarters, but instead stayed at the academy. That seemed a bit unreasonable.
"Although this is the Alliance headquarters, it's actually more of a laboratory dedicated to studying the Great Crater. The president's office here is essentially decoration. The real Alliance headquarters is Naranja Academy," Geeta explained.
"That really is special."
Gary thought back to the helicopter ride earlier. Looking down from above, there really had been no one around the headquarters, and there wasn't even a residential area nearby. It was truly an isolated facility.
"It's not that special. In the past, wild Pokémon would often emerge from the crater and cause trouble. To ensure people's safety, the headquarters was built here. It also made it convenient to study the crater," Geeta explained.
"I see."
Gary nodded. He didn't know much about the Great Crater of Paldea. He only knew that Pokémon Terastallization had first appeared about 140 years ago. As for how it appeared, that was still unknown—a mystery that remained unsolved.
Knock, knock, knock!
At that moment, someone knocked on the door.
"Please come in."
After Geeta spoke, the door opened and a mature woman walked in.