Alex didn't have the heart to change Grim's roster when it went out of its way to pick its own teammates, so he decided to lean into it while maintaining his own vision of a flying team.
This meant their team of two dragons and one humanoid Pokémon would have to train even harder than the rest to make it work. The way to do that was to lean into the dragon riding mythos, where Knight would keep itself airborne between the two dragons while contributing to the fight.
It was easy enough for Knight to ride Grim and fight at its side, as Knight had a very high Special Attack. In addition, Alex planned to boost Grim's Speed with Protosynthesis and a Booster Energy canister, improving its maneuverability in the air and making the pair even more deadly in aerial combat.
Still, Alex wanted to push even further and take advantage of Knight's high Attack stat. He had noticed that Knight was extremely spatially aware, able to fight while using both dragons and even their enemies as launching pads. To make the most of this, Alex decided to use a Booster Energy along with Knight's Quark Drive to boost its Attack, increasing both the reach of its jumps and the power of its physical strikes.
It was a fighting style Alex had never seen before, which meant plenty of trial and error would be needed to perfect it. Fortunately, it was the kind of training he had both the time and resources to support.
Before that, however, he needed to purchase some Booster Energy canisters to support Grim's Protosynthesis and Knight's Quark Drive. This meant returning to Zero Lab and stopping by their gift shop.
He stored Grim in a Poké Ball and was about to do the same with Knight when it gestured toward the waterfall.
"You want to bring some stuff with you?" Alex asked, receiving a nod in response.
"Alright, let me help you gather your things," he said as he followed Knight.
Behind the waterfall lay a cramped cavern, its damp stone walls glittering with embedded Tera Shards and jagged Terastal crystals that refracted the muted light into fractured hues. Clusters of Herba Mystica pushed through the moss and mineral veins, their faint glow and sharp scent giving the hidden space an air of potency.
Alex's eyes widened at the sudden windfall of resources. More than a hundred Herba Mystica of different scents were scattered everywhere, growing like weeds. Terastal crystals were abundant as well, enough to charge a Tera Orb multiple times if needed.
"I was never interested in Tera Orbs because recharging them was expensive in Kanto, but with this many Terastal crystals, I could probably last a long time if I used them sparingly," he thought.
Alex had always considered Dynamaxing, Mega Evolution, Terastalization, and Z-Moves unnecessary gimmicks at best. They only affected one Pokémon at a time, after all, an advantage that could easily be negated by simply adding one more Pokémon. But with this much Terastal crystal available for free, investing in the technology might not be such a drain on his wallet.
He released Gardevoir along with his Rhyperiors, and together they set to work harvesting the entire cave, making sure not to miss even the minerals Alex didn't recognize. As they dug out the crystals, they discovered even more buried beneath, allowing them to collect far more than he had expected.
Once they had cleaned out the cavern, he rejoined Penny outside, who was enjoying her time with her Eeveelutions on the lovely patch of grass just beyond the waterfall, none the wiser to the windfall of resources he had just gathered.
Technically speaking, he had stolen these resources, as any Pokémon and materials found in Area Zero belonged to the lab, especially Herba Mystica, Terastal crystals, and Tera Shards. Fortunately, Penny was more than happy to ignore him, preferring to enjoy the beautiful scenery.
"We're done here," Alex said as he stored Knight and released Altaria for Penny to ride. It was the least he could do after effectively stealing from them.
"You couldn't have done this earlier?" Penny complained as she mounted Altaria while Alex climbed onto Hydreigon.
"Sorry, it slipped my mind. Also, Hydreigon had already grabbed you, and the flight didn't take long anyway," he replied.
"Hmph," she pouted.
Together, they flew back to the bottom of the crater at Zero Lab, where the cleanup was nearly finished. The army of soldiers and the few trainers who had attacked were gathered either as prisoners or in piles of corpses, while the crater itself had been cleared of potholes and debris.
"You're free to leave now," Penny said as she tapped her holopad. "I've registered Tempest and that Iron Valiant we didn't know about under your records. Officially, they now belong to you."
"Thanks," Alex said. "Is there anywhere here where I can buy a Tera Orb and some Booster Energy canisters?"
"Here," she said, tossing a Tera Orb to Alex. "You can have my spare. As for the Booster Energy canisters, we hand those out for free to our trainers, but I'm sure I can get a few for you without trouble. You did save Professor Briar, so consider this our thanks."
She walked off toward the lab, leaving Alex alone to wait. He stood idly until he noticed Arven cooking something at a makeshift camp, a watchful Mabosstiff standing by his side. The enticing smell of the food, which he assumed was being prepared for the trainers, drew him closer.
"Arven, right?" Alex asked as he hovered over the pot of stew.
"Yeah," he replied.
"Do you happen to know a recipe for making Titan Pokémon?" Alex asked.
"I don't think there's a recipe for something like that. Pokémon grow into Titans when they get an overabundance of Herba Mystica, to the point that they have nowhere to use the energy but to grow in size. It increases their toughness while keeping their damage and speed relatively similar, making them look slower than their size might suggest."
"So, about a dozen raw Herba Mystica?"
"A dozen to a hundred, depending on the health of the Pokémon."
"Interesting."
"I'm sure there are recipes for them out there, though. Enlarging Pokémon has become quite popular with trainers recently. Why? Are you interested in capturing one from here?"
"I'm in the market for a Flying type Titan to ride on."
With Hydreigon joining the attack team, Alex no longer had a mount to ride during battle. He was considering getting one, and so far he had ruled out fast, agile types like Pidgeot or Noivern because they were too small. He also dismissed Pokémon of a similar size to Hydreigon, as they weren't very comfortable without a saddle. His current plan was to find one that was tanky and could become a Titan, offering both maximum comfort and strong defenses.
It would have been cool to ride a Titan Talonflame while bombarding enemies with Stormline, as it would have been both comfortable and fast. However, its bulk and lack of defenses would make it an easy target despite its speed. For that reason, he decided on a tanky Titan that could survive a battle without much trouble. All he needed to do was make sure an Alcremie with Aroma Veil was riding as well, so it could keep healing itself and avoid dying like Steelix.
The challenge now was finding the ideal Pokémon and giving it enough Herba Mystica to increase both its size and bulk.
"I remember fighting a Titan Bombirdier a few years ago," Arven said, "but I don't know where it is now. As for the Titans in Area Zero, I don't think there are any Flying types. You'll have to spend if you want enough Herba Mystica to turn your preferred Pokémon into a Titan."
"That's a shame. Thanks for the information."
"Sure."
After a few minutes, Penny returned with a dozen Booster Energy canisters. Each was about the size of a spray bottle and came with a strap to attach to a Pokémon's neck or arm. With a simple press of the button on the side, it would release the Terastal energy inside, empowering a Paradox Pokémon's abilities. The canisters could also be used to recharge a Tera Orb when needed. To refill, all that was required was to place them near a Terastal crystal, and they would recharge automatically.
"Here you go," Penny said, handing Alex the canisters. "I found these ownerless and empty, then recharged them. Since we just went through a big battle, no one will complain if a dozen more go missing."
"Thanks, Penny," Alex said as he stored the canisters, finishing everything he needed to do in Area Zero.
"So, did you need anything else?" she asked.
"No, I think I'm done here in Area Zero."
"What about Paldea?"
"I have a few places to visit and will probably head back to Kanto afterwards."
"That's a shame," Penny said with a suggestive look.
Alex, however, was far too busy to entertain her attempts at a hookup. He had bigger priorities in Paldea, specifically Team Dominion's bases filled with Argent Solutions' latest technologies.
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