Time came to the end of December.
Winter in the Galar region was always quite cold. Especially in Circhester and Turffield, which were close to the Crown Tundra, one always had to wear a thick padded coat to resist the piercing cold wind.
"Phew—!"
"I finally finished writing my thesis!"
Inside the Pokémon Research Lab in Turffield, Sonia, a young researcher wrapped in a floral quilt, let out a long sigh of relief. She satisfactorily slid her mouse and carefully browsed through the text she had just finished reviewing.
"This discovery will definitely be mind-blowing; even Grandma will look at me with new eyes!"
"When that happens, let alone a researcher, it wouldn't be impossible for me to even inherit my grandma's title of Professor!"
"Hehe, maybe in the future, even that guy Leon will have to call me 'Professor'~"
Thinking of her childhood friend who had already achieved great success in his career, Sonia smiled and nodded, then looked out the window at the already pitch-black night sky.
However, the content of this thesis would probably be hard for some people to accept, right?
After all, the "Legendary Hero" praised by everyone in Galar was actually not human, but very likely two reclusive Legendary Pokémon—
If she hadn't found some evidence, even she wouldn't have dared to believe this.
But the facts were right in front of her eyes, and she didn't want to play dumb anymore. She had to tell the truth to all the residents of Galar. After selecting the thesis in her email and sending it to her grandmother, who was out researching the Dynamax phenomenon, Sonia's excited heart finally relaxed a little.
"Before Grandma replies, I can finally take a good rest for a while~"
"I hope that after the thesis is published, those two guys claiming to be descendants of the Galar royal family won't come to bother me anymore—"
Casually picking up her phone from the desk, Sonia was about to open PokéTV to watch Professor Oak's daily video and relax for a bit.
And right at that moment—
[Your special follow "Azure Wings" has posted a new video!]
The sudden pop-up notification immediately caught her attention.
Teacher Azure?
Before her brain could even react, Sonia unhesitatingly tapped the pop-up and entered his newly released video.
She actually wasn't very familiar with this "Teacher Azure" before, having only heard Leon mention him a few times.
He seemed to be very impressive on the path of a Trainer, but Sonia didn't care much about that.
What truly amazed her and turned her into a loyal fan was his "Telling Mythology" video series, which always had consistently high view counts.
Just how exaggerated did a person's network—"Poké-work"—have to be, to be able to invite the actual Legendary Pokémon to be guests in every single video!
Other than the Creation Deity Arceus introduced in the first video, every single deity was as obedient as an ordinary Pokémon by his side, not even reacting to being filmed right in their faces—
He was simply superhuman!
Therefore, he didn't even need to prove the authenticity of his videos; just having Legendary Pokémon appear was "real" enough.
Even the Creation Deity Arceus had appeared in a video circulated from the Kalos region a while ago, seemingly exchanging knowing looks with this Mr. Aiden—
Saying it like this shouldn't be wrong, right?
In short, no one could surpass him in terms of authority on mythology right now.
Let alone her grandma, even Professor Oak would have to acknowledge him—
Just watching it was enough!
After entering the video, Sonia glanced at the title with full curiosity, and then was dumbfounded.
Because today's video title was—
Pokémon Legends: The Darkest Day and the Legendary Heroes!
As a scholar of Galar, how could she not know what the "Darkest Day" represented.
The "Legendary Heroes" might have different interpretations in different regions, but combined with the "Darkest Day"—
Clearly, it definitely referred to the hero who built the kingdom in Galar's legends.
Sonia blinked, suddenly remembering a small matter she had heard from Leon a while ago.
It was said that Teacher Azure had briefly visited Galar before and coincidentally ran into Leon in the Slumbering Weald, even having a friendly match that kept Leon happy for days.
She hadn't paid much attention to it at the time, but thinking about it now—
Perhaps Teacher Azure appeared in the Slumbering Weald back then precisely because he had found some clues?
After all, the place where she found the crucial evidence was also the Slumbering Weald.
Could it be that their ideas were actually the same?
With this curiosity, Sonia quickly started watching the video.
[Damn, Teacher Azure, you finally won your revival match! I thought you really got taken to outer space by Necrozma—]
[An update after two months? Teacher Azure, do you think this is reasonable?! (Frantically hinting)]
[Is it Galar region's legend this time? Has Teacher Azure already started preparing for the Masters Tournament?]
Although the video view count showed as 1, the moment Sonia clicked in, she was immediately surrounded by a screen full of bullet comments.
Probably only Teacher Azure could command this level of popularity right now.
Soon, the pitch-black screen beneath the bullet comments suddenly flashed with a white light, and a smiling Aiden appeared on screen.
"Hello, fellow classmates. Long time no see, I've missed you all very much."
"A while ago, Teacher Azure solved some minor issues, and due to reasons everyone knows about, I had to take a good rest for a while."
"I've mostly recovered now, and since I came to Galar to prepare for the Masters Tournament, I thought I'd put out a video first to let everyone know I'm safe and sound~"
Sonia had heard a bit about the "minor" issues he mentioned.
That day, all the light in the world suddenly vanished, to the point where many people in Galar immediately thought the "Darkest Day" had returned.
As it turned out, the truth was even more absurd than their guesses.
The "Blinding One" named Necrozma had almost destroyed the planet.
If Teacher Azure hadn't stepped up at the critical moment and persuaded it, perhaps whether there would even be anyone left to participate in or watch this Masters Tournament would have been a question—
Having gone through such a high-intensity battle, recovering after just two months of convalescence was already an incredibly impressive physique.
However, Aiden casually skipped right past the topic, even having the mood to joke around with everyone.
"At this time, some classmates will definitely ask..."
"'Ah, Teacher Azure, how come you don't even know how to make filler content? That Blinding One is ready-made material!'"
"Hmm, I also think it's a pity, but it really can't be helped."
After saying that, Aiden on screen paused his voice for a moment, keeping them in suspense for a bit.
"Isn't it because Necrozma already turned into light and returned to the universe? The ready-made material ran away, and Teacher Azure really doesn't have the ability to invite it back~"
"Besides, there are many dark aspects to its story, which don't quite fit Teacher Azure's consistent 'positive energy' theme."
"So, the story of the Blinding One will be skipped for now and left for future Professors to explore and discover in outer space~"
"Today, our main characters are the Darkest Day and the heroes of Galar mythology!"
The scene suddenly changed. Aiden's figure moved from the hotel room to a forest that Sonia was very familiar with.
The Slumbering Weald?
She had recently gone to the Slumbering Weald several times to collect clues, so upon seeing the iconic fog behind Teacher Azure, she immediately focused and waited for what came next.
Her intuition told her that Teacher Azure's conclusion and her thesis hypothesis were likely highly consistent!
Sure enough, as the video played, the disorienting fog of the Slumbering Weald quickly vanished, and the dilapidated, heavily weathered shrine behind Aiden appeared on screen.
The statue enshrined in the shrine had long since collapsed and disappeared, leaving only a sword and shield casually placed to the side.
Even as former divine armaments, after a thousand years of weathering and erosion, they inevitably became rusty and decayed, no longer possessing their former glory.
However, many Galar locals still recognized them at a glance.
[Aren't these the sword and shield used by that great hero in the legends? To think they were enshrined in the deep mountains and old forests?]
[As expected of Teacher Azure, he can find even such a hidden place. Doesn't this just prove the legend is true and reliable!]
[I only have one question: in their current state, can they really still be used—]
Compared to other laymen who didn't know much about mythological history, Sonia clearly appeared even more shocked, because she had ventured deep into the Slumbering Weald several times just to find the Sword and Shield of the Heroes enshrined in its depths.
The ancient murals discovered in various other places all eventually pointed here; clearly, the Slumbering Weald was the key to unearthing the truth.
But this place was perpetually covered by a layer of gray mist. Those who entered would always inexplicably lose their sense of direction and end up returning the way they came.
Even though she had visited a few times, she only ever found two dog Pokémon full of majesty that seemed to be warning her to leave.
They respectively held a sword and a shield, seemingly able to use the energy stored within to become even stronger.
Based on some clues left in the murals and the overlapping "sword and shield" elements, Sonia keenly realized that they might be connected to the Legendary Heroes.
And what truly made her realize the truth was the scene she witnessed the last time she entered the Slumbering Weald.
A Gigantamax Garbodor that had gone berserk from absorbing too much Dynamax energy broke into the Slumbering Weald. When it clashed with the two dog Pokémon guarding the area, it was instantly dispatched with a single sword strike by the dog Pokémon holding the sword.
The special slashing attack she saw at the time seemed to deal massive damage to oversized Pokémon.
This point perfectly matched the way the hero defeated the "Darkest Day" in the legends.
Therefore, Sonia dared to make a bold hypothesis—perhaps the ones who defeated the Darkest Day back then weren't humans, but the ancestors of those two powerful Pokémon?
A tribe of Legendary Pokémon that lived and thrived in the Slumbering Weald, stepping in to help when Galar was in crisis!
If her hypothesis was true, Galar's existing legends would be completely overturned, and the history of the "Galar royal family" would become a fabricated story.
Originally, she was still lacking a piece of decisive evidence to prove her conjecture, but after Aiden's video was released, that decayed sword and shield were the best proof!
If it weren't already late at night, Sonia would really want to contact Leon right now and ask him to help arrange a meeting between her and Teacher Azure.
If she could supplement the evidence, even if her grandmother, Professor Magnolia, retired, she would be able to inherit the Professor title with this thesis!
However, Aiden's next words quickly made Sonia widen her eyes again.
"That's right, behind me is Galar's Slumbering Weald~"
"The reason Teacher Azure brought everyone here today is very simple: to see with your own eyes what the 'Legendary Heroes' actually look like!"
"Their true appearances will very likely overturn many people's imaginations~"
As soon as these words came out, the video's bullet comments instantly exploded.
[Ah? Wasn't that Legendary Hero a figure from 3,000 years ago? I'm afraid you can't even find a few statues of them now.]
[Teacher Azure, this episode isn't some grave-robbing video, is it? Even if it's Teacher Azure, you can't do this kind of thing—]
[Teacher Azure, it's not too late to turn back now!]
Aiden naturally couldn't imagine how skewed the bullet comments would get. Fortunately, he didn't keep them in suspense for long, and soon clapped his hands, speaking toward the area behind him.
"Come on out, the great heroes of our Galar region, the warriors who once defeated the 'Darkest Day'—Eternatus!"
"Zacian & Zamazenta!"
After Aiden finished his passionate introduction, a sudden gust of strong wind blew up behind him.
Soon, two dog Pokémon with blue-pink and blue-brown fur walked out from the forest, looking somewhat reluctant as they appeared in the video.
Sonia blinked.
She was very familiar with these two dog Pokémon; just by looking at their appearance, she knew they were the ones that had blocked her path back then.
However—
The sword and shield they held seemed to have disappeared, making their figures look somewhat ordinary.
They didn't look like they had the aura of "warriors" at all.
Seeing this, Sonia couldn't figure out what Aiden was trying to do anymore, so she simply gave up thinking and continued to wait for his performance.
"I know the audience definitely has a lot of questions, and might even suspect that Teacher Azure just caught two random Pokémon to make up the numbers—"
Aiden soon spoke again, continuing in a slightly teasing tone.
"But rest assured, in the field of Legendary Pokémon, Teacher Azure is absolutely a professional!"
"To make them show their peak forms from 3,000 years ago, only a very simple action is needed, and that is—"
"Zacian & Zamazenta, transform!"
"..." ×2
In the video, the two Pokémon that seemed to have been forcibly dragged by Aiden to put on a show exchanged a glance, both seeing deep helplessness in each other's eyes.
But after all, the other party was the Messenger of the Creator. If he wanted to make the legends of the past known to the public, he must have deeper considerations.
So, Zacian and Zamazenta stepped forward at the same time. After arriving at the shrine in the center of the camera, they respectively took their "sacred relics" in their mouths.
In an instant, a golden light flashed.
After the blinding light that made the audience cry out about light pollution disappeared—
Two "warriors" full of imposing manner, exuding an elegant and magnificent aura all over their bodies, instantly appeared before their eyes.
And the already decayed sword and shield, upon being touched by them, immediately shed their rust, restoring into a brilliantly patterned longsword and a massive shield.
"Now you know why Teacher Azure said they are the Legendary Heroes~"
Aiden's voice appeared at the perfect moment, introducing these two "Legendary Heroes" who had long been forgotten by the people of Galar.
"The King of Swords, Zacian, and the King of Shields, Zamazenta. They are a pair of powerful Legendary Pokémon siblings, and also the heroes spoken of by the people of Galar."
"That's right, the culprit behind the Darkest Day phenomenon that plunged Galar into despair 3,000 years ago, Eternatus, was defeated by their combined efforts and sealed deep beneath the Galar region."
"As for the hero statues left behind by the Galar royal family..."
"Of course, that's just a fabricated story~"
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