Thump—
Hearing Teacher Azure's earth-shattering conclusion on the screen, Sonia jumped in fright.
Was Teacher Azure really this bold?
Although she had vaguely realized the truth herself, without decisive evidence, she absolutely wouldn't dare to state such a definitive conclusion.
After all, doing so might invite trouble from those two massive headaches—the duo named Sordward and Shielbert, who claimed to be descendants of the hero from Galar's legends.
The two were indeed nobles, but apart from investing in tournaments, they hardly did any proper work. Instead, they frequently showed up in Circhester and the Slumbering Weald, always causing trouble for the locals and the League.
Whenever there were archaeological clues related to the "Legendary Heroes," the duo would be the first to appear, embellishing and twisting the facts to prove their heroic bloodline.
Though they didn't cause any real trouble, getting entangled with them would inevitably waste a lot of time and energy—especially for scholars studying history, they were a massive headache.
If Aiden's newly released video was seen by them, they would probably take the initiative to come knocking on his door demanding an explanation.
Wait—
While subconsciously thinking on their behalf, Sonia belatedly realized something. Teacher Azure wasn't a local of Galar to begin with. If those two really dared to harass a Masters Tournament contestant, it could easily escalate into a regional dispute.
Let alone Leon, even Chairman Rose wouldn't let them off the hook—
Furthermore, Aiden clearly had conclusive evidence. If they couldn't produce anything to back themselves up, the most they could do was rage impotently. Teaching those two a lesson could be considered a good thing.
It was just that after today's video went viral, her own thesis would probably need a major overhaul...
With rather complicated feelings, Sonia continued watching. By now, the screen was completely covered in question marks.
Regarding Aiden's shockingly unconventional viewpoint, most Galar natives who had grown up with the myths and legends clearly found it hard to accept.
[Ah??? Teacher Azure, are you serious? You can't just spout nonsense about this!]
[What do you mean our ancestors turned into two dogs?]
[The Galar royal family is a real, passed-down bloodline. Isn't Teacher Azure afraid of getting a cease-and-desist letter for saying this? (lol)]
Aiden on the screen seemed completely unsurprised by the bullet comments' confusion, having apparently anticipated this exact scenario.
"I know many viewers probably can't accept this right now, but hear me out~"
After Aiden spoke, the scene on screen suddenly changed to a mural excavated locally in Galar.
Sonia recognized it; it came from near Ballonlea, and its content was about a meteorite that fell from the sky in the super-ancient era.
"The story begins here," Aiden's voice soon rang out.
"About 20,000 years ago, a giant meteorite fell from the sky."
"That meteorite contained incredibly powerful energy. Rayquaza, which had not yet obtained the power of Mega Evolution at the time, was completely unable to stop it, and it crashed straight into what is now the Galar region."
"Accompanying the meteorite was a powerful cosmic creature."
"However, due to consuming too much energy during its journey through space, the giant monster fell into a deep sleep immediately upon landing, so it didn't attract the attention of humans or Pokémon."
"Time quickly moved forward to 3,000 years ago—"
After a brief pause, the screen shifted to another mural.
The mural from Stow-on-Side?
As a professional, Sonia could pinpoint its exact location with just one glance.
Stow-on-Side was a town that highly preserved the ancient appearance of Galar. On a small hill not far from the stadium, there were many murals recording legendary stories. They were considered by the people of Galar as strong evidence of the hero's legend.
However—
Recently, due to a child's reckless actions, one of the murals was destroyed, unexpectedly revealing a perfectly preserved ancient sculpture inside.
But it was not the image of the hero people had imagined.
Not only was the legendary hero split into two heroes with similar appearances, but the Sword of the Hero and Shield of the Hero, originally held by the hero, also appeared on two dog Pokémon sculptures discovered alongside them.
One held a sharp sword in its mouth, while the other wore a shield on its face.
This heavily overlapped with the appearances of the two dog Pokémon she had seen in the Slumbering Weald.
This was the origin of her new hypothesis.
However, the current evidence was still too scarce. She could only speculate that the sword and shield might not have been held by humans, but were equipment belonging to those two dog Pokémon.
Perhaps they were the true main force that defeated the "Darkest Day."
Of course, these were just her conjectures; there was no actual evidence to prove it yet.
Could it be that Aiden had found some new clues?
While Sonia was thinking, Aiden had already begun recounting the ancient legends as he knew them.
"Three thousand years ago, the sleeping giant dragon, Eternatus, finally awakened and attempted to absorb the energy of Galar's ley lines to sustain its life."
"Its actions directly led to the appearance of the 'Darkest Day' phenomenon. The sky turned a terrifying crimson, and the Pokémon on the ground, influenced by that violent power, expanded several times in size uncontrollably, completely losing their minds."
"Their frenzied behavior almost destroyed the entire Galar region."
So far, everything Aiden said matched the murals.
Any Galar native who knew a bit of history knew that the "Darkest Day" was actually a terrifying, massive creature. Legend had it that it could return at any time, plunging Galar into madness once again.
However—
[Expanding several times in size uncontrollably? Why does that sound a bit like Dynamaxing?]
[Could Dynamaxing be related to the "Darkest Day"? Is it an evil power brought by that Pokémon?]
[If anyone else said this, I'd have started laughing, but the person daring to say it is Teacher Azure—]
Dynamaxing is related to the Darkest Day?
Sonia narrowed her eyes. She instinctively rejected this concept.
Because if it were true, didn't that mean—
The Dynamax battles that made Galar's battling atmosphere so intense were essentially utilizing the power of the "Darkest Day"?
In that case, it was only a matter of time before the "Darkest Day" returned, right?
She really didn't want to believe it. But rather than covering her ears and refusing to think, she preferred to uncover more of the truth. The earlier it was discovered, the more hope there was for a reasonable solution.
So, Sonia continued listening.
"Just as Galar fell into despair, two heroes appeared."
"They were Zacian and Zamazenta, whom I just introduced to everyone—a pair of siblings possessing legendary power."
"Zacian and Zamazenta respectively used the legendary sword and shield, utilizing a powerful force that perfectly countered Dynamaxing to successfully defeat the 'Darkest Day'—Eternatus—saving the Galar region from the brink of destruction."
"After this battle, Eternatus exhausted the power it had accumulated over 20,000 years and could only dive back into the ley lines to slumber once more."
"And those two unsung heroes quickly vanished without a trace, leaving behind only the historical legends passed down by word of mouth."
"This is the truth of Galar's legends."
Regarding the myths and legends, Aiden had highly summarized them in just a few sentences, but because of this, it seemed a bit weak and unconvincing.
There's absolutely no relevant evidence?
Sonia subconsciously frowned. As a researcher, what she cared about most was logical rigor and clear evidence. The story Aiden told wasn't much different from the legends circulating in Galar; the only difference was that the human heroes were replaced by two dog Pokémon—
It was indeed hard to convince people.
Just then, Aiden spoke up again at the perfect moment.
"At this time, there are definitely some friends who want to ask."
"'Teacher Azure, Teacher Azure, I understand the reasoning, but where's the evidence?'"
"There is actually a lot of evidence, such as the sword and shield I showed you earlier."
"Although they have long lost their former appearance due to years of wear and tear, in the hands—mouth—of the 'true heroes,' they are still as magnificent as ever!"
After saying that, he specifically gave a close-up of the sword in Zacian's mouth. From the patterns to the size, it was almost identical to the "Sword of the Hero" in the newly discovered sculpture.
Moreover, as soon as Aiden reached out to take it away, the sword would rapidly decay and weather, turning into an antique that looked like it could shatter at any moment.
After trying this a few times, even Zacian got a bit impatient before Aiden finally pulled his hand back, somewhat reluctantly returning the sword to Zacian.
"Only the Legendary Heroes can resonate with the Sacred Sword and Sacred Shield. This is the most direct evidence, and it perfectly matches the newly discovered sculptures."
"Of course, there is also the most precise, straightforward, and easy-to-understand explanation."
After saying this, Aiden suddenly took out the Pokédex from his pocket.
"Although Eternatus hasn't appeared in this world for many years, based on the various legends it left behind, as well as the 'poison' that makes Pokémon go berserk—"
"It is highly likely a Poison/Dragon type, a very rare combination."
"At this point, friends who can proficiently recite the type effectiveness chart must have already realized—"
"The Poison/Dragon type combination is completely shut down by one type combination, and that is Steel/Fairy."
"And guess what?"
"This Legendary King of Swords, Zacian, happens to be a Steel/Fairy type. Eternatus can do absolutely nothing against it."
"As for the King of Shields, Zamazenta, although the Steel/Fighting combination cannot fully immunize against Dragon-type moves, it can at least cooperate well with its older sister."
"More importantly—"
Aiden paused, keeping them in suspense for a moment before continuing to explain.
"Whether it's Zacian or Zamazenta, their signature moves perfectly counter oversized opponents, especially the origin of Dynamaxing—Eternatus, which possesses a special form that surpasses Gigantamaxing."
"The two of them can be said to be Eternatus's natural nemesis, which is why they could easily defeat this enemy from outer space."
Could it be explained from this angle too?
Sonia was completely dumbfounded. But she actually felt it made a lot of sense—
Type matchups were the underlying logic of this world. Even Legendary Pokémon couldn't avoid them when at the same level.
Even if the opponent was stronger than Zacian, relying on a type combination that completely immunized against the opponent's STAB moves would make the battle much easier.
Moreover, she had personally seen Zacian in battle back then. With just a seemingly casual sword move, it instantly knocked out a Dynamaxed Garbodor that had gone berserk.
This level of power could indeed only be possessed by a Legendary Pokémon.
[Damn, so it can be explained like this? As expected of Teacher Azure—]
[Although the reasoning sounds like a bit of a stretch, why does it inexplicably make sense?]
[But even if everything Teacher Azure said is true, it doesn't conflict with the legend, right? Maybe Zacian and Zamazenta were just that hero's Pokémon?]
[But the ones who truly deserve to be called heroes are indeed these two Legendary Pokémon. Yet, they were the ones who defeated the "Darkest Day," only to be gradually forgotten by humans—]
[Perhaps that was their own choice?]
The bullet comments gradually came to this realization at this point too.
Why did Aiden say earlier that the Galar royal family left behind a fabricated story?
Because from the very beginning, the credit for defeating the Darkest Day shouldn't have entirely belonged to the Galar royal family. Even if the king at the time fought side-by-side with the two heroes, working together to restore light to Galar, that was no reason to deliberately erase their existence.
To put it bluntly, this was stealing credit!
"In short, the audience knows me."
"Teacher Azure's educational videos always keep it real. And the legend of the King of Swords and the King of Shields is not over yet."
"After all—as far as I know, hasn't Galar been frequently experiencing situations where wild Pokémon Dynamax and go out of control recently?"
"Just like Mega Evolution and Z-Moves, Dynamax energy actually comes from the ley lines, but it was polluted by Eternatus and turned into a new kind of energy."
"Therefore, the more active Dynamax energy behaves, the more it means—"
"Perhaps Eternatus, which they defeated back then, is now ready to make a comeback."
"And the emergence of this disaster this time might be inextricably linked to us humans—"
Leaving behind a meaningful sentence, the video abruptly ended.
[What??? Teacher Azure, don't scare me!]
[Teacher Azure isn't even trying to hide it anymore. I said he could predict the future, but can he not be so vague about it—]
[The thing I hate most are Riddlers, how did Teacher Azure learn to be so bad?]
Sonia stared at the bullet comments, taking a good while to come back to her senses.
"What does Teacher Azure's last sentence... mean?"
Could the next appearance of the Darkest Day be related to humans? But there shouldn't be any villainous organizations within Galar; everyone was contributing to Galar's development in their own way.
It couldn't be Team Yell from Spikemuth, could it—
Could they really be considered a villainous organization?
Sonia pondered this, then quickly took action. She first sent another email to her grandmother, hoping she could watch this video as soon as possible.
Then, she used her Rotom Phone to contact Leon, hoping he would pay more attention to the recent Dynamax out-of-control phenomena.
After doing everything she could, Sonia let out a sigh.
For the sake of Galar's future, it would probably be better to go ask Teacher Azure in person, right?
------------------------------------------------------
30+ Chapters Ahead: patreon.com/EphemeralShadow
There's something for free patrons too! Free Patrons receive 1 chapter in advance :)