In this world, with a legendary Pokémon like Gouging Fire standing guard, nobody dared to step out of line.
"It's not just the political changes, either," alicia continued, her voice carrying a hint of excitement she couldn't quite hide. "Ever since the game you left behind spread across the underground, the rate at which people have been getting stronger could only be described as insane."
"Everyone's been racking up all kinds of rewards through the game. Trainers have seen massive jumps in strength, and those strange Pokémon that used to give us nightmares are barely a threat anymore."
"Oh? You've dealt with all of them?"
Kairos raised an eyebrow.
"Most of the ones that showed up underground have already been cleared out or chased off," Alicia replied. "And now, a lot of people have started pushing into the surface world, even setting up outposts. A solid chunk of our resources down in the lower districts these days come from up top: fresh produce, clean water, even some rare minerals we used to think were just myths."
Kairos thought it over, then asked, "If the surface is already safe and resources are this plentiful, why not just move up there for good? Staying underground forever isn't exactly a long-term solution."
Elara, standing beside him, let out a sigh and picked up where Alicia left off. "We'd love to, but the sheer scale of it is just overwhelming.
The underground city is home to so many people. Moving everyone to the surface would mean building an enormous amount of housing from scratch, not to mention figuring out defense, power infrastructure, and everything else. That's not something you pull off in a couple of days."
"The plan right now is to keep living underground as a temporary measure and gradually shift the population upward. Once the surface infrastructure is properly built out, people will make the move naturally."
"That sounds like the right call," Kairos said with a nod.
Elara looked at him, her eyes full of something quiet and sincere.
"Honestly, everything we have now, we owe to you. Not just the game, but all the groundwork you laid before you left. The old government institutions have basically fallen apart at this point. Those corrupt officials who were only ever in it for themselves have either run off or been hauled in."
"We've brought in a new wave of people who actually care about this community, and the underground world right now... you could say it's finally thriving. People have something to look forward to again."
Old Hart grinned from the side.
"That's right! I could tell this one was something special the moment I laid eyes on him! See? My gut never lies!"
He seemed a lot livelier these days.
Everyone laughed, and the room felt lighter for it.
Elara gave Kairos a warm pat on the shoulder. "Now that you're back, this calls for a real celebration. I've already put the word out. We're throwing you a big welcome-back party."
Kairos shook his head, though he didn't say no. "Fine by me. Before any of that, though, there are a few things I need to take care of first."
"What kind of things? Just name it. If it's within our power, it's as good as done!" Old Hart declared, thumping his chest.
"Nothing too complicated. I just want to check in on Gouging Fire first. Where is she right now?"
Alicia paused, then answered, "Gouging Fire... she doesn't like being underground. She spends most of her time on the surface, somewhere around that volcano from before. She patrols other areas occasionally, too."
"Got it. I'll go find her." Kairos nodded and turned to head out.
"Let me send someone with you..." Alicia started.
"No need. I'll go on my own. I'll be back soon."
Kairos waved her off. With his current strength, plus Chandelure at his side, he could handle just about anything this world threw at him. The last thing he needed was a babysitter.
Nobody pushed it, and they watched him go.
Kairos left the base, made his way back through the lower districts, and reached the elevator that led up to the surface. It was well-maintained, running smoothly and fast, and before long he was standing once again in the open air. He drew a slow breath of cool air carrying the scent of earth and grass, and felt the sharpness return to his senses.
He set off toward the volcano.
Along the way, he noticed with a keen eye that the surrounding environment had quietly but clearly changed.
The paradox Pokémon that had once been everywhere, their bodies gleaming with a cold metallic sheen, were gone — every last one of them.
The whole world felt different somehow, cleaner, more at ease.
The ancient Pokémon, on the other hand, were appearing with noticeably greater frequency.
When Kairos passed near them, they'd glance up briefly and then go back to what they were doing, unbothered by his presence, clearly having grown used to people moving through the surface world by now.
The whole picture put him in a decent mood.
Before long, the massive volcano came back into view.
Even before he got close, a familiar wave of immense pressure rolled toward him from that direction. But there was no hostility in it. If anything, it carried a faint, understated note of welcome.
Kairos picked up his pace and climbed to the rim of the volcano.
Sure enough, that enormous and imposing figure was still coiled on the great stone at the center of the lava, right where it had always been.
Gouging Fire had apparently sensed his approach well in advance. That massive head tilted slightly, golden pupils settling on him, and she let out a deep, resonant rumble that sounded like a greeting.
Kairos stood at the edge of the crater and, through their mythic resonance, reached out with his thoughts.
"Long time no see. How've things been?"
Gouging Fire let out a low growl, and what came back through the resonance was a sense of calm and quiet satisfaction.
She conveyed that things were peaceful here, that all those irritating hunks of metal were gone, and that the world felt right to her now.
"Good to hear." Kairos nodded, feeling something loosen in his chest. He paused, then continued, "What about the ancient Pokémon? Are they getting along with the humans? Any trouble?"
Gouging Fire shook her head. None at all.
She had apparently kept the ancient Pokémon in check to some degree, warning them against making any rash moves against humans, while the humans had also wised up and stopped picking fights. The two sides were holding a careful balance.
"Sounds like you've been keeping busy while I was gone." Kairos smiled.
Gouging Fire lifted her head with a quiet air of pride, golden mane rippling in the rising heat.
Kairos studied her, his expression turning more serious. "Actually, I wanted to ask you something. Do you have any other friends at your level?"
He meant Walking Wake and Raging Bolt, of course.
This trip back to the second world had more than one purpose. Beyond sorting out matters related to the game, there was something else he needed to deal with.
Ever since his run-ins with Mewtwo and Giratina in the main world, the progress bar on his system's legendary Pokédex had reached a critical point, sitting just one entry short of unlocking the first collection reward. He couldn't see what the reward actually was yet — but whatever it was, one more entry would unlock it.
And the first names that came to mind were Walking Wake and Raging Bolt, legendary Pokémon from the same era as Gouging Fire. Finding even one of them would fill that last gap in the Pokédex.
Gouging Fire, however, went quiet at the question. Then that great head slowly moved from side to side.
What came through the resonance carried a faint trace of regret and resignation. Those two hadn't come with her to this world. They seemed to have stayed behind and never to have made the crossing.
Kairos couldn't help feeling a sting of disappointment.
That was going to complicate things.
Where was he supposed to find another legendary Pokémon?
The next world?
The way things had been going, there was no guarantee the next world would have any Pokémon in it at all.
But just as he was turning the problem over in his mind, another impression came through from Gouging Fire.
She indicated that while those two weren't around, if he was interested in something at that level, there was actually one more. The catch was that this particular one was in a very unusual state and quite different from herself.
"Oh? Unusual how?" Kairos's curiosity sharpened immediately. He fixed his gaze on Gouging Fire. "How unusual? And where?"
Gouging Fire didn't explain directly. Instead, she tilted her head in a particular direction, signaling for him to follow.
With that, she rose from her resting place, her enormous body unfolding as she spread her wings. But she didn't take flight. Instead, she set off on slow, heavy strides, heading down a hidden path along the far side of the volcano.
Kairos followed right away, with Chandelure drifting silently along behind him.
They pushed through a rugged stretch of mountain trail, skirted the crater, and moved deeper into the mountain range.
As they went further in, the temperature began to drop. The scorching air turned cool, then cold, eventually carrying a sharp bite of frost.
The vegetation shifted from heat-resistant shrubs to stands of conifers, then disappeared entirely, replaced by an expanse of ice fields blanketed in pristine white snow. The temperature kept falling.
Before long, what opened up ahead of him brought Kairos to a sudden, surprised stop.
An ice crystal terrain, sitting right in the middle of a volcanic range.
The landscape had completely transformed. The black volcanic rock had given way to translucent blue ice crystals, and the air carried a bone-deep chill that stood in total contrast to the intense heat they'd just left behind.
Throughout this crystalline expanse, strange light shimmered and flickered in every direction. Looking more closely, Kairos realized the area was packed with rare minerals. Several of them pulsed with a faint but unmistakable energy, a clear sign of exceptional quality.
Something clicked in Kairos's mind, and he quietly made a note of the location. He'd have to bring people here to mine it at some point. These resources would be a serious boon to the underground world in its current state.
Gouging Fire paid no attention to the cold around her. The flames wreathing her body burned even hotter than usual, pushing the chill back. She led Kairos deeper in until they finally reached the central area of the ice crystal zone.
It was a vast, sunken basin, buried under thick layers of snow and ice. At first glance, it looked completely unremarkable.
Gouging Fire stopped and turned to face Kairos with a low rumble, as if to say: here.
Kairos stared at the snow-covered ground, puzzled. "Here? What exactly is here?"
Rather than answering, Gouging Fire opened her mouth and unleashed a torrent of blazing fire across the expanse of snow.
The burst of crimson flame swallowed the snow instantly, and a sharp, sizzling hiss filled the air as the snow vaporized in massive quantities. Clouds of steam billowed upward, blocking the view in every direction.
Kairos narrowed his eyes. Through the rising steam, he could just make out the faint outline of something emerging beneath the surface.
As the fire kept coming, the last of the snow burned away, revealing what lay underneath in full.
When Kairos finally made out the complete shape of what was in front of him, his eyes went wide and the surprise on his face was impossible to hide.
It was a massive mechanical construct, shaped unmistakably like a living creature.
Kairos stared at the colossal mechanical form, his gaze tracing the sleek, aerodynamic body with its distinctly technological design for a long moment.
The burst of flame had fully dissipated into steam, and with the snow cleared away, the thing's true appearance was laid bare before him.
It was a dragon-shaped Pokémon, its frame built from interlocking plates of white and cyan metal, limbs precisely jointed, and at its neck a circular device — clearly some kind of energy core — hung motionless in the air.
At the moment, though, that device was dark and lifeless. The entire body was coated in the dust of ages and a thin layer of frost, lying motionless as if it were nothing more than a sculpture that had long since gone cold.
"This is... Miraidon?"
Kairos identified it immediately.
This was unmistakably a legendary Pokémon.
But his brow furrowed almost right away.
By faction, this one belonged squarely in the same camp as Iron Jugulis, Iron Valiants, and all the others of that iron-clad, future paradox lineage that had been tearing through the world, radiating chaos everywhere they went.
So why had Gouging Fire said it was like herself?
Kairos turned to look at Gouging Fire beside him, his expression openly questioning.
Gouging Fire seemed to read the confusion on his face. She gave a low growl, her massive frame dipping slightly, and the impression that came through the mythic resonance was unusually clear.
She explained that even though this one looked a lot like those iron-clad creatures that had crawled through the spacetime rifts, it carried none of that repulsive, frenzied drive to erode and consume everything around it.
On the contrary, the feeling it gave off was closer to that of something native to this world, or perhaps a weapon created specifically to fight against that force, one that had simply burned through all of its energy fighting that battle and collapsed into a long, deep sleep.
Kairos listened carefully and nodded, turning it over in his mind.
He reached out a hand and lightly touched the cold metallic surface of Miraidon's outer shell.
The sensation at his fingertips was hard and smooth, completely without warmth, and utterly without any sign of life.
It had fully and completely shut down.
"Legendary Pokédex," he murmured inwardly.
A translucent light panel materialized before him and swept rapidly over Miraidon's body.
What caught him off guard, though, was that the legendary Pokédex progress bar on the system interface didn't react at all. There wasn't even a prompt saying the subject was unregistered.
That was almost funny.
A legendary-tier Pokémon was sitting right in front of him, and the Pokédex wouldn't even acknowledge it?
Kairos blinked, then worked it out.
It was probably because Miraidon was completely shut down and dormant, which likely meant it no longer registered as a functioning legendary Pokémon. The Pokédex simply didn't recognize it.
"Well, that's a problem," he muttered, pressing his fingers to his temple as a mild headache set in.
He had thought he'd lucked into exactly what he needed, something that would slot in the final piece of the legendary Pokédex puzzle and score him a reward in the process. Turned out he was going to have to play repairman first.
And this was cutting-edge machinery at that, technology from the future, no less. If it was broken, where was he supposed to find replacement parts?
Still, now that he'd found it, there was no way he was leaving it here.