Jason had no idea how long he'd been climbing the rock wall of the Great Crater of Paldea.
Time had lost all meaning here.
The only memory he had of this stretch was repeating one dull, tedious cycle: morph his body into an inconspicuous Glimmet, use Rock Polish to smooth his surface and cut friction, then inch upward, bit by bit.
"Good thing I picked Glimmet."
He'd silently congratulated himself more than once. If, after failing to log those powerful Paradox species, he hadn't decisively switched to Glimmet and unlocked Rock Polish, he would've run out of stamina and fallen back into the pit long ago—just a snack for some Paradox predator.
A pity, really. His plan had been to finish the Paradox Dex entries first, then leave Area Zero and make a splash in the Pokémon world.
In the end he hadn't completed a single Paradox entry—and was already preparing to flee in disgrace.
He'd been too idealistic.
All around was perpetual gloom; in his ears, the eerie cries of Paradox Pokémon rose from time to time. He didn't dare relax for a second, afraid his "Glimmet" would be seen through and bring trouble down on him.
Crack.
With a soft sound, the "Glimmet" he'd become finally hooked onto a ledge that smelled faintly of earth, and a long-absent ribbon of golden sunlight spilled over him.
He was out!
The thought flashed through him like electricity. He couldn't keep the transformation up any longer—his body went slack and, with a wet splut, he reverted to that familiar, oversized grape-jelly blob.
He collapsed on the ground like sun-warmed sludge about to melt, gulping in fresh air laced with the scent of grass.
"Haa… finally made it."
Inside, he was roaring. His time in Area Zero hadn't been a Pokémon life at all. He lived in constant fear; whenever he saw anything alive, his first instinct was to squeeze into a crack, turn into a rock or dirt, and erase his presence.
He didn't dare provoke any Pokémon.
Those Paradox species were like escapees from a berserk version of the Pokémon world—wildness glinting in their eyes. Especially Roaring Moon: that jet-engine bellow, that single wingbeat that cleaved a crystal "tree" in two—just remembering it made him shake.
No wonder—it was Salamence's ancestor.
Guess "hot-headed" runs in the family.
Compared with them, the Pokémon on the surface looked like gentle, fluffy little lambs.
Jason stretched his pliant body to his heart's content, letting the warm sun soak into every cell. The after-survival calm was like nothing he'd ever felt.
After half an hour of playing dead and finally unwinding his taut nerves, he slowly pulled himself together again.
Break's over—time to get to work.
He looked around. A vast grassland spread out before him; low hills rolled in the distance. In the grass, small figures darted here and there.
"If I want to live here, I need to get stronger."
He set his goal. His path to strength was collecting entries—a snowball effect. The more Dex entries he gathered, the higher his HP base stat would climb, the stronger he'd be, and the more flexible his tactics.
His gaze swept the grassland and quickly locked onto two perfect starter targets.
Not far away, a round black-pig Pokémon was rooting proudly with its nose for tasty berries.
Lechonk—one of Paldea's most common.
On a small tree to the other side, a green spider Pokémon wrapped in silk was busily weaving its web.
Tarountula—another "starter-area" common.
"We'll start with you two."
If he unlocked Lechonk's entry, he could use its keen sense of smell to find food and disguise himself perfectly to lower others' guard. And Tarountula? Once he had its entry, String Shot, the jack-of-all-trades, would be his—great for traps, escapes, and simple restraints.
Best of all, neither was very strong, so the collection process would be easy and low-risk.
Solid plan!
He put his transformation to work again; his body wriggled and silently became an unremarkable gray pebble, then he rolled toward the Tarountula.
He stopped in a patch of grass beneath the tree and watched carefully.
The Tarountula hung in midair, its spinnerets firing white silk like a machine—full of pep.
Jason, however, was wincing—well, as a rock, he didn't have a brow to furrow. The spider's webwork was a mess: strands of uneven length and thickness, plenty of silk falling before sticking to a branch—huge waste.
It made him itch to climb up there and give a lecture on how to web properly.
Suddenly, whether by accident or design, the silk it spat shot straight toward him—and landed right on his "head."
Blindsided, he blurted out on reflex, "Oh come on—have some manners!"
He was speechless. Who likes getting a faceful of web for no reason?
He quickly cleaned off the gummy silk, feeling much better afterward. A glance at the Tarountula Dex showed the entry was already at 10% in that short time—decent pace.
Suddenly—
A bright, energetic voice, tinged with puzzlement, floated over from not far away. "Huh? I thought I heard someone talking?"
His heart leapt into his throat.
???
She doesn't mean me… right?
He remembered: even as a Ditto, he'd been born after crossing with the ability to speak human language—like Team Rocket's Meowth. A natural talent.
He froze, not daring to move, praying the passerby would just keep going and chalk it up to imagination.
Light, quick footsteps approached and stopped beside him.
"Weird, nobody's here." The voice muttered to itself—then her gaze seemed to fall on Jason. "Hm? Why is there a Ditto here?"
His stomach dropped.
He'd only just remembered that to clean off the silk, he'd instinctively reverted to his Ditto form.
Screwed. Completely, utterly screwed.
He turned his eyes stiffly—and saw a high-ponytailed young woman in a Naranja Academy uniform crouch down, peering at him with curiosity.
So that was the voice.
Jason blinked—surprised to have run into Nemona—a Champion-class trainer. He wasn't sure if, at this point in the timeline, she'd already become Champion. Paldea's Champions weren't exactly rare, but still—Champion's Champion.
Nemona's face had a few cute freckles; her bright eyes blinked as if trying to recall something. Suddenly, they flew wide, as if a key idea had clicked, and she stared straight at him.
"The one who was talking… was it you?!"
Done for.
Absolutely done for.
His mind went gray. The last thing that should happen in this world had happened: he'd exposed his biggest secret—sapience and human speech. He could already imagine what it meant to humans here if a Pokémon could talk. He did not want to end up on some opportunist's radar.
"A talking Pokémon?"
Disbelief scrolled across Nemona's face. She rubbed her eyes and leaned closer, as if checking whether she was dreaming.
Survival instinct overrode everything else. Jason launched his Oscar performance, wobbling like a harmless blob and looking up at her with innocent bead eyes as he let out the most guileless little coo:
"Nuh~?"
Play dumb! If I play it well enough, she'll think she imagined it!
But her reaction shattered his fantasy. The confusion lasted maybe three seconds before her eyes blazed with unprecedented heat—a mix of excitement, fervor, and possessiveness, like an archaeologist finding a living fossil.
"It's real, it's real! A Ditto that can talk!" Nemona's cheeks flushed; her breathing quickened. "Oh wow! This is unbelievable!"
She fixed on him like he was a priceless treasure.
"No way," she murmured, eyes hardening with resolve. "A Pokémon this rare can't just be left out here! What if some bad guys catch it?!"
He'd almost relaxed when she hadn't moved—until her hand drifted to a Poké Ball. A very bad feeling hit him.
Just say you want to catch me! Don't pin it on "what if bad guys"!
Nemona sprang to her feet, struck a trainer's battle pose, and her eyes lit with fighting spirit.
"Ditto!" she declared in that bright, energetic voice, pointing at him. "I've decided—to protect you, I'm going to catch you!"
"Come on out, Pawmi! Get ready to battle!"
With a flick, a Poké Ball arced out. Red light flashed, and a little orange electric mouse appeared, squaring up to Jason.
He stared at the setup and could only groan internally.
"My big mouth…"
"Am I—the Great King Ditto—really about to get caught today?"