The Indigo Plateau Research Annex looked different in the early morning.
Aiden had noticed that the first time he arrived, but now the change felt much heavier.
Yesterday the building had been loud with alarms and shouting. Researchers had run through the halls, doors had sealed automatically, and the air had smelled faintly of burned metal and broken containment systems.
Now the annex was quiet again.
Almost too quiet.
The damage from the incident hadn't disappeared overnight. Sections of the west corridor were still sealed behind temporary repair walls, and several maintenance drones hovered along the outer structures, welding fractured metal panels back into place.
But the crisis atmosphere was gone.
What remained was something more subdued.
Something thoughtful.
Aiden stood outside near the edge of the research grounds, staring out across the mountains beyond the facility.
The sky was pale with the early morning light. Thin clouds drifted slowly over the distant peaks, and a cool wind moved through the trees surrounding the annex.
Somewhere below the ridge, a river cut through the forest.
The same river the Gyarados had come from.
He still wasn't sure how he felt about that.
In his hand, the containment Poké Ball rested quietly.
Mahoraga hadn't emerged since the test.
Not that Aiden had tried to release it again.
Part of him was curious.
The other part wasn't ready to see that massive figure standing beside him out in the open air.
Behind him, the annex doors slid open with a soft mechanical sound.
"Couldn't sleep either?"
Aiden turned.
Professor Linden stepped outside carrying two cups of coffee.
The researcher looked as tired as ever, though the wild energy in his eyes hadn't faded.
If anything, it had grown stronger since the test.
"Here," Linden said, offering one of the cups.
Aiden accepted it.
"Thanks."
They stood in silence for a moment, watching the mountain range together.
Linden finally spoke.
"You're leaving today."
It wasn't phrased like a question.
Aiden nodded.
"Director Vale made that pretty clear."
"Yes."
Linden took a sip of coffee.
"She tends to do that."
Aiden exhaled slowly.
The cool air filled his lungs.
"I didn't expect this to happen."
"Neither did we."
Aiden glanced at him.
"You mean Mahoraga?"
Linden shook his head slightly.
"No."
He looked toward the Poké Ball in Aiden's hand.
"I mean the bond."
Aiden frowned.
"It's not really a bond."
Linden raised an eyebrow.
"Isn't it?"
"It just… responds to me."
"That's what a bond is."
Aiden didn't answer.
Linden studied him for a moment before continuing.
"You should know something before you leave."
Aiden looked over.
"What?"
Linden set his coffee on the railing beside them.
"When we discovered Mahoraga…"
He paused briefly.
"…it wasn't alone."
Aiden blinked.
"What?"
Linden nodded slowly.
"The shrine site near Mt. Silver had collapsed after a landslide. Our expedition team was investigating the ruins when they detected an unusual energy signal."
He folded his arms.
"The chamber we uncovered was ancient."
"How ancient?"
"Older than the League records."
Aiden frowned.
"That's… really old."
"Yes."
Linden's voice grew quieter.
"Mahoraga was sealed inside the shrine."
Aiden looked down at the Poké Ball again.
"Sealed?"
"Contained."
"By who?"
"That," Linden admitted, "we still don't know."
The wind shifted slightly across the mountains.
Aiden's grip tightened on the Poké Ball.
"You said it wasn't alone."
Linden nodded.
"There were carvings."
"Carvings?"
"Stone reliefs along the walls."
Aiden looked back at him.
"What did they show?"
Linden hesitated.
"Battles."
Aiden waited.
"Not Pokémon battles the way we understand them."
The researcher looked toward the distant peaks again.
"They looked more like warnings."
Aiden felt a small chill run down his spine.
"What kind of warnings?"
Linden's expression grew thoughtful.
"The carvings showed the same figure over and over."
Aiden lifted the Poké Ball slightly.
"Mahoraga?"
"Yes."
"And?"
"In every image…"
Linden paused again.
"…it was fighting something different."
Aiden frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"Different creatures."
"Pokémon?"
"Some were."
Linden rubbed his chin.
"Some were not."
Aiden didn't like the sound of that.
"Not Pokémon?"
"Not anything we recognized."
Silence stretched between them.
Finally Aiden asked quietly,
"So the shrine was built to contain it."
"That's our best guess."
Linden picked up his coffee again.
"And now it's traveling with you."
Aiden let out a slow breath.
"Great."
Linden smiled faintly.
"Try not to sound so thrilled."
They returned inside the annex shortly afterward.
The building had returned to its normal rhythm.
Researchers moved through the halls again, though conversations dropped noticeably when Aiden passed by.
Not hostile.
Just curious.
He couldn't blame them.
Word had probably spread through the entire facility by now.
The intern who walked away from the containment breach with the unknown entity.
Aiden reached the main operations room.
Director Vale stood near the center console speaking quietly with Dr. Sato.
Marcus Hale leaned against the wall nearby, arms crossed.
When Aiden entered, all three of them looked up.
"Good," Vale said.
"You're here."
Aiden nodded.
"I assume this is the official send-off meeting."
Marcus smirked slightly.
"Something like that."
Dr. Sato handed Aiden a small data tablet.
"What's this?"
"Research notes."
"About Mahoraga?"
"Yes."
She crossed her arms.
"It includes everything we've observed so far."
Aiden flipped through the first page.
Energy readings.
Adaptation logs.
Battle analysis.
"This is… a lot."
"You'll need it."
Director Vale stepped forward.
"Before you leave, there are conditions."
Aiden expected that.
"What kind of conditions?"
Vale spoke calmly.
"The League is not confiscating Mahoraga."
Aiden felt his shoulders relax slightly.
"But," she continued, "that does not mean you are free of oversight."
Of course not.
"You will register as an official trainer."
"That was already the plan."
"Your Pokédex will transmit battle data whenever Mahoraga is used."
Aiden frowned slightly.
"So you can monitor it."
"Yes."
Marcus added from the wall,
"Think of it as a safety measure."
Aiden looked down at the Poké Ball again.
"What happens if something goes wrong?"
Vale answered without hesitation.
"The League will intervene."
Aiden nodded slowly.
Fair enough.
Vale continued.
"One more thing."
"What?"
She held out a small device.
A Pokédex.
Aiden accepted it.
"This is a League-registered unit."
He turned it over in his hands.
"Guess that makes it official."
Marcus pushed away from the wall.
"First destination?"
Aiden blinked.
"I hadn't really planned that far ahead."
Marcus chuckled.
"That's normal."
Dr. Sato gestured toward the large regional map on the wall.
"You're currently just south of Indigo Plateau."
Aiden studied it.
Routes stretched across the region like veins.
Cities.
Forests.
Mountain passes.
"So where do most trainers start?"
Marcus pointed to a road heading east.
"Viridian City."
Aiden nodded slowly.
"Seems as good a place as any."
Vale spoke again.
"Then your journey begins today."
Aiden clipped the Poké Ball to his belt.
Mahoraga's containment sphere looked oddly small compared to the weight it carried.
"Alright."
He took a breath.
"Let's do this."
An hour later, Aiden stood at the edge of the annex grounds.
The mountain road stretched downward into the forest below.
A wooden sign marked the trail.
Viridian City — 18 km
Marcus stood nearby.
"You sure about traveling alone?"
Aiden shrugged.
"I've got Mahoraga."
Marcus laughed softly.
"That's exactly what worries me."
Aiden looked down at the Poké Ball again.
"Yeah."
Marcus adjusted his jacket.
"Word of advice."
"What?"
"Don't rely on it too much."
Aiden frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Marcus gestured toward the Poké Ball.
"Mahoraga is powerful."
"No argument there."
"But power like that…"
Marcus paused.
"…changes how people see you."
Aiden understood.
"They won't treat me like a normal trainer."
Marcus nodded.
"Exactly."
The wind moved through the trees again.
Aiden turned toward the road.
Then he pressed the release button.
Silver light spilled across the dirt path.
Mahoraga appeared beside him.
The creature stood silently in the morning air.
The wheel rotated slowly.
Click.
Marcus stared at it.
"Still creepy."
Aiden looked up at Mahoraga.
"Guess it's just us."
Mahoraga looked down at him.
The same quiet gaze as before.
Observing.
Aiden took the first step down the mountain road.
Mahoraga followed.
Not commanded.
Just… walking.
Behind them, the Indigo Plateau Research Annex slowly disappeared into the trees.
The journey had finally begun.
And somewhere far beyond the mountains—
rumors about an Adaptive Pokémon had already started to spread.