AI Sada: "How did you know what I was trying to do... Right, I still don't actually know who you are. But for you to get all the way here, and even have the highest clearance... could it be that Geeta sent in a new Champion-level Trainer too?"
"But even a Champion-level Trainer shouldn't have the highest clearance here."
Hikaru took out that program chip. "This."
"The one who gave top-level authority was another version of you."
"She had sothing she wanted to tell you. During a brief convergence of spaceti power, I t her for a mont."
"No need to be surprised." Hikaru looked at the stunned AI Sada and handed her the chip. "Within this world, or outside it, there are two special kinds of people."
"The first are called spaceti explorers. Whether willingly or unwillingly, they've experienced things like ti displacent or travel between worlds. So do it to complete a ti loop, so to change the future, and so simply to travel."
"And the second kind are called those lost in spaceti."
"That's an extrely dangerous condition. People who beco lost in spaceti disappear from their current ti and are randomly flung into other parallel worlds, parallel universes, or even completely different worlds altogether."
"Most people lost in spaceti lose their mories and beco a completely different person."
"Only a small number of them, through the proper channel of ti travel, can keep their mories and return to their own world. That requires Celebi's power."
AI Sada was deeply shaken.
She had been researching the ti machine and related subjects for years, but she had never heard of any of the things Hikaru was describing.
"You're saying there are people in this world who can freely travel through ti and space?"
Hikaru said, "That's because there are also Pokémon in this world that can cross ti, and even control its flow forward and backward."
"But those are mythical Pokémon. They exist in this world because they have duties and missions of their own. Anyone who tries to lay hands on beings of myth will never et a good end."
"The power of scientific progress is indeed remarkable, but this world itself was born from miraculous light."
"Paldea has no legends, and that is part of why it was able to enjoy peace. And precisely because it has no legends, the secrets of Area Zero are so irresistibly alluring."
AI Sada did not press any further. Her mind was trembling, and it took her a long ti to calm down.
She installed the chip into her head.
Then mories from another world surged into her like a tide. Everything that other AI had seen and heard, and that identical figure of herself walking toward an even more distant era.
Every bit of it felt incomparably real. It was as if this chip could let her understand things far beyond her own ti. And the experiences of that other AI vastly exceeded her own.
Even the shutdown procedure for the ti machine over there was exactly the sa.
"So that's how it is."
AI Sada fully understood what Hikaru had been saying earlier, and it was as if she had glimpsed an entirely new world waiting for her to study.
The old world had not shattered. It had rely shown her that all her previous research amounted to nothing more than the tip of the iceberg.
"I understand now. When the professor was still alive, she once said this."
"There are countless possibilities in ti and space. Perhaps so encounters are not linked past and future at all. Even if they happen, they are only fleeting miracles."
Hikaru said, "I know. That was when Professor Sada was conducting research in the hidden lab. She encountered a certain event."
"She was passively displaced through ti and space, and appeared in a faraway eastern region called Kitakami, beside a special pool called Crystal Pool, where she t a certain child."
"To put it simply, she crossed ti and space, and may have obtained sothing in a different tiline."
"That was a special book called The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero."
AI Sada was startled again. "I... I've never heard the professor ntion anything like that. Wait... there does seem to be sothing similar in my mories, but at the sa ti, it feels like there isn't."
"Of course there isn't." Hikaru tapped his forehead and pointed at his temple. "When you undergo ti displacent through the ti machine or Crystal Pool, there are safeguards in place, so you won't end up like with an Ultra Wormhole and suffer catastrophic damage to your personality or total mory loss. But even so, your mory is still affected to so extent."
"That's unavoidable with irregular ti travel. The universe and spaceti are filled with intense fields of force. Once you co into contact with that kind of field, even Tera energy as protection can't guarantee complete immunity."
"After all, ti and space are powers that transcend life and death."
AI Sada looked at Hikaru and, after a long while, slowly said, "So that ans you're a spaceti explorer."
"In other words, you've seen things from many different tilines, so... are you 'the one who knows everything'?"
Hikaru shook his head. "Soone once called that, but I just happen to know a little."
"Then you've probably already guessed my identity too. The mories in the chip still aren't complete. After all, I only t that other AI Sada very briefly."
"She entrusted to co here and help, and offered an extrely generous reward. The ti machine technology was part of that reward."
"At the sa ti, she also allowed to enter Area Zero. But the real one in charge here is still you, so I still need your approval."
"As for my current identity."
"I am a Gate Trainer of Area 10 in Unova's Black Tower, a newly recruited mber of the Paldea Elite Four, a Steel-type specialist, and soone currently conducting ecological field research on different Pokémon habitats. I also serve as a Pokémon Ranger."
"Because Professor Sada vanished without a trace, and because the League has gone so long without investigating the Great Crater, people on the outside have also discovered the existence of ancient Pokémon capable of breaching the barrier. Geeta has co to feel very strongly that it is necessary to imdiately restart the investigation into Area Zero and also conduct a surprise inspection into what exactly the professor was doing."
"I know that, in principle, carrying out a surprise inspection on Area Zero research violates the agreent. But unfortunately, I don't need to care whether that agreent is still valid."
"In fact, I already knew about the ti machine, and its dangers were self-evident."
"And in the results of the Area Zero investigation and research, Geeta and I also have a few exchange agreents concerning those outcos."
There was no need to ntion the whole Island King thing before he had officially taken the post.
As for calling himself a myth scholar, that was just self-taught anyway.
There was even less reason to ntion his identity as part of the International Police's UB Task Force. What kind of cop just goes around telling people he's a cop? Other than Looker, of course.
"Steel-type?" AI Sada looked blankly at the Pokémon around them.
Aside from Iron Crown, where were the Steel-type Pokémon?
Which ant that even after taking down the Paradise Protection Protocol, the person in front of her still hadn't shown his full strength?!
"...So, you're one of the new Elite Four. No wonder there was no data on you in the archive. Were you recruited over from Unova?"
"Geeta really did find an extraordinary person. A Trainer even stronger than a Champion, right here in front of ! The Paldea League is truly flourishing..."
"Ahem." Hikaru coughed lightly, cutting off AI Sada's casting.
If he let her keep going, the Paldea League was going to get buried in negative reviews.
Hikaru glanced at Arven, who had already been waiting there for a long ti.
AI Sada imdiately understood. She fully grasped the feelings of the other version of herself and murmured:
"Different worlds have different Sadas, and different versions of . But there is one thing that is the sa."
"No matter where we are... we always think of that one and only child."
"Ah... you've grown so much. That's wonderful, my..."
AI Sada paused and did not say "child," because she was only a copy. But that feeling was completely sincere.
As a being more purely rational, and in so ways even kinder in temperant than Professor Sada herself, AI Sada was also far more delicate when it ca to emotions.
"For making you live such a lonely life for so long... for so long, I'm sorry. For making you spend all that ti alone, Arven..."
Arven: "M-Mom?"
AI Sada: "...Your mother always loved you very much."
After Arven called her Mom, AI Sada fell silent for a long ti after speaking.
"I... Arven, I'm not really your mother. I'm not the professor herself. You probably realized that already."
"Because of the accident at Research Station No. 4, the real professor is gone. The accident at the station damaged the professor's body beyond what could sustain life. Now I, AI Sada, have taken over in her place, maintaining the Area Zero laboratory as its administrator."
"For you... that should be a hard truth to accept."
Arven said, "I already knew that... back at Research Station No. 4."
Arven, still carrying his backpack, also fell silent for a mont. Then he imdiately said:
"But you're an AI with my mom's personality and all of her mories, aren't you?!"
"When I found out my mom had died, I was... I really couldn't accept it!"
"My mom was a genius. Even though she never ca ho, I still really liked her, because she was so smart, and she always taught so many things I didn't know. The ti I spent at the lighthouse lab was the happiest ti of my life!"
"I ca all the way here because I wanted to see my mom! At first... at first I had no way to co here. But I just kept feeling that if I didn't co this ti, I'd never see her again! So I begged Big Bro to bring down here with him!"
"So... I was ntally prepared for this a long ti ago."
Arven said that, but his eyes were already red, and tears kept streaming down his face. But this ti he didn't break into sobs. He just kept wiping the tears away, forcing his face tight and trying to make his expression look serious.
"I ca here to see my mom! Now Mom's gone, but I still have another mom."
"You're my mom too! I got to see you! Thank you!"
AI Sada was left speechless, but Arven's cry seed to trigger a subtle change in her system.
"You're soone who could beco Arven's mother."
Hikaru looked at AI Sada. "Now that you have the chip, you also know what I ca here for. If one person can't shut down the ti machine, then we'll do it with two. And if it still refuses to shut down..."
"Then let tell you this: when a machine refuses to run according to human will, then we modify it until it becos sothing that obeys our will!"
"Humans should not be controlled by machines. And although you're an AI, without question, you're more like a person than many real humans are."
AI Sada's expression shifted. Looking at the still-young Arven, she staggered toward him and finally pulled the child into an embrace.
"If... you can accept , then let do in her place what Professor Sada never managed to do."
Arven did not say anything, and of course he would never use words like "fake." Besides, he had known this for a long ti already.
"Mom, I missed you so much!"
Though they had no blood relation, this led right back into one of philosophy's old paradoxes: is a copy truly the sa person as the original?
And yet one thing was beyond doubt.
AI Sada possessed a "soul"!
"A machine with a soul also possesses a heart. That makes it another true life-form. In this world, soul and emotion are not things you can neither see nor touch."
In a certain sense, this was also a kind of alternative "mind upload" or "cyber ascension."
Hikaru said, "I'll think of a way to solve your problem. But because you serve as the carrier of the Terastal power, you still can't leave the lab for now. That contradiction is rooted in the very essence of Terastallization itself."
"At the sa ti, I need to confirm one thing: the issue of one-way transport with the ti machine."
AI Sada looked a little regretful. "Iron Crown and the others asked about that. Our agreent was that I would send them back to the future. For that, I had already prepared myself for long-term research."
"But in the short term, this machine truly has no way to send Pokémon back to their original coordinates. Even if I begin research right away, or bring in more researchers to help, I think it would still take at least..."
"Ten years."
"Please understand. That is simply the nature of a ti machine. Now I understand even better that the power of ti is extrely difficult to control. And across endless tilines, we cannot determine which tiline they originally ca from."
"For example, the future Pokémon don't seem to have all co from the sa tiline or the sa point in ti either. So are from ten million years ago, so from a billion years in the future. There are even different factions among them."
"To precisely lock onto their coordinates is impossible."
Hikaru nodded. "I understand that too."
Even in Alola, using the legendary cosmic Pokémon to perform Ultra Warp Ride through Ultra Space did not necessarily guarantee arrival in the exact world you wanted.
Only the people of Ultra galopolis had mastered the technology to pinpoint spaceti and arrive precisely.
Which was why the science and technology of those people from that "fake Land of Light" was still far ahead of this world. After all, they even had a "fake Plasma Spark Tower."
Hikaru said, "I might be able to offer you so help. But that will depend on fate."
"At so point in the future, visitors from another space-ti who possess 'precision jumping' technology will appear sowhere in this world."
"If I et people like that, I'll introduce them to you. Though they may not necessarily be willing to help. Those people are incredibly stubborn and rigid. They only cooperate with outsiders when it helps them achieve so specific objective."
"And a major accident caused by this ti machine could easily make them draw unpleasant conclusions. It would hurt your first impression score."
AI Sada said, "Once again, data and information I know nothing about... but fine. For soone as mysterious as you, it only makes sense that all sorts of unusual beings would co up in your stories."
"If stronger technical experts really do appear who can help with ti machine research, that would be ideal. I will shut the ti machine down. From this point forward, all research related to it will focus on repatriation."
"Even if I leave soday, for now I still have to think about how to accurately reach the correct point in ti in the ancient world I'm hoping for."
"And of course, I'll need your help too. Otherwise I still won't be able to shut this machine down by myself."
Hikaru looked at the still-active giant turbine and briefly considered having Rotom handle the controls. But after thinking about it more carefully, during the Scarlet and Violet era everybody already had Rotom Phones. Even if Rotom Phone had no combat ability, people would definitely have already considered letting Rotom handle electrical systems.
If it were really that simple, if an electronic ghost could just crash the ti machine on command, then there never would have been so much follow-up plot to begin with.
"If Cyrus were here, then maybe..."
Honestly, now that he thought about it.
Wasn't Cyrus the ultimate spaceti researcher and master chanic?
The Galaxy Team did not just sell appliances. They also had insight into cosmic energy developnt.
And yet with all that technical talent, instead of staying in Sinnoh and putting it to good use, he went off to make bombs. What a waste.
"Still, if there isn't enough room here for the violent ancient Pokémon, I do know a place that might need them."
Hikaru's expression turned aningful.
Violent creatures ought to be kept in check by sothing even more violent. And among all legends, who was the most violent?
Giratina!
The Reverse World already had quite a few Fossil Pokémon. If he tossed the ancient Pokémon in there too, there wouldn't be any ecological problems at all.
Maybe one day he could even fence it off and charge admission.
"Heh, I found Giratina so new underlings!"
"Although... that still seems a little dangerous. Flutter Mane and Roaring Moon both have type advantages over Giratina. Even with Sinnoh's blessing, enough ants can bite an elephant to death. If I'm really going to find it underlings, better not bring those two over."
Concerns about the environnt, on the other hand, were not a big issue.
The Reverse World did not have any ecosystem to begin with. If there wasn't one to start with, then nothing could be damaged.
Hikaru felt that if managent ever beca a problem one day, he also had an entire world where these ancient and future species could live, and a completely safe one at that.
That left AI Sada bewildered and stunned once again.
Still, the world really was vast, and there certainly were uninhabited lands suited to ancient species.
"But let's leave that discussion for later."
After that, it was ti to deal with the future Swords of Justice trio.
Hikaru planned to repair Iron Boulder, restore a heart to it, and at the sa ti took out two Prince's Tears pendants that he had not used in a very long ti.
As blue and yellow light blossod, Iron Leaves showed a nostalgic reaction.
Its earliest sense of self had originally been granted by this very power, only later to be further refined.
AI Sada felt sothing too. Bathed in the warm, interwoven glow of blue and yellow, she almost felt as if this body had developed a heartbeat, blood, circulation.
"It feels like being alive. My body almost feels like flesh and blood... but if I focus carefully, I realize it isn't."
"This light is so warm. What is it? Is this the power of Terastalization?"
"No. It's a treasure from a distant land called Prince's Tears. Its true form is a miraculous heart crystal." Hikaru shook his head. "The ones in my hand are only two pendants, not the original crystal stones."
"There are four crystals in total. Long ago, in ages far past, they were transford from the souls of certain princes and a king of one nation. They can purify the heart, remove negative emotions, and even cause machines to break down."
"But the ti machine is too large. Trying to destroy it with just two pendants won't work. So all I'm doing right now is repairing Iron Boulder. First, purification. Then restoration."
"And..." Hikaru looked at Iron Crown. "You won't be able to return for the ti being. Once I repair Iron Boulder, you should make a decision."
"I have an idea. I'd like you to hear it out."
Hikaru glanced at AI Sada. "Now that the Paradise Protection Protocol and the combat program have both been terminated, they won't appear again."
"So after I leave, if you still intend to remain here, then let AI Sada help maintain you. She is the best technician you could ask for, and no one understands your body structures better than she does."
"At the sa ti, until the ti machine has been further modified and its 'summoning' function abolished, I hope you can serve as the 'legend' of this place."
"That's right. In Paldea, a land with no legend, you can create a new legend in the na of future swordsn!"
"As Paradox forms of the Swords of Justice, you should long for sothing like that too, shouldn't you? And if you stay here, there will even be a chance for you to et your originals through the dream world!"
"And as it happens, I'm on excellent terms with the Swords of Justice!"
Iron Crown was startled, and so was Iron Leaves. The two of them looked at each other and fell silent for a long ti.
Iron Crown: [You know the Swords of Justice? But the data says they should be rather hostile toward humans. How could they possibly beco friends with a human?]
Iron Leaves: [Then again, if we're being honest, calling you a normal human doesn't seem right either.]
Hikaru laughed.
"The legendary Swords of Justice only despise deranged humans. Toward humans they acknowledge, they've always been friendly, and they are steadfast companions."
"I'm not talking about myself. I'm talking about boys and girls who may appear in the future in Unova, youths who will be known as heroes of legend."
"If you stay here, you can assist Professor AI in managing this region, organize the future species more effectively, reduce unrest among the ancient species, maintain the research stations, and establish a new, systematic frawork of managent."
Iron Crown's pixel eyes flickered.
[There must be a reason you're doing this. But for us, having a station where we can receive maintenance at any ti really would be more convenient. So it's true, we have no plans to leave this place. In that case, what exactly is your more concrete plan?]
Hikaru nodded. "Yes... Area Zero is an excellent place for training, even if it's full of danger... And Geeta says that, in principle, outsiders aren't allowed in. But when sothing is forbidden in principle, that usually ans it's allowed in practice!"
"I plan to propose to the Paldea League that this place be developed as so kind of challenge facility, or perhaps as part of a new Victory Road!"
(End of Chapter)
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