Sada raised one hand and rang the door to Clavell's apartment, her other hand holding Arven's little one tight. He was now two and a half years old, and right in the middle of what she had heard called the "terrible twos" in terms of development.

  Not that she really understood why that particular age had that name: sure, the lack of sleep and general difficulties of raising a kid made it a exhausting and difficult time, but was it worse than doing all that and having to survive in the wilderness like her tribe had always done?

  Nope. Absolutely not.

  Every single time, she would think back to what her parents must have endured, and considered herself lucky after all.

  Clavell opened the door right as Turo muttered something about him not being home after all, and welcomed them in.

  ? Arven! Every time I see him, even if it's only been a week, I swear he's grown a bit more.? the man said, and Sada gave a smile in response. She knew exactly what he meant; it was incredible, how fast children grew up in this stage. Arven's eyes lit up at seeing the older man, and he let go of her hand to rush towards Clavell.

  ? Up!? he demanded raising both arms, and Clavell looked more than happy to oblige, picking him up in his arms.

  Sada and Turo both followed them inside, and Sada immediately closed the door behind them. Clavell's apartment was exactly how it had been when they had first arrived in Paldea. It was strangely nostalgic to walk into the living room and see the exact same couch where she and Turo had spent the first night after getting out of Area Zero. The exact same room where she and Turo had discussed enrolling at the Academy, the same room where she had decided to come up with what had now become her first name.

  They sat down on that same couch, while Clavell lowered himself on a small sofa.

  ? Can I get you two anything??

  Sada shook her head before he turned his attention towards the kid in his lap.

  ? Do you want to drink something?? he asked. There was a moment of silence, Arven scrunching up his face in concentration before mumbling something.

  ? "Berry juice"...? he said, in Sada's mothertongue. Clavell blinked.

  ? Not sure I understood that...? he commented, and Sada smiled, leaning forward and locking eyes with Arven.

  ? Remember what Mommy told you, Arvie? With people who are not Mommy and Daddy, you have to use Daddy's words. ? she said.

  The kid nodded slowly, then mumbled again a bit louder, this time in Paldean.

  ? Juice! ? he exclaimed proudly, and Clavell laughed.

  ? All right, I've got lots of those... What is your favourite berry? ? he said, standing up again to walk Arven to the fridge.

  Only after Arven was busy drinking Oran berry juice out of a plastic sippy cup did Clavell speak again.

  ? ... You are teaching him your language?? he asked, raising one eyebrow.

  Sada shrugged.

  ? We speak a mix of both our languages at home, so he would have picked it up anyway. I know it's useless since... it's pretty much a dead language, but I wanted him to know it. It's... nice to be able to use it. ? she said.

  ? I'm just worried of him getting it mixed up with Paldean...?

  ? It won't be a problem. Kids grow up bilingual all the time.? Turo spoke up with a similar shrug.

  ? I... suppose that's true...?

  Sada had the feeling she knew what he was worried about.

  ? I know that it may be... silly, to have him learn a language that will be spoken only by us three, but... it's the only way I have to keep it alive... just a little bit more. If I don't speak it with anyone, I will soon start to forget the words.? she said lowering her voice to a whisper, and Clavell's expression softened.

  ? ... I see. I suppose there's no harm in it as long as you make it clear to him that he needs to speak Paldean with anyone else.? he said, and Sada nodded.

  Of course he would. Arven was so smart.

  ? So...? Turo said, going back to the reason they had come here. He gestured to the bag full of spare clothes, toys, and anything else the older man could need.

  ? ... hopefully, we'll be away not even 24 hours. We're basically just descending into the Crater for a first survey of the area around Research Station 1. We won't be gone for long.? he said, and Clavell nodded, Arven still sitting in his lap. The atmosphere was weirdly heavy all of a sudden.

  Sada bit her lip and looked down. It was a simple trip. They would be there for just a couple of hours. They would arrive, start unloading some supplies into Research Station 1, then survey the area and start to plan the exploration further down. They had their Pokémon with them, when they had survived a month in there with nothing. And yet looking at Arven sitting blissfully unaware on Clavell's lap unintentionally sent everyone present a very different message.

  "Clavell will take care of him if anything happens to us under there."

  She balled up her fists, digging her nails in the palm of her hand.

  ? Right. We'll be right back. It will be just little survey missions for the time being.?

  Clavell simply nodded again, and the conversation moved on as if nothing had happened.

  ? Read him a bedtime story and he will usually fall asleep pretty quickly, and make sure to keep a little light on near the bed-? Sada explained, and Clavell nodded along.

  ? Is he afraid of the dark?? he asked.

  Sada smiled and gave a side glance to Turo.

  ? Not really... he's just used to having one...? she giggled.

  Turo cleared his throat and looked away, slightly embarrassed.

  ? I'm... he likes to fall asleep near me when I'm wearing the suit. You know... the lights... ? he mumbled, to Clavell's amusement.

  Sada had absolutely taken pictures of it first time it had happened.

  They continued to list a series of things for Clavell to pay attention to, until the man sighed in exasperation.

  ? You are going away for not even a day! He's going to be fine!? he said, and Sada nodded slowly.

  ---

  Sitting in the passenger's seat of the Flying Taxi, Turo glanced nervously at their pilot. It was the one with the differently colored Squawkabilly, and when they had asked him if he was, by chance, willing to actually land them in the crater, he had expected the man to look at them like they were crazy and refuse.

  Instead, the man had simply looked up, taken a puff from the cigarettes he seemed to be constantly smoking when not flying, and nodded.

  "Sure, why not"

  ? So, uh.... we have permission to do it... ? he said, raising his voice over the Squawkabilly's chattering. The pilot's expression was unreadable under the helmet and shades.

  ? Yeah.?

  ? ... But you've never actually landed into the crater before?? he asked.

  There was a moment of silence.

  ? Obviously. ? the man answered in the most unimpressed tone, simply pulling a lever. It was probably intended to give some kind of signal to his Pokémon, because they moved as one, the vehicle banking to the left as they turned towards the Crater.

  Turo swallowed and tried to sink back into his seat, staring straight ahead. Look forward. Don't think of the long drop to the ground while they were suspended over the deepest part of Paldea...

  ? Woah! That's so cool! It's like we are sinking into a sea of clouds! ?

  .... Sada's enthusiastic remarks were not helping his anxiety at all.

  He didn't even fear heights; he used to fly much faster and further high up with Mirai. But he... he trusted Mirai in a way he could never do with these vehicles.

  The fact that they were going straight down meant that he had pretty much nothing to look at except the rock face of the crater while the pilot focused on steadily lowering the Taxi. When he felt the Flying Taxi's skates touch the ground, he couldn't help but hide a sigh of relief.

  He opened the door, eager to step out of the cramped vehicle, but when he did, he had to stop for a moment to take a deep breath as soon as he caught a glimpse of the Crater's air. There it was. He could already feel it, that heavy, strange pressure in the air; it was even stronger here than what he had felt in Tera raid caves. The very air brimmed with power. He stepped out and turned back to take their supplies, his own bag, and two quivers full of arrows for Sada. He noticed the pilot had done the same, looking around.

  ? So this is Area Zero, uh...? he commented, removing his helmet and holding it under his arm. For a moment, Turo wondered what the man was thinking; he was officially among the first people that had stepped inside the Great Crater in more than a century, barring his and Sada's hidden stay in it.

  The pilot closed the taxi door and took a big breath.

  ? ... gotta say, I expected something a bit different. It's just a big hole with random Pokémon around. You really want to spend months studying stuff here?? he said with a huff before, to Turo's amazement, lighting himself a cigarette.

  He gaped. What... ?

  ? D-don't spread cigarette ash in the Great Crater!? he said, jumping forward to stop the man only to get a glare in response. The Squawkabilly squad cawed loudly and Turo backed off.

  ? But... do you really not see that this place is completely different? The shimmer in the air? The mystery of what's at the bottom? The crystallized trees...?? he asked. Back in his time, he had never had an interest in Area Zero because it had apparently already been solved: people had gone inside, explored every inch of it, and found a whole lot of nothing. Just wild Miraidon and a whole lot of Pokémon that were found anywhere else. There was no "treasure"... But here, in this time, he knew that Area Zero hid something. He was living proof of it. But did really other people not care about it in the slightest...?

  ? I mean, every place's got some random shining crystals or whatever with weird stuff going on, so Area Zero don't look that different to me, I guess?? the pilot shrugged, unconcerned.

  ? It ain't more weird that Galar's Pokémon randomly growing to giant size. And they fill stadiums with those matches. You ever seen one? Stuff looks ridiculous.? he added, chewing on the butt of the cigarette in his mouth.

  At that moment, Sada finished getting off the vehicle, having taken a bit more to wrestle her enormous bow out of the back seat.

  ? Pretty sure I saw crystals that look the same to the ones on that tree when I was on vacation abroad last year-?

  Turo saw Sada freeze at his side, and he did the same.

  ? W-what? You saw the same crystals outside Paldea? Where?? she asked, eyes wide.

  The pilot shrugged again, finishing the cigarette with a last drag. He looked ready to drop it to the ground, before rethinking it and stuffing what remained of it in a little tin box he took out of his trousers.

  ? Sure. They even made a whole little tourist attraction out of it. It's called the Crystal Pool, in Kitagami. ?

  ---

  Sada watched the Flying Taxi rise up towards the sky again, disappearing through the clouds that kept Area Zero inscrutable to the rest of the world. His words had struck both her and Turo, and she immediately turned towards her husband as soon as the Taxi was out of view.

  ? So if there's really other places that naturally have the same crystals as those found here, that means... ? she said, voice trailing off as she mentally finished her thought, as Turo was also probably doing.

  That meant that the phenomenon of things getting pulled through time could have happened elsewhere?

  She sighed and shook her head.

  ? Well... maybe we can look this "Crystal Pool" up after we are done with our survey here.? she said, and Turo nodded, breaking out of his thoughts after a long moment.

  ? ... Right. No use getting distracted thinking about some other place when what we want is right here. Maybe they just look similar and the guy got confused.? he said, but he himself didn't sound convinced.

  Sada had seen lots of gems and precious stones as she had dug up various archeological sites around Paldea, and none had that same distinct, unique multicoloured shimmer as Tera Crystals. They were immediately recognizable.

  But that could wait for another time. They were finally back here! It felt unreal, to be back in the same exact place where they had first arrived in this era. And yet, things were at the same time so different. She took Kim's Pokeball from her belt and let the Pyroar out, the Fire type stretching with a big yawn.

  ? Be on guard, Kim. If you spot any traces of some unknown Pokémon, let me know, all right?? she whispered, stroking the Pyroar's broad back with one hand.

  Turo did the same with Miguel, the Murkrow appearing as usual on his shoulder.

  ? If something attacks, be ready to throw a Confusion at it.? he mumbled.

  Sada was the first to start moving, roughly remembering where the Research Station was from where they had landed. Instinctively, she crouched slightly, her boots crinkling on the strange, spiky grass as she surveyed the area. They had thought that maybe the appearance of more and more Terastalized Pokémon on the surface meant that something had changed in Area Zero as well, but she could see nothing different from years ago. She could spot some wild Girafarig led by a lone Farigiraf crunching on the leaves from one of the Terastalized trees; a Corvinight flew overhead, eyeing them for a moment but gliding away when Kim bared her teeth at him, flames crackling through her fangs.

  She could hear Turo carefully walk behind her, and she had to smile.

  ? .... This feels nostalgic. Just the two of us, exploring the wilderness. ? she said, throwing a quick glance back at him. Turo didn't smile in response, too busy not trying to trip along the slope they were walking along, but she could see his eyes light up in that particular way they always did when he was happy.

  ? It really is. ? he said, adjusting the spare quiver he was carrying. A Pokéball was attached to every arrow, as a much better weapon against any wild Pokémon than anything she could have made back in her time. Even if they broke out, it would still stop them in their tracks for a couple of seconds.

  ? I wonder why Pokémon don't seem to be Terastalized all the time here... Tera Energy should be overflowing.? she commented, pausing to take her Tera Orb out of her bag. With a jolt of surprise, she turned around to Turo again.

  ? Look! It's completely charged!? she said. She hesitated a moment, before turning towards Kim. The Pyroar nodded, then stood still as she threw the orb over her head. Her fiery mane changed to a tangle of thorny shrubs, her cream and darker brown fur turning to two different shades of green. Kim shook her head and roared. It wasn't the first time she had Terastalized, so she was used to it.

  ? Why did you have her Terastalize just now?? Turo raised one eyebrow as he stopped next to her, but Sada's attention was on the Tera Orb.

  ? Look...?

  Usually, they had to take the Orb near a large amount of Tera shards or crystals to recharge it. Now, however, right under her eyes, the Orb was already shining again, ready to be used. Turo gasped.

  ? It recharged pretty much instantly...! ? he furrowed both eyebrows, scratching at his chin.

  ? You could pretty much have Kim be constantly Terastalized here... I wonder if Pokémon actually can theoretically Terastalize at will here, but simply choose not to? But why...?? he asked, perplexed.

  ? Maybe they do and we simply haven't seen one do it yet?? Sada answered, looking at Kim, deep in thought. Miguel flapped his wings over the Pyroar's head, cawing what she now recognised as the Murkrow's version of a sarcastic laugh, and pecked her playfully on the back. Kim growled, swiping at him with one paw and an irritated twitch of her ears.

  This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

  Miguel flapped back to Turo's shoulder, still cackling his raspy laugh.

  Sada's eyes widened in realization.

  ? ... You look like you just figured it out.? Turo commented.

  ? Just an hypothesis I need to verify first. ? she replied, and they kept walking. Kim showed no sign of turning back to her original form.

  ? So, umm.... usually, the Terastalization fades because the Orb can only hold so much charge and has to recharge... ? Turo spoke up after a while.

  ? How do we turn Kim back now?? he said, and Sada stopped in her tracks. She whirled towards Kim, who simply blinked, composed as usual. The Terastalization had already lasted a lot more than what it usually did by using the Orb.

  ? Mreow??

  ... Well, at least she didn't look bothered by it.

  ? Umm, I... uh.? Sada smiled a bit sheepishly. Honestly, she hadn't thought of it when Terastaling her, and kinda felt bad about it.

  ? Wait ... Let me try something...? she returned Kim to her Poké Ball, then immediately released her again. The Pyroar's fiery mane and normal fur color greeted them, and Sada breathed a sigh of relief.

  ? That's one problem solved.? she murmured, and they kept walking.

  ---

  It really felt nostalgic to watch Sada creep forward in front of him, still instinctually ready to shield him from danger like she had done back in her time. It made him smile. But watching Kim and feeling the small weight of Miguel on his shoulder reminded him of how different things were now. The Research Station was soon in sight, but as soon as they started approaching it, he heard a loud chittering that made both of them and their respective Pokémon stop.

  It was strangely familiar, even if he couldn't quite pinpoint where he had heard it... then his eyes landed on a Pawmi that was approaching them, and his eyes widened in recognition.

  ? Pipsqueak!? he smiled, gesturing for Miguel to not shoot a Confuse Ray in its direction.

  He had gotten genuinely attached to the little critter during the time they had spent in the crater; if it hadn't been for him, they would have never gotten out.

  Sada similarly smiled, lowering her bow.

  ? ... Did you stay around the Station all this time?? she asked, getting down on one knee to offer him a berry she had taken out of her pouch.

  The Electric time kept squeaking excitedly, even as he gave a bit of a wary glance to the Pyroar next to them. Turo crouched to give the Pawmi a scratch behind the ears.

  ? Good to see you are doing well, buddy.?

  The Pokémon followed them as they entered the Research Station, and Turo felt himself tense up unconsciously when he saw the familiar building . Everything had been left exactly as that day, when Clavell had saved them from the crater. The beakers and containers filled with rainwater, now long evaporated. The radio in one corner of the room. The bundle of sticks still in another corner, from which Sada had been fashioning arrows.

  For a month, or maybe a bit more or a bit less, this had been their home.

  He took a big breath, and dropped the spare quiver of arrows and his bag of supplies on the floor.

  ? ... This is going to take a lot of work. Let's start by making an inventory of everything and clearing out whatever'a broken or we won't need.? he said, and Sada nodded, already moving towards the bedroom. The old mattresses were probably the first thing that would have to go.

  He let both Ampere and Keylogger the Porygon out, the first to help in moving metallic objects by levitating magnetically, and the second to help him keep a list of everything.

  He had struggled with what name to give it: with Miguel or Ampere, he had just started throwing out names until they had found one they liked, so in a way, they had choosen one themselves. Mirai had done something similar, except both the Pokémon and himself had been so young he had just started using that shortened version of his species's name as a nickname and it stuck.

  But a vanilla Porygon was a blank slate. It didn't have any preferences yet, and would have blankly accepted literally anything as its name.

  He didn't want that. He wanted the little Pokémon to be able to choose; so for now, he had given him a sort of... temporary name. Keylogger, like the software able to record and log everything that was inputted on a computer keyboard.

  ? Keylogger, open a new text file and start transcribing our following conversation, then send it to my email as soon as you have a working connection again. Do you understand?? he asked the little artificial bird, who floated close to the table in the center of the room and beeped a confirmation.

  It seemed interested in the pile of random documents on the table, which made Turo pause. His first thought had been to simply keep them here, or transport some of them back to the surface to read them more accurately (Sada probably would have loved to, now that she actually could), but...

  ? ... Keylogger, move the recording as a background process and start scanning the documents at the highest resolution you can manage.?

  The Porygon beeped in acknowledgement again. Maybe it was Turo's imagination or him projecting a bit on the little artificial bird, but the beep had sounded happier than usual.

  Uh. Maybe it actually liked to read non digital documents? Maybe it found it stimulating instead of simply parsing the data from a file.

  He would have to keep an eye on it showing more signs of liking random things.

  ---

  The following months passed as they slowly rebuilt and modernized the Research Stations, using them as bases to then explore the Crater. They could only spend a couple of days here and there in the crater, not wanting to leave Arven alone for too long and where still busy with other parts of their respective research projects.

  They could move between the three Research Station quite easily now, but even as they still kept out of the innermost parts of the Crater, the ones that Heath had described as "being covered in gemstones", Sada kept turning to the Scarlet Book.

  ? Strange... according to the book, they kept catching "glimpses" of Pokémon from our times even before reaching the bottom of the crater... but we haven't seen or heard anything strange yet. It's just been... normal Paldean fauna until now.? Sada said, eyebrows furrowed as she turned another page.

  They were currently in Research Station number 3, overlooking a tunnel that lead deeper into the crater. Today, they would finally head out towards the bottom, and hopefully find a place where they could set up another Research Station.

  ? I've also been wondering about that... ? Turo trailed off as he looked at another page of the Violet Book. As they often did, they each had their copy out; they had long stopped comparing the two books: they knew they were literally word-by-word identical, except by the parts that mentioned the "strange Pokémon".

  ? We definitely should have found some traces of them by now... unless Pokémon being brought through time happened only that one time...? he added, not sounding convinced.

  Sada simply shook her head.

  ? And it just so happened right in the couple of days when Heath was down there? It sounds... way too convenient.? she said.

  ? .... so was me landing in your time with a couple more zeros instead of only going back 15 years or so. Sometimes, absurd coincidences are just that.? Turo answered back, before shaking his head.

  ? But yeah, the best way to see what is going on is simply to reach the bottom of the crater. Maybe they simply happened to have wandered higher than they usually do.?

  That already made more sense in her head. They set off, followed by their Pokémon and two fresh bags of supplies.

  As soon as they entered the rocky tunnel that led downwards, Sada felt the temperature drop sharply. The tunnel followed the shape of a spiral that seemed to characterize the whole crater, leading straight to the bottom. Tera crystals formations were everywhere, covering the floor, the walls of the cave and even the ceiling. Now, the Pokémon were slowly starting to change; the bird Pokémon that flew around the crater were replaced by groups of Garganacle, Diglett and Dugtrio, and some Gabite. She saw something move out of the corner of her eye, and turned around to see a cluster of Glimmet hiding behind the crystallized petals of a Glimmora. She strained her ears, hoping to catch some familiar, strange cry resounding from the bottom, but she couldn't hear anything in particular.

  ? Look...?

  Sada whirled around at Turo's voice, expecting him to be pointing at some Pokémon, but instead found him staring at a metal plate in the ground. Her eyes widened.

  ? These were mentioned in the books!? she whispered, but Turo looked troubled as he crouched and carefully brushed the dust that had fallen over it away. He kept dusting it off, focusing on a corner of it in particular, before taking a deep breath and straightening back up, looking dazed.

  ? Heath said they couldn't even leave a scratch on it, right? Do you think it was made by some Pokémon?? she whispered, before noticing his expression.

  ? Do you... know what these are?? she asked in a whisper.

  ? I was always puzzled by this part of the book... Heath said they found it "buried in the ground", so it's probably been sitting here for who knows how long even before his team dug it up a bit... Centuries, maybe even millennia... but...? Turo said, his face dark.

  ? But this slab... is made from a material from the future that won't exist for at least another couple millennia. It's what we used to build space stations and all the stuff on the Moon and Mars. ? he pointed to the corner he had cleaned up, and Sada peered closer, until she saw a string of numbers and letters. Obviously some kind of serial number, cut into the metal in impossibly minute writing. Probably by some kind of machine at the moment the piece had been constructed.

  ? No wonder they couldn't scratch it! That stuff is made strong enough to shield from radiations and survive a micro meteorite strike if necessary. ? Turo chuckled and shook his head.

  ? So you're saying this is basically... a piece of prefab from the future? ? Sada asked. ? .... Just sitting here in Area Zero, after having been... what? Pulled out of time and dumped to millennia ago by whatever also dragged us here?? she asked. It felt... kind of disappointing, if that was true.

  But it made a bit of sense. In millennia, if what had dragged them here in particular was a repeatable phenomenon, it would obviously happen again anywhere and anywhen. But a moment after, her enthusiasm returned.

  ? What does the inscription mean? Heath also found it intriguing enough to use on the cover of the books.? she asked him, but to her surprise, Turo simply shook his head again, not looking like he shared her enthusiasm.

  ? I have no idea. I have never seen that symbol. It must have been made after this plate had already landed here...?

  Sada stared at him, immediately catching the obvious problem in what he was saying.

  ? But that makes no sense. If nothing before your time can even scratch these things, and you're saying these symbols were inscribed centuries or millennia ago...? she said.

  Turo shrugged.

  ? Exactly. It's a paradox. Maybe some idiot time travellers just wanted to have some fun watching people scratch their heads over this contradiction. I think it's better to not get too hung up over it.? he rubbed his temple with one hand, like the whole thing had made his head hurt.

  ? Let's continue and try to find a place where we can start to set up Research Station number 4. ? he said, starting to cautiously walk away. It took Sada a moment to follow him, giving one last look behind her at the plate, still half buried in the ground.

  ---

  Contrary to what he had said, the thought of that impossible plate kept nagging at him, even if he knew that it was useless. Thankfully, the wild Pokémon and their surroundings were more than enough to keep him distracted.

  ? Ampere, Flash Cannon!? he called out, watching as the Magneton sent a beam of steel energy slamming into a Garganacl. The rock golem stumbled backwards, then was sent crashing to the ground when Sada's Golett hit it with a Hammer Arm. The ghostly shadowy golem could barely reach the rock type's waist, but that didn't seem to discourage it. Over their heads, Miguel cawed repeatedly.

  ? There's two more coming at nine o'clock!? Turo called out, and Sada nodded, nocking another arrow in her bow and turning to fire a Dark Ball straight into another Garganacle's chest.

  ? ?tzi, Bulldoze to slow them down! Kim, start charging a Solar Beam!? she commanded. The Pyroar was Terastalized again, both so that her partner's Ground type attacks would deal less damage and to be less vulnerable to the many rock and ground types present in the area. She roared, her thorny mane snapping as it sprouted large petals that started to glow.

  The Garganacle Sada had trapped in the Dusk Ball broke out, just in time to get hit by another of Ampere's Gyro Ball and ?tzi's attack.

  It seemed to be the leader of the group, because it roared with a sound similar to rocks scraping, before thrusting its arm forward. A shimmering barrier of light appeared in front of the rest of the group, and the other Garganacl moved forward, ignoring the effect of ?tzi's Bulldoze.

  ? That's.... Wide Guard, I think? Miguel, Taunt!? Turo snapped, prompting the Murkrow to dive in front of the leader and force it to focus on him, before flapping his wings to fly back up towards the ceiling of the cave, where the golem could not easily hit him.

  Sada caught another Garganacl with a second Dusk Ball, while Ampere hit the third with a quick Gyro Ball. With a roar, Kim finished charging the Solar Beam and fired it straight into the leader's chest. The wild Pokémon collapsed backwards, exhausted, and the other two seemed to lose the will to fight after seeing their leader drop to the ground. The two remaining Pokémon shuffled closer to the exhausted one, and one kept a weary eye on them while the other looked like it was sprinkling salt from its own body over the exhausted Pokémon.

  Turo sighed in relief.

  ? Let's get away before the noise attracts something else...? he commented. Sada nodded and lowered her bow, but still moved forward first while Turo followed behind her, covering her back. Miguel flapped his way back to his shoulder, Ampere floating by his right side while Keylogger hovered over his shoulder, all three scanning their surroundings in different ways to alert him of any approaching threat.

  They kept walking in silence for a bit; the tunnel opened up more and more, until they emerged in an enormous cave. Sada stopped in front of him, and after a couple more steps Turo also had to stop, eyes widening at what had just appeared in front of their eyes. The bottom of the cave was covered in shallow water, but his attention had been captured completely by the absolutely enormous Tera Crystals that had grown inside the cave. Instead of a single color, they glowed a warm, white light, and were literally as big as skyscrapers.

  Turo was left speechless trying to gauge the size of those crystals. How much time did it take for them to grow that big? How much Tera energy did they contain?

  ? ... You could build an entire apartment complex inside that crystal, nevermind a single research station...? he whispered, shaking his head still in disbelief.

  Sada looked thoughtful as she slowly resumed walking.

  ? ... This is perfect. If we can use the Tera energy from these crystals, we'll be completely independent from the rest of Paldea. We can have our own energy source available right here!? she noted.

  Her words immediately made him think of something else.

  ? ... If we power them with Tera energy, we could even install some teleporters without impacting our funding... We could move instantly from the deepest part of the Crater to the Zero Gate! ? he added with a grin.

  This was great!

  Galvanized by all the possibilities that the amount of energy they had now hopefully available gave them, they descended until they found a smaller cave to set up camp for the night. With their Pokémon to keep guard against wild Pokémon, Turo sat back against the cold wall of the cave. The light emanated by the Tera crystals was so bright they didn't even need to turn on their flashlights.

  ? We can probably set up a fourth Research Station around here, so we can study this area of the crater as much as we want... How far do you think we are from the bottom of the crater? ? he asked Sada, who was once again looking through the Scarlet book. She looked pensive.

  ? ... I'm not sure. The book says it took them "countless days"... they obviously had to go much slower than us since they didn't have any research stations to use as supply deposits, but even then... it still feels like we are missing something big. Like we... skipped something important. And there's still no trace of Pokémon from our times... I don't understand. ? she sighed. She looked both frustrated but also excited to solve the strange mystery in front of them.

  ? I agree. According to the books, they kept hearing mysterious cries all the way down and even got attacked once. We, instead... ? he scratched at the back of his neck, not quite knowing how to express what he was feeling.

  ? It's almost... disappointly normal? The Pokémon are nothing that isn't also found in the rest of Paldea... A bit more aggressive than usual since they're not used to seeing humans I suppose, but... Nothing strange about that. ? he said in the end.

  ? Or we just haven't found them yet. This place is much bigger than what it seems at first. ? Sada replied, laying her sleeping bag on the ground next to his.

  ? There must be dozens of little tunnels and caves that branch out from this one.? she added. Turo could feel that she had said it mostly to keep herself in high spirits too.

  He could understand her uneasiness. It felt strange. It was almost like the place was... bizarrely empty.

  No trace of Miraidon, or other Pokémon from his time. No trace of mysterious magical herbs. No trace of "the disk Pokémon" Briar had mentioned.

  They were missing something crucial, he could feel it.

  ? ... By the way.? he said to change the topic. She turned to look at him, and he continued. ? What was your theory about why Pokémon don't Terastallize continuously here??

  Sada seemed to perk up a bit at that; she closed the Scarlet Book and scooted closer, until they were sitting shoulder to shoulder.

  ? Just an idea I had. Think back on the wild Pokémon we fought to get here. What do they have in common?? she asked with a smile.

  Turo furrowed his eyebrows, not quite understanding the question.

  ? They... were usually moving in groups? Packs??

  Sada nodded.

  ? Pokémon of the same species live in packs because they all share the same biology, the same type and the same instincts. Take Kim for example.? she gestured to the still Grass- type Pyroar that was keeping watch over the mouth of the cave. Her ears flicked backwards at hearing her name, but she didn't turn around.

  ? As a Pyroar, she would live in a pride with other Pyroar and raise her kittens alongside all others. The Litleo are going to learn how to fight and hunt from their parents. Now imagine a group of Litleo growing up in Area Zero. One stays a fire type. One terastalizes to a water type. Another becomes Flying type. What happens then??

  Turo tried to picture a Flying type Litleo sprouting fur covered wings from its back and scoffed.

  ? That would be... quite chaotic to handle for the Pyroar that have to raise them, I guess... They wouldn't be able to teach the Litleo how to hunt, or... ? he said.

  ? Exactly. It would be madness. If every Litleo changed to the same type, it wouldn't be that different from a regional form, and the ecosystem would simply find a new balance after a bit. If every Litleo in Area Zero always Terastalized to Flying types, they would probably slowly occupy the same ecological niche that Corviknight or Altaria do right now. But Terastalization is unique to each Pokémon, so... ?

  ? So every single Pokémon suddenly becoming another type would completely destroy the balance of the ecosystem...? Turo mused, eyes widening.

  And Sada had realized all of that in their first day here...?

  ? Yes. They wouldn't be able to adapt. Every Pokémon has its role in the ecosystem; some are prey, some are predators. Some eat grass, some rocks, some simply sunlight.... Every Pokémon constantly changing what it needs to survive would make it impossible for the ecosystem to... Stabilize. There's probably some Terastalized Pokémon that live isolated here, or they may do it as a last resort... But they must know by instinct that it's better as a whole to simply not do it. There's no advantage to do it in such a fragile and isolated ecosystem like Area Zero, where Pokémon can't simply migrate to another environment. ?

  Turo laid down in his sleeping bag, his eyes fixed on the ceiling of the cave as he thought over her words. It made sense.

  ? I see.... ? he said, trailing off. There was a moment of silence as he heard Sada do the same, and he was suddenly aware of what they were doing.

  Sleeping in a cave in Area Zero, buried underground, with their Pokémon keeping guard over them. It felt completely unreal. It reminded him of when he had spent a restless night sleeping under the stars back in Sada's time. But while that time the only thing he could think about was how nerve wracking it was to try to sleep feeling so completely defenseless, now the first thought that drifted through his mind was completely different.

  "... I wonder what Arven is doing right now"

  ---

  The next morning, or at least after some hours of rest, they resumed walking. Sada checked her bag; they still had plenty of supplies for their Pokémon, potions and revives and even berries she had gathered to help keep them in shape, but she was running low on arrows. She tried to retrieve as many as she could, but many simply got broken after being struck by wild Pokémon attacks.

  They had marked one possible area that would house Research Station 4, but now were making their way to the shallow water that seemed to cover the bottom of the lake and the giant crystals.

  More than one time, their own distorted reflections in the giant Tera crystals made Sada jump nervously, bow raised.

  They carefully walked around the biggest crystal, before she noticed something that made her pause.

  Something opened up further ahead; something not easily visible from the tunnel that first led into this cave. A hole. A big one. She cautiously peered down the edge, feeling a gust of wind hit her face.

  It felt heavy, the crystallized particles she could see drift around them swirling around her face.

  She tried not to think about the fact that she was maybe breathing it in.

  ? .... There doesn't seem to be a way down.? she whispered. Turo had kept carefully away from the edge, probably because of fear of stumbling and falling in, but he called out Miguel again. The Pokémon glided into the hole, disappearing into the pitch black abyss.

  One minute passed.

  Five minutes.

  Ten minutes.

  ? ... What's taking him so long?? Turo blurted out, breaking the complete silence. Sada bit her lip, not wanting to say anything. Maybe it had encountered something down there. Something that attacked a single little Murkrow and now stopped him from coming back up.

  Or maybe -

  Frantic wing beats finally broke the silence again, and she could see the relief on Turo's face - expressed by his furrowed eyebrows relaxing, and not much else - as the Murkrow finally appeared again. The Dark type looked completely exhausted as it nuzzled his trainer's face, settling back down on his shoulder.

  ? What is down there, Miguel?? Turo asked in a whisper.

  The Murkrow preened his feathers for a bit, before looking at both of them with his shining red eyes.

  ? Treasure! Treasure! ?

  Sada and Turo stared at each other.

  Treasure....?

  The Murkrow literally called anything that sparkled "treasure", so it could really be anything, but... It meant that there was something down there.

  ? I think...? Sada said, looking back down at the long, pitch black opening in the ground.

  ? I think that down there is the actual bottom of the Crater. We're nowhere near close to it. ?

  A pause.

  ? ... How do we even get there??