Aiden's sudden broadcast had actually been premeditated.
After confirming the date to enter Area Zero, he made thorough preparations in advance and left a livestream preview on his Pokémon TV account homepage.
Therefore, even before he started broadcasting, his livestream room's popularity was already high.
A black-screen livestream firmly occupying the top spot on the popularity rankings—only this "big streamer" Aiden could achieve this.
Of course, due to the special nature of this broadcast, his livestream room didn't only have Paldea students—it could even be described as a melting pot.
Above Area Zero, near Medali.
After Aiden led his team away in the elevator, Geeta and the other three Paldea Elite Four members quickly appeared at the Zero Gate.
Rika was holding a tablet, with Aiden who had just arrived at the Area Zero entrance displayed on the screen.
"That kid Aiden really isn't nervous at all?"
"Truly enviable nerves of steel. It seems Paradox Pokémon aren't troublesome for Aiden?"
"—Perhaps it's simply because he has many backup plans."
"Right, if you really provoke this kid, he might even command that black Rayquaza—that's the absolute nemesis of Paradox Pokémon!"
The three Elite Four members chatted back and forth, seemingly fully immersed in the audience perspective, waiting for Aiden's next move.
Only Chairwoman Geeta, standing at the front with arms crossed, wore a worried expression but didn't join the conversation.
As the most elite fighting force in the entire Paldea region, the reason they appeared here together was actually very simple:
As soon as Aiden entered Area Zero, the Paradox Pokémon below would quickly become agitated.
They couldn't control what happened inside Area Zero, so they could only provide support from above, trying to prevent some Paradox Pokémon from escaping and causing trouble for Paldea.
And the number definitely wouldn't be small.
Unlike previous small-scale operations, this was their long-awaited re-exploration of Area Zero's interior, so the commotion might be very large. Geeta was very clear in her heart—
No matter how useful Larry was, he alone definitely couldn't handle it.
This was why there was such a grand scene with the four Elite Four members and herself as Champion present.
However—
Compared to their work, Aiden inside Area Zero was obviously under more pressure.
At this moment, they could only believe in him.
You must do your best, Aiden!
Kanto Region, Viridian Gym.
In the empty basement, only the faint sound of fingers stroking fur could be heard.
Former Rocket Team leader (captured), soon-to-retire Viridian Gym Leader Giovanni sat on the sofa, with a Persian whose forehead gem shone brightly lying beside him, and a large screen with low brightness in front of him.
"Interesting. Creatures that originally shouldn't exist in this dimension, so they're named Paradox Pokémon?"
Giovanni let out a disdainful cold laugh, but his gaze didn't move from the screen.
If following this logic, shouldn't Mewtwo also be classified as a Paradox Pokémon?
There was nothing inevitable in this world—everything depended on human effort.
His crazy ideas led to Mewtwo's birth, and weren't the people of Paldea the same?
Regarding Paldea's information, Giovanni had already gained quite comprehensive understanding when investigating Aiden's identity, and therefore felt their actions were somewhat childish.
Those two researchers were obsessed with the so-called "time machine," but never thought about turning past and future Pokémon to their own use, which led to the current chaos that had to be handled by outsiders.
If the person steering Paldea was himself, he would never have given those so-called Paradox Pokémon any chance from the start—he would only need absolute strength to subdue them.
Just as humans tamed the first batch of "magical beasts" tens of thousands of years ago.
The people of Paldea didn't understand, but the youth Aiden whom he valued definitely understood this principle.
"Let me see if your strength has improved now."
When Aiden's figure appeared on the screen, a somewhat mocking smile quickly appeared on Giovanni's face.
"Aiden-kun, don't forget what you promised me."
"I entrusted Silver to you, so naturally I should verify whether you are qualified as a teacher."
"So, take this opportunity and perform for me to your heart's content."
Sinnoh League.
"Damn, why did Teacher Azure suddenly start broadcasting!"
"You didn't know? Teacher Azure posted a preview several days ago, fake fan!"
"Say what? I was pulled into overtime by Lucian a few days ago, how could I see it!"
In the office, Aaron and Flint were habitually bickering as usual.
And Lucian, who was mentioned by Flint, was also sitting not far from the two, calmly brewing himself a pot of hot coffee before turning to look at him.
"Heh, you call that workload overtime?"
"Want to switch?"
"—Farewell!"
After being provoked by Lucian's single sentence, Flint immediately lowered his head with remorse.
But soon, he suddenly realized something was wrong, so he immediately turned to look at the corner seat on the other side.
The "big sister" in the hearts of the three young Elite Four members, the Champion Cynthia who possessed both beauty and strength—she actually stayed in Sinnoh this time, didn't ask for leave to go out and have fun with Teacher Azure?
And—she was seriously working, completely not noticing their conversation?
Was this the Cynthia he knew?
Something was wrong, it must be an anomaly!
So Flint immediately signaled Aaron and Lucian with his eyes, his curiosity constantly driving him to get the answer quickly.
Lucian could only helplessly support his forehead with his hand.
"Alright, stop fooling around. Be careful or Sister Cynthia will pull you out for 'practice' later."
"When I was working overtime yesterday, I vaguely heard Sister Cynthia on the phone with someone. It seemed to be Teacher Azure."
"As for why she's still in Sinnoh—the reason is simpler than you think."
"Teacher Azure is going to take students for training. If there was a Champion in the team, it would be overprotective. He probably hopes the students can solve problems on their own, right?"
"? That's it? But if Sister Cynthia wanted to go, Teacher Azure couldn't refuse, right?"
Flint scratched his head, then threw out a second question.
To this, Lucian only shrugged, then leaned close to his ear and whispered: "Actually, the main reason is—Sister Cynthia used up all her annual leave in the first half of the year, so she can't take more leave without a legitimate reason."
"—That's it?"
Flint was dumbfounded.
Although it seemed reasonable, the fact that even a Champion had to ask for leave was indeed his knowledge blind spot.
For example, Champion Steven next door might not show his face a few times a year, yet he still remained Champion steadily, right?
And legitimate reasons wasn't hard to find—supporting other regions was also a way to expand regional influence—
After thinking it over, it was actually Aaron who quickly figured out the reason: "Could it be that Paldea was afraid Teacher Azure would be poached by Sister Cynthia, so they simply rejected Sister Cynthia's support?"
"—" ×2
Lucian and Flint fell collectively silent.
Because although this reason sounded ridiculous, careful thought made it strangely very reasonable!
Small-minded, too small-minded.
Teacher Azure was originally from Sinnoh, what do you mean we're competing with Paldea for people?
He was just going to Paldea to level up, he'll eventually come back to assist Sister Cynthia!
Flint scratched his head, deciding not to care about these nonsensical questions anymore.
But—
Since just now, Sister Cynthia's gaze hadn't moved at all, always looking at the computer in front of her?
This feeling, why did it feel like him secretly playing with his phone during his student days?
Must be an illusion—
Back at Paldea.
The Area Zero surface didn't look very vast, and there were no Paradox Pokémon or other Pokémon blocking the way along the road, so Aiden's group's journey was initially very smooth.
Aiden toured around, showing anything noteworthy to the students in the livestream.
"Area Zero has many Terastallized minerals, distributed underground and inside mines. If ground into powder, students should be very familiar with them."
"That's right, these minerals are the raw materials for Tera Shards inside Tera Orbs, and were once the main production site."
"However, since the incident in Area Zero, Terastallized mineral production has been very limited. This is also the main reason Tera Orbs haven't been promoted overseas like Mega Evolution yet."
Although he was normally a technical streamer focusing on tactical teaching, don't forget Teacher Azure could occasionally also part-time as a commentator or mythology expert—very comprehensive.
This kind of geographical and historical knowledge naturally didn't stump him.
Red following behind him silently recorded notes while curiously looking around.
These knowledge were indeed very useful, but he seemed to have a more important purpose for coming to Area Zero—
"Teacher Aiden, I understand the reasoning, but what about those 'Paradox Pokémon' you mentioned before?"
While Red was pondering, the more impatient Nemona had already spoken first, raising her hand to ask Aiden a question.
Seeing this, Aiden quickly revealed a meaningful smile, then calmly replied.
"Almost there."
"I'll let you fight to your heart's content soon."
Why was the Area Zero surface safe?
Just look at the pitted, various-sized holes on the ground.
All created by the black Rayquaza's consecutive Draco Meteors. Paradox Pokémon would be instantly OHKO the moment they dared show their heads.
So, the surface was now the safest place in Area Zero. They didn't encounter any Pokémon along the way, walking straight like they were on an excursion.
But this safe road soon came to an end.
Area Zero was also called the "Paldea Crater" because of its spiraling, multi-layered underground caves that connected all the way to the deepest part.
And now, they had arrived at the first location marked by the investigation team, which was the correct path to the interior.
"Be careful, there might be many Pokémon inside."
Arriving at the cave entrance, Aiden first took out a flashlight from his backpack, then reminded them from behind.
"Understood."
The students immediately nodded like pounding garlic, each taking out a Poké Ball and holding it in their palms to prevent sudden danger, while also closely following behind Aiden.
After entering the cave interior, visibility instantly dropped several levels. In the somewhat dark environment, several pairs of eyes could be vaguely seen.
"Wh-what is that?!"
Penny was startled and immediately gripped the Poké Ball in her hand.
However, after Aiden shone his flashlight over, she immediately relaxed.
"It's Jumpluff and Venomoth. It's not strange for them to appear in Area Zero."
Aiden nodded.
"Under normal circumstances, they have no hostility toward humans, with almost no cases of actively attacking people."
"So, just let's ignore them."
After speaking, Aiden continued straight forward.
And as he said, the Venomoth and Jumpluff quickly shifted their attention away, completely not caring about their arrival.
Red only felt it was a pity he couldn't have a battle with the local Pokémon.
But since Teacher Azure said so, obviously he shouldn't cause trouble and bring trouble to others.
Since Teacher Azure said Area Zero was dangerous, he would definitely encounter powerful enough Pokémon sooner or later, and he would definitely have the chance to battle them!
Soon, Red's wish became reality.
Aiden's group continued deeper and quickly passed through a mine.
Sunlight appeared in their vision again, revealing the hidden paradise inside.
Of course, appearing along with it was—
Several somewhat strange-looking creatures resembling Tyranitar and Magneton appeared in the distance, immediately drawing their attention.
"Those are—Iron Thorns and Sandy Shocks!"
Through checking family materials and having some understanding of Paradox Pokémon, Arven immediately reacted, calling out their names.
"Be careful, Paradox Pokémon all come from eras without humans. As soon as they notice us, they will definitely attack immediately!"
Arven quietly warned everyone, but Nemona and Red became somewhat excited instead.
"You mean, they won't hold back?"
"That's great!"
The two of them took a few steps forward, standing side by side with Aiden, their gazes exceptionally fiery.
Know your defender.jpg
Especially Nemona, already rubbing her fists and palms, full of expectations for the battle power of these strange "ugly things."
"..."
Seeing that they indeed blocked the necessary path to continue forward, Aiden could only helplessly shake his head, waving at the two.
Close the door, release Nemona/Red!
"Be careful, don't make too much noise. It won't be good if we're surrounded."
"Okay!"
After getting Aiden's nod of approval, Nemona and Red no longer hesitated, directly taking a few steps forward and throwing the Poké Balls in their hands with full force.
"—???"
An Iron Thorns that was originally lying on the floor sunbathing suddenly felt something hit its head.
But it had just raised its head when it discovered a robust, mountain-like creature appearing before it, with a plump butt already falling straight toward it.
???
Boom—!
Iron Thorns had no time to react at all before immediately eating a Body Slam from Snorlax, instantly suffering a weight that life could not bear.
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