Aiden furrowed his brow, realizing things seemed far from simple.
He felt that the doctor couple had simply gone mad, actually attempting to dabble in the power of time and space—
In movies, people like them were generally called "mad scientists."
And in the Pokémon world, this behavior was even more suicidal, because this world truly had "gods," and the authority of the Mythical Pokémon all came from the creator god Arceus.
Whether forcibly controlling the power of the gods or attempting to grasp power that didn't belong to humans, it was enough material for a movie special.
Though the doctor couple's nature might not be bad, they ultimately still followed the villain's fixed pattern—not only suffering backlash themselves, but also dragging the entire Paldea region into great trouble, which still hadn't recovered to this day.
Without a protagonist halo, what kind of mad scientist are you!
Even his parents in this life were the same, having lost contact for over a year after following the doctor deep into Area Zero exploration, almost certainly confirmed to have no chance of survival.
After silently flipping through the documents in the room, Aiden's mood was somewhat complex.
He quickly shifted his gaze to the monitoring equipment on the other side, locking onto video records from the period before and after the incident.
Only maintenance personnel frequently appeared in and out of the frame. The doctor couple rarely appeared here, only coming to back up data during their regular entries and exits from Area Zero.
And obviously, during their last entry, they and the entire research team never returned, so naturally there was no way to obtain the content of their accompanying records.
In the footage, when the image of the Zero Lab, which had been built last and reached Area Zero's bottom layer, suddenly disappeared, and the entire research institute began flashing red alarms, the remaining few researchers immediately became panicked.
But as professionals, they still forcibly calmed down, making defensive preparations on one side while anxiously waiting for researchers stationed at other observation stations to gather.
The elevator might only have one chance to activate, so they needed to ensure as many people as possible could escape.
In the process of fleeing in panic, they didn't even have time to organize research documents, only managing to finally lock down the entire observation station, which was why they left these materials for him—
After quickly scanning the monitoring equipment, Aiden didn't see anything useful.
It seemed the situation at the other few observation stations should be similar.
To know the truth, they probably still needed to enter the deepest layer and find the "crime scene."
With this thought, Aiden didn't stay too long at Observation Station No. 1, quickly leaving with Arven and Peony.
Although the team atmosphere fell into a subtle silence, the subsequent journey remained very smooth.
After safely arriving at Observation Station No. 1, Aiden's team followed the spiral slope all the way down, traveling for about half a day.
Like the previous Observation Station No. 1, Observation Stations No. 2 and No. 3 were similarly intact, and the process of entering them was roughly the same.
However, perhaps because this area was closer to the underground and the researchers didn't have much time to evacuate, when Aiden entered, it was already messy inside, with various manuscripts and documents piled haphazardly in corners, not properly preserved.
Fortunately, wild Pokémon hadn't been able to enter. Aiden only spent some time organizing and obtained more useful clues.
"Heath Was Right! Those "Monsters" Live Under Area Zero!"
"Area Zero exploration has been ongoing for two years. The newly completed Observation Station No. 2 is definitely not our endpoint, but merely the beginning of understanding Area Zero's full picture!"
"After entering the underground area, we indeed discovered the Paradox Pokémon recorded by Mr. Heath in the Scarlet Book and Violet Book."
"Some of them have obvious metal shells and intelligence clearly higher than ordinary Pokémon, like cold-blooded killing machines that only suddenly reveal their claws when needed."
"While others are too primitive—the instincts of ancient creatures make them very territorial, and we need to avoid conflicts with them as much as possible!"
"Of course, what makes me happiest is—"
"Their appearance is indeed exactly the same as Mr. Heath's records from 200 years ago. Heath was right!"
"He wasn't some swindler who deceived the world—the world's misunderstanding of him was too deep!"
"And if Paradox Pokémon truly exist—"
"Then the Paradise Guardian Dragon recorded at the end of the books may also live somewhere in Area Zero!"
"Paldea Unsolved Case No. 00"
[The legendary Iron Serpent??? It actually actively appeared in our sight?]
[From its battered appearance, it should have been defeated by a more powerful existence and driven out of its own territory, but—]
[Standing at the apex of Paradox Pokémon, what Pokémon could surpass it?]
[I can't imagine, but the Paradise Guardian Dragon actively seeking our protection is certainly a good thing.]
[With its help, research on Paradox Pokémon can also be pushed forward.]
[Starting with the Paradox Pokémon near Observation Station No. 3, continuing deeper exploration after the Iron Serpent recovers its full strength.]
[Additional Record 01: When going to the Crystal Pool in Kitakami, I seemed to see a youth and a phantom of the Iron Serpent. He called the Iron Serpent "Miraidon"—could this be its true name?]
[Additional Record 02: "Miraidon" has been confirmed as the Iron Serpent's formal name. It also doesn't seem to reject this new name.]
—Recorder, Dr. Turo.
After walking out of Observation Station No. 3, Aiden already had an understanding of the two doctors' exploration process of Area Zero.
So Miraidon had actively come to humans—no wonder the two doctors could use its power a few years ago to defeat other Paradox Pokémon and master data on many Paradox Pokémon's abilities.
This also matched his guess at the time—inside Area Zero, there indeed existed another "Paradise Guardian Dragon."
When Miraidon and Maschiff fled Area Zero in a sorry state covered in wounds, it must have been related to it.
That was the enemy they truly needed to be careful with.
However, it should be hiding in even deeper places now, right?
Aiden's consciousness returned, his gaze looking toward the spiraling, bottomless cave.
Observation Station No. 3 was located right at the edge between Area Zero's middle and lower layers. If they wanted to continue exploring deeper, they would inevitably have to enter the deep zone.
Area Zero's lower layer was not only the most concentrated area of Terastallized minerals, but also the most dangerous "forbidden zone."
Paradox Pokémon gathered here in large numbers, and Glimmora also regarded this as their living territory. One careless move and they might be caught in a pincer attack.
"Don't rush to clear the path yet. We need to find a way to continue exploring as safely as possible."
Just as Nemona was rubbing her fists and palms, preparing to pull Red to continue charging forward, Aiden directly stepped forward and grabbed them both by the—back collars, one in each hand.
Then, he revealed a very "kind" smile to the two.
"If surrounded by Glimmora, even I can't save you~"
"Y-yes!"
Although Nemona had always been willful and wasn't someone who liked listening to others, under Aiden's legendary Pokémon-like pressure, she still became obedient.
As for Red—
He had actually always been quite well-behaved, a very qualified hired-muscle escort.
Since Teacher Azure said so, he definitely couldn't continue fooling around with Nemona.
That's right, it was all Nemona's instructions, nothing to do with him!
After quickly subduing the two little champions, Aiden released his hands and pointed to the brightly blooming, colorful beautiful flowers on the stone wall below.
"See those Glimmora? If you don't carefully distinguish them, you might confuse them with Terastallized minerals."
"Here, Paradox Pokémon aren't the trouble—the scary thing is the large number of Glimmora gathered around."
"As soon as we start battling with Paradox Pokémon, the Glimmora sensing danger will cooperate to drive away enemies, and then the situation will become very chaotic."
"If you don't want toxic rain suddenly falling on your heads while fighting, you need to avoid battles as much as possible."
The difficulty of battling Paradox Pokémon mainly lay in their unconventional methods—their nearly wild battle style was hard for Trainers to adapt to.
However, speaking of wild battles, Paradox Pokémon could only be considered small fry compared to Glimmora.
After all, his pair of demon guards were quite capable of playing.
Red had achieved physical sainthood, fighting even more fiercely than Pokémon, completely unafraid of physical confrontation;
Nemona was a genuine athletic trash, but her brain was sharp only in battles. Riding a Cyclizar, she insisted she was also a wild battle expert—
And surprisingly, it was very effective at countering Paradox Pokémon's fighting style.
But facing Glimmora, the two of them had to step back.
Just imagine, encountering such a large group in the wild that would actively spit at you, and with poison at that—wouldn't that be very troublesome?
Can't fight them, getting hit even once makes them even more excited. Once their "Toxic Debris" ability triggers, there's nowhere to stand on the ground, step on a Toxic Spikes and you'll be honest!
Even a super true newcomer couldn't have Steel type immunity to poison, right?
Then can we not fight?
Of course, but could it be that they had to parkour all the way into the Zero Lab inside—
Considering they might still need some time to crack passwords to enter, Aiden felt it was simpler not to provoke them.
At this time, Aiden needed to deploy his ace—
"I choose you, Doraemon-Mewtwo!"
"And Indeedee, you come help too!"
"Mmph?"
A red light flashed, and Indeedee appeared with a cute little face full of confusion, looking at Aiden puzzled.
Why is there something for me to do?
And Mewtwo beside her had already predicted Aiden's thoughts one step ahead. While drilling out of the Poké Ball, its eyes were already shining with blue light, completely surveying the surrounding environment.
"Over 200 Glimmora, plus some Paradox Pokémon hiding."
"Eliminate them all?"
Perhaps because it had been a long time since it contributed by Aiden's side, when speaking, Mewtwo's tone and expression showed faint excitement.
Though still maintaining an aloof appearance, in Aiden's view, its tail behind was almost wagging—
Unconsciously, Mewtwo already trusted me this much~
"No, try to avoid battling with them as much as possible."
Aiden shook his head, smiling as he stepped forward to pat Mewtwo and Indeedee's shoulders.
"If we want to deal with them, isn't there an easier way?"
"Indee—?!"
Indeedee blinked, quickly understanding the Trainer's hint. Its originally drooping pair of "croissant" horns immediately launched upward, slightly bending.
This was a sign of its high spirits.
"I understand."
Mewtwo also nodded knowingly, then—
Under the bewildered gaze of the four students, Mewtwo raised both hands upward, quickly knead two energy balls emitting a gloomy black aura.
Students who often watched Aiden's livestreams and paid attention to his "Sinnoh Great Chaos" reacted first.
[??? Goodness, isn't this Darkrai's Dark Void!]
[At that time, Teacher Azure's Mewtwo secretly learned Dark Void, I guessed this day would come sooner or later—]
[I remember Teacher Azure's Indeedee isn't simple either. The Psychic Terrain it creates has a hypnosis effect built-in. It gave me hell during the Victory Road!]
[Who can out-wild battle Teacher Azure? Dark Void plus Hypnosis, whoever comes has to sleep for three days and three nights, right?]
[Not using Mewtwo in the Victory Road was already Teacher Azure's greatest mercy~]
Under Mewtwo's exquisite telekinetic control, the two launched Dark Voids rapidly and silently maneuvered in the air. The Glimmora swallowed by them quickly lost consciousness, unable to even adhere to the stone walls, soon falling straight to the ground without resistance.
At this time, it was Indeedee's turn to take action.
"Indeedee~"
Psychic (Hypnosis) Terrain, activate!
The already sleeping Glimmora were quickly affected by the psychic power on the ground, unable to rise again.
"Haah—"
Affected by the terrain, Aiden also immediately lazily yawned.
However, since these were moves he actively used, he naturally had long prepared solutions.
He quickly took out a Chesto Berry from his pocket and stuffed it into his mouth, immediately stimulated awake by the berry's astringent taste.
"Still standing there stunned, hurry up and eat berries!"
Seeing the other students still looking confused, Aiden could only helplessly shake his head, then took out a few more berries and threw them to them respectively.
After subconsciously catching the Chesto Berry thrown by Teacher Azure, Red was stunned, thinking there was actually such a combination technique.
If Miss Erika of Celadon Gym had known this move back then, he wouldn't have known how to pass—
Probably could only desperately chew Chesto Berries to stay awake, right?
Fortunately, this trip Teacher Azure brought them for training, otherwise those Paradox Pokémon outside wouldn't have required him to act!
Under Aiden's strong "Hypnosis Combination Technique" offensive, Area Zero's lower layer was soon一squeaky clean.
Even the few Paradox Pokémon hiding in corners were immediately last hit by Mewtwo one by one after approaching, unable to escape at all.
Due to Area Zero's spiral structure, the deeper they went into the lower layer hollow, the more compact the internal space became.
This time, they only traveled for about ten minutes before easily arriving in front of Observation Station No. 4 in the lower layer.
However, when Aiden finally saw one of the main targets this time, he immediately furrowed his brow—
Because the door of Observation Station No. 4 had long disappeared. Even from some distance, he could clearly see metal fragments on the ground and building ruins full of scorch marks.
Everything seemed to indicate that a fierce battle had once taken place here.
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