When the researchers of the Black Skyscraper suddenly "refreshed" into existence, Hikaru immediately knew this had to be Dialga's handiwork.
That mysterious conglomerate, which originally wasn't supposed to invest at this point in the timeline, had suddenly stepped onto the stage ahead of schedule, and even added the Black Skyscraper to its portfolio. Looked at this way, the Azure Emperor, Dialga, had probably pulled this kind of stunt more than once already.
What could he say—there was no need to get too obsessed with the details of timelines anyway. If they didn't build it now, they would have ended up building it two years later all the same.
Now not only did they have the god of time helping them "sweep dust under the rug," they had also saved a huge amount of construction cost. It was just that Commissioner Smith might not be getting his construction payout in gold coins anymore.
The researcher's name was Fabius. That name really felt like a parody of "Mobius." Even though he warmly invited Hikaru to remain here and serve as the Area 10 Boss, Hikaru still politely turned him down.
"I don't know what kind of memories Dialga shoved into their heads for them to say that last battle was 'beautifully fought'… Come to think of it, the Area 10 Boss of the Black Skyscraper should originally be Benga, but that kid is still busy being a student athlete and grinding his base stats right now."
"So if there's no Benga, then the Area 10 Boss of the Black Skyscraper should be…"
Hikaru tried to recall.
It wasn't exactly easy to remember clearly, because with the Unova Link system, if you wanted to switch the Area 10 Boss, you first had to obtain the key from the other version.
"What a shame… That said, we did have other candidates in mind for the Boss position earlier, and already sent out invitations."
"She should be here by now…"
Fabius expressed his regret, then opened a communication channel. On his C-Gear-like device, a woman Hikaru was very familiar with appeared.
"Ms. Valachia, have you arrived?"
"Oh, allow me to introduce her. This is Ms. Valachia. She's apparently in charge of a church in Driftveil City. Because she's very strong, our headhunters spotted her and invited her here to the Black Skyscraper as a reserve Boss candidate."
"Because, well, each Area has to at least have a Boss to start with. Otherwise, challengers can't exactly fight thin air, can they? Ahahaha~"
Fabius cracked a joke.
But Hikaru instantly remembered!
"So it's her!"
The lady he'd once met at Driftveil Church and helped out.
She had formed a bond with a Latios from another world.
She had even gone to the Linked World and crossed the bridge to the worlds on the other side!
And in Area 10 of the Black Skyscraper, if you switched via the key, then Benga would vanish… and taking the place of that sports-kid boss would be her!
"Ms. Valachia, we meet again! It seems things have been going very well for you!" Hikaru took the initiative to greet her.
"You are… Sir Hikaru?"
On the C-Gear screen, Valachia hadn't expected to see Hikaru in this tower at all. Fabius froze for a moment, then grew delighted.
"Oh! You two already know each other, that's wonderful!"
"As the former Area 10 Boss and the new Area 10 Boss, and on top of that you've had a fated encounter! That's exactly the kind of meeting Pokémon battles bring about!"
Fabius was very pleased, while Valachia bowed slightly to Hikaru on the screen.
"Thank you for your help back at Driftveil Church. Now, I will climb this Skyscraper together with Latios."
"After thinking it over for a long time, I finally made this decision."
"Meeting you again here truly feels like fate's guidance, because it was your help that let me reunite with my partner of thirty years ago. That gratitude has been passed on, and led me back to the path of being a Trainer."
"From now on, I will serve as the Area 10 Boss while also managing Driftveil Church, guiding more travelers who return from other people's worlds."
"To stand atop the peak that touches space together with my Pokémon partner—this Black Skyscraper is precisely the place where that history will be affirmed."
"As the former Boss, is there anything you'd like to pass on?"
Hikaru nodded. "Ahem, even if I'm the former Boss, I haven't actually been here very long, so there really isn't much for me to say."
"Mm… I'll just wish you and Latios continued victories against every powerful challenger who comes your way! May good fortune walk with you!"
Ms. Valachia smiled and bowed once more on the screen.
"Thank you very much."
"That will do just fine," Fabius said. "Still a bit of a pity though… In that case, we'll keep your status as former Area 10 Boss on the record. If you ever want to return to the Black Skyscraper, you won't need to challenge the lower Areas again. You can directly challenge the Area 10 Boss—meaning a rematch with Ms. Valachia!"
"I really look forward to seeing that day… Though it doesn't sound like you're planning to come back any time soon. Then again, who knows~"
"By the way, your conquest of the Skyscraper has already gone public. I imagine your name will be echoing all across Unova soon!"
"Thank you for granting me that privilege. If I get the chance, I'll come back," Hikaru said, shaking Fabius's hand. Then he took his partners' Poké Balls and walked out of the tower.
Whoosh!
A strong wind swept through the sky. Night was just about to end, and far off on the horizon, the high-rising spires of the Unova land were on the verge of dawn.
"Next, in theory, I should head to Victory Road, and before that, spend some time training in the Training Grotto."
"But it feels like I'm running out of time."
He'd been in Unova for almost a month now, and they were already in mid-September. The invitation from Brassius in Paldea was just about due.
In other words, he had to go attend the sculpture exhibition first.
Standing someone up was not a good look.
As for the ice sculpture exhibition, that was something in Johto after October, so there was still plenty of time.
"Shauntal, are you there?"
Hikaru sent a message to Shauntal.
The reason he didn't message Grimsley or Marshal was that he figured their daily schedules were relatively normal. Shauntal, however, was a different story.
This onee-san loved staying up all night hunting for inspiration to write novels. Well, what could you expect from a Ghost Elite Four member? In the games, Shauntal's room was all eerie and spooky, but she herself was totally carefree and absentminded. You could say it's from her onward that Ghost-type Trainers shed their old "mysterious and creepy" image—
Well, unless you count Shauntal muttering to herself while writing as "creepy chanting."
Shauntal: "Yaa! I'm just reading the latest news! You conquered the Black Skyscraper, right? That guy in the news is you, isn't it?"
Hikaru: "Which station runs news broadcasts in the middle of the night?"
Shauntal: "It's already six in the morning, you know. The hardworking have already started work, and the overtime people haven't gotten off yet. Of course someone's watching the news!"
Hikaru: "Can't say that's not very Unova of you—cough… Anyway, yeah, that's me."
Shauntal: "Yo! Congrats! You actually overcame Unova's big difficulty spike! I tried challenging it before too, but never finished. I remembered halfway through that I had a manuscript deadline, so I rushed back home!"
"And then I just kinda forgot about it… Uh, so, next up, are you going to…?"
Hikaru: "I can't respond to the Victory Road invitation just yet, because I've got an invitation to an art exhibit… So I need to leave for a while. I wanted to let you know."
Shauntal: "Fwaaah! I thought it was something serious. No problem."
"Everyone's pretty busy lately anyway!"
"Grimsley met up with you and then immediately left Unova with Professor Juniper. As for Marshal, I heard a karate prodigy from Galar showed up, and he's been busy training her."
"Caitlin said she's heading to Johto to retrain herself and just left, and she even said if you challenge the League, you can skip the Psychic room altogether. Totally incomprehensible."
"Looking at it this way, the only one left to hold down the fort is me!"
Hikaru: "That's because you're stuck on a deadline, right…? Since you're writing, it's easier to stay in your tower, after all… Uh, just kidding."
"I'll make sure to buy a copy of your novel later."
Shauntal: "Oh! Then I'll be counting on your support! If you want a personalized autograph, that's fine too!"
"Oh yeah, Alder's back as well, but he's shut himself in the Champion's chamber and seems to be trying to attain some enlightenment… That's just how our Champion is, don't worry about him."
Alder, seeking enlightenment?
That was bad. The old man had gone to someone else's world and tended a different Tree of Connection. Now he might just attain "dragon-field enlightenment," put on an Arceus Suit, and drag Hikaru into a final showdown in the heavens.
After all, the origin of the Tree of Connection was shrouded in mystery. If you said Arceus had planted the thing, that wouldn't be impossible.
And the Arceus Suit—Alder really does have that skin!
"Come to think of it, the people who have Arceus Suits are… Cynthia, Steven, Lance, Leon, Alder, Mr. N, and…"
"And Red of all people doesn't have one. Looks like Arceus is just saving him for the gacha."
Hikaru muttered for a bit, then said to Shauntal, "In that case, it works out nicely if I step away for a while; I'll have more time to prepare…"
"After that I'll go train for a period of time as well. That should be fine, right?"
"No problem," Shauntal replied. "If you don't go to him, he'll come find you himself, so relax. Whether the battle's in the League or not doesn't really matter to him."
Hikaru: "Why is this old gentleman still chasing people around to fight…? But yeah, that does fit his reputation. Have him go easy on me, okay? I'm not exactly a formal challenger."
He was just a kid who didn't know any better, playing around with battles!
Shauntal: "Hahaha, asking someone to hold back in a League match? Just treat it as training! You're already the Boss of Area 10 in the Skyscraper, you know. Don't forget that in other people's eyes, you're just as much of a big BOSS now!"
After chatting with Shauntal for a bit and confirming that there was no need to rush into the Victory Road, Hikaru also realized that at this point, if things really kicked off… he'd only have to fight Marshal and Shauntal.
But the moment Shauntal heard that Grimsley had lost to him, she immediately declared that she'd probably get steamrolled too, while also being amazed that Hikaru had been hiding such ridiculous strength.
"Grimsley, that guy… He may gamble a lot, but when it comes to actual strength, he's definitely stronger than I am—he has type advantage over me, after all."
Generally speaking, in Unova League matches, the two Elite Four members challenged first are also Shauntal and Marshal; their towers are in the front. Grimsley and Caitlin's towers are in the back. Although the Unova Elite Four aren't strictly fought in order, there is a difference in difficulty.
It's just not as obvious as in other regions.
Speaking of the Elite Four's power levels, the most evenly balanced has to be Kanto, where all four are Masters. By Johto, the disparity between the four becomes very obvious.
Hoenn's Elite Four and Sinnoh's Elite Four are the same way—the difference in strength is crystal clear.
As for the later generations' Elite Fours… Kalos? Forget a balanced Elite Four, even the Champion barely leaves an impression. Alola doesn't even have an Elite Four yet, and Galar doesn't either.
Which leaves us directly at Paldea. Paldea's "Elite Four" doesn't even have four members yet; currently there are only three, and one of those three is just a part-timer juggling other work.
Uh, yeah—who wouldn't go crazy forced to "double as Elite Four plus wage slave?" They're just toughing it out.
"Whew, I'll find somewhere to rest for a few hours, then head to the Paldea region. I really haven't had a proper sleep yet."
"Destination confirmed."
"The Paldea region: the town of flowers and art—Artazon!"
And while he was at it, he'd also scout out the situation in Paldea. As for Area Zero, if he swung by on the way…
Wouldn't that be just a bit too dangerous? Even with clearance, theoretically speaking, if he went without reporting to the League, once someone found out, it would definitely cause a huge stir.
"Riolu, I'll have to put our martial arts training off for a little longer, okay?"
The Great Ball shook, and the blue furred puppy showed great magnanimity in expressing that it was fine!
Their duel obviously had to take place in the Training Grotto!
Still, training was training wherever they went!
As for where to rest…
Hikaru remembered what Scott had told him.
"Then let's go to Unity Tower and rest up for a while."
(End of Chapter)
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