Aiden—no, Cynthia's household—served a dinner tonight featuring authentic Sinnoh specialties: soup curry and sea urchin rice bowls.
For Aiden, these were childhood flavors—delicious on their own, but elevated further by the warm filter of nostalgia.
"Delicious!!!"
He accidentally went back for a second bowl.
Though compared to his other Pokémon, he was arguably the most restrained eater at the table.
"Mmm!"
In the corner, Indeedee—seated separately due to her size—devoured her final bowl at whirlwind speed. Clutching the empty vessel, she thrust it toward Cynthia with hopeful eyes.
Her appetite rivals a Snorlax's…
Both Cynthia and Professor Carolina couldn't help but think this simultaneously.
But it was a good sign—Pokémon who ate heartily tended to be healthier. Such robust vitality explained why she looked noticeably sturdier than average Indeedee.
Truly worthy of Aiden—even his caught Pokémon possessed distinctive traits, each extraordinary in its own way.
Of course, Indeedee wasn't the only standout.
But given Miraidon and Salamence's sheer size, expecting them to dine at the table would've been unreasonable—so their consumption went less noticed.
"I'm full."
As Cynthia's attention remained fixed on Indeedee's eating spectacle, Aiden spoke up—rising to step outside.
The moment he exited, he found Salamence lying on its back under the stars, belly round and content, letting out soft belches.
Aiden chuckled, walking over to pat its swollen abdomen.
Earlier, Salamence had pouted slightly when Aiden chose the comfort of an airplane over riding it for the journey.
But this good-natured dragon's moods shifted as quickly as they came—upon seeing the feast prepared for it, all grievances vanished, replaced solely by the sacred mission of eating.
No soothing required—it had self-administered emotional first aid.
Truthfully, Salamence made an excellent flying mount. Its four-legged build offered greater stability than Dragonite's, with comparable speed.
But against human technology? Comfort-wise, it couldn't compete—suited only for short trips.
Unless one possessed Lance's iron constitution—capable of maintaining the same posture for hours while ignoring wind resistance—technology remained the more reliable choice.
Being a Dragon Tamer isn't easy!
Aiden sighed inwardly.
—
After dinner came the routine Pokémon health check.
Though Pokémon Centers—with their ever-present Nurse Joys—handled basic care, regional Professor labs were the true authorities on thorough examinations.
After all, these were frontline research teams… though most Trainers rarely sought them out for such minor matters.
It'd be like visiting a specialist for a common cold—and most rookies couldn't even get an appointment—
Aiden actually felt confident about his Pokémon's health. None underwent high-pressure training (Lucario's iron will notwithstanding), injuries were rare, and he consciously controlled battle intensity.
But Professor Carolina had insisted—so he acquiesced.
What happened next surprised him.
"Woah! A real-life Teacher Azure!!!"
"Teacher Azure—this time I get to pester you in person! Please do a Sinnoh legends special!"
"Touching Teacher Azure's Pokémon… hehe—if only I could examine him instead!"
Surrounded by young researchers buzzing with excitement, Aiden could only offer an awkward yet polite smile—nodding repeatedly.
"Absolutely, absolutely—I've got you covered."
"When has Teacher Azure ever let you down? Rest easy!"
I mean, it's fine for Oak's researchers to be his fans… but Professor Carolina's team was too?!
Thankfully, the researchers had restraint. At Professor Carolina's light cough, they instantly scattered—returning to their stations with renewed vigor.
Measuring Teacher Azure's Pokémon? A dream come true for any fan!
But soon… confusion set in.
"What's with this Lucario? It punched through the machine?! This was a new model rated for two tons of force!"
"Since when can Sylveon learn Thunder Wave? Did Prof. Oak's team mess up their research reports?"
"Teacher Azure's Mega Salamence has crazy stamina—even thirty minutes post-meal it hasn't reverted! Wait… ???"
"Hold on—why is everyone who tried measuring Indeedee now asleep?"
"No wonder they say Teacher Azure's team has zero legal Pokémon!"
"Zzz…"
Once Aiden's Pokémon took the stage, the lab's serious atmosphere dissolved into chaos.
Admittedly, these four were relatively "normal"—at least reference data existed for comparison. Unusual, yes—but within measurable bounds.
The real headaches were the other three Pokémon—creatures the researchers had never even seen before.
Even Professor Carolina—whose lifetime of Pokémon encounters likely exceeded Aiden's meals—instinctively adjusted her glasses, eyeing him with bewildered suspicion.
"Little Aiden… during your time in Paldea, did you ever visit a Professor's lab—"
She caught herself mid-question—suddenly recalling:
Right. Paldea's professor couple went missing in Area Zero over a year ago. Even if he'd wanted to visit… there was no one to see.
No wonder his Pokémon's data remained blank slates.
Sighing, Professor Carolina spoke:
"In any case—your Pokémon will stay here tonight. We'll finish examinations by tomorrow evening at the latest."
"Won't this trouble them too much?"
So even "illegal" Pokémon face special scrutiny during checkups—
Aiden scratched his cheek.
"Don't worry—they'd love this."
Professor Carolina smiled.
Studying multiple undocumented Pokémon—and special variants of known species—meant what?
An avalanche of ready-made research topics!
If Aiden stayed longer, these researchers would likely enshrine him as a sacred treasure.
Just as she predicted—the initially startled researchers, upon realizing the opportunity, transformed into grinning zealots—muttering excitedly:
"Eureka! My Nature paper is secured!"
"Three Pokémon not in the Pokédex appearing simultaneously? Am I dreaming?!"
"Heh heh… my thesis topic just revealed itself. Who cares about Professor Sycamore's Mega Evolution credentials—I'll surpass him!"
"Burn, my researcher spirit!"
"Hahaha—I've made it! I, have, ascended!"
The already chaotic lab descended into glorious madness.
The purity of Pokémon world researchers… is truly unmatched—
Aiden couldn't help but murmur.
—
After leaving Professor Carolina's team, Aiden—temporarily alone—headed toward his room. Passing the study, he noticed Cynthia now dressed in pink loungewear.
She sat on the sofa, cradling a tablet while lost in thought—fingers rhythmically tapping its back.
Curious, Aiden padded softly closer.
The tablet displayed an enlarged photograph: a severely weathered stone slab. Yet the deeply carved symbols remained intact—preserved by their original depth.
At a glance, Aiden recognized the distinctive script.
Said to be eternal wisdom left by the Creator Deity Arceus, these symbols formed humanity's first language through combinatorial arrangements. They appeared across countless ancient relics—and even birthed a Pokémon species: the Unown.
Twenty-eight Unown variants—corresponding to the 26 Latin letters plus exclamation and question marks—possessed negligible individual battle strength. Yet through strategic arrangement, they could unleash terrifying power.
But records of this ancient script had faded with time—becoming archaeology's greatest puzzle.
"When the universe was born, its fragments became stone slabs."
"The power granted to the slabs was that of the giants He once defeated."
"From Him emerged two avatars: Time and Space."
"Two became three—after this, the text becomes unreadable."
"We've only translated this far. The rest requires more time to decipher—"
Cynthia sighed, preparing to swipe to the next image.
But at that moment—a hand entered her field of vision. Two fingers slid across the screen, zooming the image further.
"Is this a slab from the Spear Pillar ruins?"
Cynthia turned—startled to find Aiden standing behind her.
"Mm. The slab itself was too fragile to transport, so we photographed it for translation."
"Wait—Aiden… you understand ancient script?!"
Seeing his focused expression, she teased lightly—shifting on the sofa to make space.
Unlikely—this script's been lost for centuries—but…
What if he actually can?
For some reason, the thought felt plausible.
Aiden didn't hesitate—or perhaps, absorbed in concentration, didn't overthink—settling beside her on the single-seat sofa. He paid no mind to the sudden snugness, their arms pressing together.
Fortunately, he wasn't plump Indeedee—if he were, the sofa might not have accommodated them.
"A little."
His gaze remained fixed on the symbols as he spoke softly.
To Pokémon world natives, this was an impenetrable linguistic system—after all, they used Pokémon Universal Speech daily.
But to Aiden? Unown script was simply… English letters.
Decoding letter combinations into words—and translating phrases—posed little difficulty.
English class finally pays off!
"From Him emerged two avatars: Time and Space."
"Three Pokémon were born of Him—together, they bridge Time and Space."
"Two represent matter, three represent spirit. From this prayer, the world took form."
Aiden continued seamlessly from Cynthia's translation—forming a hypothesis about the text's meaning.
The "two" clearly referred to the Temporal and Spatial deities; the "three" to the Lake Guardians—also known as the Lake Trio.
Uxie, who gifted humans wisdom; Mesprit, who taught emotion; and Azelf, who bestowed willpower.
Just like the game's storyline.
Before summoning Dialga and Palkia, Team Galactic's commanders first captured the Lake Trio—using their power to forge crimson chains linking time and space, forcibly controlling the deities.
Meaning the Lake Guardians' power is the true key to communicating with the Temporal and Spatial deities?
A dual safeguard left by Arceus, perhaps.
"Hmm—?"
Cynthia blinked—glancing at Aiden deep in thought.
Her untranslated gaps had been mere unknown nouns—making it easy to verify his translation's accuracy.
He actually… knows it?
But given his childhood fascination with mythological history, studying ancient scripts wasn't entirely implausible—right?
Though puzzled, Cynthia set aside the question—joining him in pondering the translated content.
As suspected:
To successfully summon the Temporal and Spatial deities—and reestablish contact—the Lake Guardians' cooperation was essential.
We really must visit the three lakes and earn their acknowledgment.
But that wasn't the immediate priority.
"How amazing you are, Aiden~"
Cynthia's face brightened—she patted his shoulder admiringly.
"You've even mastered a lost ancient script! Sinnoh's truly wasting talent by not having you as a mythologist!"
"Since you're so capable… I have a few more uncertain translations that need your help~"
Her true intent revealed, Cynthia's fingers danced across the screen—swiping to another ancient slab photograph.
Aiden nodded without refusal—immediately beginning translation work.
For him, deciphering the text was merely letter-to-word conversion—far simpler than Cynthia's ground-up efforts.
Since he'd come to assist anyway… might as well lighten her workload.
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