Chapter 516: Prototype Time Machine, First Activation!

In the valley that retained its original appearance, a pair of brand-new hiking shoes stepped onto the soil covered with miscellaneous weeds.

Immediately after, a voice sounded.

"Following this path will lead us to Observation Station No. 1."

Luo Mu studied the paper map in his hand carefully and spoke.

This time, without Brother Brother Qingmu, that gold-medal support, to lead the way, and with Pecharunt along, he could only step up and carry the banner himself.

Fortunately, having visited the Paldea Crater a few months ago, even though he had rushed through it then, Luo Mu still retained a general impression of the environment and terrain here.

Combined with this map generously given by Brother Brother Qingmu, even in a place like the Paldea Crater where non-specialized electronic devices could not communicate, they could still find the correct path.

As long as they adhered to the strategy of "going downward," they would smoothly reach their destination.

"I understand."

Pecharunt nodded seriously, paying close attention to every step beneath his feet.

For Pecharunt, the environment of the Paldea Crater was something he had never seen before; the entire journey was filled with unknown plants and landforms brimming with the aura of time.

It was especially fresh.

But it was also extremely dangerous.

Pecharunt had to muster his full spirit, noting every detail of their exploration.

In fact, not long ago, they had just experienced a fierce battle.

Unlike the smooth landing Luo Mu mentioned from his previous trip with Brother Brother Qingmu, this time they were ambushed by a Paradox Pokémon during their descent.

An ancient species of Dragon and Dark attributes: Roaring Moon.

Fortunately, Dragonite's control over air currents could be described as reborn; even while carrying Luo Mu and Pecharunt, which greatly reduced its agility, it could crush that Roaring Moon simply by manipulating air currents to attack.

Only after that Roaring Moon crashed did the two successfully set foot on solid ground.

This sudden attack made Pecharunt realize just how great the difference in danger levels was between the Paldea Crater and the wild areas he had traversed during his travels with Nemona and Arven.

He put aside all distracting thoughts, following Luo Mu downward with unprecedented seriousness to explore.

Because Pecharunt understood that Luo Mu could not accompany him down here every time; one day in the future, he would always have to act on his own, and the more he learned now, the better he could help himself later.

Pecharunt looked to his side and whispered, "Toedscool, I'm counting on you for alert duty."

"Niku."

A Pokémon resembling a "Tentacruel," yet standing on the ground with its tentacles, moving agilely, with pink protrusions on its head that looked like a combination of black wood ear fungus and bleeding tooth fungus, nodded gently.

Its Ability was "Mycelium Might"; the effects were somewhat complex and not needed for the moment, so they would be set aside for now.

However, this Ability also granted the Ground and Grass-type Toedscool the power to manipulate mycelium.

It could generate large amounts of mycelium spreading across the nearby soil; as long as any wild Pokémon approached within a certain range, Toedscool would detect it.

As a capability for probing the environment, this was sufficient.

Meanwhile, accompanying Luo Mu was a Swampert boasting a body full of defined muscles, far more robust than ordinary members of its species, responsible for protecting the safety of both him and Pecharunt.

Although they could ride Meng Lei Gu to advance, considering that its movement speed and flexibility might not even be as good as his own, Luo Mu chose to proceed on foot.

The scope of Area Zero within the Paldea Crater was vast.

Back then, Luo Mu and Brother Brother Qingmu had rushed almost the entire way, yet it still took them nearly ten hours to reach the middle layer region.

This time, there was no such rush; the two maintained a constant speed as they pushed forward.

If any wild Pokémon came to attack, Swampert would step forward and deliver two solid punches to send the opponent packing.

Liquidation, High Horsepower, or Ice Punch—one of them would surely suit you.

Watching Swampert violently pin down a Kingambit larger than itself and hammer it, Pecharunt silently swallowed his saliva.

He felt that Big Brother Luo Mu's Swampert seemed even more violent than before.

Just looking at that force made him tremble with fear.

After delivering another few solid punches to drive away an attacking Kingambit, Swampert silently returned to Luo Mu's side, took the backpack he was carrying, and strove to reduce the burden on its trainer to the greatest extent possible.

The wild Pokémon in Area Zero of the Paldea Crater were indeed fierce, with even more ferocious Paradox Pokémon mixed in from time to time.

Even Gym Leaders and Elite Four members had to proceed with extreme caution when exploring here.

However, compared to a few months ago, the strength of Luo Mu's main Pokémon had undergone another round of transformation; in this upper layer region, he and Swampert were practically unstoppable, much like playing a game on invincible mode.

Furthermore, since many fierce Pokémon were not active during the day, they actually arrived at Observation Station No. 1 even earlier than they had last time.

Just as Luo Mu remembered from before, the gate and interior of Observation Station No. 1 were still covered in a thick layer of dust, making it obvious at a glance that almost no one had visited this place.

Mimicking Brother Brother Qingmu's method to pass the "Human Authentication" and enter Observation Station No. 1, which had no password settings, Luo Mu looked left and right, then pointed to the single bed over there and said, "We are temporarily safe here; you can rest for half an hour on that side, after which we will continue our departure."

Pecharunt's stamina, after all, could not compare to that of an adult like Luo Mu, or to that gold-medal worker Brother Brother Qingmu, who could walk all day in leather shoes; appropriate rest was necessary.

Pecharunt also knew that Luo Mu was thinking of his well-being; a warmth rose in his heart, and before resting, he curiously asked Luo Mu a question.

"Big Brother Luo Mu, why does Observation Station No. 1 look as if no one has lived here for a long time? Doesn't this place require stationed personnel?"

Pecharunt noticed that the dust accumulated at Observation Station No. 1 looked almost like the room of his own parents back home, which was kept tightly closed.

Luo Mu pondered for a moment, and based on some intelligence he had learned over these past few months, he then spoke: "In the past, people would occasionally live here for a period of time to collect specimens of surrounding plants and so on."

"Nowadays, apart from fixed supply teams resting here like us, basically no one else comes, after all, this place is essentially a safe house."

Pecharunt blinked, displaying an expression of half-understanding.

Under Luo Mu's eye signal, after Toedscool tidied up the dusty bedsheet, Pecharunt lay down on the single bed and slowly fell asleep.

In his dream, he heard the calls of his parents, which made Pecharunt very happy; subconsciously, he murmured in his sleep, calling out to them.

Until a pair of hands rested upon him, Pecharunt's blurry consciousness slowly cleared, yet the calls of his parents still lingered in his ears, leading him to believe he was still in a dream.

But—

"Pecharunt, Pecharunt!"

Luo Mu simply had Swampert spray some water onto his hand and slapped it squarely onto the face of the foolishly wide-eyed Pecharunt, forcibly waking him up.

As for the voice calling Pecharunt, it was emanating from a speaker built into the ceiling inside the observation station.

Only after rebooting did Peper realize that the two voices were exactly those of Sada and Turo! He widened his eyes and shouted excitedly, "Dad, Mom!"

Sada and Turo, who were maintaining communication from here, responded immediately. Amidst his excitement, Peper looked at Luo Mu, wanting to ask him what was going on.

As if seeing through his thoughts, Luo Mu smiled lightly and said, "Before coming, I learned some techniques from Penny and conveniently repaired the long-neglected communication module here, so we can now contact those below."

On the other end of the signal, Professor Turo added, "Although we heard you would be coming down recently, the sudden signal from Observation Station No. 1 still gave us quite a scare."

Professor Sada also spoke up: "Observation Station No. 1 is at least a day's journey from the Zero Lab; you must be careful on the way."

"We'll trouble you to look after Peper, Brother Luo Mu; we couple will wait for your arrival at the Zero Lab."

Next, Peper chatted about daily life with the two professors for a while; Luo Mu hoped to reach Observation Station No. 3, located in the middle layer, before sunset, rest there for the night, and then reach the Zero Lab in one go the next day.

Peper could only reluctantly bid farewell to his parents on the other end of the communication and continue the journey.

To conserve some energy, Peper rode his Ursaluna, while Luo Mu rode a Feng Su Gou to travel.

Two Pokémon both originating from the ancient Hisui region actually meeting in the modern era in this way was, in a certain sense, quite romantic.

If they encountered tricky foes that the Feng Su Gou and Ursaluna couldn't handle on the road, Luo Mu would summon the rather excited Meng Lei Gu, who would clear the field with a single Discharge, making their progress quite fast.

Along the way.

Peper curiously asked Luo Mu when he planned to announce Ursaluna's existence to the outside world; lately, he was often asked what Pokémon Ursaluna evolved from, and to be honest, it was somewhat annoying.

Luo Mu could only answer that he was preparing for it.

He planned to visit Professor Oak in Pallet Town when the time came, and while there, hand over the Armor of Celebration to Ash; calculating the time, the latter should be about to start his journey in the Hoenn region.

By then, he could ask Professor Oak how to publish the evolved form of Ursaring; he might even entrust Professor Oak to publish it on his behalf, after all, Luo Mu was neither a researcher nor a Pokémon Professor.

Hurrying along the whole way, the two reached the middle layer of Area Zero, arriving inside Observation Station No. 3, just before the clouds overhead gradually darkened.

This time they didn't encounter Iron Thorns, but they did catch a fleeting glimpse of a Flutter Mane.

Luo Mu remembered that this ancient Paradox Pokémon was extremely ferocious and warlike; could it be that because it was daytime, it didn't come to attack? Considering the characteristics of ancient Paradox Pokémon, this didn't make sense.

To be on the safe side, while repairing the communication module at Observation Station No. 3, Luo Mu strengthened the night defenses, preparing to take turns keeping watch with the Pokémon.

Ghost-type Pokémon were elusive; even though Observation Station No. 3 was built in a relatively safe location, the possibility of intrusion could not be ruled out.

Fortunately, the night passed without Flutter Mane appearing to attack; Peper, tired from the day's travel, slept soundly, and Luo Mu also got ample rest.

Early the next morning, after breakfast, the two continued advancing downward.

Finally, late at night on the second day, they successfully infiltrated the lower layer, filled with dazzling gems, blooming with crystal flowers, and featuring spiral terrain, advancing all the way to the bottom layer filled with countless huge, dazzling gems, and finally arrived at the Zero Lab.

"Hmm."

Stroking his chin, Luo Mu gazed thoughtfully at the colossal structure before him.

"Compared to last time, the changes here are truly huge."

He said with a sigh.

The last time he came here, apart from a crude elevator, there was nothing else.

Now, not only was there a vast complex of buildings, but the main structure of the lab was also encased in huge crystals, looking exceptionally dreamlike.

It was exactly the same as in Luo Mu's memory.

He guessed that this was likely a byproduct of the two professors' research into Terastallization, causing the buildings to undergo Terastallization to withstand attacks from the ferocious Pokémon in the deepest layer of Area Zero.

However, the entrance to the Zero Lab was not the elevator from the game, but rather on the other side.

As for that elevator, Luo Mu felt it should lead to a place even deeper than the bottom layer of Area Zero, called the "Zero Great Crater," as mentioned by the two professors.

In front of the lab's main gate, Professor Sada and Professor Turo had been waiting for a long time; behind them followed several researchers also wearing white lab coats, and among them, Luo Mu also spotted the figure of Penny.

Seeing Luo Mu and Peper, smiles bloomed on their faces, and they stepped forward actively to welcome them.

"Welcome to—"

Before Turo could finish speaking, he was interrupted by Peper, who collided into his arms like a cannonball.

Fortunately, as a professor, Turo's build and physique were even more impressive than Kukui's; his body swayed only slightly, dissipating all the impact.

Sensing the slight trembling of Peper's body in his arms, as well as the tears that seemed to have dampened his clothes, Turo's expression immediately softened; he gently patted Peper's back and said apologetically, "Long time no see, Peper."

"And... I'm sorry for leaving you alone at home."

Professor Sada, whose personality, actions, and even attire were all very bold and straightforward, silently embraced her son and husband.

A family reunion was often what touched people's hearts the most.

The several researchers behind them also turned their backs and quietly wiped the tears from the corners of their eyes.

They understood the two professors' feelings better than anyone and could empathize even more deeply.

After the three had shared their warm moment for quite a while, Penny, who had been promoted to a full researcher, spoke up to remind them: "Professors, it's about time."

Sada raised her head and said softly, "I understand."

Holding Peper, Turo asked Luo Mu: "It's almost time for the maintenance of the prototype time machine; since you have arrived, we can initiate the first startup at any time."

"But considering your long journey here, how about resting in the lab tonight and conducting the experiment tomorrow?"

No matter how anxious they were, Turo and Sada wouldn't go so far as to make Luo Mu, who had protected Peper and brought him safely to the Zero Lab, start working non-stop immediately upon arrival.

Peper no longer buried his face against Professor Turo and said in a low voice, "I'm not tired yet..."

Understanding the implication behind Peper's words, Luo Mu curled the corner of his mouth and added, "We rest at intervals, so we aren't too tired right now; let's just proceed with the first startup experiment directly."

"... Alright, we'll prepare immediately."

Professor Sada and Professor Turo were not the type to be indecisive; they immediately declared with swift and decisive action that they would go prepare.

Meanwhile, under Penny's guidance, Luo Mu and Peper had a late-night meal in the lab, then took the internal elevator to the deepest part of the facility.

Arriving in the vast space, Luo Mu looked at that piece of technological crystal, known as the "Time Machine," which didn't seem like a product of this era and was shocking at first glance.

Even he couldn't help but feel anticipation.

Not only was witnessing the Time Machine's first startup exciting, but the first Pokémon transported to this era by the Time Machine was also incredibly intriguing.

Upon the first startup, which Paradox Pokémon would arrive?

(End of Chapter)