Chapter 519: On What Kind of Animals Koraidon and Miraidon Are

Bringing along Peony, who had likewise been left behind by his good father, Luo Mu recalled Meng Lei Gu, which had finally given up on entering the elevator, and successfully boarded it.

However, the elevator's operation required an authenticated ID; it was only when Moru from over there ran over again to swipe their card that the elevator smoothly started up.

It was just a bit awkward.

After a long ascent, the door before them finally opened; Luo Mu led Dragonite, Swampert, and Peony out in single file, and gazing at this room, which was pristine and tidy compared to the clutter depicted in the game, he immediately understood where the two Professors had gone.

They had likely already taken Koraidon and Miraidon away from the Area Zero Research Station to familiarize themselves with the new environment outside.

It seemed there was no need to keep monitoring them continuously; moreover, the strength of those two Pokémon was surprisingly not absurdly powerful.

They were roughly equivalent to slightly stronger Champion aces, still far from that kind of cliff-like gap in power.

Could it be because they were relatively young individuals?

If so, it was not strange that in the game, the second transferred individual, with a more irritable temperament and perhaps greater strength, had beaten them to the point of collapsing their Dao heart.

Luo Mu inexplicably felt as though he was gradually unraveling many details that could not be understood within the game, step by step.

This feeling was highly addictive.

Precisely because Koraidon and Miraidon, as the first transferred individuals, lacked sufficient power, their actions in the game's finale—breaking through their inner demons due to the bonds forged during their journey and choosing to step forward to protect the protagonist whose Poké Balls were locked—resonated even more deeply with people.

Once his whole person relaxed, the exhaustion from two consecutive days of travel surged into his brain.

Rubbing the strangely textured crystal in his pocket, Luo Mu unconsciously yawned.

He did not know when Professor Sada and Professor Turo would take this thing back, but before that, it was best to go rest first.

He probably did not need to worry about the two Professors; in any case, they would be spending long periods with Koraidon and Miraidon from now on, making this the perfect time to cultivate affection.

On the contrary—

Grabbing Peony by the collar as the boy attempted to sneak out, Luo Mu said seriously, "You will have plenty of time tomorrow for parent-child interaction, and deciding to make contact with those two Pokémon is up to you."

"As for now, come on, get in the room with me and sleep!"

Without further argument, Luo Mu took Peony back to the double bedroom the two Professors had arranged for them.

To be honest, the place was narrow, fitting only two beds, plus a small area for movement and a tiny wardrobe.

But considering this was the deepest part of Area Zero, having such a reassuring space in this dangerous environment, sufficient for resting and shedding the day's fatigue, was enough.

Peony was truly exhausted; despite having just tried to sneak out, he fell asleep the second his head hit the pillow.

After saying goodnight to the few Poké Balls on the bedside table, Luo Mu also fell asleep.

Waking up from a single sleep.

Although the hard board bed made his body ache slightly, the fatigue had indeed largely vanished; when people are utterly exhausted, they can sleep anywhere, not to mention that he and Peony had already slept on hard board beds in the observation station, so this was hardly their first experience with them.

Opening his blurry eyes, he sat blankly on the bed for a while; only after his brain fully cleared did Luo Mu look toward the bed beside him.

As expected, Peony was still sleeping.

He was sleeping so soundly that drool had dripped onto the pillow, spreading a dark stain, which looked quite amusing.

After all, Hearing Hearing Nimo had once complained to Luo Mu that when the three of them were traveling outdoors and forced to camp in the wild, they would always set up a large tent and sleep together in portable sleeping bags.

Furthermore, Peony had a habit of kicking off his covers while sleeping, often even kicking himself completely out of the sleeping bag; no one knew how he managed that.

Every night at midnight, the stronger Arven would have to get up and stuff Peony back into the sleeping bag; Hearing Hearing Nimo said Arven had complained to her that he was practically becoming Peony's mother.

Yet now, the quilt covering Peony was tucked in tightly; it seemed that either Professor Turo or Professor Sada had visited here last night.

This couple was truly strange; although they appeared to care deeply for their son, in the original plot, they had actually been heartless enough to leave Peony outside as half an orphan.

Luo Mu made a peculiar expression, stood up, rummaged a disposable toiletry kit from his backpack, recalled each Poké Ball one by one, and finally confirmed that the crystal was still in his hand before walking out of the room and gently closing the door.

As for Peony, the child was still at the age of growing; let him continue sleeping.

Following the hanging signs toward the washroom, passing researchers occasionally greeted him.

While responding to each of them, Luo Mu recalled what Geeta had said: that currently, the Area Zero Research Station employed only twenty-something active researchers.

It was hard to imagine that such a large research station, especially at the critical moment of tackling an invention worthy of being called epoch-making, would have so few personnel.

Just after he finished washing up, he happened to encounter Moru walking down the corridor like a wandering spirit.

Moru also spotted Luo Mu, unable to resist yawning, then waved to Luo Mu and said, "Good morning, Mr. Luo Mu."

"Good morning, Moru."

Luo Mu nodded lightly, his gaze falling on Moru's face, specifically around the eyes; seeing those pitch-black dark circles, his voice sounded slightly hesitant.

"Did you pull an all-nighter?"

"To be precise, I haven't closed my eyes for three days."

Moru forced a smile, though it looked strained no matter how one viewed it.

"You may not be aware, but this is actually the normal state for us researchers; after becoming formal researchers, the burdens we carry correspondingly increase."

Feeling that Moru's figure was almost overlapping with a certain older brother he knew well, Luo Mu hastily interrupted his rambling, asking cautiously, "Aren't you going to sleep for a while?"

Moru froze as if crashing, staying still for a moment before slowly speaking, "... Oh right, I think I was indeed going to sleep."

"There's a summary meeting at nine o'clock; I must hurry—"

Rambling as he spoke, Moru turned around and walked in the direction he had come from.

Watching his state, Luo Mu, as a former corporate slave, could only feel deep empathy.

He casually caught a researcher who looked reasonably energetic and asked for the way out of the research station, as well as the whereabouts of Professor Sada and Professor Turo.

Under that person's guidance, Luo Mu went straight out to the exterior of the Area Zero Research Station.

This place was located at the nominal bottom layer of Area Zero; the name "Paldea Crater" was closely related to the environment here.

It was hard to imagine that underground there existed a cavern comparable in height to a skyscraper, and according to Professor Sada and Professor Turo, below this, beneath the region where the time machine was located, there was an even deeper void.

Perhaps connected to the void below, the environment of the bottom cavern of Area Zero was very humid, with standing water everywhere; towering crystalline gems, taller and more dazzling than buildings, stood alongside walls covered in dangerously blooming Tera Flowers. It seemed that the Tera Flower, Geeta's ace Pokémon, had been caught right here.

Fortunately, the structure here was extremely stable; neither the wild Pokémon nor the rampaging Paradox Species wandering about could disturb this environment, which was why it had maintained its primitive appearance all along.

Carefully wading through a patch of standing water and turning a corner in front of a massive crystalline gem, Luo Mu looked ahead.

According to that researcher, after completing the data collection for the ancient first transferred individual and the future first transferred individual, the two Professors had taken them outside for a walk to get some fresh air, as the creatures were somewhat impatient.

Usually, if they strayed even slightly beyond the research institute's perimeter, they risked attacks from wild Pokémon or Paradox Pokémon; yet after these two appeared, the detection instruments showed no individual responses in the vicinity.

Moreover, since the two Paradox Pokémon could unexpectedly communicate quite well, the two professors were finally able to risk taking them out for a walk.

It was just that—

One thing made Luo Mu particularly concerned.

When saying this, that researcher's expression was especially strange.

When Luo Mu finally saw the figures of the two professors alongside Koraidon and Miraidon, he at last understood why the other's expression had been so peculiar.

How to put it—

At this moment, the relationship between the two professors and these two Paradox Pokémon, those legendary spirits, resembled very much that of humans and pets.

This was not Luo Mu speaking carelessly; in his view, it really did look like that.

First, look at Professor Sada's side.

Koraidon would run here to sniff, then dash there to smell, displaying an abundance of curiosity; furthermore, for some reason, it had shifted from its original form into its Restricted Form, with its domineering head feathers drooping backward, all four limbs planted on the ground, and the tail behind it swaying along with its mood.

How to describe it? It looked just like a large dog frolicking about.

Over at Professor Turo's side, Miraidon was no longer floating in midair but had transformed into the same Restricted Mode seen when the game protagonist first encountered them, resembling a king patrolling his territory: head held high, subtly observing the surrounding environment with the corner of its gaze.

Hmm, it looked even more like a Luxio from back in the day.

Luo Mu made no effort to mask his footsteps; his arrival naturally drew the attention of the two Paradox Pokémon.

Originally, Koraidon and Miraidon were somewhat wary, but upon realizing the newcomer was Luo Mu, a familiar figure, Miraidon raised its silvery-white tail, the tip curving slightly, appearing to show no major reaction.

As for Koraidon, it was even more direct.

It trotted over on all fours, sniffed the scent on Luo Mu's body, then clattered back to Sada's side, as if confirming it hadn't mistaken the person.

The two professors also greeted Luo Mu: "Good morning; how did you rest last night?"

Stepping around the puddles, Luo Mu nodded lightly and said, "Slept very well."

"That's excellent then." Professor Sada broke into a smile and extended an invitation: "How about it, would you like to take a walk with us?"

Professor Turo added, "Thanks to these two, the wild Pokémon and Paradox Pokémon that usually wander around here have disappeared."

"Although the environment here is quite humid, the air quality is decent; most importantly, it lacks that disinfectant smell of purified air found inside the research institute."

"Sure."

Luo Mu naturally accepted the invitation with pleasure, following them to wander around the vicinity while learning about what had happened after he went to sleep last night.

The behavior of Koraidon and Miraidon was even easier to communicate with than Meng Lei Gu—

At the very least, they hadn't nearly sent the two professors to their graves like Meng Lei Gu had.

As long as their curiosity was satisfied, Professor Sada and Professor Turo easily collected their basic physiological data and successfully created files for them.

Speaking of this, a flush even rose to Sada's cheeks.

"It's hard to imagine how immense the power contained within its body is; every single data point far exceeds our expectations. If compared under identical conditions, it could even rival those legendary Pokémon existing in other regions!"

"I found relevant records in the Book of Scarlet; what it says is correct—the strength possessed by such a robust creature might truly be capable of easily splitting the earth asunder!"

After Sada's excited voice trailed off, a hint of regret mixed in.

"It's just a pity that, according to current data, Ancient Number One's various bodily functions still possess ample room for growth and have not yet reached their theoretical limits."

"Gah-si?"

Seemingly aware that "Ancient Number One" was a designation for itself, Koraidon tilted its head, wearing a look of complete confusion.

What were they talking about? Professor Turo's remarks differed little from Professor Sada's; he merely swapped "power" for "energy," changed "Ancient Number One" to "Future Number One," and replaced the claim of splitting the earth with turning the earth into ash.

Miraidon's reaction, however, was quite thought-provoking; although its eyes weren't looking this way, Luo Mu couldn't shake the feeling that it held its head even higher.

During the walk, Luo Mu curiously asked them why Koraidon and Miraidon looked different from how he remembered them.

Their answer was that this form/mode seemed to effectively conserve energy; although the two Paradox Pokémon hadn't exhibited extreme reactions due to environmental changes, they were still maintaining a certain degree of wariness, instinctively and meticulously choosing to preserve their strength and reduce meaningless consumption.

After wandering in a large circle around the Area Zero research institute, Koraidon and Miraidon seemed much more satisfied, but immediately afterward, a new problem arose.

Sada rubbed her forehead in headache, looking at Koraidon, which had suddenly stubbornly refused to move from its spot and was emitting a series of cries; she had no idea what had suddenly come over it.

Miraidon on Turo's side was the same; it simply lay on the ground with an air of serene detachment, adhering to the principle of not answering Turo's inquiries and letting him guess for himself, but judging by its frequently flickering electronic eyes, the cause seemed to be the same as Koraidon's.

Both professors were at a loss; they considered their relationship with the two Paradox Pokémon to be quite good, so what was this all about? Just as they were completely stumped, Luo Mu, who had remained silent until now while carefully observing the two Pokémon, ventured tentatively: "Perhaps... they are hungry?"

"Hungry?"

The couple exchanged glances, yet felt that what Luo Mu said might indeed hold some truth.

"Then we just need to prepare Pokémon food?"

Professor Sada asked Luo Mu tentatively.

Professor Turo then said, "Judging by Future Number One's appearance, should I prepare electricity or motor oil?"

Luo Mu fell silent for a few seconds, thought it over, and decided that since the two Paradox Pokémon had come to the modern era, their first meal should consist of foods that might suit their tastes; thus, he simply asked, "Are there any ingredients left in the research institute?"

"If you don't mind, leave the preparation to me; perhaps I can guess what they like to eat."

In Luo Mu's mind, the image of a certain food gradually transformed from blurry indistinctness into clarity.

(End of Chapter)