Just as Lucas's eyes were shining at the sight of the Raging Bolt, unable to resist the urge to test how soft its fur was, a weak voice rang out from behind them.
"What… is the situation now?"
Lucas turned around and saw the two professors in white lab coats supporting each other as they walked out of Observation Station 4.
Their faces were still somewhat pale, but judging by the way they walked, their wounds had mostly healed—after all, they were able to get out of bed and walk.
The one who spoke was Professor Turo. Come to think of it, this was actually Lucas's first time meeting him face-to-face.
Turo's gaze landed on Lucas, who looked eager to approach Raging Bolt, and his expression was a little odd.
If he hadn't seen wrong just now, Lucas had been about to pet Raging Bolt, right?
The memory of that giant beast chasing after them and electrocuting every wild Pokémon in its path was still fresh in their minds. Yet now, it stood obediently in place, showing no signs of aggression.
Could it be that even these Paradox Pokémon respect strength? As long as you defeat them, they'll submit?
Professor Turo fell into deep thought.
Sada, who was more familiar with Lucas, waved and smiled, "Long time no see, Teacher Lucas."
Her gaze then fell on the Pokémon behind Lucas and Raging Bolt, as well as the battle marks outside.
She understood immediately—Lucas and Larry must have come specifically to rescue them.
"Professor Sada, Professor Turo, Arven has been very worried since losing contact with you. Now that Raging Bolt won't be releasing electricity and interfering with the magnetic field anymore, how about you send him a message while you have the chance?"
Lucas really felt like he was worrying for Arven's sake—these parents were a little unreliable, and Arven was at a sensitive age emotionally.
But this time, it wasn't Sada or Turo's fault for not contacting Arven, so he couldn't say much—just hinted at it.
The two glanced at each other, their expressions shifting slightly. Sada bowed a little and ran back into the observation station to try to establish contact with the outside world; matters like this were better handled by the mother.
As for Turo, he stayed outside, facing the long-waiting Raging Bolt as arranged by Lucas.
In fact, Raging Bolt was more of a listener—Lucas was the main communicator, since he already knew what Raging Bolt wanted.
"About Raging Bolt… to be honest, I'm a bit confused."
Turo gently rubbed his brow. As a professor, his powers of observation were excellent, and he could already faintly tell that Raging Bolt was different from other Paradox Pokémon.
Although he wasn't particularly interested in this kind of Paradox Pokémon, it was no exaggeration to say that the way Raging Bolt and Lucas interacted was exactly what he and Sada had dreamed of—
—to help these Paradox Pokémon, which only existed in Area Zero, adapt to this world and coexist with humans and modern Pokémon.
But most of the Paradox Pokémon in Area Zero still didn't fit these criteria. Iron Thorns, for example, only appeared to fit, but when threatened, it would still attack, and its destructive power was no less than a modern Tyranitar.
As expected, they still needed to find new Paradox Pokémon…
Lucas paused for a moment in thought, his voice interrupting Turo's musings: "It's normal for you to feel confused, Professor. Right now, you're not the only one—Raging Bolt feels the same way."
"So let me ask directly, Professor: Where did you and professor Sada go when you encountered Raging Bolt?"
After a moment of silence, Turo said softly, "Would you believe me if I said I don't know either?"
Lucas nodded lightly. "I believe you. There's no need for you to lie."
Turo's gaze grew distant, as if recalling his memories. "At that time, Sada and I were building a research facility on the lowest level of Area Zero. While constructing the elevator, we discovered that at the very bottom, there was a massive chasm."
"We called it the Great Zero Chasm. The inside seemed to contain extremely dense Terastal energy—even the rocks and terrain showed signs of terastalization."
"The Great Zero Chasm…"
Lucas silently repeated the words. So this was the continuation of the Scarlet/Violet game DLC plot.
"Just as we were about to explore the area around the chasm, the world spun before our eyes, and in a blink, we found ourselves on a strange land with unfamiliar plants."
"Before Sada and I could recover from our shock and observe our surroundings, we encountered the Raging Bolt by your side."
"You know what happened next. We suddenly appeared near Observation Station 3, got hit by the debris from the station that Raging Bolt destroyed, and were chased all the way to Observation Station 4."
Lucas glanced at the innocent-looking Raging Bolt and said in a low voice, "Professor Turo, as for Raging Bolt, it's actually quite simple. The reason it chased you but didn't destroy Station 4 is because it just wants to go home."
"Because it only met you, it was forcibly brought to a strange land. It feels uneasy and desperately wants to return."
Turo said, "I'm sorry about that. At least for now, there's nothing we can do. That bizarre phenomenon of spatial… even temporal transfer, still needs time to study."