"Snared your eyes with my Electroweb Caterpie—guess who's streaming? It's me, Iono!"
In front of the camera, a wide-sleeved girl with two Magnemite perched atop her head twirled in place, flashing a wide grin lined with shark-like teeth—her signature Strong Jaw trait—before greeting the viewers in her livestream.
"Good morning, good afternoon, good evening, hello, ciao~ everyone! Welcome to Iono's livestream channel!"
With her energy dialed up to max, Paldea's most popular streamer and mega-idol, Iono, kicked off another day's broadcast in her signature over-the-top style.
"As everyone knows, I'm a full-time streamer and a part-time Electric-type Gym Leader, so I often broadcast Gym Challenges for all of you."
"But today? No Gym Battles. No Ranked Pokémon matches either."
She paused dramatically, then suddenly raised both arms skyward in a pose suspiciously similar to "Praise the Sun!" before announcing, absolutely thrilled:
"Today, we're bringing you a long-awaited special episode: an expedition to the lowest depths of Paldea!"
"That's right! I'm talking about the most mysterious place in the region—Area Zero, sealed off from the public!"
"According to credible intel from the League, Area Zero is completely covered in strange crystalline formations. It's the true origin of Terastallization!"
"But the most important part is... there are rumors that a Legendary Pokémon lies hidden deep within the Great Crater!"
Iono leaned in close to the camera, lowering her voice into a conspiratorial whisper:
"And who knows... maybe we'll encounter one of those mythical legends ourselves. It's the dream of every Trainer, isn't it?"
Halfway through her serious tone, Iono suddenly threw her hands on her hips and burst out laughing like a mischievous brat.
"When that happens, my viewership numbers are gonna explode like an Eelektross leaping the Dragon Gate! Wahahaha, how amazing that'll be—!"
Legendary Pokémon—in the average Trainer's words, that means "gods" or "divine beasts."
Like Mewtwo from Kanto, or Kyogre and Groudon from Hoenn—big names among legendary beasts.
So the moment Iono casually dropped that teaser, her chat exploded with excitement. After all, nothing excites a Trainer more than a shot at a legendary.
The livestream's comments were flying in fast. Half were worried that Iono might get in trouble with the Pokémon League for entering restricted territory, and the other half were already hyped for potential legendary sightings.
Seeing the reaction, Iono quickly explained her plans.
"Technically, yeah, broadcasting from the Great Crater is off-limits. But to satisfy my—I mean, everyone's—curiosity..."
"I went through a lot to get Chairwoman Geeta's approval. The price? My entire vacation for the rest of the year..."
At that, Iono's arms drooped from her sleeves in an exaggerated pose of tragic defeat, as though she'd just been hit with a Giga Impact to the soul.
But the very next second, she rubbed her hands together excitedly inside her sleeves and turned to face the crater's entrance like nothing happened.
"We'll deal with that later. For now, let's dive right in! This time, I, Iono, will win the 'Most Popular Streamer Award—beating even Ms. Miriam!'"
The idol of Paldea fixed her gaze on the distant entryway. Her heart pounded faster and faster.
Because this livestream wasn't just about chasing views.
When she was younger, she once met a man who raised strange Pokémon. Something happened between them—something she'd never quite been able to forget.
Back then, she thought they'd walk the Pokémon path together. Travel the world, chase the heights of Trainerhood, side by side.
But then... that weird man disappeared without a word—taking a piece of her clothing with him.
Iono, utterly baffled, had been trying to track him down ever since. She needed to confront him, to ask why he left without a word—and why, of all things, he took that with him…
Was he really that thirsty? And if so, why not just say so?
Though years had passed, Iono had never truly let it go.
The man had vanished like mist, leaving no trace. For five long years, she'd heard nothing.
Finally, based on the odd behaviors he exhibited before his disappearance, Iono had narrowed it down to one possible lead—the most mysterious place in all Paldea: Area Zero.
She believed she'd find her answers there.
With her team geared up for the expedition, Iono and her companions headed straight for the entrance of the crater.
Inside, it wasn't nearly as dark as expected. Bathed in sunlight and the shimmer of crystal formations, the mysterious landscape was unveiled to the public for the first time.
Just like the intel said—everywhere glittered with vibrant, colored crystals. The deeper they ventured, the larger and more concentrated the formations grew, refracting light into dazzling displays.
However... natural wonders weren't the only things awaiting the explorers. Also lurking within were Pokémon—feral and frenzied, as if they'd been sparring with a top-tier ranked player for three days straight.
Corviknight. Raichu. Farigiraf. And… a Delibird?
According to Iono's read on the situation, several of these Pokémon were on par with her main team in power.
Especially that bizarre Delibird. She had no idea what species it really was, but its sheer presence radiated a terrifying Pressure—as if it came with that ability baked in.
With their numbers and aggression, a clash would almost certainly end in disaster. The logical move was clear: avoid battle at all costs.
Too bad these red-eyed Pokémon had already locked onto them as intruders—and they were ready to strike.
"Eep—wh-what the heck is this?! I mean, sure, people said dangerous Pokémon roam here, but this is like wild dogs flooding the streets!"
"And seriously, what's with the hyper-aggressive Delibird?!"
It wasn't just Iono—her fellow Trainers were panicking too.
Bro, this ain't in the script!
They'd barely entered the dungeon and the boss was already spawn-camping the entrance. And this boss? It had cracked stats, psychic reaction speed, and could read inputs like a final-stage raid AI.
Given the current numbers, forget fighting—escaping in one piece was going to be a nightmare.
Thoughts raced like lightning. But before anyone could act, the Delibird—by far the fastest—launched the first strike.
"KWAAAAAH!!!"
"Iono! Run for it!"
"QUAAACK! STAY AWAY FROM ME!"
======
Meanwhile, deep within Area Zero, in a corner even satellites couldn't scan, a young man peeked out from behind a cluster of multicolored crystals.
Just ahead, a group of Pokémon with glowing red eyes zipped past—Glimmora, Volcarona... and even Cynthia's Garchomp, of all things. They were clearly out to raise hell.
"Tch. Pokémon in Area Zero are getting more aggressive by the day... Who the hell's stirring up this hellhole?"
"If I catch whoever's trespassing into my crater..."
The man clicked his tongue—clearly irritated by a memory.
This was Haru—a transmigrant, someone who'd arrived in the world of Pokémon through some mysterious accident.
But unlike most who start in Kanto's Pallet Town like tradition demands, Haru had landed in the middle of nowhere—Great Crater of Paldea.
To put it bluntly: Pallet Town was the newbie spawn point; Area Zero was a god-tier raid zone where even veteran Trainers could get wiped.
Because Area Zero didn't just contain a Legendary. It had multiple Tier One Legends.
Dropping a newbie here was like throwing a Level 1 noob into the Shadowlands with a wooden stick—it was the ultimate test of raw stats and pain tolerance.
The good news? Haru's starter Pokémon was no joke and helped him survive in this deadly zone. The bad news? He couldn't seem to leave.
No idea why. But some invisible force was trapping him here—might as well have a sign that said, "This side cannot be opened."
Still, he had a way to interact with the outside world.
At the crater's deepest point lay a time machine (courtesy of Paldea's very own Batman Parents™).
Normally, it couldn't send humans through time.
But… maybe Arceus chained Dialga under the machine for fun. Or something else entirely.
Either way, Haru had managed to travel into random points in the past—and remain there temporarily.
Better yet, each time he returned, he'd pick up... souvenirs.
Last time, five years ago, he came back with a small protective charm.
It helped him blend into Area Zero, rendering him near-invisible to wild Pokémon.
One odd detail: the charm—about the size of a coin—was shaped like… underwear.
Weird. And uncomfortably suspicious.
Shaking off the thought, Haru tucked the pendant back under his shirt and followed the direction the Pokémon had flown.
He planned to trail them, maybe get eyes on whoever had triggered this chaos.
He didn't know what the intruders wanted—but this berserk Pokémon state couldn't be allowed to continue.
At the very least, he wanted some peace and quiet before his next time jump.
The flying-types were speeding upward fast. Haru pushed forward at a pace no normal human could match.
Eventually, both he and the Pokémon reached the mid-layers of Area Zero.
And what awaited them there was... a sweat-drenched girl with shark teeth?!
"Waaaahhh—dying in a place like this is not okay!!! Delibird, you better get wrecked!!"