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January 24th, Saturday.
It was a rare day off, but Aiden didn't stay at Sunshine Gym to enjoy his leisure time.
As a Gym Leader, besides assessing Naranja Academy students, maintaining the safety and stability of the surrounding environment was also part of his daily responsibilities.
Because the structure system of the Paldea League was highly efficient, generally speaking, there wouldn't be any major issues.
However, sometimes there would be wild Pokémon that accidentally entered Area Zero and gained Terastallization abilities, requiring periodic cleanup.
Even though the main entrance to Area Zero had been closed for humans, Pokémon often had various means to scale walls, fly, or burrow underground, easily entering Area Zero to absorb energy.
And these wild Pokémon from outside were no match for the fierce Pokémon inside Area Zero. After gaining enough Tera energy, they would quickly leave.
These Pokémon's combat power far exceeded their peers, making it difficult for ordinary Trainers to handle them. If left unchecked, they could impact the ecosystem.
The League didn't have many hands to spare to deal with them, so this cleanup work was entrusted to Gym Leaders in each region.
The method to deal with them was simple—
Just defeat a Terastallized Pokémon once, smashing or collecting all the Tera shards attached to them, and the problem would be temporarily resolved.
Pokémon themselves couldn't generate Tera armor; they needed these energy crystals created by Terapagos to briefly gain Terastallization powers.
In essence, this was like the game's Tera Raids.
Only in the not-so-distant future, this task would be solved by a certain "enthusiastic student."
Of course, currently, this work didn't need Aiden to do at all...
Ever since evolving, Lucario's "hunting range" expanded to dozens of miles around, basically ensuring nearby Tera Pokémon were swiftly dealt with.
By hunting Tera Pokémon, what Aiden thought would happen—"Lucario destroying the regional ecology"—not only didn't occur, but it also got along well with local wild Pokémon groups.
From being initially feared as a "ghostly menace," it now became the revered lord among wild Pokémon...
It was quite amazing.
Riding Miraidon towards East Province Area Three, Aiden silently thought while directing Miraidon's path forward.
"Never thought I'd still have to work overtime on holidays..."
Aiden sighed while shaking his head subtly.
East Province Area Three was Paldea's primary mining area, located near Levincia, an industrial cluster zone.
Due to the abundance of rocky mountains and natural mines, one could see many mine shafts and man-made steel supports along the way. Trainers who came here for the first time could easily get lost.
Of course, the official description of East District Three by the League was clearly outdated because of the existence of Rotom Phones. Unless you had concept-level navigation issues like Leon, it was really hard to get stuck in one area.
The reason Aiden appeared here was simple.
Recently, a very troublesome Pokémon appeared near East Province Area Three, digging tunnels all over the nearby mines, causing structural changes in the mines and seriously endangering the safety of nearby miners.
And coincidentally...
Near East Province Area Three, only Levincia City had a League-certified gym.
And Iono, being a newcomer, might face Ground-type Pokémon that she found difficult to handle, making her unsuitable to take on this matter.
Therefore, President Geeta commissioned Aiden to investigate.
Although like Iono and Grusha, Aiden officially became a Gym Leader just last year, there were differences among newcomers.
His trip to Kitakami at the end of the year made him shine within the League.
Solving the entire League's headache-inducing thorn Kitakami single-handedly significantly raised his status within the League.
Coupled with his excellent reputation in the Paldea region, although Aiden was still technically a newcomer, his influence had already surpassed that of regular Gym Leaders and could be compared to the Elite Four.
What does it mean to be a pillar of support? (hands on hips)
So President Geeta always trusted Aiden completely.
Aiden's purpose for coming here wasn't solely to complete the League's mission; in fact, he had some understanding of what was happening here.
Because in the game, East Province Area Three hid a very special Titan.
Though the battle process might be very troublesome, defeating it would allow him to obtain secret seasoning again, restoring some of Miraidon's power.
Suddenly feeling like gathering seven dragon balls to summon Shenron...
"Boom—!"
After advancing deep into the mining area, a sudden loud shake and a muffled sound of something heavy landing echoed from not too far away.
Even the ground began to tremble slightly.
"Gao?"
Miraidon, which had been crossing mountains and rivers, soon slowed down and emitted a low growl of alertness.
Seeing this, Aiden immediately patted its head.
"It's okay, Miraidon. Once we find the source of danger, leave the other troubles to me to solve."
Due to psychological trauma, Miraidon's current courage was ridiculously small, so Aiden wouldn't let it participate in battles to avoid further stimulation.
Some things required certain triggers to resolve, and until then, he had no better solution.
Avoiding the surrounding wild Pokémon, Miraidon soon carried Aiden to a mine that seemed to have light inside.
As expected, drilling in would lead to where the Titan was hiding.
True to his word, after recalling Miraidon into its ball, Aiden took out another Poké Ball after a brief thought.
"Poni~"
Ogerpon, wearing the Teal Mask immediately appeared, actively shielding Aiden.
As the strongest combatant in the team currently, Aiden rarely used it in battles because otherwise, Sylveon and Lucario wouldn't grow.
As for Bagon...
It was still too early for it to start fighting. Let it be a little freeloader alongside Miraidon!
"Ogerpon, let's go down and check. If a battle breaks out, switch to the Hearthflame Mask immediately."
As expected, the culprit behind this mining accident was likely the Titan Orthworm.
Orthworm is a very unique Pokémon. Although it looks like a large earthworm, its body is almost entirely made of metal, requiring it to consume large amounts of iron to maintain its strength.
This was probably the main reason it considered this area its territory.
As a Steel-type Pokémon with astonishing defense, Orthworm could also use fist-shaped body hair hidden in its body to launch attacks. In close combat, it could suddenly unleash eight pairs of iron fists, surpassing Machamp's pressure...
Therefore, the best way for Aiden to handle it was to let Ogerpon wear the Hearthflame Mask and directly use Spiky Shield to make it feel the beauty of numbers.
"Poni!"
After nodding, Ogerpon immediately drew its Spiky Shield from under its cloak and charged downhill with short legs.
Aiden followed closely behind.
However...
After exiting the mine, the scene below was somewhat unexpected for Aiden.
Contrary to the anticipated fierce battle right at the exit, the Titan Orthworm, larger than Aiden remembered and obviously overfed, was lying on the ground with noticeable swirls in its eyes.
Clearly, it had just gone through a major battle.
And the "murderer" who caused the Titan to faint was crouched on the ground with its back to Aiden, seemingly examining the body structure of Orthworm.
"A peculiar Pokémon. Besides its strong defense formed by its all-metal body, its main offensive method is actually launching iron fists hidden in its body?"
"Judging from the structure of these fists, they should be the Pokémon's body hair? Why would it evolve such a function that seems useless normally? Pokémon are truly fascinating!"
"However, if it comes to close combat, neither Metagross nor I fear any Pokémon."
"Metagross!"
The floating Metagross emitted a metallic sound.
The suited man squatting with his back to Aiden muttered to himself while thoroughly examining Orthworm's body before sighing regretfully.
"Pity, it seems consuming some special herbs earlier caused its body energy to become overly active, making it temporarily uncatchable?"
"Still, encountering an interesting Steel-type Pokémon should count as a worthwhile trip."
"Am I right?"
Aiden stood at the edge of the cave entrance, observing, when the suited man rapidly stood up after saying this and turned around with a confident and cheerful smile.
However, upon seeing Aiden, his smile suddenly froze, and his expression quickly turned strange, adding a hint of inexplicable mockery to his originally friendly smile.
"Oh? Never expected to encounter Teacher Azure in such a place."
"Champion...Steven?"
As the suited man recognized him, Aiden was equally dumbfounded.
He never expected to meet this famous fossil enthusiast from Hoenn under such circumstances.
Steven, the current openly acknowledged champion of the Hoenn League.
Though not particularly old, his strength ranked among the top three champions across all regions.
Though Aiden didn't know why Steven, the Hoenn champion, suddenly appeared in Paldea's mining area, he found it surprisingly reasonable...
True to the saying, "You can encounter Steven anywhere outside the Hoenn League"?
"No need to be so formal, just call me Steven."
Seeing Aiden immediately recognize him, Steven's smile widened further, and he quickly greeted him proactively.
"Nice to meet you, Teacher Azure. Never expected to encounter you in such a place."
"This is truly a fateful encounter~"
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