Early the next morning, when Aiden woke up, he could already hear the pitter-patter of rain.
Reaching for his phone from the bedside table, last night's weather forecast had predicted a 95% chance of sunny weather, but upon waking, it had quietly changed to a moderate rain symbol.
"The meteorologists must be quite puzzled right now..."
Why did the weather suddenly change without any signs of rainfall?
This was even more absurd than a sudden clearing.
"However, they probably never imagined this was due to human interference, right?"
He suddenly understood the thrill of breaking real-world logic by causing rain wherever he went.
Fat Head Fish? Not that impressive!
Aiden muttered softly while quickly getting up and washing up.
After preparing everything, he stepped out of the gym and took down the rainy-day doll outside.
Going out in the rain was usually unpleasant, but since Miraidon had an "autopilot" function and the physical constitution of humans in the Pokémon world was somewhat extraordinary, Aiden didn't bother putting on a raincoat even in the drizzle.
Since becoming a Trainer, Aiden had clearly felt his physical fitness improving significantly.
He wasn't sure why—perhaps it could only be attributed to the high level of physical activity in the Pokémon world...
His Pokémon were all tough cookies. Sylveon trained his arm strength, Bagon trained his resilience, and occasionally, he would help Ogerpon with farming.
Over time, Aiden thought he might eventually become a "Super Paldean"?
After waking up the still-sleeping Miraidon and seeing its somewhat resigned expression, Aiden smiled faintly and took out the prepared sandwiches.
"Let's go, Mesagoza!"
As a mount Pokémon, Miraidon was easy to please. Just a few of its favorite sandwiches as "fuel" could restore its energy fully.
Efficient, clean, and pollution-free, it was an essential mode of transportation for home and travel~
Riding Miraidon to the outskirts of Mesagoza, Aiden could see Steven waiting for him at the Pokémon Center station exclusive to Paldea from afar.
He stood straight, chatting casually with a Nurse Joy responsible for Mesagoza, occasionally flashing a confident smile that seemed to exude maximum charisma.
No wonder the perfectly suave nobleman could turn a Pokémon Center into his own turf while taking shelter from the rain; one glance was all it took to spot him...
Thinking this, Aiden quickly approached.
Steven caught a glimpse out of the corner of his eye and immediately noticed Aiden's arrival.
"Teacher Azure, you're here."
"I'm here."
Aiden instinctively replied before realizing—
People in the Pokémon world probably wouldn't get this joke, right?
Sure enough, his reply made Steven pause momentarily.
But Steven didn't dwell on it and quickly spoke again:
"In that case, let's set off."
"Teacher Azure, the preparation you mentioned yesterday, was it waiting for today's rain?"
Spot on...
Aiden raised an eyebrow but didn't elaborate, instead flashing Steven a mysterious smile and waving at him.
"No time to explain, hop on!"
...
The Asado Desert where Great Tusk resided was a special area in western Paldea.
Paldea's ecological environment was extremely rich. Besides common plains and hills, in the north there was Glaseado Mountain, the highest peak in Paldea, and a vast lake called Casseroya Lake; in the west was the arid Asado Desert, in the east were large mining areas, and in the south, many towns were built as livable zones.
This was the main reason for the diverse Pokémon species in Paldea.
After crossing the Grand Olive Orchard from Mesagoza, the distant Asado Desert could be faintly seen.
"Paldea is such a wonderful place. Not only have we discovered Pokémon from the past, maybe there are ancient Pokémon fossils left in the desert?"
"Generally speaking, every region has some fossils. If we can use fossil restoration technology to bring them back to life, I think it's a very meaningful thing."
Approaching the Asado Desert, Steven sitting behind Aiden couldn't help but make a comment.
"..."
Aiden didn't pick up the conversation.
Typical of you, Steven-san, always talking about fossils.
Besides the well-known hobbies of mining and Steel-type Pokémon, Steven was also a fossil enthusiast.
Among his main Pokémon, besides Steel-types like Aggron, Skarmory, and Metagross, the other three (Cradily, Armaldo, and Claydol) could be considered as dug out from the ground.
Perhaps he personally excavated and raised them all...
It's normal for a champion to have a small hobby, right?
Unfortunately, at least based on what Aiden knew, there shouldn't be any fossils in the Paldea region that Steven hoped for.
After all, the ancient species among the Paradox Pokémon came directly from the past, not requiring fossil restoration. One could discover a batch just by entering Area Zero.
Of course, whether one could defeat them was another matter entirely.
Paradox Pokémon weren't like modern wild Pokémon who knew martial ethics, understanding restraint.
In their timeline, humans probably hadn't even been born yet, let alone reaching any understanding with them.
In the minds of ancient Pokémon, trainers who survived battles without being eaten were considered lucky, making every battle akin to a dark duel.
Therefore, after the incident in Area Zero, the Paldea League immediately chose to close the entrance.
If this Great Tusk hadn't shown any record of harming people over the past six months, the League probably would have dispatched personnel to deal with it long ago.
But just because it hadn't made any mistakes didn't mean it wouldn't attack innocent passersby in the future!
So today, Teacher Azure and Steven would act on behalf of justice!
Soon entering the range of the Asado Desert, the originally solid surface was replaced by rain-soaked yellow sand, feeling somewhat soft.
"Gao…"
Feeling the subtle sensation underfoot, Miraidon sighed helplessly.
Under normal circumstances, it would never enter this desert to dirty itself, but…
Aiden gave too much! (referring to sandwiches)
"Is it because of the rain? The deserts in the Paldea region aren't experiencing sandstorms. I even specially prepared two pairs of Go-Goggles."
Steven's muttering from behind reminded Aiden of the memory of his first playthrough of Gen 3.
Whoever thought of placing a small stretch of desert between two paths, requiring the rival's Go-Goggles to pass through, was a genius.
When Aiden got stuck in the desert, he wanted to complain. It looked like such a short distance; why not just rush through it...
Don't underestimate the physical constitution of humans in the Pokémon world!
Perhaps due to the rain making the weather humid, some Pokémon in the desert seemed uncomfortable with the change and didn't appear.
Pokémon like Scovillain and Cacturne, however, were clearly much more active.
After traveling a short distance further into the Asado Desert, Aiden soon heard a loud rumble, and even the ground began to tremble with the sound.
Some Pokémon that had been leisurely absorbing water were startled and scattered.
Miraidon also suddenly stopped, looking through the mist created by the rain towards a certain direction in the distance.
It could sense a familiar presence there.
"This is… a minor earthquake caused by some Pokémon running?"
Steven quickly realized. Being an expert on Ground, Rock, and Steel types, he instantly made a judgment.
"Such a large affected range suggests it must be quite large, right?"
"But if it can cause such obvious disturbances, why hasn't it been discovered until now?"
While pondering, Steven quickly voiced his confusion.
In response, Aiden remained calm and casually replied:
"It might be the effect of the rain. The rain made this water-hating Pokémon more irritable, so it couldn't help but start venting its anger."
Although the reasoning was somewhat far-fetched, it was still reasonable.
After all, Aiden couldn't exactly say it was because the Paldea League lacked manpower and thus hadn't had time to deal with it...
Thinking carefully, the League indeed always lacked manpower.
One of the Elite Four members was missing, and Larry, the workaholic, needed to stay stationed at Cortondo, the only entrance to Area Zero.
Officially, Larry was both an Elite Four member and the Gym Leader of Cortondo, but his primary task was actually to stay in Cortondo to prevent Pokémon from breaking through the blockade and escaping again.
Dragon-type Elite Four member Hassel helped President Geeta manage and supervise Naranja Academy, obviously unable to be easily reassigned;
As for Rika and Geeta, they still had mountains of work within the League to handle.
Even if a nine-year-old Elite Four member joined the League in the future, they couldn't possibly delegate these tasks to a child, right?
So one couldn't blame President Geeta for overworking Larry—it was unavoidable. The entire League was busy non-stop, leaving no time to address these issues.
Leaving it to the Gym Leaders below was somewhat unreliable, as Paradox Pokémon were all extremely powerful existences. If something went wrong, the impact would be significant.
But no worries, Aiden was always a kind-hearted person.
Since the League had difficulties, he (and Steven) would lend a helping hand!
Driving the somewhat reluctant Miraidon towards the source of the sound, Aiden soon spotted a colossal creature several times the height of a person charging ahead in the distance.
From its appearance, it indeed bore a clear resemblance to Donphan, but those thick, curved tusks looked even more ferocious. The red scales covering its body and the red fur on its feet highlighted a primitive aura.
The biggest difference from Donphan was its blood-red eyes, filled with rage and seemingly ready to lash out and harm at any moment.
Upon seeing this giant beast, Aiden immediately knew in his heart—
They had found their target for this trip!
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