Hearing Geeta, Cynthia's gaze sharpened at once. She leaned forward slightly, clearly intrigued. "Area Zero? The place Iron Boulder should've come from?"
Geeta nodded. "Correct." She confirmed the guess and continued, "After transporting Iron Boulder back to the lab, we ran initial analyses. Its stats differ from the Paradox Pokémon we already cataloged from the Great Crater—stronger across the board. I suspect it comes from the deepest layer."
Her expression grew grave. Fingers interlaced under her chin, she laid out her hypothesis. "We haven't set foot that deep. We don't know how many more like it are down there. We suspect some unknown anomaly in Area Zero's depths—enough to drive this Iron Boulder out, into the overworld, even to seize Armarouge and Ceruledge territory and build a power base."
She paused, picking words. "What worries us more: will other powerful unknowns emerge?"
Jason's look went odd. He glanced at the serious Chair, then at Cynthia—eyes also bright with interest.
Then he popped the tense bubble. "So, Chairwoman: TL;DR—you're planning to 'slack off' again and have sis Cynthia go poke the dangerous Area Zero for you, right?"
It blindsided Geeta. In the solemn haze of "Paldea faces an unknown crisis," her face froze; a flicker of embarrassment crossed the usually imperious mask. She even looked away from Jason's eyes for a heartbeat. He wasn't wrong: Cynthia was a guest—a Sinnoh Champion—and since arrival, Geeta had leaned on her to solve internal Paldea problems… and now wanted to send her into Paldea's most dangerous taboo zone.
Hard to justify—but the League had very few who could enter Area Zero and come back. Paldea's depth was thin; those few had their hands full. In strength, experience, unknowns—Cynthia was the best choice. And Geeta knew her colleague well enough to bet she wouldn't refuse.
Sure enough, Cynthia reached over and patted Jason's bouncy head, like calming a naughty kitten, then smiled and rescued Geeta smoothly. "Jason—don't be rude to Chairwoman Geeta. And even if she didn't bring it up—I'd want to see Area Zero. I came all this way; if I didn't visit the most dangerous place in Paldea, I'd regret it."
Gratitude softened Geeta's smile. She knew Cynthia would get it.
With that awkwardness dispelled, she turned back to Jason with a touch of mock-annoyance. "As for you—I've been curious. You came from Area Zero too, didn't you? A certain over-energetic novice said she saw you near the crater."
Jason pegged the "over-energetic novice" at once. Nemona—who'd spotted his secret the first time he showed it outside, shortly after escaping Area Zero.
He nodded. "Thought so," Geeta said, eyes brightening as she leaned closer to examine him. "I'd assumed that anything leaving there would show form deviations from the base species—Glimmet and Glimmora do. But you… look like a normal Ditto."
Jason wasn't about to give the real story. "I am just an ordinary Ditto. I got lost in the wild, wandered into Area Zero, stayed a while, then found my way out."
Even Cynthia looked surprised. "You've been to Area Zero?"
He'd never told her that. "What's Area Zero?" Gast piped up, drifting closer, "Sounds fun! Jason, I wanna go!"
Geeta decided the timing was right. She smiled the smile of a planner and floated her endgame.
"Perfect," she said to Jason. "If you're willing, I'd like you to accompany Miss Cynthia to Area Zero. You've been there; you know the lay of the land. You can guide her—and make the trip safer."
At the ask, Jason's body stiffened. Memories slammed back—crystal caverns sealed from the world, savage Paradox monsters—roaring Roaring Moon, the Grimmsnarl-with-wings; Flutter Mane feeding in the dark. He'd been powerless then, fear burned deep.
He shivered—instinctively. The two women—and the Ghost—felt the shift. Cynthia's hand smoothed over him, soothing.
And within seconds, the tremor stilled. He remembered—he wasn't that Ditto anymore. Back then, a transmigrant with no host memories, couldn't even Transform. Now—he could stand on his own, had Gast, had a Champion at his back, and was about to be a Trainer. This time, he wouldn't be prey—those terrors were walking Dex entries.
Fear dissolved into appetite.
He straightened his small body. "No problem. I'll go with sis Cynthia."
Geeta nodded. "However…" she set down her cup with a crisp tap, drawing their eyes, "Area Zero is dangerous—environment and ecology unlike outside. To be safe, we'll have Iono go with you. Another Gym Leader makes you stronger—and as a native Trainer, she knows more about Paldea's quirks than I do, stuck in an office."
She glanced at Cynthia, purposeful. "And she can introduce you to our unique phenomenon—Terastallization."
Jason perked up. Iono was a Tera study mentor; maybe he'd get a shot at Tera-power.
"Terastallization?" Cynthia latched onto the word; interest spiked. Paradox Pokémon, Area Zero, and now Terastal. Paldea brimmed with unknowns.
"Agreed," she said at once. "I'm curious about it too."
Geeta's smile went satisfied. "Good. I'll notify Iono to prep."
They'd barely finalized the "Area Zero Expedition Squad" when the heavy wooden office door banged open, hard enough to echo.
Geeta's smile vanished; her brows snapped tight—rude didn't begin to cover it. Cynthia simply lifted her cup and watched with polite surprise. So Paldean manners are this rustic?
A figure charged in: an Orange Academy girl, long hair streaked greenish-cyan, mussed from a flat-out run; cheeks flushed; chest heaving; eyes blazing.
"There you are!"
Nemona.
Her eyes scanned the room—completely ignoring the League Chair behind the desk and the Sinnoh Champion on the sofa—and locked onto the lilac blob on the desk.
Found. A dazzling grin broke over her face. Three long strides—and she was at the desk, palms planted, face nearly in Jason's.
"Great! I finally found you!"
Jason: …
He stared back, unmoved—maybe even sleepy. Iron crush. She'd tracked him down to the Chair's office. That drive—Jason would call it Paldea's finest. He recalled that, in this period, Nemona was a strong Trainer—but not yet at Geeta's level. And Geeta wasn't just Paldea's top Champion—she was also Nemona's school Chairwoman. The top boss on paper and in practice.
And Nemona had just stormed in? No knock, no greeting—straight into the Director's office? Brazen. Fitting for someone who tailed her rivals and gave no one else face. No fear of reprisal? What if Geeta "helped" her fail Battle class for this?
Then again, Nemona would likely beat Geeta soon enough; pride suited her.
He also knew Nemona wasn't rude—just fixed on rivals. A battle-specialist persona; everything outside Pokémon battles were just background plates in her world.
While Jason monologued internally, the two Champions finally rebooted. Cynthia sipped her cooled tea, amused. Geeta, less so: she looked at the "problem student" draped over her desk—with eyes for only a Ditto—then at the calm Ditto, then massaged her temples. Her Chairwoman aura had evaporated at the door slam—leaving only the weary annoyance of a principal with a habitual offender. Anger was pointless with someone like Nemona; she just sighed, "Nemona… I've told you many times. Before you enter my office—knock."
Nemona blinked as if seeing the room's other occupants for the first time, straightened, and turned. "Ah! Chairwoman Geeta!" she chirped, grin unabashed. "Sorry, sorry—I heard the Ditto might be here and got too excited and forgot."
She scratched her head—an "I apologized so can we move on" breeziness. Geeta felt her blood pressure tick up again.