Having taken a full lap, Leo now had the entire layout of the ranch committed to memory.
On his way back with Cyclizar, he suddenly remembered the Mayor mentioning that he had left some items for him in the storage shed behind the house.
Leo circled behind the cabin and found the shed. Pushing open the door, he saw an assortment of tools laid out on top of a large chest.
A hammer, sickle, hoe, watering can, axe, a packet of crop seeds in red packaging, and a brown leather-bound book titled The Rancher's Encyclopedia.
Most of the tools were made of iron and looked brand new. The Mayor must have bought them specifically as a gift.
Leo offered a silent word of thanks in his heart, grateful given his current financial embarrassment.
After storing the tools, Leo picked up the packet of seeds.
Information about the seeds immediately appeared in his mind.
[Turnip Seeds: A spring crop. Originally requiring three months to mature, in this world, they can be harvested in just about a month. A crop highly suitable for novice ranchers. If tended by a Grass-type Pokémon, its growth cycle will be further shortened.]
"Huh?" Leo was surprised. "They grow that fast?"
He searched the original Naoki's memories carefully. It took a while, but he finally found the relevant information deep in his mind.
—This was simply how the world worked. Crops grew fast and had short cycles.
Because of this, humanity here almost never faced food shortages.
"No wonder the Pokémon world feels like a utopia..." Leo muttered to himself.
With no worries about food and the immense boost in productivity provided by Pokémon, young people were free to travel and pursue their dreams.
However, Leo also learned from Naoki's memories that not all crops grew this quickly. Some had extremely long growth cycles, maturing only once a season.
Leo nodded silently. He picked up the book and opened the title page, finding instructions on planting and cultivating crops.
Each page detailed a different crop: how to till the land, when to plant, how to fertilize, and watering schedules.
After flipping through a few pages, Leo carefully put the book away and left the shed with Cyclizar.
Opposite the shed was a cave. Leo walked in and found that the interior space wasn't very large.
From Naoki's childhood memories, he knew this cave served two main functions.
First, it was used for growing mushrooms—the dark, damp environment was perfect for them.
Second, it was used to house Noibat. The Noibat raised here would fly out after sunset to forage, bringing back various berries and fruits for the rancher.
These magical Pokémon were natural gourmets.
They could emit ultrasonic waves of 200,000 Hertz from their large ears to locate ripe fruit. By striking the fruit with these waves, they could determine ripeness, picking only the best to eat.
"Interesting," Leo thought.
Having understood the cave's purpose, Leo didn't linger.
He returned to the front with his tools, looking at the weed-choked farmland. He decided to take it step by step, starting by clearing a small patch to plant the turnips.
Seeing him work, Cyclizar volunteered to help. "Gaa-ow!"
It swung its tail, and with a heavy thud, a large rock shattered into pieces as if struck by a wrecking ball.
Leo: "..."
He looked down at the hammer in his hand, then at the rock he had spent so much effort breaking earlier, and was momentarily speechless.
Cyclizar seemed delighted to be of help.
Looking at it, Leo sighed helplessly but smiled with relief. "Let's work together then!"
"Gaa-ow!"
Meanwhile, in the central region of Paldea, within a basin surrounded by towering, steep mountains.
This was the Great Crater of Paldea, a mysterious zone known as "Area Zero."
Deep beneath this area sat a modern, advanced laboratory.
In the deepest part of the lab, Professor Sada and her husband, Professor Turo—experts in the legends of Paldea—stared with excitement and anticipation at a towering, mysterious machine.
"The Time Machine is finally complete!"
Professor Sada, wearing a white lab coat and a necklace resembling ancient fangs, spoke with trembling excitement.
"We can finally see the Pokémon from the future and the past, just as recorded in the Scarlet and Violet Books!" Professor Turo was equally thrilled.
He and his wife had spent years stationed here in the depths of Area Zero, dedicated to this research.
One studied the ancient past, the other the distant future. Leveraging the unique properties of Area Zero, they had finally developed this device.
It could transport Poké Balls to capture Pokémon from different timelines and summon them to the present day.
"Let's try it now! I want to see Pokémon from different eras with my own eyes!" Sada said.
Turo nodded. Then, a thought crossed his mind, softening his expression. "Arven's eighth birthday is coming up soon, isn't it?"
Sada hummed in agreement. "Perfect. When we go back, we can bring Pokémon from those eras to keep Arven company."
"Let's begin then!" Turo had been thinking the same thing.
He took a deep breath, his anticipation growing. What kind of expression will Arven make when he sees these Pokémon?
The boy had always loved Pokémon. He would surely be overjoyed to see creatures from the past and future.
No parents didn't love their child. Thinking about it, they hadn't been back to see Arven in a long time.
This would be the perfect chance to take a break and spend some quality time with him.
With these thoughts in mind, Turo and his wife used their ID codes to activate the Time Machine.
Vrrrrm!
Accompanied by a strange humming sound, the Time Machine quietly began to operate.
The space around the lab warped strangely. The walls became mirror-like, pulsing with red and purple light.
The two stared unblinkingly at the machine, a mix of excitement and tension in the air.
Soon, the pulsing slowed.
A blinding red light flashed from the center of the Time Machine.
Their tension peaked.
As the light faded, a Pokémon they had never seen before appeared beneath the machine.
It was a tall, muscular, bipedal creature.
Its body was crimson, with white accents on its face, abdomen, legs, and tail. Long, antenna-like structures resembling dragon whiskers grew from its head, and beneath them, a tuft of brilliant blue-purple feathers fanned out, giving it a domineering and flamboyant appearance.
It had golden eyes that glared ferociously at the two humans.
Success!
Professor Sada and Professor Turo relaxed instantly.
Finally! Their efforts had not been in vain!
"Capture it in a Poké Ball first!" Turo said calmly.
Sada nodded, pulling out a prepared Poké Ball and throwing it at the Pokémon.
But the moment the Pokémon saw the ball, its golden eyes narrowed into slits.
It let out a roar of indecipherable meaning and, with a casual swipe of its right claw, swatted the Poké Ball away.
Sada and Turo sensed a trace of hostility.
Tensing up, they prepared to release their own Pokémon.
But the mysterious Pokémon from the past suddenly turned its head, scanning its surroundings as if confirming something.
It seemed to find its answer quickly.
The next second, an unreadable emotion flashed in its eyes. Its legs tensed, and ignoring the two professors, it sprinted out of the laboratory.
Its speed was blinding. Before Sada or Turo could react, it had already burst out of the lab.
It looked up at the sky. The feathers on its head unfurled into wing-like structures, and it shot straight upwards.
How many years has it been waiting?
Koraidon couldn't remember.
The image of that person's face when it fell into the Time Machine surfaced in its mind.
The worry, the anxiety, the panic... and that arm reaching out, trying to grab it.
That day, I was still just a Cyclizar.
That day, I fell into the Time Machine, traveled back to the ancient era, and under the influence of unknown powers, became... this.
(Note: This Koraidon is not the two Koraidons from the game.)