The roaring plane from Mistralton City arrived in no time.

“Yah, Hikaru! What are you doing out here? Geez, if you’d told me you were here I could’ve flown even faster.”

Skyla hopped down from the plane, eyes lighting up when she saw Hikaru, while Cyrano looked a bit surprised: “Yo, you know Skyla-san, too?”

Hikaru: “Yeah, we’re friends.”

Skyla smiled. “We haven’t known each other that long, but we’ve gone through a lot of fantastical things together, so the friendship’s rock solid.”

“But wow, the world really is small—didn’t expect you to run into Director Cyrano and be headed to the Nature Preserve.”

“Are you after some legendary material again?”

Seeing Cyrano’s slight confusion, Skyla realized Hikaru hadn’t revealed his real line of work, and Hikaru could only explain:

“Director Cyrano, what do you think I do?”

Cyrano pondered. “Uh? A ranger? Or maybe a researcher—geologist, naturalist?”

Hikaru smiled. “I’m actually a craftsman.”

“I make all kinds of tools and either sell them, pass them to the right people, or take commissions to resolve problems with special devices—that’s my actual job.”

Skyla chuckled and picked up the thread. “Which means he meets lots of Legendary and Mythical Pokémon in search of rare materials!”

“Oh right, important thing—the last batch of Luminshine Vegetables is growing way too fast!”

“At this rate, Mistralton City will harvest its first Luminshine crop soon.”

Hikaru: “And the ‘greenhouse vs. open-field’ debate?”

Skyla spread her hands, a little helpless. “They split the plots fifty-fifty. Looks like both sides are raring to go. When the first Luminshine batch comes out, we’ll do a quality appraisal to see which method wins.”

“But look! The logo’s done!” Skyla took out a badge—on it, Calyrex was licking its lips and holding a radish.

“This is the Calyrex Badge! Hehe, stare at it long enough and it’s kinda cute.”

Calyrex’s abstraction is such that at first glance you wonder what kind of bizarre creature it is, but stare longer and its goofiness and charm seep through.

Even Skyla couldn’t resist and became a devoted Calyrex believer.

“But the freely cultivated seedlings cap out at Silver-star quality; Gold-star still has to wait until the new C Device is finished.”

“Fennel-hakase said ‘I’m on it, I’m on it,’ but I get the feeling she just made another New Folder.”

Hikaru rubbed his chin. “We shouldn’t doubt Fennel like that. She can be a little scatterbrained and informal sometimes, but she works fast—she’s one of the most efficient people I’ve ever seen.”

“And it hasn’t been long since the first C Device came off the line—let’s give her a bit more time.”

After the two chatted a while, they noticed the three kids who’d tagged along. Skyla blinked. “Eh, you’re bringing these kiddos to the Nature Preserve?”

“Yeah. They’re the future backbone of Unova.”

Truth be told, Skyla isn’t much older than the trio—she was only sixteen in the Black & White era.

It’s just that her figure developed a little too well, making it impossible to guess her real age—same as Elesa.

Hikaru: “The future looks bright.”

This was not about Skyla’s figure, because that’s already plenty formidable.

Skyla blinked. “What?”

Hikaru: “Nothing. I was just thinking about your ages… same for Elesa—you both became big names really young.”

Skyla: “Oh? You think these kids will outdo even us?”

Hikaru nodded. “Yeah, that’s what I think.”

Such high praise made Skyla look at the trio with new respect, curiosity piqued. Cyrano noticed and said, puzzled:

“Sounds like Hikaru-dono has some ‘unpublicized identity’ too? That’s quite an endorsement.”

“Of course! He’s a Trainer who’s earned eight Badges!” The moment Skyla said it, Cyrano’s expression froze, then his eyes gleamed!

Oh—Hikaru definitely hadn’t mentioned that!

A Trainer with eight Badges—if he clears Victory Road, that’s a straight shot at the Elite Four! Even if he doesn’t walk that harsh road, he already qualifies for the official League conference… which says plenty about his strength! Earning Badges sounds easy, but Gym Leaders aren’t pushovers. If the first few Gyms can count as ‘exams,’ the later Gyms are true ‘power checks.’

The more Badges you have, the stronger the teams Gym Leaders send out!

“Eight Badges?! Sensei has eight Badges?”

The trio gaped, ecstatic.

Clearly, compared to being a Breeder, a Ranger, or a Teacher, nothing hit as hard as “eight Badges”—even Hikaru found himself mumbling.

Eight Badges are even more awe-inspiring than I thought…

“It’s nothing. You’ll get there too—believe in what you’ll become.”

After encouraging the three kids, everyone boarded Skyla’s plane. They cut through wind and cloud, left the mountains far behind, and about an hour later began to descend, touching down smoothly on an open patch.

Skyla pointed at the primeval scenery outside. “This is the Nature Preserve!”

In the games, to come here you first have to have seen every Pokémon in the New Unova Pokédex, then get a permit from Professor Juniper in Nuvema Town, and only then can you fly here from Mistralton City.

On the map screen, this area doesn’t appear in Unova’s town list.

Similar places exist in many generations—even Hikaru’s own homeland, the Sinjoh Ruins, belongs to this kind of site.

Later, at Blueberry Academy, one canyon area replicates the Nature Preserve’s terrain.

There are only three items here, but the most precious is the Preserve’s “shiny Pokémon,” with that black Haxorus leaving the deepest impression.

Hikaru soon found the Melody Tree here. Not far off stood a colossal Moon Stone-like boulder, while the stave-like Melody Tree swayed like a dream.

[Precious Plant: Melody Tree]

[Description: Meloetta’s song can move hearts; harnessing that power gave rise to this special plant. It bears Melody Berries shaped like musical notes that grant strong buffs to sound-based moves. The tree is born when Meloetta sings with all its heart.]

[Effects: When eaten, increases the power and effects of sound-based moves. Enables special learning of “sound-type” techniques. Can be used to craft special medicines.]

As implausible as it looks—more “special effect” than plant—the Melody Berries growing on it are very real.

“This is it? This is what you were looking for?”

“Oh! Definitely not an ordinary plant.”

Everyone crowded around the Melody Tree—naturally so; this thing violates plant morphology altogether, like a sheet of living sheet music!

“This sacred tree is tied to the Mythical Pokémon Meloetta. I met her in Nimbasa City and performed on the same stage; she told me where to find this tree.”

“It only bears fruit at a fixed time each year, when Meloetta’s song calls them forth.”

Hikaru slipped into tour-guide mode, introducing the tree, then took out his ukulele and began to play an ancient song.

As the buoyant phrases of the old melody danced out, the Melody Tree suddenly shone—its fresh green ripened, spreading like wings into golden filaments.

Then—plop, plop—Melody Berries of many colors swelled forth and started dropping one after another!

“Heave-ho, I caught one!”

Mingyi snagged a berry. Gongping bent close, curious. Ashu stared wide-eyed and muttered, “How can a tree fruit that fast—does playing music really speed growth…?”

“Hahaha! This plant is super rare!” Cyrano laughed, hands on hips. “But if you must play a melody this exquisite to get fruit… hmm, I’m no musician, but most people wouldn’t get this effect.”

Skyla smirked. “Of course! Hikaru’s Unova’s rising star artist! At the concert in Nimbasa City, he debuted and instantly won the championship!”

“Mm! A champion, huh! A genius in the arts? We’ve struck gold.” Cyrano patted his hat, in high spirits.

Right away, Cyrano started sampling the soils and recording the terrain.

The Nature Preserve’s geography is slated for replication at Blueberry Academy, so he has to log every natural detail.

Winds, climate, humidity, water… Cyrano got to work.

Some Pokémon poked curious faces from the forest. Few humans ever come here, so they have little concept of people—and startlingly, shinies are everywhere!

Hikaru sighed. “So many Shiny Pokémon… This is how you protect rare Pokémon. Now I get why entry’s restricted.”

On top of that, the wilds here are high level—average around 60! Power thrums on every side.

Hikaru released Torterra.

The moment his Torterra—back bristling with rare plants—thudded out, it drew every eye. Skyla couldn’t help teasing: “You say the wilds are all shinies, but your Torterra’s color looks even stranger!”

“I remember Torterra’s shiny isn’t like this. Mm, I saw it in Professor Juniper’s Pokédex.”

“That’s where ‘special individuals’ come in.” Hikaru gave Skyla a quick primer, then added, “Shiny Pokémon are rare, sure—but there are also Pokémon altered by various powers, or uniquely changed by harsh environments.”

“I’ve learned about—and seen—such Pokémon. You know ‘Alphas,’ right? Stronger than average, wreathed in a special energy, eyes glowing red, and far more aggressive.”

Of course there are other emblematic special individuals. Leaving aside anime giants like that huge Dragonite, in the games, Ursaluna (Hisui) is a good representative, too.

“Special individuals… never heard that theory.” While collecting necessary environmental data, Cyrano praised, “If you presented at a research summit, I feel like they’d hand you a doctorate on the spot.”

“That’s too much—Principal, you flatter me.” Hikaru was modest. In truth, he didn’t have that kind of clout—maybe he could pass for a research assistant; no heavy ‘thesis-grinding’ required.

Hikaru scooped some Preserve soil and spread it over Torterra’s back, explaining his work to the curious onlookers.

“My Torterra can absorb the nutrients of a soil and use the earth’s energy to reproduce soil of the same nature, letting me cultivate rare plants. It’s basically a mobile garden.”

The three kids circled Torterra so much the turtle got shy, then shook a branch and produced three Pearflower Berries, gifting them to the beaming youngsters.

Mingyi: “I’ve never seen this Berry before!”

Gongping: “Not in the Berry Dex for me, either.”

Hikaru: “It’s the Pearflower Berry—great for your throat. It’s a material for special toolmaking.”

The trio were bursting with curiosity and the urge to explore the Preserve—like a spring outing—while Hikaru felt an unusual pressure in the woods.

Something was stirring.

“Whoaaah!”

A kid with a sun-burst hairdo came “flying” out of the forest with a bundle of firewood on his back!

“Rrraah!”

A pitch-black Haxorus swung its claws, battling that red-headed kid and a Larvesta!

Skyla: “There’s a Trainer inside the Preserve?”

Cyrano: “What’s that kid doing—battles are prohibited here.”

Hikaru thought: in the games, you can fly here and catch the black Haxorus.

But in reality, since it’s called a Nature Preserve, of course Poké Balls and captures are banned.

Otherwise “preserve” would be an empty word.

Hmm… the black Haxorus has appeared, but its aura is violently agitated—and that red-haired kid fighting it…

That’s Alder’s grandson, Benga!

“We can’t let that kid keep fighting—this’ll spill over to the other Pokémon here.”

Skyla reached for a Poké Ball to send something out and stop this “capture,” but Hikaru held her back.

“That Haxorus is deeply uneasy. It senses something intruding on its territory—not just the red-haired boy, but something else.”

“And the redhead isn’t trying to capture it—he’s repressing its agitation. Let’s calm it first.”

Skyla blinked and obediently put the ball away. “You knew that with your psychic power?”

“Yeah.”

Hikaru pulled out a special device: the E-Dart Gun!

For Rangers, this tool is actually even more effective—but not everyone has someone like Miror—no, someone with the Verdant Gem’s gift to see a Pokémon’s habitat and birthplace. That power comes from a green gem of life.

Hmm… I have a Grass-Green Orb myself; maybe I could do the same?

With a rapid burst of glowing earthen shots, a shining “formation” bloomed beneath the black Haxorus!

Soil from Sinjoh carries the world’s primal matter. For pacifying, its effect is nearly identical to soil from the “Border Isle.”

The black Haxorus froze. That “never-met homeland scent” cooled its temper, left it briefly dazed, though the anxiety in its heart hadn’t fully subsided.

Seeing this, Hikaru poured down a shaft of sunlight, banishing its fear and gloom.

Haxorus looked at Hikaru and gave an uneasy roar, then settled completely and scratched its head.

“It’s afraid—something terrifying is about to invade its territory.”

“Haxorus will never go easy on intruders; it challenges enemies with those pride-and-joy, metal-shearing tusks. But sensing an enemy drawing near and being unable to find it is what drove it into a panic.”

Hikaru explained Haxorus’s ecology as he spoke.

“What was that just now—gun and light…?” Cyrano was astonished, while Skyla was already blasé: “Must be another special tool plus psychic power.”

Hikaru: “The E-Dart Gun. Fire soil from one’s homeland to form a soothing array that calms emotions, and my sunlight does the same.”

“Look—there’s a crack in the sky…?”

The trio pointed. Hikaru raised his head. At a glance it resembled a Dream Rift, but the world hadn’t washed to black-and-white, so it wasn’t a tear in dreams.

“Don’t tell me Ghetsis’s isekai shenanigans rippled over and opened an Ultra Wormhole here…”

Phenomena like that in the sky are rarely good. Considering Unova quite likely has seen Ultra Wormholes—Benga did, in fact, cross over. Either an Ultra Wormhole did it… or Arceus did.

Still, if it opened over the Nature Preserve, maybe there’s not much to worry about—there’s a whole platoon of level-100 Gyarados here.

Ultra Beasts are strong, sure—tell it to my Gyarados legion.

Hikaru could already feel it—the forests and lakes nearby were surging, strong auras gathering.

“Right, that rift is what’s agitating the Pokémon here.”

“I originally came to study Dream Rifts, but I detected dangerous spatial waves by accident.”

“We don’t yet know what will emerge from that tear, but it’s already leaking an unsettling presence.”

“Clearly, it’s not a tear in dreams.”

From the forest stepped a young woman in a bodysuit—another professor.

She looked at the group who’d entered: “Nice to meet you all. I’m Burnet. A researcher—and naturally, I have a permit to be here.”

Then she pinched her chin, eyeing Hikaru with keen interest. “You seem to have quite the gift.”

“Hey! How’d you do that?!” The red-haired kid sprang over in a single bound, eyes blazing with fighting spirit. “I’ve lived with the wild Pokémon out here for ages, and I still can’t do what you just did!”

(End of Chapter)

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