COLUMN #41 - From the desk of Professor Sada

Hello once again, readers.

I come to you with bittersweet news to share. I must announce that this will be my last entry for a considerable while. Not just for this inquirer, but for all my publicized columns.

It is only due to fantastic news, however. My colleague Professor Turo and I have just made our pitch I've been teasing so long of, and... it was a successful one! So I can finally go public with this.

We've secured the grant needed for a brand new scientific expedition into the Great Crater of Paldea! We are gathering a team of researchers from our institute, and will be spending an undetermined amount of years, most likely five, setting up base inside Area Zero itself.

Much has been said about Heath and his largely discredited expedition. Our goals for this journey are not to be one of the many who have sought to dive into the crater to see if his wild legends of monsters and magical plants are true. We are just seeking answers, related to the Terastal phenomenon and how to further enhance our understanding of our bonds between Pokémon.

I think the best way to describe what I'm looking for readers is... illumination.

My colleague and I have some ideological differences here and there. But the two of us have also found that we work together very well aiming for the same goal and collaborating with others. I admittedly wasn't sure what to think of Turo the first few years I'd been working in the same institute as him. But he's since become a good friend to me. A very good friend. I haven't a single shred of doubt that with our brainpower pooled together, we can both make great achievements and bolster the best scientific breakthroughs regarding Area Zero and the Terastal phenomenon the world's ever seen!

Perhaps he and I can create something beautiful together. A treasure for the both of us.

Here's to you, readers. Thank you for being such loyal followers to my column for the three years I've been doing this, and for all your lovely fan mail and questions. Until next time... be good to each other!

With love, Professor Sada

Women's Science Monthly
THE JULY ISSUE


On one side of the cavernous arena stood Juliana. Kieran's steely gaze faced her head-on, grounding her in what had been her deepest desire for the past several months: taking back her mistakes from an emotional catastrophe that spiraled out of her control.

In her peripheral vision was the red glow of the crystals leading into Terapagos's hideaway, reminding her that there was more at stake to this battle than repairing a broken friendship.

Miraidon growled, seeming to understand the pressure. Juliana nodded to it.

"Alright Miraidon… go!"

"Graaaaooo!"

Miraidon entered into battle. With its digitized cry, a pulse of electricity burst out to coat the battlefield, fueling Miraidon's engine.

On the opponent's side, Kieran. The boy who had spent all his life thinking everyone else was beating him down, but having thought he found a kindred spirit in both the tales of the fearsome ogre and his chance meeting with a girl named Juliana. Only to be given a violent reality check that this world rewards the haughty, and laughs cruelly at the weak.

…So he'd come to believe anyway. Koraidon's courageous roar filled him with confidence that today… all these terrible feelings boiling in his head were about to come to an end. One way, or another.

He leapt off his new partner's back and snarled his teeth with determination.

"Koraidon… time to win!"

"GRAAAOOO!"

Koraidon shook the ground with its protolithic yell. The scaly serpent summoned artificial sunlight inside the dark cave, energizing its ancient blood.

Carmine struggled to keep her footing with the electric shocks dancing around her while Arven tried to shield his eyes from the harsh sunlight.

"Gahhh!" Carmine cried out. "Why do both of those giant thugs have to do things to mess around with the atmosphere in here!?"

"That's a good question. From what I remember, all the Pokémon that came from Dad's time machine, like Miraidon, got a huge boost from Electric Terrain." Arven thought pensively while peering. "I wonder why this red brute would want there to be lots of sunlight…?"

"Miraidon…" Juliana was the first to command. "Use Dragon Pulse!"

Miraidon charged a beam of pure draconic energy in its mouth and concentrated it all into a huge blast aimed at its mysterious opponent. Koraidon, who Juliana correctly predicted as being a Dragon-type just like her partner, took a big chunk of damage.

But with its mighty plumage, the winged king took all this in stride, as Kieran scoffed.

"You're still so lucky with those super-effective hits… but you're going to need a LOT more than luck now! Koraidon, Breaking Swipe!"

Koraidon flexed its long tail, and in a circular motion whipped Miraidon hard with the dragon energy pulsing from its own appendages.

"Growl-growl…" Miraidon whined.

Juliana observed this strange new Pokémon's reactions, trying to get as much insight as she could.

In every battle I've used Miraidon by my side, it specialized the most in using special attacks. But so far, this Koraidon seems like the opposite. It's more of a physical attacker!

This was an important lesson she'd picked up from Nemona, was using observational details to determine a Pokémon's battling specialties as quickly as possible.

"Think we should be playing this more defensively then," she said quietly. Then she commanded, "Miraidon, use Charge!"

Miraidon braced itself and began charging up electric energy within itself, which also bolstered its body's defenses.

"Hmph! My new partner's moves are so powerful there's no WAY you can protect yourself from them!" With a boastful bluster in his voice and a spiteful gleam in his eyes, Kieran shouted out, "Koraidon, show 'em! COLLISION COURSE! Let's see if this attack is as cool as the Pokédex says!"

With a mighty wind, Koraidon leapt up into the air. It curled up its body into a huge flaming wheel, revved itself up, and SLAMMED into Miraidon with the force of the sun.

"Wowzers! That was such a cool attack! Like something out of an anime!" Kieran raved excitedly. Then he saw Juliana's smirk and said, "Uhh—I mean, heh. Betcha wish you had accepted my battle when I was a lot weaker!"

Juliana was smirking even harder on the inside. Breaking down your walls again…

"You kidding?" she said out loud. "Then it wouldn't be anywhere near this fun!"

She definitely heard a stifled chuckle from Kieran, which was enough to make her smile a bit.

Arven leaned in close to Carmine and whispered. "Hey, so like… what is that kid's deal? I know Juliana told me they had a falling out. So what happened?"

Carmine shook her head. "Honestly…? I don't even know anymore. Kiki's the only one still dwelling on the past at this point."

"Alright, Miraidon! You've built up all that electric energy! Now it's time to unleash it, with an ELECTRO DRIFT!"

"AGIAS!"

Miraidon performed a fancy twirl as all the electricity built up in its cyborg body gathered up, and then it spun itself into a wheel too, one of pure pulsing blue shocks.

It seemed to vanish into thin air, only to cut into Koraidon almost at the speed of light itself, and crackles of all the iron serpent's built-up electricity shocked Koraidon straight into its core.

Kieran winced at the amount of damage he saw his giant lizard take.

"…Really? I thought I read Dragon resists Electric moves… But even so, wowzers!" he clapped lightly. "That was such a cool move! I had no idea Miraidon would whizz by that fast!"

"Ha-ha! Thanks, Kieran!" Juliana grinned.

He frowned again. "Uhh—yeah, no problem." He scratched his head embarrassedly. "That'll be the last compliment ya get, alright?"

"Even their moves are really similar to each other's," said Arven. "They're basically evenly matched!"

"Uhh, I guess," Carmine rolled her eyes. "Besides maybe that Juliana's Miraidon has a tighter bond with its Trainer, more strategic moves, and probably more effort values than this wild monster Kiki found five minutes ago."

Arven rolled his own eyes in return. "Guess it's true what Nemona said about you guys at Blueberry taking your battle strats super seriously."

"Whatever, city boy. I think the outcome of this battle is pretty easy to predict."

"On your feet, Koraidon!" Kieran yelled. "Use Breaking Swipe! AGAIN!"

"Do your best to dodge it, Miraidon!"

Koraidon swept Miraidon again with its long tail, but Miraidon used its boosters to lift itself up enough that it was just grazed by the attack.

"And then turn back things around with a—a…. a Para—Per-AH-bolic…"

Carmine groaned and shouted, "PARABOLIC CHARGE!"

"Yeah, that one," she giggled awkwardly.

Miraidon's eyes glowed brightly, and its body lit up like neon as it sent out a special yellow shockwave that swept through Koraidon's body.

"Graaooo…"

The winged king groaned as it felt the electric shocks draining a bit of its life force, and then transferring it through pulses back into Miraidon's robotic blood.

"Agias!" Miraidon growled, feeling freshly energized again.

"Grrrr… Maybe I should've had you learn Drain Punch instead," Kieran fretted.

His own fist started to shake like he was about to use that move himself.

"I might not be able to beat you just on raw skill…" Kieran's eyes locked in. "Which is why I gotta stop holding back!"

Juliana gasped in alarm as she watched him take out his Tera Orb.

"Wait, what are you doing!?"

Carmine and Arven gasped too as they took stock of the crystal clusters surrounding them on the ceiling.

"KIKI! Wait, DON'T—!"

But Kieran had already raised his Tera Orb up as it gathered with all the Terastal energy in the room. Unlike before, Kieran found himself overwhelmed by the immense shaking in his hand as the Orb seemed to pulse harder than it ever had before.

"Ahhh, agggh!" he screamed out.

He hastily chucked the Tera Orb just to get it out of his hand, and it lit up over Koraidon.

TERA-TERA-PA-GOOOOOS!

The Terastal cry echoed loudly in the cavern as Koraidon became enshrined in crystals. Too impatient to wait, the scarlet brute broke out of those crystals on its own, now adorned in bright orange crystals including a giant fist-shaped Tera Jewel on its head.

"GRAAAOOOOOWWWOOOORRRR!" it cried out, drawing its full power.

Juliana actually stepped back a little bit in fright. Kieran relished in this sight.

Finally, you know what I'm capable of…

But Juliana was getting worried about something else.

We all said it was probably the Terastallizing that was giving Terapagos power, right? I shouldn't Terastallize too…

"Looks like it's our advantage now! This one's in the bag! Koraidon… with all your power… COLLISION COURSE!"

Koraidon revved up its super-powerful signature move again, now even more boosted by the power of its Tera Jewel, and rammed itself into Miraidon at full power.

-BOOM-

Miraidon was left gravely weakened, its motors running on low, static crackling all around it, and its neon eyes dimming.

"Graaooo…" Miraidon cried weakly.

"We're not down yet, Miraidon…" Juliana tried to assure it. Although deep down, she knew this battle was as good as lost. But she owed it to Kieran to keep giving it her all. "I believe in you, my super-awesome partner! I'll bet you've still got one more Electro Drift in you!"

"Agias…"

Miraidon charged itself up with what little energy was left inside it, and channeled it all into one big Electro Drift.

The lightspeed attack struck Koraidon, and the huge Pokémon was brought kneeling.

"Come on, come on, come on…" Kieran urged it.

Koraidon's eyes squinched shut… only to fly open again.

And it courageously stood up with the last of its strength, letting out a growl not as mighty, but still just as defiant.

"Whoaaaaaa…" Even Arven and Carmine had to admit they were impressed.

Juliana gulped.

"Hmmm." Kieran's face was still. He strangely didn't look that confident. "Well… might as well end this, then. K-Koraidon… Collision Course!"

Koraidon acquiesced to its new Trainer's order, or maybe it just wanted another chance to unleash its power and defeat its violet counterpart for good.

Either way, it rolled itself up into another wall, and lunged at Miraidon once more.

The battered iron serpent couldn't take any more abuse, and its head slumped as all its lights and engines seemed to power off like a bad generator.

"It's alright, Miraidon… You did your best."

Juliana smiled gently as she recalled Miraidon into its Ball.

"…Did you, though?" Kieran muttered. "AGGH!"

He was startled as Carmine rushed over clapping loudly and then put her hands on his shoulders.

"YAAAAAAY! That's my Kiki!" she cheered. She then started giving his head intense noogies. "You won all on your own, I'm so proud of you! I didn't think the odds were in your favor, but that's my little bro proving everyone wrong!"

"Hey, HEY! Watch the hair, sis!"

"Wow! That was an awesome battle!" Arven raved. "You two were like lightning to watch!"

"Thanks, Arven!"

Juliana, nervously but with a smile on her face, calmly walked over to Kieran.

"Hey, Kieran…?"

She held out her hand. Kieran stared at it.

"That was a really fun battle! One of the best ones I've ever had! Guess we're finally even now, huh?"

He kept staring at her hand, and then whimpered.

Juliana frowned. "What's wrong…? Isn't—this what you wanted, Kieran? To finally prove that you're just as good a Trainer as me?"

"Well, yeah, but…" He threw his head down.

"But WHAT!?" Carmine yelled. "You WON, Kiki! You battled Juliana on fair terms and won, and you're still being all gloomy!? I'm starting to think you just WANT to be sad!"

"Geez," Arven scruffed his head. "Laying it on a bit thick, aren't ya?"

"Well yeah, but…" Kieran's voice trailed off. "I told ya not to hold back… And you didn't even Terastallize your Miraidon… Like you just let me win."

"What!? No! No!" Juliana frantically shook her head. "It wasn't 'cause of that! I just—I—"

Carmine noticed Juliana's freneticism and decided to step in on her behalf.

"Kiki, Terastallizing is really DANGEROUS down here! A bunch of those monsters you think are so awesome are being brought back from the dead because of it, and if too many of them all come out at once, they'll wreak HAVOC all over the place!"

"What?" Kieran looked at her, feeling both confused and embarrassed. "Are you… serious?"

"Maybe if you had actually stayed with us instead of running off on your own, you would've been around to hear all of this from Professor Whatshername!"

"I—I didn't know any of that," he said guiltily. "You're right, I'm sorry…" He threw his head down.

"Of course I'm right! You—" Then Carmine's face changed. "…Wait. You—you just admitted I'm right? And said… sorry?"

Kieran looked up glumly at her for a second, and then hung his head down once more.

Carmine for once in her life was completely speechless.

"Kieran…" Juliana spoke. "I know you wanted to battle me to prove yourself, that we're both equals… And we are! Clearly."

"…"

"But… I never cared about any of that. I don't battle just because I want to be seen as stronger than everyone else. I mean… as a Champion, there's like, people who look up to me and—I still feel kinda weird about it!" she giggled. "I don't battle for all that stuff. I just like Pokémon battles because they're… fun! And they're really great ways to make new friends!"

Juliana looked at him with much more earnest expression.

"And—really… That's what I want more than anything. That's why I agreed to your battle, Kieran…" Her eyes began to glisten. "I just—I really want us to be friends again."

Kieran glanced up at her in surprise. When he did, his eyes met a very sorrowful girl, looking at him with care and sincerity.

"And I just miss my brother…" Carmine mumbled.

Kieran balked at both their expressions. The pain and sadness in their eyes… it was all very much unlike the wrathful image of Juliana and Carmine, laughing at him behind his back, that Kieran had built up inside his mind over the past couple of months.

In fact, that very idea seemed so distant and absurd now.

Neither of them were saying sorry outright, and yet their eyes… Juliana's eyes especially, were apologizing a million times over.

Now it was Kieran who was speechless. He wasn't stuck inside his head anymore. He just… didn't know how to respond.

This feeling in his head?

…Guilt?

He hadn't let himself feel guilt in a very long time…

Arven gritted his teeth awkwardly, watching all the tense silence happening all around him.

"Uhhh, guys?" he spoke up to get their attention. "I get you guys are going through a whole lot right now. But umm… we've got important matters at hand right now."

Carmine sighed. "He's right. Let's finish this dumb quest and we can all have a group therapy session afterwards."

"Yeah! Like, for instance…" Arven looked around worryingly. "Did, anyone have eyes on where Ms. Briar went?"

They all looked around, as if just noticing for the first time that their chaperone was no longer present.

Carmine grumbled. "You know, it's not usually the students who should be keeping their teacher on a leash…"

Then they heard a loud yell from inside the hole.

"Oh my gooooosh! KIDS! Come quickly!"

"Some Paradise Protection Protocol…" Arven chuckled. "She just waited until we were distracted and ran on in there!"

"That lady, I swear," said Carmine. "Do you think she found that Terapa-thing or whatever?"

Kieran gasped. "The hidden treasure!"

Like a flash, he took off down the hole.

"Kiki! Wait!" Carmine called. Then she grumbled even harder. "Where does that kid get his energy, I swear…"

"Well, we'd better go follow them," Juliana motioned.

The three of them agreed unanimously and took off down the round tunnel into the core of the underdepths.

As they did, Juliana was still thinking.

Kieran… He's opening up so much now… And actually listening to us… I thought our friendship was over. Can we—can we really come out of this place all patched up and friends again?

I really hope so…

Meanwhile, a little ways down the tunnel, Kieran was running as fast he could. But he was also battling doubts in his head.

I won the battle. I proved I'm just as strong as Juliana… So why do I still feel like such a screw-up?

He looked ahead, where he could make out a gleam at the end of this tunnel.

The hidden treasure… Maybe that's been the key this whole time. The key to my destiny…


Juliana, Carmine, and Arven caught up with the others at the other end of the tunnel… and they found themselves in the hugest cavern of all.

"Whoaaa…" they all said at once.

It was an extremely dark arena for the most part, like some pitch black hole… but it was lit at the center of the cave, in a huge cluster of crystals so tall they all pointed up and many of them went through the ceiling itself.

Briar was standing near the center, where there was a flat, plated crystal almost like a table.

"What IS this place…?" Carmine wondered. "The vibes here are on a totally different level."

"Is this really the center of everything?" asked Juliana.

"Good question…" said Arven.

Kieran was looking around impatiently.

"The hidden treasure… Where is it!?"

"Here, Kieran!" Briar called out to him. "Look! I found something among these pillars!"

"Lemme see!" he shouted as he ran up.

Kieran looked to see where Briar was pointing…

On one of the small crystals overlooking the platform in front of them… was a small green gem, sticking out of it, so embedded that it was cracking the crystal.

"This stone's the hidden treasure?"

"We've seen nothing else in these depths like it." Briar dug out Professor Sada's scarlet binder from her bag. "Give me a moment. Maybe Professor Sada left us a clue…"

Kieran wasn't so willing to wait, however. He instantly walked up the gem, and stared at it with furrowed brows.

"If I can get the hidden treasure of Area Zero…"

"Hey! Little dude!" Arven called out. "I really don't think it's a good idea to be touching that!"

"Grrr…" He turned around to Arven. "I thought you were on my side, Arven! I didn't come all this way just to give up on bagging a Legendary Pokémon!"

"You already got that big red lizard thing!" Carmine shouted. "Isn't that good enough!?"

"Not when I'm still feelin' all miserable and pathetic inside!" he insisted. "Maybe this is what I need…! This Terapagos thing… It's what'll finally make me feel complete! I won't have to feel like I'm not worthy anymore… just because of that ogre!"

"Kiki! You're still going on about that nonsense!? Ogerpon never hated you! Why can't you get that through your thick skull!?"

"Shut it, sis!" he barked back.

Carmine gasped, and he felt a tingle of guilt again. But this just made him more determined to start pulling at the green gem, trying to shake it loose from the crystal.

"You two… still have everything I've ever wanted! You've got strong Pokémon! You can go anywhere you want, Juliana, and you can be friends with anyone! Nobody wants to pick on you!"

Juliana and Carmine both exchanged looks of pity and sadness at each other.

"But, Kiki—you did your best, too!" Carmine insisted.

"Even YOU, sis! And YOU'RE the one who's got Ogerpon, sis! I loved Ogerpon since forever ago! But even the ogre chose you over me! And so did Juliana!"

"What!?" Juliana reacted.

"You were being all nasty toward her at first, but then BOOM! You were like best friends in no time! You knew how I felt, sis… About Juliana… This whole time…"

"I… well…"

"Huh?" Juliana was confused.

"And then you stole her for yourself…"

"That's—that's not what happened at all!" Juliana protested. "I didn't choose Carmine over you, Kieran! I was trying to be friends with BOTH of you! I didn't want to lie, or leave you out… It just—happened! And I kept trying to make it up with you every step of the way!"

"Whatever…" Kieran lamented. "I've got nothing… I worked so hard, and for what!? I STILL lost in the end! This… this is all I have left now!"

"Kieran…" Juliana said sadly.

Arven sighed. "If you spend so much time looking on the other side of the fence… you'll never take stock of everything you've got right in front of yo—"

"FOUND IT!" Briar suddenly shouted out. "This crystal is definitely what we're looking for! Go on, Kieran—pull with everything you've got! Show us the hidden treasure of Area Zero!"

"Seriously?" Carmine fretted. "Teach is just lost in her own little world…"

The gem shone a wonderous green color like an emerald.

Kieran tugged and pulled on it with all his might. His face twisted hard as he tried his best to squeeze it out of the crystal it was wedged into.

Then… with a huge snap, the gem broke free from the crystal and flew out of his hands, landing on the ground.

Kieran and Briar quickly ran over, and Kieran picked it up.

"There's no doubting it!" Briar declared, cross-examining her copy of the Violet Book now. "This crystal must be Terapagos!"

"Is it, like… asleep inside that gem or something?" said Arven.

"Your mom's echo said something about how Terapagos used its power to put Pokémon inside of crystals to protect them," Juliana recalled. "Do you think it… also did that to itself?"

Kieran gazed at the gem in his hands, wondering if there was something he should do, when suddenly it activated.

"Ahh!" He almost dropped it in shock.

It lit up in a huge bright glow, and then it started floating up out of Kieran's hands, and levitating on its own.

Everyone watched the gem in awe as it floated above all their hands, radiating a bright blue pulse. And then it shined so bright everyone had to avert their eyes.

TERA…

The crystal began to grow in size!

PA…

And change shape…

GOOOOOS!

Then, in a burst… limbs and a head popped up from the gem itself!

The gem had transformed into a living creature! And it quickly dropped back down onto the ground.

Everyone's mouths were hung open.

What was once an ordinary looking green gem was now a small turtle-like Pokémon, with a blue body sticking out of the gem like its shell. Its limbs were adorned with teal-colored wrist rings and diamond symbols, while its head sported a funny appendage that looked like three triangles stacked on each other.

It peered up at everyone… and made a familiar-sounding cry.

"TERA-PA-GOOOOS!"

Arven gasped. "That's the same sound Terastallization makes…"

Now that this Pokémon's face was lit up, they could see that it bore red lines around its eyes which were a mix of blue and teal, along with white diamond-shaped pupils.

Its eyes are kind of a lot like Ogerpon's… Juliana thought.

This Pokémon looked all full of excitement one second, only for its eyes to grow heavy as it let out a huge yawn.

"Ohhhh… that was the most adorable yawn ever," Carmine gushed. "So… this, dinky little cutie. Are you telling me it's really…?"

"I think so." Juliana knelt down, hands on her knees, as she stared at this creature in awe. "…Terapagos."

"…Gos?"

Hearing its name seemed to perk Terapagos up from its weariness.

Its eyes fixed onto Juliana, like a Torchic imprinting on its mother.

"Huh?"

Then, to Juliana's surprise, Terapagos started slowly waddling its way towards her.

"It's… going to you?" Carmine whispered.

Juliana, without really thinking about it, cupped her hands and started holding them out as Terapagos got closer.

Kieran reared back in shock.

"No…! Not again!"

He clenched his fist. Then, with a snap angry expression, he drew something out of his pocket.

A Master Ball.

"You're MINE!"

He chucked the Master Ball to Terapagos.

"Tera…!" it cried out in surprise as the Ball captured it.

Juliana gasped and stood up.

The Master Ball dropped onto the ground.

Wiggle.

Wiggle.

Wiggle.

Click.

Kieran gasped himself, and sprinted over to the Ball, picking it up.

"That was Terapagos, right?" said Arven. "You… really caught it?"

"F-finally…" He said.

"Very well done, Kieran!" Briar marveled. "The fact you brought along a Master Ball tells me you were well prepared for this! Especially if you waited for this opportunity instead of using it to catch that Koraidon!"

"Kiki…" Carmine looked torn. "I'm… pretty sure it was heading towards Juliana…"

"Don't you dare start again with this!" Kieran snapped at her. "Ogerpon chose you, and that Miraidon chose Juliana! So maybe I should get to choose something for once!"

Carmine turned to Juliana, who she could tell looked disappointed. "Juliana… say something!" she whispered.

"It's… it's okay, right?" Juliana whispered back, fighting back the sadness in her tone. "I guess he's got a point…"

Carmine gave her a pitied look. "There's a difference between keeping the peace to stay friends with someone and just… being a doormat, y'know."

Briar, as seemed the norm, was oblivious to whatever argument was going on and just looked at Kieran's Master Ball with glee.

"I'm just pleased someone was able to capture the mysterious Pokémon! Now I can study Terapagos whenever I want…"

Carmine gave her an odd look. Did you think Kiki was catching it for you…?

"BUT! There's no time like the present! Think you could give us a little demonstration of Terapagos's power right now?"

"Umm… is that really such a good idea?" Arven asked cautiously.

Kieran however, had a big grin on his face.

"Well, you heard her, Juliana…"

Juliana's heart jumped up. "Huh?"

"I'm also itching to see what Terapagos can do."

Kieran drew his Master Ball and called Terapagos back out.

"Tera-poo!"

"Another battle! You and me! To prove our might and show Ms. Briar how powerful Terapagos really is!"

"Yeah, but, but…"

Juliana felt so torn up inside. She crossed her arms with a despondent expression on her face. Kieran actually softened up a bit at this.

"…What's wrong with you?"

While nobody else was looking, Terapagos seemed to react to something, and slowly began floating up.

"What's wrong?" Carmine looked at him crossly. "You're forcing her into another battle she doesn't want, using a Pokémon that she was just starting to bond with? Open your eyes, Kiki!"

"Carmine, no…" Juliana said morosely. "Please stop… It's okay…"

"No, it's not! Stop pretending that it is! How would you feel if I was to challenge you to a battle over something so stupid, and then not even reward you for it afterwards?"

"You mean like your mask at the festival?" Kieran immediately snarked.

Their eyes both jumped up. Carmine's face quickly paled.

"Y-yeah… Exactly… like that."

Then it was Kieran's turn to look crestfallen, as the realization suddenly dawned on him.

"Sis, come on… Now you're just being mean."

"No, no, it's fine, Kieran. I don't mind at all!"

His face muscles dropped, and his mind went into agony.

I just wanted to be like my sis and Juliana… did I go too far?

Meanwhile, Carmine turned to Juliana, looking pained.

"I'm so sorry…" she whispered with a quiver in her voice.

"Huh?"

"For teasing you about that mask back at our house… I never apologized for that…"

"It's really fine. Honestly I—had forgotten all about that until now…"

"But now I feel like I really need to make it up to you…"

"Hey sis," said Kieran. "If you really want to make it up to her… Then maybe we should battle instead."

"Huh?" She tilted her head. "Why me?"

"You… and Ogerpon!" he declared.

"What!?"

"I already proved I can beat Juliana…" he said, clenching his fist. "Now I gotta prove I don't need the ogre's love either! Because I got something BETTER now!"

Carmine facepalmed. "Kiki, you're pulling every single angst card right now, it's just getting desperate… How are you still this upset over—"

Arven cleared his throat.

"Uhh, guys?"

"What is it, scrub!?"

He pointed upwards. "What is… Terapagos doing?"

"Huh?" Kieran reacted.

Terapagos had been rising above the ground slowly while they were all busy arguing.

It finally stopped at a certain elevation… and the green gem that made up its body started to glow a faint blue.

Terapagos closed its eyes and concentrated. Then it raised up all its limbs and bathed itself in a mysterious blue light.

"What is it doing?" Carmine asked.

For a brief second, the Tera Pokémon shifted its form into a giant clear gem.

"It's… it's changing form!?" said Arven.

Then, in another burst of light, it emerged in a completely new body.

"Teraaaaa!"

Terapagos's shell had now grown to cover most of its body, while brilliant neon teal patches of fur formed a tail and a collar around its head.

"It's beautiful…" said Juliana.

"Look at its shell!" Carmine pointed.

On each of the pentagons that made up Terapagos's shell were differently colored patterns, the designs of which Carmine immediately recognized.

"Its shell… it looks like it has the symbols for all the Types on its shell!"

"Well, that would sure align with what Mom's echo said about Terapagos's energy holding the power of every single type."

"So this is the hidden treasure's true form!?" Kieran exclaimed. "With this… I can win for sure!"

"No…" Briar said. "Something's not right…" She was checking the current energy levels on her phone. "Its Terastal energy output is far too low. Not to mention the fact that it still looks different from the illustration in the Violet Book…"

"Huh?" Kieran was confused. "Are you sayin'… it's not the hidden treasure?"

"No, I'm sure it is," said Briar, still thumbing through all her notes. "We must be missing something—a way to transform it into the treasure…"

Terapagos looked down at them all, spun around in a happy motion, and cried out its signature cry.

"Tera-pa-goos!"

Hearing this sound lit a lightbulb over Briar's head.

"Of course!" She smacked her hands together. "Terapagos is made of Terastal energy! KIERAN! You must Terastallize Terapagos this instant!"

"Whaaaat!?" said Arven in alarm. "Are you sure that's a good idea!?"

"If my hunch is correct, Terapagos will resonate with the energy from your Tera Orb… and the hidden treasure will finally reveal its true brilliance!"

"Yeah, but…" Juliana agreed. "What about—what about all the Paradox Pokémon that might run amuck?"

"That shouldn't matter anymore, right?" said Kieran. "Terapagos is mine now! I'm the one who tells him what to do. And…"

He brought out his Tera Orb.

"I want to see him at his full power too!"

"Kiki!" Carmine cautioned. "Hang on! We should think about this carefully before we—"

But Kieran, once again feeling some hard flinches from how crazy it seemed to be acting, had already tossed his Tera Orb up into the air.

The Tera Orb connected with Terapagos…

"TERA-PA-GOOOOOOOS!"

…and encased the Pokémon in crystals.

Then the crystals did something unusual… they shot beams of sparkling light into the air that blinded everyone again.

"Ahhhh! Enough with this!" Carmine whined.

"I KNEW it!" Briar exclaimed. "The Violet Book was right! Terapagos in its fully awakened form…" She cupped her hands together jubilantly. "THIS is the hidden treasure of Area Zero!" she proclaimed, basking her arms out wide.

Terapagos had emerged from the crystals… and changed into its true form.

The same hexagons of every type circled around the heads of all the Stellar Tera Pokémon they encountered, were now wrapped around the giant floating blue orb.

And Terapagos… Terapagos perched itself atop the orb as a crystallized king, with a Tera Jewel in the shape of a giant multicolored crown, and a small turtle shape much like Terapagos in its smallest form, fit for its regal vibe.

"It's… it's GORGEOUS!" Carmine declared.

"I've never seen something so amazing…" said Arven.

"Terapagos…" Juliana smiled. "You're beautiful."

Terapagos closed its eyes again and cried softly…

"Pa-gos."

Juliana was about to ask what was going on, when the crystals around the place all began to illuminate… and they heard a familiar echoing chuckle.

"Hmm-hmm-hmm…"

Terapagos opened its eyes. "Pa-gos!"

"So… someone has awakened you, my friend. And you've tapped into your full power once more."

"Gos! Gos, gos!"

"Mom!?" Arven yelled out.

Terapagos concentrated within itself and began to gather innumerable amounts of energy.

"GOS!"

It shot out of a beam of light from within itself, one that seemed to start shooting directly for Kieran.

"KIKI!" Carmine screeched.

He gasped, and braced for the impact.

Just as he closed his eyes however…

-POP-

Kieran slowly opened his eyes, expecting to be dead. But then he looked up in surprise.

"GrraaaaAAAAaaaaOOOO…"

Juliana's Miraidon was out in front of him, taking the impact of the Tera Blast on Kieran's behalf.

He looked over to his right, to see Juliana standing at his side, having issued a command.

"Miraidon… HOLD!" she urged it. "I know you're weak… but you've gotta hold!"

But Miraidon was buckling under the pressure of this blast. Kieran thought quick, and sent out his own large fearsome lizard.

"AGIAS!"

"Koraidon…" he breathed out.

Koraidon nodded to its partner, and then locked eyes with Miraidon.

The two Pokémon growled in agreement, and then something awesome happened.

The two serpent Pokémon grasped each other's claws, and revved up powerful energy together.

Then, to everyone's astonishment, Koraidon and Miraidon combined forces and became a huge, rushing ball of both prehistoric and futuristic energy.

"Holy crap…!" said Arven.

The huge, combined wheel charged up with more and more inertia, until it was able to collide with the beam and send it shooting back.

"Whoa…!" said Kieran. He turned to his right. "That was… that was awesome, Juliana!"

"I know, right!?" she beamed.

"Good job, both of ya big brutes!" Arven called.

Koraidon and Miraidon turned to their respective partners, severely weakened, and gave them their own versions of a meek smile, before both Trainers took the cue and recalled them.

"You were wonderful, Miraidon…"

"Y-yeah! You too, Koraidon! Both… so cool!"

The Tera energy from the blast surged into the ground below Terapagos… and then, slowly, began to take shape into a humanoid form…

"Is that…?" Carmine was the first to react.

Professor Sada, or rather her echo, appeared in full-body form once more, standing below her Tera-powered friend with a wicked gleam in her eyes.

"Now that you've sampled a small taste of Terapagos's amazing power… the final step of my awesome plan can begin!" She threw her arms out and stared up at Terapagos. "Terapagos! It's time! Time for the FINAL PURIFICATION!"

"Final purification!?" Juliana repeated.

"Teraaaaa-pa-gos!"

Terapagos redirected the leftover energy from its beam and plunged it straight into the ground, causing huge, crystallized cracks to form under everyone's feet.

"Now what's happening!?" asked Carmine.

The cracks surged through the cavern and through the tunnel.

"I'd better check what's going on outside!" Arven declared.

He rushed through the tunnel back out into the larger cavern outside where the red crystals were practically on overdrive.

Arven gasped as he looked up and spotted several crystal clusters on the ceiling… that were all glowing and bursting at once.

To his shock and horror, several ancient Paradox Pokémon were awakened and jumped down, surrounding him.

He was being circled by Sandy Shocks, several Scream Tail, another pack of Brute Bonnet, Flutter Mane…

"This isn't good!"

Arven tried to run back towards the crystal tunnel again, but the cracks in the ground made the crystal walls so unstable that he watched the tunnel began to twist and break up within itself, blocking him out.

"…!"


"Professor! Speak to us!" Briar implored. "What's going on…!? What is this grand master plan of yours?"

Professor Sada closed her eyes.

"Listen close, travelers… Do you hear them?"

There were distinct sounds of strange noises echoing through their walls, like aggressive yells.

"They are all awakening… The perfect paradoxes kept still in a moment…" Her eyes opened with a manic glee. "They will CONQUER this land yet again!"

"WHAT!?" Juliana and Carmine both shouted.

Juliana's Rotom Phone rang. She answered when she saw it was Arven.

"Juliana! …It's bad! A bunch of Paradoxes were all revived at once out here, and I can hear even more of them breaking out all over the sanctum! I think they're close to all coming out at once…! It's going to be MADNESS!"

"Pokémon used to be at their prime, their best potential for strength, millions and millions of years ago… Before humans started bringing their accursed technology into the mix! Making Pokémon WEAKER! And weakening the ultimate bond between Pokémon and humans in return!"

She flashed her hand to emphasize the fury in her voice.

"These arrogant scientists at places like Silph Co. and Macro Cosmos keep creating new gimmicks to try to bring out Pokémon's potential… TM's. Artificial gadgets… Mega Evolution. Z-Crystals. And Dynamaxing… FAH!" she scoffed. "All just futile attempts to replicate the natural energy every Pokémon contained within themselves thousands and thousands of years ago! Terapagos will show all of you the TRUTH!"

Terapagos chirped confidently at its friend's words.

"The beautiful, perfect Pokémon of the past will all be awakened. And their true power will be unleashed… their beautiful ability called Protosynthesis. These Pokémon all draw their best power from the all-natural sun itself!"

"Power from sunlight!? That's even worse!" Carmine realized. "Remember what I said earlier, about how the sunlight up on the surface—the surface of Area Zero I mean, was so harsh I was worried about being burned? If all those Pokémon step outside, and experience that sunlight for themselves…"

Juliana's eyes widened. "They'd be unstoppable! They'll destroy Paldea in an instant!"

But Sada's voice continued eccentrically. "They will reshape the Paldea region, and soon the whole world… It will all become the paradise it once was in the past! A perfect world, for everyone!" Then Sada held a hand close to her heart. "Especially my son…"

"WHAT!?" Arven's voice screamed out over Juliana's phone. "Mom, are you serious!? You mean you and Dad BOTH had the same idea thinking these Paradoxes would turn the world into some twisted paradise!? And you both deluded yourselves into thinking you were doing it for ME?!"

"Arven…!" Sada looked around in shock. "Is that you!? I've been trying to reach you for so long… Using Terapagos's power…"

Terapagos began to summon a bright green glow from its huge Terastallized disk.

"Any time there was Terastallization happening in the world above, I used that burst of energy to search for you."

"…You mean that's why Arven kept hearing my Pokémon Terastallizing?" Juliana asked.

"I wanted you to be the first one to bear witness, my son. The first to bear witness to the new NIRVANA!"

"A world full of those aggressive Pokémon… That doesn't sound like a paradise at all!" Briar lamented. "More like… like Armageddon! The end of the whole world as we know it! Oh, students… My poor students… What have I done?"

Green energy built up even more and more around Terapagos's bright orb.

"All Terapagos needs is a few more Terastallizations to occur… To have some of that energy returned to it… And then, the purification will commence!"

"Yeah!? W—well, you ain't gonna see any more Terastallizing from us, you crazy lady!" Carmine declared. "Right, guys!?"

"Right!" said Juliana.

Sada chuckled haughtily.

"Terapagos is at full power now! It can draw that Terastal energy from anywhere in the world! All it needs is a few more BIG ones to happen at once!"

"We just have to pray nobody's having any huge battles up there until we can get this situation under control!" said Briar.

"…Wait!" Arven's voice said on the phone. "JULIANA!"

"Huh!?"

"Remember what I told you at the Zero Gate!? About what Nemona and Penny are doing right now!?"

"Oh no!" Juliana gasped. "THE SCHOOL BATTLE BRAWL!"


A huge crowd of Uva Academy students and faculty was gathered in the center square of Mesagoza, where two of the Academy Ace Tournament's competing finalists stood at opposite ends of the battle arena.

"Ha-ha-ha-haaa!" Nemona laughed. "This has been tons of fun, Pen-Pen! I never knew those Eevees of yours were all so strong… and so cute too!"

"I told you to stop calling me that…" Penny sighed.

"But I'm going to come out of this Academy Ace Tournament feeling like a WINNER!"

With a burst of confidence, Nemona pulled out her Tera Orb. She flinched in surprise as it seemed to gather even more energy than usual. But she still held a smile on her face as she tossed it over her Pawmot.

TERA-PA-GOOOOS!

"Wow! Did you hear that?" said Nemona, as she watched Pawmot transform into an Electric Fairy Type. "Even the Tera Orb's excited for my win!"

"Oh yeah? Well… everyone's gonna be even more excited when I win this for Team Star," said Penny, adjusting her glasses. "You ready for this, Sylveon?"

"Syl-veeee!"

"Shine bright like the starry sky and become who you really want to—beeeEEEEEEE!"

Penny also became shaken up by the surprising tenaciousness of her Tera Orb. She hastily tossed it over her Sylveon.

TERAAAA-PA-GOOOOOOS!

"Huh? It's doing it for me too."

Sylveon basked in the huge heart-shaped Tera Jewel over its head… but then looked at Penny, confused.

"Huh?" Penny's Tera Orb continued to shake in her hand. "What—what's happening!?"

TERA-POOO! GOO-GOOO-GOOOOOOOS!

"Whoaaa! I guess your Tera Orb is really excited too, Penny!"

"But why is it… huh?" Penny looked at it. "It's… glowing green all of a sudden?"

"Huh!" Nemona realized. "Mine is too! Wonder what that's all…"

-RUMBLE, RUBMLE-

"…about?"

Huge tremors shook the whole of Mesagoza as all the gathered crowd began to get nervous. Many students and teachers were pulling out their Tera Orbs and noticing the green glow emanating from them too.

Then… a huge green sky beam burst from within the Great Crater! And lit up the whole sky visible to everyone.

"Wow!" Nemona clapped. "Is this a brand-new special effect from the school? A bright light show to celebrate the finale of the tournament?"

"Are you crazy!?" Penny shouted. "What kind of light show would be coming out of the Great Crater!? …I think something's wrong!"

Her Sylveon began to curl up, feeling scared of what was going on.


"My wondrous invention… the Tera Orb! It's not just a tool to channel Terapagos's power!" Professor Sada declared. "It's also a beacon! Each one of my beautiful Tera Orbs being used by Paldeans will act as a guiding light, showing the way out for all of my prehistoric friends so they can unite with each Trainer for a perfect habitat of coexistence!"

"…Or they'll just assault and KILL everyone who has a Tera Orb!" Arven's voice yelled out over the phone. "You really didn't think this through at all, did you Mom!?"

Professor Sada shook her head.

"Protest all you want. There's nothing that you can do to stop the flow of progress. Terapagos cannot be stopped… and the world that I've dreamt of since I was a little girl, will finally be a reality!"

A smile grew on her face.

"When all of this is over, you will be thanking me. Turo… and Arven… All of us, will be a big happy family. Thriving in our perfect paradise."

A tear fell down Sada's cheek as her image began to swirl and twinkle and fade again.

"We'll be so happy…"

Then the Professor faded away completely. Her voice rung out one final time…

"Terapagos. Do what is necessary."

"TER-PAAAAA!"

"What do we do!?" Juliana begged for answers. "We can't let Terapagos revive all those Pokémon!"

"Things are getting out of hand, Kiki!" Carmine shouted through all the rumbles and twinkles happening around them. "You should return Terapagos to its Ball!"

"O-OK!"

Kieran frantically dug out his Master Ball. "Come back, Terapagos! PLEASE!"

The Ball shot out its Beam to recall Terapagos. Terapagos however, put up a shield of energy to absorb, and then deflect the energy back!

The Master Ball shot out of Kieran's hands, and landed on the ground… broken into two pieces.

"Huh…?" Kieran clutched his arm. "It won't go back inside? Wh-why…?"

Terapagos rose up above its Orb, and let out a huge, booming cry.

"TERRRRRAAAAAAA!"

The hexagons circling around it spun faster and faster, as more energy gathered in its Orb, and everything shook even harder.

"Its energy output is going haywire!" Briar declared. "It's at more than just full power now! We're all in serious danger if we can't bring it under control!"

Kieran started breathing rapidly… then he grasped his head in panic, and turned around to everyone.

"N-no… This wasn't supposed to happen…" he shouted back. "I'm so sorry, everyone… This is all my fault… What do we do now!?"

"Arven!?" Juliana called into her phone. "Any suggestions?"

"Don't worry about me!" he said. "My Pokémon and I will do our best to try to contain all the monsters sprouting up around here! Meanwhile, you guys… focus on battling Terapagos!"

"Battling Terapagos!?" Carmine repeated in disbelief.

"Yeah… maybe you can get through to it, take it out of its focus! Or even weaken it!"

"I'm sorry, kids, but please… you need to stop Terapagos!" Briar pleaded.

"Good luck, Arven!" said Juliana.

"Thanks… you guys too!"

He hung up. Juliana nodded to Carmine.

"…R-right! But most of my Pokémon have taken too many hits fending off wild Pokémon down here… so Sinistcha's all I got left!"

"My team isn't looking so good either…" Juliana admitted. "But we've always been stronger together!"

"C'mon, Kiki, you need to do something too!" Carmine urged. "We've got to get Terapagos under control!"

"But I—I…" Kieran stammered. "I've done nothing but screw up since the beginning! Y—you guys would do way better without me!"

Carmine groaned loudly, but she had no choice except to focus on the battle. She sent out her Sinistcha while Juliana sent out Tinkaton.

Terapagos responded by instantly putting up a shield around itself to significantly diminish damage.

"Well that's well and fair!" Carmine complained.

"Don't let it get to you, Carmine! We can do this! Tinkaton, Swords Dance!"

"Tink-tink!"

"We'll put up Rage Powder to make Terapagos target us so you can get your Tinkaton's strength up!"

"Sounds good!"

They tried their plan, and Tinkaton was able to get a few buffs in while Terapagos was persuaded by the angry feelings of the rage power to divert its Zen Headbutt to Sinistcha, who barely even put up a sweat from that move.

"TERAAAAA!"

"We're making it angry!" said Carmine. "I—I think that's a good thing!"

Terapagos, frustrated, went for another Zen Headbutt, and this time it did a little more damage.

"And we're just about buffed up! Now, Tinkaton… use Gigaton Hammer!"

"TINK!"

Tinkaton went for a massive powered-up Gigaton Hammer on Terapagos. Terapagos's shield meant that that it was able to survive the hit, even though it took a fair chunk of HP still.

"Great job, Juliana! I'm pretty sure I see some cracks in that dumb shield! Now we're about to Matcha Getcha, you big turtle!"

Sinistcha stirred up a huge helping of scalding matcha tea and flung it Terapagos's way, leaving burn marks on the Tera Pokémon's shield.

"Pa-gooosss…" it cried out in annoyance, shaking off some of the tea dripping from it.

"Hee-hee!" Juliana giggled. "You're gonna have a lot more to worry about than washing your shell later!"

"Oooh, good line."

"Play Rough, Tinkaton!"

Tinkaton unleashed a flurry of rough moves on Terapagos, hitting it through its shield and roughing up its shell.

"You guys are doing it!" Kieran called out. "You're really doing it!"

Terapagos wasn't giving up without a fight, however.

"GOS!"

With a sharp cry, it made the ground split open under Tinkaton in a huge Earth Power attack. The attack was so devastating that the Hammer Pokémon, already weakened by its fight with the Roaring Moon earlier, found itself dropping its hammer and fainting.

"Oh no…" Juliana recalled her Pokémon. "You did great out there, Tinkaton."

"You're going to pay for that, you overgrown chandelier!" Carmine seethed. "Sinistcha, Shadow Ball!"

Sinistcha channeled its dark energy into a dark blast of ghostly shadows at Terapagos. However, Terapagos just let its hexagons hover in front of it.

The hexagon bearing the symbol of the Normal type flashed as the Shadow Ball hit, and the attack did no damage.

"Huh!?"

"Oh my goodness!" said Briar. "Is it using its power to… change its own Type on the fly!?"

Then Terapagos cried out as the circle of hexagons spun like a game show wheel in front of it… and landed on a pink one.

"I'm guessing that's… Psychic?" said Juliana. "Well, that tips things in my favor! Come on out, Meowscarada!"

Meowscarada was also still feeling the hurt from its battle against Great Tusk. And so when it came out, the cat Pokémon put its paw over its head and acted dramatically as if it was faint of heart.

"Mrrrr…"

"This is no time for theatrics!" Carmine insisted. "This thing's really running us on the ropes! Sinistcha, use Life Dew to give yourself and Meowscarada a healthy boost!"

Sinistcha dunked down and then splashed up so that some of its health-restoring fluids would drizzle over both itself and Meowscarada, allowing both weakened Pokémon to recover a bit of health.

Meowscarada bowed gracefully to Sinistcha in appreciation. "Mrrow!"

Unfortunately, Terapagos saw the threat. The psychic hexagon and its Tera Jewel both lit up.

"Oh no…"

Terapagos unleashed a super-powerful Zen Headbutt right at Carmine's Sinistcha.

"Sineeees…"

The attack was unfortunately too much for Sinistcha, and Carmine reluctantly recalled it.

"It knocked out my Sinistcha!" she fretted. "This isn't good… it's just too strong!"

"Was that really your only Pokémon?"

"I'm afraid so…"

Juliana gulped. "Well, we'll just have to make do… Meowscarada, let's gamble on it being Psychic-type! Use Night Slash!"

Meowscarada unsheathed its claws, and with brimming wicked wiles, it rushed forth like the wind and gave Terapagos a huge slash.

Terapagos cried out in pain, the dark power of the cat's slash wounding it quite a bit, and creating more dents into its weakened shield.

"It shield is almost broken!" Carmine cheered her on. "You can do it, Juliana and Meowscarada! You have my permission to go all-out on that thing!"

"Terastallizing your Pokémon might help!" Briar suggested.

"I could try that… Although I kind of wish I'd kept Meowscarada's Tera Type to Dark when I first changed it to that…"

Juliana drew out her Tera Orb and tried to activate it… but she found herself practically wrestling with it in her hand as it seemed to pull towards Terapagos like a magnet.

"Huh? My Tera Orb! It's—it's like Terapagos is sapping the energy from it!"

The Terastal energy was flowing out of the Orb, as Terapagos used its powers to siphon that energy and direct it back into itself.

"TERA-GOOOOOOS!"

Using the power it scooped up from Juliana's Orb, Terapagos shone brightly… and repaired its shield like brand new!

"What!? It absorbed Terastal energy!?" Briar exclaimed in shock. "And used it to put up a new barrier!?"

"You need to get in there and battle, Kiki!" Carmine shouted to her brother. "Juliana is doing all the work!"

"I—it's no good!" he whined. "I'm useless…"

Carmine threw her head back and growled angrily.

Juliana accepted the hard fact that she was on her own and put that anger into her fist.

"Don't give up, Meowscarada…! Another Night Slash!"

Meowscarada did the same shadow-y maneuver again, leaving slash marks all over Terapagos's shield.

Terapagos wasn't fazed however, and fired a Water Pulse at Meowscarada.

"Gbbl-bbbl!"

Meowscarada found its face soaked in water from the blast, and its senses became disoriented.

"Oh no! Meowscarada, don't get Confused now!" Juliana pleaded. "Focus all your attacks on Terapagos!"

Meowscarada danced around in a dizzy stupor. It tried to follow its Trainer's orders and use another Night Slash attack… but ended up accidentally scratching its own face mask instead.

"Meee-row!"

Terapagos began building up power.

"Huh?" Briar gasped. "What is it doing NOW?"

"TERA-PAAAAAA!"

Terapagos gathered its energy, and with a boost from its Tera Jewel, unleashed a huge Tera-powered starstorm onto Meowscarada.

"Mrrrrrrow…"

Meowscarada was bashed by an unrelenting flurry of stars pounding at it like meteors.

"Meowscarada…" Juliana cried out.

The Magician Pokémon drew a rose using its leafy powers… and gave it a final sniff before falling to the ground, clutching the rose in its paws like a fallen hero.

Juliana gulped again and turned to the siblings. "I only have one Pokémon left, guys…"

"KIKI!" Carmine yelled again.

Kieran looked up. He huddled in his jacket, thinking if he should make a move.

Juliana called out her last Pokémon.

"Pon-pon-pon!" Ogerpon cried out confidently.

Kieran's face sunk.

"Oh…"

"What!?" Carmine barked.

"Ogerpon's plenty strong… It doesn't need my help… or probably even want it."

Ogerpon's mouth opened as she looked up in surprise and curiosity at the huge, crystallized creature floating in front of her.

"Ponio…?"

"Pa-gos?" Terapagos gave an inquisitive cry.

"That thing's going to summon a bunch of monsters and destroy the world, Ogerpon!" Carmine lectured her borrowed partner. "This is what you and I have trained for! Taking out the enemy! Now you and Juliana have to work together to save the world!"

"Pon-pon!"

Understanding the severity of the situation from Carmine's rousing words, Ogerpon donned her mighty Teal Mask and prepared for battle.

"Goooo?" Terapagos tilted its head.

"…Pon?"

Then, much to everyone's surprise, Terapagos rushed forwards towards Ogerpon. Then it leapt off from atop its Disk, and… latched onto the Teal Mask with its jaws!

"PON-PON!?" Ogerpon cried out in distress.

"What the-!?" Kieran called out. "What does that thing want with Ogerpon's mask!?"

Terapagos lifted the mask off Ogerpon's face, but the ogre was quick to grab it at its ends while both Pokémon tugged at it.

Carmine saw the crystals gleaming on the mask's face and gasped.

"The crystals! From the Crystal Pool, that we repaired Ogerpon's mask with! Terapagos must be really interested in them!"

"It probably senses the huge amount of Terastal energy stored up in them! Ogerpon! Don't let go of it!" Juliana cried out.

Ogerpon tugged on the Mask as tightly as she could, but…

"TERA-POOO!"

"PONNNNNNIOOOOO!"

Ogerpon cried out in horror as Terapagos won the tug-off and she watched it float away with the Teal Mask. The glowing turtle hopped back up onto its huge orb, now hoarding the Mask atop its shell.

Ogerpon shook and trembled, feeling defenseless without her precious Mask.

"The Mask wasn't all of your power, Ogerpon!" Juliana tried to assure it. "You still have your big cudgel! We can still win this!"

"Ponnnn…" Ogerpon cried out, distressingly unconvinced.

Carmine ran up to Kieran and yelled in his face.

"Kiki! Juliana and Ogerpon are both in trouble! You need to HELP THEM!"

"B-but… I can't…" Kieran threw his head down. "I can't help anyone…"

Carmine seethed hard and growled.

"You little twerp…! Go help save the world and THEN feel sorry for yourself! That's an order!"

"But it's TRUE!" he yelled back. "I thought I was strong… I thought I'd become more confident and independent… But it was all a lie. I'm just the scared, pathetic, weak kid from Kitakami, and that's all I'll ever be…"

"Kieran!" Juliana called out.

"Huh?"

Juliana faced him head-on, mustering all the pleading energy she had inside her.

"Look… I could say sorry a million times over. And I know it'll never fix all the mistakes that I made. But… you've got the power inside you, Kieran! You've had it in you all along! Since the day I first met you! You're a really strong Trainer if you can just believe in yourself!"

"…"

Kieran didn't know how to take all of this.

"You've always wanted that chance to prove yourself, right? And feel like you've never had that opportunity?"

She extended her hand out.

"I'm giving you that chance to prove yourself NOW, Kieran! So come on! Let's do it together, okay?"

He stared at her, unsure how to feel.

"Let's save the world together! You and me!"

"Juliana, I… I…"

"Please. I need you."

"…"

Kieran closed his eyes, his fist clenching.

Juliana heard a heavy boom from Terapagos and was forced to return her attention to the battle.

Terapagos was getting ready to unleash another Tera Starstorm!

It gathered a bunch of energy, and rained down another shower of stars Ogerpon's way.

Ogerpon, timid but determined, drew out her trusty ivy cudgel and tried to bat away all the rushing stars with it as best she could.

She was sweating profusely, in what felt like one of the most intense battles of her life. And without her mask, her confidence was dreadfully shaken.

But, huffing and puffing, she looked around, relieved to have successfully drawn off the attack.

"Pon… pon…"

Terapagos was thoroughly frustrated, and decided to launch another attack… But this time, it drew its beams of light into the ceiling above them.

Ogerpon watched with distress as a huge rockfall started cascading down her way.

"Poniiiiiii!" she cried out.

"Ogerpon, look out!" called Juliana.

Ogerpon closed her eyes and held her cloaked arms over her head as she shook, waiting for the rocks to hit her.

But just then…

-SLASH-

"Huh!?"

"…Pon?"

Ogerpon looked up, expecting huge boulders over her face. But instead, a bunch of debris landed instead.

"Pon!"

More rocks were falling, but out of nowhere, a huge glowing double-edged pink blade appeared and whirled around in the air, cutting through all those rocks with ease.

"Holy moly!" said Juliana.

The pink scythe ricocheted through the air like a boomerang until it returned to its owner…

A massively tall Paradox Pokémon unsheathed the scythe into dual blades around its metallic arms. It had a white robotic body with green on the insides of its multi-petaled skirt and over its head. It bore red eyes and overall bore a striking resemblance to both Gardevoir and Gallade, while also combining traits of both Pokémon's Mega Evolutions.

"Ponio…" Ogerpon looked up to it in awe.

But this Pokémon didn't stop to greet its rescuee. Instead, it charged up the walls with great agility and bravado.

"Garu… Garu…!"

Terapagos felt instantly threatened by the strange newcomer and tried shooting stars to send it flying off the wall.

But the Pokémon expertly dodged all of them with masterful strafing, and leapt up high in the air above Terapagos.

"Tera…?"

"GARU-bloop!"

Like a dashing thief of the night, the iron warrior slid over Terapagos's head and swiped the Teal Mask from the Pokémon's grasp.

"PA-GOOO!"

With an impressive rolling backflip, it landed firmly on the ground and then rushed over to Kieran's side, where it held out the Teal Mask to him.

"Wowzers, Iron Valiant! That was AWESOME!" he raved jubilantly. "Thank you so much!"

"Kiki… that amazing Pokémon belongs to YOU!?" Carmine uttered in disbelief. "When did you get something like THAT!?"

"I caught it in a big cave while we were in the big outdoors-y part of this Area Zero place! Arven helped me get it."

Kieran gazed at the Teal Mask in his hands with a racing feeling in his heart. He looked over at Ogerpon, who was nervously looking at him holding her mask.

With a nervous gait of his own, he calmly walked up to the monster girl.

"Dear ogre…" He held out the mask in his hands. "I believe this is yours."

Ogerpon stared with a blank expression at the mask in Kieran's hands.

Juliana and Carmine watched anxiously, remembering what happened the last time Kieran had tried to offer her the Mask.

Ogerpon looked up at Kieran cautiously, as if fishing for the bad vibes she seemed to sense from him before.

Kieran looked on with bated breath, gulping as he braced for another rejection.

But to his surprise… Ogerpon grabbed the Mask. And gently took it from his hands.

Then she looked up at him with a smile of gratitude.

"Pon-pon-pon!"

"Uhh, yeah!" he laughed. "You're—you're welcome, Ogerpon!"

"Awwww!" Carmine gushed. "You finally got to do it! You got to give her the Mask…" She began to fan her own face. "Damn it! What are these stupid tears? I'm just… I'm so happy you two finally patched things up!"

Juliana watched on, with a gaping mouth and beaming eyes, in blissful disbelief to see both Kieran and Ogerpon smiling like this.

"Hey, Juliana!"

"Huh?"

Kieran turned to her, putting his hands on his hips with a cocky expression.

"Quit gawking, will ya? We've still got to teach that big disco ball a lesson! The world isn't gonna save itself!"

Ogerpon slipped her mask on and put on her best warrior voice.

"Pon-pon-PON!"

"Ha-ha! Right!" She pumped her fist. "Let's do it!"

"YEAH!"

Kieran ran up right alongside her, as did Ogerpon, ready than ever to deliver a whooping. Iron Valiant leapt in front and unsheathed its pink blades, ready to fight the big crystal menace.

Kieran and Iron Valiant both let out a huge yell of confidence.

"You can do it, you two!" Carmine clapped excitedly. "I'm supporting you one hundred percent!"

"Ogerpon! Use Ivy Cudgel!" Juliana commanded.

"And Iron Valiant! Open with a big Close Combat!"

Ogerpon and Iron Valiant both launched their most powerful moves at Terapagos, which battered the Pokémon so heavily they broke through its shield.

"Yes!" Kieran celebrated.

"Good job!" Carmine cheered.

"But don't let your guard down!" Briar cautioned.

"Huh? …Hey!"

Kieran felt something vibrating heavily in his pocket. It was his Tera Orb, which Terapagos began to siphon energy from.

"No! … Now it's taking energy from MY Orb!"

"It's absorbing more Terastal energy!?" Briar reacted. "But surely it can't keep doing that over and over, right?"

Then they heard loud grunts from behind them.

"Ugh… ugh!"

They turned around to see Arven having finally managed to push his way through the fractured crystal tunnel.

"Arven!" Juliana called out. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine…" He huffed. "But unfortunately, all my Pokémon fainted fighting those monsters off! I don't know that we can stop them all from breaking out much longer!"

Terapagos used the energy it stole from Kieran's Orb to rebuild its shield once more.

"What are we gonna do?" Kieran wondered.

"If we could just Terastallize, this would be a piece of cake!"

"TERAAA!"

Terapagos let out a huge cry, causing the ground to rumble again.

"Whoa!" Briar was so shaken by the tremor that she dropped some of the notes in Professor Sada's red binder.

One of them landed on the ground next to Carmine, and she picked it up and scanned it.

"Hey… hey, guys!"

"What's up?" Arven rushed to her.

"This is one of your crazy mom's patent sheets for the Tera Orb! Read this part here!"

"What does it say?" asked Juliana.

"It says… in a pinch, we can click the buttons on our Orbs and… point them at other Orbs to share the Terastal energy?" Arven read out.

"Really!?" Kieran exclaimed.

"Will that actually work?" he asked skeptically.

"Who cares? It's our only shot!" Carmine clicked the button on her Tera Orb and pointed. "Juliana! …I'll share my energy with you!"

Her Orb shook and reacted, and as Juliana held her Tera Orb out… it scooped up a bunch of Terastal energy from Carmine's orb!

"Little dude! Here! Take some of mine too!"

Arven did the same thing with his Tera Orb, and Kieran's Orb received the money. Both their Orbs flashed with brilliant light.

"Pa-GOS?" Terapagos cried out, confused.

"Wowzers… Juliana…!" Kieran turned to her. "I've always wanted to do this together with someone!"

Juliana nodded. "Then let's do it!"

She and Kieran held their Orbs close to each other and both screamed, "TERASTALLIZE!"

Then they tossed their Orbs up in the air and held them over their Pokémon.

TERA-PA-GOO! TERA-PA-GOOO!

"TERAAAA!" Terapagos screamed, not liking to hear its own cry being made without its doing.

Ogerpon burst from the crystals with her Teal Mask brightly and proudly energized into its ultimate Terastal form.

"OGER-PONNN!"

And Iron Valiant emerged fully Terastallized as well, a bright pink Tera Jewel glimmering over its mighty head.

"GARUUUUUU-bloop!"

"PA-GOOO!"

Terapagos, now feeling firmly threatened, decided to unleash a Tera Starstorm that rained down on both Pokémon.

"Shrug it off, Iron Valiant!" Kieran declared.

"Yeah! Your attacks aren't gonna stop US anymore! Ogerpon, use Horn Leech!"

Ogerpon cast out her sharp horns and stretched them out to pinch Terapagos, siphoning health from the Tera Pokémon to recover her own health.

"While Ogerpon's holding it down, Iron Valiant! Let's go with a Drain Punch!"

Iron Valiant leapt into the air and delivered a huge blow to the distracted Terapagos, hitting so deep into its guts with its small but powerful fist that it also absorbed some of Terapagos's health for itself.

"Not so fun when someone else is taking your energy, is it?" Carmine boasted.

"TERAAAAAAA!"

Terapagos cried more furiously than ever, and launched another bloodthirsty Tera Starstorm down onto its opponents.

Kieran gasped, realizing what he could do.

"Iron Valiant, quick! Use Wide Guard NOW!"

Iron Valiant was able to cast a shield to protect both itself and Ogerpon from the heavy blows of the star shower, leaving them both unscathed.

"Nice one, Kieran!" Juliana complimented.

"Ha-ha! Thanks! I—I learned it from you guys. But the fight's not over yet!"

"So let's finish it NOW!"

"Uh-huh!" Kieran took a confident stance. "Iron Valiant… draw all your super-futuristic power into the best Spirit Break you've got!"

Iron Valiant harnessed energy from its Tera Jewel, and with a great rush of pink Fairy power, it dashed straight for Terapagos and delivered a powerful blow with its blades. An emotional slash that seemed to cut into Terapagos's very soul itself.

"Ogerpon! You know what to do too!"

Ogerpon nodded and began charging up power into her ivy cudgel.

Something unique happened, though… The crystals on her Terastallized Teal Mask seemed to respond in a similar way to the Tera Orb… and Ogerpon's cudgel became infused with the power of with all Terapagos's crystals themselves!

"WHOA!" Carmine yelled.

"It's like that thing of yours Terastallized its Mask AND ITS WEAPON!?" Arven gawked. "Ogerpon, huh? Is THAT the super powerful mask-changing Pokémon from Kitakami you were telling us about!?"

"Ogerpon, for our GRAND FINALE!" Juliana declared, fuller of bluster than ever. "Give that thing a STELLAR TERA-POWERED IVY CUDGEL WALLOP!"

"Ehh, 'Gigaton Ivy Cudgel' was still cooler," Carmine muttered.

"OGUHHH…"

Ogerpon lifted her crystal-charged weapon high up in the air.

Terapagos wanted to retreat into its shell.

"PONNNNNNNN!"

Her cudgel came down with a force greater and more packed with sparkling energy than anything else they had seen in Area Zero, Terapagos or otherwise.

The shield shattered into pieces.

…As did the entire orb, and all the crystals around Terapagos.

Even its Terastal Form lost all its power, and Terapagos was once again… reduced to a small, blue turtle.

"You guys did it!" Carmine jumped up. "You defeated it!"

"I knew you both had it in you!" Arven said proudly.

Kieran looked down at Terapagos in its small, dazed state.

"Maybe it'll go inside a Ball now…" After some thought, Kierna turned to Juliana. "Hey, Juliana?"

"Yeah?"

"…I think you should try to catch it."

"What?" Her eyes went up in surprise. "Really? But… you wanted it really badly."

"I know, but…" He gazed down to the ground. "I am a really strong Trainer. I believe that now. I've gotten super strong. But… I also proved that I'm still not ready to own something as powerful as that thing, and—and use it responsibly."

He sighed.

"Besides… My sis is right. Terapagos wanted to go with you."

Juliana glanced over at Terapagos. Despite being near-fainting, the small Pokémon gazed up… and stared in her direction, crying longingly.

"Just like… just like Ogerpon wanted to go with Carmine."

"Ponio…"

Ogerpon seemed just as surprised as Juliana to see Kieran adopt such an understanding.

"Alright… if you're really sure…"

"Mm-hm," he nodded. "Go for it, Juliana. Good luck."

Juliana nodded back. She looked inside the Poké Balls pocket in her bag, wondering which one would work best.

She eyed one of them, a special Poké Ball… one she had gotten as the grand prize for winning the first Academy Ace Tournament.

It was a unique blue design with yellow horns wrapped around it. The man who gave it to her it was called a 'Beast Ball' from the Alola region and was apparently really good at capturing Ultra Beasts.

…But he couldn't really explain what an Ultra Beast was.

Well, this thing's pretty beastly… She reasoned. And I guessed nothing could get more 'Ultra' than this!

"I know I can count on you, Juliana!" Kieran encouraged her. "You got this!"

Juliana decided to give it a shot, and tossed the Beast Ball. The Ball flew through the air, becoming hyper-charged with all the energy of the crystals around it, and captured Terapagos.

Wiggle.

Wiggle.

Wiggle.

Click.

"Is… is it over?" said Carmine.

Juliana picked up the Ball.

"Yeah… I think so," said Juliana. "I did it! I caught Terapagos!"

Briar rushed over. "Is everyone OK!?"

"We're fine, don't worry!" Kieran answered, holding his hands over his head.

"Yup!" said Juliana. "How about you?"

"Oh thank goodness… What a relief…" Briar shook her head. "I must apologize… I let my obsession lead you all into a very dangerous situation… I became just as mad as the Professor back there. It's simply inexcusable. I'm so sorry, everyone…"

"Aww, don't worry Ms. Briar, it's—"

"You should be!" Carmine cut Juliana off, seething. "You're completely fixated on this Terastal stuff! You gotta keep your obsessiveness in check!"

Juliana thought Carmine was going to get told off something fierce. But instead, Briar looked at her somberly.

"Yes… You're absolutely right…" she admitted.

Just then, they heard Arven huffing again. They hadn't noticed that he'd run off again.

"Arven? Where'd you go this time?"

"I wanted to check the situation outside…" he huffed. "And it looks like it's good news. With Terapagos not building up power anymore, the crystals have stopped. And the Paradoxes that are awake… they seem to have all calmed down. I don't think we've gotta worry about them crawling up out of Area Zero anymore."

"Well, that's good news!" Juliana beamed.

"Arven…" a voice called out.

"Huh!?"

Juliana and Arven both looked around, confused.

Then… Juliana's Poké Ball popped, and Terapagos came out on its own!

"Huh? Terapagos?"

"What's it doing?" Arven's eyebrows rose up. "It's not about to try starting up again, is it!?"

Terapagos gazed around. Then, its head drooped with a sad expression and a sorrowful cry.

"Tera-pa-gooos…"

It floated up a few inches from the ground, and let out a gentle green beam of light.

Everyone reared up in surprise as the huge wall of crystals that had been surrounding them… all vanished.

Terapagos's black cavern was now completely spacious and devoid of any crystals.

…Except.

For a unique shape, in the very back of the cave. Behind where all the crystals had been.

"What's… that?" Juliana wondered.

They all slowly walked towards the shape. And as they got closer, Briar gasped, realizing it wasn't just crystals.

"I think that's… that's a person!" Her expression became morose. "But if it is, then it's gotta be…"

Arven ran out in front of everyone. Much like Juliana had watched happen when Mabosstiff finally recovered, the boy almost fell to his knees.

And as he knelt down, and gazed at the shape… this still body fully blue and partially covered in crystals, he recognized her immediately.

The tears began falling down almost instantly.

"M… m… mom?"

Arven tried to hold it back, but he quickly found himself weeping instead, having discovered what by all appearances looked like his own mother's corpse. In a sitting position, with a still yet sad expression on her face. As if in her last moments, she seemed to be aware of and accepting of whatever left her in that frozen position.

Everyone gazed sadly, watching as he failed to hold back his tears. As he wept over her body, though…

"Don't cry… My sweet cherub~ "

Huh?

Arven wiped his tears.

It was the voice he had heard in his dreams. He could hear it clearly now… A lullaby? A strangely familiar one…

And then. To his shock. He felt… soft hands rubbing his back.

"No more bad dreams~ "

Sniffling, and trembling, he slowly turned around to look at whoever was singing that beautiful song, and he thought his eyes were playing tracks on him.

"Just sweet, tender thoughts… Let them carry you~ " She finished her tune with a smile. "Until we meet agaiiiiiin~ "

She opened her eyes. And looked down upon her son, with a soft motherly smile.

"I used to sing that lullaby to you every single night… Whenever you were getting restless. Somehow, you always slept really good after that."

Arven's legs were shaking as he stood up, still not believing that she was somehow standing right in front of him.

"M… muh… muh…"

"Arven… My sweet, baby boy. Look how big you've grown."

"It's… it's really you…" He aggressively wiped his tearing eyes with his sleeve. "But—but how!?"

"Tera-pa-gooooo!"

Terapagos slowly waddled over to Sada, crying happily and tenderly. Sada lovingly picked it up off the ground.

"Hello, Terapagos. My dear friend." Sada nuzzled it with her nose, and it gurgled happily. "Just as I was finally going, ready to accept my fate, I saw a bright light… And now I'm here. I see my own body. And—and my son is a teenager."

She noticed the green glow emanating from Terapagos's gem.

"You clever little thing!" she realized. "You're using all the power you can muster… to pull my mind out from my last moments, and into the future… so that I can say goodbye properly."

"Tera-poh!" it cried affirmatively.

She turned her attention to all the other faces in the room. Then her eyes locked onto one particular face.

"You… I know you. Your name is Juliana, isn't it?"

"Uhh, y-yes, ma'am, it is!" Juliana bowed to the Professor in surprise. "But… how do you know my name?"

"I've seen you, in the dreams I felt… while my mind was traveling… I was trying to find him, my precious boy… But I kept finding someone else, who was close to him. And the ley lines merged together… Yours and Arven's bond must be extremely close! To be so connected, even across what felt like oceans."

"That's Juliana, alright!" Arven said proudly. "She's my best friend in the whole wide world! We've been on so many cool adventures!"

"How wonderful! There's so many things I want to catch up on, to say to you, my beloved Arvie, but… if Terapagos is doing all this, then we probably don't have a whole lot of time."

"Mom…" Arven started sniffling again. "What… what happened to you?"

Sada closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Madness happened to me. I became deeply obsessed with figuring out how to control Terapagos's power… Eventually, I wasn't just spending all my time in the underdepths of Area Zero, but… Also holing myself up in this cavern."

She gazed mournfully at her own crystal-merged body.

"I got so deep into my work that I wasn't aware how being around Terapagos's power too much was affecting me… I didn't notice until too late that my body was becoming more crystals than human… The last thing I remember, as I stewed in the consequences of my own arrogance was Terapagos… the Pokémon I'd become such dear friends with… creating huge walls of crystals around me. I think—I think in one last kind act of protection."

Terapagos cried sadly.

"But I couldn't let things go… As I felt my consciousness waning, the crystals taking hold of me… My last thought wasn't of my research, or my dumb ambitions. Or even Turo… I was only thinking about you, my poor Arvie… And how I'd abandoned you. My final wish was to find a way, even if it took years and years of Terapagos's power… to find you again."

Her eyes glistened as she faced him. Now Arven started crying again.

"Arven. Conceived, and born in the Great Crater itself…"

She leaned over, and wiped a tear from his eyes.

"You, my son… you were the true hidden treasure of Area Zero all along."

Arven couldn't hold it back anymore, he was sobbing profusely now. And Sada gently put her arms around him, and embraced him in a gentle, caressing hug.

"I thought I would be terrible at this whole mother thing…" she lamented. "I guess in a way, I kind of was."

"Yeah!" he laughed through his tears. "Yeah, you kind of were, mom! Neither you or dad were winning 'Parent of the Year'!"

She chuckled at his light humor, knowing he was right.

But then Arven felt her touch becoming softer…

And Sada gazed at herself as she saw parts of her fade in and out.

"Mom? Don't tell me…"

Sada gazed at Terapagos, noticing the creature beginning to strain as the light on its gem started dimming.

"I think Terapagos is almost at the extent of the power it can use to keep us together… My time is almost up. Or really, it already was up."

"I don't know if I can bear losing you…" Arven blubbered. "I already lost Dad, and when it felt like I was finally getting to know you too… The real you."

His lip quivered and he started crying ugly tears. But Sada concentrated as much energy as she could… into calming down her with the gentle touch of her hands on his shoulders.

"Arvie… Can I ask you something?"

"What's that?"

"Are you… happy?"

"…"

"Are you living a fulfilled life now?"

He sniffled. "Yeah… Yeah, I am. I'm doing real good now. I got my best bud, Mabosstiff. I've made so many friends… Not just Juliana! But Penny, and Nemona too… And even these two goofy kids!"

Carmine playfully stuck her tongue out at him, as Kieran giggled.

"I'm studying at Uva Academy now…"

Sada chuckled. "Your father's alma mater."

"Yeah! And I'm—studying real hard now, and I'm gonna—gonna learn how to help Pokémon, and try to be a great person who people look up to just like Dad! And—and you too!"

Sada smiled pleasingly.

"Then, to know that you're happy and thriving… And going on to great things…"

She hugged Arven one final time.

"That is the only paradise I need."

She let go of Arven… and as the light went out on Terapagos's gem, Sada began to float upwards, and from the feet up, her image slowly began to dematerialize.

"Mom…"

"Goodbye, my son…" she smiled. A tear fell from her eye, and landed on Arven's nose. "Please… have many more great adventures. For me. … For us."

"Hey, mom…" he called up.

Then, he gave her a huge smile.

"Say hi to Dad for me. Okay?"

Sada beamed happily at him, and then… her face was the last thing to finally disappear.

The light disappeared completely. And Terapagos breathed a heavy sigh, winded.

Juliana and Briar stood next to each other over Sada's crystalline body… and watched as it slowly twinkled, and slowly, it too… dissipated into the air.

Terapagos slunk in front of Juliana's legs, having watched the last traces of Sada disappear into nothingness. Juliana gazed at it with empathy.

"Arven's mom… she was your friend. The first friend you ever had in over thousands and thousands of years, right?"

"Tera-pa-goo…" it cooed mournfully.

Juliana bent over, and picked Terapagos up in her arms.

"Well… You know, Terapagos. If you need a brand new friend, someone who'll love you and cherish you just as much as she did…" She smiled sweetly at it. "You know, my heart's always open. What do you say?"

"Po-goo?"

Terapagos seemed surprised by the invitation. Then, he chirped happily at her, and Juliana giggled.

"I take it that's a yes then!"

"I do love a nice, tidy ending!" said Briar.

Her smile dropped as she began to become deep in thought again.

"Something on your mind, Ms. Briar?"

"This whole thing about Sada… Spending all these years holding onto her last shred of life… Just to see her son again. It's got me thinking."

"What about?"

"Years and years ago, when my grandfather was at the end of his life, he was starting to… forget things. Including his family. I remember something my mother told me while it was happening."

Briar sighed, and smiled sadly.

"She told me… even at the very end. When it seems like a person's mind is completely gone. That the person you thought you knew is dead… There's one part of them left. A light that will never go out."

"What's that?" Juliana was genuinely curious.

"Love, Juliana," she smiled. "Love."

"Po-goooo…" Terapagos cooed in agreement.

"Even when our bodies become dust in the wind… love is the one thing that will always remain, she told me. Love is what keeps us alive, forever."

Briar took out her copy of the Violet Book, and flipped it open to the page with Heath's portrait. She gazed at it sadly.

"My love for Heath… It was my driving motivation. He deserved to be loved by everyone, recognized for the risks he took, and the knowledge he found. Instead, he was ridiculed. His life's work largely discredited. My goal in coming here, was to finally amend all that…"

Then she picked up Sada's big red binder… and gazed over the pages that had fallen to the ground.

"Heath's work still carried on. People read his book, even if they think it was all just legends. But Professor Sada…" she realized. "She faded into obscurity completely. Like a phantom… Nobody left to remember her, not even her own son until just now. Everything she achieved, either forgotten, or attributed to somebody else."

She began to glance back and forth between the Violet Book and Sada's research notes, with a thoughtful look in her eye.

"I wonder…"

"Man! You were like a rockstar out there, Kiki!" Juliana heard Carmine's voice. "Roxie would be so proud of you!"

She walked over to the siblings, where she found Kieran being held in a chokehold as Carmine gave him ferocious noogies.

"Thanks, sis! I love the compliments, but… please let go of me!"

"Hey, Kieran."

Carmine let go of Kieran, as Juliana walked over and gave him a thumbs-up.

"Thanks for all the help!"

"Yeah, no problem… And umm… I'm sorry."

He looked at Carmine too.

"I'm sorry to both of you. I—I messed up real bad. I looked up to you for so long… I wanted to be like you, so, so badly. Just as strong, and as confident as you… sis."

Carmine was surprised.

"Huh? M-me?"

"Yeah…" Kieran nodded. "The way you don't take guff, and scare people away instead of letting them wall all over you. I've always been super jealous of you… since we were younger. And when you got the ogre… I thought… I thought you'd achieved all my dreams for me. You even got Juliana to be friends with you, and… and…"

His gaze drooped down.

"I didn't know what else to do… So I started blaming Juliana… 'Cause… Cause even when I was the most angry, I—I just couldn't bring myself to hate you, sis."

"Kiki…"

"But I wasn't being fair to you either, Juliana… You were so nice to me, every single step of the way, always tryin' to look out for me when you barely even knew me…" He shook his head. "It was like I couldn't—think of anything else except all the bad stuff… So I treated you like garbage. Like you were the worst thing on Earth."

"It's okay, Kieran… I never took it that personally," Juliana smiled as best as she could.

He snickered.

"What?"

He looked up at her with a soft, dry smile. "You're still terrible at lyin', you know."

"Hey…!" she giggled.

"I can never be like you, Carmine. Or you, Juliana. You're both special in your own ways. So—So I gotta try to be special in my own way. And maybe someday… I'll be just as worthy to something special like what you guys got with Ogerpon and Terapagos."

Kieran threw his head back, and exhaled calmly.

"Finally… Finally I can let it go."

"Hey…" Juliana put her hand on Kieran's shoulder. "Don't sell yourself short, Kieran. Okay? You're really cool too!"

Kieran's lip quivered.

"B-but…" He sniffled. "I just…"

All the tears he'd pent up for all these months, that had refused to flow out of him… His head reared back as he let it all out at once.

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

"W-wowzers, Kieran!" Juliana said in surprise.

Carmine shook her head. "I swear! I've got such a silly younger brother…" But of course, she began sniffling too. "You finally… you finally let it go…"

She looked down for a split second… and then she started wailing too.

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

"Oh, you two must've been so scared…" Briar lamented. "But you all shone brilliantly just now. You were truly dazzling!"

"Yeah," Juliana agreed. "And I'm so glad to see you guys be together again… So just stop it, already …" She started sniffling. "Before you make me—me…"

She couldn't help it either.

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Briar stood and gaped around with wide eyes.

"Uhh… Yes. Well then."

Arven ran over, confused.

"What… happened? Why is everyone else suddenly crying!?"

Briar sighed. "I don't know what it is about these kids. Our school trips have been bringing out the most dramatic emotions in them!"


With Terapagos captured and the threat of Area Zero nulled once again, Briar decided to declare their expedition finished.

As they ascended back up the sanctum, most of the ancient Paradox Pokémon that were left were all going to sleep.

When they finally all made it back to the elevator, Briar and Arven both decided to take one last look at Professor Sada's desk.

In what seemed like a perfect bit of symbolism, the Leppa Berry plant they'd noticed growing in the Berry Pod earlier had lost its glow, and completely wilted.

After some thought, Briar ultimately decided to leave everything behind but the big, scarlet-colored binder full of Professor Sada's most intricate notes on the Stellar Tera Type and the Tera Orb's invention.

Arven sifted through the old photo frames he had found earlier, contemplating whether he wanted to take them. He found the picture of himself as a baby again… as well as another one he'd somehow missed earlier, a self-portrait of Sada herself in her prime.

Juliana noticed him staring at it, and walked over to Arven.

"Hey, Arv."

"Hey, Juliana."

She put her hand on his shoulder again and looked at him with a sympathetic frown.

"I—I'm sorry. That both your parents are gone now."

Arven gazed at Sada's photo… and then he put it down, only putting the picture of Turo, Sada, and his baby self into his bag. The one moment they were a big happy family.

He chuckled softly at her.

"My parents aren't gone, Juliana." He put his hand over his heart. "They're both in here now. That's where they'll always be until the end of time."

He pointed below Juliana's collarbone.

"Just like your dad."

She smiled sweetly at him, and a tear ran down her own cheek. He held his arms out, and she dove into him headfirst with the most tender hug she'd ever given her friend.


Once they had all climbed out of Area Zero and were back to beautiful civilization, Juliana and the group said their goodbyes to Arven as he began the long hike back to Uva Academy, where his loyal buddy Mabosstiff was waiting for him.

…But not before he made Juliana promise that she could keep in better contact with Arven and their other pals during the rest of her exchange program.

That left just Juliana, Carmine, Kieran, and Briar to return by themselves to the Unova region.

The plane ride back to Castelia City was largely uneventful, and before they all knew it, they were marching up the long entrance tube to Blueberry Academy once again.

"Whew. Finally home," said Carmine, stretching her arms.

Briar was walking ahead of the group, rubbing her chin in thought.

"I need to get in touch with Geeta... No, scratch that. I need a publisher first!"

"Tera?"

Terapagos was riding on Juliana's shoulder, gazing out at the setting sun in the distance.

"It's been a while since you've seen the real sun, hasn't it, Terapagos?" Juliana empathized. She drew out an Oran Berry from her bag. "Here. Want one?"

Terapagos sniffed the Berry curiously, and started taking slow munches of it from Juliana's fingers.

Juliana smiled, and gazed around happily. Since the sun was setting in Unova, there weren't as many students out as her first time walking down this bridge.

But there were a few of them, students and Pokémon, lingering around. Who all recognized Juliana and smiled, a welcome change from her first day at this school.

She saw one girl sitting on a bench with her Slugma. Another student walking his Manectric.

And then, she felt a pair of eyes upon her...

Juliana's attention was brought to a single lone Pokémon that seemed to stare at her. It was something she'd never seen before, a white furry quadruped that was cat-like in some ways. But its blue face and claws, and the curved blue horn on its head, gave it the appearance of something… more mysterious than that.

It didn't seem to have a Trainer accompanying it.

Juliana, not sure why this thing was fixated on her, meekly smiled and waved at it.

"Ab… sol."

That was all the strange Pokémon said, before it walked away…

"Huh. That was… strange," she said quietly to herself.

"Hey… Juliana," she heard a voice behind her.

It was Kieran.

"What's up?"

"L-look, I know I caused a lot of trouble for the League Club and everyone..."

Juliana smiled. "They'll all forgive you. I know they will. They all care a great deal about you." She giggled. "Even Drayton."

"Yeah. I hope so…" He looked down glumly. "I still want—to give everybody a proper apology... Including you, Juliana…"

Juliana nodded calmly.

"So... I'm sorry!" he shouted.

Carmine heard the commotion and calmly walked over to eavesdrop.

"I know that—I've been a really horrible friend to you all this time. If you never wanted to see or hear from me again, then… I totally get it. Wouldn't even blame ya." Kieran scratched his head. "But… the thing is, I really wanna be friends with you again too."

He started to feel really shy.

"And, uhh... I guess what I'm trying to say is... I wanna make things right. So do you think… we could start over from zero and be friends again?"

Kieran gazed sadly to the floor, not expecting a favorable response…

But then he saw a hand right up in his face.

"Huh?"

And Juliana smiled at him, with her classic perky grin.

"Hi there! My name's Juliana. What's yours?"

"…Uhh." He started chuckling. "Hi, J-Juliana." He shook her hand. "It's—real nice to meet you."

"Wait, I know you! Carmine's told me so much about you! You're her brother… Kiki, right?"

"It's Kieran… actually. Umm…" Kieran scratched his face awkwardly. "I heard you're a… really amazing Trainer. Like, the Champion of this whole place! Right?"

"Really? Because I've heard the same thing about you!" Juliana smiled warmly. "A strong Trainer and a good kid, always looking out for others. I think you and I could be real good friends, Kieran."

"Yeah…" He smiled back. "Yeah, I think so too. Ha-ha! Wowzers!"

They both broke out giggling with each other, and Carmine watched them both happily.

It warmed her heart bigger than anything else to see the two of them getting along again.

Carmine leaned against the railing and gazed out over the open sea.

She could spot a flock of Wingull going by, and a Tentacruel pushing its way through the currents.

And down below… she was lucky enough to spot two Luvdisc. Booping noses with each other, as if kissing.

Carmine smiled from cheek to cheek, now surer of herself than ever before.

"Heeeey!" she called out.

Juliana and Kieran both perked up.

"We're gonna leave you two behind if you don't hurry up!"

Juliana didn't know why, but something about the way the light of the setting sun touched behind Carmine's head made her positively beam. She turned to Kieran.

"Come on, Kieran. Let's go home."

"Yeah… home," he smiled.

Carmine giggled as she watched the two of them rush their way up the bridge. She parted one of her ends with her fingers and took a deep breath.

"Tomorrow…" she said quietly.

She looked out into the blue waves once again, letting the calm evening wind flow through her black and red locks.

"We're all going to rest for tonight, and then tomorrow… I'm going to tell her how I feel. I'm really gonna do it."

NEXT TIME… A SWEET EPILOGUE!