In the upper fields of Area Zero, Juliana, Arven, Nemona, and Penny had all stumbled off Koraidon and took a collective breath. For a moment, no one said a word. It took Nemona to break the silence, "Oh man, we're in big bad trouble, aren't we?"

"Gee, you think?" Penny sarcastically responded, "I'm starting to think this was a bad idea…

"At least we know that's coming." Arven slumped over, "Sheesh…"

Juliana objected, "There's no way I could've let Perrin be here without doing something. I know we can save her."

"Guys? Hey, have you all made it?" Carmine's voice came through Juliana's phone. Juliana replied, "Yes Carmine, we're here."

"Oh, thank goodness. Where are you guys?"

Juliana answered, "We're in the upper fields."

"Aha! I see you guys! All right, looks like everything is clear. Kiki and I don't see anything. Except…"

"Except what?" Arven questioned.

They could hear Kieran's voice, "Wowzers… what is that? A pile of dust?"

Carmine answered, "Looks like it, Kiki. Hey, look! Are those footprints? Get closer!"

"Okay, okay! I can see them… whoa… Those footprints…"

"Those things are huge!" Carmine exclaimed, "What Pokemon could have made those!?"

Arven dreaded, "Oh no… sounds like we're gonna have company…"

"So those pictures were real?" Nemona inquired, "No way!"

Juliana asked, "Do you guys see any sign of Perrin?"

"Not yet." Kieran responded, "As soon as we do, we'll let you know!"

The group continued onward in the same way they did during their first expedition here. This time, they made sure to keep their senses extra heightened. Also Koraidon was out by their side. When they reached the first research station, Juliana couldn't help but giggle.

Penny noticed, "Juliana? What's so funny?"

Juliana couldn't resist, "Do you remember the first time we were down here? And Arven called it a what now? A radish ration?"

Nemona laughed, "I remember that!"

Arven face-palmed, "Oh come on cutie, really!?"

"Sorry!" Juliana apologized while still grinning, "I thought that was so funny! You must have been hungry when you said that!"

"I think I was a little…" Arven admitted.

Penny was now smirking, "I think he's just book dumb, Juliana."

"Y-You watch it!" An embarrassed Arven snapped back.

"A radish ration? What the heck is that?" Carmine's voice came through the speaker. Kieran could be heard trying to stifle giggles.

Juliana freaked, "Oh shoot! I forgot we had you guys on the line!"
This made everyone burst out laughing. Except for Arven, he sighed, "I'm never going to hear the end of that, am I?"

Carmine's tone suddenly shifted, "Oh my gosh, what is that!?"

"What is it?" Juliana asked immediately.

"Behind that building you guys are approaching, there's a big monster!"

This made everyone stop in their tracks, "A monster? What does it look like?" Penny inquired. Koraidon positioned itself protectively in front of the group.

"It's… just huge." Kieran noted, "It looks like it's got a crown on it's head."

Nemona pointed out, "Hey, you know we hadn't seen any other Pokemon on the way here… Last time, we had Juliana's Tinkaton fighting off Corviknight left and right. Where are they now?"

Juliana grew nervous as she realized she was right. It had to have something to do with the huge Pokemon they were about to face. And the others that Perrin reported. Carefully, the gang crept up close to the research station. One by one, they all barely poked their heads around the corner just enough to see, Koraidon included.

What they saw made Juliana's breath catch in her throat. It was a massiveleonine-ceratopsiahybridPokémon. It was covered in brown fur with three green spike lines on both back legs. Cream belly fur on its chest, and five grey spikes on its back. A long, light gray cloud of smoke running along its entire back, resembling a tail was present.

"That looks… so cool…!" Nemona whispered, eyes brightened with excitement.

Penny questioned, "Has that thing always been here!?"

Juliana's Rotom Dex read, "Gouging Fire. There are scant few reports of this creature being sighted. One short video shows it rampaging and spouting pillars of flame."
She had a moment of clarity, "Guys, what if that thing came from the Time Machine!?"

Arven paused before responding with a solemn tone, "It's very possible…"

"If that's the case… what's it been doing this entire time?" Penny wondered, "Why are they choosing to make their presence known now?"

Kieran inquired, "The… Time Machine? What's that?"

Before anyone could answer, the beast walked over to a tree and faced it. Then it let out a mighty roar and spouted a pillar of flames before running away. The burning tree fell to the ground with a snapping crash, igniting the grass around it. The fire began spreading faster than the trainers could process.

"Oh shoot! F-Fire! Fire!" Arven shouted.

Koraidon used it's body to scoop up the teens onto it by swooping underneath them. To make matters worse, the tree began to roll down the hill, extending the blaze into an all-out inferno.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Arven exclaimed, "Shoot, this is getting bad!"

Carmine's voice was panicked, "Aaahh! You guys need to go! Before you burn alive!"

"We gotta find Perrin!" Juliana objected.

"HELP! SOMEONE HELP!"

The Paldea gang heard the screaming from a distance. They all began rapidly looking in different directions.

"Was that…?" Penny asked.

"That was her!" Juliana confirmed, "Where is she!?"

"I see her! I see her!" Kieran spoke fast, "She's on that boulder!"

With everyone onboard, Juliana directed Koraidon to jump off the ledge and spread it's wings. Juliana spotted Kieran and Carmine atop Dragonite mid-air. The two were pointing at something in the distance.

Next to a shallow river by the waterfall, Juliana could barely tell it was Perrin. She was clinging for life atop a massive boulder.

Juliana gasped, "Come on, let's get her!"

Koraidon took a swooping dive right for her. Everyone hung on tight, the smell of smoke was detectable through the air rushing past them.

When Perrin noticed them, she began to wave an arm frantically, "Juliana! Partner! Help me!"

Koraidon levitated beside the boulder, allowing Juliana to carefully climb off, "Come on Perrin, let's get you out of here!"

"Thank you! Thank you so much!" She scrambled atop Koraidon. Juliana climbed back on too, "Where's Growlithe?"

"I… forced him back into his pokeball. He didn't want to go, but I made him. It was to keep him safe!"

"Ah, okay." Juliana replied, "All right, let's get out of here!"

Juliana barely finished that sentence before her rotom phone shook with the yells of Kieran and Carmine. A bolt of electricity had struck from the fog, hitting Dragonite. The bolt was so sudden that the dragon type lost control and began to tumble out of the air. Koraidon immediately zipped toward them, the world around them becoming a blur.

Dragonite crash-landed upon a field situated between two inclines, one leading up and one leading down. Thankfully, they were far away from the fire still blazing in the distance. As soon as Koraidon landed beside them, Juliana hopped off, "Oh my gosh, are you guys okay!?"

Kieran was looking over Dragonite, "Yeah, we're fine. I think he just got the wind knocked out of him."

Carmine was frazzled, "Aaahh! I thought we were gonna die!"

"He's got an injury." Kieran pointed out, "Does anyone have a potion?"

"I do!" Arven immediately rushed over, "What kind do you need?"

As they were discussing that, Juliana turned to a still shaking Carmine, "Are you okay, Carmine?"

Carmine inhaled and exhaled quickly, "I'm just fine! It… freaked me out a little bit. Just a little bit!"

Nemona hopped off Koraidon and went to Arven and Kieran tending to Dragonite, "Oy! Are we all okay here?"

Arven was using a Hyper Potion on Dragonite's arm, "Thankfully it's nothing serious. Probably got this from that rough landing. He'll be fine."

"That's good to hear!" Nemona replied, "I would've been so sad if Dragonite got seriously hurt!"

"Me too." Kieran agreed, "All my Pokemon are precious to me…"

Suddenly, Perrin and Penny yelled from atop Koraidon. When everyone looked, they were being confronted by Gouging Fire, and another, yellow, Pokemon with black jagged stripes. The two beasts approached them slowly. In a manner that a predator would approach cornered prey.

Juliana's Rotom phone read, "Raging Bolt. It's said to incinerate everything around it with lightning launched from its fur. Very little is known about this creature."

Perrin informed, "This is the one I saw first. It has some crazy strong electric attacks!"

"Thanks for the advice!" Juliana called back.

After gazing upon the teens, Raging Bolt let out a roar, "Rai-GOOOOOHHH!" It's mane resembling a storm cloud flickered like lightning.

Gouging Fire let out it's own cry, "Ennn-GRAHHH!" Scraping one paw against the ground like a Donphan ready to charge.

"Whoa! What do we do?" Arven jumped up.

Juliana grabbed the Master Ball containing Terapagos, "I'll distract them! You guys keep an eye on Dragonite!"

"Cutie!" Arven cried out. Nemona rushed past him, "I've got your back, Juliana!"

"Thanks Nemona!" Juliana replied.

Juliana sent out Terapagos and Nemona sent out Kommo-o. As soon as the little Pokemon shifted to battle form, Juliana immediately activated her Tera Orb to Terastallize him. Terapagos morphed into his stellar form, shining brightly like a star.

Nemona was amazed, "Whoaaa! That is so cool!"

Juliana spoke, "I'll tell you the story some other time Nemona! Let's just take care of these guys!"

"Right! Kommo-o, use Earthquake!"

Kommo-o used his powerful limbs to stir up the ground beneath Raging Bolt and Gouging Fire, both took considerable damage.

Carmine cheered from behind, "I think you guys found a weak spot! Keep doing that!"

Raging Bolt gathered electricity in it's body, then fired a lightning bolt toward their opponents. At the same time, Gouging Fire let loose an inferno of scarlet flames.

Terapagos deflected these attacks with a protective shield.

"Wow!" Nemona whispered.

Juliana commanded, "Terapagos, use Tera Starstorm!"

Using the power of his crystals, Terapagos bombarded his foes with countless star-shaped projectiles. The attack finished with a splash of sparkles.
Juliana looked at the paradox beasts, both appeared exhausted. She wondered if they were done, but the Pokemon continued to watch the teens with a determined stance.

Suddenly, another roar caught their attention. Atop the hill, was a large, blue, bipedal, theropod dinosaurPokémonwith white, diamond-shaped markings on it's body. A thick, large purple mane covered its arms and back. Raging Bolt and Gouging Fire turned to face this Pokemon.

The trainers gathered to watch as the blue beast walked close enough to where they could see it's red eyes.

"I remember that Pokemon from the Scarlet Book!" Arven pointed out.

Juliana's rotom dex read, "Walking Wake. This ferocious creature is shrouded in mystery. It's named after an aquatic monster mentioned in an old expedition journal."

"Guys, look over there!" Penny yelled, pointing toward the distance. The inferno had been extinguished, leaving behind a large, bright rainbow above the ashy remains. No one noticed that Perrin began snapping photos of what was happening around them.

Walking Wake walked between Raging Bolt and Gouging Fire, keeping it's eye on the trainers. Everyone held a collective breath.

"What are these Pokemon?" Kieran questioned, "We didn't see them here before…"

"Something seems familiar about these Pokemon…" Nemona pondered, "But I can't put my finger on it."

Without warning, Raging Bolt hopped into the air and over the ledge. Hitting the ground below and disappearing into the environment. Gouging Fire took of running down the hill, also disappearing.

That left Walking Wake, it stared at the trainers once more, focusing on Juliana in particular, and nodded it's head. Juliana didn't know how to respond, so she just kept staring in bewilderment. After that, it dashed away, headed toward the waterfall.

Everything was quiet after that, there was no scampering of wild Pokemon, no wild cries, nothing. Just the air of unease that was Area Zero.

"What was that?" Juliana questioned, recalling Terapagos. Nemona recalled Kommo-o at the same time.

"I don't know." Arven muttered back.

Kieran rushed over to a now standing Dragonite, "Hey guys! Dragonite is feeling better!"

Carmine sighed, "Oh thank goodness. We can leave now!"

Arven turned to Perrin, "So, what on earth were you doing down here anyway? Don't you know how dangerous it is here?" He crossed his arms.

Perrin became ashamed, "I just… I wanted to get some good pictures. The last pictures I took of a cool Pokemon came out really poorly. I wanted something that was at least decent quality."

Juliana recalled the Bloodmoon Ursaluna the pair encountered in the Kitakami region. She briefly wondered what became of that Pokemon, but she pushed those thoughts aside. She spoke, "Perrin, I understand how you feel. But putting yourself in danger isn't the answer."

Perrin agreed, "You're right. I shouldn't have come down here. I know it's forbidden to come here without the League's permission. That alone should have told me this was a bad idea…"

Juliana's stomach turned, she knew there was a world of trouble waiting for them once they got back up there. But there was no avoiding it now. After taking a deep breath, she declared, "Let's go home, everyone!"

Everyone let out a small, collective cheer before boarding their respective dragons. Arven put a hand on Juliana's shoulder, "We're gonna get scolded big time for this."

"Yeah." Penny agreed with dread in her voice, "But at least we weren't hurt here. Let's just go and get this over with."

Juliana and Kieran commanded their dragons and they took to the sky. Ready to return and face the consequences of their actions.

Juliana turned to look at Area Zero as they ascended higher, the land drawing further away with each second. She hoped that this would be the last time.

Her heart began beating faster, knowing what was coming now.