"And that is the situation so far," Hassel said, "I hope you can see the urgency of it and understand why I cannot hesitate to respond. That said, I do apologize for not being able to give a more advanced notice for my absence."

Hassel finished recounting to Director Clavell the tale the dragon tamer had told him, how he called for a meeting of Paldea's Elite Four, and how he was likely about to use a fair amount of his personal days to see to this matter. The older man had listened intently the whole time, his gentle expression constantly furrowing with concern over the course of the telling.

"No need to apologize," Clavell said, "this is a serious matter and should be dealt with as soon as possible. The safety of our students is at risk."

With Clavell's words, Hassel finally felt the tension in his shoulders relax.

"Thank you for your understanding," he said.

"When you were taken on as an instructor, it was always with the understanding that there would be times where your responsibilities to the League would take priority," Clavell gave a reassuring smile but it quickly faded, "It must be a serious problem if the League agreed to get involved so quickly."

"They have not fully agreed yet, though I believe I will be able to convince them to act. I am meeting with them tonight."

"Geeta and the others understand the importance of the Treasure Hunt, not just for the students, but for all of Paldea. I am sure you will all be able to work together to solve this mystery and make travel safe again."

"I hope so."

"Until then, the rest of the faculty and I will see that your classes are covered, especially if Professor Gibble is willing to help us out."

"I am sure Professor Gibble will be more than willing to help, so long as it is not grading papers. The good Professor has chewed up more than one report."

The two men chuckled at the thought, though their mirth was short lived. When they spoke again, their tones were serious once more.

"What do you think this thing is, Hassel?"

"I'm not sure," he answered as his eyes came to rest on the framed fossils displayed on the wall, "Anna said she initially thought it was a Tyrantrum but after battling it, she wasn't sure what it was she saw. I asked her to try drawing it."

From his pocket, Hassel took out a folded piece of paper and passed it over to Clavell who immediately opened it.

"This," he stammered, moving the paper closer to his face, "this, is not very well drawn."

"It was a quick sketch," Hassel cut in, "and it is not being graded."

"Oh my, it's confusing," Clavell put the paper down on his desk and pointed to the stranger features of the drawing, "Is that a second tails? And are those spines or feathers?"

"Spines, she believes, poking through a mane. Anna explained it all while she was drawing."

"This doesn't look like any one Pokémon, but a combination of several. Yes, I do see the resemblance to Tyrantrum, but that crest, it reminds me of artwork I saw of Suicune while in Jhoto, and then there is something else familiar about it. It reminds me of-"

"-that scarlet Pokémon Juliana rides?" Hassel completed the thought.

"Yes, Koraidon. That's it exactly."

"I wonder if the two are similar."

"I hope not."

"Huh?"

Hassel was surprised. Did he hear the director correctly? Koraidon had appeared to be a friendly Pokémon; carrying the young student everywhere and playing gently with her other Pokémon. Honestly, it only seemed as though it would only be a threat if you were a walking sandwich.

"You hope it's not like Koraidon?" Hassel asked, "It seems like an extremely mild mannered Pokémon, almost like an overgrown Cyclizar. Why wouldn't you want the mysterious Pokémon to be like it? This isn't about Koraidon's mannerisms, is it?"

"Ah, perhaps I have said to much," Clavell sighed, "but the Meowth's out of the bag. How much do you actually know about Koraidon?"

"Very little, regrettably. I know it belonged to the late Professor Sada, she found it in Area Zero, and for some reason, she entrusted it to Juliana, a girl she had never met before. Beyond that, I only know what I have observed."

A long sigh escaped the director and his face suddenly took on a more serious expression. But behind the sharp look in his eyes, there was a somber touch.

"Hassel, what I am about to tell you is confidential. Please, keep this information to just you and the other member of the Elite Four. Koraidon does not just resemble Cylizar, it is a Cylizar, one from the distant past."

"It is a revived fossil Pokémon?"

"No. Revival from fossils is still a young technology and still has much room for improvement. The technology that brought Koraidon to Paldea is different. Researching the Terrestrial phenomenon was what made Sada famous, but it was not her true passion. That was ancient Pokémon. She wanted to find a way to bring them to the modern world so that they could be better studied. She did not believe that revival technology was advanced enough for her dream so she turned elsewhere. She wanted to build a time machine."

"A time machine? This is starting to sound like something from a science fiction than reality."

"I thought so as well when she told me her plans years ago, but she never gave up on her dream. She looked into the budding warp technology developed by Silkph in Co, in Kanto, reports of wormholes in Alola, and even researched old legends from Sinnoh about Dialga, anything to help her. And in the end, it seems like in the Great Crater she found her treasure; something to create this time machine. Koraidon is one of the results of this."

"How, how can you be so sure?"

"It is what the students told me," Clavell reached into his desk and pulled out a flash drive, "I have a copy of the report they gave on their expedition into the Area Zero. I recommend that you read it before your meeting with the others. There will be answers for more of your questions in there but for now, let me tell you the most important part. Juliana's Koraidon's behavior is an expectation for these ancient Pokémon, not the norm. Every other ancient Pokémon reacted with extreme violence, attacking on sight. There was even mention of a second Koraidon. It was the one responsible for Sada's death."

Silence filled the room. Hassel's mind swam through the flood of revelations. Ancient Pokémon? Violent ancient Pokémon! So violent that one was the true cause of Sada's death. And possibly one of those lethally dangerous Pokémon was out wandering Paldea right now.

"If this Pokémon is another ancient one that somehow escaped from the Great Crater,"Clavell said, his words cutting through Hassel's rushing thoughts, "then I believe that Paldea is in real danger."