I, Gary, Want to Become a Pokemon Master

"Mr. Steven, my grandmother doesn't know about this. Can I go back and inform her first?" Zinnia asked.

Since leaving her homeland, Zinnia had come to understand how society outside the tribe functioned. She had to admit—the outside world was far more advanced than her village. If she truly returned to live there again, she might not be able to adjust.

Besides, the Draconid Tribe had already been exposed. There was no need to continue hiding.

However, one critical issue remained: a Rainbow Meteorite was still hidden in Meteor Village, and it was linked to the origins of Mega Stones.

"No problem," Steven replied. "Take all the time you need. If your elders don't agree, I won't press the matter."

Steven had only heard of Meteor Village through legends—he had no idea there was a Rainbow Meteorite hidden there.

But Meteor Village wasn't unique in the world. Many regions had hidden communities with their own traditions, isolated from the outside world. Steven respected that. As long as they weren't breaking the law, he had no reason to interfere.

Still, if the Draconid Tribe wished to step forward and gain legal residency, the League would welcome them.

After witnessing what had happened at the Aether Marine Platform, Steven realized the Draconid Tribe could communicate with Rayquaza. That ability alone made them a people worth protecting and understanding.

That evening, after dinner, Gary checked on Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres, and Tyranitar. Seeing that their injuries weren't too serious, he sent them back to Professor Oak's Laboratory for recovery.

The lab had specially constructed environments for the Legendary Birds, allowing them to rest and heal comfortably.

When he reached the teleporter, Gary dialed the number for Professor Oak's lab.

The screen lit up, revealing Professor Oak—his expression unusually serious.

"Grandpa!"

Gary blinked in surprise. He hadn't expected to see his grandfather looking so stern.

Did I do something wrong?

"Gary, what's going on with you?" Professor Oak demanded.

"I haven't been able to reach your phone. And why did you suddenly send over all these powerful Pokémon?"

Gary immediately understood the situation—Tracey must have spilled the beans.

Indeed.

Yesterday, Gary had asked Tracey to help him send Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres to the lab. Curious, Tracey had asked what was going on.

Apparently, this afternoon he reported everything to Professor Oak, who then tried to call Gary—only to find his phone out of service. That made the professor extremely anxious.

Professor Oak had plenty of connections in Kanto and Johto, but finding information in the Hoenn Region wasn't easy.

Still, he had heard rumors: Groudon and Kyogre had clashed earlier today.

Knowing Gary was traveling toward Mossdeep City to challenge the Gym there, and unable to contact him, Professor Oak had become very concerned for his safety.

"Nothing major—just ran into a few things along the way," Gary said calmly.

"What happened? Explain it to me," Professor Oak said, frowning.

"Well, it's like this..."

Gary explained everything that had happened.

Before, the Draconid Tribe's existence had to remain a secret. But now that Steven, Wallace, and the top Hoenn League officials knew, it was safe to tell Professor Oak.

"All this... just to keep something secret?" Professor Oak scolded. "Gary, why did you get involved in such a dangerous matter?"

He looked visibly frustrated. To him, Gary had been reckless.

He always thought Ash was the impulsive one, but it seemed Gary wasn't far behind.

"Grandpa, I owed someone a favor," Gary replied sincerely. "I couldn't just turn my back on them. And besides... I didn't know it would involve Rayquaza. I'm fine now, so don't be angry."

Professor Oak huffed. "If you want to make it up to me, send over your Great Tusk."

Gary blinked.

He had never told Professor Oak the name of that Pokémon. "Wait... Grandpa, did you find out what it is?"

"Yes. That Pokémon is called Great Tusk. It was discovered in Area Zero of the Paldea Region," Professor Oak said.

Gary was stunned. He hadn't expected his grandfather to have contacts in Paldea.

The so-called Paradox Pokémon reside deep within Area Zero, which is divided into an upper layer, middle layer, lower layer, and the bottom layer. The Paradox Pokémon were discovered about five years ago and are currently being studied by the Paldea League.

The League had not made the discoveries public, so very few people outside Paldea knew anything about Paradox Pokémon.

"Only a handful of researchers even know they exist," Professor Oak explained. "Even I had to dig around to confirm Great Tusk's name."

"I see... Do you know anything else about it?" Gary asked.

"Unfortunately, no. Just the name. But I'm more curious about how a Paradox Pokémon ended up in Hoenn."

From what Professor Oak had gathered, Paradox Pokémon were supposed to be confined to Paldea's Great Crater. How one ended up in Hoenn's desert was a mystery.

"I asked Great Tusk about it," Gary said. "It told me it was patrolling its territory in a cave when the environment around it suddenly distorted. Then it ended up here."

Gary had wondered the same thing himself. After talking with Great Tusk, he suspected it had something to do with Professor Sada and Professor Turo.

In Paldea, wild Pokémon sometimes exhibit a strange crystalline form, but no one initially understood the reason behind it.

Eventually, with the work of Sada and Turo, the process known as Terastallization was explained, and the Tera Orb was invented.

Today, Tera Orbs are used in official Paldea battles, although Terastallization hasn't been introduced in the World Championships yet.

Ten years ago, Sada and Turo developed the Tera Orb. However, they weren't content with just that. They were also involved in researching time machines and alternate dimensions.

Their dream was to create a world where both Paradox Pokémon and modern Pokémon could coexist. To do that, they built AI versions of themselves, which operated a machine capable of summoning Poké Balls across timelines and bringing ancient or future Pokémon to the present.

If Great Tusk appeared in the Hoenn Region, something must have gone wrong with that time machine—pulling the Pokémon out of Area Zero and dropping it far from home.