My Rotom Phone began ringing, the caller ID revealing it to be a call I had suspected would be coming. Honestly it took her longer than I expected given the seriousness she had before. Answering it, I said, “Nemona. I hope your Elite Challenge went well.”

  The young girl on the other side smiled, nodding rapidly before brushing one of the green strands out of her hair. “You could say that. I beat the Elite Four, and the El Primero.”

  I blinked. “That would make you the youngest Champion in history, and not just Paldea’s history, would it not?”

  “Haha,” she said with a slightly tired and put-upon expression. “Yuuuuup. I’ve been hounded by the press ever since. I appreciate others appreciating my hard work and efforts, but it feels like they blow everything out of proportion now. Of course, most of that is also due to the big press release about how to turn a Carbink into a Diancie.”

  “Oh?” I asked, intrigued. Usually I would be updated instantly on such scientific advancements, but the connection down in Area Zero was sporadic. Sometimes you could go hours with wi-fi and telecommunications uninterrupted, sometimes days without, and in some cases the connection was spotty no matter what tools were used. Occasionally I’ve found I’ll even get texts or emails days before they were sent. My replies never make it to the sender before they send their original message, yet other messages sent at the same time reach other recipients at different times. It’s truly fascinating, and a sign that I’m on the right track in my research.

  “I’ll send you a link to the press release and the papers I wrote up on the subject, but basically I devised a method to enable Carbinks to use Diamond Storm, the signature Move of Diancies and one of the few Moves that isn’t naturally shared between the two. Given their shared genetics, how they can come from the same parents, this triggers a transformation from Carbink into Diancie.”

  “Fascinating. Congratulations, it is rare indeed to come up with such a discovery so young.”

  “Thank you,” she said with a bright grin before pausing. Her eyes grew harder and the mirth on her face slid off like water on a Ducklett’s back as she continued. “That’s not what I wanted to talk with you about, though.”

  “Yes, I’ll admit that I had a few questions for you as well. How did you know about Iron Moth, and to call me immediately?” It was possible she had read the Violet Book enough to know about Iron Moth, but to assume I had something to do with it-

  “You need to shut down your Paradox Machine. Immediately.” The demand left me flabbergasted.

  “How- how do you know about that?” Did someone spill the beans? No, can’t be, none of the scientists down here even know about what I’m truly doing.

  “Call it an omen from the future, or a dire warning. I’ve seen how this plays out, and it’s no comedy.”

  I bristled. “Who are you to-” Taking a deep breath, I brought my emotions in check. “I’ll need a bit more to go off of than that to shut this project down.” Honestly, I was going to be demanding answers from her already considering how much she slowed things down as it is. I knew it was her too; Miguel had let it slip that Nemona had been the one to ask for the project to be postponed when the Top Champion and Elites had been here to ‘secure the area.’

  “You need more? Fine then. You’ll end up calling a bunch more dangerous Paradox Pokemon. One of them, another Miraidon, ends up killing you. Satisfied?” She wore a grim expression, like she was marching me off to the gallows personally.

  Shaking out some shivers, I tried to reason with her. “That still hardly seems like a reason to stop it entirely. I’ll presume that your visions were indeed accurate, or at least have proven accurate enough to be a serious concern. That simply means I shouldn’t draw any more Miraidons to our time. I appreciate you bringing this concern to me and I understand how it might be worrying-”

  The little girl scoffed, staring at me with eyes that seemed too old for her young frame. It has been… quite some time since anyone looked down on me. Not the first time, though. I’ve been an adult with much acclaim and prestige to my name for some time, but I wasn’t always. I forgot how infuriating it is.

  “There is a lot more to worry about with that machine than just the loss of your life. In what I saw, your death was only the beginning of the problem.” Despite myself, I was morbidly curious to hear where this was going and let her continue. “After you die, the programs you have running the machine continue on in your absence, churning out more and more Paradox Pokemon. The danger they represent becomes a threat to all of Paldea, and eventually your own son is called upon to fix the mess you’ve left behind.”

  I didn’t wince or flinch back from her words though they cut deep. Nemona has always had a gift for knowing exactly what to say to hurt someone, since as far back as the day we met. Here she manages to inspire worry over the safety of Arven combined with a healthy dose of guilt for my own actions. But I know that is illogical; it’s why I left Arven with close contacts to the Glitterati family in the first place, to ensure they could look after him. And all of this was for him in any case.

  Logically thinking through the issues helped me maintain my composure. “Once more, I must reiterate that this can all be averted with my demise being avoided. I understand that you are young, and these visions must have been troubling, but we can’t just cancel this project. It’s more than just my choice; the League has invested much into this expedition-”

  “The League doesn’t know jack shit about what you’re doing down there,” Nemona said, pulling a folder of papers from somewhere off screen and waving them at me. “These outline your project to ‘study unusual Tera Phenomenon and details surrounding the origins of it.’ None of that sounds like ‘try to build a time machine that could potentially destroy all of Paldea,” the girl deadpanned.

  “How did you get access to that?”

  “I’m a Champion-ranked Trainer now; comes with its perks. Also its responsibilities, like dealing with threats to the land.”

  It was my turn to snort dismissively. “Time travel won’t destroy Paldea. Science Fiction has much to answer for, but those theories-”

  “Don’t care about that. Mostly because what you’re doing isn’t time travel. Just think about how you can’t send yourself to the future but can send Pokeballs through and somehow bring back these ‘Paradox’ Pokemon. About how you can only get the machine to work down in the depths of Area Zero, where the physical laws of the world are distorted. About how time travel is entirely possible well outside of it.” In a softer voice she added, “How the only Pokemon you can bring through are the ones you read about in the book that inspired you as a child. It all adds up to the fact that your machine doesn’t work like you think it does.”

  It took every ounce of my control not to scream at her. I could handle the worry, the arrogance of her demands, but the pity? Nemona might be a child, but she goes too far. “Your ‘theory’ is noted. The time travel almost certainly works through alternate universes, and more study into those dimensional forces needs to be done into the one-way directionality of it. But in this case it should be safe - there's no risk of a paradox from bringing these Pokemon here.” It was a theory I wasn't thrilled with however, since it would mean it wasn't me who had sent those messages back in time to that copy of the Violet Book, but rather some other Turo out there in the multiverse.

  “I’ll admit, it would take a lot of Paradox Pokemon to threaten the entire world, but likely less than you’d think to threaten just Paldea. Already we’re seeing how dangerous they are within the Great Crater - I found Radiance after they fought their way out.” She shook her head. “The most dangerous place in all the land, so deadly armies have marched in and been swallowed whole… and it couldn’t contain one of them. Just imagine what they could do if they ran rampant among the rest of the land.”

  “You say they’re dangerous, yet - with my permission - you have one on your team. Are you saying that you’d be willing to give your Pokemon back?” I asked rhetorically. She’s named them, there’s no way she’d be willing to part with that Iron Moth now.

  “... It was difficult for me to connect and form a bond with Radiance, not impossible. I didn’t give them up to the Rangers for a reason, and I’m glad with where we are now. But, I have to accept that not everyone is me. What I was able to do won’t be possible for everyone; and others could get seriously hurt. Like the two Ranger Captains that first found and nearly died fighting Radiance.”

  My lips twitched as I smothered a frown at that news. “There are recordings of these Pokemon well before I made my machine. If they were all such a threat then surely there would have been a recorded incident before now.”

  “They were recorded as barely seen shadows by one Professor two hundred years ago,” the young girl raised her voice before catching herself. “I’m seriously worried that even a few Paradox Pokemon you’re bringing in could upset the ecosystem there and lead to serious injuries and harm.”

  “Your empathy is valiant, but people get hurt all the time, every day. From regular wilderness to even hidden dangers on the streets of our most advanced cities, life is full of peril,” I reasoned. “You can’t stop all the dangers of the world,” I told her.

  “Oh shut up!” She shouted. “I know well how dangerous things can be! I’ve fought poachers and thieves, faced aggressive wild Pokemon - heck, I studied the statistics well before I even considered becoming a Trainer! So yeah, I know there will be dangers and life isn’t perfect, but this? The power and aggression Paradox Pokemon tend to have? It’s too much, not just risky to individuals but to Paldea as a whole. And this isn’t just speculation; I’ve seen how Radiance reacted when I first encountered them and how I know what the other Miraidon will do. I’d say that there are fair reasons to put a stop to this reckless experiment.”

  The air between us (as much as there could be such a thing on a video call), was awkward. I hadn’t expected her to lash out like that at my words. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Porygon-Z looking concerned for me, but I couldn’t focus on that.

  The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  Nemona is just a young girl, no matter how smart. How often did I get frustrated with a lack of intelligent peers? With the only ‘friends’ those who wanted to use me to take credit? I can understand where she’s coming from, even if I don’t agree.

  “Nemona, your warnings are invaluable. And you’re correct that I need to take further precautions in my work. I’ve been pushing things, trying to achieve my dream too quickly. But that dream is a good one!” Her face fell at those words, more than any of my frustration prior caused, and I scrambled to fix things. How do I always say the wrong thing?

  “No, it really is! The paradise of the future… it will be a utopia. You could help me! You’re not unintelligent and you do somehow know of my plans, of what Paradox Pokemon can do. As a Champion ranked Trainer you could come down here, help keep any Paradox Pokemon that escape in line as we search for the future. Please,” I added, and for a second I saw that she was conflicted, biting her lip before…

  “Turo, it won’t work. Even the AI you build tries to turn against it when it realizes how ruinous your plan will be. I’m not denying that your goal is noble, but… Happily ever after isn’t a machine you build, it’s a process made each and every day. There’s not a miracle to show you how, the secret to life is here and now, with the people who care for you. Like your son-”

  “I am doing this for Arven!” I shouted. “Giving him a better life, a life I could never have-”

  “Newsflash, he doesn’t want that, he wants you.” Her voice softened as she continued. “Arven just to be there for him. And I want to help him too, and I’ll try to be there for him, but I can’t be his parent. Why do you think he’s been reaching out to Sada?”

  Her words hit me like a gut-punch. Sada? Sada!? She left m- us. She abandoned us and now he’s talking to her again? What, does that past fixated fool expect us to do, forget about all the hurt she caused? I have to fix this, however…

  “I’m not letting this go. I can understand your concerns, and like civilized people, we can disagree, but Project Paradise will continue. I hope you can accept that.” Her face was set like stone at my words.

  “I cannot accept that, and more to point, I will not. If I must, I’ll leverage every resource that I have to shutting your illegal experiment down.”

  Calling it ‘illegal’ is a bit harsh. More like ‘unauthorized’; no one made a law stopping time travel after all! “If that was true, why haven’t you done so already?” I pointed out. There was no logical reason to try and talk me out of it if she was so dead set on this path.

  Her stoic facade cracked and she stared sadly at me through the screen. “Because I wanted to give you the chance to end this yourself. To preserve your reputation and be the parent Arven needs. Heck, I consider you a bit of a friend too. Don’t make me do this, please. I don’t want to have you carted off to jail or worse.” I blanched.

  This is not just some young, somewhat intelligent girl I’m conversing with here - Nemona is the strongest Trainer in the land, with parents that control vast amounts of wealth. Stopping me and dragging my good name through the mud, even tossing me in jail, she could do this, easily.

  Swallowing, I looked down, unable to meet her eyes any longer. “I still need something to show the League for all my work here,” I let out in a near whisper, begging.

  “Is there nothing you can find down in Area Zero of all places to wrap up quickly and get back to your son?” The girl demanded.

  “... There’s a new Tera Type I’ve found hints of in the Underdepths. Perhaps I could study that for a time,” I offered. Those League officials are so enamored with Terastalization, they’d love some silly little distraction like that.

  “Only a short time. Come back home, for good, soon.” Wordlessly, I nodded. She hung up the call and there was a minute of absolute silence in my lab again before I got up with a screech knocking the chair back.

  “Rancid slip of Houndour piss! Where does that arrogant brat get off thinking she can order me around!” I yelled, grabbing my chair and tossing it into the desk. Nothing broke, strength not being my forte, but papers were jostled and fluttered around the small room.

  It will be annoying to pick those up and sort them… not that it matters with her little ultimatum. I have to abandon my research? Ridiculous! This is my life’s work!

  Panting, I attempted to regain my composure. Losing myself to my emotions was an uncommon sensation for me and it took a minute to calm myself down again. If she had just been trying to warn me, I would have been so grateful, but this, this… betrayal cannot be tolerated. I gave her a Tera Orb early, helped her on the path of a Trainer and this is the thanks I get?!

  “Pory! Por?” My Porygon-Z floated close, pushing their beak close to my face with worry in their yellow ringed eyes. I forgave them for the intrusion on my personal space - my actions were quite irregular for an outside observer - and waved them off.

  Outrage waned in time and logic reasserted itself. I was used to betrayal. From my earliest days, people had taken note of my intellect, and been jealous. Scholars and scientists had attempted to steal or co-opt my designs, and I had learned to be careful with who I trusted. Even those who didn’t try to steal from me like my- like Sada eventually turned away from me. Perhaps that is more like what Nemona felt as well. Just a young girl, scared of the visions she’s witnessed.

  Speculation was pointless for the moment, so I put those thoughts to the side for now as I began working on a plan of action. “Alright, let’s look at my options. Giving up is technically the easiest, but unacceptable.”

  I paced lightly, walking around the cramped lab as I continued to speak aloud, hoping to spark some innovation that would let me find the answer I needed. “Seeking out the Legendary Pokemon she mentioned is an interesting path to the future, but one I can’t see as viable. Celebi and Dialga are too well-guarded by their governments, let alone the uncertainty of being able to convince those Pokemon to help me. Pokemon - all living creatures - are too capricious in their desires and thoughts. Technology is the path forward.”

  With that I turned to the half built Turo AI I had developed down here. The outer frame was half complete, with wires and circuitry exposed in places. The servos to let the AI assistant move on its own weren’t finished, but that could be accomplished easily enough. The coding was trickier; at the moment, it was barely more intellectual than Porygon-Z. “And assuming her warnings are true, even an AI patterned on my own mind might betray me, should I complete it.”

  Nemona kept a straight face throughout most of our discussion, but she was still holding things back from me. She likely knows or has a reasonable guess as to how the AI would deviate from its programming, but she kept it secret. Is she aware of the other measures I was working on or had even theorized? The temporal stasis shield? The Pokeball ID lock? My sketches on a generative hardlight maze? Or anything else I had hoped for in the Paradise Protection Protocols.

  Most of those ideas were well out of reach now. I’d be lucky to have enough time to simply complete the AI before the jackbooted League thugs were knocking on my door. “Though I did buy myself a bit of time. Perhaps, if I made the AI and had it work on the problem while I let Area Zero… but then I can’t trust it!”

  Angrily, I swept my arms across my desk, scattering more pages, pens and other items. “Aghhhh! I’m. So. Close! If I just had a bit more time, then, then I’d have all the time, ha, haha, hahaha…” Impotent tears mixed with absurd laughter as the emotions swirled within me. My dreams, what I’ve looked for since I was a boy. The inspiration that drove me to pursue science in the first place, practically within reach, now denied.

  With slumped shoulders I pulled the chair back in front of my desk, sliding down into it. “There really isn’t a way out, is there?” My Pokemon had no answer floating awkwardly, and there were no other scientists here - if I couldn’t trust a being made off my own brain then I could hardly trust Jacq’s or any of the other scientists working ‘with’ me.

  Whatever advances I gave them will be ignored the moment Nemona goes to talk to the League. She’s a Champion now, has the supporting of her ridiculously rich parents, and even has a discovery of her own to present to them.

  Uncovering the mysteries around the link between Diancie and Carbink were undoubtedly an impressive achievement, especially for one so young, but hardly as incredible as my inventions and advancements. Teleportation tech that works in distorted space, Steel Type infused metals to make tougher bunkers, the Tera Orbs and so much more-! But it won’t be enough. Giving the masses as many ‘Mythical’ Pokemon as they desire in multiple Diancies will be valued for their combat prowess over my work. Not that my Paradox Pokemon aren’t incredibly strong as well!

  An idea sparked in me, my eyes turning over to gaze at the Pokeballs held within a chamber in the center of this laboratory. “Nemona hasn’t told anyone else about my true research yet. If she were to disappear before then…” The thought was tempting. As fantastical as the others, however. I don’t possess the means as a Trainer to defeat the top Champion of our land, even with Paradox Pokemon at my side.

  It didn’t hurt that the Paradox Pokemon with the most potential I had found, Miraidon, would not be available to me. The one I sent to Arven was too soft to be a fighter, and any future ones I could call would risk my life gravely. The same might be true for any Paradox Pokemon I continue to bring to this time. Assuming Nemona isn’t lying of course, and this isn’t all a ruse to maintain her dominance in competitive battles.

  Another tempting idea, but one I knew wasn’t true, or could not be the whole truth. “Her reactions to Miraidon, including knowing its name, could not have been faked. No, the truth is that she, in her misguided way, is almost certainly doing this out of worry for me.” It still rankled and felt like a betrayal, but one I blamed her less for. Certainly enough that I can’t in good conscience plot her demise for thwarting me. But how do I buy the time I need to prove to her that my design will work?

  I stewed on that thought for some time with no answers coming easily. Eventually, I stood up and began gathering the debris I had scattered on the ground. It was more than just paper and pens as I found at my feet, a photo of Arven and myself outside our new lighthouse home, the only photograph I kept out amidst the scientific papers.

  “Arven, my beautiful boy. I’m sorry I can’t show you that glorious future.” He would never betray me. Maybe… maybe that’s my answer. My mind raced, a new possibility coming to light.

  Arven told me that Nemona is leaving the country to go to a different school. She won’t have access to as much information. My son will likely be the greatest source of knowledge she has on my movements. If I can get him to turn on her, to trick her, then I could continue my work!

  I held the photo frame up in the air, laughing delightedly. “YES! Arven, you will be my greatest asset to seeing my dream come true! And then, I’ll get to show you every… everything…” My voice trailed off as I looked at the photo again.

  The laboratory lights hit it at an odd angle, obscuring me in the image, but clearly showing the large crack in the glass that ran through Arven. The picture itself looks undamaged, but it was close. And the exact placement of the damage…

  One could hardly call me a religious man. Any Legendaries or Mythical Pokemon were not ‘gods’ in my mind but simply very powerful biological beings. If Arceus did exist as a god above all, then I felt They did not overly care for what the people or Pokemon down below did. That any supposed signs from them were mere speculation. However, this here, the crack, made by my own anger, after reacting violently for a warning to stop… is it truly a coincidence? Or another sign that I am headed on the wrong path?... Does it matter?

  Here I was, sitting alone, at the depths of the world, plotting to turn my son against his best friend all because I was upset that I might be wrong. “How many more years do I spend on this? How much more time do I waste on the present, chasing after a vision of the future?”

  There was still no answer, no one else to speak to me, but my question was rhetorical. “If I want to see the future become the paradise I envision it to be, then I shall make it so. One day at a time. ‘There’s not a miracle to show me how, the secret to life is here and now.’”

  With a sigh, I gathered the last of my scattered papers. There is still the issue of what to show the League for my time here, with this project scrapped. I suppose I can actually study the Area Zero Underdepths like I said. The findings regarding Terastalization there were somewhat interesting. Utterly unimportant for my Paradise Project but…

  “Hang on a little longer son, I’ll be home soon,” I said to myself before placing the photo down and leaving the lab.