Paradox Pokémon had appeared long before Terastallization was ever discovered.
Terastallization had first been documented 140 years ago, while Paradox Pokémon had been recorded 200 years ago — because it was only 200 years ago that an expedition team first managed to enter Area Zero.
The man who organized that expedition into Area Zero was named Heath. The Scarlet Book, currently housed in the Naranja Academy museum, was the record he had compiled during that expedition. Paradox Pokémon could be found documented within its pages.
That meant Paradox Pokémon hadn't simply appeared 200 years ago — it was only that humans had first discovered them 200 years ago.
In the games, Paradox Pokémon had come to the modern era through a time machine. But machines weren't the only things capable of moving through time. Dialga, Palkia, and Celebi could all do the same. Even certain space-time disasters occurring naturally in the world could cause travel across eras.
Gary was convinced there had to be some secret buried at the very bottom of Area Zero. But since the path to the deepest level hadn't been discovered yet, there was no telling when the mystery of the Paradox Pokémon would finally be solved.
"Professor, the Paradox Pokémon have found the entrance. It looks like they've located the way out," Garke said, breaking into his thoughts.
Although Iron Valiant and Iron Hands had been dealt with, the fact remained that both Pokémon had appeared right at the entrance. The Paradox Pokémon had found the exit — they simply hadn't been able to operate the elevator, which was the only reason they hadn't gotten through.
"It doesn't matter. Future Paradox Pokémon have high intelligence, so it's only natural they'd eventually find their way out," Professor Sada said.
"What if a Pokémon destroys the entrance?" Gary asked.
"That wouldn't be a problem either. We can always transport people in by air. The elevator was only built to make constructing the observation stations easier. Now that all the stations are finished, the elevator doesn't really serve much purpose anymore. It's just there for the convenience of future development in the Great Crater of Paldea," Professor Sada replied, unconcerned.
Thinking about it, that made sense. The expedition team 200 years ago had entered by riding Flying-type Pokémon, and they'd relied entirely on Cyclizar capable of Rock Climb to haul their supplies.
Although the Great Crater of Paldea held many mysteries, Gary didn't think there were actually that many left. Apart from Area Zero itself, most of the crater had already been thoroughly explored. It was only a matter of time before it was fully developed.
As for the Paradox Pokémon — if even Gary could capture them this easily, then the Paldea League would have no trouble at all.
"So, shall we head back?"
Gary felt he'd gotten more than enough out of this trip.
He had captured five future Paradox Pokémon, earning himself five Gold Bottle Caps and five Ability Expansion Stones. It was an enormous haul. He only hoped that on his next trip, he could capture the remaining five future Paradox Pokémon as well.
"Let's go."
Professor Sada nodded and opened the elevator with the remote control. Everyone filed inside, and after several minutes of ascent, they arrived back at the Area Zero Gate.
Once they emerged from the Great Crater of Paldea, Professor Sada instructed the staff stationed at the Area Zero Gate to tighten security in the area.
Afterward, she led the expedition team back to Medali by car, and from there they boarded a transport helicopter bound for Mesagoza.
...
They arrived in Mesagoza.
Everyone took a shuttle straight to Naranja Academy — the pickup had naturally been arranged by Geeta.
Upon arriving at the academy, the group headed directly to Geeta's office.
"You've brought back quite a haul this time. Five Paradox Pokémon captured in a single trip," Geeta said the moment she saw Professor Sada and the others, praising the expedition team for their results.
"Chairwoman Geeta, honestly, it was all thanks to Gary's help. Without him, it wouldn't have gone nearly so smoothly," Professor Sada said.
Even without Gary, the expedition team could still have subdued the Paradox Pokémon they encountered along the way — it simply would have been considerably more troublesome.
Both Nick and Garke possessed Elite-level strength, so handling most Paradox Pokémon was within their capability. But Iron Valiant and Iron Hands, which they'd run into at the very end, would have been far harder to deal with.
"Indeed. Thank you so much, Gary," Geeta said.
"You're too kind. Getting to see Paradox Pokémon up close was an honor in itself," Gary replied.
"You must be exhausted from the journey. Gary, please go and get some rest first," Geeta said.
"Alright. Goodbye."
Gary understood perfectly well that Geeta was politely dismissing him. He didn't linger, turning around and leaving the office.
Although Gary wasn't certain what Professor Sada intended to do next, this trip into the Great Crater of Paldea had clearly uncovered something significant — especially with five Paradox Pokémon appearing one after another. No matter how he looked at it, things weren't as simple as they seemed.
After leaving Geeta's office, Gary didn't head back to the dormitory to rest. Instead, he made his way toward the Naranja Academy library.
He wanted to read the Scarlet Book and see exactly what had been recorded inside it.
Gary had a staff pass, which gave him free access to Naranja Academy's public facilities, including the library.
Once he arrived, Gary asked the librarian where he could find the Scarlet Book.
When the librarian heard what he was looking for, she simply pointed toward a shelf of secondary reading material — a shelf stocked entirely with science fiction novels.
Gary was speechless. The Scarlet Book was a text written 200 years ago, and its contents were genuinely invaluable, particularly its records concerning Paradox Pokémon. And yet this was how it was treated.
Truly a case of pearls before swine.
Gary quickly located the Scarlet Book on the shelf.
It was easy to spot — the cover was a striking red, and printed across its surface was the black silhouette of Koraidon.
Gary opened the book and began reading carefully.
There weren't many words in the Scarlet Book, but the contents were genuinely bizarre. Even so, it really did record information about Paradox Pokémon, complete with hand-drawn sketches of their appearances. However, every single one documented was an ancient Paradox Pokémon. There was no mention whatsoever of the future variants.
There was even an illustration of Terapagos in its Stellar Form. That wasn't especially surprising, given that Terastallization itself was tied to Terapagos.
It made perfect sense that Heath would have encountered Terapagos in the Great Crater of Paldea. But the events recorded later in Heath's account were completely at odds with what Gary had personally witnessed in Area Zero.
Setting aside the question of why only ancient Paradox Pokémon appeared in the book, Heath wrote that he had traveled to two other worlds and communicated with different people in each of them. He claimed to have seen a great many Pokémon there — yet he never once saw a single future Paradox Pokémon.
If Gary had been reading this book for the first time, he probably would have dismissed Heath as a fantasist. But he already knew where Paradox Pokémon truly came from.
Which meant there had to be some connection to time-space travel in the deepest part of Area Zero. He just didn't know whether an actual space-time wormhole existed down there.