"No... if there really is a time-space wormhole down there, why haven't Dialga and Palkia done anything about it?" Gary muttered in confusion.
"VEE!"
Just as Gary was lost in thought, Eevee cried out in boredom and scratched at his ankle with its little claws.
"What's wrong?"
Gary looked down at Eevee, only to see it pointing off to his left.
Gary turned and saw a woman walking toward him. She had blonde hair, wore a pair of green earrings, a purple teacher's uniform on top, and red leather pants below. She looked to be around thirty years old — definitely not a student.
Seeing that Gary had noticed her, the woman nodded with a smile and said as she approached, "Hello, Gary. I'm a teacher here at Naranja Academy. My name is Briar. I noticed you're reading the Scarlet Book — are you interested in it?"
Gary looked at Briar. He wasn't surprised that she knew his name — after all, not long ago, he had thoroughly trounced the academy's twenty best students.
However, he had no memory of ever seeing this person before. Given her distinctive outfit, she was probably an important character who appeared later in the anime's plot.
"Yes. I went to the Great Crater of Paldea not long ago. When I learned that the author of the Scarlet Book was the first person to ever explore the crater, I came here to borrow it," Gary said.
"You've been to the Great Crater?!" Briar looked astonished.
Gary looked very young — young enough to pass for a student. Without Chairwoman Geeta's permission, there was no way he would have been allowed into the Great Crater.
"Yes. Chairwoman Geeta invited me here to battle the academy's students. The condition I asked for in return was permission to enter the Great Crater," Gary said.
Briar looked puzzled. She knew Gary was an excellent Trainer, but she wouldn't have expected Geeta to actually agree to let him into the crater.
"It seems Chairwoman Geeta thinks very highly of you..." Briar continued, "But just now, I heard you mention a time-space wormhole. Is that related to the Great Crater of Paldea?"
"Because of the parallel worlds described in this book, I started thinking about time-space wormholes. Only a possibility like that could prove the contents of this book are real," Gary said.
Briar was surprised, then said with relief, "I never imagined that after two hundred years, there would still be someone willing to believe what's written in this book."
"There's nothing strange about believing it. As we learn more and more about Legendary Pokémon, we've discovered that some of them have the power to travel through time and space. That means the contents of the Scarlet Book are very likely true," Gary said.
"Yes. I believe it's true as well," Briar nodded. "But there's still no way to prove it."
Gary found Briar rather strange. She didn't seem like a researcher, so why was she this interested in the Great Crater?
Could Briar be from some villainous organization?
"Miss Briar, are you interested in the Great Crater too?" Gary asked.
Seeing Gary's doubts, Briar introduced herself properly: "This book was written by my ancestor. I've been researching Terapagos and the Great Crater of Paldea in order to prove that what he wrote was correct."
Gary was stunned.
The Scarlet Book had been written two hundred years ago. He never would have guessed that Briar was actually a descendant of Heath. What a remarkable inheritance.
"By the way, have you joined Professor Sada's research project team?" Briar asked.
Hearing this question, Gary understood that she knew exactly what it cost to study the Great Crater.
He had originally wanted to fish some information out of Briar, but if he didn't answer this question clearly, she wouldn't tell him anything either.
"No. I only went in with them as security. They kept a lot of things hidden from me," Gary said.
"Since you're interested in the Great Crater, why not join?" Briar asked in confusion.
"Because once I join, I can't leave the Paldea Region for five years. I still have other things to do."
Although Gary was very curious about the secrets of the Great Crater, he wasn't going to sign away five years of his freedom just to satisfy that curiosity. He still had plenty of things to do.
"I see. Then let's leave it at that."
Briar had originally assumed Gary had joined the research team and hoped to have a deeper exchange with him. Since he hadn't, she could only let the matter drop.
The conversation between the two ended there.
Gary put the Scarlet Book back on the shelf, left the library with Eevee, and returned to the dormitory arranged for him to rest.
...
The next morning.
After breakfast, Gary went to Geeta's office to say goodbye.
His task of instructing the students was complete, he had been to the Great Crater of Paldea, and now Gary was heading back to the Kanto Region.
"Leaving so soon? Have you considered joining the project team? Professor Sada would be very happy to have you," Geeta said.
"No need. I'm only interested in Pokémon, not in the secrets of Area Zero," Gary said.
"Very well. Then I'll see you next time," Geeta said.
"Not so fast."
Gary shook his head and said, "There's one more thing I'd like to discuss with you, Chairwoman Geeta."
"What is it?"
"It's about the battles with the students. I think four times a year is a bit too frequent. It would be better to change it to twice a year — scheduled for spring and autumn," Gary said.
Geeta was silent for a moment before saying, "Alright, we'll do as you say. But that also means you'll only get to enter the Great Crater twice a year."
"No problem."
Gary was in no hurry to capture Paradox Pokémon. After all, Paradox Pokémon were like Ultra Beasts — they existed in large numbers. As long as nothing happened to the time-space passage or the time machine inside the Great Crater, Paradox Pokémon would keep appearing. Sooner or later, he would capture them all.
After settling on the schedule for his future visits to Naranja Academy, Gary boarded a plane back to the Kanto Region the next day.
After getting off the plane in Vermilion City, he rode Charizard back to Pallet Town.
Landing in the backyard of Professor Oak's Laboratory, he happened to find Tracey feeding the Pokémon there.
When Tracey saw Gary, he immediately came over and said, "Gary, you're back from the Paldea Region, and you didn't even tell me in advance."
Gary hadn't notified anyone before coming back this time. After all, he hadn't been gone long — only half a month — so he hadn't bothered announcing his return.
"Sorry, I forgot."
"Just don't forget next time."
Tracey wasn't actually upset with Gary; he was only saying it in passing.
"I'm going to see Grandpa."
Gary planned to visit Professor Oak — it counted as reporting back safe.
"Don't bother. The Professor isn't here right now," Tracey said.