Slumbering Weald was a mysterious forest south of Postwick.
For most people, this was just a mysterious forest covered in thick fog, a place worth exploring.
But because the fog was sometimes far too dense, a lot of adventurers didn't want to come here.
However, for Damian, he knew very clearly that this Slumbering Weald was exactly where the legendary heroes Zacian and Zamazenta dwelled.
Damian and Caitlin entered Slumbering Weald. At first it was fine, but as they went deeper and deeper, the fog grew denser and denser.
Visibility was down to about two meters, and even that was blurry.
"Caitlin, hold on to me tight, and be careful where you step."
"Mm~!"
Caitlin held Damian's hand tightly and nodded hard with a smile.
Feeling the touch and warmth in his hand, Caitlin's smile deepened.
After walking for more than ten minutes, the fog became even thicker, and visibility was almost under one meter. But these problems really weren't much of an issue.
If he wasn't worried about disturbing Zacian and Zamazenta, Damian would have already cleared away this thick fog.
"Aah!!"
Just then, a frightened female voice came from not far away.
There were other people here?
Damian and Caitlin froze. Damian thought about it, then took Caitlin toward the direction of the voice.
"Ow, ow, ow!"
When Damian and Caitlin arrived, a young woman with orange hair was sitting sideways and rubbing her butt, her fair face showing pain.
Clearly, she'd taken quite a nasty fall.
But soon, she noticed Damian and Caitlin walking over and stiffened awkwardly.
After all, what she'd just been doing really wasn't very graceful.
Damian raised a brow because he recognized her at first glance: the researcher Sonia, Leon's childhood friend.
Although Sonia didn't really look like a researcher at all, more like a pretty, fashionable girl.
"Hi there, you two. Are you here to explore?"
Sonia put on what she thought was a friendly smile and waved at them.
"Yeah, but I didn't expect to run into Miss Sonia here. Need a hand?"
Damian didn't deny it. He glanced at Sonia's left foot, which was trembling slightly and hanging down in an unnatural way. It was probably sprained.
"Oh~ so you know me? That's even better."
Sonia's smile grew a little more awkward. Even though she was a researcher, she was still a young woman, and being seen in such a miserable state was a little embarrassing.
"Could you help me up first, handsome? My foot's twisted, and I really can't stand up."
"Sure."
Damian stepped forward, helped Sonia up, and carefully guided her to a nearby tree stump so she could sit down.
"Hiss! Thanks, handsome. Otherwise I'd really be in trouble."
Sonia sucked in a breath from the pain, then let out a relieved sigh.
"Miss Sonia, coming to a place like this by yourself is a little too dangerous. At the very least, you should've come with a friend."
Damian smiled as he watched Sonia rummaging through her bag.
"Hey~ us researchers aren't that delicate. I just got startled by a Musharna that suddenly floated out."
As she spoke, Sonia found a bottle of Hyper Potion.
"But why are you here? Slumbering Weald is pretty mysterious right now, you know. It's not exactly a great place for a date."
Sonia winked at Damian and Caitlin and teased them a little.
Sonia really did have a pretty outgoing personality.
"Miss Sonia really is cheerful."
Damian smiled at that, and he didn't refute it. Caitlin, even less so, was already barely holding back her smile.
Her affection for this suddenly appeared wild researcher shot up instantly.
"Life's full of twists and turns, you know. But I believe everything will grow toward the best possible direction."
Sonia answered casually. She reached out and tried to take off her boot, but unfortunately, because of the pain in her foot, she really couldn't do it.
Sonia had no choice but to look up innocently at Damian.
"Handsome, help me out?"
"You should really thank us for just happening to pass by here today."
Damian didn't refuse. He crouched down and took off Sonia's boot, then rolled up the leg of her jeans. A patch of red, swollen skin appeared.
Clearly, she'd twisted it pretty badly.
"That's why I said everything happens for the best... look at me—hiss!!"
"Handsome, at least be gentle. i isn't afraid of pain, but you don't have to be this rough."
Sonia's face had gone pale from the pain, and she hurriedly spoke up.
"???"
Damian glanced at Sonia. What in the world was this woman saying?
Then Damian said nothing else. Golden light shimmered in his hand, and the gentle glow slowly healed Sonia's sprain.
"Ahh, that feels good~"
Sonia's eyes widened a little, but soon she felt a warm sensation spreading through her foot.
"All right."
Very quickly, Damian recalled the power of Arceus.
And the swelling and sprain on Sonia's foot really had vanished without a trace, leaving Sonia stunned.
"No way, handsome, your ability is just too convenient, isn't it?"
Sonia pressed a finger against the spot where her foot had been twisted. She felt no pain at all, and immediately put her shoe back on and stamped her foot.
"I can't believe it!"
Sonia felt like the Hyper Potion in her hand was completely useless. What was this lousy medicine even for?
"Keep it low-key. I don't usually show off miracles like this."
Damian replied very modestly.
"Pfft~ Nice, nice. This is the first time I've seen an ability-user besides a Psychic."
Sonia covered her mouth and smiled, but after taking just one step, she gasped again and forcefully clutched her butt.
"Looks like your butt took a pretty bad hit too. Want me to heal that?"
Damian raised a hand to show her.
"Ha~ Let's skip that spot. I'm afraid your girlfriend here might get jealous."
Though Sonia was past her innocent-girl phase, that area was still a little sensitive.
Caitlin's lips curved upward.
"I'll just spray some Potion on it later. Thanks, both of you. Oh, I still don't know your names."
Sonia said this openly.
"Damian."
"Caitlin."
Just as Damian and Caitlin finished speaking, Sonia froze.
"Damian?"
Sonia went silent for a moment, then asked again.
"Yeah. Got a problem with that?" Damian looked at Sonia with a half-smile.
"Heh, heh, heh..."
Sonia gave a dry laugh and shifted her feet slightly, as if she wanted to put a little distance between herself and Damian.
I'm doomed, I'm doomed! Why did I have to run into Damian?!
Sonia was Leon's childhood friend, and she had once been a Pokémon Trainer too. But Sonia's Trainer talent was only so-so.
Although collecting badges had gone fairly smoothly, she had never once beaten Leon, and that almost drove Sonia into depression, to the point where she gave up on her dream of becoming a Trainer.
But because of that, it ended up becoming the trigger for Sonia to devote herself to Pokémon research. So she followed in her grandmother's footsteps and became a researcher.
Still, even though she'd given up being a Trainer because of Leon, Sonia and Leon actually got along pretty well. After all, how many people in the world had talent like Leon's, talent like a monster?
For someone of average talent in the same era as him, giving up the competition was a reasonable choice.
So Sonia and Leon still kept in touch from time to time. She had heard Leon mention how he'd previously gone to the Hoenn Region and the Unova Region to help the local Leagues fight against Team Rocket.
And one of the key factors in all that was: Damian!
"Tsk~ No need to be that nervous. Relax, Miss Sonia. Our Team Rocket is a perfectly legit organization."
Damian naturally understood why she was acting this way.
"If I were really a bad guy, I wouldn't have helped you just now. Wouldn't it have been better to take advantage of the moment and pin you to the ground? After all, Miss Sonia, you count as a pretty beautiful girl, and your figure isn't bad either."
Damian spread his hands, seemingly explaining innocently.
"Heh heh heh... handsome, you really do love joking."
Sonia smiled even more awkwardly.
What do you mean I only count as a beautiful girl? And my figure is just not bad?
I'm clearly beautiful, okay!
She was still young, after all, and Sonia was a little dissatisfied with Damian's words. At the very least, she was a well-known beauty in Wedgehurst !
Still, after hearing Damian out, Sonia did let down her guard a little. These two really didn't seem like bad people.
"Why are you two in the Galar Region, handsome?" Sonia asked in confusion.
"Expanding the organization's turf and forces." Damian answered casually.
Sonia: "..."
"Then what brings you to Slumbering Weald, Miss Sonia?"
"Because of certain reasons, I wanted to come here and investigate the legend—the correct historical legend!"
Sonia didn't hide it. The project she was currently working on had been assigned by Professor Magnolia: investigating the legend of the Sword and Shield.
"Handsome, do you know the history of our Galar Region?"
Talking about something she was good at, Sonia became talkative again.
"The history of the 'legendary heroes'?"
"That's right!"
"I know a little, yes."
Damian chuckled softly.
"Then tell me what you know, handsome." Sonia's interest was piqued.
"Let's talk while we walk."
Damian nodded. He still wanted to see if he could get the Rusted Sword or the Rusted Shield.
The three of them set off carefully once more, Damian holding Caitlin's hand, and Sonia holding Caitlin's hand as well.
"Three thousand years ago, a massive catastrophe struck the Galar Region. A black vortex covered the sky of Galar and caused many Pokémon to Dynamax out of control. It was called the 'Darkest Day.'"
Damian's voice wasn't loud, but it was enough for Caitlin and Sonia to hear.
"Because huge Pokémon ran wild and caused destruction everywhere, the Galar Region almost fell to ruin. At that critical moment, two heroes used the Rusted Sword and Rusted Shield, respectively, and together defeated the source of the 'Darkest Day,' restoring Galar to how it had been."
"From that point on, the legendary heroes' story has been passed down ever since."
That was the story of the "Darkest Day." And the "Darkest Day" that nearly destroyed the Galar Region three thousand years ago was Eternatus—the Eternatus that Rose called "the strongest and most evil Pokémon" in the game's plot!
As for the cause of the "Darkest Day," it was because Eternatus wanted to absorb Galar Region's energy to maintain its own life.
And yet such a simple act almost destroyed the entire region.
"Incredible~ I didn't expect you to know our region's history so well, handsome."
Sonia was quite surprised.
"I only know a little about the legends of each region." Damian replied with a smile.
"Actually, in the history we know in our region, the two legendary heroes were the Galar throne, but..."
Sonia frowned. Based on her investigations, she seriously doubted the truth of that history.
Because while investigating the ruins of Stow-on-Side, she happened to discover hidden statues of the Pokémon that held the sword and shield, thanks to Bede's damage.
That gave Sonia a strong sense of something being off.
"The Galar throne? They're worthy of that?"
Damian snorted without restraint, mocking them as he answered.
"?"
Sonia froze.
"Now even some total nobodies can call themselves heroes. They're trash, nothing more than people trying to cover up history and steal credit for themselves."
Damian was extremely dismissive of the so-called "Galar throne," a bunch of nobodies who used the influence and forces of their throne to forcibly distort the truth of history.
"Handsome, what do you mean by that?" Sonia seemed to realize something.
"That's right. Didn't you already have a guess? The legendary heroes weren't humans at all. They were those two Pokémon."
Damian looked ahead. The thick fog had already grown much thinner, and they were now deep within Slumbering Weald.
Sonia's eyes lit up instantly.
"In the Galar Region, there are three kings: the ancient sovereign who ruled the entire Galar Region, Calyrex and its steed, and the Crowned Sword Zacian and Crowned Shield Zamazenta who saved the Galar Region during the Darkest Day!"
"After the catastrophe three thousand years ago was over, some ignorant fools feared these two heroes would threaten their rule, so they forcibly sealed away the stone statues of the two kings and gradually distorted the history beyond recognition."
"By now, their existence is already unknown to anyone, and the heroes have been completely forgotten."
The fog had thinned out completely. Damian looked at the grass, pavilion, and lake ahead.
Though for Zacian and Zamazenta, such empty fame probably didn't matter.
But in Damian's view, being too accommodating often only led to others pushing even further, just like in the game's plot.
Those idiots from the Galar throne really cracked Damian up.
"So pathetic. They even took distorted history as truth and passed it down generation after generation, all the way to the present."
"Aren't you coming out yet? I'd say I've been pretty polite to you already."
Damian looked around and said this with a slight tilt of his head.
"Or do you want me to invite you out?"
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