"Great, this haul wasn't bad."
Damian put the Rusted Sword into his bag. With that, the purpose of coming to Slumbering Weald was fulfilled.
He'd only gotten one Rusted Sword, but that was enough. To be honest, Damian had never been all that interested in Zamazenta anyway.
But the Zacian was genuinely very cool in Damian's eyes.
"Congrats, Damian."
Caitlin walked over gracefully, offering her congratulations to Damian with a soft, beautiful smile.
She didn't know exactly what that Rusted Sword was, but anyone with a brain knew it had to be extremely important.
And Zacian giving Damian the Rusted Sword was basically the same as giving herself to Damian, right? That interpretation was definitely correct.
"Handsome, that's amazing. You've caught a hero's eye."
Sonia also came over, full of admiration.
From her point of view, Damian had basically said a few words and received the Rusted Sword personally from Zacian.
But Sonia wasn't stupid. There had to be plenty of other factors involved; otherwise, she didn't think Zacian would hand over the Rusted Sword so easily.
This Team Rocket boss really was something~
Sonia looked curiously at the handsome boy before her. He looked so young, yet he was far more impressive than Leon had been back then.
"Thanks. Things are basically wrapped up, so we're leaving now. What about you, Miss Sonia?"
Damian replied with a smile.
"I came here to look for clues about the heroes of the Rusted Sword and Rusted Shield. Now that the truth is out, of course I'm leaving too."
Sonia showed a bright smile. She was in a very good mood as well.
For a researcher like her, figuring out the true truth of history was extremely important.
And it was also very rewarding. Maybe she could even become a real Professor because of this.
"But the proof still isn't quite enough, and the Galar throne still hasn't completely gone silent yet." Sonia then touched her chin a little helplessly.
It had long since been said that this was the era ruled by the Pokémon League, and the age of divided kingdoms was already history.
But the Galar throne still had some prestige, and there were still some supporters.
If she wanted to restore the truth, then going against the Galar throne was inevitable.
"It's just history. That kind of outdated stuff should've been dumped in the trash ages ago." Damian sneered.
Sonia made a cute little sound with her lips. Honestly, although that sounded insanely arrogant, she also understood that Damian absolutely had the capital to say it.
And then... he was kind of cool, too!
"Miss Sonia, if you're worried they'll come after you, why not join us Team Rocket? If those descendants of the Galar throne dare to cause trouble for you or your family, hehe~"
Damian smiled faintly, his meaning obvious.
"Ha~ handsome, don't say things like that. I'm a law-abiding person, you know."
Sonia's heart skipped a beat. She hadn't forgotten that Team Rocket was an evil organization.
Even if, according to Damian, they were now a legitimate organization.
But Sonia wasn't about to trust Damian's side of the story. Better to question it first!
"As for joining Team Rocket... emmm, my heart is only in research for now. I don't have any other ideology." Sonia then politely declined.
"All right. If you ever change your ideology, Miss Sonia, feel free to contact me."
Damian chuckled softly, looking at Sonia with deep meaning.
"I personally quite like you, Miss Sonia. After all, talented research Professors like you are rare."
It had to be said, Sonia was very beautiful, and she was slim in all the right places, very attractive.
At that, Sonia subtly swallowed hard, especially after feeling Damian's highly aggressive gaze.
It even made Sonia want to step back two paces. Are you after my researcher identity, or are you after me as a person?
Leon never said Damian was such a lecher!
"No need to be so tense. Relax a little. I've always been very respectful of other people's wishes."
Damian noticed Sonia's mood, but his smile remained warm and sunny.
Then Damian directly threw out an Ultra Ball.
"Reshiram."
The gorgeous Reshiram carried Damian and the other two, flapping its wings as it flew away from Slumbering Weald.
On a meadow in Slumbering Weald, Zacian lifted her head and watched Reshiram fly off into the distance, her eyes rippling with emotion.
Zamazenta, standing beside Its, still couldn't help speaking up.
"Sister, why did you give your Rusted Sword to that human? You didn't..."
Zamazenta still couldn't understand why its always forceful and cold sister would give the Rusted Sword to that man.
Was it just because he said that if they were a little late, the "Darkest Day" would affect more innocent people and Pokémon?
To be honest, Zamazenta thought that reason was a little flimsy.
Whether Eternatus would really awaken again or not, the battle from three thousand years ago had definitely damaged Eternatus's core.
Even if it really wasn't dead, it would never be easy for it to stir up trouble in the short term, let alone recreate a "Darkest Day" on the scale of three thousand years ago.
So Zamazenta felt that as soon as Eternatus reentered the real world, they'd definitely still make it in time.
And Zamazenta remembered that earlier this year, Zacian had personally met a human girl.
That was the first time in three thousand years that Zacian had appeared before humans. Although Zacian had actually hidden itself in thick fog back then, it still counted as appearing before that girl.
That also meant Zacian had some degree of goodwill toward that girl.
"He was coming for me," Zacian said flatly.
"He's strong. There's no need for us to clash with him. Since he wants my Rusted Sword, just give it to him."
Zacian's tone was calm, but it made Zamazenta fall silent.
Zamazenta felt a little sour. It knew its sister had always been strong and aloof.
And now it was willing to compromise. Aside from Eternatus, it was probably more because she was worried about it.
After all, that man carried several auras that gave them an intense sense of threat.
If they really did clash, it probably wouldn't end well.
"Don't overthink it. Even if he takes my Rusted Sword, it won't represent anything. If what he says is true, then following him for a hundred years wouldn't matter."
Zacian's voice was still cold as it looked up at the distant sky.
They'd already stayed in Slumbering Weald long enough anyway.
Might as well treat it as going out to see the world. Besides, Zacian was also curious what kind of charm that man had, to make so many legends follow him.
And besides, humans only live for a hundred years. That's an irreversible fact, and a hundred years is just a short nap for Legendary Pokémon like them.
So Zacian really didn't care all that much.
Zamazenta said nothing.
....
Wedgehurst.
This was a town relatively close to Postwick, but much larger in scale.
The gorgeous Reshiram descended from the sky and landed on the ground, lifting its head coolly.
"Thanks, handsome, and you too, Reshiram. I never thought I'd get to ride a Legendary Pokémon one day. That was amazing."
Sonia jumped down from Reshiram's back and said to Damian with a grin, then looked at the beautiful pure-white Reshiram in excitement.
Oh my god!!
This was really the first time Sonia had seen such a beautiful and moving Pokémon. There probably wasn't a more beautiful Pokémon in the world than Reshiram, right?
And its bearing was so noble and icy too. Absolutely perfect!
Besides, Sonia specialized in researching legends. She knew full well that Reshiram was the Truth Dragon from the Unova Region!
Grandma, your granddaughter has made it! I even rode Reshiram.
Hearing the woman's praise, Reshiram didn't even twitch an eyelid, still looking coolly into the distance.
Though whether it was an illusion or not, Reshiram's figure seemed even more upright.
"You're welcome. Contact me if anything comes up."
Damian didn't get down. He waved at Sonia.
"Okay. Take care."
With a long draconic bellow, Reshiram spread its wings and took off, gradually disappearing into the horizon.
Sending Sonia back to Wedgehurst was just a stop along the way, since Hammerlocke required passing through Wedgehurst.
But Damian had no intention of resting in Wedgehurst for the night.
Sonia watched Reshiram's silhouette vanish from view, the smile on her face slowly fading as she hesitated for a long while.
In the end, she still took out her phone and dialed a number.
Although after interacting with him, she didn't feel much dislike toward Damian, and he had even helped her out a little.
No matter what, she felt she still needed to tell Leon about this. Team Rocket coming to Galar was definitely no small matter.
"Hello? Sonia, what's up?"
Leon's voice came through as the call connected.
"Leon, I think I need to let you know something," Sonia said much more seriously.
"Go ahead."
"Team Rocket—the Team Rocket I mentioned before—and Damian, he's come to Galar."
"What? Really?"
Leon froze. Damian had come to Galar?
"Yeah. Today I ran into Damian and his teammate Caitlin over by Slumbering Weald."
"Okay, got it. This is important."
Leon said in a deep voice. Although Team Rocket really was undergoing a transformation now, their coming to Galar still couldn't be taken lightly.
"I'll talk to the chairman about this. Also, Sonia, are you okay?"
You only care whether I'm okay now, huh?
Sonia's mouth twitched.
"I'm fine. Honestly, I think Damian's actually pretty nice."
Sonia was somewhat speechless, but she didn't think much of it either. After all, she knew Leon's character well.
"Is Team Rocket really an evil organization?"
"Well... how should I put it..."
Leon didn't know how to answer for a moment when he heard that, scratching his head in some distress.
"The old Team Rocket was absolutely an evil organization that did all kinds of horrible things, but Damian as a person..."
After thinking it over, Leon still couldn't find the right words to describe him.
After all, a lot of Damian's actions were hard to categorize.
"He's not a bad guy?" Sonia asked cautiously.
"No, I don't think you can describe him in purely good or bad terms. Anyway, under Damian's leadership, the current Team Rocket really can't be called an evil organization anymore."
Leon shook his head.
"As for Damian's personality, I can't really say. He's at that threshold between good and evil. He's not a villain, but he definitely can't be called a good person either."
"You don't need to get involved in this, Sonia. If you can avoid it, it's best not to have too much contact with Damian. The League's attitude toward Team Rocket is also pretty complicated right now."
Leon reminded Sonia. Although Damian and the current Team Rocket weren't considered an evil organization anymore, Sonia was still just a researcher and wasn't all that strong. Leon was still fairly worried about his childhood friend.
"Alright, I get it." Sonia said thoughtfully, but after hearing Leon's description, her interest in Damian only grew.
"By the way, there's something else, Leon. I saw Zacian and Zamazenta in Slumbering Weald."
"Zacian and Zamazenta?"
Leon froze. He'd heard Rose mention those two names before; they were the legendary heroes.
"Yeah, and Zacian gave its Rusted Sword to Damian. It even mentioned Eternatus and the Darkest Day from three thousand years ago."
"I see. This is important too. Thanks, Sonia."
Leon frowned. He hadn't expected Zacian and Zamazenta, the ones the chairman had been searching for all this time, to actually be in Slumbering Weald.
And Zacian had even given the Rusted Sword to Damian... Did that mean it had recognized him?
This was bad. It felt like Damian had come to Galar to "rob" them again, just like in Hoenn and Unova.
Weren't the Legendary Pokémon in those two regions almost stripped clean by Damian?
After hanging up with Leon, Sonia rushed back to her Research Laboratory and began writing up the article as fast as she could.
Now that she'd learned the truth about the heroes, even if the proof still wasn't sufficient, Sonia didn't want to wait anymore.
She was going to reveal the truth!
Meanwhile, Leon quickly called Rose.
"Mr. Chairman! This is bad! Damian's come to Galar!"
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