Hearing Terapagos's words, Damian was left fairly speechless.
Some other power had changed Terapagos's ability?
When it came to the power of time and space, there were only a handful of Pokémon in the world that truly controlled it.
Celebi was one. Palkia and Giratina could barely be counted as well. Although those two did not directly govern time, as members of the Creation Trio, they were both connected to space-time in one way or another.
However, compared to Dialga, Palkia and Giratina only had a small part of that power. There was no way they could reverse or travel through time as freely as Dialga.
Furthermore, it was impossible for Celebi to affect Terapagos's ability, because the gap in their strength was simply too great. Palkia and Giratina could not do it either. Their time-related power was nowhere near enough.
As for Dialga, setting aside whether it had the strength to distort Stellar Form Terapagos's time-travel ability without being in its Origin Forme, even if it did, it had been under Hoopa Unbound's control at the time, just like Terapagos.
That left only one possibility. The one that had been "watching from the shadows" back then. Arceus itself.
"But why do that?"
That was the part Damian found confusing. In truth, whether he traveled to Kalos three thousand years ago or to the Hisui era made no real difference to him.
That was because the outcome of the battle had already been decided. Kyurem was about to defeat Complete Forme Zygarde. Once Kyurem was free to move, Hoopa Unbound and the others would not have been able to capture Hoopa Confined even if Damian had never returned.
So the result had already been fixed. Even if Arceus was favoring Damian's side, there was no need to give him such a pointless "assist."
Or rather, it was more like Arceus had specifically wanted Damian to go to Hisui.
"Did it deliberately want me to learn about Akari's existence ahead of time?"
Damian was fairly certain of that. The place where he had arrived in Hisui was the Crimson Mirelands, and that spot was not far from Cogita's hut.
On top of that, Volo just happened to be nearby at that exact time.
"Jeez... talk about favoritism."
Thinking about it, Damian could not help shaking his head and letting out a quiet chuckle.
Yes, it really was favoritism. Complete favoritism.
Dialga and Arceus had probably already seen the future, which was why they both showed that kind of bias toward Akari.
Was this what it meant to be the world's favorite?
"Huh? Damian, what did you say?"
The slightly tipsy little turtle looked up blankly.
"It's nothing. You little guy should drink less alcohol from now on," Damian said, jokingly poking its head.
However, Terapagos actually seemed to have a pretty good tolerance for alcohol.
"Heh... that fruit wine smelled really good," Terapagos said with a silly, human-like grin.
"Besides, I'm not drunk at all! Hoopa and the others are way too weak."
Terapagos shook its little head proudly.
That part was actually true. Hoopa Confined was already so drunk that it could not fly straight anymore. Meanwhile, Jirachi and Victini had already fallen asleep on their backs.
The fruit wine was not very strong, but they had drunk a lot of it.
Damian had seen it himself. A barrel that big had almost been emptied by Hoopa and the others.
Mary had every right to be upset about it.
"Alright, alright, you're the best," Damian laughed. This Terapagos, just like Hoopa and the others, really did feel like a child at heart.
It was honestly pretty cute.
"Anyway, little buddy, tell me. Can you really send Platinum and me back to Hisui? This is very important to me."
"Mhm..."
Terapagos tilted its head and looked at Damian. Its eyes flickered with a faint, mysterious glow.
"It should be possible. I can see the 'lines' on you, Damian. There are so, so many connected to you. As long as I can find the 'line' linked to the Hisui place you mentioned, I can send you there."
After a short pause, Terapagos lifted its head and answered with full confidence.
"But Damian, my ability has a time limit. If there are two people, the time you can stay there might be even shorter than today. Also, I need to see whether Platinum has a 'line' on her too."
The "lines" Terapagos mentioned were simply an easy way for Damian to understand.
They could be understood as causal connections. Terapagos could only use its ability to send someone through time if there was a causal bond between the destination and the people involved.
This was also one of the biggest differences between Terapagos and Dialga.
Dialga's time travel did not have that kind of restriction.
"Then can you bring Akari to our current era instead?"
Damian thought of an even simpler option.
After all, in Scarlet and Violet, Terapagos had brought the past version of Sada or Turo to the Crystal Pool. That meant that as long as the conditions were met, it could also directly summon people from the past into the present.
"As long as there's a 'line,' I can do it!"
Terapagos blinked its big eyes.
"Okay, I understand."
Damian confirmed that point and picked up the small, cute Pokémon. He could not hide his smile at all.
He really liked little Pokémon like Terapagos that were both strong and adorable.
Terapagos really was tiny. In its Normal Form, it was only 0.2 meters tall, and even in its Terastal Form, it was only 0.3 meters.
However, in its Stellar Form, based on what he had seen today, its size jumped to around 2 meters.
Even so, compared to the other strongest Legendary Pokémon, Terapagos was still extremely small.
But just as Damian had said, battles between Pokémon were never decided by size alone.
For example, Arceus itself. Its body was less than 4 meters tall, but that did not stop it from being invincible.
"Terapa-gos..."
As Damian held it and rubbed its chin, Terapagos immediately relaxed completely. It closed its eyes and let out a soft, comfortable cry, clearly enjoying it.
"And Terastalization will be much easier to use now."
Damian looked at Terapagos in his arms, and the corners of his mouth lifted again.
Terastalization was a power-up system with tremendous tactical value. Now that he had Terapagos, he could slowly start spreading it within Team Rocket.
That was because Terapagos was the source of Terastal energy.
All Terastalization came from Terapagos, just as Dynamax came from Eternatus.
In fact, it was different from Dynamax, which was strictly limited by location. Dynamax required a Power Spot, and then a Dynamax Band was used to channel that energy so the Pokémon inside the Poké Ball could grow larger.
Because of that, Dynamax had the strictest restrictions of all the power-up methods. Still, it really was powerful. Even with a time limit, it was extremely strong.
Terastalization was different. In theory, as long as you had a Tera Orb filled with Terastal energy, you could use it anywhere.
But that was where the problem came in. Outside Paldea and the depths of Area Zero, Tera Orbs were basically single-use items.
There was simply nowhere to recharge the Terastal energy inside them. In Paldea, Pokémon Centers recharged them for free, and certain environments rich in Terastal energy would naturally refill them as well.
So in other regions, Terastalization actually had no real strategic value.
However, now that Damian had Terapagos, things were different.
He could just have Terapagos create items that could continuously recharge Tera Orbs.
It was the same idea as Eternatus. As the source of Dynamax energy, as long as someone could catch Eternatus, they could have it establish Power Spots anywhere. That way, Dynamax would no longer be limited to one region.
Terapagos and Eternatus were the very sources of those two power-up methods. Without them, Terastalization and Dynamax would not exist. That showed that every current power-up method could be traced back to a specific origin.
Z-Energy, the Ultra Energy used to activate Z-Moves, had originally been brought to Alola from Ultra Space by Solgaleo and Lunala in Alolan history.
But those two likely were not the real source of Z-Energy. The source was most likely Necrozma, since Necrozma could undergo Ultra Burst, or perhaps Ultra Space itself.
As for Mega Evolution, according to Professor Sycamore's research, Mega Stones were likely special stones, similar to Evolution Stones, that were formed after being exposed to the energy of Xerneas and Yveltal when the Ultimate Weapon was fired.
Well, if that theory was true, then Mega Evolution was actually the least "divine" of the four power-up methods in a certain sense.
However, from a practical point of view, Mega Evolution was absolutely the most useful of the four.
After all, Mega Evolution was not restricted by region. On top of that, the boost it gave a Pokémon's strength was very direct, and its tactical value for a main team was extremely important. Note: strictly from the games' competitive environment, Dynamax is probably even stronger than Mega Evolution or Terastalization. In the games, Dynamax is just too broken.
So in practice, Mega Evolution was simply too easy to use.
Dynamax and Terastalization each had their own strengths and weaknesses, but both were undeniably powerful as well. Dynamax almost doubled a Pokémon's HP for a short time and allowed the use of powerful Max Moves.
Terastalization could directly change a Pokémon's type. Its tactical value was almost unmatched. It could completely turn a bad type matchup into a good one, and the power boost to moves was also a secondary increase in combat strength.
As for Z-Moves...
Well, Z-Moves involved some awkward dancing.
After staying outside in the breeze for a while, Damian carried Terapagos back into the house. As soon as he stepped through the door, he raised an eyebrow.
He saw Serena and Platinum fast asleep. One was lying on the sofa, and the other was on the soft carpet.
Judging by the way she was lying there, Serena had probably rolled off the sofa.
As for Caitlin, Damian glanced into the room and saw that she was asleep as well, breathing steadily.
This house had been prepared by Balza. It only had two bedrooms and a living room. Serena and Platinum had not slept in the other room, most likely because they wanted to leave it for Damian.
"I told all of you to drink less. And you still ended up like this after just a little fruit wine."
Damian found it a little funny. In truth, the three girls had not even drunk much, only about two glasses each. They had stopped once they realized their heads were getting dizzy.
Still, since it was their first time drinking, their tolerance really was not very good.
Damian walked forward. First, he pulled Serena's skirt down a little. Yes, he saw her black safety shorts.
But that was normal. Serena was not a careless girl. Her short skirt could easily lead to an accidental slip if the wind was strong, so of course she wore safety shorts underneath.
But Damian had not expected Serena's guard to be fairly high as well.
As if sensing someone approach, Serena, who had been sleeping soundly, suddenly opened her eyes. After seeing through her blurry vision that it was Damian, her eyes turned hazy again.
Clearly, to her, Damian was someone she could trust completely.
"Mr. Damian, you're back..."
Her voice sounded like sleep-talking, light and soft.
"Mhm. Don't sleep on the floor, or you'll catch a cold later."
Damian adjusted Serena's skirt, wrapped one arm around her waist and the other under her legs, and gently lifted her up.
Serena was obviously still half asleep. Feeling herself being carried, she instinctively wrapped her arms around Damian's neck.
The heavy drowsiness kept her eyes half-open in a sleepy haze.
"Mmm..."
A moment later, Serena leaned against Damian's chest and fell asleep again.
After carrying Serena into the room and carefully placing her on the bed, Damian returned to the living room to pick up Platinum.
Just like Serena, this girl's guard was fairly high. As soon as Damian came near, her brows furrowed slightly. However, she did not even open her eyes. Her nose twitched a little as she sniffed the air, and then her brow relaxed.
Damian picked her up in a bridal carry as well. Platinum leaned against Damian's chest naturally and peacefully. She even rubbed against him a little, smiling in her sleep.
After placing Platinum beside Serena, Damian did not leave right away. He sat there for a while, quietly watching Platinum's sleeping face, as if thinking about something.
"Mr. Damian is so amazing..."
A few minutes later, hearing the sleepy mumble from Miss Berlitz, Damian shook his head and laughed.
He stood up, tucked the blanket around both girls, and walked out of the room.
"Goodnight."
As for tomorrow's big surprise... he hoped Platinum could handle it.