Outside Sandgem Town.
An off-road vehicle slowly made its way along a dirt path before stopping in front of Professor Rowan's institute.
The door opened, and a short woman in a white lab coat stepped out briskly. She had neat short brown hair and wore a purple skirt paired with a dark pink blouse, a silver necklace, and light makeup. Fine wrinkles lined her face, yet she looked energetic, making it difficult to guess her age.
She was Professor Carolina.
The car door shut, and on the other side, a beautiful woman with long blonde hair stepped out, removing her sunglasses.
"Grandma, are we here?" she asked.
Carolina nodded slightly and walked toward the institute with one hand in her pocket. "Let's go see that 'Corviknight,' Cynthia."
* * *
"Ok. Let's go to Jubilife City."
At this moment, Shiro had just finished studying the map with Unown A in his bedroom.
Jubilife City was the closest city to Sandgem Town and highly modern, which matched Unown A's idea of a "modern metropolis."
'It's just a pity we can't go to Hearthome City,' Unown A muttered.
Compared to Jubilife, which had developed from an old town, Hearthome was built on strong commercial growth and clearly sounded better. Its official description even used words like relaxed and friendly.
Shiro folded the map decisively. "That's fake. Official descriptions online are always fake. They just lure tourists in to rip them off."
'Fine,' Unown A replied, sounding disappointed.
The main reason was simple: Hearthome City was too far away, while Jubilife was just a little north of Sandgem Town, making it easy to travel back and forth.
"Let's go."
After saying that, Shiro packed his bag and headed for the door. The moment he opened it, he saw Rei standing outside with his hand raised, about to knock.
Both of them froze for a second before he smiled and explained, "Dr. Corviknight, there's a guest here. They're looking for you."
"A guest?"
Shiro couldn't think of anyone he knew in Sinnoh, and the fact that someone could find Professor Rowan's lab made it even stranger. There was no way to refuse now; he would have to go take a look.
* * *
In the first-floor lobby.
Professor Rowan sat on the southern sofa, scratching his already messy hair with an awkward smile as he listened to Professor Carolina speak across from him.
"Rowan! What did you tell me before? You said that once Corviknight arrived, you would contact me and bring him to Celestic Town."
Professor Carolina looked serious, clear displeasure on her face.
"And now? You stayed in your lab and ignored it. You even forgot what you promised. I had to come here myself!"
"Haha…" Rowan laughed awkwardly and quickly apologized. "I've already sent Rei to get him. He'll be here soon."
Carolina was about to continue speaking when her eyes shifted toward the staircase behind them. Rowan's assistant Rei was walking over quickly with Shiro.
She studied him carefully, looking a little surprised by how young he was, then turned to Rowan with a smile. "This is…?"
"Shiro," Rowan hurried to introduce. "Also known as Corviknight. He just arrived from Galar."
After that, he explained to Shiro, "This is Professor Carolina. I mentioned her before. She specializes in ancient mythology research."
Shiro nodded slightly and, after greeting her, sat down beside Rowan.
He had not expected Professor Carolina to look so young. Judging by her face alone, she seemed only in her thirties, yet she was from the same generation as Rowan and should be around fifty by now.
And the familiar blonde beauty beside her…
Wasn't that Cynthia?
Professor Carolina was Cynthia's grandmother.
Cynthia wore a white lab coat over casual clothes, a beige blouse and loose brown wide-leg trousers, and sat properly beside Carolina. When she noticed Shiro looking at her, she returned a gentle smile.
The current Cynthia looked even younger, her golden hair only reaching her shoulders. There was still a trace of girlish softness in her features, which added a sweet charm to her already stunning appearance.
"She's my granddaughter, Cynthia," Carolina introduced at the right moment.
After exchanging greetings with her, Shiro withdrew his gaze. Even though the real Cynthia was still breathtaking, the focus right now was clearly on Professor Carolina, who had likely come because she needed his help with some related research.
"I came today to talk about a Pokémon-related matter…" Carolina began, before suddenly changing the subject. "Rowan, what have you been researching lately? You seem quite absorbed."
Rowan instantly perked up, his voice rising with excitement. "Thanks to Shiro, the research on the Evolutionary Magnetic Field has made major breakthroughs! This time, not only can it help certain Pokémon complete evolution, but it can also achieve direct, practical application in one step—"
"How practical?" Carolina interrupted.
"Uh… well…" Rowan tugged at his beard. "We can develop compact devices that allow Pokémon to evolve while still inside their Poké Balls. I believe every Pokémon Center could be equipped with one in the future."
Carolina nodded along as he spoke, then shifted her gaze to Shiro.
Taking advantage of Rowan's pause, Shiro added further explanations about research directions, Pokémon data, experimental models, and so on.
Only after listening did Carolina seem reassured.
Naturally, she had not asked because she truly cared about the Evolutionary Magnetic Field research; she merely wanted to confirm whether this "Corviknight" was genuine and whether he truly possessed such remarkable academic talent.
Her tone shifted again as she gradually entered the main topic.
"I study history, ancient mythology to be precise. Shiro, you must be very curious about my true purpose in coming here, aren't you?"
His eyes brightened as he nodded.
She explained slowly, "A while ago, I found a cavern near Snowpoint City. My research team and I discovered strange symbols and images appearing inside, and we suspected they were created by a Pokémon slumbering within some ancient ruin…"
She paused briefly before continuing, "But when we reached the deepest part of the cavern, we found nothing at all. Instead, the cave began to tremble violently, as if it were about to collapse. Fortunately, we were fast enough to escape safely."
Carolina then gave a firm conclusion. "The violent tremor at that time was most likely a spatial fluctuation. A part of another space rubbed against our world."
After hearing this, Shiro could not help but ask, "Then that space…"
"Have you heard of the Alola region?" Carolina asked in return.
He nodded slightly, beginning to understand her meaning. "You mean…"
She continued, "That ruin likely connects to a place similar to Ultra Space."
**
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