Shiro thought for a moment and frowned. "Two spaces. Two worlds rubbing together… wouldn't that involve Arce—"
"Shh!"
Carolina suddenly hissed, her expression turning tense. Cynthia also looked startled and quickly glanced around before finally relaxing.
"What's wrong?" Shiro asked, confused.
Was Arceus something that could not be mentioned? Why did it feel like some forbidden existence like Cthulhu, as if even the name itself could not be spoken? Would saying Arceus cause the alpaca to glare down and trigger strange phenomena nearby?
Carolina's tone grew heavy, her face filled with concern. "He… from a few years ago, we could only refer to Him that way. If His true name is spoken, the surrounding space may fluctuate."
"Spatial fluctuation?"
Shiro wanted to press further, but Carolina only shook her head and warned him, "Do not mention His name. I came today mainly to ask about Galar's legends. It might help with research into Sinnoh's history."
Then she added, "I want to know about the legend of the Sword and Shield heroes."
"Galar. The legend of the Sword and Shield heroes…"
Shiro thought for a few seconds before slowly recounting what he knew. Stories like this were extremely common in Galar; even small children knew parts of them, and there was nothing particularly special about it. The only real question was whether the legendary heroes were humans or Pokémon.
Carolina took out a notebook and carefully recorded everything.
"…The Sword and Shield heroes defeated the Dynamax monster and the poison dragon. After that, they established a vast kingdom in Galar."
When he finished, she stopped writing and looked up. "Established a kingdom? They were humans?"
Shiro did not confirm whether they were human. He only explained that this was the most widely spread version of the legend in Galar, and as for the exact truth, he did not know either. After all, most people in Galar were unclear about the details, and he was simply one of them.
They continued discussing the topic for another twenty minutes. Once he had said everything he could, Shiro checked the time and stood up to say goodbye.
Rowan, who had been listening nearby, quickly stood as well. "Shiro, do you have something urgent?"
"It's my first time leaving Galar. I'm very curious about Sinnoh," he replied with a smile. "I originally planned to visit Jubilife City today. It's still early…"
"That's perfect!" Carolina raised her voice slightly. "Let Cynthia drive you there. I still have some things I want to discuss privately with Rowan."
"Huh?"
Shiro couldn't help looking toward Cynthia, who was already walking over.
They had only just met. They weren't even familiar with each other yet.
* * *
Bang!
Outside Rowan's institute, the off-road vehicle door shut tightly.
Cynthia sat in the driver's seat with one hand on the wheel and removed her sunglasses. As the engine roared to life, the car headed north toward Jubilife City.
The dirt road near Sandgem Town was remote and quiet, with hardly anyone in sight. While driving, she glanced at the "Dr. Corviknight" seated beside her.
Before meeting him, she had imagined a carefree middle-aged man, or perhaps a researcher like Professor Sycamore. Instead, he looked about her age. The only difference was his cold aura; he did not seem very interested in chatting.
At this moment, Shiro was staring out the window with obvious interest.
Green wheat, or perhaps some other crop, swayed across the fields in neat patches, and farmhouses stood not far away. What he saw most were berry orchards. Berries were still the main crop, suitable for both humans and Pokémon, almost like a universal food.
Sandgem was a remote farming town, its residents scattered and few. They had not even left town yet.
It was difficult to see such quiet scenery in Galar.
Shiro vaguely recalled the orchards near Spikemuth, which had been messy, with berry trees and ordinary trees planted together without order. Team Yell had not cared about the orchards at all; the profits went straight to the Gym and had nothing to do with them.
Then again, Spikemuth was one of the worst towns in Galar.
'What a bad starting point,' he thought.
Large corporations usually managed berry farming, and their planting methods were far more advanced.
"Are you looking at the orchards, Dr… Corviknight?" Cynthia tilted her head slightly. "Shiro? Can I just call you Shiro?"
"Of course." He came back to his senses. "Then I…"
She brushed the golden hair at her neck back and kept her eyes on the road. "Just call me Cynthia. And your name doesn't sound like a Galarian, does it?"
"Yes. My mother is from Kanto."
He didn't know how many times he had repeated that line.
"My parents are archaeologists," Cynthia continued. "Grandma studies ancient history and legends. When I was little, I wanted to become an archaeologist too. Or maybe a scholar."
Shiro didn't interrupt, simply listening.
"They were always busy, so they gave me a Pokémon egg." A bright smile appeared on her face. "It hatched into a Gible. Gible loves battling and stayed with me all this time. Before I knew it, I became a trainer."
Shiro couldn't help recalling Gible's evolution path: it evolved into Gabite at level twenty-four, then into Garchomp at forty-eight. It was a late bloomer with tremendous potential. With proper training, a Gible could almost certainly reach Elite-level.
"Then it must be very strong now," he asked.
She turned her head slightly and blinked. "Gible has fully evolved. It's already at Elite-level. I'm a real quasi-Elite trainer now, and my goal is to challenge the Elite Four."
"Impressive…" Shiro knew she would become Sinnoh's future Champion. After praising her, he added, "What does quasi-Elite mean?"
In Galar, there was no such title; you simply battled and saw the result.
"I forgot you're a Pokémon researcher. You might not know much about trainer rankings," she said before explaining in detail.
In regions like Kanto and Sinnoh, a trainer's level was usually judged by the level of their Pokémon. Those whose Pokémon were mostly at the novice or beginner stage were called newbie trainers, while those with Intermediate-level and Advanced-level Pokémon were known respectively as skilled and veteran trainers.
Since raising Pokémon was not easy, most completed their evolution before reaching Gym-level, and very few could truly step into that rank.
"And on top of that, all starter Pokémon are human-selected. No starter's potential ceiling will ever exceed the Gym-level."
Cynthia said it lightly, yet the implication was unsettling.
"Most starters finish evolving at Advanced-level. After that, their strength slows down, and that's also the level where most ordinary trainers remain."
As for Gym-level, it sounded simple but was extremely difficult to achieve. Trainers with average resources, talent, and luck could hardly reach it.
A Gym-level Pokémon greatly enhanced a trainer's strength, and when a veteran trainer owned one, they were called a quasi-Gym trainer.
By the same logic, a quasi-Elite trainer was a Gym-level trainer who possessed at least one Elite-level Pokémon.
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