I, Gary, Want to Become a Pokemon Master

Chapter 723 - 723: Area Zero Gate

"Since the battle is over, I'll take Gary to his room," Hannah suggested.After the battle ended, the four of them accepted Gary.

Hannah also took Gary around so he could get familiar with the situation at the Paldea League Headquarters, but she only introduced him to the living areas inside headquarters. As for the laboratory areas, outsiders were forbidden from entering.

It was noon.

Everyone gathered in the cafeteria for lunch.

Professor Sada also came over. When she saw Gary and Hannah together, she walked over and said, "Is everyone getting along well?"

"They got along very well and got to know each other quite deeply," Hannah replied with a smile.

"Oh?"

Professor Sada looked at the silent Nick and Angus. Angus's expression was relatively calm, but Nick looked aggrieved. It seemed the battle had thoroughly humbled him and put him in his place.

Professor Sada was a little surprised. She knew Nick's temper. There were not many people who could leave him feeling this stifled. That meant Gary had really knocked him down a peg.

"Gary, it seems your skill as a Trainer is very high," Professor Sada said.

Professor Sada knew that Gary was a Trainer, but she had never expected him to be stronger than Nick. She knew Nick's strength very well. If Gary could defeat Nick, he had to be genuinely strong.

Gary had no idea that Professor Sada thought so highly of him. If he had known, he definitely would have let her see his public battle record.

"Pretty normal."

Gary responded simply, though inwardly he felt that Professor Sada's reaction was a little strange.

After all, Professor Sada had also been to Professor Oak's Laboratory and should know something about him, but she still seemed surprised that he could defeat Nick. That showed this was the first time she had really recognized Gary's strength as a Trainer.

"If defeating Nick is only normal for you, then it looks like our security for this trip has just gone up another level."

Professor Sada smiled, then went to get her food. However, she didn't stay in the cafeteria to eat, instead taking the prepared meal out with her.

Watching Professor Sada leave the cafeteria, Gary asked curiously, "Doesn't Professor Sada eat here?"

"Professor Sada is usually busy with research. She spends all day in the lab and brings food back every day," Garke explained.

"Has she always been like this?" Gary asked.

"No, it only started in recent years," Garke said.

"What's the point of asking about this kind of thing? Isn't that normal for a Professor like Professor Sada?" Nick interjected.

"It is normal."

Gary nodded in agreement.

That would be normal for other Professors, but for Professor Sada, it seemed abnormal.

Because according to the plot of the game, Professor Sada had died in an accident in Area Zero, and everything that followed had been handled by the AI created by Professor Sada—in other words, a robot.

A robot didn't need to eat. Could Professor Sada be taking the food away simply so no one would notice that she couldn't eat?

Gary thought about it and felt that something was off. If the Professor Sada in front of him really was an AI robot, then Nick and the others had often gone to Area Zero with her to investigate, so they should already have seen whether she ate or not.

Another key point was Professor Turo's whereabouts.

Professor Sada and Professor Turo were husband and wife. One liked ancient Pokémon and the other liked future Pokémon, which led to the appearance of Paradox Pokémon from both the past and the future.

Gary looked at Garke and Hannah, thinking that he might be able to learn something about Professor Turo from them.

"Garke, is there any other Professor here besides Professor Sada?" Gary asked directly.

Garke and the other three were all stunned.

Seeing the four of them react like that, Gary asked in confusion, "What? Did I ask something I shouldn't have?"

"It's not that you shouldn't ask. There used to be two Professors here, but the other Professor died in an accident, leaving only Professor Sada," Garke said.

"What's the name of the other Professor?" Gary asked.

"Professor Turo. He's Professor Sada's husband, and they have a child who's currently studying at Naranja Academy," Garke said.

At last, Gary had learned what had happened to Professor Turo.

Gary didn't really believe that Professor Turo had simply died in an accident. Professor Turo's death was probably closely tied to the emergence of Paradox Pokémon.

If that was the case, then the secret hidden by Professor Sada ran very deep. But it didn't matter much to Gary. His main goal was to catch Paradox Pokémon. It would be even better if he encountered future Paradox Pokémon in Area Zero, because then he could start a new capture mission.

"I never thought Professor Sada would lose her husband at such a young age. That's really pitiful," Gary said with a sigh.

"What do you mean by that? Do you like Professor Sada?" Nick suddenly cut in.

Gary: →_→

If you don't talk, nobody will think you're mute.

"Nick, don't joke around about Professor Sada," Garke reminded him.

"Okay, okay! My fault, my fault." Nick had only wanted to tease Gary and didn't mean any disrespect to Professor Sada.

After lunch, Hannah took Gary to the supplies area to prepare his luggage. Since one more person was joining this expedition, they needed to prepare an extra set of supplies.

Geeta attached great importance to the Great Crater of Paldea, so naturally the materials had been prepared thoroughly. Gary also needed to bring all kinds of berries and energy cubes he had made himself.

...

The next day.

Everyone got up at six o'clock, washed up, had breakfast, and before seven o'clock arrived at the apron outside the Paldea League Headquarters to meet up. Everyone boarded a transport helicopter and flew to Medali.

The Great Crater of Paldea was surrounded by steep cliffs, and there were many fierce wild Pokémon around it, such as Garchomp and Magnezone. If you entered their territory, you would be attacked immediately.

The cliffs in the direction of Medali were relatively lower, so if you wanted to enter the interior of the Great Crater of Paldea, you had to enter from Medali.

The Paldea League had also established an Area Zero Gate here. From there, one could directly reach Area Zero, which was quite convenient.

When they arrived in Medali, everyone took a bus to the Area Zero Gate to the northwest.

"It's huge."

Gary had traveled to many places, but this was the first time he had seen such an enormous gate. League staff were stationed there to guard it.

When they saw Professor Sada and the others, they immediately let them through the gate.

"Gary, don't be too surprised once we go inside. The elevator can take us directly down to the upper level of Area Zero," Professor Sada reminded him.

"Okay, got it."

"Then let's go in."

Professor Sada opened the elevator door, and everyone followed her inside.

Then she pressed the switch marked downward, and the elevator began descending. It continued for several minutes before finally coming to a stop.

The elevator doors opened automatically, and a green grassland came into everyone's view.