https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-408-A-Tropical-Dragon-from-the-South-Gives-Rayquaza-a-Massage/12537577/
Chapter 407: A Paradox of Time
Chapter 407: A Paradox of Time
With the passing of autumn, the temperature dropped swiftly.
The Pokemon in the mountains began stockpiling berries to prepare for the winter, and those averse to the cold embarked on their annual migration, flying off to distant southern lands.
The cold wind howled, carrying with it the swirling fall of yellow leaves from the trees.
Naoki halted his farming activities, choosing to plant only the two types of radishes that Rapidash and Vanillish enjoyed.
He worked with his Pokemon to store the previously harvested vegetables in the warehouse or turn them into pickles to accompany their meals.
It's worth mentioning that the leek garden under the care of Leeku was also affected by the changing seasons.
The robust leeks, left unharvested for a long time, had grown old.
Leeku was familiar with this situation.
Thus, before these leeks withered, Leeku swung its own leek and harvested each one in the garden. It then bundled them together and presented them to Naoki, who sold them for a good price.
After months of dedicated exercise, Leeku now boasted a robust physique, with well-defined muscles hidden beneath its fine fur.
The once comically large leek now seemed perfectly suited to Leeku's strength.
"It seems your Leek Techniques have reached new heights," Naoki remarked, unable to hide his admiration.
Leeku held its leek in one hand and swept it across, sending the fallen leaves on the ground swirling into the air along with the gust generated by its swing.
Hearing Naoki's words, Leeku ceased its training and turned to him, holding its leek like a rifle, its gaze resolute. "Gaah!" it exclaimed.
"Do you have any plans for the future?" Naoki asked.
"Gaah..." Leeku thought carefully before shaking its head.
It wanted to remain on the ranch, continuing its training and staying by Naoki's side.
"Then, I'll be counting on you from now on as well!" Naoki smiled and patted Leeku's head affectionately.
He then tied a red woolen scarf he had bought in town around Leeku's neck. "This is for you. It's going to be a cold winter this year."
Naoki had seen the news a few days ago about a strong cold front sweeping across the western sea of the Parthia region, and he expected it to reach their area soon.
Leeku lowered its head to examine the scarf around its neck, looking pleased. "Gaah!"
After bidding Leeku farewell, Naoki returned home.
It was already November, and the temperature was dropping. He felt that snow would arrive soon.
Last winter, he had gone to the Galar region in search of a Reine; this year, he had no particular plans.
Thus, Naoki decided to spend the entire winter at home, enjoying a cozy time with his Pokemon.
As far as Naoki knew, the Parthia League was also on a break.
The Gym Leaders, like Kisu and Gurusha, didn't have to stay at their Gyms and could use this time to travel or visit their families.
With the drop in temperature, Naoki reopened the ventilation pipes for his Magcargo.
As the Magcargo moved inside, the warm air emanating from its body would circulate through the pipes, spreading warmth to every corner of the house and creating a comfortably heated environment.
The Eevees, with their thick fur, were unaffected by the cold, happily playing outdoors despite the chilly weather.
In the living room, only Reine, accompanied by her dedicated tea set, Lain and Buuth, and the cold-averse Motostoke were present, the latter comfortably asleep by the warm fireplace.
Naoki took out ingredients from the refrigerator and began preparing lunch for his Pokemon.
He had other plans for the afternoon as well. Professor Olin had called him the previous day, expressing her intention to visit the ranch that afternoon to observe how Vibrava was adapting to life outside the ranch.
Thus, after Naoki finished his lunch and sat on the sofa to replenish Buuth's body with tea, Professor Olin arrived with Paipe in tow.
It had been a while since they last met, but Paipe seemed unchanged, still the quiet and reserved individual Naoki remembered.
Naoki greeted him with a smile. "Long time no see, Paipe!"
Paipe looked at him and politely replied, "It has been a while, Mr. Naoki."
His sister, Ai, served hot tea to both Paipe and Professor Olin.
The professor took a few sips before eagerly expressing her desire to see how Vibrava was doing on the ranch.
"Vibrava should be in the Snorlax Park right now," Naoki said, standing up. "Let's go; I'll take you there!"
The two followed Naoki, walking through the ranch.
Along the way, Paipe looked around, noticing the absence of several Pokemon.
The Ride Gourmonds were missing, as was Oliver.
Paipe inquired, "Mr. Naoki, where are the Ride Gourmonds?"
"Oh, them?" Naoki replied. "They've gone to a warmer place for the winter."
To be precise, they had gone to the World Tree in the Reverse World.
The World Tree had grown tall and robust, easily accommodating the Ride Gourmonds and Oliver, with room to spare for even a hundred more.
The entrance to the Reverse World was right in the lake on the ranch, which also made it convenient to milk the sheep.
Hearing this answer, Paipe nodded and didn't ask further.
After crossing the river, the three of them arrived at Snorlax Park.
After many days, Professor Olin finally saw the special Vibrava once more.
At this moment, quite a few Pokemon had gathered in Snorlax Park.
A group of Eevees were using Snorlax's belly as a trampoline, bouncing up and down.
Vibrava, on the other hand, was sitting alone on the slide, curiously sliding down with the help of its Claw Arms.
Seeing this, Professor Olin's eyes lit up.
It was a rare sight to see a violent Ancient Pokemon playing on a slide!
Naoki, standing beside her, proceeded to explain in detail what had happened to Vibrava since it came to the ranch.
"At first, Vibrava retained its ancient lifestyle habits. It would quietly go out hunting at night, preferring raw meat and tearing at meat chunks with its sharp teeth."
Professor Olin nodded; this was the ecological habit of the Vibrava species.
Influenced by the wild and primitive energy of ancient times, all Ancient Pokemon species from that era retained very primitive habits.
They were like the wild men described in some adventure books.
"Later, I had Golurk introduce it to modern life, teaching it what it should and shouldn't do. To change Vibrava's nocturnal habits, I gave it an energizing coffee, and gradually, it adapted to life on the ranch."
"So, has Vibrava made any friends?" Professor Olin asked.
Naoki thought for a moment before answering, "Vibrava still prefers to be alone most of the time and rarely acts as affectionate as the other Pokemon, but when I pat its head or help it groom its fur, it shows a pleased expression."
"Vibrava gets along well with the other Pokemon in general, and it likes to watch them play. However, its closest companion is Golurk."
"I see." Professor Olin nodded slightly and took out her camera to capture the precious scene of Vibrava playing on the slide.
Then, she stayed to observe for a while longer before returning to the living room with Naoki.
Paipe was interested in the Pokemon on the ranch, so Naoki asked his brother, Ai Guanshi, to take him on a tour.
Naoki, meanwhile, stayed in the living room to chat with Professor Olin.
Sipping her hot tea, Professor Olin commented, "This year's winter feels especially cold!"
Naoki smiled and asked, "Are you and Professor Fortree planning to return to the surface for the new year celebrations?"
"We're not sure yet," Professor Olin replied, reflecting on her ongoing research. "It depends on how busy things are at the institute, but if we can't make it back, we'll have Paipe join us there."
Naoki nodded slightly. "Having you both there will surely make him happy."
"Mhm." Professor Olin nodded. "That child is the pride of me and Fortree. Next year, Paipe will be attending the Parthia Academy, and there, he'll be able to make even more new friends."
That way, Paipe wouldn't feel lonely.
Hearing this, Naoki couldn't help but feel a sense of emotion.
Time flies! When he first arrived, Paipe was a dull little boy, and now, in the blink of an eye, Paipe was off to school.
It remained to be seen if Professor Olin's expectations would come to pass.
Here is the rewritten text with the Chinese text eliminated and replaced with English words:
Speaking of time, Naoki suddenly grew curious about the time machine in the Zero Zone.
As far as he knew, with the current technology in the Pokemon world, creating a time machine was impossible. After all, time travel was the ability of Dialga and Palkia.
"Professor, can the time machine in the Zero Zone really achieve time travel?" Naoki asked curiously.
Professor Olin nodded. "Of course, it was through its power that we were able to summon so many Ancient and Future Pokemon species from their respective eras to the present."
"So, does that mean humans can now travel to distant pasts and futures for exploration?" Naoki inquired.
"Regarding that..." Professor Olin thought for a moment before answering, "To be honest, we haven't yet figured out how to pinpoint specific moments in time or target precise locations. We can only summon Pokemon from broad time periods."
"Why not?" Naoki asked.
Professor Auburn turned to him and asked, "Have you ever heard of the time paradox, where time travel or time-space travel leads to logically contradictory conclusions?"
"Moreover, time is an evolving line, and everything you do has a cause-and-effect relationship. If your actions in the past alter history, then the future will change accordingly, and you'll never be able to return to the present as you know it."
Naoki listened, feeling his head spin.
Professor Auburn continued, "In the past, scientists proposed various hypotheses to resolve the time paradox."
"For example, the rather popular 'parallel universe' hypothesis suggests that there are numerous clone worlds similar to ours in the vast universe."
"When someone goes back in time, they enter another parallel world—a world where the future has already changed due to their actions. However, the branch world collapses and disappears at a certain moment, perhaps the instant you travel back."
Naoki: "..." I don't understand at all!
Seeing the confused look on Naoki's face, Professor Auburn couldn't help but chuckle. "In a nutshell, if you tamper with time, time will tamper with you. Some established facts are simply unchangeable."
"If you forcibly try to change them, the future will collapse due to your actions, and everyone and everything you know will be affected by the butterfly effect and transformed."
"For instance, if someone from the future travels back in time and prevents their own grandparents from marrying, that person from the future will cease to exist and will have never been born."
"That's... quite complicated."
Looking at Professor Auburn, Naoki couldn't help but wonder: Was the ending in the game where the two professors die during their research also a consequence of tampering with time?
He had tried to change Professors Auburn and Forsyth's fate before, but he didn't know if he had succeeded.
After sitting and chatting for a while, Professor Auburn prepared to leave. She had matters to attend to back at the lab, and she planned to take Pepper with her to Zone Zero.
If they didn't have time, the three of them would spend the New Year there.
Noticing this, Naoki saw them off.
"Be careful!" he said.
A smile appeared on Professor Auburn's face, and she disappeared down the country road with Pepper in tow.
Naoki returned to the living room, where he found Motostoke befuddled and lost in thought.
Naoki raised an eyebrow. "What's up? What are you thinking about?"
"Gaawww!" Motostoke replied.
The crown of thorns translated for him; apparently, Motostoke had been befuddled by Professor Auburn's explanation of the time paradox.
"Gaawww?" Motostoke asked (Does Naoki understand?)
.
Naoki thought carefully and then explained his understanding in detail to Motostoke.
"For example, I had parents too, right?"
Motostoke nodded. Everyone and every Pokemon had parents.
"If someone went back in time and prevented my parents from falling in love, I wouldn't have been born, and the present me would be affected and disappear along with them. That's probably the butterfly effect... at least according to Professor Auburn."
However, Naoki was unsure. After all, the Time God existed in this world, and some of the scientific theories from his previous life were simply invalid in this magical Pokemon world.
Motostoke listened, only partially understanding.
Naoki wanted to say more, but the video phone at home suddenly rang.
Naoki answered it and heard Meloette's voice on the other end.
Meloette was the granddaughter of the Pokemon Ranch Shop owner in town.
"Is Mr. Naoki home?"
"Yes, what's the matter?" Naoki asked.
Meloette replied, "It's like this: a couple of days ago, my grandfather encountered an injured Tropius in the wild jungle. The Tropius was supposed to fly south for the winter, but it couldn't because its wings were injured."
"The weather is getting colder, and snow is coming. Although its injuries have healed, it's too late for it to make the journey south now. So, my grandfather wants to find a trainer to help take care of it. Do you have time to help out?"
(End of Chapter)
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