START TRANSMISSION
"Day zero of my research on forbidden zones after I made no progress with studying environmental aura. I have decided to go on an expedition to one of the local forbidden zones near Nimbasa, the Relic Castle. Forbidden zones are charged with a ridiculous amount of environmental aura, to the point that supernatural phenomena begin to manifest and weird and bizarre things can happen within. It's perfect for my research! Hopefully, studying these forbidden zones will help further my research on environmental aura."
Shuffling noises.
"Relic Castle is bizarre, even when compared to other forbidden zones. Usually, there's at most two dominant types of aura, but Relic Castle has FOUR! On the surface at the gate of the ruined tower, rock type aura is most abundant - probably due to the fact that it's been buried by the Desert Resort, but things start to change once you head inside. Some of the notes from previous explorers say that there is a strong scent of death, like that of rot and musk, and the very air is charged with ghost aura. However, a few explorers have also stated that they felt a powerful mass of fire and bug aura even deeper down."
"No one has yet to conduct study on the very bottom most depths of Relic Castle, so I shall be the first!"
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"Log day two. I have been packing for the expedition to Relic Castle despite my friends and family discouraging me. The truth must be pursued! As long as I am careful, I see no reason why this shouldn't be a relatively safe expedition. The past explorers mostly came back alive, and have detailed their journeys well enough for me to avoid the dangers inside. Speaking of, Relic Castle seems to be a relatively tame forbidden zone, in that the mortality rate of people going inside remains pretty low. Other forbidden zones see an extraordinary number of deaths the deeper you go, but Relic Castle explorers seem to be okay."
"All my laboratory equipment needs to be packed, but I can't carry that much, even with the support of my pokemon. I suppose I'll need to settle for bringing less."
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"Log day four, I have been talking to a mercenary outfit of local desert tribesmen who often guide tourists into Relic Castle for short tours. I am trying to acquire their services to enter the extreme depths of Relic Castle, but as of now, there has been little progress."
"The tribespeople venerate the Eternal Sun, a sort of sun deity in their tribal faith, and refuse to bring me to the extreme depths. They say it's all consuming light burns the unworthy, and that I must not venture into Relic Castle's depths. Hmph. A little tribal deity that probably isn't real won't stop me from pursuing my research."
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"Log day five, still no progress with acquiring a guide to take me down into Relic Castle. Those damn great clans!"
Swearing in the background.
"If only the great clans would make their data on their titled pokemon public! I'd love to study how titled pokemon interact with environmental aura, but the great clans have always rebuffed my attempts to ask for a close up. Ah, this sucks."
"Still, I really, really want to study a titled pokemon. Where do they come from? How come the number seems to be so fixed? It does increase on occasion, but that's never a stable thing."
…
"The great clans are like monoliths which stem the tide of progress, unchanging and eternal. Ever since the formation of Unova, none of the great clans have ever fallen or declined - because their titled pokemon will always outlive the sovereigns leading the great clans, and they will stand guard constantly to assist the clan. Come rain or wind or storm, the great clans will never fall, even if their sovereigns die of old age or in battle, so long as their titled pokemon live on to continue guarding the interests of the clan."
"Ugh. I wish I was born into a clan. My research wouldn't be stalling if that were the case."
"Do they even let clan members go see the titled pokemon? Maybe I could disguise myself and try to get in… on second thought, let's not do that. What the fuck am I smoking? There's no way I could hide myself from a sovereign's gaze, or a titled pokemon. Let's just stick to my Relic Castle expedition."
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"Log six, there seems to be some progress. I've been talking to some of the tribal outcasts which the desert resort tribes have condemned, and some seem willing to guide me. The outcasts live quite miserable lives without food or water, constantly wandering the desert in solitude until they die or find an oasis. For the chance of food and water - and enough money to leave for the cities, some of them are being tempted by my offer."
"Many of them are astonishingly reluctant still though. I have been cautioned against the Buried Shadow, another one of the deities in their tribal faith. Supposedly, its goal is to devour the sun and strangle the world within its shadowy grasp. Scary. But that won't stop me from going into Relic Castle!"
"Everyone has a price. Especially these outcasts. It won't be long until I find someone to guide me down into Relic Castle."
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Log day seven, has it really been this long? Anyways, I finally managed to get myself a guide! It's this skinny youth named Gula, who I promised to help immigrate into the cities. Will I actually help him? Of course! I'm a man of my word. No amount of money can make me shed tears, so long as it furthers my research. I'll have to help him get a job and a home too, but that's all inconsequential as long as I can make a breakthrough in my studies."
"Gula has been telling me that we need to observe a few religious rituals before we can attempt to delve into Relic Castle's depths. I think it's pretty stupid, but I'm willing to do everything my guide says as long as we get to the depths safely. I've seen enough movies to know what happens to people who don't listen to the local guides. Hmph."
"Gula?"
"You're telling me we need to blindfold ourselves through certain parts of Relic Castle? And that we need to cover ourselves in dust and sand before entering?"
"Ugh. Fine. I'll do it."
…
"Wow, the interior of Relic Castle is quite destroyed. Gula has brought me to the entrance of the ruined tower above the sands, the only visible part of Relic Castle from the surface. Some days it's fully covered by the sand, but today seems to be my lucky day. We've prepared enough food and water for a month if we eat sparingly, so I'll hopefully be able to record a lot of important research data."
"There seems to be a sort of sand formation? Perhaps it might be emitting some rock aura that I can scan."
"Shit!"
"Gula help me! Oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck-"
"You're a lifesaver Gula! That quicksand - what was it anyways? It nearly pulled me down! If you hadn't dragged me out, I would have died!"
"Thank you Gula. I'll make sure to compensate you properly after we get out of here."
"For the rest of today, I think I'll just take some aura readings of the environmental aura around the surface parts of Relic Castle. This is where the daredevil tourists usually come visit, so it's probably already been scanned thoroughly, but I should do it again anyways. I came prepared with quality instruments to record my findings."
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Log day eight, I am cursing the great clans once more. If they could just give me a few seconds with their ancestral titled pokemon, I wouldn't need to be hunkering down in Relic Castle! Ugh. I approached some of the newer clans with sovereigns, but all of them unanimously told me that they had no titled pokemon. I guess I was getting my hopes up too high."
"Only a clan with a titled pokemon can be called a great clan. These newly risen young clans with sovereigns will probably collapse once their leader dies, unlike the great clans which have stood the test of time and the passage of ages thanks to their titled pokemon."
"What would it be like to bond with a titled pokemon I wonder? It's well known that a sovereign with a titled pokemon can easily crush a sovereign without one, so the gain from bonding with one must be enormous."
"Could an early-sovereign with a titled pokemon crush a peak-sovereign without one? Questions for another time. For now, I should focus more on the research."
"I finally finished up with scanning the surface room inside the ruined tower. I think I'm ready to head deeper down now! Relic Castle, here I come! Gula, you're a dependable man! Let's go!"
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"Log day nine, everything is dark. Gula has tied a rope to my waist, and is slowly leading me along. We're both blindfolded right now, because Gula says I must not open my eyes."
"Gula, is this some sort of religious thing?"
"Apparently, it is. The tribesmen of Gula's old tribe say that there is a curse within Relic Castle that will inflict misery and torment on those who behold it, so during our descent, we apparently are not allowed to open our eyes."
"This sucks. If I could become intangible like a ghost specialist, I could just fly downwards through all the bedrock and sand to get to the bottom directly. Although, that might not work here, given how dense the rock aura is."
"Gula says I should keep going deeper if I ever get separated from him. He will meet me at the bottom if that happens. Gosh, I sure hope that doesn't happen."
"For now though, I think I will stop talking. I didn't bring enough water for me to ramble about random things. I need to keep my throat supple for when I want to record vital information, and I can't just take a sip everytime I feel thirsty."
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Log day eleven. Holy fuck. It took two days walking blindfolded to finally get deep enough for Gula to let me take the blindfold off."
"Gula, I really don't get your logic sometimes. The ghost aura is denser down here, but apparently it's become safer? Whatever. Don't answer that."
"The walls seem to be lined with all sorts of strange murals. However, most of them are cracked or so weathered that I can't make them out. Gula has warned me not to touch them directly, so I'll use a brush to slowly try to restore the murals."
"It's also quite dark, but that's what my trusty torch is for."
…
"I think I'm beginning to see what the tribespeople were talking about. I've restored some of the murals, and I can make out what looks like a sort of sun drawn with some black and red paint. It's shining down on the land below, which is denoted using a drawing of some farmers and cropland. However, something warped and monstrous seems to be emerging from the ground and reaching up toward the sun."
"Gula, is this what you meant by the Eternal Sun and Buried Shadow?"
"Huh. Your tribe must have ventured down here before if they know about this."
There is some rustling.
"So your ancestors already explored the depths once. What happened to them?"
"They vanished?"
"Let's head out Gula."
"The rest of the murals are too damaged to restore properly. I've cleaned them up as best as I could, and already taken pictures, so there won't be a need to carry them around. Gula has advised against doing that anyways, so I will defer to him."
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"Log day, what is it again? I think it's fifteen. Gosh, this place is creepy as shit. Even with my torch lighting up the area, I can't help but feel spooked."
"My scanner is also starting to go crazy with how thick the ghost aura is down here. The deeper I go, the denser the ghost aura has become. I've gotten tons of juicy research data already, but I fear that Relic Castle's atypical nature will render my research void. Most forbidden zones aren't as, well, mixed as Relic Castle when it comes to their environmental aura composition, so perhaps I should have gone to another."
"On second thought, I'm probably better off with Relic Castle. We're over halfway down, and there's yet to be a single accident. Compared to the near 100% fatal death rate for explorers in the innermost regions of other forbidden zones, Relic Castle is practically a playground! I've had it so easy thus far, with my technology and Gula supporting me."
"Be quiet?"
"What do you mean-"
There is a clapping noise.
"Why do you have your hand over my mouth-"
THUD. Loud thumping. The ceiling is shaking and dust is falling down in pitter patters.
…
"Why did you do that Gula?"
"Buried Shadow? Gula, you can't be serious."
"I think it was a cave-in. Sonic vibrations can destabilize cave walls. I've done it before with my father's exploud. Next time, you can just tap me and I'll be quiet. Don't worry - I don't plan on shouting loudly to disprove you."
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"I've come across more murals again. These ones have an actual script, so I can go through them and try to decode them. Professor Wintress has an excellent translation software for translation which I brought along. I just need to scan them all and provide some context images, and then the software will slowly decode the language."
…
"Alright, progress is slow, but I'll read what it's been able to translate so far."
"Truth… sun… burial… wake…"
"The program seems to be glitching. I only managed to get five words out of that before it crashed. I'm starting to feel awfully cold for some reason, but I don't know why. Let's try this again."
…
"Much better. It seems to be back to normal. There aren't enough words for the software to fully translate it, but I've been given an approximation of what the software thinks is the actual wording."
"The sun of truth shines eternally. The buried shadow must not wake."
"Interesting. Very interesting. It's vague as hell, but interesting nonetheless."
"Gula, what do you think about this?"
"You think the sun here is referencing your tribe's Eternal Sun deity?"
"Hmmmm."
"You know what, that's not a bad assumption. I might have to upgrade my rewards for you Gula! Let me add this into the notes."
Stolen novel; please report.
"The buried shadow… What could it be? It's clearly referencing something alive… maybe a pokemon?."
"...actually…."
"Fuck. I might have done a booboo. I'm a dumbass."
"I think the Eternal Sun and Buried Shadow referenced here might be Titled Pokemon."
"FUCK!"
"The naming convention and nomenclature fits. Shit. Eternal Sun sounds like what a fire-type Titled Pokemon might get titled, and likewise for Buried Shadow and ghost-type Titled Pokemon. I think I might have fucked myself, but I won't count myself out yet. Maybe I'm just overthinking things."
"Let's just hope I'm overthinking."
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Log day twenty, the ghost aura is now so thick that I'm beginning to feel ill. My body is growing weaker, and I feel light headed constantly. "
"Gula! How is it that you're staying so healthy?"
"Praying? You pray to the Eternal Sun?"
"At this point, I might as well try it. As a man of science I of course do not adhere to religion, but if it's working for Gula, there's probably some basis in his claims."
Creaking noise.
"I doubt prayers to a titled pokemon will actually work. Sure, they can fight minor legendaries and hold their own in a head-on confrontation, but that doesn't actually make them legendaries themselves. And for the record, I don't think praying to an actual legendary will help either. It's just superstition. What do legendaries care for mortals?"
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"Log day twenty one. I've been thinking over the mural translation more."
"I've found more murals and have been adding more characters to the dictionary, and once I find a few more, I'll try to translate that first mural once more. The new murals I've found haven't contained anything of interest."
"The Buried Shadow must not wake… that sounds really fucked if the mural isn't kidding. The mural is implying that catastrophe will happen if the so-called Buried Shadow wakes up."
"Am I to assume that this Buried Shadow was 'buried' here in Relic Castle? I am starting to regret my decision to come down here, just a tad."
…
"Gula, are you good?"
"That's a relief. You were quiet for a while. You scared me a little."
"I think I will need to find more murals to fill out my translator's dictionary more. Who knows, maybe I'll find something more interesting."
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"Log day twenty two, I've found some interesting pots. Perhaps I could use them to cook a meal of hearty sand and rock. Or, I could smash them up for fun… no, I mustn't give in. These are priceless historical artifacts."
"On a side note, I'm kind of getting tired of eating beef jerky strips and multivitamin pills with my daily ration of water. Gula seems completely unbothered, but that's probably because he's used to living in the desert already. I'm a weak city dweller who needs his fill of water! I can't just go without for so long. If we don't make it to the bottom of the expedition soon, I think we'll have to rush back up to avoid running out of supplies."
Rustling again.
"Fuck you ghosts. I know you're not real. It's just a rustling noise. Or to be more accurate, the growing density of ghost aura is causing more strange phenomena to happen. I shouldn't be surprised at any rustling noises or strange sounds from now on. I'll just have to steel my mind and ignore it."
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"Log day twenty three, we've struck gold!"
"I found another mural with a little bit of text, and this time something interesting came out of the translator finally! Let me read this out slowly. Gula, get over here!"
…
"Six suns spread wings of fire, sending down ash and fury. The light of the eternal quashes the monstrous shadow, burying it beneath the final castle."
"Gosh, the ancients must have been doomers. Where is all this catastrophe and doomsday prediction talk coming from?"
Spitting.
"It's probably the Eternal Sun and Buried Shadow again, isn't it Gula?"
"Wow, that is a terrified expression, Gula. I never knew that the mural would scare you that much. I should probably take that as my cue to be scared as well, because the local guide getting scared in the movies usually means everything is going to shit."
…
"The mural is obviously showing some kind of conflict between the Eternal Sun and Buried Shadow. Now, given all of the apocalyptic images I've seen and these murals, I'm beginning to lean towards the idea of these two names being Titled Pokemon. And that is also starting to scare me."
"Gula, we'll be fine right?"
"Uh, ok, that is totally a good sign, the way your head is shaking with fear."
"I think the mural is implying that Buried Shadow was buried beneath Relic Castle by the Eternal Sun. The ash and fury being sent down are probably manifestations of the titled pokemon's power - the Eternal Sun is very obviously some kind of fire type titled pokemon."
"I'm becoming slightly afraid, but I must keep going."
"Research must continue! I will continue scanning the area and collecting interesting geological specimens and aura readings to take back for my lab."
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"Log day twenty four, I really feel like I fucked up by coming down here, but my research grant wasn't going to get any bigger anyways, so oh well. In the name of science!"
"The ghost aura has been receding a little as we go deeper, and I'm starting to see more bug and fire aura on my scanner now. Bug is extremely odd, because I doubt there's anything of substance down here to consume, so there shouldn't be any living bug pokemon this deep."
"It would help out a lot more if I could see aura like a pokemon trainer, but I tested for affinity as a youth and I apparently don't have much, and my potential to awaken aura is also quite weak. It's a shame. If I were a pokemon trainer, my research wouldn't be going so slowly. But enough of that anyways."
"I've collected so much great research data that I think coming down here was the best decision of my life. Gula is becoming more and more nervous, and that's really not a good sign, but it's too late to turn back. We're close to the bottom, and I know this place has a bottom because of seismic mapping technology. We can send s-waves and p-waves down into the ground, and when they're reflected back upwards, we can use the speed of the wave travel and the time it takes to be reflected to calculate the distance from the surface to the depths. It took me a while to figure that one out, but it was one of the reasons why I chose to take the risk and embark on this mission in the first place."
"Being able to determine the true depth of Relic Castle has greatly helped me in my planning for the logistics of this expedition."
"I think Gula is calling me over. Let me end this recording here for now."
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"SHIT SHIT SHIT!"
"Gula has vanished!"
"I'm looking around right now, and everything is pitch black. One moment I was with Gula, and the next, he was gone! The only things I've got on me are my translator and recording device."
"Fuck!"
"I shouldn't have come down here. I should have listened."
…
"I've calmed down a bit now. The only thing I can do is keep going forward. Finding the way back is nearly impossible. I should do as Gula said. I'll keep descending, and slowly find my way to the true depths. Gula said he would wait for me there."
…
"My handheld flashlight is quite weak…"
"I need to stay calm. Shit. It's so fucking creepy walking with a flashlight alone. The sole source of light only serves to amplify how much darker everything else is."
"I'll just have to keep going down. Fuck."
…
"I'm seeing a lot of strange stuff at this depth. It got much hotter, which is to be expected given the increasing density of fire aura, but the bug aura is also doing some strange stuff."
"I'm seeing motes of light? Almost like fireflies, or glowing moths made of flame. They fade in and out of existence like wisps of flame, briefly lighting up the darkness before disappearing cyclically. For some reason, the bug aura isn't making my skin crawl like usual."
"A lot of people describe the feeling of bug aura as deeply uncomfortable, but this… doesn't feel like that. Maybe it's the combination of the fire and the bug aura being together, but it gives me an almost sacred feeling? I feel warm in its presence, and the earlier chill from the ghost aura has been entirely driven away."
"Either way, the answer lies at the bottom. We must keep descending."
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"This is the final stretch. My seismometer is telling me we've hit the true bottom, and there isn't much further to go. Hopefully, I'll find what I've been searching for, and meet up with Gula too if he's alive. He must be.
"Otherwise, this will be my final log before I try to make an ascent back up, which I don't look forward to doing alone. The region of dense ghost aura will be tricky to navigate."
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"What in the name of the legendaries is this?"
"I've made it to the bottom. What the fuck? This isn't some dusty run-down castle buried by sand and weathered by time.'
"It's an entire underground city! And everything here is so bright!"
"The ceiling is extremely tall, and there's a giant pyramid in the center of this open space. The entire pyramid is engraved in horrifying images depicting scenes of bloody massacres, and there are giant arms of black shadow encircling the pyramid. And on top of that pyramid-"
ETERNAL SUN
"My hands! Fuck fuck fuck, my scanner overloaded and exploded!"
"There's some kind of pokemon at the top of the pyramid! It seems to be some kind of moth? It's got six wings, and it's covered in a wreath of golden fire!"
"I can't look anymore, my eyes are burning, it's much too bright. However, I think this might be the Eternal Sun referenced in the murals and Gula's tribe!"
"BE QUIET AND GET OUT. ESCAPE BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE…"
"Oh wow, the Eternal Sun speaks! Lord Eternal Sun, this humble researcher is just here to research environmental aura. Could you let me scan your body? Wait, nevermind, my scanner exploded..."
"ARE YOU MENTALLY CHALLENGED? I SAID LEAVE!"
"What do you mean?"
"LEAVE! BEFORE BURIED SHADOW TAKETH ANOTHER HOST!"
"The buried shadow? Oh shit, you're right if the Eternal Sun - sorry Lord Eternal Sun, if you're a Titled Pokemon, that means Buried Shadow is probably a Titled Pokemon too right?"
"SHUT UP AND LEAVE!"
"Oh fuck this entire place is shaking! The shadow arms are starting to move! Holy shit! If only I could scan this for my research! I'm running away now but the entire place is shaking and I can't run straight!"
"Shit!"
"Lord Eternal Sun, could I get some help? There's a bunch of shadow arms chasing me! I don't think I can outrun them!"
"YOU HAVE THE WORST SELF-PRESERVATION SKILLS I'VE EVER SEEN."
"My whole body just lit up with these golden flames! The shadow arms are melting!"
"BURIED SHADOW HAS ALREADY FOUND ITS HOST. SINCE IT PLANS TO LEAVE, I MIGHT AS WELL DO THE SAME. HUMAN, CONSIDER YOURSELF LUCKY."
"What are you planning to do?"
"GIVING YOU THE CHANCE TO AWAKEN AURA. I LISTENED TO YOUR FOOLISH RAMBLING DURING YOUR DESCENT. INHERIT MY ESSENCE, AND BOND WITH ME, AND WE SHALL ESCAPE THIS PRISON TOGETHER!"
"Just do whatever you want as long as we escape from here!"
"The flames are carrying me upward! The ceiling is melting right before me, and I'm being sent flying up to the surface through all the bedrock!"
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"After escape log day one, I've awakened my aura and have now become a pokemon trainer. This is completely crazy. All my research supplies were burnt into dust during my escape, along with all my clothes and everything I carried on here other than my recorder."
"The bright side is that I have a pokemon now?"
"Say hello!"
"MODERN TECHNOLOGY SEEMS QUITE MARVELOUS. SADLY, THAT WON'T SAVE YOU WHEN THE BURIED SHADOW HUNTS YOU DOWN."
"Uh, what do you mean by that?"
"DID WE NOT DISCUSS THIS? I SUPPRESSED THE BURIED SHADOW FOR OVER THREE MILLENNIA. HE HATES ME. NOW THAT YOU'VE BONDED WITH ME, HE'S GOING TO TRACK YOU DOWN AND GRIND YOUR SOUL INTO PASTE."
"Is it too late to break our bond?"
"YES. YOUR BODY WOULD IMPLODE AND YOUR SOUL WOULD BE SCATTERED TO THE FOUR WINDS."
"ON THE BRIGHT SIDE, I HAVE LEFT MY PHYSICAL SHELL BEHIND IN THE FINAL CASTLE TO CONTINUE SUPPRESSING BURIED SHADOW. YOU HAVE MAYBE A HUNDRED YEARS UNTIL HE BREAKS OUT?"
"You should have led with that, you heartless monster! You nearly gave me a fucking heart attack! A century? I don't think I'll even live that long!"
"ACTUALLY, I THINK I MISCALCULATED. BURIED SHADOW HAS TAKEN OVER THE BODY OF YOUR GUIDE, SO HE'LL PROBABLY ESCAPE IN A FEW DECADES AT MOST."
"Fuck! Well, at least I have you right? Lord Eternal Sun, you're a titled pokemon and much stronger than Buried Shadow right?"
"THAT WAS BEFORE I ABANDONED MY PHYSICAL SHELL AND SHED MY ESSENCE. I'M NOW A PUPA AGAIN. I NEED TO COCOON MYSELF AND METAMORPHIZE FOR ANOTHER THOUSAND YEARS BEFORE I REGAIN MY FULL STRENGTH."
"...So we're fucked?"
"IT APPEARS SO. I SUGGEST YOU START PROGRESSING YOUR AURA, SINCE THAT WILL SPEED UP MY RECOVERY. BECOME A TRAINER. GIVE ME AS MUCH AURIC FEEDBACK AS POSSIBLE."
"Shit. In light of this horrifying news, I think I'll have to pause my research temporarily and take up pokemon training for now."
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END TRANSMISSION
17:18:11.11 UST