Aril coughs a couple of times. "Is that what we're supposed to do? Okay."

He retrieves Pasiap from his sphere and pushes the button. "Fuck 'em up, Pasiap."

Pasiap: fucks 'em up. In fact, he fucks up all eight Pokémon the four goons can send against him. They digitize their tired combatants and scram.

Aril returns to the researcher in the lab. "Sorry about the delay, there were some people in red outfits planning to steal your seismic data so they could wake up a Legendary Pokémon for unclear but very stupid reasons."

"Goodness! Well, I hope the police or somebody stops them; we haven't had that sort of trouble in a very long time. Now, you wanted an introduction to Pokétechs?"

Lessons ensue. Aril's Pokétech can access maps, an encyclopedia, and a phone network he can use to talk to anybody he's exchanged numbers with. He can also take notes on it.

That is one hell of an artifact.

Aril sees if the encyclopedia has any information on a) how the Pokétech itself functions, b) who those red-garbed strangers were, or c) where he is in relation to the Scarlet Empire.

The Pokétech is a general-purpose computer with an interface and form factor optimized for use by Pokémon trainers! This may kick off a wikiwalk if he's not careful.

Poketech knows nothing of the Scarlet Empire, but it does know of the Kanto, Johto, and Hoenn regions. It also knows that criminal gangs are a thing, and that their projects are occasionally hazardous to the public above and beyond the more mundane ones' penchant for theft and property damage. It doesn't know about any gang that wears all red and wants to expand the continent, though.

Aril is capable of wikiwalking very quickly, on account of him being a Solar. It's not long before he's familiar with the basic concepts of computing, and he definitely intends to explore the non-basics before too long.

No knowledge of the Scarlet Empire confirms some things he'd already suspected. He's definitely far from home, and he's probably not going to get back unless he does it himself.

"Criminal gangs are a problem here, huh? Who usually takes care of them when they get out of line?"

"Hmm?" The scientist had gone back to her experiment during the wikiwalk. "Oh, yes, every few years some bunch of scoundrels tries to cause trouble. Usually the cops keep them from acting too openly, then someone comes along and exposes them fully, or just interferes with whatever they were trying to do until they give up."

"Huh. Back home it's usually the Imperial army that deals with cults and gangs. Unless some Exalt takes them on themselves. Which, granted, is most of the time."

"We do technically have an army, but they mostly do stuff like rescue people who get lost in the mountains or have their boats capsized by wailords or whatever. And I guess if the government of Johto went crazy and they invaded us they'd deal with that. What are Exalt?"

“Humans empowered by the primordial forces of the world. There are Solars, the Lawgivers of Creation; Lunars, the Hunters of the Wyld; and Sidereals, the Administrators of Heaven. There are also the Dragon-Blooded, but they’re Imperialist leeches for the most part. I’m a Solar, in case you couldn’t tell.” A gleaming sun-disc flashes on his forehead. 

"Cool! Some say the primordial forces of our world are embodied as legendary Pokémon, but even if they exist nobody's observed them well enough to get a clear scientific understanding of what that would even mean."

"I keep hearing about these Legendary Pokémon... those hooligans were trying to find Groudon using your seismic data. Has your data actually revealed anything unusual that might indicate Groudon's location?"

"I'm a biologist, but some of my colleagues in Geology have been seeing very interesting things lately. They aren't going to jump to conclusions, of course, but the data is certainly consistent with the Groudon hypothesis among others."

"Is the hypothesis that the creature is waking up, or merely that this is an unusually active period of sleep? Because in my experience, an ancient god-spirit waking up and causing earthquakes in the process is rarely good news."

"The hypothesis is just that it's there, at this point. If it turns out to be waking up, there might be a government project to dig out an earthquake-dampening buffer zone around it. Or just evacuate the nearest cities, depending on how much time we have. But again, it could be a regular seismic event, with no Pokémon involved."

There's a gentle vibration, like a truck going by outside. The liquid in one of the bottles on the workbench ripples once.

...Aril suspects that this is not a regular seismic event. He also suspects that these scientists have a deficiency of dramatic thinking.

"May I take a look at the data myself? I'm not an expert, per se, but I'm a quick study, and I'd like to see if anything leaps out at me."

"You'd have to ask one of the geologists, but I can't think why not. They're one floor up from here, elevators are at that end of the building. Try Dr. Matoran's office; he's probably in and generally a patient explainer."

Aril thanks the biologist modestly, then makes his way up to Dr. Matoran's office and knocks on the door.

"Come in!" The voice that rumbles through the door is so deep it might itself be made of rocks, but the man on the other side is all human, with a long white beard and coke-bottle glasses and a good amount of muscle despite his age.

Aril enters! "Hello! Dr. Matoran, right? I'm Aril Kalen, and I'm interested in examining the data that led to the Groudon Hypothesis."

"Hmmm! Always good to see a young 'un interested in the sciences." He starts putting the slew of papers on his desk in order, or at least a different slew. "Now, mind you, we can't be sure it's actually a Pokémon down there, and it's a mistake to jump to conclusions without enough data. But," and here he gets a twinkle in his eye, "I certainly hope it is one!"

Aril doesn't bother actually looking at the studies; he doesn't speak the language they're written in, it'd be a waste of time.

Instead, he invokes Discerning Savant's Eye and makes a show of perusing the data. Theoretically, this charm is just supposed to let you see the author's intent. But he's learned over the years that if he focuses his Essence just so and invokes an Excellency of Lore, he can instead understand what the writing itself is saying. So he's left with, one, a stronger grasp of the tectonic activity around the Kanto and Hoenn regions than he has any real need for, and two, a bone-deep knowledge that the source of the earthquakes is -

He blinks. "Sorry," he interrupts, "but is that cavern actually called Terra Cave?"

"Hmmm? Oh, yes. It's a bit silly, but it's been called that for--well, barely a moment geologically, but long enough that nobody can be bothered to come up with a better name. Are you following the notation alright? I know not everywhere uses the same one."

"Yes, I'm following it quite well. Have you considered-"

Aril outlines the train of thought that would have led him to his conclusions, had it been a train of thought and not literal divine inspiration. It involves a good deal of mathematics designed to simulate sleep patterns, combined with a great deal of mathematics designed to simulate the path of a creature being carried along on underground lava flows. It also leads directly to the conclusion that, every once in a very long while, Groudon surfaces in Terra Cave.

"I think that's actually why it's called that," he says thoughtfully. "Not that I'm an anthropologist, or anything, but it does seem like the regular appearance of a godlike Pokémon of earth in a given cave might lead to that cave being given a name related to that phenomenon, no?"

He pauses. "Also, model says it's surfacing again in... about a week. Shit."