(Note: This story takes place between the official episodes "Gym Fight" and "The Newest Member of Team Rocket")
At the Cinnabar Island Pokémon Center, business was going smoothly as usual. Then up-and coming Pokémon trainer Rusty walked through the front door and walked straight to the front desk.
"Hello," said the nurse.
"Hi," said Rusty as he dropped his Pokéballs on the tabletop, "Heal my Pokémon!"
"Okay." The nurse put the six Pokéballs on the healing machine and turned it on. However, instead of the regular healing process commencing, five errors showed up on the diagnostic screen on the back wall.
"Well that's different," Rusty said, "something wrong?"
"Um, yeah," said the nurse, "five of your Pokéballs have dead Pokémon in them."
"Then heal them!" Rusty yelled.
"This may be hard to explain to you, but being dead is not the same as being asleep or fainted. Once something is dead, it can't come back. We don't have the tools to revive dead Pokémon, and probably never will. If…"
"Why do you not have the tools? Reviving Pokémon is your job, NURSE JOY!"
"Actually it's Nurse Trinity," said the nurse, "What? did you seriously think every nurse in the world happened to share the same last name?"
Rusty stood there with a blank expression.
"I'm very sorry," said the nurse, "but there is nothing we can do for your departed Pokémon."
Rusty turned around slowly. "Maybe you're right," he said, "I should never have come to a Pokémon center run by a 'Nurse Trinity.'"
The nurse sighed. "If bringing a Venomoth back means that much to you, you should visit the laboratory next door. I heard they are making breakthroughs in-"
The nurse then realized Rusty practically disappeared, since he bolted out the door upon hearing her mention the Cinnabar Lab.
Rusty ran into said lab and skidded across the polished floor to a full stop at the reception desk. The man working the desk was startled by the sudden entry.
"Hi, do you revive dead Pokémon?" Rusty said loudly.
"Why yes, young one," The employee said, "At Cinnabar Laboratories, anything is possible…"
The employee then made a dramatic pose. "...with SCIENCE!" he yelled.
"Oh, sweet!" said Rusty.
"Come, I have a lot to show you,"
The employee then led Rusty into one of the building's testing chambers. At the back of the room was a large machine with a fossilized Kabutops skeleton inside. Many scientists were in the room.
"Using very advanced and extremely impossible technology," the employee told Rusty, "we are able to take the fossilized remains of a Pokémon from eras long gone, and with them, produce a fully-formed, fully-functioning, fully-living reconstruction."
As the employee was explaining this, a door on the machine slid over the Kabutops skeleton, obscuring it. The machine shook for a while, making noises and creating puffs of smoke, then the door opened. In the skeleton's place was now a live Kabutops, looking around in wonder.
"The process we have is groundbreaking," the employee continued, "It opens a new gateway into understanding the ancient world, as we can meet and study its inhabitants in person…"
Two scientists approached the Kabutops, and one of them released a Wurmple. The Kabutops then leapt at the poor worm-like pokemon, savagely ripping it to shreds.
"...And then we can introduce them to the wild and screw up the natural ecosystem!" the employee said abruptly, "SCIENCE!"
"That's amazing…" Rusty said, "Now can you use that to revive my dead Cubone?"
"Umm… This process only works on fossils," stated the employee, "We have not tested it on organic corpses."
"Well, how about testing it now?" Rusty asked, "If it can bring back a dead fossil surely it can bring back my Cubone!"
"Hmmm…" said the employee as he stroked his chin.
Later in the day, Cinnabar Island was in a dire situation. Standing in the middle of town was a giant entity made of glitchy-looking shapes arranged in something that resembled a backwards "L". The thing was first seen breaking through the roof of the Cinnabar Lab and is now terrorizing the town. It was "grabbing" buildings and people and sending them flying through the air. Everything was on fire and everyone was screaming. Off the shores of the island, Rusty looked at the carnage whilst sitting on his newly acquired Tentacool.
"Well, so much for science!" Rusty said. He then looked down at his Tentacool steed.
"Come on boy, let's find Team Rocket's lair and save Pikachu!"
The Tentacool replied with an exasperated grunt.
Rusty gave a sharp tug to his Pokémon's tentacles, making it jump up in pain. Rusty and his Tentacool then dashed off as Cinnabar Island burned behind them.
Welp, I guess that water taxi Blaine promised never came.
Anyways, what brought this fic into being were a few thoughts that the actual Pokémon Rusty series never really addressed: Since Rusty ends up killing many of his Pokémon, knowing him, there's a chance he may have tried to heal/revive a dead Pokémon using a Pokémon Center. Then there's the fact that Cinnabar Island has a lab that can turn rock imprints of Pokémon back into organic living beings. If they can do that, why haven't they successfully done the same with more organic remains? Would doing so bring about a horrid glitchy monstrosity like Missingno.? So this fic was born.
Also, yes, that Tentacool is supposed to be the same one Rusty would later electrocute to light a lamp.
Hope you liked reading this!