A/N: Is anyone even reading this story? I've got a follow for it thus far so I am supposing that yes. Anyway, this chapter will have a nice surprise for you guys (although unpleasant for my OC)!

Trouble in the Mines

Aine and Prinplup continued their excursion through the mines—this place was extraordinary! How people and pokémon together could dedicate themselves to the excavation of not only valuable materials, but also prehistoric fossils that would surely lend itself to new and expanded scientific knowledge, was amazing to Aine.

Her awe and fascination with the whole thing made her explore even deeper into the mines, losing herself on so many levels in the process.

It wasn't until Aine tripped on some very round rock, and yelled out some choice swear words, that she came back to her senses.

The rock fidgeted after she tripped, and she looked back at it as if it almost killed her, and she was about to get up and clean herself off, when the rock expanded with arms, revealing it to be a Geodude.

The Geodude let out an annoyed yelp, which alerted the mindful Prinlup to get into an attack-ready position, but the Geodude nonchalantly rolled away instead of attacking.

Relieved, Aine inhaled—exhaled, cleaning herself and her bag off.

Focused and aware now, she realized that she was lost.

Lost, with no way to get out; she had wandered off and around so mindlessly that she briefly thought she wasn't in a structured part of the mine anymore, although she did see some excavation equipment nearby, which dispelled the thought.

Looking in all possible directions, she finally spotted a "DO NOT GO FURTHER IN" sign where there was a small entrance to a cavern.

What could be in there? The first, mild signals of curiosity took over her, and she peered inside the cave. Despite its tiny entrance, it was quite spacious within. However, she noticed many holes in the walls. Could a bunch of Diglett be waiting to attack anyone who entered? But no, most of the holes were too narrow for Diglett to pop out of them. She'd take out her other two pokémon just in case, though.

Am I actually thinking of going inside?

Curiosity fought to be acknowledged, and like with most humans, Aine gave in.

Prinplup, always a spirited, encouraged soul, was ready to defend his trainer at any time, and agreed to have Scyther and Bronzor assist.

They went in. Aine immediately noticed the largest hole in the back wall of the cave, and could see that something was being dug out, but the job was clearly incomplete. Approaching it with Prinplup, she got a closer look.

"It's a fossil, Prinplup! Oh dear Arceus! I'm actually seeing one in the flesh! I wonder what it could be, or if it's something that no one's discovered yet. Could it be an Anorith fossil? Or maybe a Kabuto. Hold on. No. What if it's an Aerodactyl?" She effervesced, but then remembered that Aerodactyls came from Old Ambers, and this was certainly not one of those.

Oh, how she wished she could be able to mine! But she could not work a mining tool to save her life. Instead, she pulled out from her bag, The Various Fossils of the World, and How To Identify Them: A Guide.

"I'm sorry, Prin. Can you... y'know, watch my back as I do this? Make sure no wild pokémon attack us, or alert me if somebody's coming? If you can't manage on your own, I can bring out Bronzor or Scyther like I suggested before... And before Bronzor cleverly makes a note of the fact that only one pokémon is allowed to be at my side," she addressed one of her pokeballs, with a smirk, "nobody, other than us, is down here. Whoops!"

Thus Bronzor and Scyther popped out of their pokeballs, not giving second thoughts about protecting their trainer. Scyther took her place outside of the cavern entrance, knowing she was the best attacker of Aine's pokemon. Bronzor and Prinplup remained with Aine.

"Thanks you three, you truly are the best," Aine said affectionately.

She then analyzed the large, semi-dug out fossil, put her hand on it, and ran her fingers smoothly throughout it; it was, again, a huge fossil inside an equally huge rock, and she was excited. However, she did not get distracted by its beauty—she took up her book, and opened it, skimming through the leaves, attempting to find a picture of a fossil that matched the one at hand; while skimming, she glanced at the fossil several times, and memorized how it looked like.

"Here it is!" At once she exclaimed when she found the page in which this fossil was featured. "'Helix Fossil; Helix Fossils, usually measuring between 6 inches and 1 foot 4 inches (6 - 16 inches), are of a prehistoric, sea-dwelling pokémon that is popularly known as Omanyte. This type of fossil is found near beaches, ponds, and other bodies of water. However, very few are found in caves near water or where there used to be water. These tend to be longer than two feet and are extremely rare; as a result, if the fossil is to be revived, the reborn Omanyte will be taller, longer, and larger than its typical size."

Right next to the description was a photo of the Omanyte fossil, which was also the one at hand. Size was the only difference. The fossil at hand was much bigger. In fact...

"Measuring tape! Must take out!" Aine exclaimed, scouring her bag for a while until pulling out said measuring tape. The young woman eagerly proceeded to find the length of the fossil, and this one was indeed rare, for it was...

"Four feet and one-fourth of an inch! Guys, I am looking at a rarity here!... But, agh! I can't work a mining pick to save my life."

Bronzor suggested that she should not seek to take the fossil either way, as it was evident that someone had already started digging it out.

"You're right, but I can't resist the urge. Only if I knew how to—"

A piercing pokémon's shriek interrupted her. Immediately, she withdrew and closed her book, nose in the air as though trying to sniff out the source of the noise. Her three pokémon's protective instincts activated rapid-fire, and Scyther, who was at the front where the entrance was, cried for them all to get out of there. It did not take too long, as Aine, Prinplup, and Bronzor rushed out. Aine could only steal a glance at the owner of the shriek: a Skarmory.

She hardly had enough time to swear before the Skarmory started chasing for them; but Scyther took a defensive stance as she braced herself to go head-to-head with the Skarmory. Aine admired her pokémon's valiant nature, but could not admire for too long, as she had to dash on out of there with her other two pokémon in order to avoid getting killed.

And it got even worse.

The Skarmory had a trainer.

"Go get 'em, Skar! Don't let them escape!"

She only caught a glance of the young man, who was eyeing her and her pokémon with nothing but pure fury, and was making his way down to chase them all himself. They had no option but to run of course, but Aine worried about her Scyther, up against that monstrous Skarmory all by herself.

She's a strong pokemon, she won't get any serious injuries beyond a couple scrapes and scratches on her body.

After that weak self-consolation, Aine and her pokémon tried to find the way out in vain.

Shortly thereafter, from a distance, Aine heard the cry of her fainted Scyther... what was this? Why was this happening? Her beloved Scyther! What did she do to deserve this? That damn vicious steel bird had the upper hand. Aine had only been studying a fossil, not planning on stealing it or anything!

And it became worse, if that was possible.

The young man and the Skarmory were on their heels, and though Aine's pokémon were not at all tired yet, Aine was. She continued sprinting though, not the one to give in easily, but fate worked against her as she tripped over another Geodude for the second time that day.

Bronzor and Prinplup instantly stopped to go back to her, but seeing this, the young man ordered his Skarmory to attack the two pokémon, while he approached their trainer.

"Well then! I can see that you're new and naive in this place," he said very bitterly, towering over the still-fallen girl, "Ya' don't know what you just did, but I'll explain, girlie—"

"Whatever I did, that gives you absolutely no right to attack my pokémon with your wretched steel bird!"

"Look, sweetheart, I know what I'm doing. I'm not going to harm ya' or your pokémon—" he was cut off by the cries of her Prinplup and Bronzor, who had been KO'ed.

She was the one to flash her eyes angrily at him this time. As she began to pull out her pokeballs to get her fainted pokémon back in them, the Skarmory stomped up to her, its sharp, knive-like wings inches from her face. This bird could slice her in half...

She tensed up, but with a firm voice she bravely asked, "Are you trying to KO me too?"

The young man scoffed, but said to his pokémon, "Come back, Skar," and took him back in his pokeball. "There, there now. It's OK. Need any more accommodations?" with that sarcastic glee in his voice, she already hated him; she couldn't even conjure an equally sarcastic reply, which she could usually manage.

But she was not going to allow this self-important, patronizing man to get the better of her; no, she was going to get the hell up.

So she stood up, dusted herself off, cleared her voice, and looked him in the eyes.

"I don't know what your deal is—you've quite literally taken the liberty to KO all three of my pokémon—when I've done nothing to harm you, or anyone! So I'm very much looking forward to seeing how you try to justify yourself in attacking me and my pokémon, you smug, arrogant scu—"

"Hey, hey, hey. Let's clear one thing up: I wasn't trying to attack ya' or your pokémon any more than what was necessary. What if you were a thief, a criminal? And didn'tcha see the damn sign? 'DO NOT GO FURTHER IN'? Wasn't that enough to give you a hint? Huh? Man, I'm not sure why I'm here talking like anything can get through your vapid head. And what if you had stolen the amazing fossil I'm digging out? Wait, ya' didn't... now did you?"

"I did see the sign, but I'm the type that doesn't care as long as my pokémon are with me, and quite frankly, I admit I was very curious—but I had zero plans on—"

"Zero plans, huh? Someone who's curious must have the urge to steal something as precious as that fossil—"

"The point is that I ultimately was not going to take it, and that you are still not justified in what you have done."

He wasn't going to admit he was wrong; he wasn't that type of man, so he ignored her comment, and instead remarked, "...so you like fossils."

What was this random change of subject? This guy is a world-class imbecile, she thought, I don't think I've ever met anybody like this. "Yes, I do, but that's not the godforsaken point! You know, I shouldn't be wasting my time attempting to squeeze an apology out of you. Clearly you have no conscience. I'm leaving, and hopefully I'll never see you again."

"Never see me again? I'm the gym leader of this town, girlie. Ya' seem to be collecting badges, so unless you're gonna skip me—"

"Oh, be quiet already. Anything you say is invalid." And with that, Aine darted away, all the way back to find her fainted Scyther, although what he had just said lingered in her mind. She dreaded the mere thought of having to challenge Oreburgh City's gym to face this guy. Once she got Scyther, she would take her, Prinplup, and Bronzor back to the Pokémon Center to get a much deserved rest, hoping to erase this terrible experience involving a terrible young man and his terrible Skarmory from her memory.