Author Notes

Welcome back to the story. I hope you are enjoying it so far. In this episode, I introduce our villainous team for this story arc.

Chapter 2

The next day, Dakota woke without a startle. The night before had been spent reading his mother's notebook by moonlight. He had only made his way to Rattata before his eyes got heavy and decided to fly home. Hydro snored softly in his bed, kicking his legs a few times before returning to a still sleep. Dakota looked around his room. The walls were covered news articles about the latest scientific discoveries made in the last year. He had lined his bookshelves with large books about space, fossils, and computers. On his desk, a laptop flashed with screensavers of landmarks from all over the world. A buzzing from his Pokegear drew his attention as he walked over and answered the call. It was Mahri calling to check up on him. After a short exchanged, he insisted he was fine and appreciate the gift she had given him.

"So…Dakota…" she started. "Later today, I…umm…"

He waited for her to finish, but he had a feeling he knew what she was going to say.

"Umm…I…am leaving for Kanto to become a Pokémon trainer."

"You're going to do what?" he exclaimed. "Mahri?"

Silence returned his question.

"Mahri, are you still there?"

"…yea?" she said.

"When do you leave?" Dakota asked.

"I will be flying from Trovita Island around 8 pm. I was wondering…if you would…"

Her statement was interrupted by a massive explosion coming from the front of the house. Dakota dropped his Pokegear, grabbed a shirt and ran out of room to the main hall.

"Hydro! Come on!" he called behind him.

Hydro who had been woken by the explosion rolled out of his bed and kept pace with Dakota as the two dashed through the front door of the house. Outside, three strange people were shouting at his Granny. Each of the grunts dressed in brown multi-cam cargo pants, black combat boots with black leather vests accented with spikes and green t-shirts. On their heads were do-rags made to mimic a Tyrantrum head, teeth and all. The leader was a man dressed differently sporting a tan collared short sleeve and golden chevrons on his shoulders. On his head, he wore sunglasses and a campaign hat instead of a rag. In front of the two grunts were the Pokemon Kabuto, and an Omanyte. Dakota was surprised to see these Pokemon as they were Fossil Pokemon and extinct.

"Alright civilian, we are Team Fossil, and we demand you to hand over the Crystal Nugget."

"I am afraid you have the wrong house, mister…" Granny said

"That's Sergeant Spike to you, civilian. We know you have the Nugget here now hand it over!" he yelled.

"I am going to ask you nicely to leave and then I am going to help you leave, Sergeant." Granny threated as she tossed two Ultra Balls in front of here. In a bright flash, an Alakazam and a Pidgeot appeared ready for battle.

"All right maggots! Do your thing!" the Sergeant demand.

In a flash, the two grunts shouted out commands for their Pokémon to attack.

"Rock Throw, Omanyte!"

"Aqua Jet, Kabuto!"

In a flash, Omanyte rose its short blue tentacles up, and rocks rose from the sand. With a flick, the rocks flew across the sand providing cover for the Kabuto that was charging straight at Alakazam. Kabuto had covered itself with a watery cloak and was streaming forward at an impressive speed.

"Blusterwing use Hurricane! Presto use Psychic" Granny called out.

Pidgeot twisted in the air and slammed its wings together in a rapid sequence creating a blast of air that shook and knocked Kabuto off of its path and back to its trainer's feet. The rocks were more resilient but froze in midair surrounded by a purple aura. With a flick of his head, Alakazam sent the rocks barreling back at the Omanyte and Kabuto. Both Pokémon, staggered to their feet but slowly.

"Do yourself a favor and go back to wherever you came from…" Granny Gryphon said coldly.

"Granny!" Dakota called out.

"Stay back, Dakota!" Granny commanded.

"Go Aerodactyl! Use Rock Slide then Sky Drop on that Squirtle!" the burly sergeant barked.

With unexpected speed, the prehistoric Pokémon flapped its wings, and a flurry of rocks rushed from the ground. Each one was twice the speed and the size of Omanytes. Despite each of Granny's Pokémon's best efforts, the stones hit home. Granny gasped calling out motivation to her Pokémon. The grey pterodactyl looking Pokémon dove forward, diving at Hydro who had no time to dodge the attack. Once in its claws, the Aerodactyl dashed into the sky before slamming Hydro back down into the ground.

"Hydro!" Dakota screamed.

Granny Gryphon called out attacks to her two Pokémon, but they were dodging attacks from the Omanyte and Kabuto. The muscly sergeant smirked and called out his next command.

"Aerodactyl, use Thunder Fang on that Squirtle!"

Hydro screamed in pain as the Aerodactyl slammed his fangs down on the Pokémon. Electricity sparked and snapped covering Hydro's body.

"Granny! What do I do?" Dakota called out.

"Call out an attack!" she yelled turning back to her Pokemon who were in the midst of a fierce battle now.

"Umm….Hydro use..." Dakota stammered. "Use Withdraw!"

Hydro winced at the immense pain he was feeling but managed to pull his arms, head, and legs into his shell. A green aura surrounded the turtle as his defense rose.

"Alright, Aerodactyl use another Thunder Fang!"

Hydro screamed again popping out of his shell. The Aerodactyl bit down hard, sending another wave of electricity through the tiny turtle.

"Now, Granny, Give me the Nugget or the Squirtle gets neutralized." He said.

"Fine…" Granny said. "Just stop hurting Hydro."

Dakota watched frozen in fear as his Granny called back her Pidgeot and commanded her Alakazam to retrieve the Nugget. With a hesitant nod, the Pokémon disappeared and reappeared holding a glowing cubed crystal. She nodded to the Pokémon who sent the cube floating through the air and into the open hand of Sergeant Spike. Smirking, the man pulled another small box out and inserted the cube into the center of the black box with a red and a blue pillar on either side. The box began to glow drawing a hooting laugh from Sergeant Spike.

"Let 'em go, Aerodactyl," Spike commanded.

Aerodactyl twisted his head and sent Hydro flying in the air. Without grace, Hydro landed at Dakota's feet.

"Base, this is Spike. Mission complete. The Mystery Box is activated. Returning to base." He said into his wrist. "It's been fun. Remember every war has its causalities. Go Claydol."

With a flash, a large floating black vase looking Pokemon appeared. It floated in a wobbly fashion.

"Teleport, Claydol"

And as quickly as they came, the members of Team Fossil disappeared leaving ruin in their path.

After the dust had settled, Dakota looked around in disbelief. Much of their front yard was now in shambles from the skirmish. The green grass was missing in some places while most of the siding was hanging freely. Roof shingles were missing, and the large picture windows were cracked or shattered. Dakota scooped up his Pokémon and followed his Granny to the basement where her Pokémon Center was located.

"Granny, who were those maniacs?" he asked.

"I am not sure, but I am very worried about their intentions." She said.

"What were they even after?"

"They were after the Crystal Nugget. It is one of two rare crystals I created that are able to power an extraordinary machine called The Mystery Box." She explained. "You see, Professor Oak found the first Mystery Box from schematics found at an archeological site. The box was rumored to be a tool for finding an ancient Pokémon called Meltan. He commissioned the creation of two of these boxes. One in secret and the other he sent to Professor Willow. We found out that we had no way to power the box, so I began research on the issue. I found the Crystal Nugget was able to power the box and was about to send my research to Professor Oak.

"Wait…what does all of this mean?" Dakota asked while waiting for the healing machine to heal his friend.

"It means you shouldn't trouble yourself with it." She said softly. "It just makes today even more exciting then I planned. However, I will need a favor from you now."

"What is it Granny?"

"I will need you to deliver a package to Professor Oak for me. It is very important. If this Team Fossil is a real threat, then it is of the utmost importance that you deliver this him."

"Ok…how will I get to Kanto?" he asked before walking over and picking up his Pokeball.

"I will have Mark fly you to Trovita Island and make arrangements to fly you to the Indigo Plateau Airport," she said walking over and collecting her own Pokeballs.

"Trovita…oh no…" he said

"What is it dear?" she asked.

"Mahri called before all of the commotion, and I hung up on her!" he said.

"Well, call her back and tell her trip won't be so lonely now," Granny said with a sly smile.