And here's the 36th chapter of Best Wishes. I hope you guys like this one, which I think is an improvement over the last two chapters. Anyway, it was fun to write, and I hope you enjoy it.

Disclaimer (for this and the last 2 chapters): I don't own Pokémon. If I did, Ash would age, and there would be a lot more Cafemochashipping and less Wishfulshipping. Don't hate :).

Chapter 36

Archeops In The Modern World!

"And this is a Plume Fossil," Professor Juniper tells us, holding out a case with a large fossil inside, "donated to us by Lenora from the Nacrene Museum."

My jaw drops, and I figure my eyes are sparkling with wonder as I stare at the fossil in her hands. "This is from Lenora?!" I smile as I remember the Nacrene City Gym Leader who gave me the Basic Badge.

"Looks like a rock, if you ask me."

Cilan and I gasp at Iris's statement, and Professor Juniper nearly drops the fossil in shock. "I guess different people do see things in different ways," she chuckles.

"Professor, what kind of Pokémon did the fossil come from?" I ask her.

Placing the fossil case down, she hands me a book on ancient Unova. She flips to a certain page. "Have a closer look."

Looking down at the page, I read aloud, "Archen, the oldest Flying-type Pokémon." The page has all kinds of information and a few pictures showing a feathery red and yellow bird-like creature. It must be Archen.

"Correct," Juniper says. "Archen predates all of our modern Flying-types, living one hundred million years ago."

"A hundred million?!" My eyes go wide at that information.

"So it's kind of like Pidove's great-great-great grandparent," Iris says.

Juniper nods. "You're right. And now, we're going to restore this fossil back to its original form. The culmination of dreams and hard work. Ready, Fennel?"

The long black-haired scientist looks up from the computer she's sitting at and smiles. "Any time you are."

The window on a machine in the center of the room opens, and a tray slides out. Juniper lifts the fossil out of its case and places it gently on the tray.

"Attention! The moment of restoring an ancient Pokémon from a Plume Fossil is here!"

Fennel nods. "Fossil is firmly locked in place. Beginning genetic analysis." On the large computer screen on the wall, different windows pop up, containing very important information, charts and data. "This Plume Fossil contains memories from long, long ago. Memories far greater than we can imagine today!" Getting up, she jumps up in glee in front of the screen. "Our machine will breathe new life into fossils! To take the spark of life very deep within them and bring it forth is the dream of the lifetime!" Taking her partner, Munna, by her two front paws, she swings her around in joy. "Can you see the ancient Pokémon's form?"

Iris frowns. "All I see are a bunch of computer numbers."

"Seeing the form of a Pokémon in numbers shows what a brilliant scientist Dr. Fennel truly is," Cilan tells her. "A recipe for genius!"

Juniper chuckles. "Fennel's truly a woman with big dreams."

Fennel turns her head back to the screen, scanning the various charts with wide eyes. "Genetic analysis complete! And now, we begin." She throws a Poké Ball into the air. "Come out! Time to shine!"

In a flash of blue light, a larger pink and purple Pokémon that looks similar to Munna appears, smiling with cheerful yet gentle eyes.

"Musharna!" I give the creature a smile when she looks at me.

"It's been a long time," Iris says.

Fennel takes a hold of a tube connected to the machine, turning to Musharna. "Dear Musharna, your assistance will help bring our dreams to life."

Nodding, Musharna lays on her side, while still floating in the air, and the pink dot on her forehead begins to give off a dark pink mist. She allows Fennel to attach the tube to the dot on her forehead.

I tilt my head. "Why Musharna?"

"Do you remember the Dream Energy everyone has?" Juniper asks me.

Cilan nods. "I do. Isn't Dream Energy the kind of energy Dr. Fennel has been conducting research on with Musharna?"

The Pokémon professor nods. "That's right. In order to activate our Pokémon Restoration Machine, we need to harness the Dream Energy Musharna produces." Suddenly, Musharna begins glowing brightly, and one of the charts on the computer screen beeps. "The energy charging is complete."

Fennel breathes in deeply. "Okay, here we go. Engaging!"

She presses a button on the computer keyboard, and the machine containing the fossil glows.

"Status, Fennel?"

"Excellent! Four seconds left. Three...two...and one!" The glow in the machine fades. "System's stable...all values normal...and..." She turns to us, eyes glowing with unshed tears. "We've detected signs of life!"

All of us gasp in either surprise, shock, or happiness.

"That means one thing!"

"It's a success!"

"Let's look inside!"

Iris, Cilan and I run over to the machine, where Juniper and Fennel are already standing.

"Just a minute." Juniper holds up a small video camera and opens it. "I'm waiting."

"Now, Professor?" Fennel murmurs.

"All set," Juniper tells her. "Any time you're ready."

Fennel presses a button on the machine, and the doors part. Numerous clouds of white mist and fog pool out instantly. Once they're almost cleared up, a small voice can be heard.

"That voice..." I whisper to Pikachu, who's nestled in my arms.

"It's a voice from Pokémon history," Juniper says proudly.

"The sound of nature! The abundance of which existed on our planet long ago!" Fennel gasps, the tears now more visible in her eyes.

The white clouds clear completely, and the red and yellow feathery Pokémon I saw in the book's pictures is revealed, spreading its wings and crying out loudly, as if to say, "I'm here! Look at me, everyone!"

"It's Archen!" I cry out, a huge smile on my face.

"You did it, Fennel!" Juniper congratulates her fellow scientist.

The long-haired female blushes and smiles widely at her achievement. "And it looks just like the illustration!"

Suddenly, Archen leaps up and jumps onto Fennel's head, and then to Juniper's. It jumps onto Cilan's, then on mine, and then on Iris's. It attempts to jump onto Munna's head, but it miscalculates, and falls onto the floor. It frantically runs over to the nearby window, but bashes into it hard. It runs around wildly, both terrified and excited.

"Archen, it's okay!" I yell to it.

"Archen, you've got to try to calm down!" Iris tells it.

Knowing Archen won't listen to us from a distance, I place Pikachu down next to Iris and run over to Archen. "Archen!" The little Flying-type slams into me, hitting my head and giving me a massive headache. The two of us fall to the ground, and Archen shuts its eyes and begins to snore softly.

"Well, that was a surprise," Iris mutters.

While I rub my sore head, Fennel picks up the sleeping Archen, holding it close to her.

I stand up, Pikachu jumping onto my shoulder, and stare at the Pokémon in the scientist's arms. "This is the first Flying-type Pokémon? Archen?"

"It's quite an accomplishment," Cilan compliments.

"I guess science can be pretty awesome sometimes," Iris admits.

Fennel blushes at our praise, snuggling Archen to her. "Incredible! It's the past and present united! Like we've transcended the living boundaries of time."

Still holding the video camera, Juniper chuckles. "Welcome to our world, Archen! No wonder you were startled after sleeping for so long. You'll have plenty of time to learn all about our modern era."

A little while later, Iris, Axew, Pikachu and I sit on the floor near a small basket with blankets that serves as Archen's bed. The little Flying-type looks so peaceful when it's sleeping.

"This will be worth the wait!"

Cilan's sudden voice is almost like a rocket exploding in the quiet, still air as he comes into the room, holding a bowl of freshly-made Pokémon food.

"Shh!" Iris and I hiss, pressing our fingers to our lips.

He looks down to see Archen still sleeping peacefully. "Oh... It's Sleeping Time." He kneels down and places the bowl near the basket before walking away.

I hear the voices of Professor Juniper and Fennel in the distance, but I take no notice of them. I'm too busy staring at Archen to pay attention. The way the Flying-type's feathery chest rises and falls with each soft breath brings me into an entrance. Its eyelids are shut, and its wings spread out on either side of it. It looks to comfortable right now. It would be a sin to disturb it or wake it up.

"Take Archen, for example." Juniper's voice eventually drags me out of my thoughts. "Though Archen's the ancestor to all Flying-type Pokémon, it can't fly. By studying Archen, we can discover how flying abilities developed, and ultimately, how they influenced the many Flying-type Pokémon that and later."

"We've already discovered a lot," Fennel adds.

Cilan looks a little surprised. "Really? What?"

"Well, its cry," Juniper answers. "We couldn't have learned that from a fossil, true? By analyzing Archen's voice patterns, we should be much better and quick to understand how it communicates."

"Which obviously makes Archen very important," Cilan says, shifting his gaze to Archen.

Suddenly, Archen's eyes lift slightly before fluttering open fully. It gazes at its surroundings, looking like it's still partially asleep. It's greeted awake by the voices of Pikachu and Axew.

"Pika pika."

"Axew yew yew."

Archen shoots up, looking around wildly now. Its eyes are wide and filled with fear.

"Archen woke up!" I tell the two scientists behind me.

Archen suddenly throws its head back and lets out an ear-splitting cry. My hands shoot up to my ears to cover them, to try to block out the horrible noise. Archen quits crying for a moment and jumps out of its basket.

"Archen!" Cilan, attempting to calm the startled creature, jumps out in front of it. "Stop!"

Archen collects a beam of power at its mouth and shoots it at Cilan. And it doesn't take a Pokémon genius to know that beam of power will hurt.

"Cilan, look out!"

I stand up and begin to rush over to him, but I'm too late. He's hit with the beam of power, but it doesn't stop there. The surge flies past him and shatters the large window behind him.

I don't waste any time in running over to him and helping him up. He's helped me so many times in the past, so why not do the same for him?

"I can't believe Archen just used Dragon Breath!" Iris gasps in amazement. "That must mean it can use Dragon-type moves!"

Leaving my crush's side once I know he's okay, I run over to Archen. "Quit it!" I grab the Pokémon from behind and kneel down, desperately trying to hold onto the struggling creature. "C'mon, Archen, calm down! It's okay!"

Archen turns in my arms to face me, and begins to peck my face with its beak. While its beak is blunt and soft, it still hurts with the amount of force Archen is using.

"Be careful!" Iris warns me.

I hold Archen tighter, trying to calm it down. "Archen, you need to calm down!" Archen cries out once more, letting another scream loud enough to shatter my eardrums erupt from its mouth. When it's done, it pants heavily in my arms, exhausted from the energy it's used up. "It's okay, Archen," I whisper, still holding the Pokémon close. I feel the creature's feathers tickle my face before I set it down in front of me. "We're not gonna hurt you, I promise. Do you understand?" Archen just stares at me, and I wonder if it's taking any of this in. "We won't hurt you."

Pikachu jumps into my lap, smiling widely. "Pika pika!" Turning to me, he holds out a food pellet.

"Oh, that's right!" I take the food piece from my buddy. "Thanks, Pikachu." I hold it out to Archen, who eyes it warily. "Here you go. It's food."

Archen sniffs the pellet several times before taking it cautiously in its mouth. Chewing slowly, it spits it out in disgust.

Cilan looks a little hurt. "You don't...like my food?"

Shaking its head, Archen runs off towards the shattered window. "Archen, wait!" Ignoring me, the Flying-type jumps out the window.

The five of us follow the creature to see it run up a nearby tree and settle in a branch.

"It's not able to fly," Juniper says, still filming with her camera, "but it's great at climbing."

Archen sniffs at a berry on the branch before taking it and chewing it.

"It's eating..." I whisper.

The bird-like creature spits out the berry as well, cawing out in disgust.

"Eating doesn't mean liking," Fennel sighs.

"This could be a problem," Juniper tells her, sounding worried. "We don't know what it eats, so how can we know how to take care of it?"

Archen jumps down from the tree and onto the ground, and Munna floats over to it. Archen exchanges a few "words" with Munna in Pokémon language and flaps its wings rapidly, lifting itself off the ground before settling back down. Pikachu and Axew go over to Archen as it flaps again, but only to end up with the same result.

"Is Archen trying to fly?" I ask Juniper.

"It sure looks that way," Iris tells me. "Do you know what that could mean?"

"I certainly do!" Cilan answers. "We could witness the moment the ancestor of all Flying-types learns to fly!"

"Of course! Being able to witness the development of its flight would be a treasure beyond words!" Juniper gasps in enthusiasm.

Reaching behind me, I unhook a Poké Ball from my belt. "You need help, Archen. Tranquill, come on out!" I throw the Poké Ball into the air, and in a flash, Tranquill appears.

My Flying-type lands in front of Archen and looks back at it, as if she's sizing it up. Once she nods, Tranquill runs forth and lifts up into the air, flapping her wings only if necessary. Archen runs forward, too, with Pikachu and Axew by its side. Tranquill flies low to the ground, like she's guarding Archen and critiquing its movements.

"Great job, Archen!" I call out. "Keep it up!"

"Utterly fascinating!" Juniper gasps. "A modern Pokémon teaching an ancient Pokémon how to fly?!"

"Archen's so cute imitating Tranquill," Iris giggles.

"This is a meaning that transcends time," Cilan comments. "The surprisingly tasty blend of ancient and modern flavors had created a newfound cuisine!"

Iris throws a Poké Ball, too. "I wanna be a part of this! Emolga, come on out!"

Emolga appears in blue light, winking cutely. She lands in front of Archen, however, cutting it off from its running. Emolga winks suggestively and sends pink hearts towards Archen. The hearts surround the ancient creature, but have no effect on it.

"There goes Emolga using Attract again," Iris chuckles nervously, blushing. "Although, it's not working."

"That means Archen's a girl," Cilan realizes.

Archen inches closer to Emolga, the squirrel-like creature catching her interest. Once she's close enough, Archen pecks Emolga with her stubby beak. Angered by this action, Emolga lifts her hand, where a bright and staticky ball of electric power gathers. Emolga brings the ball of lightning down on Archen, the electricity engulfing the ancient Flying-type as Emolga darts away. Another bright flash of blue light erupts, and suddenly, Stunfisk appears.

"Oh, dear! My Stunfisk!" Cilan gasps.

Meanwhile, Iris yells at Emolga, who's perched herself in a nearby tree. "Emolga! I told you not to use Volt Switch!"

Juniper looks at her with a gentle gaze. "Oh dear, your Emolga's Volt Switch is quite unusual, wouldn't you say?"

Iris sighs in defeat. "Yeah..."

Stunfisk stares at Archen, who stares right back. Suddenly, Archen latches her teeth onto Stunfisk's face, causing Stunfisk to jump away, crackling with electricity. Stunfisk lets loose a shock of lightning, electrocuting poor Archen.

"Stunfisk, stop it right now!" At Cilan's words, Stunfisk quits shocking Archen. "Sorry, Archen. You okay?"

Archen struggles to get up, and when she does, she lets out another one of her famous cries, causing everyone to cover their ears up again.

Later, Tranquill is still teaching Archen how to fly. Pikachu and I stand a little distance away from Archen, who stands by Iris and Axew.

"Fly to me, Archen!" I call out to her.

"Go for it!" Iris encourages her.

Nodding, Archen runs towards me and flaps her wings. She's lifted off from the ground higher and higher.

"Flap your wings as hard as you can!" Iris tells her.

"You're flying!" I gasp. Suddenly, Archen drops to the ground, hanging her head in defeat. I run over to her and kneel down to her level, smiling. "It's okay! You were flying! You've really improved a lot! With just a little more practice, you'll be flying like an expert!"

On the sidelines, Cilan films us, and Juniper goes over to him to check up on us. "How's it going?"

"Archen's attempts to fly are getting better and better," he informs her.

Iris and Axew come over to Pikachu, Archen and I. "Archen's awfully close," she says.

Crossing my arms, I look at the ancient creature in front of me. "Yeah, but she's not there yet."

"Alice is such an interesting Trainer," I hear Juniper tell Cilan from the side. "She's putting in an amazing amount of effort in to help train a Pokémon that's just been restored. It's obvious she's got a natural talent for putting herself into a Pokémon's place."

"Like a unique ingredient in a four-star recipe," he agrees. "And that uniqueness and natural talent are the principle reasons why I'm traveling with her."

Blushing from the compliments, I pretend like I didn't hear them and turn to Archen once more. "This time, give it all you've got, Archen. Tranquill, help out Archen, okay?"

Tranquill lands on my head, digging her talons into my hat, and coos like a baby Pidove. I giggle at her affectionate gesture. Archen looks at us and lets out a happy cry.

Suddenly, Dr. Fennel runs out of the building. "Something's happened!" We all turn to see her, but our eyes catch something else.

Large vines and branches stick out from the windows of the building, reaching for the sun. Pink flowers begin to bloom all over the branches, turning into orange berries.

"What in the world is going on?!" Juniper gasps.

"That's what I'd like to know," Fennel says. "In all my years of research, I've never seen fruit like that."

From the ground, Archen lets out a joyful cry and climbs up the branches. She begins eating the berries on the branch, a happy look on her face as she devours them.

"Look at that!" Cilan gasps.

"Archen must usually eat that kind of fruit," I murmur, watching the Pokémon with wide eyes.

Archen continues eating, the happy look never leaving her face or her eyes. "Archen looks so happy!" Iris nearly squeals.

"Hungry, too," Cilan adds.

Archen gives out another cry, and more pink flowers bloom. The flowers softly burst into orange berries, and Archen wastes no time in eating them.

"She's growing more fruit!" I realize.

"Could it be because of Archen's voice?" Cilan questions.

"I think so!" Juniper answers.

"It has to be!" Fennel exclaims.

"That tree has been growing in sync with Archen's cries," Juniper informs us.

"How can that be?" Iris asks her.

"I'd say, some ancient seeds must've been fossilized along with Archen's Plume Fossil, and restored at the same time it was," Juniper guesses. Archen continues eating the berries, but suddenly freezes, and her entire body glows. "Look, Fennel!"

Archen's baby bird-like body grows larger in nearly blinding white light. Her wings increase in length and feathers, her neck becomes longer, her beak becomes a bit more sharper. When the light clears, Archen is no more. In her place is a new, larger, and more detailed version of Archen.

"Archen evolved!" I gasp.

"Into Archeops!" Juniper adds.

Archeops glows proudly and flaps her wings, creating a powerful gust of wind in our direction.

"So powerful!" Iris yells over the vicious wind.

I smile widely at the beautiful Flying-type Pokémon. "You can do it, Archeops! Fly!"

Archeops jumps up into the air, her wings spread, and begins to fall towards us. However, she catches the wind, and soars through the air, flapping her grand wings. She looks too happy for words right now.

"Success!" Juniper cheers.

"Archen ultimately learned how to fly by first evolving into Archeops!" Fennel summarizes, blushing at the achievement the creature has earned.

Tranquill takes flight and flies in the air besides Archeops, and the two begin to ride the winds together. After a while of flying around with her new friend, Archeops settles on the branches of the building and cries out.

"It looks like Archeops is going to make a nest," Cilan tells us.

"It looks that way." Juniper smiles at the creature. "Pokémon are so full of power and mystery. I've never witnessed a more perfect example than Archeops."

Fennel sighs, a smile on her face, as well. "Maybe we should simply allow Archeops to make this place into her home."

Three pairs of wide eyes stare at her. "You think that's a good idea?" Iris asks her.

Juniper places her hand on Fennel's shoulder. "Well, we are the ones who awakened Archeops, aren't we?" Fennel nods. "In order to survive here in our modern world, Archeops will need the proper environment."

Archeops looks up and suddenly jumps up, barely missing the incoming of a Shadow Ball attack. Turning around fast, I'm able to see the three villains known as Team Rocket hovering over us with their jetpacks, along with Woobat and Yamask.

"Not you three again!" I groan, glaring at them.

"Yeah, talk about annoying!" Iris adds.

Fennel begins to shake with fear. "I remember them from the Dream Yard!"

"Alright, Yamask, use Night Shade!"

Yamask nods at James's command and glows with a faint red outline. It sings a deadly tune, sending red and black waves towards the building. The entire building is set on fire, black flames lapping up at the branches from Archeops's seeds.

Now furious at the threat of Archeops's possible home, I yell, "Tranquill, use Air Cutter!"

Tranquill flaps her wings violently, creating an 'X' of air.

"Use Shadow Ball!"

Yamask creates a dark ball of power and throws it at Tranquill. The Shadow Ball attack and Air Cutter attack collide, not one of them affecting the other.

"Woobat, use Air Slash!" Jessie shouts.

"Alright, Munna, use Psychic now!" Fennel commands.

Munna glows pink, and the spears of air Woobat throws at her freeze in midair, shattering under the psychic force Munna lays upon them.

"Pikachu, you use Electro Ball!" I yell.

"Woobat, Air Slash!"

"Yamask, Night Shade!"

Red and black waves and spears of air collide with Pikachu's ball of electric power, not one attack doing a thing.

"Don't you have more important things to do?" Meowth asks me, smirking.

"Alice, the fire's out of control!" Iris tells me frantically.

What do you want me to do?!

Instead of trying to defeat Team Rocket, I throw two Poké Balls in the direction of the fire. "Oshawott, come on out! You too, Roggenrola!" Both Pokémon come out, and are startled by the fire in front of them. "We need to put out the fire! Oshawott, use Water Gun! Roggenrola, use Sandstorm!" Oshawott spits out a blast of cold water at the fire as Roggenrola creates a storm of sand, sending it at the black flames. "And give it everything you've got!"

Suddenly, I hear a thud from behind me, and turn to see Archeops caught in a net. When she struggles to break free, it shocks her with electricity.

"Flying-types are weak against electricity," Meowth remarks smugly. "Archeops is as good as ours."

My hands clench into fists as I race over to Archeops, Iris right behind me. "Archeops!"

"Don't worry, we're coming!" she yells.

Archeops gathers a beam of power at her mouth and blasts it at the trio of villains. They barely have time to dodge the attack as it rips through the air. The attack creates a hole in the net as well, and Archeops is able to fly out and in their direction.

Meowth shrieks. "Look out!"

Suddenly, a gray cloud of smoke envelopes the villains, and when Archeops flies through it, they're nowhere to be found. Tranquill flies over to Archeops, checking to make sure Team Rocket is truly gone.

Later, as the sun sets, Roggenrola and Oshawott nap in what's left of the sun as Archeops weeps over the damaged building. The branches are burned, the berries gone, and Archeops's possible home is destroyed.

Juniper looks at the creature with sad eyes. "Oh, Archeops, we'll try to find you a place where you'll be able to live happily. Somewhere..."

A faint cry that sounds like Archeops's cry fills my ears, and I look up, searching for the source.

"It sounds like Archeops!" Iris says.

Gasping, I point up to the sky. "Look! Up there!"

In the orange-colored sky, three Archeops fly towards us, their figures dark against the setting sun.

Fennel's jaw drops. "But...it can't be! More Archeops?!"

Archeops's eyes light up, and she flies up to them, all of them exchanging words of comfort and friendship among them.

"There are other Archeops!" I murmur dreamily.

"It's true!" Juniper sounds relieved and thrilled at the same time.

"But where did they come from?" Fennel asks her.

Smiling, she explains, "Some hidden place in the Unova region that has allowed them to survive for all these millions of years! Archeops's cries must've been calls for others of its own kind." In the air, Archeops turns to us, as if to say goodbye. "So you see, Archeops? There is a perfect place for you to live after all!"

"Take care of yourself, Archeops!"

"Pika!"

"Take care of each other, too!"

"Best wishes, and stay safe!"

After all of us finish up saying our goodbyes, Tranquill flies up to her buddy and nods to her. "Tranquill, tranquill."

Archeops smiles. "Archeops!" She turns to her flock and flies off with them.

"I'd sure love to know where they're flying off to," I whisper. "I'll bet that, wherever it is, there'll be lots of ancient Pokémon!"

Fennel nods. "Me, too. But right now, my only wish is that Archeops finds lasting peace."

"Me, too," Juniper says. "It makes me happy just to know they'll all be living somewhere in this world together."

Waving to our retreating Archeops, I call out, "We'll see you again, Archeops!"

Pikachu snuggles in the crook of my neck, as if to cheer me up. Yes, I'll admit it: I'm gonna miss Archeops a whole lot.

Okay, now that was an attempt at a cute ending right there. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'm having a lot of fun writing all these chapters since summer started. Now I wish summer lasted forever. Anyway, thanks for reading, and don't forget to review (but only if you want to)! Bye!