The journey back to Pallet Town took Axel up Cycling Road, through Saffron City, and even through Diglett's Cave. As he emerged from the underground cavern, Axel could see Viridian Forest nearby, and memories of Flutters filled his mind and heart. He didn't know whether he was up to going through the forest, so he stopped off in Pewter City instead to rest.

While in Pewter, Axel decided to try and take his mind off of things with a trip to the museum. However, it did surprisingly little to help, especially considering the main exhibits on display- skeletons of dead, prehistoric Pokémon. He hastened to step back outside to clear his head, but he didn't watch where he was walking, and eventually ended up off at the side of the museum. He could see a door on the side, and it was swinging open and shut due to the wind. As it swung open, Axel could see a fidgety scientist with a curious object in his hands- it was a shiny, dark-yellow kind of rock, though not gold of any sort. Curious, Axel called out Ragweed to Cut down the tree that obscured his path, then entered.

"Hey," Axel greeted the scientist. "What-"

"Ssh!" interrupted the Scientist, looking all around. "Look, see, I think that this chunk of amber contains Pokémon DNA! It'd be great if Pokémon could be resurrected from it! But, my colleagues just ignore me! So, I have a favor to ask- take this Old Amber to a Pokémon Lab and get it checked!" And he handed the chunk of Old Amber to Axel.

"Wha-" Axel began.

"Ssh! Get the Old Amber checked!" pleaded the scientist.

Axel sighed. "Fine," he relented. "I'm stopping off at home for a little bit- I live in Pallet Town, so I can take it to Professor Oak. When I do get it checked, I'll let you know, OK?"

"Thank you," the scientist smiled gratefully.

Following a brief visit to the Pokémon Center and a lunch break, Axel started to feel a bit better, so he trekked through Viridian Forest, and then down through Route 1. And then, finally, he was home.

"Oh, Axel, I'm so sorry," murmured Mrs. Ketchum. Axel had just finished telling his mother about the Pokémon he had lost along the way (she knew about Battery, of course, but Flutters, Vlad, Itchy, Ozone, Brainstorm, and Needles, those were news to her). "Are you all right?"

"Yeah... Yeah, I'm good, Mom," Axel replied. "Check out the Pokémon I still have," he offered, leading the way outside, which confused his mother at first, until Axel sent out his Gyarados. Mrs. Ketchum took a liking to her son's Pokémon at once, Sunny in particular. Professor Oak was drawn to their house by the sight of a towering Gyarados in the middle of town, and Axel filled him in on recent events as well. After that, Axel brought up the Old Amber he had gotten in Pewter City.

"Ah," Professor Oak said with interest as he examined the chunk of Amber. "You know, he very well could be right- there could easily be ancient Pokémon DNA in this! I'd verify it, but my lab doesn't have the right equipment, I'm afraid. You'll want to take that to Cinnabar Island. It's just south of here- you said you earned the Soul Badge?"

"Yes, sir," Axel nodded.

"Excellent," smiled Oak. "And since your Gyarados knows Surf, getting to Cinnabar Island should be easy. There's even a Pokémon Gym there, so you can earn a badge while you're down there. But Axel," he added.

"Yeah?" asked Axel.

"After you get the Old Amber checked, I have a favor to ask," Professor Oak said, a worried look on his face. "I want you to go to Saffron City. I sent Zack there to warn the president of the Silph Company, as I had heard rumors that Team Rocket was targeting the place. And... that was days ago, and I haven't heard back. It's not exactly a quick trip from here to there, but he flew there on his Fearow, it stands to reason it should be able to Fly him right back... I won't lie, Axel, I'm getting worried," he sighed.

"I'll check it out," Axel assured Professor Oak. "I'll get the Old Amber checked, and then it's straight to Silph."