*Pre Chapter Note: I highly recommend listening to "Through the Sea of Time" from PMD: Explorers of Time/Darkness/Sky when you get to the actual Fossil Restoration part. I listened to that while I wrote it. I'll put a ~*~ where it happens so you know to queue it up.*
Colress would be at home here.
The room we followed the scientist in was lined with all kinds of computers and machines and electronics. Sasha and I shivered as we moved through the cold room, and Celeste recalled the Noibat. She walked closer to me, wrapping an arm around me and pulling me closer.
"Why is it so cold in here? You'd think with all these computers it would be hot." Celeste asked. Before our guide could answer us I jumped in.
"That's the point. They have to make it cold in here or everything would overheat. What kind of system do you run in addition to the air conditioner? Water cooling or air cooling?" I asked. The scientist seemed impressed as he looked back at us briefly.
"We use a mixture of both, though I prefer water cooling." He said.
"What kind of water cooling? Do you have to change it often or is it a closed loop?" I asked.
"Yes we use closed loops. We don't custom build our computers and I'd rather not worry about changing the water. I'm impressed, you don't seem the type to know about this sort of thing." He said. I chuckled as Celeste stared at me.
"A friend of mine works in cybernetics. He builds all his computers and uses air coolers. I had to help him dust them all a few months ago. His setup is similar to this." I told him. The man made a noise like he was interested, but said nothing as we came to the main room.
Computer screens lined the walls and various control panels that were arranged in a circle in the center of the room, wrapping around two massive glass tubes that stood tall. All sorts of pipes and wires coilied around the room on the ceiling, connecting to the tubes in the center. In between the tubes was a podium that had smaller tubes connecting to them. We heard all kinds of beeps as people walked around and read the screens, writing down all the information. I found our fossils on a cart in front of the main control panel, and our guide walked up to them and placed the canister down on the ground in front of them.
"Well then, we have everything we need to finish reviving your pokemon. We've gotten everything else done, haven't we?" He said, turning to his colleagues at the last part.
"Indeed, these are some of the best specimens we've ever received of these fossils. I'll read off the analysis for you-" Said a woman, only to stop when he held a hand up.
"No no, let this be a surprise. Now, girls, allow me to explain this process to you. As you know, fossil pokemon are extremely rare. They come primarily through reputable restoration labs such as this one, though there are a few folks out there who like to play mad scientist." He said as the woman wheeled away the cart, moving it to the tubes.
"There are two ways to resurrect a fossil pokemon. One way is to use a system like this, and use an embryo of a pokemon that is similar to the fossil you are reviving. You replace the genetic code of the embryo with the genetic code of the fossil, and voila, you have a baby fossil. So for example, to get an Aerodactyl, you have to mutate the embryo of a Noivern and Skarmory pairing." He said as the tubes lifted up, and they placed each fossil in them.
"So, like cloning? Like when Team Rocket made Mewtwo?" I asked. The man nodded as he started pressing buttons on the canister.
"That sounds….kinda bad. I mean, manipulating a baby pokemon like that? I don't know if I want my fossil now..." Celeste said. The man chuckled as he continued to work.
"Don't worry I'm getting to that, but yes that is the controversial way to create a fossil pokemon. It's very risky to do this because you risk killing the pokemon with the micro drill used to extract the embryo from the egg. Even if it survives extraction it can still die at any point during the artificial gestation, and then there are the ethics involved on the genetic manipulation of changing the pokemon. It's a rather unstable and in my opinion, immoral procedure. That's why a properly run fossil lab uses this." He said as the canister opened up.
White fog started pouring out from the top as the man grabbed a pair of tongs from an assistant and reached inside, slowly pulling out an object that indeed looked like a battery or spark plug. Though the glass was iced over, I could see a dark shape inside of it as he extracted it and held it out to us. With a nod, he stood up and slowly walked to the tubes. He placed the "battery" into the slot in between them, and it instantly defrosted, revealing its contents. I couldn't tell exactly what was in it, though it was layered in different colors. The glass tubes lowered back over the fossils, and I heard a sucking sound as they closed.
"Restoration chambers are sealed, we're ready to begin, Doctor Sile." Said one of the assistants. The scientist, Doctor Sile, nodded as he retreated behind the computers again, beckoning me and Celeste over.
"Good, here we go then. So girls, this process is much more humane, and far more successful. The battery is a highly compacted mass of different organic materials. Everything you need to build a pokemon is inside that tube. Amino acids, proteins, essential minerals, everything that makes us alive is inside there. And this machine will use those to make your pokemon." He said as he began to type on the computer. The ceiling above the tubes opened up, and a large, metal ring descended from the top, moving slowly over the tubes with a light on the inside. It hummed as the fossils started to glow, and everyone else in the room started scrambling as various people took up positions at controls around the tubes.
"Per your request sir, we've input the attack override data you requested into both the Sail and Jaw fossils." Someone called out.
~*~"Excellent. Now watch girls, as your pokemon are reborn into this world!" Sile said as we looked ahead. The glow of the fossils began to fade in and out in a pulse as the battery started to pulse as well, and the chambers our fossils were in started filling with a teal-colored liquid, lifting the fossils up until they floated in the middle. The pulsing stopped on the fossils as they solidly glowed again, this time growing in a way that made me think of evolution. The two pokemon were curved inwards as they formed, and when the light faded the tubes drained, gently setting the pokemon down.
On the right, a light blue, quadrupedal pokemon laid curled in a peaceful rest. Above its eyes, large frills glowed in a mix of pinks and yellows that pulsed from the bottom up. The eyes opened to show large, sapphire blue orbs that seemed unfocused at first, until they looked at my own eyes. The pokemon and I stared at each other as it lifted its head, its long neck stretching up and revealing a turquoise gem on its side. The pokemon stood on some short, but thick legs, its back feet tapping the floor with the single claw that stuck out from both of them. Its short, stubby tail slowly moved back and forth as the pokemon smiled at me.
"Amaura." It breathed in a voice so smooth, it was almost singing. A sound beside it drew our attention, and we turned to the tube containing the other fossil.
In the left tube, a dark blue, bipedal pokemon appeared. Silver spikes shimmered on its head and tail while a white frill flexed around its neck. It slowly opened its eyes and looked around, uncurling to stand unsteadily on its large feet. It opened its mouth, revealing large, sharp teeth. It began to cry, a loud, keening wail that echoed through the room.
We covered our ears at the sound, at least, most of us did. The sound stopped abruptly, and I looked up to see Celeste had jumped over the control panel and was at the darker pokemons side, her hands pressed aginst the glass. The pokemon had stopped crying and was looking at Celeste through tears. Doctor Sile pressed a large button on his console, and the tubes lifted up, freeing the fossil pokemon inside them. The pokemon in front of Celeste took a shaky step towards her, slipping up on some of the residue from its revival. It face planted in front of her, and it rolled over and started to cry again, but this time Celeste reached out and pulled the pokemon close, lifting it and cradling it in her arms.
"Hey hey, it's okay little one. Don't cry now, I'm here." She said, cooing at it. The pokemon sniffled and looked up at her.
"Tyrunt?" It asked. She smiled and leaned her face in, nuzzling its snout.
"That's better, right?" She asked. Tyrunt made a gurgling giggling sound and reached up with its tiny arms, its claws flexing towards her as I walked towards Amaura. With the distraction over, the pokemon turned to me and smiled. I felt a small pang in my heart as I remembered Wulfric's story about his son. Dante's first and last pokemon was an Amaura who managed to freeze to death alongside its trainer, and I reached out towards Amaura. The pokemon carefully lowered its head and stretched out towards me, allowing me to pet it.
"Hi. It's really nice to meet you, Amaura. We're gonna take care of you from now on, if that's okay." I asked it. Amaura smiled and hummed, pulling its head back. It took a step forward, trying to be careful after watching Tyrunt slip. As it got closer, I reached out and carefully wrapped my arms around its neck, helping it down from the platform it stood on while Celeste beamed at me.
"Aldith, normally a pokemon like Amaura is something I'd prefer, but I think this little guy came from my fossil. Are you okay with me keeping him and you keep Amaura?" She asked. I looked at her incredulously, but she turned away and went back to cooing over Tyrunt, who was loving every second of it. I smiled at the pair and turned to Amaura, who looked up at me lovingly. I grabbed my pokedex out of my bag and held it out over Amaura first.
"Amaura, the Tundra Pokemon. Amaura are calm pokemon that are adapted to live in cold areas, and can be weakened by warm climates. They tend to be gentle and carefree, suggesting that there were no predators in their territories when they lived wild." The pokedex said. Amaura hummed and I turned the Pokedex towards Celeste and Tyrunt.
"Tyrunt, the Royal Heir pokemon. Tyrunt's jaws are so powerful they can easily chew up an automobile, but thankfully it prefers to throw a loud tantrum when confronted with something it doesn't like. They are said to be so strong that it can injure its playmates when frolicking." It said, and I noticed something interesting on the screen.
"Hey Celeste, your Tyrunt looks different from the Pokedex. I bet yours is shiny!" I said. Celeste looked up and walked over to me, holding her pokemon tightly while she looked at the screen.
"Wow! Did you do this on purpose doc?" She asked. Doctor Sile chuckled as he walked up to us and shook his head.
"I wish I could take credit, but no. Unless the genetic altering method, we do not actually control the pokemon when they are being formed. We cannot do anything to their appearances or biology, these pokemon are as they were millions of years ago. The only thing we can control is their attacks. We altered both pokemon's movesets to accommodate battling." He said, reaching out to gently pinch Tyrunt's tail.
"Runt!" Tyrunt cried, twitching his tail away. Sile smiled and nodded.
"Tyrunt's attacks are Bite, Ice Fang, Stealth Rock and Dragon Dance. Amaura should know Discharge, Rock Throw, Protect and Hyper Voice. We normally wouldn't alter anything when restoring a fossil, but I felt this was the best way to thank you for bringing back the battery. We cannot restore fossils without it and we only get one every five years." He said, walking over to where the battery was. This time he grabbed it outright and pulled it from its cradle, retreating back to where the canister was to return it.
"Well thanks so much. Can I ask you something?" I said, looking at Amaura.
"Hmm? Yes what is it?" Sile asked.
"The pokedex said Amaura lived in cold temperatures, and don't like heat. But I heard of an Amaura that froze to death. How is this possible?" I asked. Sile hummed and scratched his chin as he looked up thoughtfully, pondering my question.
"That does indeed sound strange. Normally Ice types can't be frozen, and I've studied enough Amaura to know they thrive in cold temperatures. The colder the better. The only way I can think of is if the Amaura wasn't revived properly, or was an unstable pokemon resurrected by the cloning mutation method I told you about." He said. I bit my lip as I put a hand on my own Amaura, my fingers flexing on the smooth, cool surface. Amaura looked up at me and made a questioning peep, but I decided not to elaborate further as Celeste adjusted her grip on her Tyrunt.
"Well thanks for bringing them back for us. We're gonna head to the pokemon center then move on. Unless you know anything about Mega Evolution?" Celeste asked. Sile shook his head as he picked up the canister with the battery inside.
"Only that Aerodactyl is the only fossil pokemon that can use it. We're not entirely sure why, though we know from some of our past data that it was not capable of Mega Evolution during the time when these Fossil Pokemon lived millions of years ago. There are no known fossils that suggest Mega Evolution was available back then at all." He said apologetically. He then made his way to another room through a door behind the restoration chambers, suggesting he was done. Celeste seemed put off by the abrupt departure, but I just chuckled and made my way back the way we came, Amaura and Celeste following behind me.
There was nothing more to be said.
TBC
Hey look guys, a double upload! Isn't it awesome? I was actually looking forward to the fossil chapter for awhile. I had a lot of fun thinking about the science behind fossil restoration. I looked at a lot of different things to write out this chapter, and took a lot of inspiration from the Jurassic franchise. You know what I found interesting when I was looking up the dinosaur-making process of Jurassic Park? They never actually went into HOW they made the dinosaurs. Like, we all know about the whole "fill in the DNA gaps with DNA from frogs" but they never talked about how to actually physically create the dinosaurs. While writing this chapter, I was trying to keep the first law of thermodynamics in mind: you can't get something from nothing.
So I bounced the idea around a few friends of mine who enjoy both Pokemon AND Jurassic Park, and I came up with the whole "battery" thing where it's literally just a super condensed block of materials that the fossil computer can pull from to create the physical body for the pokemon.
I also liked the idea of having multiple methods of reviving fossils. I figured in a fanfic about conflicting ideas, it should go without saying that there was a less-savory way of restoring fossils, and it doesn't get more controversial than cloning. I almost tripped myself up because I briefly forgot that pokemon lay eggs. Oops.
Anyway, we're gonna get everyone into shape and get all our new pokemon named and start moving forward. Don't worry we won't spend too much time in the aquarium.
Onto 39!
