Disclaimer: I don't own Fossil Fighters, so no suing. Though I do wish it would make a comeback someday.
Summary: Fossil Fighters. Ever since that term has been invented, Hunter wanted nothing more than to be a Fossil Fighter. But as he makes his way down that path he'll find that his adventures will be quite different from others. One filled with uncertainty and danger, only time will tell if he has what it takes to survive when the stakes are raised.
Chapter 02: Obtaining a License
Hunter yawned as he exited the Relic Hotel, tired from how early it was.
He usually slept until maybe ten or eleven, it was seven thirty right now, something he hasn't done since graduating school.
But that didn't stop the excitement he was feeling.
Finally he was getting his Fossil Fighting License.
No more delays.
Or at least he hoped so, Hunter had no idea how busy Diggins would be today, but he felt like he's been patient enough.
So he wasn't wasting anymore time.
With that said, he began to run towards the lab.
It didn't take that long to reach it and Hunter walked in immediately to see another woman dressed the same as Sue and Beth, only with light brown hair wearing a purple shirt under a green vest and a green shirt.
The woman glanced up at hearing Hunter enter and gave a welcoming smile. "You must be Hunter, Dr. Diggins is waiting for you in the back, just go through that door." She said with the young man giving a nod, seeing a name plate on the desk in front of her.
"Thanks Miss Wendy." Hunter called out as he moved as quickly as he could to get to the door.
He saw Dr. Diggins in front of a huge machine, going over the diagnostics, turning his head at hearing noise only to smile. "Ah Hunter, welcome." He called out, writing on his notepad without looking. "As you already know I'm Dr. Diggins, the Director and Head of Research for the Fossil Center, good to meet you, properly."
With that said, he walked over, tucking the notepad under one arm before holding out his hand for a handshake that Hunter accepted.
"And sorry to keep you waiting, I've been extremely busy as of late."
"It's alright, I can't imagine how busy things must be." Hunter said showing that he wasn't that bothered.
Dr. Diggins just shook his head, knowing that was understating it quite a bit, but he refocused before he could get distracted again. "Now Fossil Fighting is still a relatively new concept as I'm sure you're aware," He began going through the introduction phase he uses on countless rookies that have been showing up lately. "We're still working out how the battles will be done and the ranking system, but we're making strides every day, not only that but we work to ensure that the fossils that are dug up are replenished every day."
"Speaking of which, how do you do that?" Hunter asked in a curious manner.
Wouldn't there be a very limited supply?
"It's quite simple, you see Vivosaurs Fossils aren't your standard Dinosaurs ones, they're man-made fossils that we created from the DNA of actual Dinosaur fossils." Dr. Diggins sounded very excited as he spoke. "So we'll always have a supply to replenish the various dig sites, allowing various Fighters to experience the sensations of digging up their own Fossils."
Hunter blinked, not expecting that but he felt like it made sense.
How else would they be able to ensure every new fighter gets to experience it without running out of fossils?
"You'll enjoy it, I should know," Dr. Diggins gained a far off look in his eyes, lost in memories. "Why, I remember the first Fossil I ever found, I was digging in the flower garden as a kid trying to hide my mothers favorite tea cup after I broke it by accident, imagine my shock when I found a Stegosaurus Fossil instead."
Just the thought of that memory was enough for him to remember the awe he felt.
"I was so excited that I forgot the very reason I was digging in the first place and ran in to show my Mom." Dr. Diggins continued, now shaking his head with a wry grin. "Of course I had to explain why I was digging there in the first place and man did I get in trouble."
"That sounds pretty cool." Hunter admitted, crossing his arms.
To think it was because of that action that Fossil Fighting was possible.
If Dr. Diggins never found that fossil or tried to hide that teacup, then none of this would be happening.
One action snowballing into this.
"Ah but that's enough of my childhood misdemeanors, we're here to get you started on being a Fossil Fighter, follow me." Dr. Diggins walked over towards the cleaning table where a fossil rock was placed on a small x-ray machine hooked up to the computer screen with a hammer and a drill next to it. "Now as this will be your first Vivosaur, I figured it would be more rewarding to have you clean it yourself, think of it as a way to start off and practice for when you find other fossils."
Hunter gave a nod, knowing this was important, though he was slightly nervous.
He never cleaned a fossil before.
"Um," His nervous tone made Dr. Diggins give him a concerned look. "What if I damage it?"
"This machine can take into account how much damage the fossil has taken, while it's good you're concerned don't let it bother you now." Dr. Diggins instructed Hunter. "I'm not expecting for you to be a master at this, as long as the damage is below half the Fossil can still be revived and later on you can fix the damage if you find the exact same fossil and clean it."
Hunter gave Dr. Diggins a wide eyed look, unsure of how that was possible, but decided to not ask for the moment.
He can ask if he needs to do that, for now he needs to focus.
"And you'll have ninety seconds to clean it." Dr. Diggins continued, now making Hunter's nerves rise again. "Any longer and we risk the DNA Structure being rejected which is why the fossil is connected to the Revival Machine to immediately store the DNA."
"Store it?"
"Ah yes, despite how advanced the machine is, you can only revive a Vivosaur if you have the Skull, if you clean any of the other parts such as the body, arms or legs the machine will download its genetic code and store it to add to the Vivosaur once you find its skull." Dr. Diggins chuckled, remembering how much of a headache that particular problem was to solve.
Hunter himself felt his head hurt because he didn't know how that worked.
But he took a deep breath and got ready with the hammer.
"... Start." Diggins told him, starting the timer, watching as Hunter began to clean.
He was going slow due to it being his first time and while that wasn't necessarily a bad thing, it meant that he wouldn't be able to fully clean it.
But Dr. Diggins wasn't expecting him to.
He would've been impressed if he did though.
Instead, he kept chipping away at the rock, wincing as the X-Ray showed some damage on the nose with a crack before he cleared away enough to use a drill.
He kept going before the alarm finished with the machine now scanning the DNA.
All together, Hunter had 63 points with ten points of damage.
Not bad for the first time and hopefully he can improve from there.
Hunter looked at the score with a frown, clearly not happy with it, but that turned into excitement as the Revival Machine began to glow.
"So what type of Vivosaur is it?"
"A Spinax." Dr. Diggins answered, missing how Hunter looked mildly disappointed that it wasn't a T-Rex before the door opened and a dinosaur with a grassy green underside and a bluish gray body that had spikes on the back, came out of the machine.
Hunter blinked, astonished at the fact that the Spinax came up to his chest.
"I thought they were bigger." Hunter's confusion was very evident in his voice.
"Oh they get bigger in a fight, but outside of them they are pretty small." Dr. Diggins explained to Hunter. "If they were life-sized on coming out, it would be hard to get them out of the machine, you won't believe how long it took before we fixed that problem."
Very expensive too given how the machine kept being destroyed.
"Huh." Hunter was caught off guard when the Spinax walked up and nuzzled his head against Hunter's leg.
"And your Spinax seems to be as affectionate as a puppy." Dr. Diggins said as Hunter placed a hand on Spinax's head rubbing it.
The moment he did that, a wide smile split across his face, not caring that it wasn't a T-Rex.
He did it.
He had his very own Vivosaur.
And Spinax looked awesome.
"Just you wait Spinax, you and I are going to take the world by storm." Hunter promised, just imagining reaching Master Rank with Spinax being his signature fighter.
Spinax gave a roar before Dr. Diggins pulled out a medal, aiming it at Spinax as a small light shone around the Vivosaur making him disappear.
Once that was done, Dr. Diggins held the medal out to Hunter who tentatively accepted it. "These medals keep your Vivosaurs safe and can adjust their size from casual which was what Spinax was a second ago and battle form where you'll see his true size." He explained to Hunter. "Now that you have your very own Vivosaur, it's time for you to get your License."
He could already see Hunter grinning and looked like he was trying to not shake from excitement and Dr. Diggins just chuckled.
It doesn't matter how many times he sees this, there was always something special about seeing someone so excited about this.
"What you need to do is head towards the Fossil Stadium, one you exit the lab, walk down the path and take a right, keep walking and you'll find it." Dr. Diggins paused before he walked over to a nearby table to grab a brochure. "Here, I don't know if you have one or not, but there's a map of the island in there."
"Thank you." Hunter accepted it gratefully, looking at the map to see the various areas on Vivosaur Island.
"It's no trouble, now to get your License you must take two tests, one being a Cleaning Test which I have no doubt you'll pass given your current score with Spinax," Dr. Diggins began, seeing Hunter listening closely. "Second would be a Fossil Battle which will test your skills. Win and you'll get your License."
A Fossil Battle.
He'll be having his first Battle.
The sheer scope of the Stadium was enough for Hunter to stop and stare for a few minutes.
The place was huge, no doubt due to all of the battle fields that were inside for the Fossil Battles.
Just looking at it was enough to make him nervous.
Swallowing a lump in his throat, Hunter took a deep breath, hoping to calm himself down.
"We can do this."
He gripped Spinax's medal as he said that before steeling himself and walking in, passing a who seemed to love the color pink with her hair being that color and pulled into pigtails along with a pale pink shirt, skirt and hat.
Odd to see, but Hunter kept his focus as they passed each other.
Well that and he didn't want to be rude.
"Greetings, welcome to the Fossil Stadium." Another receptionist named Tiffany spoke up. "I'm assuming you're here to get your Fossil License?"
"I am." Hunter confirmed, almost failing to keep calm.
"Very well, sign here and your name will be called in a few moments for the cleaning test."
Thankfully Hunter didn't have to wait too long and the Cleaning Test was a breeze from there.
Okay sure he got a fifty-seven which was worse than when he cleaned Spinax's Fossil, but it was enough to pass
So now he was heading for the field for his first battle.
Much to his surprise however, Hunter saw Captain Travers waiting for him at the end of the hall right before the stadium.
The Boat Captain gave a grin at Hunter's very obvious surprise. "Knew you'd make it here eventually, now we'll see if you have what it takes." Travers said, gesturing for Hunter to follow him. "Don't expect me to hold back, if you want that License you need to give it everything you have."
"Got it." Hunter agreed and that was when the door opened and he was almost blinded by the light that shone through the doors, only hearing the loud shouts of the audience that were there to watch the battles.
Still he walked and by the time he could see, Hunter felt his heart leap into his throat at seeing countless people in the stands.
He's never seen so many people in a place like this and his gut began to twist from nerves.
'Just focus on the battle.' Hunter berated himself, walking towards the left side of the field where he would be fighting from while Travers was on the right side.
He ignored the commentary that began to introduce the fighters, instead pulling out Spinax's medal, getting ready to release the Vivosaur.
It would only be a one on one fight, so he can win this.
"BEGIN!" The Announcer shouted and that was the signal Hunter needed to let Spinax out.
Seeing him in his full size, Hunter looked up in awe as Spinax towered over Hunter, being at least three stories tall as he gave a roar that shook the stadium before glancing down at Hunter, giving a nod.
"So cool." Hunter whispered, turning from him to see that Travers let out a Goyo, a blue scaled Vivosaur with a purple underside and spikes coming out of its head. It had rocky feet and green patterns on its neck, arms and legs.
It was also a small Vivosaur, just the size of Travers which made Hunter hesitate.
No doubt this Vivosaur was fast and it could easily dodge Spinax who would be a lot slower due to the size difference.
However it should take one or two good hits to take it out compared to Spinax whose bulk will be his strong point.
So it depended on if they could hit the Goyo.
Immediately the two Vivosaurs charged at each other and just like how Hunter predicted the Goyo was adept at using his size well, dodging Spinax's attempt at biting him, slamming its head into Spinax.
It then winced as while at full size, Spinax's spikes were bigger and more pronounced which meant that any attack that hit him would actually hurt the opponent.
Spinax roared and went to slam its tail onto Goyo only for the Vivosaur to jump back to dodge before lunging forward, slamming its head into Spinax's chest.
The attack was enough for Spinax to take a step back in visible pain.
'Damn it.' Hunter looked for a way to win this before the Goyo went to attack a third time and he grinned.
Waiting until the last possible second as the Goyo lunged, Hunter reacted. "Quick use your tail, knock him further into the air."
Barely hearing him over the crowd, Spinax spun around, his tail slamming into the Goyo like a baseball bat, the attack knocking Goyo high into the air where he spun out of control.
As he came down however Spinax roared and jumped biting into Goyo causing some massive damage before rearing his head back and throwing the Goyo to make him skid across the field where he shakily stood up.
From the fact that the Goyo kept one foot off the ground, it meant they did a lot of damage.
Just one more hit.
Travers seemed to recognize that as well given how he muttered something which made Goyo give a nod before running at Spinax.
Even with a damaged leg, the small Vivosaur was rather fast as it slammed its head into Spinax's leg making the large Vivosaur roar before backing off as it dodged a swipe, now doing hit and run tactics.
But thanks to that the Goyo became rather predictable.
Enough for Spinax to catch it for another bite, damaging the Vivosaur enough that he was recalled to his medal.
Hearing the crowd roar, Hunter stared with a grin slowly developing across his face.
They did it.
"I'll be, you've certainly got a hang on the battling aspect." Travers commented as they were in the reception area of the Stadium, their Vivosaurs all healed up now. "Your Spinax really trusts you to listen without hesitation like that."
Hunter sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck, a bit embarrassed by the praise.
He didn't think it was that big of a deal.
He just saw what needed to be done and gave the order, Spinax did the work from there.
But he was happy.
Finally he had his first Fossil Battle and he was ready for more.
Though first Hunter needs to get a team together because Fossil Fights were usually done with at least three Vivosaurs at a time.
So he needed to get busy digging to avoid Spinax being outnumbered in a fight.
"Still congratulations Hunter, you keep this up and you'll reach Master Rank in no time." Travers grinned at the young man before checking the time. "I do need to cut this short, I have a boat to take care of after all."
Hunter gave a nod, waving good-bye to Travers as he left only to hear footsteps, making him turn to see Dr. Diggins approaching him.
"Not bad for a first fight, though you do still need to work on your cleaning skills." Dr. Diggins commented, seeing Hunter paying close attention. "But that's something that can be worked on another time, for now here."
Reaching into his lab coat, Dr. Diggins pulled out an ID Card and held it out towards Hunter, watching him accept it.
"You're now an official Fossil Fighter, Rank 1 of course but it's still worth celebrating." Dr. Diggins cracked a grin.
"Thank you." Hunter said, looking at his license, seeing the picture he submitted as well as his rank.
He did it.
"Don't thank me yet, the work is just beginning." Dr. Diggins gave him a fair warning. "The tests to advance in rank happen once a week and they're a lot tougher than the test to get a license. If you fail to advance within a month the funds to stay at the Relic Hotel stop leaving you to pay out of your own pocket."
A month to advance in rank?
Good to know.
"But if you keep going at the pace you are now, you'll reach it with no difficulty at all." Dr. Diggins placed a hand in his pocket as he said that. "I recommend spending this day to grow closer to Spinax before we teach you more about excavating fossils tomorrow."
After all, the closer the bond is with the Vivosaur the more they'll fight for their Fighter in a battle and that can make all the difference.
"I will." Hunter promised, watching as Diggins left, most likely because of his busy schedule.
So now he has to wait before he can go to a dig site.
But he didn't mind.
Hunter pulled out Spinax's medal and looked at it with a smile.
"Just watch out world, Spinax and I will make Master Rank in no time." Hunter promised, gripping the medal tightly.
To Be Continued…
Okay this chapter is a bit shorter than I wanted it to be originally but I think this is a good place to stop for now.
Especially with everything that happened from Hunter getting Spinax to having his first battle and then finally getting his license.
Now he's an official Fossil Fighter and things can only go up from there, especially since I'm trying to draw some things out, especially because in the game the Level-Up fights were easy to reach once you do the story parts.
Here they're going to be once a week so it's more of a schedule thing to add to the realism.
Not only that but we also have an explanation for how they don't run out of Fossils due to the sheer number of people that dig them up, I mean seriously you would think they would run out at some point in the game.
So it makes sense that they're replenished daily to avoid that happening.
Oh and I know Travers gives the fossil leg of the Vivosaur you choose to be your favorite in the game after beating him, but I figured that would've been a bit much realistically, especially since you only met him one time in the game before that point.
Alright, let's get the Reviews answered.
LightDusk16: Happy to hear that this story was a good surprise. I've been wanting to type a Fossil Fighter Story since I began fanfiction, but I wanted to work on my writing a bit more before I did that and at some point I did forget the franchise existed much to my annoyance, it needs a revival, damnit. And I have all three games too, same thing with only beating the first one, I need to pick up the other two again to beat. I hope you enjoyed how I've been changing things up so far.
RonaldM40196867: Thank you and I'll try to have some form of drama in this story.