Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.
Chapter 22: That's a lot of rocks.
Grandpa Canyon.
One of the oldest landmarks in all of Kanto, this gigantic chasm was created by the continuous erosion of rocks by the flowing waters of the Silver river across millions of years. It was a fossil mining hotspot and was one of the most important tourist attractions of Kanto since even no-trainers were allowed to mine here unlike in the other regions.
Speaking of fossils, this place was an important one for me since this was where Charmeleon evolved in my previous life and was also the first place where I came into contact with Fossil Pokémon. Even though we had agreed not to speak about them, an expedition led by one of the major Archaeological society had led to their discovery just a year after we had discovered them leading to the rise in usage of Fossil Pokémon in trainer teams. The Aeroductyl that had troubled us had been deemed as too dangerous and was captured by Lance. It ended up becoming a great addition to his team and was extremely strong.
In my previous life, a total of 300 different evolutionary line of Fossil Pokémon were discovered across the six regions but only eleven of them had enough remains that allowed resurrection with Aeroductyl being the rarest as only two of them existed across the world. Kanto itself had around 50 different species but only the Omanyte and Kabut line was brought back successfully along with Aeroductyl.
We were currently at one end of the Canyon and had to cross it by using the common path. There were a lot of people around who were mining for fossils around and I even spotted the old Professor that we met the last time. By now, we were around two months behind my pace from my previous life so his presence showed just how many times the Professor had come here.
"Should we look for some Fossils as well, Brock?"
"As tempting as that sounds, I am not particularly interested in the idea. We should just cross before nightfall."
"Are you sure? I heard that the Research Institute in Cinnabar Island has succeeded in creating a resurrection machine for Fossil Pokémon. We might get lucky you know."
"Is that so? Should we try it?"
"I don't know, Brock. I mean, I don't want any more Pokémon for my squad so it's all on you."
"So you decided on your final squad for the League then?"
"Yes."
"That's great. Well then, I heard Omanyte and Kabuto are Rock-type Pokémon so I think we should try a bit."
"Fine by me."
We decided to meet up with the Old Professor since he should have tools for mining. On the way there, we met up with a surprising encounter.
"Well well well. Look who the wind dragged in." A cocky voice that I had been acquainted with for a long time now rang in my ears.
"Hello, Gary." Yes, Gary Oak, my closest friend, and oldest rival was standing in front of me which was quite a surprise since I thought he should have gathered the badges by now.
"What are you doing here Gary? I thought you must have gotten all the badges by now and returned to Pallet." Let's be clear about something. As annoying as Gary was in my previous life, he was still my closest friend in Pallet Town. I never disliked him at any point since I knew that behind his cocky attitude and show-off personality, there was a true friend who will have my back covered if I ever needed it.
"Well, I decided to follow your example Ashy-boy. Gramps said that you were taking your time in these challenges to train up your team. A good idea, if I may say so."
"Thanks, I guess. So how many badges did you get?"
"I have seven now. I plan on going to Viridian City next before returning home."
"That's pretty impressive." [Brock]
"Thanks. Brock right?" [Gary]
"Yes. I remember you. You're the professor's grandson, right? The kid with the Squirtle?" [Brock]
"That's me. So you're traveling with Ashy-boy?" [Gary]
"Yes. I wanted to see the world for myself." [Brock]
"What about the Gym?" [Gary]
"My dad took over. He is qualified for the Gym leader position so there's no problem on that end." [Brock]
"So what are you doing here Gary?" [Ash]
"The same thing as you guys. I wanted to look for some fossils." [Gary]
"How about we team up then?" [Brock]
"You okay with that, Ashy-boy?" [Gary]
"Fine by me."[Ash]
"Great. Then allow me to join you guys." [Gary]
We met up with the old Professor who was more than happy to have our help and set off towards a small corner in the chasm to start the work. We rotated the heavy work between us evenly and were making good progress when Brock, who had been on shift called us.
"Guys, I think we might have something here." [Brock]
"Seriously? Lemme check." [Gary]
"Whoa! We do have something here." [Ash]
Indeed, what Brock came across was a fossil and quite a big one at that. Most of it wasn't visible but we could see that it was in good shape.
"Let's be careful guys." [Brock]
We used the small tools that the Professor provided us with like the hand ax and brush to slowly chip away the rock that surrounded the fossil. After an hour of care and precision work, a big shell emerged. It had a spiral pattern on it indicating that this was a Helix fossil. (All hail Lord Helix, the true savior.)
"This is awesome. This one is legit. I never thought that we would come across one so easily." [Gary]
"It appears that we are quite lucky. Let's take this to the Professor to check it out." [Brock]
Alas, our happiness was quite short-lived as just as Brock took the fossil from the ground, a crack appeared in the floor which soon caved and we found ourselves falling. I could feel the wind in my face before everything went black.
"Oh Thank god you're awake." The first thing I saw was Brock who looked quite relieved. It took me a bit to gather my thoughts but soon, I remembered everything. "Where's Gary?" [Ash]
"He woke a while ago and went to scout where we are. The hole that we fell from has been completely closed so we need to find a new way out." [Brock]
"Well, if push comes to shove, we can just blast a hole open using my Pokemon."Charizard could easily melt a few boulders so I was not worried. Now that I remember, this underground cavern should be the same as the one we fell in the first time. It seems that it was our destiny to fall into this hole.
"Oh, you're up. I was a bit worried that you might have hit your head somewhere." Gary had returned.
"Thanks for the concern, Gary. So? Did you find something?" [Ash]
"I got good news and bad news. Which one do you want first?" [Gary]
"Let's just go with the bad one." [Ash]
"Alright. The Bad news is that this cavern is really long. I walked quite a bit and there seems to be no end in sight." [Gary]
"The Good news is?" [Brock]
"Well, I did feel a bit of a breeze down the road, so there should be an opening somewhere. So what do you say? Wanna take a look at how long this cave is?" [Gary]
"Frankly, I am against the idea since we might get lost if the cavern branches down the line but my gut instinct says that I should just do it. I am leaving this decision to you, Ash." [Brock]
"Oi! You are the adult of the bunch. Don't dump the serious matters to me!" [Ash]
"So what do you say Ashy-boy? Wanna take a look?" [Gary]
"Ah screw it! Let's just go." I already knew what was coming so there wasn't much tension for me. [Ash]
The walk was quite long since we walked for about an hour. The terrain was slippery and there were sharp rocks all around so we had to be extra careful. Eventually, we came across a big clearing that looked like a chamber. It had a few rooms around and there was a lake in one corner.
"Something feels off here. It's almost as if we are being watched." [Brock]
Brock's keen instincts were on point as the sound of movement echoed around us. The other two were clearly on edge but I was relaxed since I knew what was coming. Soon, a group of prehistoric Pokémon emerged from some of the rooms and the lake. They had us surrounded in three directions with our only exit point being the cave that we exited from.
"Those are prehistoric Pokémon, right? I thought they went extinct a long time ago." Ever the researcher, Gary was quick to identify the mons.
"I think they might have been trapped here before the great extinction. This place is pretty isolated after all." [Ash]
"Then what do they eat? How can they survive for such long periods of time in such small numbers?" [Gary]
"How the hell would I know?! I am a Pokémon trainer, not a fossil scientist!" [Ash]
"Sorry. I got carried away there." Gary was pretty sheepish. The guy's tendency to rave on and on about things he found interesting was quite a bit of a hassle for me especially after we became adults.
"You two sure are good friends." [Brock]
"I guess? We have known each other for our entire lives. It comes with the territory." [Ash]
"So you wanna catch them? Gramps would be over the moon if we sent him a live one that was caught in the wild." [Gary]
"Help yourself. I don't want any more team members. My squad is pretty solid for the League. I don't wanna add any more members." [Ash]
"Suit yourself. What about you Brock? They are Rock-Water-types, you know." [Gary]
"Yeah. I always wanted a different kind of Rock-type Pokémon on the squad." [Brock]
"Well then guys, choose the one that you need and I'll take care of the rest." [Ash]
After a little scrutiny, Gary ended up choosing a KAbutops and an Omastar who looked quite strong. They seemed to understand what he wanted and followed him to a corner of the cavern. How a Pokémon that went extinct before the dawn of humanity knew the rules of Pokémon battling, I don't know but I didn't want to fry my brain by overthinking things.
In a similar fashion, Brock also chose a Kabutops and an Omastar leaving me with a bunch of Omanytes, Kabutos, Omastars and Kabutops.
"Venusaur, let's clean house here. Use Petal Blizzard."
The gigantic storm of rosy petals started swirling and soon encompassed the entire horde of pre-historic Pokémon. The Four-time super effective attack from such a strong Grass-type was more than enough to knock all of them out without even the slightest bit of resistance. After they were knocked out, I counted all of them and there were 23 of them in total, 27 counting the four that went with the other two. After sighing a bit, I decided to capture all of them since they were going to be caught in a year or so. Why should I let some random trainers have them when I could clearly keep them for myself. If this move prevented the advent of the fossil rush, then tough luck I guess.
"That is one heck of a Venusaur. What the hell are you feeding it for it to grow so big?" [Gary]
"I presume that you caught them? And to answer your question, Venusaur here is completely natural." [Ash]
"Yeah, I caught them." [Gary]
"Me too." Brock came out of nowhere.
"So Ashy-boy, mind telling me why you caught all of the other Pokémon?" [Gary]
"These guys are extremely rare, right? So why risk some other unfortunate miner finding them and catching all of them. Plus, all of them will be happier if they stay in the herd." [Ash]
"That seems like a good idea. Gramps would be thrilled." [Gary]
"So what do we do now?" [Brock]
Before I could answer, a loud shriek echoed through the walls as the Aeroductyl made its presence known.
"Is that an Aeroductyl?" [Gary]
"I guess. The models that Professor Oak showed us match it." [Ash]
"Guys, what is an Aeroductyl? In case you forgot, not all of us are close to the Regional Professor." [Brock]
"Ah sorry about that Brock. That flying Pokémon over there is called an Aeroductyl. It was never made public since we have never seen a live one before and its fossilized remains were too bad to be resurrected. It is pretty much a Pokémon that existed in theory, until now that is. [Gary]
"So you're telling me that this Pokémon is exceedingly rare and has never been seen before?" [Brock]
"Yes." [Gary]
"Ah, guys? While I am just as impressed as you are, let's keep an eye on the giant dinosaur that wants to eat us okay?" [Ash]
Aeroductyl was not like the others who had been hesitant to approach us and had been trying to attack us for quite a while now but Venusaur was keeping him away with his vines.
"So who's trying to catch him?" [Gary]
"Well, you guys decide it between yourself. While that thing looks strong, it is not the kind of Pokémon that I want to train." [Ash]
"Okay then. Gary, you should do it." [Brock]
"Are you fine with that Brock? I mean, I would be glad to but this is an extremely rare Pokémon that we are talking about. Are you sure that you won't regret it?"
"I am a breeder first and a trainer second. That Aeroductyl has the feel of a warrior and I am pretty sure that he would want to participate in a lot of battles if you catch him."
"Thanks, Brock. Let me see if I can catch him. Blastoise, stand for battle." Gary threw a Pokeball and out came to his trusty starter Pokémon. "We have our work cut out for us buddy."
The Aeroductyl, having been freed from his captivity by Venusaur, soared towards us. From the looks of it, it was using the move Take Down which indicated that it was above Level 43 at the minimum.
"Blastoise, use Hydro Pump."
The canons on Blastoise's back came alive as it fired round after round of high-pressure geysers at the flying Pokémon yet all of it missed as the attacks were too slow for the fast-moving Raptor. Blastoise soon had to recuperate, an opportunity the aerial raptor welcomed. It crashed into Blastoise at a really high speed. However, the class of the Turtle Pokémon was shown clearly as the giant turtle effortlessly shrugged off the hit and grabbed a hold of the Aeroductyl.
The Avian as it seems, was not expecting such an outcome and was caught off-guard and couldn't take flight.
"Great job buddy, Use Hydro Cannon and end this."
The Point blank geyser hit Aeroductyl square in the face and it was thrown off more than ten meters before it crashed into a wall and fell there, lying motionless. Gary, taking the opportunity at hand, threw a Pokeball at it. The ball shook wildly three times before it came to a standstill indicating the capture of the Pokémon.
"Congrats Gary."
"You did great."
"Thanks, guys."
"Now, we need to find the exit."
Finding the exit from there was pretty easy as the wind picked up from where we stood. We were out through a hole that led to the end of the Canyon near the waterfall and had to take flight to get back to the top of the canyon. Since both Gary and Brock had no flying-type, Pidgeot gave them a lift while I took Charizard. We reached the top soon and met up with the rest of the miners. They hadn't noticed our absence so we decided to keep quiet about the shenanigans. And soon, it was evening and the Professor disbanded the teams.
"Well, It seems that it's time to say goodbye. I had fun, thanks, guys."
"Us too Gary. I reckon we'll meet again back home if anything."
"I guess I'll see you around then. Take care Ashy-boy. I am banking on kicking your ass in the league so I'll be sad if you don't make it."
"We'll see about that. By the way Gary, where's the car?"
"We are in a Canyon Ashy-boy, I can't ride it here. The car and the girls are already in the next Town. Goodbye guys."
"I guess that's that. Let's move out as well."
After a brief walk for about thirty minutes, we soon reached our destination. A Pokémon Centre on the other side of the Canyon. We soon had dinner and called it a night, marking the end of an eventful day.
Alrighty. That's it.
Hello everyone. How are you guys doing? I'm pretty happy right now since I got a chapter done even if it is bad. Anyways, as you can see, I am currently trying the conversation-focused writing style which feels better than my regular one If I'm being honest. Also, feel free to agree or disagree with the reviews. Those things are the fuel that every writer needs, even the small ones like me.
On another interesting note, lemme tell you guys an interesting story. Before I was a writer, I had this account for quite some time. During that period, I reviewed stories that I liked most and some that I couldn't stomach. One day, a person wrote a fic with a pairing that I loathed with all my being so I gave him a review that made my feeling known. Since most of the fandom was against the pairing, the guy eventually dropped the story. The interesting part is that a week or so ago the guy copy-pasted my exact same review in two of my non-serious fics with an account name that mocks my own. Like bruh, you could have just used your original one. Why go to such extreme lengths for a small-time author like me? Even still, I am honestly pleased that he found me worthy enough to retaliate against. Keeping this in mind, I will try to improve my update speed from now.
Other than that, the reduction in the number of reviews for the previous chapter is a bit alarming but I can't blame you guys since it's been a long time. But please, even if it's a sentence, do it. That said, thank you Usameer16, Fanboy101, and Gouravsilentreader for your support. And to Usameer, I am not really clear about Aggron either right now. I like them a lot but their stat spread is a bit concerning. But that is still in Hoenn and we have a long way to go till then.
Other than that, Gary got the Aeroductyl that Ash saw in the anime which certainly came from the left-field I can tell. Tell me what you think of the current dynamic of Ash and Gary's friendship.
See you soon.