Chapter 6: Fossil Fiasco

Mount Moon. It was definitely as tall and as dark as Zero had heard from his father. After leaving the Pokémon Center with both of their parties fully healed, Zero and Mark were ready to enter the cavernous mountain to take on Proton.

A memory resurfaced in Zero's mind. The man had a red emblem on his black uniform, but Zero had been too out of it to see what exactly it was as he was rushing to the museum restroom. But when he was somewhat recovered and fighting Proton alongside the curator, he saw the emblem more clearly. It was a bright red capital R, just like the gemstone on the ring placed on Zero's finger.

More questions arose. Who was the man who gave him the ring, exactly? Was he a member of this organization? Or was it just simply a coincidence that both the gem and the emblem were red capital R's? He looked down at his hand and admired the beautifully-crafted ring again. "I wish you could answer my questions…" he mumbled absentmindedly, watching it glint in the afternoon sunlight.

"Who're you talking to, Zero?" Mark asked. Zero jumped. He hadn't expected Mark to hear his ramblings.

"Oh, n-no one," Zero replied, shoving his hand into his jean pocket. He could ask more questions later, without Mark interfering.

Since Zero didn't have any Gym badges, it was up to Mark to light the cave, as it was too dark for the two boys to see much of anything. Mark had gotten the HM for Flash from the Poké Mart attached to Route 4's Pokémon Center while he was waiting for Zero to catch up, so he had taught the move to Tulip. He let the Bulbasaur out of her Poké Ball and instructed her to use the move to light up the cave. Her bulb shined bright, illuminating their surroundings.

A horde of Zubat screeched and flew away as the bright light filled up all of the nooks and crannies of the cavern. A few Geodude were floating around, throwing pebbles at each other either for fun or out of boredom. A singular Onix snaked through the back of the corridor, near the stairs to the first basement floor. Mark shuddered. A trio of Clefairy bounced around, welcoming the two teenagers through their incoherent singing and chanting. Then, Mark spotted something in the distance: something he wanted to capture.

Zero watched as Mark sneaked up on the small creature he was after. It was a Paras, a small orange bug with two mushrooms growing out of its back and shiny, bulbous black eyes. It shrieked as Mark approached it, shaking its mushrooms to release a yellow powder. Stun Spore.

Mark combated this by commanding Tulip to jump in front of the powder, which had the capability to paralyze whatever it came into contact with. Luckily, Grass-type Pokémon like Tulip were immune to the effects of the powder moves like Stun Spore and Poison Powder, so there was nothing to worry about when sending Tulip into battle against the Paras. Mark ordered Tulip to use Tackle a few times, enough to wear the Paras down to prepare for capture. Paras soon grew tired, and when it was on the verge of collapsing, Mark lobbed a Poké Ball at it. It shook once, twice, three times, then clicked.

Mark collected the Poké Ball and proudly showed it off to Zero. Sage, who was still on Zero's shoulders, hissed at Mark and swiped the Ball from him, jumping down from Zero's shoulders and scurrying to a corner of the room to play with her new toy.

"Hey, that's not yours, you stupid Mankey!" Mark yelled, his voice echoing off of the walls of the cavern. He ran over to Sage, stumbling over a rock or two on the way. He tried to pry the Poké Ball out of the Mankey's tiny hands, but unfortunately for Mark, she outclassed him in strength. She showed her prized possession to her Trainer, who just laughed.

"Zero, make her give it back," Mark said curtly through gritted teeth. "This Mankey's starting to piss me off."

"Come on, Sage," Zero said gently, reaching out to the green ball of fluff. "Give the Paras back to Mark."

Sage kept insisting on showing off her trophy. Zero sighed and plucked it from her hands. She didn't complain; in fact, she seemed to be glad that Zero took it, as she chittered with glee. Though, she looked utterly betrayed when Zero handed the Poké Ball back to its rightful owner. Her mood changed immediately, and she howled in discontent and stomped her feet on the hard, rocky ground of the cavern. She howled louder when she stubbed her toe on a rock, and she sat down along the wall and sulked until Zero picked her up again.

"Alright, Sage, I'm going to have to return you to your Poké Ball if you don't calm down," Zero warned as the Mankey climbed back up onto her perch on his shoulders.

"For the love of Arceus, return her now," Mark complained, dusting himself off and pocketing his new capture so the Mankey couldn't get her hands on it again. "She's crazy."

"She just doesn't like you right now," Zero said. "She'll warm up to you in due time."

"I guess…"

As the duo continued walking, with Tulip still lighting the way and Sage still sitting on Zero's shoulders, Mark came up with a name for his Paras, who he had discovered was male while flipping through his PokéDex. He named the little bug Pokémon Button, as Zero had described him as "cute as a button" while they were walking. Mark was also endeared to the name because it was a type of mushroom.

Then Mark held out his hand in front of Zero, who was trailing behind him. Zero stopped abruptly before he ran into Mark's arm. "Why'd you stop?" Zero asked.

"Ssh," Mark replied, glaring at Zero and placing his finger near his lips. He then pointed ahead and whispered, "Look. It's them."

Tulip's light didn't extend that far into the distance, so Zero had to squint to see what Mark was pointing at. Sure enough, it was Proton and his squad of losers. They were standing near the ladder leading to the first basement floor of the mountain.

"Where'd you say these fossils were, boss?" asked one of the goons, whose voice sounded male from what Zero could hear.

"Second basement floor," Proton replied. "What's the holdup? Go down that ladder already, you idiots!"

"We can't," said one of the girls, the same one that taunted the curator back at the museum. "Th-there's… there's an Onix down there."

"You dunderheads, send out your Pokémon and take it out!" Proton screamed, sending out his Koffing. "Koffing, use Self-Destruct!" he then commanded, and his Koffing approached whatever was below. Mark and Zero covered their ears as an explosion sounded, most likely the Koffing blowing up.

"...Well that's one way to do it," said another guy, whose voice was deeper than the other grunt who had spoken.

"Come on," Proton said, returning his Koffing. "Let's go."

"Hear that, Zero?" Mark said. "They're heading to the second basement floor. We've gotta follow them before they can get their hands on those fossils! We don't even know what they're doing with them!"

"Yeah," Zero replied.

They ran after the uniformed group and descended the ladder to the first basement floor. The floor was infested with Paras, and a few Onix were slithering about as well. Zero and Mark were careful not to step on any of the mushroom bugs, who skittered around wildly, afraid of the giants who had entered their territory.

They then found their way to the ladder leading to the second basement floor, where Proton had gone. Mark went down first, without hesitation. He was excited to battle these guys again. He got to the bottom and hopped off, scaring a few Clefairy who had gathered below. He looked up expectantly at the ladder, waiting for Zero to descend, but he did not follow. "Zero? You doing okay?" ...No answer. "Zero!" he called louder. Still no answer.

"For Arceus's sake, Zero, you could've just told me you were gonna wimp out," Mark grumbled. He turned to continue on to locate Proton, but before he took a single step he heard a muffled scream from the floor above.

Mark responded quickly, grabbing the glowing Tulip and scrambling back up the ladder one-handed. When he got to the top, he froze. A steel behemoth had Zero, Sage and Braze, who had apparently been called out to fight the thing, in a choke hold.

It was a Steelix.

Steelix didn't often occur naturally in the wild, and especially not in Kanto. Metal Coats were few and far between in the region, usually imported from Olivine City or Iron Island off the coast of Canalave. A Steelix in Mount Moon was a sight to behold.

"Mark!" Zero choked. He returned his Pokémon to their Balls to try to lessen the pressure on his throat, but the Steelix squeezed tighter to compensate.

"How the hell'd you find a Steelix?" Mark asked, sighing. His friend's luck was incredible on both sides of the spectrum.

"I… ran into… Proton's gang…" Zero managed to say. "They… used a Metal Coat on one… one of the wild Onix… it evolved and attacked us."

"Wait, we're ahead of Proton?"

"N-no, he went… he went down the ladder. His goons are up here. They're all passed out after… the attack."

Zero pointed weakly to four figures slumped against the wall, battered and bruised and covered in faint marks shaped like Steelix's tail. Mark grimaced.

"I… I wanted to help them," Zero continued. "But the Steelix knocked… my first-aid kit out of my hands… and it wrapped me and my Pokémon up in its tail… and here we are now." Zero screamed in pain as the Steelix continued to squeeze harder.

"Tulip, you may have lost to an Onix in the past, but if you had help from Button, do you think you two could take down the Steelix?" Mark asked his Bulbasaur. Tulip nodded, and Mark sent out his Paras to help out. The Steelix, distracted by it's new prey, released his hold on Zero. The boy dropped limply to the ground with a soft thud.

"That's right, ya big lug!" Mark taunted. "Fight me!"

The Steelix roared. It was an earsplitting, metallic noise, almost like nails on a chalkboard. Screech. Mark, Tulip and Button covered their ears. If Mark didn't do something fast, the two Pokémon would be defenseless. "Use Poison Powder, Button! And Vine Whip, Tulip!"

Mark's partners were able to hear his commands over the terrible screeching from the Steelix and attacked. Button shook his mushrooms to release the violet Poison Powder, and Tulip swung her vines wildly to attack the large steely snake. Then Mark realized his mistake. Steelix was a Steel type and couldn't be poisoned.

"Hold on Button, stop! Stop!" Mark called over the confusion. The Paras halted his attack and cocked its head. "Sorry, Button, I made a mistake. You alright with letting Tulip handle this herself?" Button nodded glumly and Mark returned him to his Poké Ball.

Mark then looked up again at Tulip, and what he saw shocked him. Tulip was shaking a bright green powder from her bulb, aimed at the Steelix. She had learned Sleep Powder! The Steelix's movements slowed as it grew drowsy, and it came crashing to the cavern floor as its eyes shut. Mark quietly collected his Pokémon and the fainted Zero and dragged them both down the ladder. Proton's lackeys could suck it.

Before going forward, Mark waited for Zero to wake up. Mark didn't really care if Proton found the fossils before they did at this point. Fortunately, it didn't take long for Zero to stir. He sat up and groaned, clutching his chest and trying to catch his breath.

"Hey, are you okay?" Mark asked tenderly, reaching over to his friend.

"I'm fine," Zero said. He stood up, wincing as he set an injured leg on the ground. "Proton's ahead. Let's go."

"O-okay," Mark replied, surprised at his friend's sudden curt tone.

The walk to the back chamber of the second basement floor was completely silent. Zero didn't take his Mankey out of her Poké Ball again, which Mark appreciated, and it was mostly why the trip was quiet. But Zero, who was usually chatty when he was excited, was dead silent. "Zero? You sure you're alright?"

"Fine," Zero replied. He took the lead down the path to the back of the cave. Mark had to run to keep up with his quickened pace.

"You're sure? You seem angry."

"Not angry, just… confused," Zero replied. He stopped. He then showed Mark the ring on his finger. It glittered faintly in the light from Tulip's bulb.

Mark whistled. "That thing's beautiful," he said. "I didn't notice that before. Did your dad give it to you?"

"No," Zero replied. "A man in Viridian City did." Zero slipped off the ring and flipped it so Mark could see the name "Giovanni" engraved on the inside. "I'm assuming this is his name, and that he's somehow involved with Proton. I've been quiet because I've been preparing to ask Proton who this guy is. Do you know him?"

Mark shook his head. "Not personally, no. I have heard of a man from Viridian named Giovanni, though. He used to be the Gym Leader. Now it's a guy named Blue."

"That's weird…" Zero said, fiddling with the ring. "I never knew who the Viridian Gym Leader was until Blue stepped up. My dad never introduced me to the old one because he didn't like him all that much. So… I guess that guy who gave me the ring was the old Gym Leader. He did seem to know a lot about the Gym, looking back." Zero sighed. "Well, I guess I'll try weaseling some answers about this Giovanni guy when we fight Proton."

"Good luck, Zero. I hope you find some answers."

"Thanks, Mark. I do too."

Finally they made it to the back chamber. Unsurprisingly, Proton was there. However, something had happened that Zero and Mark weren't expecting—he had already been defeated. A man with a Kabutops was standing over him and his fainted Pokémon, a triumphant smile across his face. Proton grumbled and returned his Pokémon.

"I see you can't handle even the simplest of retrieval missions, can you, Proton?" said a voice from the shadows.

Proton turned quickly, and a squeak of sheer terror escaped from his lips. He scrambled to return his fallen Pokémon, and the man with the Kabutops readied a second Poké Ball, on his guard. Zero quietly sent out Braze just in case he and Mark were pulled into the battle as well. "Wh-what are you doing here, Boss?" Proton asked nervously, his voice cracking.

"I came to check on you and your idiot teammates," said the voice. The owner of it stepped out of the murky darkness that was out of Tulip's range, and now Zero and Mark could see him better. He was tall and lanky, wearing a snazzy white suit with a red R on the left breast. He had turquoise hair like Proton did, but it was slightly darker and much shorter. He glared at his subordinate. "One of the girls in your group called me and told me that you went ahead and let all of them, plus a young boy, get clobbered by a Steelix that you evolved. Honestly, Proton, I expected better from a Rocket Executive, even if he was a few rungs lower on the ladder than yours truly."

"I-I-I'm s-sorry, Executive Archer, sir," Proton stuttered. "I w-won't let it happen again!"

"Good," the man, Archer, said. "Because if it does, I might just have to demote you. Return to base. Gather your teammates first, though. They're still recovering from their injuries."

"Y-yes, sir." Proton scurried out of the chamber, not noticing Zero and Mark as he passed them.

Zero gulped. "If Proton's strong, that guy must be out of our league," he whispered.

Mark nodded. "Definitely. But if the Kabutops guy needs help we're gonna have to step in."

"We might as well now, since we're here."

"Good point." Mark chuckled lightly. "And you're the one who said you didn't want to fight."

"I said I didn't want to fight Proton," Zero corrected, smirking.

"Yeah, yeah," Mark replied dismissively. "Come on. Let's go."

Zero and Mark got up from their hidden positions behind a stalagmite and approached the man with the Kabutops. He turned and shrieked, but when he saw they weren't members of the strange organization, he relaxed. Archer tapped his foot impatiently as the three introduced themselves.

"We're here to help," Zero said, gesturing to his Charmander. "My name's Zero, and this is my friend Mark and his Bulbasaur, Tulip."

"'Sup," Mark said, waving.

"Thank you boys for your help," the man said, relieved. "My name's Daniel. I'm the son of the curator of the Pewter Museum. He's told me a lot about you two and said you might be on the way for backup." Daniel smiled. "I'm lucky you showed up when you did. If I lost these two fossils, the Churches of Helix and Dome would have my head!"

"Oho, would they now?" Archer said. Daniel had let down his guard. Archer plucked the two fossils from their pedestals and cackled.

"C-crap!" Daniel stuttered. "Kabutops, quick, get the fossils back!"

Archer threw a Poké Ball and out popped a large, light-brown rodent with large buck-teeth. The rodent Pokémon chittered angrily and bit Daniel's Kabutops, trapping the bug-like creature in its jaws. It shook the Kabutops violently, then slammed it into the cavern wall. It had been badly injured during the battle with Proton's Pokémon and promptly fainted as it sank to the ground.

"Well, looks like Proton did something right," Archer commended, slow clapping as he returned his Raticate. "Tah-tah, losers. I have the fossils now!"

"Not so fast, dude!" Mark yelled. "Tulip, grab the fossils with Vine Whip!"

"Braze, distract that guy with Smokescreen!"

Braze and Tulip looked at each other and nodded, then obeyed their Trainers' commands. Braze hissed and released a cloud of smoke to surround Archer. As Archer coughed and tried to wave the smoke from his face, Tulip reached out with her vines and grabbed the Helix and Dome fossils, handing them back to Daniel. "Daniel, take the fossils and run," Zero said softly so Archer wouldn't hear. "Take them as far away as the churches will let you. Return them in a couple of days, if we don't run into you after we exit the cave and this guy's far from here. If we do happen to run into you, we'll let you know if it's safe to return them. You hear?"

"Y-yes," Daniel replied. "Thank you, boys. I promise I'll repay you one day."

"No need," Zero said, smiling. "I received a Moon Ball from your dad. That's payment enough."

Daniel smiled back, then clutched the fossils tightly, returned his Kabutops and escaped the bottom chamber. The smoke then cleared, revealing an extremely pissed-off Archer and two Pokémon in front of him. His Raticate, and a blue bat with purple ears and wings that looked almost like Zubat, but had eyes and a gaping mouth and was much, much bigger. A Golbat.

"Raticate, use Hyper Fang! Golbat, Supersonic!" Archer commanded through gritted teeth.

"Tulip, quick, use Sleep Powder on them both!"

"Braze, Ember! Hurry!"

Archer's Raticate shrieked as it chomped down hard on Tulip. The Bulbasaur cried out in pain as it began shaking her like it had the Kabutops before her, but she regained her composure and released a cloud of Sleep Powder from her bulb into the Raticate's mouth. It shrieked again, choking on the copious amounts of powder it had inhaled, then fell to the ground, convulsing in its deep slumber. Archer growled and returned it, knowing that it wouldn't be able to get back up in time to attempt to finish off the opposing Pokémon.

Braze spat a small ball of fire at the Golbat, who easily avoided it and emitted high-frequency soundwaves directed at the Charmander. After having battled a Zubat almost a day prior, Braze knew how to avoid the attack, and he jumped out of the way of the narrow soundwaves. Without another command, Braze jumped and latched on to the Golbat, raking its face with a Scratch. But this Scratch seemed to have more power behind it, and Braze glowed with a red aura for a few seconds after the attack. Braze had learned Metal Claw!

"Good job, Braze! Keep using Metal Claw!" Zero cheered, pumping his fist in the air. He winced; he was still badly injured from the surprise encounter with the Steelix. Braze obeyed, continuously digging his metallic claws into the Golbat's face.

"G-Golbat, use Wing Attack!" Archer was now flustered; his cheeks were bright red with the embarrassment of losing to two children. Golbat couldn't see due to its eyes being forced shut by its wounds, and it flailed around helplessly in the air instead of using Wing Attack like its Trainer had ordered. After one more attack from Braze, the Golbat screeched and fell to the ground. It had fainted.

Braze returned to Zero, squeaking happily. Zero patted him on the head and smiled. "Great job, buddy. I knew you could do it!"

The Charmander squeaked again, and then glowed with a blinding white light. Zero and Mark shut their eyes reflexively, but opened them a crack out of curiosity. As the light dissipated, Braze emerged. He was now larger and slightly thinner, his tail longer and the flame on the tip glowing brighter and bigger. His head now had a red spike protruding from the top, and his claws were more pronounced. He let out a roar and hugged his Trainer.

Braze was a Charmeleon!

"Braze, you evolved!" Zero marveled, picking up his new Charmeleon and spinning him around. "You were awesome out there, buddy!"

"Grrr," Archer grumbled. He returned his Golbat. "This isn't the last you'll see of me, you whelps! I'll be back!" He then spotted Zero's ring, which was illuminated by Braze's tail flame. "Wait, boy. Where did you get that ring?"

"Oh yeah, this thing, I totally forgot," Zero said, setting Braze down on the floor. He approached Archer cautiously, careful not to get too close, then showed him the ring. "What is it? And who's Giovanni?"

"So you know about him," Archer said pensively, his expression transforming from an angry scowl into a solemn frown. "He disappeared two years ago, and Team Rocket fell to near shambles. He was one of our most prominent members. Our ringleader, to be exact."

"The leader of Team Rocket?" Zero said. "I've heard of you guys, but… I've never actually had a run-in with you until I battled Proton at the Pewter Museum." He paused. "Is… is it true that Giovanni was a Gym Leader?"

"He was, but he stepped down to train and better himself," Archer replied. "Those rings… are part of a project he started, but didn't have the resources to finish. Well, he did finish it, mostly. But the results were too much for him to handle, so he scrapped it entirely." He then turned and started to walk toward the cave's exit. "I've said too much. I'm sure if you dig deep enough you'll find out what that gemstone means."

"Wait, there's more of those?" Mark asked.

"I told you, I've said too much," Archer replied, his voice regaining the curt, rude tone it had before. "I must be taking my leave. I'll find fossils elsewhere." He left hurriedly, exiting the cave.

"...Well, that was something," Mark said after a long pause. He looked at Zero, who was fiddling with his ring again. "You alright?"

"...I'm fine," Zero replied. Both boys returned their tired Pokémon. "It's just… I have even more questions now that I've had a chance to talk to someone who knows about the ring. I thought I'd get answers. I did! I definitely did. But those answers only brought more questions with them."

Mark nodded sympathetically. "I getcha. I get the feeling we'll find out more soon enough."

"I guess you're right." Zero smiled. "Now let's get out of here. Cerulean City, and your next Gym battle, should be ahead."

...

Author's Note:

Braze evolved into Charmeleon! Archer and Daniel will be back eventually, though one sooner than you think. Also, Mark's second Gym Battle is coming up! Stay tuned for more. :)