Archeops

A lot of the times that a Pokemon Hunter like myself is called on, it's to deal with local Pokemon who try to settle in communities where they disrupt normal life. But sometimes you get those cases where where a person releases a Pokemon in an area that the Pokemon doesn't belong to at all, which is often as bad on the Pokemon as the nearby residents. And then there was that trouble with the Archeops, where even I was caught unaware.

I got the call from an older woman who said that a colorful bird Pokemon was scaring her pets and breaking windows. From the initial description, I thought I was dealing with a Swellow, one that sometimes gets aggressive when it's taking care of young. So I go out there with my scouting Pokemon and some nets, thinking I'd check to see if it had any babies or eggs before attempting to move it.

After spending several minutes in the woods near the woman's home, checking for any nesting activity or lost feathers, I didn't see any signs I was expecting. There were footprints, but they weren't like any Flying type that I knew of, being a three-toed specimen with claws and a compact shape, more like a running foot than a flier's claw. There were also some claw marks in trees, as well as bones with teeth marks that didn't match local predators or scavengers. At that point, I knew I was dealing with a foreigner.

Then my scouts found it, and it was like no other Pokemon I had ever seen. This marvelous bird was covered in beautiful bright and fluffy plumage of blue and yellow, but it also had smaller head and tail feathers, looking more like a reptile's scales than an avian's feathers. Standing up to my chest height, it didn't seem certain what to make of me or my scouts. It puffed up its chest and held its wings up to emphasize its size, showing that it did not like threats to its dominant position.

At that point, I had no idea what kind of Pokemon I was dealing with, something that doesn't happen to me a much. I decided to be cautious and back off, but not before getting a picture of it to help identify it. After telling my scout Pokemon to back off slowly, I took a few steps back myself before reaching for my camera in my vest pocket. The strange bird protested that move with a squawk, lowering its head and leaning forward. I was worried that it meant to attack, but I still needed that picture, so I got my camera out and held it low. Once I could see the bright colors of the Pokemon on the viewscreen, I took the picture.

The camera flashed and the strange Pokemon screeched in response. Then it sprinted right by me, close enough that I could feel the air being displaced. And you would not believe how fast that critter could run! Seriously, it was there ten feet in front of me, and then it was all the way across the large field, as fast as a hot rod. I could tell that I wasn't going to be getting that one in a net.

I let the Pokemon be for that day, instead contacting friends who might be able to identify this bird. The usual bird experts didn't know what it was either, but after several hours, I did manage to get a positive identification from a fossil expert. This was an Archeops, which lived millions of years ago. And according to fossil dating technology, it is most famed for being the first recognized bird Pokemon in existence. It was also the secondary form of this Pokemon, as all revival attempts had come up with the Archen.

With that information, I knew it had to be a Pokemon released by a Trainer. And being an ancient Pokemon, there was no way I could let it remain loose in the wild. Most modern Pokemon can adapt and blend into a new environment, but Pokemon from ancient fossils do not integrate well and tend to upset the balance in the ecosystem. I went back to the scene with Pokemon to assist in capturing as well as a number of Ultra Balls.

It was quite a struggle, getting that Archeops. Any time I managed to flush it out, it preferred to run both away and closer to me, threatening me that way. And it was a powerful critter, knocking out my team one by one even though they were experienced and well-trained Pokemon. It even made moves to attack me, being from before a time when humans existed in this world. My Pokemon managed to deflect the blows and keep serious damage from me, for which I'm always grateful.

Finally, my Pokemon managed to get several hits in, weakening it considerably. And then the most peculiar thing happened. This predatory Pokemon, which so far had acted in a proud and aggressive manner, just gave up. It lowered its stance and acted much meeker, squawking in a pitiful tone. When it became apparent that we were going to capture it, it ran a few steps and attempted to fly away. It was much slower in the air, so I was able to throw an Ultra Ball after it and capture it easily.

Since it was an ancient Pokemon, I kept hold of the Archeops until I could pass it over to a caretaker I trusted to keep it. As revivable Archen fossils are unusual, we were able to track down the original Trainer and press charges for that irresponsible behavior. You should always respect any Pokemon that you capture, but when it comes to Pokemon fossils, you must acknowledge that bringing them back to life is a lifetime commitment as they should not be released into the wild.

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Archeops White entry: It runs better than it flies. It catches prey by running at speeds comparable to those of an automobile.

I like Archeops. Defeatist makes it a little hard to use, but it's great as long as you keep its health up.