Dear Void Reader,
This is how I'm writing this story, I'm afraid. What you say isn't going to change that, this is a world of electric mice and fire-breathing lizards that you can catch in a plastic ball and command. There's no point in saying a kid can't take on a mafia organization in a world as fantastical as this. (Yeah, I said mafia because compared to Team Galactic, Team Flare, or Team Aqua, there's an obvious difference.) "Oh, Ash can do it just fine just 'cause he's the main character." Well, I say that Slater can be just as special as Ash and his friends. Just know this: you ain't seen nothing yet. Just be patient.
"Alright, we finally found it!" declared Jessie, as she, James, and Meowth lay out over a cliffside, Jessie looking through binoculars. "The Tunneling Cave! It has paths that'll lead to different places, but there are hidden cave systems hiding the most precious of treasures!"
"And thanks to us, the boss will call dibs on all of them!" said Meowth.
"He'll promote us on the spot for sure!" James said.
"Alright, what are we waiting for? Let's-" said Jessie before she saw something else through the binoculars. "No, no, it can't be!"
"What?" said James. "What's the matter?"
"Is it the twerps?" said Meowth.
"Worse," said Jessie as she handed them the binoculars. As they both looked through them, they both reeled back in shock before their heads turned red with rage.
"Alright, guys, welcome to Ostham Town!" said RotomDex as he lead the group into a quant little town. There were several small houses made of brick and stone stacked neatly against one another. But mostly, it was rocky desert. In fact, the town was pretty small.
"Hmm, not much of a town, is it?" said Serena.
"Actually, you guys," said RotomDex, "according to my data, this place used to be a village where the original natives of the Ralia region thrived. And to this day, pure-blooded Ralian have made it their home. And that's because it's remained mostly unchanged since the old days due to this town being considered very important to Ralian history."
"How so?" said Ash.
"Actually, it is said that a meteorite containing three legendary Pokémon crash-landed nearby, unleashing a mysterious energy upon the land, transforming it forever."
"What? There were legendary Pokémon here!?" said Ash. "Who were they? What happened to them?"
"Why not see for ourselves, Ash?" said Vernon, and Ash turned to see him overlooking a gigantic crater, surrounded by indigenous people.
"Whoa! Is this where the meteorite crashed?" said Ash.
"You betcha!" said RotomDex. "This crater is approximately 875 meters across, and has been here ever since the meteor strike about 3000 years ago."
"3000 years ago?" said Serena. Something about that number felt familiar to her.
"Man, it must have been terrifying when this thing crash-landed here!" said Ash. "It must of wiped out everything."
"Actually, no," said RotomDex. "No one knows why, but when the meteorite crashed, despite the amazing explosion, all in the vicinity were unharmed. Though some believe the three Pokémon that were inside the meteorite had something to do with it."
"In fact, the whole story is laid out for us right here," came a voice. The group turned to see a familiar face standing in front of a wooden plaque in front of the crater. Stacey.
"Stacey? What are you doing here?" Ash asked.
"What else? Research on Pokémon," said Stacey.
"Oh, are you doing some research for Professor Acacia?" said RotomDex.
"Not exactly," said Stacey. "See, I came here to chase my own thesis. I am seeking the truth about the connections between different kinds of Pokémon, and I had a theory about these three Pokémon."
The group walked closer to Stacey, who motioned towards the plaque. "Here, why don't you read for yourself?"
The group looked at the plaque, which had a magnificent picture painted onto the side with natural paints to show an image of the event: a spectacular explosion with the meteor strike, but before it, three different Pokémon. All were small creatures, with large heads but small, floating bodies. One was colored yellow-orange, small wisps of flame coating its body, another was dark gray, and looked like solid rock, and the last one was ghostly white, but had crater-like formations over its hard body.
Vernon read out loud, "it was about 3000 years ago that the peaceful world of this town was shaken. A colossal meteor, glowing with mysterious colors and energy, crashed into the very land you see before you. Many people gazed upon this space rock with sheer terror, but once it crash-landed, the most peculiar thing happened. As soon as the rock made contact with the ground, a powerful and bright light engulfed the land. When people reawakened, they spied three mysterious Pokémon standing before them, and were stunned to find the land not only intact, but glowing with that same energy. It was as if the meteor and the Pokémon had transformed the land into something new. The three Pokémon stayed for a time, and became worshipped as the Pokémon of the planets, the moons, and the stars, but one day, they mysteriously left for parts unknown."
"Amazing," said Serena. "Three Pokémon came down to this planet in order to transform it?"
"Yes, but still," said Stacey, "I can't help but wonder why? Why our planet? And where did these Pokémon come from? And why did this meteor strike even happen? But I intend to find some answers today!"
"How are you going to do that?" said Vernon.
"With a little help from me!" said another voice. They all turned to see a tall woman with long, blonde hair, dressed in desert clothes, with large brown boots, and carrying a pickaxe.
Stacey smiled and walked over to her, putting an arm on her shoulder and saying, "Everyone, I'd like you to meet the single best paleontologist in all of Ralia, Gia!"
"G'day," said Gia in a thick, Australian accent. "See, I came because of people finding fossils hidden in the nearby Tunneling Cave, so I came to see if I could dig some up for myself!"
"Whoa, there's a place where we can find Pokémon fossils?" said Ash.
"Yeah, Tunneling Cave is mostly used to get from this town to Orbarrow City, but if you follow a separate tunnel, you can find a small deposit of fossils!" said Gia. "I was about to head down there when I met with Gia here. She told about how she believed there was something connected to this meteor strike hiding down there, so I offered to help her navigate her way down there."
"Whoa, fossils and Pokémon legends?" said Ash. "You gotta let us come with you, please!"
"I'd love to be able to study the ancient Pokémon of the Ralia region up close and personal!" said RotomDex.
"Sure! The more the merrier," said Gia. "C'mon, we'll to take you all to the cave right now."
As they all walked away, a pair of mysterious individuals wearing trenchcoats walked up to the plaque. "So, a whole smorgasbord of Pokémon fossils exist in this cave, huh?"
"Maybe even something linked to some legendary Pokémon?"
"I think we need to call dibs on this hoard at once-"
"NOT. SO. FAST." The two strangers turned around to spy a fuming Jessie, James, and Meowth standing behind them. "You two think you can sneak here under our noses and try to take the glory that's rightfully ours!"
"Hmph, as if it was yours to even have in the first place," one of the strangers said, both grinning maliciously.
"Oh, just take off those ridiculous disguises!" said James. "No one is even here!"
The strangers rolled their eyes, before deciding to rip off their trenchcoats to reveal none other that Butch and Cassidy.
"You had to know we were coming eventually," said Cassidy.
"Fortunately, it seems the Boss came to his senses and decided to rely on a pair of people who actually knew what they were doing," said Butch.
"What makes you punks think you can horn in our turf?" said Meowth. "The Boss promoted us!"
"Yeah, too bad he promoted us too while you weren't looking," said Butch. "I hate to break it to you, but the Boss has got big plans this time, and he's not about to just settle for leaving three ninnies like you to to run around the region for a few months, try to catch one measly Pikachu, get blasted off thirty times, and then just go home."
"What? What on earth is the Boss planning that he needs the likes of you to pull it off?" said Jessie.
"Oh, I'm afraid that's on a need-to-know basis, and you know what? You don't need to know!" said Cassidy.
"Oh, please, you guys think you can just swoop in and take on our responsibilities!" said Meowth. "Whatever you're up to, we could do it ourselves, no difficulty!"
"Oh, please, you three can't do anything right!" said Butch. "I mean, there have been times when you get blasted off without the 'twerps' as you say ever even noticing you. Today, I'm afraid, is the day the professionals step in and get results because they stop wasting time with ridiculous mild Swanna chases!"
"Are you trying to say you're better than us?" said Jessie. "I'll have you know our job is harder than it looks!"
"Not really," said Cassidy. "It's only because of the workers rather than the job."
"Why I oughtta-" said Jessie.
"Oh, please, we don't have time for this!" said Cassidy, suddenly holding out a PokéBall and released her Sableye. "Sableye, use Confuse Ray!"
"Saaableye!" said Sableye, throwing golden orbs from its eyes to surround Jessie, James, and Meowth. With this, the three suddenly felt dazed and light-headed.
"Ugh, where-where'd you go? Come here, you!" said Jessie, stumbling around.
"You won't steal... our glory that easily!" said James, stumbling and tripping.
"Well, that'll keep 'em distracted," said Butch. "Aright, Cassidy, let's go. As soon as we get down there, everything will belong to the Boss!"
"Right!" said Cassidy. However, just before they were about to leave, a kid popped up in front of them.
"Hey, you guys!" she said, holding a book in her hands. She looked about eleven, had reddish hair and freckles. "Did you know that this crater has been labeled the second biggest in the world! That we know of!"
"Uh, right, sure, um," said Butch.
"And did you know that the strike has been rumored to have been the result of a struggle between extraterrestrial Pokémon!"
"Kid, we'd love to stay and play twenty questions with you, but we have work to do!" said Cassidy, as she and Butch pushed their way past the kid.
This Pokémon swims all over in frigid seawater while crushing icebergs with its grand, imposing tusks. Its thick layer of blubber makes enemy attacks bounce off harmlessly.
Gia lead the group into Tunneling Cave, where inside, it seemed to be a beautiful array of black-and-orange colored rock, all looking like it had been sculpted to lead the way.
"Whoa, this place is so cool!" said Ash.
"Yeah, but we're not going this way," said Gia, as she lead everyone to another part of the cave. It was there that they saw a small crevice through the walls, and Gia began squeezing through it. "The fossils lie down this way!"
As everyone squeezed by past her, they were in awe of what they could see. The walls looked like displays, as rocks, but also bones jutted out from within, lining the walls through the pathway.
"Awesome! Imagine how many fossils must be here!" said Ash.
"Sure, but it's mostly Kabuto and Omanyte fossils," said Gia. "Not much to explore. But my research tells me that there may be a bed of extra rare fossils if we dig a little deeper."
"How much deeper?" said Vernon.
"I think my partner can help with that," said Gia, grinning as she pulled out a PokéBall and released an Excadrill from it.
"Excadrill!" the Excadrill said and it thrusted out its metal claws.
"Alright, Excadrill, I think I know where the bed is hiding, so I want you to try digging around in the rock to see where the cave will lead us!"
"Exca," the Excadrill nodded as Gia began leading everybody towards a lower portion of the cave.
Ash quickly walked up to Gia, and decided to ask, "Say, Gia, where do you think all these fossils came from anyway? How'd they all wind up in one place?"
"Ooh, that's a good question. But us paleontologists and geologists have theorized about there was an abundance of life on this planet when it was all one continent. However, when the continents were forced to start breaking apart, dividing the populations of Pokémon throughout the globe. But we believe this fossil bed was created some time after that event, at which point the dangerous seismic activity trapped all sorts of Pokémon here to perish."
"Whoa, you think so?" said Ash.
"Yep, but on the bright side, everything that was trapped here has left us with many incredible discoveries to make, all for us to see!"
Meanwhile, Stacey looked over to Serena, who looked deep in thought for some reason. "Something on your mind, Serena?" said Stacey.
"Well, after hearing the story about the meteor strike, something about it strikes me as weird. They say it crashed here 3000 years ago. But I can't help but think about something that happened in my home region, Kalos, 3000 years ago. I think, there was a great war, but it was suddenly ended-"
"But the firing of some sort of ultimate weapon?" Stacey finished. Serena looked at her surprised, but Stacey nodded and continued, "Yes, I know. I studied all about the history of this world, and I will tell you, I don't think it's a coincidence that the firing of the ultimate weapon and the meteor strike happened at around the same time!"
"What do you mean?" said Serena.
"That's my thesis, Serena!" said Stacey. "I've been thinking about Legendary Pokémon, and about all the ways they have helped shape the world we live in now! And after a while, I wondered, what if it is all connected?"
"How so?" said Vernon, suddenly joining the conversation.
"Well, think about Groudon and Regigigas, for instance. They say Groudon raised the lands and continents, but they also say Regigigas pulled the continents with massive chains, and you can't help but wonder, how could one do one of those things without affecting the other? Or the research I've done on Ultra Space. It's supposed to be another dimension with its own Pokémon and beings, but I wonder if Palkia, the Pokémon of space, with the power to make new dimensions, is related to it. Or if Celebi, a time-travelling Pokémon, could be related to Dialga, the Pokémon of time?" Or why most Legendary Pokémon come in pairs, like Xerneas and Yveltal, Ho-Oh, and Lugia, Groudon and Kyogre? Or Arceus? No, I mean everything about Arceus, the Pokémon who forged this world. I wonder if this all was just how it made the world?"
Stacey continued, "I believe that somehow, this is all related to each other. But for why I'm here, it's that I believe there is a connection to the firing of the ultimate weapon and the meteor strike."
"How do you mean?" said Serena.
"Well, actually, I wonder if the meteor had anything to do with the Mega Evolution phenomenon! Most experts agree that meteors from space may have the power of Mega Evolution infused into them somehow, but I believe that the usage of the ultimate weapon it what activated that energy's potential! And that is how I theorized that the meteor strike was caused by the ultimate weapon firing its weapon into space, bringing that meteor down to earth!"
"Hmm, could be," said Vernon.
"But I theorize that the truth about Mega Evolution is hidden with those three Pokémon that came to earth with it! What if they are the true origin behind the Mega Evolution phenomenon?"
"Ooh, that's incredible!" said Serena.
"Hold it! We found it!" said Gia, as the group came to a stop. They had reached a dead end, but the ground was a sandy-color mixed with red. "This is the place! My research tells me there's a hidden bed of fossils right underneath our feet! Okay, Excadrill, you know what to do!"
Excadrill began using its metal claws to carve its way through the stone around them. Eventually, the stone suddenly gave way, and revealed a deep, dark pit hidden underneath.
"That must be it!" said RotomDex. The fossils must be hidden under there!"
As the group began carefully breaking through the stone, they then began jumping down into the pit to the rocky group hidden below. That was when Butch and Cassidy suddenly peered from around the corner.
"Oh, great, it's that 'twerp' those morons keep running into," said Cassidy.
"Do you really think he and his friends will get in the way?" said Butch.
"Pffft, not in the slightest," said Cassidy. "We are not those morons. Now come on, I think the fossils we're looking for is right under-"
"Hey, you guys! I found you!" said a voice. Butch and Cassidy turned around to see the kid from earlier, still holding her book and grinning from ear to ear. "SO you wanna learn about fossils now?"
"What the- How'd you find us? What are you even doing here?" said Butch.
"I mean, everyone's welcome to come in to see the fossils if they want!" said the kid.
"Really?" said Cassidy. "Man, that doesn't sound safe at all!"
"Hey, did you guys know that Omastar used to prey on helpless Shellder in the oceans, but was preyed on by Carracostas in return? Or that Kabutops could swim up to 29 knots? Or-"
"Um, hey, look, kid! Is that a Rampardos fossil over there?" pointed Butch.
"Ooh, really?" said the kid. She turned to see, but when she saw nothing, she turned back to see that Butch and Cassidy were gone.
However, there was another set of eyes watching everything unfold around here. Peeking out from another tunnel was a Team Shade grunt, who then pulled back into the tunnel to run towards his fellow Team Shade members, who were actually trying to take every fossil they could find.
"Hey, guys, I think I saw something," the Grunt said.
"Not now," came a voice, and the Grunt turned to see none other than Darrus carrying some fossils over to a bucket. "We need to take all these fossils out the cave so no foolish scientists can claim them. Otherwise, they might try to revive them."
"But, sir, there were scientists here," said the Grunt. "I saw a bunch of people heading down into a deeper part of the cave, looking for some more fossils!"
"What?" said Darrus. "Grr, alright, guys, c'mon, we gotta find them and put a stop to this at once!"
As Darrus walked out of the tunnel, another Grunt spoke the Grunt that came in in, "Say, if people are already discovering this place, maybe now's a good time to go with our old plan?"
The other Grunt grinned, "I like the way you think."
It's Walrein!
"Alright, everybody," said Gia, "I think we're almost there." As she led them deeper into the cavern, it became increasingly dark. However, RotomDex quickly lit up his screen even brighter to light up the cave.
"Brr," said Serena. "Is it just me, or is it getting kind of cold down here?"
"Now that you mention it..." Stacey felt the wall next to her, but she had to pull back once she felt it was so cold. Looking it over, she realized it looked kind of white. Frosty even.
"I can't believe it!" said Stacey. "I think we just entered some kind of ice cavern somehow."
"Here? That can't be right," said Gia. However, as she led everyone further, they were stunned when they came upon an enormous underground cave that seemed to be made entirely of ice. There were still boulders that seeped through the roof, but the ground, walls, and several formations were ice.
"Incredible," said Gia as she walked forward. However, as she got close to one rock formation, she looked at it to see that there was a small hole in it. Underneath that hole, there seemed to be more ice, which made her suspicious. "Hey, Excadrill, come here and see if you can break off this rock."
Excadrill came over to the rock formation and prepared a Metal Claw attack, which it then used to slash through the rock, causing it to crack and fall apart, and underneath was a sight that left everyone breathless.
Incased inside a giant block of ice were two Pokémon. One looked like a saber-toothed tiger, but was pale orange with a white mane around its back and shoulders, and icicles for fangs. The other looked like a terror bird, with a razor-sharp beak, yellow feathers, and lightning-shaped, tiny wings.
"Incredible! Two different Pokémon species, lost to time, frozen in ice, waiting here after all this time to be discovered!" said Gia.
"Hang on, I think I know what these are!" said RotomDex. Looking to the saber-tooth tiger Pokémon, he said, "Glaroar, the Sabertooth Pokémon. A Rock and Ice Type. Its ice-coated fangs were believed to be stronger than steel, and allowed it to deliver a terrifying Ice Fang that could take down even a Mammoswine. Evolves from Glakitty at level 26."
Moving on to the bird Pokémon, he said, "Dovoltz, the Terror Bird Pokémon. A Rock and Electric Type. The Dovoltz was one of the apex predators of its day. Its legs could carry it to speeds of 40 miles per hour. Though it lived during the last Ice Age, it tried to stay closer to warmer areas to hunt. Evolves from Dojolt at level 26."
"This is so cool!" said Ash. "Err, no pun intended."
"If there was just some way we could hall this thing up to the service, just think of what we could learn from it!" said Gia. "Though I wonder what Pokémon like this are doing in a place like this?"
"I think they could come from another continent," said Stacey. "Maybe something happened that caused these Pokémon, who were from a different place than this, to end up in this cave as a result of the continents shifting at some point."
"Maybe," said Gia.
From behind a rock, Butch and Cassidy peered out. "Interesting, two prehistoric Pokémon frozen in ice," said Cassidy.
"I bet the boss would love us forever if we thawed it out for him," said Butch.
Suddenly, however, they saw something glow. They looked over and saw something glowing purple, green, blue, and yellow. Curious, they couldn't help but come a little closer, until they saw that the glow was coming from underground. Carefully, Butch dug it out to reveal a shining, glowing rock.
"Incredible," said Butch. "This stone, it's like it's giving off some sort of energy. I wonder-"
"Hi, again!" came a familiar voice. The two looked over in horror to see the kid from before in front of them.
"What? Oh, come on! Will you leave us alone already!" said Cassidy.
"What? If I did that, then who would teach you about the wonders of the world of prehistoric Pokémon?" said the kid. "Ooh, nice rock! Did you show it to those guys over there?"
"Shhh, keep it down!" said Cassidy.
However, before either of them could react, the kid swiped the rock from Butch's hand, saying, "Those other guys are gonna wanna see this!"
"Huh? Is someone there?" said Vernon. Butch and Cassidy sucked in their breath as they believed they were about to be discovered, but suddenly, another voice came in.
"What is going on in here?" Ash, Serena, Pikachu, Vernon, RotomDex, Gia, Excadrill, and Stacey all turned to spy the Team Shade grunts, led by Darrus. As soon as Darrus saw Ash, though, his face turned to a scowl. "You?"
"It's you!" said Ash. "What are you doing here?"
"What else? We had fossils to collect!" said Darrus.
"What, you guys are stealing fossils now, too?" said Vernon.
"There is no law, I'm afraid, that says we can't simply dig up these fossils to take home. The only difference between what we're doing and what you're doing is that we're going to pulverize these fossils before some fool revives them."
"Crush the fossils?" said Gia. "How can you do such a thing? All these fossils contain scientific significance!"
"Oh, please, they're already dead. They had their chance. Natural selection, right?" said Darrus.
"I just don't get it," said Ash. "Why do you guys feel the need to do something like this?"
"Foolish scientists revive extinct Pokémon without thinking of the consequences," said Darrus. "Do you really think they'll have any control over a beast they know nothing about, and one that this world has adapted to survive without? I even read a book about something like. The movie was better, but my point is that these fossils must remain in the rock. And we will see to that if we have to crush every last fossil with out bare hands. And now, it looks like we'll have to start with your frozen friends over there."
Ash and Pikachu got into a battle pose. "We won't let you do that!"
"Pika pika!" said Pikachu.
"Have it your way," said Darrus, suddenly releasing an old friend from its PokéBall. Eeteeyel.
"Eeteeyeeeeel!" the alian Pokémom cried out.
Ash and Pikachu got ready to fight, but meanwhile, Butch and Cassidy were concerned over their own plan. "What are we supposed to do? We can't leave anyone touch the frozen Pokémon, can we?" said Butch.
"Of course not, but that rock, I say we focus on getting it back from that kid!" said Cassidy.
Suddenly, however, there was an enormous glow rolling over the whole cavern, and the whole place shook. Everybody looked over to see the kid with the rock in her hands, the rock glowing brighter than before.
"Whoa, I think this thing just turned on!" said the kid.
"Huh? Who are you?" said Darrus. "Where'd you get that?"
"Oh, hi! Some friends of mine found this!" said the kid.
"Uh, guys?" came Serena's voice. Everyone looked over to see that the ice that encased the two Pokémon was melted now. In its place, the Glaroar and the Dovoltz stood, slowly opening their eyes to see their new surroundings.
"Oh my goodness," said Darrus, his jaw hanging from his face. "That stone, it's like it just revitalized the Pokémon in the ice!"
The Glaroar and the Dovoltz spied the Team Shade members, before they adopted scowls and growled in their directions.
"Alright, that's it!" said a Grunt. "If this ain't the time to use this, I don't know what is!"
"Huh? What are you-" Darrus started before the Grunt pulled out an earpiece. "Unleash the Voltorbs!"
On the other end, another Grunt somewhere else in the cavern nodded and nudged the Voltorb he stood next to, causing the Voltorb to get ready to use Self-Destruct. Around the cavern several other Grunts and several other Voltorbs did the same.
"Voltorb, voltorb, voltob, voltorb!"
In the ice cave, the group heard explosions all over the place, and saw cracks forming in the walls and ceilings. In fact, one Voltorb fell through the ceiling, right next to Butch and Cassidy, before exploding.
"Voltorb!"
"Ack!" said Butch and Cassidy before the explosion suddenly launched them through the breaking ceiling and into the sky. "We're blasting off now?" they said as they vanished in a twinkle.
"What have you done!?" Darrus angrily demanded of the Grunts.
"We did the quicker method," said a Grunt. "We had Voltorbs using Self-Destruct to collapse this whole place, destroying all the fossils in it!"
"And anyone else unlucky enough to be in here!" Darrus angrily reprimanded. "Including us, you fools!"
"Relax, we're gonna be long gone by then," said a Grunt. "Now, come on, we don't have much time."
"Grr, Eeteeyel, use Psychic!" said Darrus. Just as the Grunts tried to turn and leave, Eeteeyel caught them with a Psychic attack, immobilizing them.
At that point, the cave really started to come down, and two giant rocks almost fell on top of Ash and Serena. They gasped in horror, but suddenly, the Glaroar bit into one rock with Ice Fang, shattering it to pieces, while the Dovoltz destroyed the other one with Discharge. Ash and Serena looked back in awe as the Pokémon stood behind them. Suddenly, even more rocks collapsed over them, but they froze in mid air with a bluish glow. Everyone looked over to see Darrus and Eeteeyel using Psychic.
"C'mon, everyone, we're getting out of here!" said Darrus.
Everyone raced back towards the entrance, Eeteeyel, Glaroar, and Dovoltz protecting everyone from the falling rocks, but at one point, an enormous rock fell and blocked their path. Eeteeyel tried lifting it, but it was so far wedged into the walls around it, it wouldn't budge. Glaroar, Dovoltz, and Pikachu tried smashing it, but to no avail.
"What are we going to do?" said Serena. "We're trapped!"
Suddenly, the rock in the kid's hand began to glow again. Everyone looked over to see the glow spreading to the walls, and suddenly, the walls broke open as all sorts of prehistoric Pokémon came out of them. Kabutops, Omastar, Rampardos, Carracosta, you name it.
"I don't believe it!" said Stacey, looking over to the rock. "This rock, it's something special."
But finally, from beneath them, an enormous Pokémon broke through the floor. Everyone gasped and closed their eyes, only to open them and see that there were all being carried by an Aerodactyl. But not just any Aerodactyl. A Mega Aerodactyl.
"Daaaaactyl!" it cried out.
Everyone could only look on in awe as it burst through the ceiling, taking everyone back to the surface, before they all fell off onto the ground.
"Ooh," Ash groaned as he sat up. He looked over to see where the entrance to the cave had been, and saw that it had completely collapsed.
"Oh, no," said Serena. "Those poor Pokémon." Everyone held their heads low for a moment, but suddenly, they all heard a small rumbling. They looked up to see all the Fossil Pokémon they had seen breaking through the ground to the surface, before they all stood proud.
"Incredible!" said Gia. "I don't think we've ever seen anything like this before!"
The Dovoltz and Glaroar saw something. It was two Pokémon that looked like them. One was a small, white, kitten-like Pokémon, but with icicles for saberteeth, and one looked like a yellow dodo with lightning shaped wings.
RotomDex spotted them as well, and decided to scan them. He described the kitten Pokémon, "Glakitty. The Ice Kitty Pokémon. A Rock and Ice Type. Glakittys prefer to live where it's the coldest. Though they possess a fierce personality, they still depend on the Glaroars in the pack for protection. Evolves into Glaroar at level 26." Looking to the dodo Pokémon, he said, "Dojolt. The Electric Bird Pokémon. A Rock and Electric Type. Though this Pokémon starts out rather weak, it will still use its electricity to become a more formidible force. It is believed to be one of the first Pokémon to have ever interacted with humans. Evolves into Dovoltz at level 26."
The Glaroar and Dovoltz quickly went over to them, and began affectionately nuzzling their respective pre-evolutions.
"Aww, that's so sweet!" said Serena.
A small cry was heard, and everyone turned to see the Mega Aerodactyl slowing coming to the ground. It glowed white as it suddenly changed back to normal, as Stacey's eyes grew wider.
A group of Officer Jennys were loading some of the Team Shade Grunts into police cars, with Darrus still scowling at them off to the side. As the Grunts were taken away, Ash decided to walk up to Darrus and say, "I don't get it. Why'd you have them arrested? In fact, why'd you even save us back there?"
"The answer to both those questions is simple," said Darrus. "Team Shade is only supposed to protect people from Pokémon. There is no excuse for what those Grunts just did. They put us all in danger. As strange as it may sound to you, kid, I didn't want anyone to get hurt. And if those Grunts did want to hurt someone, they deserve prison."
Ash actually stood there completely stunned, before Darrus turned to look at all the Fossil Pokémon playing in the area. "Well, now my worst fears have been realized. Those fossils, they all came to life. Now what do I do about them?"
"Oh, you don't have to do a thing," said Gia. "I actually just got off the phone with some people, and they say that the laws state that when a Pokémon Fossil is revived, they become the responsibility of the one who revived it. This girl here, her rock revived them, but she has agreed to allow me and my colleagues to take care of them."
"Yeah!" said the kid. "They'll take such good care of them! I know they will! But that means you can't legally touch them anymore!"
Darrus almost growled, but after thinking about it, he just shrugged and said, "Well, I guess I have no right to do anything about it now. Still, there is one more thing," he turned to the kid, "what happened to that rock you found?"
"Oh, that?" said the kid. "I dropped it when Aerodactyl rescued us. I don't think anyone can find it again until we dig out Tunneling Cave again."
Darrus looked confused, but just sighed and said, "As long as no one uses that accursed thing again." He turned to his remaining Grunts and said, "C'mon, we're leaving now."
As they left, Serena questioned, "Wait, we're just gonna let them go?"
"They didn't legally do anything wrong," said Stacey. "Only the Grunts who were just taken away did. I don't think we have any right to go after them right now. But don't worry. If Team Shade tries anything like this again, we'll be ready to put them in their place."
"Um, Miss?" said the kid, as Stacey turned to face her. "I, um, I might have fibbed just now." She held out her hand and everyone gasped as they saw the rock. "I just didn't want those nasty Team Shade folks to do anything with it. I think you should have it, though. You'll take good care of it, right?"
Stacey was speechless as she took the rock. She could feel the power emanating from it. "I think... this is what I was looking for! I think this... is a piece of the meteorite. And what it just did, especially to that Aerodactyl... I must take this back to Professor Acacia at once!"
Stacey suddenly ran off as the others looked after her. "Man, I hope she finds a really huge discovery with that rock," said Ash. "Who knows what secrets it holds?"
"Well, you kids oughtta get going," said Gia. "We have some Officer Jennys here to escort you towards Orbarrow City, now that you can't use Tunneling Cave to get there."
"Yeah, thanks," said Ash. He, Pikachu, RotomDex, Serena, and Vernon all walked off, waving goodbye to Gia and the girl.
"So long!"
"Goodbye!"
"See ya!"
"Pika pi!"
"See you later!"
As they left, Gia said to the girl, "Well, I've got a lot of work to do. See ya later, kid."
As she walked away, the girl suddenly felt a humming in her ear. Touching her hidden earpiece, she said, "Hello?"
"This is HQ. Was your mission a success?"
"Oh, yeah! Those nasty Team Rocket punks almost made off with what we think is a piece of the meteorite that crashed here so many years ago. But I got it away from them! At least now, they can't use it for ill. Oh, and those Team Shade punks were here too! We stopped them too, but I can't help but worry about them."
"Don't worry about it. Just one evil team at a time."
"See, I told you he was good!"
"Ugh, that kid's a nuisance. I still say he's a temper case."
"What, just because he banged his head against the wall one time because everyone else was being impossibly frustrating and downright dumb? He's not a temper case. He's brilliant! It's only because he was tracking those other Team Rocket operatives that we knew Team Rocket was gonna be here! Or that I just found two more operatives! Just give him a break, huh? The guy knows what he's doing, okay?"
Jessie, James and Meowth finally woke up, with Jessie groggily saying, "Ugh, what on earth just happened?"
"Ugh, Bill and Cassidy just put us to sleep," said Meowth. "I bet they already stole our glory."
Suddenly, however, Butch and Cassidy crashlanded nearby. Jessie, James, and Meowth looked over to see them slowly stand up in pain, as they all slowly dawned with realization.
"Well, well, well, looks like someone had a rough time, didn't they?" said James, grinning smugly.
"Oh, shut up!" said Butch. "We may have suffered a setback, but Team Rocket's just getting started! And then-"
"Dactyl!" Everyone looked over to see the Aerodactyl from before angrily hovering over them. They all gulped before quickly turning to run, Aerodactyl right behind them.
As Darrus walked away with the remaining Grunts, one of them asked, "Say, Darrus, that rock, do you think it's connected to those three Pokémon?"
"Could be," said Darrus. "We won't be getting it now, but I think there's another place we could investigate. It could wield something interesting."