Ashen Oak

by CRed1988

As the 13-year old Granddaughter of Professor Oak, Gina wanted nothing more than to rush through all eight Gyms to reach the summit of the Indigo Plateau. But the moment she heard about all the trouble that her childhood friend Ash kept getting up to, she decided to tag along to make sure that he didn't get over his head.

32. Chapter 32

The sun hung high in the sky. It beat down with incandescent rays over the stretches of deep valleys, rimmed by rocky cliffs that were carved into the landscape through the explosive power of the volcano and the slow erosive might of time. The volcanic desert that hung in the shadow of Cinnabar Island was normally desolate and devoid of life, but today there were thongs of bodies scattered about.

Among them were Ash and his friends, who found themselves feeling woefully under-equipped. At least in comparison to the numerous other people present. More seasoned individuals were armed with thick backpacks, hammers, geo picks, shovels, and other assorted equipment.

"Wow, people are serious about this, huh?" Misty mused as she spanned her gaze over the surrounding fossil hunters, moving about in search of the ideal place to start looking for the prize they'd come for. She even spotted some kind of device hoisted on a tripod being tinkered with by a senior citizen who looked like he belonged in a laboratory. "Everyone from hobbyists to researchers are going to turn this place upside down looking for fossils."

"The opportunity it presents is too rare," Gina said offhandedly. The majority of her attention was on a brochure that she had obtained before coming here from the Pokémon Laboratory. "The chance to revive an ancient pokémon is too big to pass up from a competitive and scientific perspective. I probably would have beelined here on my own if we hadn't met back with the whole Squirtle Squad incident."

It had been a day or so after Gina had obtained her own Volcano Badge shortly after Ash had, thanks to the efforts of her pokémon. Blaine had challenged her with a Flareon, Charmeleon, and Arcanine, whom she had to overcome while using her Graveler, Wartortle, and Nidorina. The battle ended with her winning decisively as each managed to take out their opponents without a loss.

Ash still couldn't help but feel bad for the Arcanine, who had been poisoned with Toxic and then made to succumb while Nidorina hid using Dig to get around their speed difference. Though looking at her now, he noticed she seemed completely absorbed in what she was reading. "You've been staring at that brochure for a while now. Is it really that interesting?"

Her black eyes pulled themselves from the contents of the pages towards him. "That depends. Are you interested in the mechanics of how the Fossil Revitalization process works?"

"Don't they just pop them into the machine, and they come back to life?" Gina stared at him with a raised brow in lieu of words, giving him the impression that he was wrong. "Okay, then explain it to me."

"Well, you know how Porygon is an artificial pokémon that's effectively materialized programming code?" When she saw the blank look on his face showing he didn't, Gina couldn't help but sigh. "You have a Pokédex, Ash. Use it more."

He rolled his eyes and pulled out the device. "Porygon—the Virtual Pokémon. A manmade Pokémon that consists entirely of programming code, it can revert itself entirely back into programming data and enter cyberspace. It is thought to be the first artificial Pokémon and is anticipated to be able to survive in the vacuum of space due to lacking the need to eat or breathe."

Gina waited for him to finish before adding, "The Fossil Revitalization technology makes use of the same principle that allows the materialization of programming code into a sapient being that the Pokémon Laboratory pioneered before handing the technology off to Silph Co. They extract the DNA within the fossils and then shores it up with DNA from pokémon that are thought to be part of the same Egg Group, which should make it possible for them to breed with existing pokémon in the hopes of undoing the extinction itself."

Brock, looking at it from the perspective of a Breeder, seemed interested in the prospect of restoring species lost to the ravages of time. "The more fossils that are found, the more of them they'll be able to bring back and eventually cultivate into the wild over time. Still, all these people are searching but none of them seem to have found any fossils."

"Chances are only a handful of people will be able to find anything by the time they're done," Gina said. "Even we're taking a gamble with poor odds considering we didn't come prepared and don't know where to start looking."

Misty brought her hand to her chin in thought at that. Then, a moment later, she snapped her fingers and turned to Ash and Gina. "Do you have entries on the habitats and feeding habits of their species?"

Gina nodded. "Gramps compiled the data based on what was discovered via archeological efforts more than actual observation, but it's there. Why?"

"Well, if they're water pokémon then they would have probably been located at the point where the island originally met the sea before the constant eruptions expanded the landmass. So, if we go far enough out to where they first met then we'll have a better chance to find one."

"That's a good idea," Brock agreed. "The fossils would be closer to the surface as well, meaning there'll be less work to find one and you won't need specialized equipment."

Accessing the databases for reference, they set out away from the crowd and threaded the canyon for a route that would lead them to the ideal place to start their excavation. However, while in search of such a place, Pikachu went still. Then he suddenly folded his ears down before covering them with his tiny paws, scrunching his face up in the process. "Piiii…."

Ash came to a stop and crouched down. "Are you okay, Pikachu?"

The Electric Mouse shook his head before gesturing with his tail to the northwest of where they were going. "Pikapi. Pika."

"There's something in that direction that's bothering Pikachu," he told the others while picking his partner up to carry him. He didn't know what it was that was leaving Pikachu to be so uncomfortable, but he wasn't inclined to leave it alone. So, he followed the narrow mouth of the canyon until it led him to a gentle depression, upon which he heard a familiar voice.

"Hurry it up down dere," said the Scratch Cat Pokémon as he stood atop a ridge overseeing the depression while holding onto a device Ash had seen once before when they were on the S.S. Anne. "I ain't got all day!"

Ash pressed his back against the side of the alley mouth and spoke in a hushed tone. "It's Team Rocket!"

Gina's expression went from mildly cautious to smoldering anger as she moved closer to the opening to get a better look, wearing a frown as she peered at the center where a certain pair of individuals were fiddling with a device while handling no small number of explosives. "Don't tell me those idiots are going to try to find the fossils by using explosives?"

Brock leaned in closer as well to get a view of what was transpiring. "…If that's what I think it is, they already found them and are planning to use the explosives to mine for them."

"What is it?" Misty asked.

"It's known as a Ground Penetrating Radar," Brock said. "It uses ultrasonic waves to check below the ground for objects that bounce back and allows them to map out objects below the earth. However, it has a drawback in that those sonic waves causes negative effects on pokémon with sensitive hearing above ground within a certain radius and can even result in agitation and confusion for those underground since they often rely on non-visual sensory information—especially Onix. That's why they aren't used for mining around Pewter City."

"So they plan to blast their way down to them?" Misty asked, shifting her attention from Gina already pulling out one of her pokémon and enlarging its ball with a frown on her face.

"Probably," he answered before bringing his hand to his chin in thought. "Those are shaped mining charges, so most of the blast will be redirected into the ground. But the sheer number of explosives means that they might cause more problems for everyone else depending on if they hit a weak point in the crust."

"An Officer Jenny overseeing the majority back where we came from, wasn't there?" Gina asked Brock, to which he nodded. "Then you and Misty go warn her what they're up to since you'll be able to cover more distance with Onix and they'll listen to you. We'll deal with the explosives."

"…All right," Brock conceded. "We'll get word back to them."

"Be careful," Misty added before the two of them started running back the way they came.

That left Ash and Gina alone while overlooking the situation, leaving them with the question of what they were going to do about the issue of the bomb and device. It was the former who turned to the latter and noticed her staring up at Meowth. "Gina?"

"…I'm going to deal with him since he's got the detonator and then meet you down below," she declared, letting out her Kadabra. There was then a wordless message passed between them before the Psi Pokémon nodded and both disappeared via Teleport.

"Let's get down there, Pikachu!" Ash said before turning his attention towards the ledge that sloped down towards the mouth where the duo was still setting up their explosives. He slid down as Pikachu hopped onto his shoulder, coming to a stop at the bottom of the slope and then rushing forward. "You're not getting your hands on those fossils, Team Rocket!"

"It seems a wild twerp has appeared," James said as the callout pulled his attention away from what they were doing. "Can't we go a scheme without one of them showing up?"

"A chance to get both rare fossils an' dat pesky Pikachu at the same time. Maybe luck is on our—" The detonator Meowth was holding onto was suddenly shrouded in cerulean light before it shot of out his grasp and into the outstretched hand of the Psi Pokémon, standing next to Gina. Then, the moment she gestured with her hand toward the Scratch Cat Pokémon, Kadabra repeated the motion and blasted him with a psychedelic ray of prismatic light that sent him flying straight toward Jessie and James, promptly barreling him into the devious pair. "OOPH!"

Then there was another blink as Kadabra and Gina reappeared next to Ash. "You can consider that payback for the poison."

"Nnn… big talk for a cheeky brat!" Jessie snarled, stewing in anger as she rose to her feet and tossed out a pair of balls. Light spilled forth and out came the Cobra Pokémon and the Kicking Pokémon. "Arbok! Hitmonlee! Put them in their place!"

James joined in, sending out the Poison Gas Pokémon and Flycatcher Pokémon. "You too, Weezing! Victreebel!"

In response, Pikachu's paws were swaddled with light as he hopped down from his perch on Ash's shoulders. Then he turned into running light and slammed into Arbok, marking the Cobra Pokémon as his target as a second ball was tossed out into the air. From it came Haunter and his target was Weezing once more.

"Electabuzz, go after the Hitmonlee!" Gina commanded while tossing out the Electric Pokémon to the battlefield. The moment that he finished materializing, she gave him his attack orders. "Close the distance now!"

Yellow fur bristled as Electabuzz locked eyes with the approaching Kicking Pokémon, having finally been given a target to attack. The difference in their body types made it abundant which of them was faster, which meant that Hitmonlee would get within his engagement distance well before him. Then it would be a matter of using his spring-like legs to unleash devastating kicks until his opponent was down.

Then light swaddled Electabuzz's frame. Yellow fur blurred as the Electric Pokémon closed the distance with Quick Attack, throwing his weight and momentum into a shoulder ram. Only reflexes honed by years of training kept the Kicking Pokémon from being barreled over as his charge turned into a bracing stance, clawed toes digging into the earth until they slowed to a stop.

"Blind him with Flash!" Bright light flared from between Electabuzz's antennae as he generated a brilliant flash directly into the Kicking Pokémon's recessed eyes while he was too close to escape. It was like daggers jabbing into them, leaving him to recoil as he staggered back with his arms shielding them from further harm. The Electric Pokémon didn't need another prompt to let loose a barrage of electric-clad punches into his blinded foe.

At the same time, Pikachu navigated around the writhing lunges of the Cobra Pokémon as it snapped with fangs that could drive poison into his very marrow in a single Bite. Then his cheeks sparked as he channeled electricity into them, releasing a Thunderbolt straight towards the larger serpent. Yet the bolt only cut through the air as Arbok sinuously avoided the guided current, leaving the stray bolt to instead sail past him and into the distance.

"No stray bolts, Pikachu!" Ash warned. "You're too close to those explosives! Use the strategy we've been working on since Raichu!"

"Pika!" The affirmation was followed by Pikachu bounding off to the side on his forepaws as a spray of venomous needles came flying from the maw of the Cobra Pokémon's mouth, leaving them to skewer the ground where he had been standing. His cheek pouches grew luminous as static electricity came off them once more, only this time crawling along his entire body as Arbok lunged for another Bite. This time the attack missed as Pikachu was the one who vanished from Arbok's view instead.

Yet, the serpent still reacted in time thanks to a flick of the tongue. The serpent tasted the air and the tang of ozone emanating from the briefest of sparks where his paws touched the ground was enough to alert the snake as the mouse reappeared behind him. He lashed out with the thick end of his tail to bat the small rodent aside with the powerful muscles behind the scales.

Pikachu still managed to bound off the ground before it could touch him, passing overhead and rotating to bring his own tail forward. The moment it connected with the back of Arbok's flared hood, he discharged the electricity straight into the snake's body. "CHUUUU!"

Electricity surged into the Cobra Pokémon's body with no buffer of air to insulate or weaken it, leaving Arbok writhing violently. The fierce motion pushed the Electric Mouse Pokémon away, breaking contact and with it the voltage coursing through it. The snake was quick in trying to retaliate with another Poison Sting barrage, but Pikachu just vanished from its view once again and delivered yet another electrified Tail Whip.

As the Electric-Types handled Jessie's Pokémon, both of whom excelled at close-ranged combat, the matter of James' was a different story. His specialized in long-range bombardment, shown by them unleashing volleys of acidic and toxic sludge toward the Pallet Town duo. Kadabra, still vigilantly by Gina's side, proceeded to outstretch his digits and produced a shimmering wall to keep them safe as Acid and Sludge Bomb battered against it until the downpour ended.

Then came the retaliation as a ray that spanned the spectrum created by psychic power and an ebony pair of beams were fired by Kadabra and Haunter respectively. The Psybeam slammed into the Flycatcher Pokémon with enough force that it was knocked over with a shriek, rendering it unconscious from the weakness it bore. And the floating Poison Gas rocketed right back into its trainer from the blast of Night Shade—bowling them over and leaving all three moaning in pain.

"A retreat… might be in order…" James suggested as he sat up with Weezing in his grasp and looked to the other two. "Escape Plan: M?"

"Nghhh!" Jessie snarled in dissatisfaction but still recalled her own pokémon into their balls. "DO IT, MEOWTH!"

"We'll pay ya back for this before long, twerps!" Meowth said before pulling out a pair of Smoke Balls from behind his back. Then he threw them down and a white, thick smoke billowed out as they ruptured and created an obscuring veil that threatened to wash over them. "Wash your necks and wait until then!"

"Not this time!" Gina shouted, refusing to let them get away twice. "Kadabra, flatten it out!"

The Psi Pokémon raised his spoon and his eyes shone with cerulean light before he made a downward motion. The air surrounding the smoke shifted, coming down to flatten and disperse it. That revealed that Team Rocket had already gotten airborne in the Balloon they had hidden away.

"Electabuzz, shoot it down!"

"You too, Pikachu!"

Sparks crackled from the Electric Pokémon's antennae and the Electric Mouse Pokémon's cheeks. They both fired lances of lightning that cut through the air toward the rising hot air balloon. They would strike it down before it could get too far into the sky to reach…

Then Meowth smiled as he tossed out a small object toward where the bundle of explosives was. In almost slow-motion everyone watched as the pair of Thunderbolts were pulled towards the falling object, following it on the way down. Right until the snaking bolts ended up hitting the mining explosives.

Fortunately for them, Team Rocket had been using shaped charges when it detonated. It was meant to open the ground up to find the fossils after all, so the majority of the force went into the ground. But that just meant, as the thunderous roar of dozens of explosives went off at once and clouds of dirt were blown up into the atmosphere, they could do nothing as the ground beneath crumbled away and they fell into the abyss below.

[-oOo-]

"…It's no good," Gina said aloud, arms crossed and eyes running across the hundreds of fissures where boulder-sized stones were pressed against each other by shape and gravity to form a seal. "We must've fallen pretty deep belowground."

Gina, Ash, and their pokémon had ended up deep underground after the explosions had gone off. She could only guess that there had been an underground cave system beneath the desert section they had been above. It was likely part of a subterranean river carved out when the island was younger before the eruptions expanded the landmass. That shifted the flow of the water to be deeper within and left this section dry considering the smoothened stone that formed stalactites and stalagmites along with the moisture in the air.

She turned her attention back to Kadabra, who was sitting down on the ground and struggling to catch his breath. The Psi Pokémon had managed to keep them from being crushed by the falling stones until they wedged themselves together and formed a natural seal. But in doing so he had exhausted himself.

'I'm sorry.' Gina thought softly, letting it pass through the psychic connection she felt as she crouched down and gently brushed the top of his head. 'You wanted to teleport us away at that last moment, didn't you?'

Kadabra was still prone to teleporting out of danger when he felt it, a carryover from his time as an Abra. And if he saw Gina was in trouble, he was more than willing to do the same to her. But when they had started to fall, she had already been reaching for Ash even as the ground beneath them. Not to mention Electabuzz and Pikachu would have been trapped down here alone, or worse.

"Gina," Ash called, drawing their attention towards him. He, Haunter, and Pikachu were standing closer to Electabuzz, who was maintaining a low-powered Flash between his antennae to provide light for them to see. Ash then pointed towards a specific point. "You see that?"

She came over and spotted what appeared to be a small, metallic object jutting out of the makeshift ceiling. "What is it?"

"I think it's a Lodestone judging from the color and how Pikachu seems to be reacting to it," Ash explained. "I read about it in one of those books on Electric Pokémon with Pikachu, while working out how to get him to be able to use Agility safely. When refined, they can be used in making the kind of Magnets that Electric Pokémon can use in battle by running an electric current through them to draw in the electrical charge from the surrounding atmosphere. That makes Electric-Type attacks a lot stronger."

"I'll take your word for it, but why would they have something like that?" Gina asked. "They don't own an Electric-Type Pokémon or else they'd have used it by now."

"They're also used in devices meant to draw electricity away from Electric Pokémon when they need to be treated in Pokémon Centers. Knowing them they probably planned to use it in one of their devices to catch Pikachu later on, but we found them before they could finish. So Meowth tossed it out of their balloon to redirect the Thunderbolts into the explosives so they could get away."

She hummed as she pushed that thought to the back of her mind for the moment and turned her attention from how they ended up in their current situation to getting back up to the surface. "Any thoughts on how to get out of here?"

Ash looked past her and towards the Psi Pokémon. "Could Kadabra teleport us out?"

Gina shook her head. "Not without knowing how far we've fallen. And especially not with how tired he is. Line of sight only unless you want to end up crushed because you were teleported into a rock."

"So that's no good then." He looked down to his belt holster where the rest of his balls were and hovered a hand over one in particular. "Kingler could probably blast through it with a Hyper Beam."

"If we're deep enough that he can't clear it all in a single shot or the blast causes the foundation around the entrance to come apart, we really might be buried this time," Gina pointed out before turning her attention to the darkness leading deeper into the cavern system. "There's probably an underground waterway further inside, but we have no idea how deep it goes and if we would be able to pass through whatever exit the water seeps out of depending on the size of the passages. So that's not an option either."

"Then there's no way for us to get out from below safely…" Ash grimaced. "What about from above?"

"If they can clear it from top-down then it should be fine," she reasoned. "Brock's Onix can probably make an opening without any issues given how it tunnels belowground. The problem is that I doubt he'd try it unless he knows there's a cavern system here that we can duck into out of fear that he'd make the situation worse. We need to get a message to him somehow."

That was something Ash already had an answer for as he turned to the Gas Pokémon, who was presently fiddling with the bit of the lodestone sticking out of the ceiling for its own amusement. "Haunter, can you carry a message for us like you did with Sabrina and pass through the ground?"

The disembodied mass bobbed in affirmation. "Hau, Hau."

Gina fished out a pen and notepad and squatted down to use her knees as a surface to write on. There was only so much space, so she focused on the basics of their situation and the fact that there should be enough space for him to have Onix to clear a path for them while they moved just far enough away from the opening to avoid the risk of being caught in the collapse. Then she passed it over to Haunter, who promptly shoved it into his mouth and swallowed it before drifting up through the solid rock and out of view.

She didn't question it. Instead, she put her focus back on her pokémon. "Kadabra, I'm returning you for the time being."

Reluctance brushed her mind. But she gently pushed back that it was for the best with his current condition. It wasn't like they were in any immediate danger either, so he should rest. Acceptance followed before she triggered the Return function and set his ball into an inactive state.

Then she turned her attention to Electabuzz. "Come here, Electabuzz."

He was hesitant to take the first step. But then he swallowed and approached her with a resigned gait. Coming to a stop in front of her, he then stood rigid in attention.

Gina pursed her lips at the act before she sighed. "I'm not mad at you, Electabuzz. I know you weren't aiming for the explosives, so I don't blame you or Pikachu for what Team Rocket did. Mistakes happen. I just want to make sure that you weren't severely injured since you were closer to that blast than the rest of us."

It hadn't escaped her notice that he had been keeping a distance from her since they'd fallen, having obeyed her instructions for light and not uttered another word. Obedience without question and trying to make himself as unnoticeable as possible out of fear of what transpired when he was being put through the abuse that Team Rocket considered training. It was for that same reason she was worried he'd been injured and was hiding it from her.

Gina caught the way his body buckled when she pressed against a part of his abdomen while brushing her fingers along his fur. "You're bruised where I'm pressing. Did a stone from the initial blast hit you here?"

He nodded slowly. "Buzz."

"This'll sting a little but then it should numb the pain." She reached for the satchel around her waist and pulled out a Potion to numb the pain. A sharp jerk followed as she applied the medicine, dousing the area and listening to its frothing while it sank past the flesh and fur. "Is there anywhere else you're injured?"

He responded with a shake of the head. "Ele."

She took his word for it while gently stroking his head. "Next time you get injured like this, don't hesitate to tell me regardless of whether you think I'm upset or not. I know I ask a lot of you guys, but your well-being always comes first."

If Gina were honest, she'd taken a risk with Team Rocket being his first opponent in an active trainer battle. Pitting him up against Hitmonlee more so, given it had years of combat experience against all sorts of Fighting-Type Pokémon. But she needed to get a proper measure of his combat sense and out of all of them he was the best fit.

Arbok could taste the air with its tongue and track targets without sight, so blinding it wouldn't work. Weezing's gasses could sometimes be combustible, so that wasn't an option. And Victreebel being part Grass-Type meant that it had resistance to Electric-Type attacks.

Hitmonlee had participated in the P-1 Grand Prix numerous times and was no doubt skilled. But just because they had been willing to cheat in their last match didn't mean that they were used to being on the receiving end. After all, using techniques like Sand Attack was against the rules, so the Kicking Pokémon never needed to learn how to fight without his vision. That trick probably wouldn't work so well the next time though.

Still, Gina considered his first battle a success. "You did well up until the very end, Electabuzz. I'm proud of you."

The praise left the corner of his lips to twist upwards into a half-smile. It was clearly something he was still unfamiliar with. But she was hopeful that one day he would be able to do so unreservedly.

"Right then." She turned her attention to Ash with Pikachu on his shoulder, affectionately brushing the Electric Mouse Pokémon's cheek while he leaned into the touch. "We should move away from here for when Onix comes down."

They moved away from the blockaded hole in the ceiling, knowing it would come undone when rescue came, and traversed deeper into the darkness threading the stalactites and stalagmites that acted as naturally formed columns throughout the cavern. They didn't want to go too far since that would run the risk of getting lost, but going just far enough back so that they could be safe from any falling rubble was important. Then three sets of footfalls came to a stop when there was a loud crunch beneath Gina's boots and she lifted her foot to see what was left of a dome-like shell.

Ash crouched down and picked up the two pieces before pressing the broken sections together and letting out a hum. "Isn't that one of the fossils we were looking for?"

"It's the same shape as one of the Dome Fossils shown in the brochure, but…" Her brows scrunched together as she looked closer at it. "This hasn't fossilized yet. It's too… new."

Fossilization took a lot of time as the minerals within the water would seep into the bones and form mineralized crystals, making the shells much harder while preserving the traces of DNA. Yet, as her gaze spanned the floor, she saw several shells had yet to be fossilized despite the millions of years since the species were last thought to be alive. Some sported what looked to be damage from battles while a few even looked like they had been shattered by an immense amount of force that crushed them.

Then Pikachu's ears suddenly perked up. "Pikapi! Pika!"

"Pikachu, what's wrong?" Ash turned his full attention onto Pikachu as his partner leaped from his shoulders and onto the ground. The way his tail perched skyward and his eyes were darting back and forth as he peered into the darkness made it seem like he was searching for something.

Gina grew concerned as well when Electabuzz took several steps forward, knees bent as if prepared to leap out into the shadows. Her mind drew a conclusion that was likely improbable, but she wasn't foolish enough to ignore both of their pokémon suddenly going on high alert. She licked her lips and spoke in a hushed whisper, "Ash, shield your eyes. Electabuzz, strengthen your Flash and cast it out to give us enough light to see what's got you both on edge."

Ash pulled the brim of his hat down while Gina used her arm to cover her eyes before the Electric Pokémon cranked up the voltage and caused the ball of lightning to glow even brighter before he shot it out. The light reached the very edges of their vision and lingered there via an electric tether. Peering from the beneath cover as the shadows retreated, they spotted the recoiling gazes of the very images seen in the Pokédex brought to life before their eyes in the distance.

A cast of Kabuto could be seen, recognizable by their brown shells that glistened from the moisture beneath the illumination. Not far from there was a group of Omanyte, just as recognizable by their helix-like shells that they could retract themselves into. And leading both groups was a mating pair of their evolved forms—Kabutops and Omastar.

"It's a living colony of ancient pokémon!" Gina practically squee'd as the pieces of the puzzle lined up as to why the shells beneath them looked only recently discarded. "They must have somehow survived because this place was a nearly closed ecosystem until now!"

It was a huge discovery. To have actual living Fossil Pokémon without needing to fill in the DNA from surrogates meant they could actively bring back their entire species as they were. And being the ones who found the colony meant they would go down in history books as the ones who discovered them.

Yet the bubbling excitement she felt at the prospect was shelved as the pairs of Kabutops and Omastar let out respective cries in their direction. The echo bound off the cavernous walls and sent a chill down her spine. Then the colony began to attack, letting fly globs of a brownish substance that resembled mud straight towards them.

"Take cover!" Ash shouted as he grabbed Gina while moving past her. Then he pulled her with a surprising amount of force, jerking her downwards behind a stalagmite that provided them with cover from the deadly volley. She ended up pressed against his body, her mind frozen as the sound of his quickening heartbeat drowned out her hearing while his warmth and scent invaded her nose and sense of touch.

The lapse in her senses was only for a moment though as she heard stone crumbling and breaking under the force of the barrage sent their way. The Mud Shots were densely compressed to the point where they might as well have been small cannonballs that only lost cohesion upon impact with the natural stone. It was safe to say they were going to blow through their cover if they did nothing.

She leaned her head over to the side to observe the pokémon with an analytical gaze. Electabuzz had thankfully ducked behind a rocky outcropping as soon as the warning went out and was still managing the tether to give them some light. She could make out how the other pokémon were relentlessly throwing out those attacks without concern.

"Electabuzz! Pikachu!" She called to the pair from the safety of their cover. "Those are Ground-Type attacks! Don't let them hit you!"

"Pikapi! Pikaka!?"

"We're fine!" Ash shouted over the shots in response to the inquiry as he fixed his gaze over towards Pikachu. "Stay put until we know what we're dealing with! Something is off about all of this!"

He's right, she thought to herself, nestled in Ash's arms while the barrage continued. If it were just Kabutops or Omastar I would understand since they're carnivorous based on the data. We're basically walking food from their perspectives. But Kabuto and Omanyte feed off plankton, so their being so hostile doesn't make as much sense—

"The radar!" Ash looked down at her due to the outburst once the facts clicked and silently pressed for an answer. "Brock said they weren't used because they disturbed underground pokémon and we're right under where they were using it before the explosives wrecked them! It must have agitated them into a frenzied state!"

"Well, how do we—" His words were cut off as a glowing white spike launched from the Omastar punched through the stone just above where his head was head had been. Considering it tore right through the naturally formed column they were hiding behind, Ash quickly lowered himself and Gina even further until they were flat on the ground. But, as more of the hardened wedges launched via Spike Cannon pierced through their cover, they both knew that they were on borrowed time pinned down like this.

She could see the gears in his head turning before he turned his attention to the stalactite above the grouping. "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt on the stone above them and it bring it down. We need to break up the shots so we can get the others out to help before one of them gets lucky!"

"Electabuzz, you help too!" Gina ordered. "Both of you target the center of it with as big of a charge as you can manage!"

Sparks crackled. The two Electric-Types built up the electricity they could discharge until streamers started to pop out from their bodies. Then they pushed themselves just out of their cover to let fly twin lances of lightning that crossed the distance in a flash and slammed into the stalactite with a thunderous roar.

The lightning shattered the stone at its core, causing rubble and stone dust to rain down upon the ancient pokémon. It brought the barrage to a stop just long enough for them to get their teams out. Flashes of light illuminated the cavern as Pidgeotto, Kingler, Charmeleon, Squirtle, Nidorina, Fearow, Wartortle, and Graveler emerged.

The two quickly filled them in on the fact that they were being attacked and needed to suppress the ones attacking them. By then the time they'd bought had run out as Pikachu sounded out the alarm in warning. "Pikapi! Pipika!"

The attacks began anew with a barrage of Mud Shots coming from both sides, the ancient pokémon having split to attack in what would be a pincer from their sides. Kingler and Graveler took up positions on the flanks, using their large limbs as makeshift shields while reinforcing their defenses with Harden. The compressed balls broke upon their bodies rather than bombard their softer-bodied compatriots and trainers.

"Pidgeotto, scatter the ones attacking Kinger with Razor Wind!" Ash ordered.

Meanwhile, Gina commanded Fearow to return fire. "Use Mirror Move and give them a taste of their own medicine!"

Pidgeotto's wings grew luminous before he took to the sky and let loose twin blades of wind into the attacking cast of ancient pokémon. The wind-woven blades sliced through the Mud Shots and Spikes as they sailed through the air and collided with them, unraveling and releasing the compressed force. The small-bodied shelled pokémon were met with harsh winds that threw them in disarray as their firing line was broken except for the Omastars that curled themselves up inside of their heavy shells with Withdraw.

And to the left Fearow perched himself onto Graveler's broad crown and opened his beak, releasing a silverish bubble that spread out in a sheet in front of him like a reflective mirror. The Mud Shots bounced off and were sent flying back while coated in a luminous film, bombarding the ones who fired them. They were left slathered in the mud of their own making except for the Kabutops, who were fast enough to avoid the retaliatory hits by ducking behind stalagmites.

Their offensive lines were successfully broken up, but that didn't mean they were out for the count. One of the Kabutops made a chittering noise from behind their shelter that was directed towards the cast of Kabuto, which seemed to be a herding call that was meant to get them organized once more as they began to regroup. The other's body was shrouded in a prehistoric power before it gathered into a light-grey sphere and was launched toward Graveler, slamming into him with a thunderous force that caused him to let out a pained grunt.

As for the Omastar, they unfurled themselves from their shells and began to reorganize themselves too. One took cover behind the other and stretched its tentacles out to collect its scattered pre-evolved forms while the other anchored itself to the ground before the spikes on its shell grew luminous. Then it fired them out in a barrage once more, slamming into Kingler's large claw that began to strain under the successive fire with enough penetrative power to pierce stone.

"Ash, we have to capture them!" Ash turned his head in her direction at that, watching as she fished out a pair of empty balls. "These four must be the leaders of the colony considering how responsive the others are to them and how strong they are. If we capture them then the rest should be easy to scatter!"

He seemed to grasp the logic well enough and nodded before shifting his attention back to the group attacking his side. "Charmeleon, use Smokescreen! Cut off their line of sight to Kingler some breathing room!"

The Flame Pokémon tensed. Then his chest swelled to the limit as he drew a deep breath before exhaling a thick, cloying plume of smoke out with all his might toward the cluster of Spiral Pokémon. The Spike Cannon barrage ceased as the smoke washed over the pair and robbed them of their vision, giving Kingler a moment's reprieve to counterattack.

"Kingler, use Bubblebeam!" Ash commanded, which the Pincer Pokémon responded to by releasing a condensed beam of tightly woven bubbles straight toward where the smoke had pooled. But it splashed and spread out on impact, washing away the smoke to reveal the Omastar had used Protect to prevent it from taking harm. Kingler continued to lay on the attack though, both hoping to pressure it and avoid the counterattack that would follow the moment he stopped. "Pikachu, Squirtle, ride it and close the distance to attack from above!"

Taking the cue, Squirtle jumped towards the top of the Bubblebeam and withdrew his limbs and head into his shell while Pikachu hopped on his back. They rode the fast-moving bubbles like a surfboard until they hit the Protect and bounced off. At that point, Squirtle stuck out his head and inhaled while Pikachu's cheeks crackled with electricity.

Then both let loose their attacks in a synchronized assault. Lancing lightning and pressurized water joined the condensed blast of bubbles in hammering away at the protective shielding. It splintered under the weight of their collective force before shattering, leaving the Omastar helpless as it was overtaken by electricity and soaked into submission.

Its counterpart bristled upon seeing its mate bested, its spikes once more aglow as it glowered at the assailants and gave out a command for their collective pre-evolved forms to open fire once more. But before they could a battery of wind blades sailed forth and saturated the group, interrupting their attacks in time for Pikachu to snap out another Thunderbolt that nailed the second Omastar and leave it wracked with writhing tendrils of lightning that seemed to bury themselves within its muscles and leave it paralyzed.

"Pokéballs, go!" Ash enlarged a pair of empty balls and tossed them out towards the pair. His aim was true, hitting the mark and triggering the capturing functions. The Spiral Pokémon were forcibly dragged into the balls, wriggling twice before they were locked in. Then the balls were teleported away to Professor Oak. "Okay, this side's taken care of!"

He turned back to see that Gina's pokémon were at work dealing with the other side. Wartortle let out a battery of Bubbles that was widespread to prevent them from regrouping. It surged forward like the tide coming in for the first time in millions of years and swept them off their feet.

The only exceptions were the Kabutops, who avoided it by jumping and pinning themselves to the rocks with their blade arms as the tide washed past where they were. But it brought more than enough time for Nidorina and Fearow to close the distance while the Shellfish Pokémon moved in opposition.

The male rushed forward, froth splashing at its feet as it ran to meet with the Beak Pokémon that was moving to rush it down. It chambered its arm blades, coated in a pale light as they caught the illumination from the Flash that hung high. Then it lashed out, two diagonal crosses drawn in the air and aimed for the avian's outstretched neck…

And then they met with a mirrored reflection as the Beak Pokémon beat its wings once in the opposite direction to slow itself enough before sending the Kabutops' attack back towards it. Blades crossing blades resulted in the Shellfish Pokémon being rebuffed in contrast to its shattered reflection. And in the gap created within that moment of separation, Nidorina lunged with her legs aglow as she sent a flying Double Kick straight into its exposed torso.

As one was sent sailing backward under the momentum of the blow, the female once more dredged up the Ancient Power that her prehistoric lineage offered. And she sent it towards her mate's assailant. Nidorina, having just gotten her feet back under her, could only brace herself for impact.

"Bubblebeam!" That was when an order from Gina resulted in a condensed stream of bubbles intercepting it from over her shoulder, pushing back against the attack until it ruptured and scattered courtesy of Wartortle. She then turned back to Electabuzz, saw he was finished generating a large charge between his antennae, and ordered the Poison Pin Pokémon to get out of the way. "Jump, now!"

Nidorina obeyed, leaping upwards with all her might. No sooner than she had did a bolt of thick lightning lance beneath her as Electabuzz speared it in a straight line towards the exposed Kabutops. The dense bolt struck directly within the center of its mass and hit like a truck, barreling it over and leaving it on the ground where electric streamers danced over its frame.

"Now, you're mine!" Gina tossed the pair of poké balls towards the Shellfish Pokémon, one after another. They met with the rock-hard carapaces and bounced off before pulling the pair into them and sealing up. Then they too vanished as the balls were teleported away.

Discordant chitter erupted among the now leader-less cast of their pre-evolved forms. Given how there were no other evolved forms present despite the length of time they had to spend in isolation, Gina had assumed that they kept it that way intentionally to avoid conflicting with one another by only having a mating pair in charge of their colony. But that meant with no immediate replacement to become the dominant pair they were disorganized, even factoring in the aggression caused by the radar, and all it would take was a final push to scatter them.

"SCREEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

All of a sudden, a horrific screech rang throughout the cavernous system before she could give the order for another impromptu flashbang. It was so loud that it bounced off the walls, echoing from all directions. And it was with such an intensity that everyone who had the appendages to do so covered their ears.

Still, it had been the final push. Whatever semblance of bravery or courage had been in the few ancient pokémon that had the potential to push the offensive, which would have led to them combatting their kin until a pair evolved to replace their missing leaders, was sapped in the wake of that Screech. The wild pokémon themselves ran with such terror that they overran one another as they made their way deeper into the caverns where they could find shelter within the waters.

And in their abrupt absence, there was only left hair-raising dread at what unleashed it in the first place. The trainers and their collective pokémon peered into the depths of the darkness for whatever had driven the others to flee in such haste they toppled over one another. Whatever it was must have been dangerous, and considering everything else it was only natural for them to be on edge as they awaited its arrival…

It came into view quicker than expected—an aerodynamic body covered with flesh the same hue of stone to blend into its surroundings. Massive membranous wings that sported a pair of sharpened claws at the end of each tip. Narrowed blue-grey eyes that were fixed onto them, and a jaw filled with serrated teeth that could crush stone and tear through flesh.

"Even an Aerodactyl is alive down here?" Gina's voice came out soft as she recalled the crushed shells they'd seen before the fighting started. Those were the remains of its hunting as the apex predator of this place. "Don't tell me it's enraged as well?"

As if to make that fact clear, the Fossil Pokémon let loose an ear-rending Screech once more. The reverberations of its voice hit like a tangible force, shaking not only the stone around them but also the very bones beneath their flesh. And, as they shielded their ears to avoid being deafened by the echoes bouncing off their surroundings once more, Aerodactyl called forth boulders.

Not one. Not two. But roughly a dozen large stones easily half of its body size, all woven from ambient dust in the air and held together by a corona of energy as they trailed around the Fossil Pokémon. Not a Rock Throw, but a Rock Slide meant to crush them in a single battery of fire.

Realizing what it was about to try to do, Gina shouted in warning at the top of her lungs in the hopes it reached over the ringing in the ears of their pokémon in time to avoid the onslaught. The message carried as the pokémon reacted to the best of their abilities in anticipation of the attack, with Graveler and Kingler taking their places in front of their trainers and strengthening their defenses to the limit of their abilities.

Then the large stones were fired at once.

Massive weight and momentum jettisoned forth at terrifying speeds and crashed into their proximity. The cavern itself tremored as stalagmites and stalactites were shattered into gravel and stone dust by the very shockwaves of the bombardment rippling out. The dust swallowed everything within range until a harsh wind blew, courtesy of the Aerodactyl passing overhead at its highest speed, seeking to take in the devastation it wrought with half-maddened eyes.

No longer were there numerous rocky outcroppings from where minerals and water had mingled, dripping down from above and stacking upwards from below for eons until they touched one another. The supportive pillars that could withstand the weight of the world above were now only shattered rubble, a forest of stone reduced to nothing more than a desolated wasteland. But among the intruders only the Pincer Pokémon and Rock Pokémon lay defeated, having shielded the others from the direct hits that would have crushed them and performed magnificently in doing so.

Kingler had collapsed, his enlarged pincer sporting fissures where massive stones had broken against it. Ash was behind him, cradling the Electric Mouse Pokémon, Tiny Turtle Pokémon, and Bird Pokémon from being hit by any stray stones due to their smaller size. He himself was being hovered over protectively by the Flame Pokémon whose flame-resistant flesh sported bruising from where fist-sized stones from the destruction had battered him.

Meanwhile, beneath the calcified exterior of the unconscious Graveler that was now sporting fissures in places where entire chunks hadn't been knocked off, was the Electric Pokémon and Poison Pin Pokémon. Electabuzz and Nidorina were using their collective bulk to keep the unconscious guardian from crushing his protective ward wrapped in a tent of feathers as the Beak Pokémon wrapped them around his trainer. She glared up from an opening in the feathers with a pair of enlarged balls within her grasp while next to her was a shell that glowed luminously before petering out as the Turtle Pokémon emerged.

"Fearow, no mercy!" Gina shouted as Fearow spread his wings, allowing her to recall Graveler into his ball as the Fossil Pokémon readied a second battery of stones to bombard them anew. She then tossed out the Psi Pokémon from its ball. "Disable, Kadabra!"

The ability to rob a pokémon of its ability to use a technique had been too valuable to pass up. So, after the run-in with Koga, Gina worked to teach Kadabra how to make that power their own. The gathering dust corralled by the Fossil Pokémon, preparations for a second barrage of Rock Slide, scattered as a binding cerulean hue sank into Aerodactyl and rendered it unable to perform its destructive attack that would bring the cavern down upon them.

That was when the Beak Pokémon lanced forward at full speed. Spiraling wind gathered around its beak, Keen Eyes fixed onto the Fossil Pokémon that sought to invade its skies. The Drill Peck slammed into its center of mass and the whirling force of the blow sent it spiraling off to the side while Fearow began to circle for another hit.

However, Aerodactyl righted itself before it could hit the ground by expanding its membranous wings. It let out a shrill, indignant, and angry sound before fixing its gaze straight onto Fearow as it came around for a second Drill Peck. Then it opened its maw, and a bead of light from the depths of its throat erupted into a powerful ray of raw kinetic force that closed in on the Beak Pokémon, plowing the avian into the ceiling hard enough that it shook and scattered dust before his body plummeted down to the ground.

"Return!" Red light lanced out from Gina's outstretched ball, converting her defeated pokémon into its energy state before pulling it back into the safety of the sphere. She then called out to Electabuzz, Nidorina, and Wartortle, who had already begun to move while Kadabra stayed next to her. "Take it out! Don't let it get off a second shot!"

Lancing bolts of lightning. Powerful streams of water. Volleys of vile poison. The collective launched their attacks towards the Fossil Pokémon, all of which were meant to debilitate it one way or another.

Yet before any could do so Aerodactyl vanished. Or rather it moved with a burst of acceleration while its body glowed softly, disappearing before the collective attacks could hit it before reappearing in the air above the collective with Agility. The energy gathered into its maw as it prepared to fire down upon them only for the restrictive light of Disable to weave itself anew and suppress the building energy nestled within its maw.

"Wartortle, use Bubble to make a minefield in the air! Nidorina, widespread Poison Sting towards it!" Gina ordered, standing next to the Psi Pokémon with his eyes aglow at their target. The Turtle Pokémon obeyed, spreading out Bubbles in the air as Nidorina released another volley of poisonous needles as a follow-up. The Aerodactyl used its high-speed movement to escape the latter, only for the Bubbles around it to burst as the Fossil Pokémon collided with them. "Now use Thunderbolt, Electabuzz!"

The Electric Pokémon generated a large charge once more as he aimed at the ancient pokémon. Bubble itself might not have done a lot of damage, but that was never the goal. The real reason was that the water weighed down its wings and soaked it, making it a much easier target to hit. Thus, the crackling bolt that flew out this time managed to fly straight toward the target and hit the mark, leaving it shrieking horribly as it got a taste of electricity for what was likely the first time in its life and began to fall from the sky.

"Now, you're mine!" Gina didn't hesitate to rush forward, breaking away from Kadabra to get into range before tossing a ball with all her might. It smacked the Fossil Pokémon before it could hit the ground, snapping it up midair. "Yes, we did—"

There was a violent cracking before the horrendous sound of metal snapping rang out before she could finish. The ball that she had snagged Aerodactyl within shattered into countless pieces, a bright flash of power following as it emerged back in its solid form. The capture had failed.

"SCREEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

Freed and furious. Aerodactyl released another horrendous Screech that rattled their bones and threatened to blow out their ear drums before it called forth a battery of stones anew, no longer disabled since Kadabra had redirected his focus. It fired down upon Gina's pokémon without a moment's hesitation and obscured them beneath a plume of stone dust that was kicked up.

"Wartortle! Electabuzz! Nidorina!" Gina called out to them, hoping to hear a response from either of the three so they could regroup. But the only one who answered was Aerodactyl who burst from out of the cloud and was aimed straight for her with its claws outstretched.

"Look out!" Ash shouted, only for Kadabra to pop up next to her before it could snatch her. The Psi Pokémon then teleported them both away somewhere, leaving it to turn its attention towards Ash instead. And that was met with Ash's three pokémon moving to intercept the ancient avian.

Flames flowed from the maw of the Flame Pokémon. Lightning lanced from the cheeks of the Electric Mouse Pokémon. Vicious blades of wind cut through the air. All aimed towards the Fossil Pokémon in flight, who managed to dodge them by dipping low and accelerating, a white shroud of power cladding it like armor as it aimed straight for the ground between the ground-bound pair with a head-on collision.

BANG!

The white shroud cladding the Fossil Pokémon erupted on impact, sending Pikachu and Charmeleon rocketing away. Ash thought it might have been Double-Edge like Nidorina used, but it seemed like Aerodactyl even felt the recoil it reclad itself again. Then it rammed into Pidgeotto.

BANG!

That direct hit sent the Bird Pokémon on a downward spiral onto the ground, his body bouncing off the hard surface on impact and twitching, while the looming predator swooped down with its claws towards Ash unopposed. It was sudden, like a push that knocked him off his feet and pinned him to the ground, where he found himself staring down the beady eyes that were half-maddened and a pair of very sharp teeth.

Rumble…rumble…rumble…

That was when the cavern ceiling shook and drew the attention of everyone still conscious. With all the fighting it wouldn't have been a surprise if the ancient canopy of stone finally collapsed. But then rays of light began to peak through the opening where they had come from initially before there was a crash as stone dust poured in. A silhouette in it shifted before it was blown away with a comedically large puff from the cheeks of a pokémon that had long since shrugged off mortality.

Haunter drifted away from the opening while the Rock Snake Pokémon leaned its head down from the entrance as it slithered in as well. Then the ghost looked around the cavern and took stock of everything. His gaze eventually settled on Ash pinned under the Aerodactyl, leaving it scratching its head with the other claw. "Haunt?"

"Haunter, put it to sleep—" Ash's words were cut off as he found himself suddenly moving. Or rather that he was being taken on an impromptu flight by the iron grip by the Fossil Pokémon as it raced through the newfound opening. He suddenly found himself looking down at Brock, Misty, and several other people who were around the entrance he'd fallen into and getting smaller by the second. This might be bad…

"MELEON!"

A snarl drew Ash's attention towards Aerodactyl's tail, where he found the Flame Pokémon clinging desperately. He wasn't sure when Charmeleon had snagged itself onto the Fossil Pokémon. But he doubled down by clamping his fangs into the elongated appendage as well, which only served to anger the Aerodactyl further as it tried to shake him off to no avail.

So, with fury in its eyes, the Fossil Pokémon made a beeline for the nearest plateau at an angle. At the last moment, it raised its claws to avoid splattering Ash against the side of the edge, instead leaving the Flame Pokémon to ram headfirst into it. That finally loosened his grasp and left him to fall over the side.

"Charmeleon!" Ash called out before being roughly pinned down onto the surface of the plateau's shelf. Now that the annoyance clinging to its tail was gone, it seemed more than content to try and eat him considering it was lowering its razor-sharp fangs towards his head.

But before it could there was a black blur that rushed past. It caught the apex predator unaware, snapping its head back before driving its center of balance backward enough that Ash was tossed from its grasp. The next thing Ash knew, the black blur went back the way it came and scooped him up in the process, leaving him floating in the air on top of what he recognized was an engorged claw.

"Pikapi!" His head snapped towards the direction of travel where he spotted Pikachu sitting on top of Haunter's head while the Gas Pokémon drifted closer to reclaim the detached limb. No sooner than he was within range did the Electric Mouse Pokémon jump onto his shoulder and cling to him. "Pipi-Pikachu! Pi!"

"I only got a couple of scratches is all," Ash said, before the limb holding him suddenly shot higher into the air and carried them both further up. That was when a lancing beam of pure power speared right where they had been, cutting through the air with a harsh wind that threatened to knock him over. He held firm to Pikachu and his hat before looking down to see if Haunter had been hit. "Haunter, are you okay!?"

The Gas Pokémon was missing its face. Instead, there was a hole opened from where the beam had blasted straight through it. But only for a moment before the hole closed itself up and Haunter began to laugh because it hadn't done anything meaningful. "Haw-Haw-Haw!"

Right. Ghost-Type…. He turned his attention back to the Aerodactyl as it finished righting itself in the air after its retaliatory sneak attack. The laughing only seemed to make it even more furious as it snarled in the face of a new challenger.

Haunter's response was to simply hold back its laughter for a moment as it shook its hand back and forth. It didn't seem interested in humoring the Fossil Pokémon more than it had by brushing off its attack. Instead, the ghost gestured downward with its remaining claw. "Hau-Hau."

Aerodactyl didn't bother taking what Ash assumed was a suggestion as it instead readied to attack again. Thus it was caught unaware when a solid pillar of fire rammed into it like a moving train from below. The attack erupted into a violent bloom of smoke and flames, from which it was sent spiraling backward with its skin scorched as its real challenge for dominion of the skies took flight.

"CHAAAAARRRRRR!"

A pair of blue, forward-facing eyes glared at the Fossil Pokémon while wisps of fire escaped from the corners of its closing maw. Outstretched wings beat up and down, keeping the stout frame of what was now an almost draconic pokémon that boasted orange fireproof skin with a cream-colored underside aloft. The long tail scattered embers as the flame burning at the end remained strong.

"Charmeleon, is that you?" Ash called out. The Flame Pokémon craned its head around just enough so that one eye could lock onto him before nodding. The sense of relief that washed over him couldn't be put into words. But there was no time to dwell on it considering that Aerodactyl was getting ready to attack again—it was time to finish this.

"It's coming!" Ash warned. "Circle around so it doesn't launch its attacks in this direction and risk hitting the others below!"

An affirmative roar was followed by a beat of the wings that launched the Flame Pokémon into a half-twist as the Fossil Pokémon began its counterattack. It called forth a battery of stones to be launched, firing them off one after another. But this time there was more than enough space for Charizard to navigate rather than in the confines of the cavern, allowing him to avoid them even with newfound wings and returned fire with a tongue of flames.

However, Aerodactyl dodged it by using Agility once more. It flickered from their immediate vision, and it was only because he was watching from the side Ash saw it reappear. It was coming in from the flank while cladding itself in a shroud of energy for another Double-Edge. "From your upper left!"

The Flame Pokémon twisted his wings and shoulder at the warning, turning the full-on collision into a grazing blow. But that had still managed to send him into a spiral towards the ground with Aerodactyl intending to do so again as Charizard righted himself rather than allow himself to fall to the ground in a single blow. He then released thick, cloying plumes of smoke that billowed out and encased their surroundings in the dark veil.

Enhanced speed and reflexes were good at outpacing an enemy. But darting forward into the thick smoke naturally robbed it of its sight. The moment the acrid vapors stung its eyes and left it blind as it fell through the bottom, Ash saw their opening to finish things. "Now! End it with a Seismic Toss!"

Charizard dove down from the shallow end of the smoke like a missile, grabbing Aerodactyl by the tail as he shot past. He then put a spin into his motions, whirling the Fossil Pokémon around and robbing it entirely of its sense of balance until they rocketed towards the top of the plateau. There he pulled it over his shoulder and delivered the final blow by slamming it into the top with all his might!

BOOMMMM!

Earth shattered. Rock that had weathered erosive winds fractured under the momentum and weight of the Fossil Pokémon. The impact of it being driven into the shelf of stone was hard enough that stone dust erupted from the fissures.

And yet, despite that, Aerodactyl still tried to rise back up until Ash tossed the final pokéball. It was snatched within the confines of the steel sphere and converted into energy once more. And, just like before, it tried to free itself and continue to fight.

Once. Twice. Thrice.

The ball shook until the capture sound rang out.

Then the ball teleported away.

And just like it was over.

[-oOo-]

"That was a mess…" Gina groaned as she fell onto the couch back in the Big Riddle Inn. Night had fallen at this point beyond the walls. She was about ready to go to bed, but she needed to shower and soak in hot springs before she could sleep away the day's events.

"Sorry for not being there to help," Misty said in a sympathetic tone. "But at least all of your pokémon will be okay."

Once they had retrieved their pokémon and sorted out the statements to the local Jenny, which took far longer than she liked, they made their way back to the city so that they could have the Pokémon Center take care of their injured companions. The fighting had been taxing on all of them for different reasons. Some of them made it out better than the others, but thankfully, none of them were permanently injured.

"…I wonder what'll happen to the other pokémon that were down there," Misty said after a pause. "I don't imagine they'll be left alone considering how rare they are."

"The Pokémon Laboratory and Gramps are going to coordinate in having them relocated to his place until they can set up a nature preserve where they can be cared for without fear of poachers like Team Rocket. That, on top of having living pokémon for genetic samples, means they'll have a real chance of bringing their species back from extinction via Ditto Surrogacy and Fossil Revitalization—cutting the time needed by a lot."

Ditto were rather unique pokémon because they could take on the form of another pokémon and then undergo asexual reproduction to produce an egg of the species they replicated. And because of how flexible their genetic materials were, there was no issue caused by inbreeding due to a lack of genetic diversity. Moreover, due to their species adaptability, they would be able to pass on genetics needed for their offspring to survive in the current age despite no longer being within a controlled environment like before.

Mind you, they would still have the area they were ultimately relocated to monitored and under the watch of specialists and Pokémon Rangers. It would be bad if they suddenly turned the local ecosystem upside down by being reintroduced after so much time had passed. But it was a net positive overall.

"…Now that I think about it, where are the guys?" Gina asked after turning her thoughts over to Ash catching Aerodactyl. "Shouldn't they have been back by now?"

Misty tapped her chin in thought. "Hmm… I think Ash is probably looking to get that lodestone refined so that Pikachu could use it. But, given that takes a specialist, I'm not sure he'll find one out here. He might have to go to Vermillion City since Gym Leaders typically know those who procure such items for their respective types."

Gina was more surprised he managed to find it after Onix finished tunneling through. But then again, he did have Pikachu with him. Electabuzz was unconscious so he wouldn't have been able to help there.

"As for Brock, last I checked he was arranging to get the Pokémon Egg he found a case to act as an incubator. The Pokémon Center couldn't identify the species based on their records so they'll have to work on assumptions that standard incubation measures will suffice. But they did determine that its hatchability rate was high enough that it could hatch soon."

"Which is another mystery to add to the pile since it doesn't match the records for the kind of eggs laid by any pokémon we ran into down there or at all," Gina murmured, shielding her eyes with her forearm while ruminating on the appearance of the egg itself. She had checked the database in her Pokédex and didn't find any entries on that kind of egg. "I mean there's always the possibility it drifted from across the ocean in ancient times and then got sealed away by the eruptions like the ancestors of the other pokémon we met, but if it was that old then how could it still hatch?"

Misty just shrugged. "That's just one of the mysteries of life, I suppose."

Gina wasn't satisfied with that answer. But she was too tired to think more about it. They'd get answers if or when the egg hatched. "Hopefully nothing else absurd will happen by the time we get back to Viridian City and get the badge there."

The Earth Badge was the last badge Ash was missing and one of the two that Gina needed before they were eligible to enter the Indigo Conference. Then they would face each other. And she would get an answer from him.

Just a little longer.