Florian needs to catch the Titans. He's named enough of them.
Instead of training for the next Gym, Juliana was with her mother, making pancakes. Sofia was watching the news.
"People from Levincia to Cortondo have reported seeing a large Donphan walking the edge of the Great Crater of Paldea. Reports vary in its coloring to the sharpness of its tusks, but witnesses all say that it was enormous."
"Well," Juliana said to her Rotom as she flipped her pancake, "I know what the boys are doing tomorrow."
"Boys?" Sofia asked, somewhere between a typical teasing mother and concerned for her daughter's friends. "What boys? What are they doing?"
"Oh, Florian and his friend Arven are chasing down big Pokémon." She paused for a moment, lost in thought. "I don't know why. Something about sandwich ingredients."
"What do large Pokémon have to do with sandwich ingredients?"
"I don't know," Juliana admitted. "But the sandwiches are helping Koraidon. Florian brings him the leftovers." She transferred the pancake to a plate and scooped up more batter. Then something clicked in her brain. "Hey, Mom? When you made me that sandwich for lunch, that first day I met Nemona and Webby...what did you put in it?"
"I can't remember," Sofia confessed. "I think it was a basic BLT."
"No special ingredients?"
Sofia thought it over. "I put some herbs in it. Basil, I think."
Juliana fell silent. So there weren't any Herba Mystica samples lying around? Or did Sofia not know what it was she had?
Short of tasting every herb in the kitchen, there was no way for Juliana to know. And she didn't have the patience for that.
"Reports stopped around Cascaraffa," Arven explained as he led Florian through the desert. "Apparently, it looked like a cross between a mammoth and a Donphan."
"Like something out of Occulture," Florian said, almost to himself.
"Occulture?"
"A magazine dealing in the supernatural. It talks about ancient Pokémon sometimes. Sometimes it even talks about robotic Pokémon. You should read it, it sounds like the Zero Book."
"Have you read the Zero Book?"
"I keep forgetting," Florian admitted. "But how cool would it be to encounter an extinct Pokémon?"
"If it's extinct, we might be looking for fossils."
"That would be even cooler."
As they went deeper into the desert, the ground started shaking. Florian nearly lost his balance. Arven nearly threw up.
Then they saw it. A large creature that looked like a cross between a mammoth and a Donphan, three times the size of the many Donphan that they had encountered on the way up.
"It must be Ground-type," Florian said as the ancient Donphan turned to walk the other direction. "I've got this."
"Changed a lot since we started this hunt." Arven smiled, a real smile for once. "Thanks, little buddy."
Releasing Lloyd, Florian stepped closer while Arven hid behind a rock, waiting to ambush. The creature didn't notice them.
"Hey, Donphasaur!" Florian shouted. "You've got something I want!"
The creature - Donphasaur - turned. Florian was about to call an attack, but his phone rang instead.
"Florian?" said a somewhat familiar voice. "This is Professor Sada. I found your phone number - sorry. What you're facing is called a Great Tusk. It's a prehistoric variant of Donphan."
"Great Tusk, huh?" Donphasaur's a cooler name. "Did it escape from your lab, or -"
"It escaped from Area Zero, yes. Please, do whatever it takes to subdue it for me...with all due caution, of course."
She hung up. Great Tusk lowered its head, as if to skewer the boy and his Meowscarada on the tusks that gave it its name. Florian didn't give it a chance.
"Lloyd, use Flower Trick!"
With only a second of hesitation, debating if he really wanted to continue fighting Titans, Lloyd pounced, launching the bouquet at Donphasaur. The beast was injured, but prepared an attack of its own.
Whatever time period it came from, at least it was used to battling.
Penny had to smile as her Flareon batted at her boots, silently begging for food. "I know you're hungry," she said, tugging her foot out of his grip. "You're always hungry."
Flareon looked up, giving her the Baby-Doll Eyes. Penny rolled her own eyes dramatically, knowing she'd give in.
She'd forget to eat if her Pokémon weren't on a dinner schedule. Luckily, she had Flareon.
Once the Veevees had been fed, she returned to her own computer, bowl of ramen in her lap.
Judging by the locations in their phones, Florian was in Asado Desert, while Juliana was in Cabo Poco. No reason for her to go anywhere.
She was a bit confused that they weren't together, however. She'd rarely seen them apart.
She wished she could have friends like that.
Lloyd had fallen to one Brick Break. Donphasaur must have been part Fighting-type. Bringing out the Gardevoir to finish the first round with Dazzling Gleam, Florian's suspicions were confirmed. He let her lead for the second round, while Arven sent out yet another new Pokémon. Florian was a little worried that Scovillain would faint after Donphasaur used Stomping Tantrum, but it pulled through and used Scary Face to lower Donphasaur's attacking speed.
With the fallen speed, Scovillain got to go first. Its Razor Leaf took a chunk out of Donphasaur's battle health, and a third Dazzling Gleam sent it running.
"Sorry about your Meowscarada," Arven said as the boys entered the cave, looking for the next bit of Herba Mystica.
"He'll recover," Florian promised. "I gave him a Revive. He just doesn't want to come out of the ball right now."
"Can't say I blame him."
The search continued in silence, until they found it. Arven's triumphant laugh bounced off the cave walls, and Florian looked down at the shining herb with skepticism written all over his face.
"Are you sure it's ripe?" he asked, and Arven laughed harder.
"Herba Mystica just needs the leaves - and this one's big enough to eat!" He flipped through his mother's old book, searching for depictions of whatever they were looking at. "Here! This is the Sour variant - whatever chemicals it's made of, it wakes you right up. Let me fix those sandwiches."
"Four, please," said Florian, and Arven grunted but allowed it.
Four sandwiches were made. Three sandwiches were eaten. And then, as Mabosstiff weakly raised a paw to put it on Arven's knee, the older human started whistling.
It took Florian all of three seconds to recognize "Goodnight My Friend" from Galavant. Mabosstiff seemed to consider it a lullaby.
Florian called Juliana immediately after leaving the cave this time. She agreed to take a taxi down to Cascaraffa and meet him at the Pokémon Center by the desert. Rather than walk and risk running into Donphasaur again, Florian took a taxi himself.
"So," he said once he'd found his friend. "What Gym are you heading to now?"
"I'm thinking the one in Alfornada," was the immediate answer. "Psychic-types. Mind if I borrow Lloyd for a bit?"
"Better not. He's still pretty upset about the last Titan."
"So you're here to give Koraidon a sandwich."
She was quick, when she was paying attention. "Is that wrong?"
Koraidon hopped out of his ball, licking his lips in anticipation. Florian pulled the sandwich from his bag.
"Careful - it's sour."
Koraidon didn't listen to the warning, and snarfed the sandwich immediately. Once more, the herb's shine took effect on Koraidon, and again, Professor Sada called Juliana.
"Let me guess," Juliana said before the professor could speak. "Koraidon got another new ability?"
"Correct." Sada did not seem upset by the interruption. "You and Koraidon seem to enjoy cliff-jumping, Juliana, if security footage on various routes is any indication. If my readings are correct, Koraidon can now glide - jumping from great heights and floating down gently."
"So Koraidon can fly," Florian mumbled, thinking back to Juliana saying something about tying balloons to the dragon. Was that really so long ago?
Sada picked up on it. "Not quite, Florian," she said, and for once, Florian looked embarrassed about being noticed. "Gliding is still affected by gravity. But in appearances, yes, Koraidon can fly. And thank you both for doing this. You don't know how much..."
She trailed off, apparently lost in thought. Then something called her away from the phone, so she hung up.
"Well, that settles that." Juliana climbed on Koraidon's back. "Ready to test out your new ability?"
Koraidon chirped enthusiastically. Juliana looked back at Florian.
"Want to jump off a cliff while riding a dinosaur? It's fun."
Florian was pulled from his thoughts of the mysterious Professor Sada, and grinned back. "That might be the most dangerous thing I've ever done. Let's go."
And he hopped on Koraidon, too. Koraidon let out a playful roar and charged through Asado Desert, taking the original route he'd taken to Porto Marinada.
