Surmount

by HDK315

Although they travel down a long, merciless road that has overwhelmed all but the very strongest to eventually throw in the towel, they do so with unrivaled resolve and convictions. This is the story of Ash Ketchum and his beloved family of Pokemon, and how they became the greatest of all time. Cover by Atenburgh.

47. Somber Egos

Domino's face was pale. The underground building that she and her parents had rushed to in the middle of the night was so… unwelcoming. The people leading them through the hallway were almost emotionless, and now the office that they sat in, waiting for this Petrel person to show up…

"Kayla," her dad held her closer against his side as the tears began to well up in her eyes again. "It's gonna be okay, I promise."

"Why are we underground?" she sniffled. "I wanna go back home."

"We can't go back, sweetie," her mother explained again for what was likely the fifth time that night, without any signs of impatience. "The League will arrest us if-"

The door opened.

The man who walked in wore a different uniform than the others, although it had the same bright red "R" in the Center. His hair was purple and oddly styled, and a goatee protruded down from his chin. Her father stood up to greet the man, while her mother stayed with her.

"Executive Petrel," her dad said. "Thanks for your hospitality."

For a moment or two, fear rushed through Domino's entire body like a rapid river as the purple man spoke in response, and it felt like she was shivering all the way from the inside out. But that came and went, and was soon replaced with a mixture of emotions so intense and fluctuating she could no longer tell how or what she felt. What to make of this man. What to make of this night. What to make of any of this.

"It was the least that we could do," Petrel began. "Given all the help you've been lately." sighing through his nose, the "Executive's" neutral face morphed into a frown. "But I owe you an apology, this was an unacceptably close call on our part. We should have figured out sooner that the League was onto you. My intel has told me that they've already broken down your door."

"That soon?" her father's face grew dark. "I was afraid of that. If we had left any later…"

"Yes…" Petrel agreed grimly. "We're lucky Mitchell found out when he did, but the fact that it was at the last second…" he shook his head. "We gotta do better on that front, honestly. A few of our other contacts have been busted in succession recently, and we didn't make it on time. I'm just glad that didn't happen again. You'll be under our protection of course."

"Of course, you are very generous, sir."

"I try my best." Petrel confirmed. "And I see you remember our deal?"

Domino froze again. Petrel was looking at her now. His gaze didn't seem hostile, but it was unfamiliar. He was unfamiliar. Everything was unfamiliar.

"Of course," her father stepped aside to give Petrel a better view. "Petrel, this is Kayla, our daughter. A very bright mind. And Kayla, this is Petrel, a leading Executive of Team Rocket.

Domino didn't respond, but Petrel nodded to her dad before carefully walking over to her. She felt like she was shrinking in size as he drew closer, but the vibe he gave off wasn't extraordinary scary, especially when he made the effort to crouch down and be at eye level with her.

"Hi," his voice lost some of the professional tone - a bit more welcoming than she had thought. "It's nice to meet you, Kayla. Although I understand that your friends call you Domino?"

"Um… yes, sir."

His smile was fairly genuine. It took one, small brick off of her shoulders amidst all of the others that were currently present. "That's a cool nickname. How did you get it?"

"A friend's birthday party."

"Must be quite the story," he hummed with interest. "But I understand that you're getting tired right now. Or maybe you're hungry? I know all of this…" he waved his hand around the room. "Can kind of stimulate the appetite."

As if on cue, Domino felt her stomach rumble. Her cheeks reddened.

"It's okay, honey." her dad said, walking up to them. "You can have some of the snacks we packed before getting to bed.

"No, nonsense," Petrel raised a hand. "You guys aren't just fending for yourselves right now? Please, what's mine is yours." he looked back to the blonde girl, putting in the effort to keep eye contact. It was kind of soothing. "I need to talk to your parents about a few important things while you all get settled in. It might be a while, but my friend Jimmy can show you to a fun room nearby. There are toys there, and it's a lot more… well, better decorated than this gray, depressing office." he chuckled a bit, and Domino almost giggled herself. At least he knew how his office looked. One of the teachers at school didn't seem to know or care. "We can get you something to put in that tummy of yours before you get to the bed. Don't worry, I know this is all knew to you, but you're among friends. We're here to help."

He offered her a hand, and she waited a moment before accepting it. The way he shook it was just right - gentle but with a steady grip.

Among friends…

/

Silica's eyes were wide in a hybrid of anxiety and awe.

The beach section of the Oak Corral was the ideal spot for her and Tempest, given the sand and water. The light from the early morning sun glittered the water like it was made of gemstones, and the sight mesmerized her, but her instincts simultaneously screamed to stay back as though it was deadly to the touch. The brown hippo felt trapped in her fascination, as though she was standing in a glass case before she was finally reminded of Tempest's presence.

The Kingler was glancing around the speech in silence, seemingly unaware of her curious gaze. Even though she had known it was coming - and had in fact asked for it - the change in scenery was startling for more than one reason. She had been transported to a completely different place, and now it was just the two of them. The last time she had been alone with only one other Pokemon was back in what Ash and Tempest called the Safari Zone, with her father, fearing for her life every second. She still felt that fear, as though nearly everyone surrounding her was unpredictable, and a potential hazard.

That was what made Ash and Tempest so special. So safe. It was a jarring change to be brought to such an unfamiliar place, but she was sharing it with one of them, and all of the unpredictabilities that scared and stressed her were absent. The ground type found herself relaxing as she observed her friend - and one of the two who had whisked her away from her terrors.

As her feet stepped through the sand, Tempest noticed her approach, and was nearly caught off guard by her expression. She stopped in front of him and sat down with what may have been the most relaxed smile he'd seen from her, as though she was just any other Pokemon, and not one who was always on edge, ready to take a bite out of any perceived threat to her safety. With an equally friendly voice, she gently asked her friend what he was thinking about.

What was he thinking about? He supposed being on a beach brought back memories to the Cerulean coast that he used to inhabit, a place that he didn't think about much these days. Turning to face her in full, he relayed the thought.

The young hippo tilted her head. What was his old home like? Did he miss it?

Tempest shook his head in confidence. He has everything he needs, and none of it was things he had back there. He was ten times stronger than he'd have been if Ash had never caught him, and had learned a lot more than he had expected.

Silica took in his answer for a moment, closing her eyes. It felt reassuring to hear him say something like that. Her face tensed for a moment, and with some hesitance she continued: The truth was, she wanted to use whatever she had absent from the team to prepare herself. She didn't want to be afraid anymore.

Tempest looked on in mild bewilderment as the Hippopotas hesitated again, trying to gather her thoughts before positioning herself in the most awkward stance he had ever seen.

Please, she wanted him to teach her.

/

"Transport complete."

Logging off of the PC, Ash removed Glaceon's Poke Ball. The absence of Tempest and Silica's balls had produced a surge of anxiety in him, a feeling of nakedness. It was still present now, yet at the same time holding the ice type's ball was like putting a shirt on after a long period of exposure. It didn't make sense to feel both of them at once. They should have canceled each other out, but instead they coexisted as a turmoil of relief and discomfort.

He didn't stare at the ball too long, not forgetting the four others that this meant just as much to.

Four. Only four. The thought sank in for good as he turned back to his friends. Pikachu, Nebula, Valiant, and Phenom all lined up patiently in the lobby of the Pokemon Center, while Glaceon remained in her ball. The knowledge that there were only five Pokemon present with him made things feel more incomplete and wrong than ever. But even that didn't cancel out the excitement tha thawing his finger on the button of her capsule brought him. He managed a smile regardless.

Pikachu's tail was stiff, and Ash caught a few fidgets here and there. The mouse was doing his best to appear comfortable, yet he felt exposed and obvious on the inside, as if everybody could see through him like an X-ray. That feeling wasn't shared by his friends, who all wore identical looks of anticipation. Looks that were contagious for their trainer.

"Alright," said Ash, holding the ball out for them to see. "Let's welcome her back."

He pressed the button, and it burst open. White light surrounded Glaceon's shape as she seemingly materialized out of thin air right in front of them. As she came into full view, her eyes opened, and the first thing she saw was her four teammates. The grin was spreading across her face faster than she could run, accompanied by the happiest of barks.

Guilt stung Pikachu's chest as the other three raced over to her. When it had been decided that Glaceon would be returning to the team, he had been naturally excited, but he found himself dreading it significantly more. It was such an unfair way for him to think, but he found his struggle to focus twice as intense at the thought of her being around, and even now he still felt unprepared for it. He wanted her to come back, but now he was almost wishing she hadn't. How could those two feelings coexist at once?

Valiant could feel the inconsistent mess bubbling behind him, and even with his focus on his best friend's arrival, he still briefly found himself paused by his effort to make sense of it. It was short lived however, as Glaceon's greeting brought him back out of his thoughts. The ice type gave Phenom an affectionate nuzzle - a bit of an odder image than it used to be now that he was bigger than she was - before turning to Nebula. The Kirlia was next, and he happily endured her cold touch as she hooked a foreleg around him for a mercifully quick embrace. Pikachu hid whatever he was feeling behind a smile as he approached the rest of the group to join in, but for Valiant and his ability to sense emotions, the happy expression was an obvious mask that only represented a piece of what was inside, instantly appearing shaky and uneven.

As much as Ash wanted to race over and hug her himself, watching the reunion up close was more than enough to warm him, and he could have waited his turn for a lot longer if need be. It wasn't long at all, however; once Glaceon finished rubbing her forehead against the flustered electric type, she turned her head back to her trainer, and the fond gaze in her eyes numbed and soothed his anxieties.

"Welcome home, girl." he knelt down to meet her gaze as she stopped in front of him, enjoying the sound of her purring as he rubbed his hand atop her ice cold head. It had only been a few days, but those were a few days too long. "I hope you enjoyed the Coral, but it's so good to have you back."

Glaceon knew she could only show Ash physical love for so long before the touch of her body became unbearable for him, and it took a combination of both effort and a mental reminder to restrain herself, backing away after a moment to give him another joyful bark. Unlike him and the rest of her friends, she hadn't gone very long at all without seeing his face, thanks to the pictures Delia had shown her (it was with mischievous amusement that she recalled her trainer's baby photos) but seeing him in person was a feeling that they could not quite produce.

A few more moments passed by as the whole group soaked in the reunion, but the cheer in the air remained even as the rest settled down. Glaceon had already been made aware of why she was being called back to the group sooner than expected, but Ash still thought it best to give the reminder, if only so they could officially get into "business mode" for the day.

"Alright everyone," the five (not six) Pokemon present were all lined up and ready to listen as Ash addressed him. "As far as I know, we'll be heading to the canyon today. This isn't just something we're doing on our time, we're signed up for this project and getting paid for it, and our job is basically whatever they need it to be, so make sure you listen to Patricia as much as me, okay? We know that Valiant will be helping out with whatever first aid is needed," he nodded to the Kirlia, who quickly returned the gesture. "And Glaceon of course will be helping with the manual digging. Of course…" he frowned a bit. "The sun's baking out there, as you already know, so it's not going to be the most comfortable for you. I'm sorry about that, and I promise I'll do whatever I can to help out."

The area around Glaceon's nose mildly wrinkled for the most split of seconds at that important reminder. She wasn't looking forward to the heat, and she appreciated her trainer's concern, but she had gone through much worse in the past. She had been training her tail off for months to be as strong as she is now, and would make damn sure she was twice as strong or more a few more months into the future. Some hot weather was going to be the last thing to halt her momentum. So with a fiery pride that she intended to absorb the heat like a sponge, the ice type lifted her chin and offered a firm bark to make her stance clear.

Ash wasn't surprised by it. This was the same Glaceon that had been put through hell by Koga and still took two of his Pokemon down with her, after all. She may have been an ice type, but her hotheaded stubbornness certainly didn't reflect that. "Glad you're up to the task."

"Same here, but don't worry too much."

Ash recognized Patricia's voice pretty quickly, and turned in the older trainer's direction to greet her. His smile evaporated a moment later, however.

The rich Celadon teen's beautiful brunette hair was tied into a ponytail, no doubt in preparation for the upcoming work. Her blue eyes were as confident as ever, and for a moment Ash appreciated the presence she gave off, rather than finding it intimidating or overwhelming. That all faded in an instant when he realized she wasn't alone, however. Her large Persian stood idly next to her, licking his paws in a manner that seemed surprisingly tame and unthreatening for a Pokemon known to be so fast and fatally precise on the battlefield, and if it was just him it wouldn't have mattered.

But Angelina and Flaaffy were right behind them.

Angelina's blue hair was once more tied into a ponytail, somewhat similar to Patricia's own. The sight of her was like a magnet for Ash's eyes that he did his best to resist. She stood there somewhat awkwardly, no doubt trying to hold something in. Ash knew her well enough to guess what that was, and he couldn't decide whether Patricia's current presence was fortunate or not. Angelina wouldn't be stupid enough to try anything right in front of her, but that also deprived him of the chance to shut her down the moment she did. The sooner he got it over with, the better.

Next to him, his team had completely shifted as well. After A quick telepathic message from Valiant (all that was needed to mostly fill her in), Glaceon's eyes acted as a pair of daggers pointed directly at the girl. Flaaffy was tense, wanting to be protective but conscious of the fact that she was outnumbered as the electric sheep's gaze traveled between each of Ash's five companions. Pikachu and Nebula were completely alert, the former's tornado of thoughts having faded away in a simple matter of seconds. By their side, Valiant looked on steadfastly, and Phenom was torn between focusing on Angelina and sizing up the powerful feline next to Patricia.

Ash had never felt more safe. Nonetheless, the celebratory mood had expired. Looking away from Angelina, he did his best to focus on Patricia. It was better to not give her a reason to ask questions, even if the thought didn't considerably worry him. "Oh, good morning."

Patricia's expression seemed to flicker for a moment, and he wondered if she was suspicious or not, but quickly pushed that line of thinking away. She didn't have much to go off of, and her response showed no signs. "Seems like you're all ready to go, and you have Glaceon with you too, good."

"Yeah," the boy's nod returned the smile to his lips - albeit in a notably smaller form - while glancing down at the ice type. "You remember Patricia, right girl?" Unlike the rest of the present team, Glaceon had only briefly seen the high level trainer at Benver's Lodging, and hardly for an extensive period.

Her firm bark seemed to please Patricia, and not in an amused, condescending way. "Yup, definitely ready. Don't worry too much about the heat, by the way. It won't be fun but I have something that could help."

"Really?" Ash asked, suddenly curious. "What's that?"

"Well," crossing her arms, Patricia didn't look back to Angelina and Flaaffy, or to the side at her Persian. Ash and his team had her undivided attention. "I hardly have an impressive arsenal of them on hand, but I do happen to have a decent amount of ice berries that I recently harvested. I'll share them with you once we get there."

"Ice berries…?" Ash tried to rack his brain, feeling like he should know this, but his mind was drawing a blank.

"You probably know what rawst berries are, right?"

"Of course," he confirmed. That name was quickly familiar. Rawst berries were a bitter tasting fruit that, like a fair number of other types of berries, also carried potent medicinal properties - in their case, healing burn wounds. Now that he thought about it, he vaguely remembered something about them also being known to cool the body temperature of those who ate them, most likely a contributor to the healing process, if he was to guess with whatever limited knowledge of medicine that he had.

"They're good for managing the heat," Patricia confirmed his thoughts as though she really could read his mind. "And we do have a very large supply of those packed and ready to go for our time out in the sun, but ice berries are a bit more extreme, we can say. They're good for the same use in medicine, but they're more preferable for ice types, as you may guess. They'll keep your friend healthy."

"You sure?" Ash asked cautiously. He was grateful for certain, but it sounded like this was coming out of Patricia's pocket, rather than Pelsberry's own supply. "I mean, thanks, definitely, but-"

Her raised hand quickly silenced him. "Relax, you need them more than me, I promise. I just happened to be growing some recently, but it's not a big deal. I can easily get myself more if I needed to. Anyway," her head turned back to Angelina. "Sorry, didn't mean to make you feel left out." she spoke in a gentle and reassuring tone, as though the blue-haired girl was a piece of fragile glass that needed to be handled delicately.

Not quite expecting the older girl to turn back to her, Angelina tried not to shuffle her feet too obviously. "Oh, it's fine…"

Patricia lingered on her for a moment before looking back to Ash. "I was just checking on her this morning, after well, you know."

"Yeah, I get it." Ash looked back at the girl, hoping his expression was as neutral as he thought it was. The memory of her running from Shawn in tears would have felt a lot better if Jaden hadn't gotten dragged into it. There were multiple comments that entered his mind, but never spoken aloud - most of all how she now knows how it felt. "So, how are you holding up?"

He saw Angelina's fist clench. "I'm… fine, now. Don't worry." At his side, Valiant took a moment to glance up at Ash before focusing on her.

"You sure?" Ash pressed. "You seem tense right now."

He doubted it was all about Shawn - she was mad that he was here. She had probably been looking forward to going to Grampa Canyon for a while, being the fossil lover that she was, and now she had to put up with the "loser" of Pallet Town tagging along and intruding on her fun, with no way of excluding him or pulling any strings. She wasn't the popular kid anymore, not around here. And she'd have to deal with it, because he wasn't going anywhere.

"I'm fine, Ash." she sounded like she was holding back a hiss, or anything else that would provoke Patricia into stepping between the two of them. But the brunette was sharp as usual, and did so anyway.

"Come on, you guys," she said calmly, raising her hands in either of their directions - she seemed to be glancing at Ash's team for a moment as well. "Let's just read the room for a moment, I know yesterday wasn't… great." She focused on Ash. "Speaking of which I wanted to ask, how are you holding up?" The look she was giving and her body language made it clear she knew something was up.

It made Ash feel a little guilty - familiar from yesterday. This was between him and Angelina, dragging any of the others into it wasn't fair to them. "I'm fine," he promised, looking towards her. "And I'm sorry about, you know, what happened?"

Valiant sensed Angelina's confusion while Patricia shook her head. "It's behind us, no need to dwell on it. Besides, today's supposed to be fun." that seemed to bring her smile back. "Busy, but fun. I know you're looking forward to it, Persian." She gave the large cat a cheeky look, which he made no effort to brush off, simply giving his paw another lick before raising it to greet Ash and his team with a meow. "This one is rather intrigued with fossils himself, and he's quite the digger when he wants to be."

That surprised Ash a bit. He had seen Patricia's Persian in action on TV, and he definitely lived up to his trainer's reputation, but he didn't recall ever seeing the normal type utilize Dig in battle. Maybe, for whatever reason, it was a skill he used exclusively outside of combat. Glaceon didn't use the move often in battles either; despite its clear merits it didn't always mesh with the user's style, he supposed. But it could provide them with an element of surprise for that same reason.

"Anyway," Patricia continued. "I have to go meet with Shane before we start gathering everybody. You two headed to breakfast, I'm guessing?"

Ash's brow nearly furrowed. Patricia was excusing herself - it would just be the two of them and their Pokemon after she left. The thought made his stomach churn - mostly on instinct, but it settled. "Yeah, my team and I are famished." He looked back at Angelina. What would she do? Would she use Patricia's absence to confront him, or demand why he was here? Make some snide remark?

"I'll be there in a bit," the blue-haired girl said. "Just figured I'd get some air before eating - and before it gets hot. Come on, Flaaffy."

Valiant watched her and Flaaffy jog off, and the Kirlia's focused expression drew Ash's attention, although his trainer did not comment on it. There was something strange about whatever was bubbling up inside of her, something dissonant that the emotion Pokemon found himself trying to make sense of.

To Valiant's frustration, that was happening a lot lately. It almost felt like his own abilities were failing him. He knew emotion reading was not equivalent to mind reading - that had been clear for a long time, yet even when he was feeling things as clearly as ever, why was piecing it all together such a chore? First Pikachu, now Angelina, even Janine… when was the last time this had consistently happened so frequently? And what was he missing?

/

Angelina was grateful there was nobody nearby to see her punch the wall outside the Center.

"RGH!" Clutching her now stinging hand, she clenched her teeth with a pained, frustrated hiss before mustering up an apologetic glance at Flaaffy. The concerned sheep took a couple of steps towards her trainer with a worried noise. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, it's…" Her eyes began to tremble before she gripped her head. "Agh! Why does he have to be here!?" More importantly, how was he even here? It was a miracle the boy hadn't crashed, burned, and died in the fire by now, which was nice, but why couldn't he be going in the other direction instead of here!?

She wasn't ready for this. She didn't need this right now. Why was the universe so cruel and heartless?

…She knew the answer. It's because she was.

Her bottom hit the ground as she slumped against the outside wall of the Center. Her starter cautiously closed the distance, and she managed a brief, sad smile that permitted the electric type to sit next to her before hugging her knees. She felt the sheep nuzzling her side, and was tempted to reject the undeserved comfort. But she didn't, because she was selfish. Just like when that boy from yesterday had gone out of his way to comfort her, even when she deserved every bit of what Shawn had been screaming at her, she had still allowed that Jaden to waste his time and breath making her feel better, all because she couldn't accept the fact that she deserved to feel this way.

She wondered how she would have reacted if this had happened four months ago. No doubt she would have been bitter and vindictive about Ash's presence, and who knows what she would have done. Flaaffy was the only one who even remotely understood, being the only one the girl had the courage to tell that she used to be a bully.

She wasn't entirely sure when things had changed. She and her friends had been terrorizing Ash for so long that she only vaguely remembered when it even started. It was almost like second nature, and for the longest time she was gleeful about it. She loved putting that pathetic waste of space in his place. It had been so frustrating to find out that he had somehow lucked (or even cheated) his way through the Exam, but it was fairly easy to get over, as it just meant he was going to crash and burn and come back home an even bigger laughing stock than ever.

She wasn't sure if the change had come overnight, or if it was gradual. Much like how it had all started, the memory was muddied, but as her own journey continued and her time as a trainer progressed, looking back at how she had treated Ash stopped being a fun memory. And before she knew it, it had become the opposite - whenever she had thought of her past behavior back home, it filled her with horror and disgust, and once that happened she couldn't stop thinking about it. In the worst of times it outright invaded her thoughts without any need for provocation or reminder. Occasionally she even dreamt about it, like a wicked shadow stalking and tormenting her, never allowing her to forget what a monster she is.

"Monster." That was the only word she deserved to be labeled with. No normal human would ever do the things she did, and enjoy it so much. She was a monster named Angelina, walking in a sea of humans who only treated her as one because they didn't know who she was. Because she hid her true nature like a coward, selfishly not wanting to lose the acceptance that she had never deserved to have. Even Flaaffy only knew the vague details, the bare minimum to get the point across, and she didn't dare press her luck with the rest of her team. They liked her well enough, but they weren't nearly as tight as she and Flaaffy were. She could only share so much. After all, what Pokemon in their right mind would want to be trained by someone as disgusting as she was? They would probably all run off and find somebody who actually deserved their friendship, and she would have no right to be upset about it or try to stop them. And yet she tried to prevent it anyway, by withholding the information that she knew would likely cost her at least four of the five friends she had made since becoming a trainer. Because she was selfish. Too selfish to stand the thought of getting what was coming to her.

Clearly, she wasn't allowed even that. That's why Ash was here. The universe was laughing in her face. She deserved it, and it pissed her off. She had been looking forward to going to Grampa Canyon for months. She didn't need this!

…

With a deep breath, she gripped her knees, momentarily staring off into nowhere before forcing herself to her feet. She couldn't stall like this too much; after all, they didn't quite know how much time they had. "Let's just… get to the cafeteria." Without another word, she turned and began walking back to the door leading into the Center and its front lobby. Flaaffy frowned at her trainer's back, she wished she could say something, but it felt like she had missed her chance.

The heat from the sun had already risen more than Angelina realized, as reentering the Center brought her a rush of cool relief from the air conditioning. There was hesitancy in her step as she made her way through the lobby.

"Oh, hey there!" Angelina didn't immediately realize that the voice was directed at her - nor did she realize that it was a familiar voice - until she saw the source of it approaching her. A familiar brown-skinned boy with a red buzzcut was walking away from the PC, expression friendly and relaxed.

Angelina blinked for a moment before realization dawned on her face. "Oh! You're from yesterday, right? Jaden?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "Angelina, right? How are you holding up?"

She flinched at first, but managed to put on her best fake face. "I'm… fine, right now. Patricia came by to talk to me this morning."

"That's good." Jaden didn't seem to pick up on what she was hiding. "I was just calling home before heading to breakfast. Kind of need to get my excitement under control so I don't scarf all the food down."

'I would be feeling that way.' Angelina thought to herself, but she pushed those thoughts aside. She was excited. Regardless of whatever baggage was involved, she had been waiting for this for months. She would make the most of it and then some. "I think I get how you feel," the girl managed a grin. "I kind of grew up as a fan of fossils and prehistoric Pokemon. I'm hoping to make a career out of it."

"Really?" to her surprise, Jaden perked up. "I'm the same! I love fossils. I'm gonna be a researcher one day, and everything!"

She was nearly taken aback by the declaration. Back home, everyone respected her enthusiasm for fossils, but didn't necessarily share it. Her dream was met with encouragement and support, but that was mostly it. "You too, huh?"

"Yeah," the smile on his face faded for a moment as he seemed to realize something. "Now that you mention it, I think Brenda might have brought that up about you before. It's great to meet another fossil lover my age."

"Yeah." Angelina's face was appreciative. 'I'm a bully.'

"What's your favorite, by the way?" Jaden asked. "I've always been into the Cranidos line since I first saw em' on TV."

"Yeah, those are great." Angelina agreed. 'I once shoved a kid down a filthy hill into a bunch of mud and laughed about it with my friends later.' "Although my favorite has always been Bastiodon."

"Ha!" Jaden's eyes were like holiday candles, so bright. "They're like the sword and shield of Sinnoh."

It was hard to suppress her giggle. "One way of putting it, I guess." 'If I had met you at the start of the Season and knew about your first year like you told me, I probably would have done the same to you.'

Jaden was about to continue, but felt his stomach rumbling. "I'm… pretty hungry. Sorry, I shouldn't be keeping you. Want to get something to eat?"

"Yeah," she nodded back. "Sure-"

"Just a second." a new voice called out to them, and it didn't take Angelina long to recognize it. Her heart sank.

Shawn was approaching the pair. The large blonde-haired man's intimidating hands were stuffed in his pockets, thankfully out of sight. Pachirisu was in her signature position perched on his shoulder, her small, delicate self a jarring sight beside her large and intimidating trainer.

Angelina's reaction was automatic. Without even registering Shawn's unusually blank expression, the blue-haired girl took a step back, nearly positioning herself behind Jaden, who frowned just as instinctively. "Oh… um, morning bro."

The significantly taller man stopped in front of the two kids, although not right in front, keeping a considerable distance. "Hey…" it almost looked like he was frowning, and his voice came out awkward and uneven. "Glad I caught you two together."

Angelina tried to push her gulp back down her throat. "D-Did you need something from us?"

Shawn bit his lower lip, taking a moment or two to gather his words before exhaling. "Look, I just… wanted to apologize. To both of you."

She didn't quite process the words at first until Jaden spoke up with some hesitance. "Oh, you mean…"

"About yesterday, obviously." The large man confirmed before his eyes moved to focus more on her. She felt her size cut itself in half under his gaze. "You especially. I've been… not doing so great recently, and I've been taking it out on you for no reason. I've just been frustrated, but it's not your fault. I promise I'll try to do better." Before she could muster up an answer, he turned to Jaden. "And you, what I said yesterday was uncalled for. I threw all that shit in your face."

"It's…" the younger boy lifted his hands. "Fine… I think. I know you've been…" he held his tongue before he could finish, and Angelina saw his eyes moving towards her.

Finding her voice, she managed to squeak out. "I, uh… thank you, Shawn. I guess I…" momentarily frustrated by her constant pausing, she scratched behind her neck. "I've had a lot on my mind too, and I've gotten really clumsy. I promise I'll try to focus better. I don't want to be a liability when we get to the canyon."

The man's brow furrowed for a moment before easing up. "Even if that's true, I shouldn't be…" some air shot through his nose as he shook his head. "Don't get me wrong, I don't like Racewood one bit, but she's right on this one. I'm the adult here, I'm more obligated to cope with my crap and lead by example than you two are. I've been feeling pretty shit for… personal reasons," she thought she saw his eyes temporarily dart over to Pachirisu. "And I've done a pretty miserable job at handling it. Been on edge too much, but that's no excuse for how I treated you. And you, Jaden," the younger boy tensed under his brother's gaze, but did not flinch. "You're my brother, and that shouldn't change here. I know you've been trying your best, and I'll do my best to be more supportive. I can't promise I'll be perfect, but I can promise yesterday won't ever happen again."

With some caution, Angelina turned her head to look at Jaden, who's face seemed to harbor mixed emotions - shyness being chief among them. "I… that's nice of you to say, bro." he relaxed a bit. "And I understand what you've been… going through. It's alright, maybe you just need an outlet."

"Outlet, huh?" Shawn echoed, rubbing his chin while a tiny grin of encouragement graced Pachirisu's lips. "I suppose I haven't done the best job looking for ways to relieve stress." his hand returned to his pocket. "For now, I think I got most of it out of my system when your friend Ash and I had that fight yesterday."

Angelina felt every cell in her body halt.

"What did you just say…" the mention of Ash on its own was enough to give her pause, but…

Next to her, Jaden seemed caught of guard, although she would have been expecting a strong reaction if she hadn't been lost in her own thoughts. "Wait, you and Ash fought? Yesterday?"

"Not with our fists, obviously." Shawn elaborated. "He was… well, pretty mad about the way I treated you, so after you left he confronted me, we started arguing and things got out of hand."

Angelina's tongue wouldn't move for a good moment or too, and when she finally got a syllable out her face reddened over how dumb her voice sounded. "...Huh…?" Why the hell would Ash stand up to this guy of all people? He cracked just from looking Sarah in the eye!

"We battled," Shawn explained, but then he rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, alright that's a bit of a stretch. He kind of kicked my ass."

Not noticing her pale face, Jaden crossed his arms. "I had no idea, he didn't tell me."

"Racewood's probably keeping it under wraps," Shawn guessed with a mild snort. "Doesn't matter, won't exactly be looking for a rematch anytime soon. I probably owe Graveler an apology too."

"H-Hold on, a second," Angelina managed to get out, regaining the attention of the two brothers. "This doesn't make sense, are you sure you aren't talking about someone else?"

Shawn's face wrinkled in confusion. "Pretty sure, don't think there's anyone else named Ash around here right now."

"What Pokemon did he use?" Jaden offered. "I know Ash's team."

"It was…" Shawn's tongue stilled for a moment. "The dinosaur thing. I think he called it 'Phenom'?"

"Yup, that's definitely him!" a small grin found its way to Jaden's face.

Angelina could feel her stomach turning inside out. "B-But, how? Ash would never do something like that, he couldn't even if he wanted to!" Come to think of it, had there been a Tyrunt with him just now? She had barely registered it before…

Shawn was clearly puzzled. "What makes you say that? He was certainly a lot stronger than I bargained for."

"Of course he was," Jaden responded. "He-" the boy paused for a moment, something occurring to him as he gave Angelina an innocently thoughtful look. "Wait a minute… you're from Pallet Town, aren't you?"

Angelina wasn't liking where this was going. Feeling small, she glanced back at Flaaffy, who thankfully stayed close to her before managing to look the red-haired boy in the eye. "Yeah, I am."

"So you and Ash know each other," he realized.

"Yes! We do!" She quickly realized that her volume had increased involuntarily, pausing for a moment with reddened cheeks to lower her tone. "And I'm telling you, there's no way Ash is strong or brave enough to do something like that." Especially not with someone as scary as Shawn, but she wouldn't say that out loud.

Jaden studied the girl's face, a series of unsure thoughts flowing through his mind. "Was he really that different back at home? Because what you're saying is nothing like the Ash I know."

"The kid certainly seemed to have a lot of nerve from where I was standing," Shawn chimed in. "He looked me right in the eye, and he was ready to fight."

"Yeah, and he already has five badges." Jaden remarked.

Angelina felt her heart stop. "WHAT!?" She froze up as he (and even Flaaffy) mildly jumped, quickly covering her mouth while her face heated up. She grew conscious of the judging eyes a few passerby were directing them with.

"What are you looking at?" Shawn scowled at the small group of workers that had stopped to glance at them. "Go on, move. We're talking." For once, she was grateful for the man's reputation, because the workers walked away without argument before he shot Jaden a look. "Okay, back up. What do you mean he has five badges? No first year does it that fast."

Shame flickered in the boy's eyes as he looked between the two of them, taking a small step back that left Angelina feeling a bit guilty. "I promise I'm not lying, you guys! He showed them to me himself, he even beat Koga!"

"Excuse me!?" Shawn exclaimed.

Angelina vaguely felt Flaaffy tugging on her pants, but her surroundings were starting to disappear. "Five…"

Shawn exhaled deeply, running a hand through his hair while Pachirisu frowned at him. "Tch, no wonder I got destroyed so badly. That kid's some kind of freak."

Jaden's nose wrinkled. "That's not nice."

"I didn't mean it like…" Shawn trailed off before shaking his head. "Never mind. Look, I need to start getting ready, but I'll see you around, okay?" Pachirisu waved back as he walked off, which Jaden returned before turning to Angelina.

"We should get going, too." he rubbed his tummy. "Food won't eat itself, and I… think I owe Ash a talk. You ready?"

Angelina fought back the urge to flinch. "Actually, uh… you can go ahead."

The second year seemed concerned. "Wait, did I do something-"

"No!" She quickly cut him off. "I mean… no, you didn't, don't worry." It was hard to word. "I just… need to clear my head. On my own, but could I still find you later? I want to talk to you more."

The bewilderment on his face ate at her. This boy was so nice, and she didn't want him to feel bad or think that anything was his fault. He just didn't understand - it was like a weird collateral.

"Okay… good luck." a bit of relief struck her when he offered his hand. "I'll see you later then, 'kay?"

"Sure," she smiled back as they gently shook. "Of course."

/

Ash was about halfway through his breakfast when Jaden joined him at the table.

"Hey, man!" The second year greeted the group with a smile, although Valiant could sense a mild strain beneath his otherwise good mood while he set his tray down next to Ash's. "Man, it sucks that they were out of donuts." He had mentioned in one of their earlier talks that donuts were his favorite food.

"So are you compensating for your sweet tooth?" Ash lightly chuckled, directing his attention to the waffles on the other boy's tray, which had been drowned in so much syrup that even the sausages and eggs were getting some of the splash. "Hope they don't run out of that next."

"When you're excited for something, you celebrate." Jaden answered shamelessly, getting himself comfortable before jabbing his fork into the first waffle. "Nothing does it better than sugar."

The few members of Jaden's team that accompanied him grouped up near Ash's Pokemon as the rookie took a quick moment to observe the cafeteria. Although recently lively, a fair portion of its inhabitants were either leaving or getting ready to leave, likely in preparation for the canyon. The sight made him hope he wasn't too behind schedule, but he decided not to worry too much, given that Patricia hadn't said anything. Come to think of it, Angelina hadn't shown up yet, which was mildly confusing. Granted, she wasn't often known for being an early bird, but she had been with Patricia before excusing herself.

"Well, I'm glad you're in a good mood," he nodded to his friend before grinning teasingly. "Or is that the sugar talking?"

He held his tongue on the true meaning of the line, "I'm glad you're in a good mood after yesterday", but something told him Jaden could read between the lines. He hoped that wouldn't be pushing it. Patricia's light scolding was still fresh in his mind, but he didn't have too many regrets. Maybe he hadn't done the right thing, but he still stood by it, even if he didn't necessarily think she was wrong to say what she did.

"Yup! Couldn't be happier," Jaden promised after swallowing an extremely syrupy bite. "How about you, you feeling well?" as his head turned to look at Ash, some almost abrupt concern dotted the redhead boy's features. "I, uh… heard about your fight with Shawn yesterday."

Valiant quickly felt his trainer's alarm, which briefly diverted his attention from mingling amongst the other Pokemon.

"Oh…" was all Ash managed to say at first. His stomach clenched for a moment. "Did Patricia tell you?"

"No, not her." Jaden shook his head, before pausing just long enough to take another bite. "Actually, my bro came by and apologized to me and Angelina this morning. That's partially why I'm late."

"He said sorry?" Ash blinked. Shawn had been fuming at him and Patricia after the battle. The boy had expected he'd hold a grudge, not that it scared him. "You mean he wasn't mad?"

"I'm…" Jaden suppressed the urge to scratch his head in the middle of eating. "To be honest, I'm really sure what he's feeling right now. But he wasn't angry. He seemed kind of out of it, which… sorta makes sense, I guess."

Ash's nose lightly clenched in curiosity. "What do you mean out of it?"

Jaden seemed uncomfortable, and Ash was fully prepared to drop the subject if it was asked of him. The other boy seemed to be looking around for a moment, as if to make sure their conversation was a truly private one. Once he became convinced that the activity going on wasn't focused on them, he leaned forward just a bit, slightly lowering his voice. "Can you keep a secret, please?"

Jaden said it gently, yet the choice of words still made Ash's shoulders feel slightly heavier. Nonetheless, he still nodded. "Okay."

Jaden's lips flashed into a smile for a split second before returning to their more neutral state, and his tone of voice remained slightly hushed. "My bro's kind of had it rough for a pretty long while now. He's always been kind of tough, but ever since he tried to quit smoking it's like he's gotten worse. Scares me sometimes."

"He smokes?" Ash repeated. Back at Pallet Town, he had never seen anyone so much as holding a cigarette unless it was on TV. Being a smoker in his hometown was barely an option as it was, given that just about every public place in the area prohibited them, and they similarly weren't allowed to be sold in stores (a policy that he was pretty sure Professor Oak was credited for). He liked to think he had an at least decent understanding of the subject, given that they were taught about it in school.

"He did for years," Jaden shifted uncomfortably. "When my big bro got into trade school, he sort of fell in with the wrong guys. He wanted to be in this group of cool students that had things on lock, but they all smoked, and he was peer pressured into it, otherwise he wouldn't fit in. He toughed things out and went along with it, but once he actually graduated he… didn't stop. He's been trying for what feels like ages. It seems like he's made better progress now, but his moods and temper have gotten really bad."

Ash pressed his lips together. "So he was bullied into it." He hadn't expected himself to feel sorry for Shawn so easily, but Jaden's quick story definitely explained a lot in only a few words.

"Yeah…" with his fork, Jaden fiddled with his food for a moment. "I suppose that's the easiest way to say it." with a light sigh, he turned back to Ash. "Look, I'm not making excuses for him, I just thought you deserved to know, since you got involved. I'm sorry he caused you trouble."

"No way," Ash quickly shook his head. "I was more worried about you."

"Heh," the other boy's grin was a bit shy, but still reassuring. "I… really appreciate you sticking up for me like that. I don't think I've seen anyone stand up to Shawn the way you did."

"Well, you should've seen Patricia." Ash remarked before patting Jaden's back. "Besides, that's what friends are for, right?" It felt nice having someone you knew could watch your back. Janine had been that person for him, and if he needed to, he'd do the same for Jaden. It wasn't fair for anyone to go without one.

The subject of conversation shifted to a more pleasant area after that, with the next couple of minutes being spent talking about what they anticipated seeing at the canyon - and with some humor, how it would hopefully be more fun than the monotony that they had gone through yesterday. Jaden's eyes were practically made of glitter when talking about all of the digging and exploration that they were going to be a part of. He spoke the way Ash imagined himself talking about the Conference, after finally winning eight badges.

Ash was so focused on their talk that he didn't notice something else in the cafeteria until he effectively glanced over at it by accident:

Angelina was sitting at a table at a further end of the cafeteria, unoccupied by anyone else except for her team: Flaaffy, along with a Nidorina, Pidgeotto, Cubone and Poliwhirl. Based on the placement of the table she was eating at, it seemed like she was alone by choice, and eating more slowly than normal. A position Ash was all too familiar with himself. He hadn't seen her come in.

"Hey, Ash?" He didn't realize that his gaze had lingered on her for a bit too long until Jaden spoke up.

"Oh, sorry." Ash averted his eyes back to his friend. "Just spaced out for a moment there."

He immediately knew that the other boy didn't believe him, given that his own eyes traveled to Angelina for a moment. "I wanted to ask, about you and Angelina, I mean."

Ash tried not to feel tense. It wasn't that he didn't trust Jaden - he did. But it wasn't the same. He was comfortable talking about things like this with Janine, and if only she was still here, he could have gotten it off his chest right away. But Jaden wasn't Janine, nobody here was. He had realized pretty quickly how silly and pointless it was to try and fill that void. He couldn't just talk about this, not to just anyone. Not even people he liked.

"What about us?" he asked, putting in the effort to keep his voice even and unstrained.

"Well…" Jaden paused for a moment, glancing back at Angelina and her team for what only could have been a split second before focusing on him. "You two are both from Pallet Town, right? So you know each other?"

There was likely no avoiding that part, so Ash didn't waste effort that could potentially be spent on other things. He gave a nod that he managed to keep from being stiff. "Yeah, we grew up together. Most kids from Pallet do, since we're mostly just one community." Nothing like the massive cities that were several times the size of the town, with multiple schools and areas as though they were numerous towns mashed into one. Two people from Viridian, even in the same age group, weren't guaranteed to know each other. Celadon, Saffron and especially Goldenrod even less so. But Pallet was a singular entity.

"Right," Jaden nodded. "I'm… sorry for butting in, but it just seems like things are… kind of awkward between you two?"

Ash kept a straight face. "What makes you say that?"

Jaden seemed mildly guilty, like he could tell Ash was hiding something, and he felt bad for prodding. "I dunno, it's just that… I noticed you guys are avoiding each other a lot. But you also keep glancing at each other from a distance, you do it a lot, no offense." He shrugged. "I promise you can trust me not to tell anyone. Do you guys, you know…"

"NO!" Ash failed to fully hold back his raised voice, sending every prayer in his mind to the Guardian Mew as he tasted his breakfast rising to his throat - not nearly as pleasant a taste as when he had been eating it. For better or worse, his own spark of guilt somewhat numbed the jolt of nausea as he lowered his voice again, hoping he hadn't gotten anyone's attention. "I mean, no. It's not that."

It may have been the lack of a blush on his face that convinced Jaden, more so than his words. The red haired boy quickly held his hands up in apology. "Okay, I was just curious. She was acting weird this morning. You helped me with Shawn, so if there's anything I can do, just so y'know."

Ash nodded with a breath through his nose. He appreciated his friend's intentions, but he wasn't sure Jaden would understand how hard this was. "I just… I'd rather not talk about that, for now. It's nothing you have to worry about, I promise. But thanks."

Jaden seemed reassured enough. "Okay, sounds good to me."

Nodding gratefully at the other boy, Ash's attention shifted at the two figures approaching their table: Dennis and Sandslash. Although he may have been seeing things, it seemed as though a few of the other occupants in the cafeteria had stopped to look at the duo as they passed by. Although Ash hadn't heard much, he wouldn't be surprised if Dennis had garnered some sort of reputation since coming here.

As if to prove the boy's point, the first thing Dennis did upon reaching them was to slam both hands down on the table, as if trying to get the attention of two people who already had their eyes on him. The two trays vibrated from the impact.

"How does it go, companions?" Sandslash seemed relatively unfazed at her trainer's behavior as Dennis sat down across from them, moving into position as though he was getting in the front seat of a brand new sports car model. "Today is the day! A journey of discovery into the world of remnants from an ancient era, just waiting to be unearthed and shared with our own!"

Whatever discomfort that the treasure hunter (more than understandably) brought to Jaden was not enough to quell his excitement entirely, as evidenced by the clear joy on his face even as he was briefly taken aback. "I've had dreams of this day for a while. Not Grampa Canyon specifically but just, y'know… getting to be a part of this. It feels great." he nudged Ash, speaking a bit more lightly - not quiet, but considerate. "And hopefully you'll find what you want, too."

He was talking about the Evolution Stones. No Thunder Stones were in sight, and the Dawn Stone that Dennis currently had was currently out of Ash's reach - as the one thing that he could reasonably give up for a trade had been turned down. The reminder didn't dampen Ash's mood too much, however, the conversation with Brenda a couple of days ago being chief among the reasons. Unearthing Evolution Stones was an acknowledged possibility going into the excavation, and if that failed…

"Me too," he responded, taking a look at his group of Pokemon, , which Pikachu and Valiant both ate among. "But there's always Stone Town."

"Ah, yes!" Dennis chimed in. "This is considered a relatively decent time of year, and the people there know me well."

"I'm sure they do," Jaden hid his frown, managing to keep a straight face for the most part. "Um, so is there anything we can do for you, Dennis?"

"Just checking in," the man grinned proudly. "We all got here together, after all, and you two are both newbies to the trade. Just wanted to make sure you didn't get cold feet, is all."

"I don't think you have to worry about that," Ash shook his head before looking over to Jaden, who nodded. "I'd say we couldn't be more ready."

"That's what they all say," Dennis insisted, before his expression shifted into something more serious - enough to almost appear foreign on the talkative man's face as he leaned forward just a little bit to close a noticeable distance between himself and the two boys. "But you should know, excitement alone does not prepare you for a task like this. Fossil digging is serious business and an acquired taste. If you take it for granted you'll be burnt out before sunset. Why, I could tell you a whole book's worth of stories about my newbie days. It could be the rough draft for when I write it!"

"You're writing a book?" Jaden raised a brow, genuinely curious.

"Indeed!" Dennis' hands collided with the table once again, vibrating the breakfast trays for a second time. The volume in his voice evened out, although the excitement remained. "Hopefully, the first of many. I've had more memorable experiences than I can count, so what better way to tell the tale than to document them?"

"You mean like an autobiography?" Ash asked.

"A bit of a mix," Dennis replied. "I'll tell my story of how I came to be a part of the gane, but it's also about sharing my knowledge of the world. All of the greats do so!"

"Well…" Jaden offered. "You're right about that. How many books Professor Oak written, anyway?"

"If you count the ones he was noticeably involved in, too many for a shelf." Dennis gave him a thumbs up. "So you know that I'm serious, and make sure you are - I wouldn't want fresh blood squandering the chance of a lifetime."

"I would never." Jaden's nose scrunched. Ash wondered if he thought Dennis was judging him, and was prepared to feel irritated, but also found himself on the indecisive side. As clear as the treasure hunter's arrogance was, it was still annoyingly challenging to get a proper read on him. He wasn't like Gary, who's cruel intentions were as transparent as the cleanest glass. By accident, he found himself stealing another glance at Angelina, and only then did he realize that she seemed to have been watching the exchange, because they ended up looking right at each other. She looked away first, and when he did the same, he saw Jaden looking at him. No doubt the second year had noticed - Ash tried to give him a quick look of reassurance before both boys returned their focus to Dennis - not Ash's first choice of who to engage with, but hardly at the bottom of his list considering who else was sitting in the cafeteria. "Why would you think that?"

"I am simply making sure," Dennis mildly raised his hands with a shrug. "We all know the story, newbies rush in thinking they are ready for anything, until they are met with the roughest of wakeup calls. Happens to trainers all the time!"

The look in Jaden's eyes shifted downcast. "Yeah…"

On instinct, Ash quickly nudged his friend before looking back to Dennis firmly. "Well, you don't have to worry about that at this table. Our heads have already been put in check." 'Maybe you can have a talk with the blue-haired she-devil on that end of the cafeteria.'

"Hmmm…" Dennis studied the two boys for a moment, although for better or worse, his gaze was primarily focused on Ash. Next to him, Sandslash was thankfully just relaxing, so it didn't feel like a double team. "You certainly seem confident. Hopefully it's a healthy form." Rising to his feet, his knuckles gently collided with his chest. "Of course, we all have plenty to look forward to. This operation has been graced with my genius, after all! See you in a bit!"

As Dennis and Sandslash walked off, Jaden let out a quiet but unsure sigh. "For a guy who preaches healthy confidence, he sure is full of himself." The look he offered to Ash was conflicted but amused. "I just hope whatever books he's cooking up are more focused on education than self praise."

"Yeah, good point," looking back at Dennis and Sandslash, Ash watched them exit the cafeteria, pausing for a moment to gather his thoughts. "Although… I'm assuming he's not full of hot air, at least. Not saying that justifies the attitude, but he's hardly the worst. Maybe he really can be a big help."

"Don't get me wrong," Jaden assured, returning his focus to his breakfast. "I do hope so."

Their meal continued uninterrupted from that point. They were a bit quieter for a while, until Ash spoke up again as he finished the last of his tray. "So, I'm guessing you've read books on the subject?"

Jaden's eyes were lighting up again. Ash found that he really enjoyed the sight. "Leader Byron of the Sinnoh Region has a really great one - and also a picture book that I must have looked at a thousand times."

Though genuine, Ash's smile clashed with his thoughts. "Oh, really?" 'I'm pretty sure Angelina is a fan of those.'

/

Angelina felt naked.

More than that, she felt confused and jumbled. What Jaden had said about Ash couldn't have been true, it didn't make sense. It was as wrong as Gary being a failure with no badges to his name. She wasn't even sure how she got through breakfast with everything going on in her mind. Even after giving herself space from everyone else…

Just looking at Ash brought back the memories. She'd see him, and his image would be replaced with the meek, crying kid from back at home, whom she helped create. The one who could barely do anything right, yet had somehow made it all the way out here in one piece. Looking him in the eye was impossible, and his team…

No doubt they knew about her. She could feel their judgment in their eyes even moreso. Every single one of them was completely loyal. The boy that she had bullied for nearly five straight years had gone from being the failure of Pallet, to…

… Much stronger than she was, for starters. The thought settled an ice cold brick into her stomach.

Ash and Jaden were well out of the cafeteria by the time she had finished her food. Recalling everyone on her team except for Flaaffy, the girl wiped her brow and headed to the camp. She did her best to listen to Mr. Shane's microphone amplified speech, and doing so did manage to improve her mood. After all, she had been excited about this for ages. The boss of Pelsburry would go on and on about how important this project was for the company, how big of an investment had been sunk into it.

"Great discoveries are going to be made in the coming days, and we shall share them with the whole world."

That cold feeling inside of her was accompanied by a warm swelling at his words. With some amusement, she couldn't help but think back to times she would pretend dig back at home. She would even wear a hard hat just to really feel like she was. It was no different to her than an all of the pretend battles they would have, aside from being a bit of a dirtier game.

As she scanned the crowd, she wondered how many people here were like her. A lot of them were of course just here for work, but the project had predictably attracted enthusiasts as well. Like the arrogant weird guy, Dennis, or that nice boy Jaden who had been hanging out with Ash…

It wasn't too long after she had that thought that she spotted the two boys elsewhere in the crowd. Ash's Pikachu was perched on his head (or cap) in a sight that the girl wished she could find cute, while a Phanpy stood next to Jaden, nuzzling his leg in an a manner that was easier to see as endearing. She couldn't hear them from where she was (particularly over Shane's microphone), but it seemed like Jaden was trying to keep his voice soft while speaking to Ash. As though by accident, the red-haired boy's eyes landed on her as he briefly started looking around; without a word, he raised a hand to give her a light wave.

Next to Jaden, Ash caught sight of Angelina cautiously waving back at his friend, as though hoping Shane wouldn't notice. He felt his fist tightening and redirected his attention elsewhere. Irene was somewhere near the front, while Patricia was near the makeshift stage that the boss stood on, accompanied by her Persian and Meganium. He wondered if he could find Beth or Dennis, but was also doing his best to pay attention to Shane's speech, just in case he actually started saying something crucial (right now, it felt like he was basically just gushing about the project in a way that could be disguised as importance).

"Pretty impressive turnout," he said in a hushed tone, managing to spot the red-haired girl standing with her Primeape. "A lot of people really wanted in on this."

"Can't blame them, right?" Jaden responded. "It's a huge occasion to go digging in a place as vast as Grampa Canyon. Who wouldn't want it, y'know?" looking away from Angelina, his eyes traced a few rows before seeming to stop somewhere. Although Ash couldn't quite tell, it seemed like Jaden was looking at the older trainer who had swapped shifts with them the previous day, who had an Elekid standing next to him. For a moment, he could have sworn that there had been a flash of sadness in his friend's eyes, contrasting with the gentle smile across his lips.

"Hey," trying to stay quiet, Ash averted Jaden's attention back to him with a light shoulder bump. "You good?"

"Oh, uh…" Jaden blinked, though he had been caught with his hand in a cookie jar. "Yeah, everything's cool over here."

"You sure? You seemed a bit-"

"You with the Pikachu on your head, listen with your ears, not with your mouth!"

Ash flinched for a split second, not realizing that his voice had gotten a bit louder. As Pikachu glanced down at his face from above, it seemed like a few of the people around them were chuckling, causing Jaden's Phanpy to scowl while lifting her trunk.

"Easy girl," Jaden whispered, trying to sound as quiet as possible before frowning back at Ash. "Sorry man…"

"Not your fault." Ash replied, already shrugging off the embarrassment. It was no big deal in the end; he'd gotten much worse than a collection of chuckles back when he was far more fragile.

Over on her spot, Angelina herself had tried not to flinch after hearing Shane call Ash out, and the sound of the chuckling almost made her face pale. She half expected the boy's knees to fold, but the moment never came. He barely even seemed to care. How?

Five badges, a dragon type teammate, and the bravery to stand up to someone like Shawn. It was like the Ash she knew had switched bodies with somebody else. The only person she could think of who could have done the same things at their age was Gary, but since when did she ever compare Ashy Boy (she hated the role she played in that nickname's existence) to him?

She wanted to feel relieved, knowing that he was doing alright. And maybe if he was a little bit less ridiculous, she would. But right now the only real feeling was the Beedrill stinger poking at her heart and forcing her to look away.

'Stay focused.' the girl told herself. This was the day she had been waiting for forever. It would hopefully just be a preview of what she wanted to make an education and career out of, from Oreburgh University and beyond. She hadn't passed the Qualification Exam by being sidetracked, but nowadays it felt like that was the only word to describe her. Not today.

"Not today." her whisper repeated her thoughts out loud.

/

Standing in Grampa Canyon felt honestly overwhelming. The scope of Ash's surroundings were unlike anything he had experienced before - the baking sun was one thing, but it was accompanied by what felt like endless walls of rocks on either side of him, creating an expansive that didn't feel cramped in the slightest even with the large team and soon to be escalating activity. Just angling his head upwards made the boy's heart race.

Pikachu and Phenom were currently the only ones with him; Valiant and Glaceon would be needed in time, but for now he didn't wish to overwhelm the former, or overheat the latter before the real work even started. His starter sat on his head, and both Pokemon wore the same expression as their trainer. They were hardly the only ones taking in the magnificent sight, some of the people on the project (particularly the official workers) weren't as fazed, but other trainers were in awe as well. Before leaving for the canyon, assigned trainers had all changed into a specific, identical uniform (different from the workers), and because of that, as Ash began to observe his peers, it became increasingly easy to make out the difference in reaction between trainer and worker. It was hardly just him.

The uniform wasn't really his type; he hadn't planned on wearing the clothes Janine had gifted him back in Fuchsia, as they were due for a wash, but if it was up to him he'd be wearing something else. His cap from Caleb still rested on his head as always, however, providing both welcome familiarity and of course assistance with the bright sun scorching the valley between the massive canyon walls.

"Enjoying the view, I presume?" His head turned to see Irene, approaching them neutrally with a Crawdaunt at her flank. "I'm assuming you've never been in a place like this before."

"A quick trip through Mt. Moon is the closest I can say," Ash confirmed with a shake of the head while pushing away the actual events that took place during said trip. "Patricia said that you've explored areas like this in the past. Is that why Russeul recommended you?"

"That is indeed part of it," a basic grin formed on the emerald-haired teens lips. "My studies take me to a broad variety of areas, but Mr. Russell caught note of one particular outing in the nearby Fuchsia mountains. Of course we already knew each other before then, but that was his reason for reaching out to me, according to him. You'd be impressed with the tracks and other markings Pokemon can leave behind in mountainous areas, and it just so happens that a little bit of digging can be necessary for uncovering it. I'm primarily here to help gather notes for the reports, but Crawdaunt here will be of more than assistance for the digging part." she prodded the side of the lobster's head. "Say hello."

Crawdaunt showed no reaction to the contact, and observing him up close left Ash with the impression that he had quite the sturdy shell. No doubt Tempest would have enjoyed meeting him under more competitive circumstances - as much as he already missed the river crab, distractions were practically a sure thing with him. Without changing his expression too much, he lifted a pincer in greeting, accompanied by a not overly friendly (but hardly hostile) rumble that Pikachu and Phenom returned. As the mouse raised his paw to Crawdaunt, it felt as though Irene's words acted as something of a reminder, or perhaps merely elaborated. The water/dark type was here to assist in the digging, as was Glaceon. Valiant was on first aid duty, and Nebula would most likely be patrolling from the sky if need be, which she was perfectly capable of doing with or without him on her back.

Where did that leave him, then? Sure, Phenom didn't have a job either, but being a Fossil Pokemon in a fossil based mission at least gave the Tyrunt some standout. Compared to everyone else, he was simply here,

"He's not the talkative type," Irene reassured. "Nothing personal, but he's a big help." she looked between Ash and his two present teammates for a moment before continuing. "Would you like to walk with me? We haven't talked much."

Ash felt flattered that she was saying that about him specifically. "Sure, of course."

The older girl led him a bit of a ways through the valley, excusing herself as they passed by a few other workers and trainers preparing themselves. For a moment Ash tried looking for Jaden and Angelina amongst all of the activity, but Irene's voice took away his attention.

"I hope I am not overstepping boundaries," she said cooly, slowing down just enough for the two to walk (almost) side by side while her head turned towards Phenom. "But I'm curious about your Tyrunt, if you don't mind."

Phenom perked up on the attention, but Ash wasn't certain if the young dragon was focused on Irene's gaze or the brief blink-and-you'll-miss-it look that Crawdaunt had sent him. "You're not the first to be," he admitted, trying not to brag. "He was sort of a surprise. A really great one, right Phenom?" His friend good naturedly growled in agreement.

Irene stared for a moment longer before looking on ahead, passing by two workers who seemed to be setting up some sort of drilling device. "Your Tyrunt may have been a Fossil before you acquired him, you know."

"Actually, I got him as an Egg."

"Then at least one of his parents likely was," she corrected herself before giving the boy another smile. "Of course, we won't find any Tyrunt remnants in this Region, but it may be an opportunity for your friend."

"Yeah, I have thought about that." Not noticing Pikachu's frown, Ash looked back at Phenom, whose own curiosity had definitely been piqued by the exchange. "What do you think, buddy? Are you looking forward to seeing the fossils?"

The young Tyrunt hummed for a moment. Truth be told, he had a habit of sometimes overlooking the fact that his species was apparently extinct and ancient before the humans had created those fossil restoring machines in recent years. If it hadn't been for the comments that others had made, he may have even forgotten it entirely. Still… Now that the subject was being brought up, all of a sudden he wondered what a Tyrunt fossil looked like. He sadly would not be finding out today.

Before Phenom could attempt a reply, a shadow abruptly darkened the groups surroundings - and the sight above attracted the gazes of onlookers. For a split second, Ash was startled, and his heart began to race. On edge, Pikachu jumped off of his shoulder, and even Irene and Crawdaunt braced themselves for a moment.

It was no cause for alarm, however. The behemoth of a creature descending from the sky quickened Ash's blood flow for a few moments before he recognized it properly: Patricia's famous black Charizard, carrying his trainer to the ground with grace. As the brunette slid off of her starter's back, Charizard rose back to full height, and Ash watched the lizard tower in real time. It was magnificent to witness up close, even for the second time.

"What an entrance, Patricia." Irene lifted a hand to her chin with a suppressed giggle. "If I didn't know better, I'd call your friend a potential distraction."

Her jest was not unfounded - all trainers and workers alike in the immediate area couldn't help but turn their heads in Charizard's direction, although the black dragon impressively did little to soak up the attention. His focus was uncompromised. As Ash tried to observe the fire/flying type's body language (without getting too flustered at the mere sight of him, that was) he thought back to what Patricia's Charizard had often given off - both on TV but especially in person. Despite not actually being a dragon type, the line did confusingly have draconic genes, being of the dragon egg group, and were as expected known for their ferocity. Any Charizard was a terrifying force to be reckoned with simply by virtue of being a Charizard. Incredibly coveted and an icon of respect.

This Charizard was likely among the finest of his species, and that was reflected in his stature. His appearance and capability in combat elicited all of the emotions that a Charizard were known to bring about towards both onlooker and enemy alike, turned up to eleven. But despite the (highly accurate) reputation of his species, Patrica Racewood's Charizard did not appear ferocious, or easy to anger, or so many of the traits that his species were commonly associated with. This Charizard was regal, in both his expression and how he carried himself in posture. He seemed to be perfectly calm and collected, in a manner that nonetheless retained the sense of strength. Not a beast, or even a warrior. He was a king.

Almost involuntarily, Pikachu's cheeks sparked on Ash's shoulder, producing a heated tingle that the boy felt on his face. Next to them, Phenom's eyes scanned every visible trace of the flying lizard's body, taking in what was surely the pinnacle of physical shape. Irene's point seemed to be proven further when the Tyrunt produced his own near-involuntary reaction to the newcomer's presence - in the form of a subdued growl. The noise did not fall on deaf ears - Charizard's attention shifted to him. Although his towering form made it easy to forget Phenom's growth spurt, there was no dismissiveness or annoyance in the fire/flying type's expression. In fact, Ash dared to say that he appeared analytical, taking genuine time to look the Tyrunt over as Phenom responded to his attention with a second growl.

For a moment, Ash's heart raced again. One of Patricia Racewood's signature teammates, and one of the finest powerhouses in Indigo, was scanning a member of his team. Acknowledgement? Respect? Intrigue? For as strong as Phenom was, Charizard casted a massive shadow over him in every capacity, and yet he wasn't arrogantly looking past the younger dragon like so many others in his shoes most likely would.

It only lasted for a moment, however. Maybe two or three. Conscious reminded the boy to show restraint.

"That's enough, Phenom." undeterred by his friend's stance, Ash moved to place a hand on the dinosaur's back. "Stop." Although not hostile, his voice was firm with the necessary force.

Although it took longer than Ash wanted it too, Phenom did respond to his trainer's command, easing up just enough and backing off. Charizard's expression still didn't change, showing no signs of being amused or offended. Irene had not taken her eyes off of the Tyrunt, but said nothing as Patricia remained as coolheaded as her starter.

"Heh, maybe so, but Charizard's just my ride." The way she casually reached up and placed her hand on Charizard's side as though he was just another person made the celebrity trainer look more larger than life than ever. "Meganium is going to be with us, so he will be returning to the Center to look after the Egg."

"I see," Irene offered Charizard a nod, which he returned in a mildly smoky exhale. "I suppose you're hardly empty-handed without him."

Charizard sitting out the operation to look after his and Meganium's Egg… that almost felt akin to Tempest staying behind at the lab with Silica. Did that mean Patricia only had five Pokemon on her as well? Or had she already gotten the necessary eight badges to boost her carry limit to nine? Ash was tempted to ask, but held his tongue.

"You know I'd never go unprepared, Irene," Patricia agreed in reassurance before giving her partner a fond look. "Thanks, Charizard. I'll see you soon." leaning forward, she pressed her lips against his side before backing up to give him space to spread his wings. The looming, overhead shadow of the black dragon returned as one of the greatest specimens in Indigo rose back into the sky and flew off in the direction of the Pokemon Center. Ash held onto the rim of his cap as the strong breeze he produced came and went. Almost in a trance, he watched Charizard's form shrink into the distance, but willed himself to look away before he was out of sight.

His eyes ended up landing right on Irene's teasing smirk. "Well look at that, even when leaving he's a distraction." His cheeks would have gone red anyway, but Patricia's giggle made it worse.

"How funny of you, Irene," the brunette spoke playfully before focusing on Ash. "Well, Shane tells me that things are getting underway ahead of schedule, so that's good news. Would you mind letting Valiant out now so he can be on standby?"

"Yeah, of course." Ash's nod was partially compliance, and partially an effort to snap out of it and get back to business. This wasn't recreational activity, after all. They all had a job to do.

As he took out the Kirlia's Poke Ball, Irene nodded in approval before turning back to Patricia. "I'm going to have to get going and find a good spot myself, then. Please excuse me." A few quick farewells were exchanged before Ash and his team were left alone with Patricia.

"Nervous?" the brunette offered.

"...Maybe a little," he confessed. "But we're ready, right guys?" on his shoulder, Pikachu tried his best to emulate Phenom's competent response.

"I wouldn't blame you for being overwhelmed, just so you know," Patricia continued. "Just follow my instructions and you'll be fine, this isn't sink or swim like a Pokemon journey."

Ash's lips stretched just a bit. It was a good way to word it. "Right."

Valiant appeared in front of him in a flash of light. The Kirlia spotted Irene and Crawdaunt's departing forms from the corner of his eye, turning his head to get a better look before focusing on his trainer. After offering Ash a quick nod, he turned towards Patricia, pressing his hands together while offering her a quick bow. "At your service, Miss Racewood."

He received a warm grin in return. "Okay, let's get started."

/

Irene and Crawdaunt soon found themselves with Shane, who to the teen girl's mild irritation was accompanied by Dennis and his Sandslash.

"What a wonderful sight this canyon is!" Dennis spread his arms out while Sandslash just stood there, as if her trainer's behavior was beyond normal. "The perfect location for a journey of discovery." he turned to Shane. "You've made quite a worthwhile investment, Mr. Shane. It is a fortune for you to have my genius and talent at your disposal."

The older man's nose twitched. "Don't you mean… never mind." his voice rose. "Irene, get over here! And bring that Crawdaunt with you, he's yours, correct?"

'Why wouldn't he be mine?' Irene questioned herself. Did this man think Crawdaunt was some random wild Pokemon conveniently attached to her hip?

As she made her way over, her eyes fell distastefully on Dennis. She didn't understand what any of the higher ups for this project could have seen in the man. Russell had claimed that he was an outstanding expert in all things archeology, digging and hiking - all of which she had a hard time believing. He had also said that Dennis was cocky and disrespectful, and probably delusional - which was a lot easier to swallow. Surely there must have been people of the same qualifications with much more appealing personalities? She was used to burying such things and ensuring that they wouldn't show up on her face, it was simply a part of being professional, but people like Dennis made her job needlessly difficult. The importance weighed against the impulsive urge to bonk him on the head.

Thankfully, only she knew how forced her smile was as she and Crawdaunt stopped in front of them. "Hello, Mr. Shane. You must be in good spirits to finally get here after so much planning. Have you heard from Russell down below?"

"Yes, I have just a moment ago, in fact," Shane responded, his tone not as bitter as the girl was used too. "He says everything is going smoothly in the caverns, and that I'll be happy with the findings. Sent me a few impressive photos as well."

"Did he now?" Dennis perked up (Irene wished he hadn't). "May we see?"

Shane shot the "treasure hunter" a dirty look. "You will have plenty of photos to take above the ground, thank you very much. Which brings me back on topic for your instructions."

"You wish for me to inspect everyone's findings as they are unearthed, correct?" the dirty blonde man surmised. One of his many apparent talents involved the ability to impressively examine fossils and stones. Or at least, so Russell insisted.

"Let me finish, Dennis." Shane wagged his finger in a peculiar manner. "Yes, you and Irene are both on inspection. But I'll need you and your Crawdaunt and Sandslash to split up." he looked between the two Pokemon, Crawdaunt remaining alert while Sandslash was mildly surprised. "While you're both doing your jobs, I'll need these two to go off on their own and assist with the digging. In separate places, of course. Racewood will instruct them on where to go."

"If I may, sir," Irene offered a raised hand. "Is it necessary to separate us from our Pokemon? Shouldn't we be instructing them ourselves?"

"I'm sorry," Shane turned his gaze on her. "Last I knew, I was the one doing the instructing. Your job is to follow those instructions, is that clear, girl?"

Irene felt the tension in her body rise, but her expression remained mostly the same. "Yes, it is. My apologies for speaking out of turn."

Shane focused on her a moment longer before easing up, almost dismissively. "Good. Now I'm needed elsewhere, so go on ahead and get ready. Try not spend too much time."

Dennis watched their boss leave before turning to pat on the nose. The ground type closed her eyes and leaned into her trainer's touch. "He's right of course, there's no need to dawdle. I'll see you soon, friend." The two headed off in opposite directions, leaving Irene alone with Crawdaunt.

With everyone else gone, the girl's mask finally dropped, accompanied by a deep sigh and a somewhat exasperated frown. "They're both quite obnoxious, wouldn't you say?" Looking over to her partner, her lips barely managed to elevate themselves at his nod of agreement. "Well, I'm afraid the people you work with can't be helped. Makes no difference I suppose." reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a small, electronic device and offered it to him. "Here, hold still for a second."

It took more than a second, but the water/dark type obediently stayed put as she carefully attached the device to the side of his head. It was basic communication equipment, albeit durable enough to withstand a the elements - a necessity for the type of environment that they were currently in, not to mention the work that he would be doing.

"There you go," Irene finished, pushing back her emerald hair as she stood up straight. "Now we can stay in touch. I'll contact you when needed, just focus on your digging, understood?" Trainer and Pokemon exchanged nods before walking off separately.

/

"Man…" Jaden managed to get out as he and Angelina were overtaken by the faster moving crew members behind them. He felt his heart racing as he looked around. "I've seen pictures of this place online, but being in here is actually kind of…" he felt the very early signs of nausea in his stomach - the kind where it wasn't there yet, but you realized with dread that it was coming.

Angelina's face was a bit pale as she looked around, but shifted to concern as her eyes met him. "Are you nervous?"

"Maybe a little bit." he admitted. "It's so big."

"If it makes you feel better, I uh…" the girl shifted a bit as she and Flaaffy looked up at the towering walls surrounding them. "Yeah, I'm kind of overwhelmed." She was so focused on how excited she was for the trip (among other unwelcome distractions) that it was like she had dove into a pool without testing the waters. Now the Butterfree in her stomach were flapping their wings as rapidly as they could, and her whole body felt tingly. Still…

Despite everything, her lips continued to stretch. "It's amazing to be here."

She wondered if the feeling was contagious, because Jaden seemed to gradually improve somewhat. With a slightly more content look on his face, his hand patted the notebook hanging on the outside pocket of his backpack. "I am gonna take so many notes, and hopefully draw some stuff."

The sudden, newfound enthusiasm seemed to transfer straight to Angelina, who nodded with a hum before turning to show off her own journal. "Way ahead of that. Would you mind if we swapped our books for a moment after we get back?"

"No problem!" His reply was eager and spirited. "We should split up, then. Whoever gets the most down wins." Taking out two Poke Balls, he released Heracross and Phanpy, although he didn't give them much time to adjust, and they were left scrambling to follow after their trainer. "Come on you guys!"

As the trio (rather quickly) disappeared amongst the activity, Angelina stifled a giggle before looking down at Flaaffy, who seemed to have a similar reaction. "Well I guess giving himself a head start was a part of that plan." kneeling down, she rubbed her hand softly against the sheep's head, enjoying the nuzzle that the electric type offered in return. "Well, he has the right idea. Let's get to it while the day is still young." straightening herself, she dared to look back up at the surrounding canyon, sucking in a bit of air as her eyes shone with awe.

The sight was frightening and reassuring. Today was going to be a good day.

/

"Alright, here's a good spot."

All five of Ash's currently on hand Pokemon were present as Patricia and her Persian inspected a fairly spacious area before turning to the group. Plenty of activity could be heard from the direction they had come in, but it wasn't totally overwhelming around here - at least not yet.

"I figured you could use the extra space," she offered. "Not that there's much in the way of privacy around here right now." Turning her head to Persian, she nodded at the large cat. "Quick demonstration?"

With an easy smile, Persian raised a paw in front of his face, and the shiny claws protruding seemed to get longer in real time. Turning around with the grace of a master swordsman, the feline slashed the ground beneath him, carving straight into the rock and sending small chunks of earth to the side before going on the attack. Ash and his team (especially Glaceon) watching with awe as the series of rapid-fire slashes easily tore the ground asunder, as though he was burrowing in regular dirt and not stony floor. Those claws were the bane of all enemies that were pierced by them on the battlefield, and seeing how (seemingly without effort) they ripped open the rocky earth sent chills down Ash's spine, almost like it was just now sinking in that this normal type could turn around at any time and end him in a single motion.

It didn't last long, however, and Persian was finished with the preview as quickly as it began. Turning back to the group, he seemed to care little for the filth that had begun decorating his fur, although his first action was to lick his paw in a way that was shockingly domestic for a top contender in Indigo's biggest and greatest tournament.

"W-Wow, I…" Ash's cheeks glowed a bit as he realized he was smiling. He must have looked so goofy right now. Thankfully, his reaction was mostly shared.

Pikachu's eyes were wide enough to appear twice their usual size, his heart quickening at the terrifying sight, and for some reason Persian's casual demeanor did not make the mouse feel any better. Beside him, Nebula's surprise shifted into something of an impressed, approving grin across her beak, while Phenom stared the feline down in intrigue. Ash noticed Persian looking the Tyrunt's way, and remembered Patricia's comment about the normal type being interested in fossils. In between the dinosaur and Valiant, Glaceon repressed the urge to take a step back, nearly feeling herself sweat for more reasons than just the heat before a jolt of frustration entered her chest.

Valiant was more composed than the rest. With a hand to his chin, his eyes moved away from Persian and towards what his handy work had left behind. It was certainly a commendable sight, especially for such a brief "demonstration" as Patricia had called it. If he hadn't known better, he would have assumed that the older girl was showing off, but detected no true smugness coming off of her.

"You aren't expected to perform at that pace, you know." As his voice entered Glaceon's head, he tried to sound reassuring, but instead the frustration coming off of her grew as the ice type angled her head to shoot him a dirty look.

"Okay," Patricia crossed her arms in content before turning to the lady of the hour. "Good warmup. So, what do you think, Glaceon? You ready to give this a try?"

Pikachu looked on as the ice type bit back her lip - fairly uncharacteristic of her to be hesitant. Her fire seemed to be dulled for the moment, and it made him uneasy. He wanted to say something to her - anything no matter how simple to encourage her to step forward. His throat began to lock, as if detecting those very thoughts in his mind.

He missed his chance.

"You can do it, girl," Ash knelt down to pat her head for a moment. "Just focus and go at your own pace, okay? This isn't a race."

Glaceon accepted his touch and took a breath, offering his hand a quick, cold lick before looking towards her team. Phenom and Nebula wore encouraging expressions, while Valiant simply nodded. Pikachu seemed rather nervous, but shakily raised a paw to wave at her.

Looking back towards Persian and the whole that he had dug, the ice type steeled her gaze and selected a new spot to begin digging. She stood still for a good moment, trying to keep her eyes closed in hopes of shutting everything else out, before she reared back and struck the earth.

The impact wasn't painful for the moment, but she felt the ground resist her. Her strikes did not carry the same relentless dominance that Persian's had, but she willed herself to make them just as continuous. Just as rapid. The ice type grit her teeth as she continued to wail against the earth, breaking off small chunks as the ground gave way to her progressive assault.

Patricia and Persian opted to give her some space, the former joining Ash at his side while the latter simply took off - presumably to help dig somewhere else. Glaceon increased her pace, continuing to assault the earth beneath her with everything she had.

She couldn't help but feel conscious of the fact that her teammates were watching. The baking sun above her felt like it was threatening to melt her body itself as she continued, but fatigue wasn't an option, not for her. She was a fighter, even off the battlefield, and she certainly wasn't going to back down after Persian's display.

A mild sense of satisfaction overtook her as she felt herself lowering. Good. her digging was gaining momentum. She would keep it up, and go as long as she could without needing an ice berry or some other kind of medicine. This was like training - she was proud of her endurance, especially after the match with Koga, but she did not want to lose her edge.

Besides, she knew the personal stakes that they had in this assignment.

It was what made the urge to look back at her teammates so much harder to resist. Valiant and Pikachu were watching. Both of them were stuck, and this was her chance to pay them back. If she could just keep this up and find a Dawn Stone or a Thunder Stone, it would be the perfect way to thank them for their gesture back in Lavender Town - especially Pikachu, but she knew she owed them both. And being off her game in front of Nebula and Phenom was a big no go. Her days of being jealous of the Staraptor were a thing of the distant past, but now that Nebula had evolved herself and caught up to her once again, the ice type found herself feeling competitive, knowing that her feathered comrade was right there watching her do this. It filled her with the desire to rip open the earth, force out a Dawn Stone and a Thunder Stone, hand them right to Valiant and Pikachu, turn to Nebula and say "beat that".

Not maliciously, of course. She had grown past that. But the thought of throwing down the challenge was tempting. And Phenom… the Tyrunt she adored so much seemed so different now. More motivated than ever. He wasn't a baby anymore, in fact he had overtaken her in size, and would likely get bigger still, and yet the ice type still felt responsible for him. She wanted to play a role of her own in that vicious drive he was developing - and watch the fruits of his labor when he stepped up to the plate. And if she could somehow get him to produce that same, adorable look of childish awe that he used to be so known for, all the better.

She paused for a moment. A moment. The sun was assaulting her, and this digging was more strenuous than she thought - they really should have practiced this move more. But better late than never. She wouldn't let up until she found what she was looking for - fossils were fine, it would be nice to show one of those to Phenom, but her goal post consisted of two very specific stones.

"Pretty nice start," Patricia said. "Just be sure to give her those berries periodically. She seems kind of stubborn."

"I have a feeling she'd be proud to hear you say that." Ash remarked. He thought he caught a quiet snort from the brunette before she looked over to Nebula, who quickly took note of the attention.

"Okay, so next up, we should get Nebula into the air for a patrol shift. Does that sound good?"

"Yeah, sure." Ash agreed. "Hey Pikachu, you wanna join her?" The thought of his starter potentially feeling left out had crossed his mind, but he almost never said no to a ride from the Staraptor.

Suppressing his hesitance, Pikachu looked up at Nebula (she was so much bigger than him now it was almost weird), who nodded as with as much friendliness to him as usual, and climbed onto her back. The two took off, scaling the towering, rocky surroundings that sandwiched in everything else.

Almost the second they were out of ear shot, the rest of the group's attention was diverted.

"Hey, guys!"

Beth was running towards them - Ash hadn't seen her since they left. She was coming in pretty hastily, too…

Patricia quickly turned serious. "What is it, Beth? A problem?"

"Yeah," the red-haired girl paused in an attempt to catch her breath as she came to a stop. "We need help further into the canyon. There was an a bit of an accident with the equipment and a couple of the worker Pokemon fell over and got themselves hurt."

Ash's heart skipped a beat. "Wait, is it serious?" A few rather disturbing images were moving through his mind at her choice of words.

Thankfully, some relief reached him when she shook her head. "No, it's nothing fatal, but they are wounded. They need first aid."

"On it," Patricia nodded to the boy. "You and Valiant go with her, I'll keep an eye on Glaceon until you get back."

"Yeah, of course." Ash nodded back. The thought of splitting off with some of his team produced an anxious surge through his body, but it (for the most part) thankfully came and went. Patricia was willing to let her Persian run off with no supervision after all, so it wasn't abnormal. Looking down to Valiant, the Kirlia met his eyes and offered a dutiful nod. "Let's hurry over there. Phenom, you stay here."

/

It barely did anything, but the first time Angelina's pickaxe struck the stone was among the most satisfying moments of her life. It was on par with her passing the Qualification Exam, receiving her Pokedex and Mareep, or earning either of her Gym badges. It was the kind of euphoria that made her forget about the scorching sun that she and her two present teammates were currently unshielded from, or the strain and effort produced by the stony surfaces resistance as she continued to hammer away. It's not like she didn't have any practice, of course, after all of her mock digging sessions back home, but this one was a very significant step up - as she had always known that it would be.

It did nothing to deter her excitement.

"Whoo," the blue-haired girl exhaled, taking a pause to wipe some sweat off of her forehead after what felt like several minutes of digging. "No pain, no gain, right?"

There was work going on all around them, but she had found a decently vacant spot to share between her Flaaffy, Nidorina and herself. The poison type was unresponsive, continuing to dig her claws into the stone, carelessly throwing back whatever dirt and dust that she managed to unearth in her efforts. There was no sign that she had even regarded her trainers words, which may have normally elicited a small frown from the girl, but not today. In between them, Flaaffy was also doing her part, hammering away with Iron Tail to rip out her own share of chunks, like a biologically built-in pickaxe.

Angelina offered the electric type a fond smile as her starter turned to nod at her comment. "I guess you two have it a bit easier than me, but don't push yourselves too hard, okay?" She knew Flaaffy was listening, but Nidorina was doing her own thing. The rest of the team was willing to follow orders, and got along with her decently well, but it didn't go much further than that. Still, she trusted the poison type to listen to her warning about going at a tolerable pace.

She would have to listen to her own advice, however. As the girl tightened her grip on her pickaxe to take another swing at her chosen spot, the urge to go wild continuously came over there, and it took all of the willpower in the world to reign herself in and keep from going crazy until her arms fell off. She would find something today. Something to be proud of. And she'd take a picture of it to add to her notes. And writing; lots and lots of writing. She loved writing, as long as it was about this.

She wasn't sure how long it had been before a sudden call from Nidorina broke her and Flaaffy's attention. "Huh? What is it?"

The poison type had dug herself a respectable opening in the rocky ground, which she pointed a claw down into as if saying "Look! Look!" whilst gesturing towards her trainer and Flaaffy with the other.

Angelina's heart nearly jumped out of her chest. 'She found something.'

Heading over to Nidorina's spot as fast as a Rapidash on a sugar rush, Angelina took her pickaxe and smashed it into the point her teammate had been focusing on. One strike, two strikes, a third strike, and…

…

The earth beneath the blade crumbled to reveal an almost copper looking, stone-like object protruding from the ground. It was too good to be true. Flaaffy and Nidorina's eyes were glued to the finding, and Angelina's nearly froze in the excitement.

"Holy Guardian…" her whisper was like a squeal. Carefully setting her pickaxe down, she wrapped her gloved hands around the visible part of the object and pulled. The surrounding earth clung to the trio's finding, as though she was in a tug-o-war with the ground, and she grit her teeth, doubling her efforts. 'No pain, no gain…'

Had it not been for the gloves, she would have feared the skin of her hands slipping off from the pressure. When she felt the object begin to dislodge, her heart skipped a beat, and she was nearly forced to pause, but she kept on pulling. The ground's grip grew loser as the object progressively slid out.

And then it was free, in her hands. Flaaffy clapped her paws while Nidorina merely watched.

"Success!" her voice must have been the dorkiest noise ever to be produced by humanity, but she did not care in the slightest. She hoped the whole world heard it. "We did it, you two! We found a fossil! Come on, take a look." She was barely capable of turning her head back towards her friends at all, keeping her eyes on the prize that they had claimed together even as she attempted to look back and gesture them forward. Still holding the strange rock in her hands, she shifted her position to allow both Pokemon to approach her from either side, three sets of curious eyes taking in the sight that she clutched in her gloves.

It was an oval shaped stone with a barely noticeable curve, big enough to where she instinctively felt the need to hold it in both hands. What looked to be a barely visible pattern traveled down the middle of the fossil's surface.

The fossil's surface.

"It's gotta be a fossil," she remarked as Flaaffy and Nidorina leaned in closer to get a better look. "I wonder what kind it is…" that on it's own sparked numerous possibilities.

"Well, what do we have here?" That voice was familiar. Sure enough, the trio turned to see Dennis approaching them. If she hadn't been so excited, Angelina may have been mildly surprised to see that Sandslash wasn't with him, although he wasn't alone: His current companion was a Sandshrew, who looked to be fairly young if she had to guess. "Has someone found something already?"

Standing up, Angelina could feel her stomach swelling with pride as she held out the fossil. "Yup, sure did! It's right here!"

"Oh?" The self-proclaimed treasure hunter leaned in to offer the stone a brief look. "So you have."

"Pretty impressive, huh?" Angelina remarked. "We found it on our first try. It's gotta be a fossil, right? It was buried and everything!"

"Hmm," Dennis hummed in response. "Would you mind if I inspected it?"

"Knock yourself out." she replied fast enough to be speaking in rapid fire before handing over the rock. Dennis took a brief moment to kneel down and show it to the curious Sandshrew at his feet, offering to let the young ground type hold it in his claws before taking out a magnifying glass.

Grinning from ear to ear, Angelina eagerly watched the duo do their thing with her fists pressed against her hips. "I'll bet it's a brain from an extinct Pokemon. Or maybe a heart. What's it look like to you?"

Dennis was silent for a few moments longer. His face wore an analytical expression as he seemed to inspect every inch of the fossil before standing back up. The satisfied look he gave her encouraged her excitement.

"Well, congratulations," he declared while handing the rock back to her. "You guys found a coprolite!"

"Coprolite?" she echoed, with stars in her eyes. She was pretty sure she had heard or read that word before, but she couldn't remember what the definition was. "What is that? A brain?"

Dennis shook his head. His expression did not change in the slightest as he responded. "No, it's fossilized Pokemon manure."

…

Angelina could feel her entire body freezing in place in real time as she (with great difficulty) processed what he had said. "...What…?" her voice was as blank and stilted as a human's could realistically be.

Dennis remained completely unfazed. "Feces. You know, waste. Number two."

Standing at either side of her, Flaaffy and Nidorina were at a loss of what to make of it. Now suddenly feeling very uncomfortable, Angelina cautiously looked down at the rock that she was currently holding in her hands.

"Waita minute, so… poop?"

"Poop, yeah." Dennis was still unaffected.

…

It probably took a good ten seconds of silence for it to truly sink it.

"WAAH!" the blue-haired girl shrieked as her muscles moved on their own, flinging the fossil out of her hands in a panic. It bounced off of the ground once before Dennis managed to catch it.

"Whoa there, kid! Be careful with the findings, this is valuable research material here."

Staring at her now empty hands, Angelina's face morphed into a perfect hybrid of horror and shock. "Y-Y-… You mean I-... Y-... I touched it? With my hands!?" Barely thinking, she gripped her cheeks. "I need to get these gloves off- OH MY MEW WHY AM I TOUCHING MY FACE!?"

The hearty laugh that Dennis let out managed to be even more shocking, and did nothing to snap her out of her stupor as she slowly turned her head to look up at him. "What's with the panic, girl? Don't you realize how valuable this thing is?" he held out the fossil, as though he was carrying a piece of platinum from a treasure chest locked beneath a volcano. "This thing, right here, is a remnant of a long lost era. It has existed for longer than we can comprehend, buried in more ways than one, before finally unearthed today! It was once a part of a creature that walked this great Earth longer ago than we can process, and has now presented itself to us as a source of newfound knowledge. Its presence in our lives is to be celebrated! Just look at how beautiful it is, don't you just wish you could kiss it?"

Angelina could feel her already fragmented mind disintegrating into dust as she stared at the man. "It's a turd!"

"Hey now," Dennis retorted in mild offense. "There's no need to use slang labels, kid. What you see before you is not just any old lump of fecal matter."

"Yeah," she dully remarked as Flaaffy and Nidorina grew increasingly uncomfortable. "It's a very old lump of fecal matter."

"And you had the honor of holding it! Do you realize how valuable coprolites are? Examination of them leads to breakthroughs on an ancient Pokemon's diet. Through a proper identification process, we can then determine which species of Pokemon that it belonged to. WIth fossil restoration now being practiced, it is a boon for all kinds of research regarding the extinct species, including breeding! Surely an aspiring researcher like yourself-"

"Okay, okay, I get all of that…" Angelina cut him off. "But it's still, I need to… ugh, just… Come on, girls, let's go."

Dennis and Sandshrew watched the trio head off - a little bit faster than normal - and the former shook his head before offering the ground type a shrug. "You can tell she's a newbie, no cure for that."

Angelina slowed her pace once she and her two teammates had gained some distance, not entirely sure where she was headed next. She was still trying to make sense of everything, yet couldn't help feeling mildly conflicted after the "speech" she had been given. She looked back at Dennis and Sandshrew (who had stopped watching them) with a huff before shaking her head.

"To think Sarah had to deal with that guy and the bug catchers. I'm surprised she didn't go bald from her hair yanking habit." Flaaffy chuckled a bit in a mix of nervousness and amusement, which slightly improved her mood, and prompted the girl to look back at her and Nidorina. "Sorry about that, but I promise the next dig will go better. You're both doing good." The poison type seemed to appreciate the praise.

Looking back ahead, Angelina blinked to see Beth running to them - no, not towards them, in their direction. The red-haired girl was looking behind herself for a moment, making sure someone was following her…

It was Ash. His Kirlia was with him, and they were keeping pace with Beth as she said something about it being "a bit further". As quickly as she saw them, Beth was already running past her. As Ash passed by next, his shoulder roughly bumped into hers, and it didn't feel like an accident.

Angelina hoped her wince wasn't verbal - the impact had her come to a stop and reach up to clutch her shoulder as she looked back at her fleeing aggressor. At her side, Flaaffy scowled, producing some static that rolled along her wool.

"No, Flaaffy." Angelina quickly raised a hand to her starter, who stopped soon after while her trainer bit her lip in the direction Ash and Beth had run off in. "It's… it's okay."

/

Grampa Canyon was vast and deep - an overwhelming sensation to stand in the middle of, but seeing it from above bordered on picture perfect. Of all the views that Pikachu had been treated to while riding on his best friend's back, this may have been his favorite. He was also pleasantly surprised at how quickly it felt like his head had been cleared. High above all of the activity going on, away from everyone else aside from a few of the other fliers currently circling the canyon on patrol. Just the two of them taking it all in.

Of course, such a thing was second nature to Nebula. She didn't get the rush from being high up the way Pikachu did, even if he had long since been used to it. For the Staraptor, it was just quality time, not an escape. She could tell that the electric type's mood had gone up since they had taken flight, however. She knew that a lot of things seemed to be weighing on his mind, and was hoping she wouldn't have to pry too much.

Thankfully, she didn't.

Pikachu smiled at the breathtaking sight beneath them before sharing a quick wave with a Marill riding atop a Pidgeot - it was cool to see that he and Nebula weren't the only ones who did this. After feeling fully settled in, he decided to get things off his chest. The large bird had always known him better than anyone on the team. Even now he felt nostalgic about their early interactions in Viridian Forest, when they were just getting to know each other. Neither could have predicted how much grander their journey together would have gotten since then - at least he certainly hadn't. He knew he couldn't keep things from her forever, and he didn't want to.

So he admitted to her: He had been feeling increasingly less useful as of late. Beating Janine's Beedrill had given him something to celebrate, but the fact that she (and Ivysaur) had evolved in the same match made him feel somewhat overshadowed, just like against Koga. Now, he was one of the only members of the team without a job; even Tempest was looking after Silica, at least. What if they couldn't find a Thunder Stone here, and even Stone Town ended up being a bust? He'd be going into Vermilion as a borderline deadweight. He could only scrape and claw for so long before he just couldn't keep up with the rest of them anymore. He knew Valiant was going through the same thing, and he felt bad about that too, but as long as Dennis was around to potentially change his mind, there was at least a chance for him.

Nebula would have given the mouse a gentle peck if they were on the ground. She had to admitted there wasn't an easy solution to what he was going through, but she could assure him that Ash was aware of all of this. He was never really going to be left behind by everyone else, because nobody on the team wanted to - especially not Ash.

Pikachu's tailbone stiffened at the promise. He knew it was largely paranoia, but he had to admit - sometimes he worried about Ash outgrowing him. He needed their trainer more than the reverse. They were as close as they had always been, but on the battlefield that could change. The less of a frontline fighter he became, the more they would lose sync. And what if the rest of the team followed? He knew none of this was true, but it wasn't helping him.

Nebula frowned at the thought. She supposed something like that could happen… unintentionally, but only if they hit the worst case scenario. But with a chirp, she asked the mouse if he remembered the time they had first met in Viridian Forest - when he had helped Ash catch her.

Of course he did - he thought about it a lot. Especially now - the early, more simple portions of their journey had found a comfortable place in his head as of late.

She was glad to hear that. Turning her head back just enough to look at her passenger for a moment, she continued. She hadn't been fully on board with being caught in the beginning, not as bitter about it as Glaceon had been, but she had doubts about it all the same. As much as she loved Ash, he hadn't been the first one to warm her to it - that had been Pikachu. He was her first friend, and still her closest friend. No matter how far ahead she passed him in battle, they'd still be side by side. He was her partner and always would be - everything that she gained up to this point had started with him reaching out to her when they had first talked that night in the forest. She could never outgrow something like that - with him on her back it was like she was still a Starly.

Of course, she still looked forward to seeing him as a Raichu.

Pikachu giggled, nuzzling his cheek against her feathers.

Working up some additional courage, he brought up Glaceon. He admitted, he thought her specific presence was what really put these ugly thoughts in his mind. Those thoughts about the rest of the team leaving him in the dust.

Nebula closed her eyes for a moment. Thinking back, Pikachu's behavior had been a bit… amplified, around the ice type.

She chirped an encouragement: Go on, tell her everything. It was just the two of them, after all.

/

Angelina wiped another bead of sweat from her forehead. Her new spot was noisier - the drilling was still a ways off, but there were more workers digging by hand than where she was prior. Just not too far from where she stood was a lean man going to work on his chosen digging area, who's otherwise impressive job was outshined by the Machoke next to him. She couldn't hope to physically compete with that, but it hardly deterred her.

Flaaffy was munching on a much deserved berry to replenish her energy. Nidorina had already finished hers, and was now attacking the rocks with what seemed to be all-time enthusiasm. The poison type had really gotten into this since they started, and the way she seemed to genuinely enjoy herself made the girl smile. Ast this rate, she wasn't even sure if Nidorina cared about the findings. She just wanted to dig.

That wasn't an excuse to slack off and let her do all the work, however. She would never earn the full respect of her team that way - especially when deserving it was already an uphill battle as it was. Besides, Nidorina wasn't the only one among them who liked digging. Even after finishing her berry, Flaaffy hung back, not quite as devoted to the task as her teammate and trainer, which the blue-haired girl wasn't bothered by. Really, just having the electric type out was comforting. Helped her focus. Forget the distractions and intrusive thoughts, and stay locked in. Have fun.

"I can't believe I actually drew a sketch of that thing we found," after a particularly steady swing, the girl paused to look back at her starter, knowing full well that Nidorina was too busy to listen - or perhaps care. "'Fossilized manure'. That's the first thing we've professionally dug up. Ever."

For a split second, she was annoyed by the sheep's giggle, but it proved thankfully contagious. Better than the alternative of staying disgusted.

"Oh shoot," Angelina managed to get out mid-laugh. Her cheeks were mildly reddened. "Man, I really lost it, didn't I? I wonder if I owe Dennis an apology, he didn't really do anything wrong, I guess." Not that the weirdo seemed all that offended. Could've been worse. Turning around again, she went back to digging. "He called it a coprolite, I think. I know I've read that word before. I'm surprised I forgot." shaking her head, she looked back to her starter in amused exasperation. "Must have blocked it out of my mind."

Flaaffy was laughing. It was only slightly annoying. Mostly cute, in a cheeky sort of way.

"Oh, so it's funny now?" Angelina retorted with a mock pout. "You want a turn holding fossilized poop, girl? Let's see if we can find another one." Flaaffy was still laughing… and now it felt like she was starting too as well. All the stress evaporating, the tension inside of her loosening like a massage.

Suddenly, Flaaffy came to a stop, the look on her face shifting to one of curiosity and her eyes moved over to Nidorina, who continuing to dig, paying little (if any) attention to the conversation.

Angelina blinked. Flaaffy was… staring. "Girl? Is something wrong?" Her starter offered her a quick look before moving to get next to the poison type, who perked up at her sudden presence. The two seemed to have a quick exchange before the sheep pointed down to the area where her teammate had been digging into the ground - but not the spot in general. No, a very specific part of it.

Nidorina blinked, tilting her head at whatever it was that Flaaffy had said to her, before giving her a shrug and focusing her digging on the spot where she had been pointing. Flaaffy stepped back to give her some room to , but stayed close as Angelina closed in herself.

"What is it, Flaaffy?" she asked. "I don't get it…" trailing off to look at the electric sheep, her starter seemed like she was almost in something of a half trance, staring right at the spot where Nidorina continued to dig. Almost like she sensed something.

Suddenly, Nidorina jerked back, staring at the ground in confusion before looking at the claw she had just retracted faster than normal.

"What's wrong, you guys?" Angelina pressed. "Did you find something?" Biting her lip, she watched her two partners share a look before nodding at her collectively. With a deep breath, the poison type braced herself before upending the last of the earth covering the object.

In the earth's place was something green and shiny. No, not just shiny. It was… sparkling. Nidorina hesitated for a moment longer, but Flaaffy stepped forward, motioning for her friend to move aside. Angelina waited with bated breath as she watched Flaaffy reach down and attempt to dislodge whatever object Nidorina had managed to find. Her teeth clenched in what seemed to be a hybrid of strain and frustration.

The blue-haired girl's eyes narrowed for a moment as Flaaffy continued to pull. She could have sworn she saw a small flash of sparks jolt between her friend's pink arms and the object she was attempting to pull out, but it was only for two separate, split second moments. Were those sparks from Flaaffy or the object?

"Hey, do you need-"

With an additional grunt, Flaaffy finally seemed to be making progress. The object she was pulling on began to move, still wedged between the rocks but loosening at a progressively faster rate, until finally…

It dislodged. The sheep managed to keep her hold on it, but stumbled backwards and landed on her bottom. Nidorina said something to her - the poison type was grinning, and so was Flaaffy when she turned her head and said something back before looking down at the object she was holding.

It was a green, oval shaped rock, and a very beautiful one at that. It kept flashing for some reason - no, it wasn't flashing, there was something inside. Some kind of… energy.

Nidorina leaned forward a bit, almost as though she intended to sniff the rock. Kneeling down, Angelina crept closer. Her perspective began to turn tunnel-visioned as she stared at the stone, entranced with the effort to make out the familiar pattern that decorated it. And the energy that seemed to flow inside, it… resembled lightning.

Her eyes widened a bit, just enough to be noticeable as it began to dawn on her what they had just found. Slowly, she began to reach out with her hand. "Is this a…"

"Wait, stop!"

The trance was broken as the nearby man with the Machoke came forward, stealing away all of the attention as the trio's eyes fell on them. As Angelina (quickly) retracted her hand, he breathed a sigh on relief.

"Phew, sorry for startling you." he set his pickaxe down, offering Machoke a nod before walking forward to the group, with the fighting type staying in place. "You almost touched touched that thing without proper protection."

"Sorry," the girl apologized awkwardly, feeling her cheeks heating up before glancing back at Flaaffy and the rock. "I don't want to speak too soon, but I think that's a Thunder Stone, right?"

"Looks like one to me," the worker answered. "Hold up a sec." kneeling down to look at the rock point-blank, he nodded. "Yup, it's a Thunder Stone alright. Lucky find, I wasn't sure if something like it would be this close to a surface." Standing back upright, he offered Flaaffy a friendly smile before looking back at Angelina. "It's fine for your electric type to hold it, obviously, but I didn't know if those gloves they gave you would shield you right. You could've hurt yourself."

"You're right," Angelina looked back at the stone. "I know these things are usually kept in special glass cases, but I don't have any…"

"That's fine," he shook his head. "We do. We already anticipated some of these could pop up. I can go get you one. Since it's not a fossil, I guess it's yours now. Congrats. Just stay put and have your Flaaffy keep holding onto it, I'll be back in a jiffy."

"Thanks!" she called out with a wave as he jogged off before looking back to her two teammates. A spark of concern flashed in her eyes as they landed on Nidorina. "Did it zap you, Nidorina? Is that why you recoiled like that?"

The poison type looked down at her claw before returning her gaze to her trainer and nodding. It didn't look like she was burnt, so it must have just been a minor shock. That was good, but she knew she needed to make sure. Cautiously, Angelina scooted over to her teammate and offered a hand. After a moment of consideration, Nidorina accepted, allowing her trainer to take her claw in her hand and gently look it over. "Does it hurt?" A quick shake of the head reassured her, and she let go.

"Good, I'm glad." she smiled at Nidorina, who didn't fully return the expression, but didn't reject or dismiss it either. "So…" she looked between the two. "Wow, uh… this is a heck of a find, isn't it?" Flaaffy grinned in agreement. It wasn't a stone that anyone of their team could use, and even if it was, Nidorina and Poliwhirl wouldn't be ready for a while, but an evolution stone was incredibly valuable for just about any trainer. Maybe she could sell it if nothing else came of it, but for now…

It was looking to be quite the fortunate day.

/

Snack time was always appreciated on a busy day.

The ice berries were having their desired effect in keeping Glaceon at full strength. Phenom had tried a bite out of curiosity but quickly decided it wasn't too his liking (to her amusement). Now, she took a break from her work, sitting on a rock while chatting with Nebula, as the Staraptor consumed her own energy replenishing berries. Valiant shared his eating time with Phenom, which left Ash with some quality time with Pikachu.

His starter seemed to be in a better mood than he had been before he and Nebula had gone on their aerial patrol. He seemed a bit more free while munching on his berries, without pressure. Taking to the sky with the large bird had always been among his favorite past times, and right about now Ash was sure the mouse had needed it more than ever. Nevertheless, the boy couldn't help but fear that the effect was temporary. It was like the odd yet frustrating flavor of anxiety, when you were in a good mood that pushed the worries to the back of your mind, but they were still there, and they would come back to the front eventually. Anxious thoughts weren't so easy to get rid of, as he knew from experience, and as he watched the electric type eat, he couldn't help but worry for him.

"Hey, buddy." Pikachu looked up, a bit of juice from the berry forming a cute stain just beneath his lip. "While it's just the two of us, I wanted to talk to you about something." the mouse resumed eating his berry, but not before nodding in order to signal to his trainer that he was listening. With a fond grin, Ash reached out and patted his yellow head for a moment.

"I know there's a lot going on right now, Pikachu." he started. "There always is, I guess. "We have all of our business here, and with Surge." he paused for a moment, biting back the unpleasantness. "And Janine and her team aren't here anymore." he could see the flicker in the rodent's eyes and suppressed a sigh. "Sorry, it's just that… I know your stressed out over this whole evolution thing, but could you hear me out for a moment?"

Pikachu finished his berry, trying to wipe the stain off of his face while looking up at his trainer to make eye contact. Ash shifted his seating position so that they would be lined up better before continuing.

"We all know you and Valiant are sort of stuck right now, and that you can't improve much more without the stones. Trust me, I've been stressing over it too, I don't want either of you guys to fall behind." Pikachu was frowning, but Ash made sure to stay on course. "I'm sure there are ways for both of you to make strides without evolving. Rules can't be broken, but they are bendable. I'm… sadly drawing blanks on how we can pull that off, though. If there's a good way to do it, I guess I'm just not creative enough to think of it yet. I'm sure Surge knows a secret or two, being the Pikachu expert and all, but he's definitely not giving it away for free."

Which brings them back to square one: Actually being strong enough to beat that guy in the first place. That Raichu he had sicced on them may have only been part of his B roster, but said team was still more than enough to push high level gym battles according to Patricia. And that was just one Pokemon; for as confident as Ash was in the strength that his team had gained, they all needed to be on that level.

Pikachu hummed an agreement, and there was a brief silence between trainer and Pokemon. Not entirely comfortable, but not completely uncomfortable either.

"It's like this, buddy," Ash continued. "I know you're worried about falling behind Glaceon and the others, or that you already are. But I just want you to remember that I've been there myself." with a breath, he placed a hand to his chest. "Having Angelina around brings back some bitter memories, just like whenever we run into Gary, but… that's why you don't have to worry about the rest of us holding anything against you. Especially with me around; I was rejected by all of my so called "friends" just because I couldn't keep up with them, and the guy they all idolized and listened to every word of decided I wasn't worth the trouble. You really think I'm gonna let you be subjected to that? The gap between you and everyone else could get ten times as big in a matter of days, but that's not gonna change anything for me. I of all people would know it."

Pikachu's ears twitched. He had to admit he hadn't considered that. It was reassuring to hear, but it also produced a brief flare of bitterness in his stomach, knowing that one of those bullies was here right now. Ash must have been as on edge as he himself had been recently.

"It's not gonna come to that though, obviously." Ash elaborated. "Just because we're not going to blame you for falling behind doesn't mean we are going to let it happen. Same with Valiant. If we can't get out hands on either stone, we'll just keeping thinking outside the box until we do. I'm not gonna leave you two out in the cold to fend for yourselves while everyone else grows together - that's also what Gary and his pals did. I'm never going to be anything like them, and neither are your teammates, because we're your real friends, alright?"

Pikachu lowered his head for a moment, and Ash thought he could see the smallest of blushes within his starter's yellow fur. Although he still seemed a little bit uneasy, an appreciative grin formed on his lips.

"Hey," Ash scooted closer to him. "You and I are the ones who started this, remember? It was till just the two of us when he went into that stupid forest." he offered his hand. "No matter what happens, we'll stick together, you and me. We need you just as much as you think we need us."

Pikachu stared at his trainers fingers for a second or two before his expression turned content. With a pleasant squeak, he took them in his paw and squeezed a bit.

Real friendship wasn't built on conditional love. It didn't come from people who expected you to prove your worth to them all the time. It wasn't so easily taken away, either. And Ash would be damned if any of those things ever defined what this team had.

/

Feeling a great relief in his body, Shawn stepped out of the outhouse, where Pachirisu waited for him, chasing her tail playfully to pass the time. He took in a breath as the fresh air greeted him on his way out.

"Whew, I held that in for way too long. It's a miracle my bladder didn't pop." He was a little bit more used to it than he wished he was, of course. Bathroom breaks weren't always the easiest to come by, especially with Shane himself on the scene. The large man blamed it on a few certain coworkers who exploited it as a means of being lazy. "Sorry for the wait, Pachirisu, really needed to go there."

The electric type closed her eyes and nuzzled her head against his hand as he knelt down to pet her. "Well, can't take too much longer unless we wanna be accused of slacking off. Let's get-" the blonde paused as his pet pointed her paw to one of the other outhouses that had been set up, not too far from the one he had chosen. "What, is someone in there-"

The ground shook.

Shawn jolted upwards, and before he knew it, Pachirisu was racing up his back and onto his shoulder in concern. "The fuck? An earthquake?" It kept shaking. It kept getting worse. "Whoa, what the hell is this shit-" his voice gave out when his feet did.

/

It was probably no more than two or three hours into the workday, if Patricia had to guess. The brunette was making her rounds when the explosion went off - a continuous blast that spread shockwaves through the immediate area, and a shower of rocks. Her scream was involuntary as she crouched down, covering her ears as the deafening noise assaulted her senses.

/

It was heard elsewhere. It was felt elsewhere. The ball off fire and the towering cloud of smoke, debris and dust that erected from it was seen elsewhere. Workers screamed and vehicles turned over. People ran for cover as cracks appeared in the ground.

/

One of the screams belonged to Pikachu, burying himself into Ash's shirt. The boy's own scream was lost in his throat, frozen and denied escape by the shock of it all.

"W-What the hell!?" He barely choked it out as he hugged his starter against his chest, desperately summoning the strength to look to the side. "Everyone! Get to us-"

And then the cracks appeared beneath where he was sitting.

/

"The dynamite has been set off, right on schedule."

"Good. I'm glad we were able to locate and clean out the nest within the planned timeframe. Things could have been jeopardized if not, but you did a fine job."

"Thank you very much."

"As always. Now the hunt begins. We have our main prize, but the mission isn't over yet. Proceed to the next stage, if you please."

"Understood, Executive Silver."