The first ambush from the Kabuto was only the beginning. In the next second, more than a dozen dark shadows lunged toward Cole, Heliolisk, and Dragonair, accompanied by low, greedy hisses.
Clearly, they all saw this group as food.
Crack!Pop!
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Heliolisk's electric shocks and Dragonair's Dragon Wind knocked down the approaching shadows one after another. As they fell to the ground, Cole saw that they were all Kabuto.
These beetle-like Pokémon looked absolutely creepy with their sharp claws writhing beneath them and mouths revealing dense rows of teeth.
Splash Splash Splash~~~
With the sound of water, more Pokémon began crawling out of the pool.
Swoosh~ Swoosh~ Swoosh~
This time, streams of Water Gun attacks came flying toward them. Cole's eyes flashed with purple light as he used his Psychic Powers to freeze all the attacks in midair.
The Pokémon using Water Gun were Omanyte.
As time passed, more and more Pokémon emerged from the water — no longer just Kabuto and Omanyte. Their evolved forms, Omastar and Kabutops, also gradually appeared, bringing even more violent attack methods.
This isn't right, Cole thought with confusion. He remembered that when Ash and the others entered the cave in the future, they didn't encounter this many fossil Pokémon!
Did I remember wrong?
Even though none of the Pokémon that had appeared so far were particularly strong, their growing numbers gradually overwhelmed Cole.
Finally, he took out Brionne's Poké Ball.
"Brionne, use Sing!"
"Lalala~"
Brionne responded and began using the Sing ability. Beautiful, gentle hypnotic music echoed throughout the underground cave.
Here, Brionne's singing seemed infinitely amplified, its power overwhelming. Soon, Kabuto, Kabutops, Omanyte, and Omastar fell asleep one after another.
To prevent his team from being affected by Brionne's song, Cole recalled Dragonair and took out two pairs of earplugs, putting them in for himself and Heliolisk. The song would have made directing attacks nearly impossible otherwise.
When the song ended, silence fell over the underground cave. Countless fossil Pokémon lay sprawled everywhere, fast asleep.
"Let's check out other areas." Cole said to Heliolisk and Brionne.
"Helio~"
"Brio~"
The two Pokémon nodded and followed as Cole chose a direction and moved forward.
"Roar~"
Suddenly, Cole heard a roar echoing from the darkness.
"Roar~"
This sound carried a Supersonic technique that gave Cole and his companions splitting headaches.
"La la la~"
Brionne quickly countered with Disarming Voice, neutralizing the Supersonic's effects.
This action seemed to anger whatever had produced the Supersonic. With an angry roar, it summoned a powerful gale that swept through the cave.
"ROAR!!!"
A massive Pokémon swooped out of the darkness toward them. Its grayish-white body appeared stone-like, featuring both a mouth full of sharp teeth and wings tipped with lethal claws.
This was Aerodactyl, the Ancient Sky Lord.
"Helio~"
"Brio~"
Seeing Aerodactyl's attack, Heliolisk and Brionne responded immediately with attacks of their own.
With a crackling sound, Heliolisk's Thunderbolt struck the opponent, causing it to veer off course. A thick column of sound — Brionne's Hyper Voice — hit it next.
Despite both Electric and Water-type moves being super effective against Aerodactyl, this particular one merely stumbled before lunging at them again with renewed fury.
Just as its claws were about to strike Cole, he used Teleport to vanish from the spot with Heliolisk and Brionne. Aerodactyl's claws tore through nothing but rock.
Looking at its empty claws, Aerodactyl's eyes showed a hint of confusion.
At that moment, transparent bubbles appeared one after another throughout the underground cave, quickly surrounding Aerodactyl. This was Brionne's specialty — particularly effective against Pokémon that relied on physical attacks.
"Roar~~"
Aerodactyl flapped its wings several times, but each collision with the bubbles left it dizzy and increasingly irritated. The ancient Pokémon was notoriously ferocious and impatient.
Just as Brionne prepared to detonate all the transparent bubbles, Aerodactyl lost its patience. With a piercing shriek, it shot countless small, sharp rocks from all over its body.
Pop Pop Pop~~~
In an instant, all the bubbles surrounding it burst. Now free, it turned toward Cole and the others with eyes full of hunger and rage.
Both Brionne and Cole were shocked — they had never seen anything break through the bubbles so easily with mere physical attacks. Clearly, this Aerodactyl's strength was not to be underestimated.
Swoosh Swoosh Swoosh!
Aerodactyl unleashed Stone Edge again, hurling numerous sharp stones toward Cole and his Pokémon.
Brionne created a barrier of bubbles that blocked most of the stones, though some still broke through.
Meanwhile, Heliolisk — utilizing its outstanding speed combined with Quick Attack and Magnet Rise — had already vanished from its original position. As it moved, it created an Electric Terrain that illuminated the entire underground cave.
Cole teleported away with Brionne and released another Pokémon from its ball — Lopunny. After gauging Aerodactyl's strength, he knew defeating it alone wouldn't be easy and decisively switched to a group attack strategy.
The moment Lopunny appeared, it leaped effortlessly above Aerodactyl and executed a powerful Jump Kick directly into the flying Pokémon.
By now, Heliolisk had positioned itself at Aerodactyl's lower left, its body charged with crackling electricity.
As they say, teamwork makes the dream work. Under Lopunny's powerful strike, Aerodactyl howled and plummeted downward — directly into Heliolisk's perfectly timed Thunderbolt.
"ROAR!!!"
Aerodactyl crashed into a pool with a roar, water splashing everywhere. Though still thrashing and attempting to fly out, Lopunny descended from above and stomped hard on its spine, forcing it back into the water.
The moment Lopunny jumped clear, Heliolisk's second Thunderbolt struck. The golden lightning plunged into the water, sending electric currents surging through the pool. Aerodactyl howled continuously until gradually falling silent.
Cole let out a gentle sigh of relief as Aerodactyl finally collapsed.
With the battle won, he continued forward, accompanied by Heliolisk, Lopunny, and Brionne.
He decided to leave the formidable "bird" behind. Despite its power, Aerodactyl's aggressive temperament — particularly its habit of devouring other Pokémon — made Cole doubt his ability to tame it. Failing to control such a creature might leave him as its next meal — quite the predicament.
He made a mental note to report this location to Professor Oak after leaving. Surely the professor and the League would reward such a discovery!
A living ancient fossil Pokémon would make excellent research material, after all.
The underground cavern stretched vast before them, its terrain continuously sloping downward. As they progressed, Cole's group encountered numerous Kabuto, Kabutops, Omanyte, and Omastar, but Brionne's singing quickly subdued them all.
Thankfully, they encountered no other Pokémon as powerful as Aerodactyl.
After walking for what seemed like ages, the space around Cole suddenly expanded. Before him appeared a pond about the size of a swimming pool. Its jade-green water was crystal clear, emitting pinpoints of light that resembled a beautiful emerald night sky, radiating dazzling brilliance in the dim space.
Cole sensed abundant energy emanating from the jade-green pond water. In the center of the pond stood a Berry tree, about three meters tall. He recognized it as a Magost Berry tree.
The Magost Berries growing on this tree appeared slightly different from ordinary ones. Cole suspected the tree had undergone some form of mutation.
Leaning against the tree trunk was a golden skeleton over two meters tall. Half of it was submerged in the pond water, with a blue-green orb the size of a fist embedded in its chest.
Blue-green droplets fell from the orb, each producing a clear, melodious "ding" sound in the quiet space. The droplets created ripples across the water's surface, enhancing the twinkling lights in the pond water.
Cole suspected the pond water's color and energy were connected to the orb. Likewise, the Magost Berry tree's mutation might be linked to the skeleton's presence.
After examining the skeleton carefully, he concluded it most likely belonged to a Dragonite, and the blue-green orb could be a Dragonite's Dragon Orb.
He recalled a research document in Ramos's study authored by a Pokémon researcher named Hundred Nights Ghost. According to this document, exceptionally powerful Dragon-type Pokémon could form Dragon Orbs within their bodies.
{T/N: I searched for this information in the Canon and the closest I found was the Pokémon Regidrago, which is a crystallized Orb of Dragon Energy. So, it is something that can be crystallized into an Orb and even has an official name, but not under the conditions stated by the author.}
Dragon-type Pokémon possessing Dragon Orbs would have strength comparable to legendary Pokémon!
If what the document said was true, wouldn't that mean this skeleton belonged to a Dragonite with power comparable to a legendary Pokémon?
Cole released Dragonair, hoping it would take him closer to examine the skeleton. But the moment Dragonair emerged, it was immediately drawn to the Dragon Orb and the rich Dragon Energy flowing through the pond water.
"Woo~"
With a single call, Dragonair dove into the pond, swimming joyfully and completely ignoring Cole's presence.
Left with few options, Cole turned to Brionne for help crossing the water. To his surprise, even his beloved water Pokémon refused.
Despite being a water-type that normally loved swimming, Brionne apparently disliked water infused with Dragon Energy!
Cole thought wryly: So this is how love disappears.
Just then, Lopunny grabbed Cole, leaped gracefully into the air, and carried him effortlessly to the Magost tree, landing securely on a thick branch.
He never imagined he'd be princess-carried by a Pokémon — especially someone else's "wife".
From this closer vantage point, he became even more certain that the skeleton belonged to a Dragonite.
As for the Berry tree beneath his feet, after examining it with his Special Ability, Cole was delighted to discover it was an S-class Berry tree. Its energy was even more abundant and pure than the giant Pecha Berry tree in the Reverse World.
What an unexpected treasure!
With the Starf Berry tree from the auction, the Pecha Berry tree from the Reverse World, the Sitrus Berry tree gifted by Mew, and now this Magost Berry tree, Cole would have four S-class Berry trees.
Though only two were currently bearing fruit — the Pecha tree and this Magost tree.
But how to move this tree into the Reverse World was going to be a challenge!
Cole opened the Reverse World and went inside, quickly finding a solution after exploring the area. He discovered two depressions on the island, arranged like steps on a ladder.
He opened the entrance to the Reverse World directly above the upper depression, allowing the jade-green pond water to flow through. After the outside pond had drained completely, he carefully uprooted the Magost tree and replanted it in the lower depression within the Reverse World.
Being a Psychic made this task possible; otherwise, extracting such a tree would have required tremendous physical effort.
Though not particularly tall, the tree had an extensive root system — likely a result of growing in the energy-rich pond water.
After transplanting the tree, Cole positioned the Dragonite skeleton against its trunk, recreating the exact arrangement from the cavern.
To complete the setup, he created a channel connecting the upper and lower depressions, allowing the jade-green water to flow downward and surround the tree, perfectly mirroring the original environment.
While excavating the tree from the dried pond, Cole made another discovery — a translucent golden scale about the size of an adult's palm.
This scale, undoubtedly from the Dragonite, had somehow remained perfectly preserved while all the other scales on its body had decayed with time — a testament to its extraordinary nature.
Could this be the legendary reverse scale of Dragon-type Pokémon?
Noticing how attracted Dragonair was to the scale, Cole decided to give it to his Pokémon.
Having reached the deepest part of the underground cavern where the Dragonite skeleton rested, Cole conducted one final search for treasures before preparing to leave.
Just as he was about to Teleport out of the underground cavern, something unexpected happened. Two figures suddenly materialized before him, evidently also using Teleport.
Six eyes met, and both Cole and the figures opposite him were stunned.
✲✲✲
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