The scorching sun beat down on the exposed rock formations of Da Sha Valley, and the air was thick with the smell of dry dust. Ash wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand, and Pikachu on his shoulder restlessly wagged its tail.
"I heard that ancient Pokémon fossils can be dug up here," Brock squatted on the ground, gently tapping a protruding rock with a geological hammer. "If we can find a complete fossil, it will be of great help to the study of Pokémon evolution history."
Xiao You excitedly flipped through the guide on her rotom phone: "The book says that Kabuto and Omanyte fossils were once found here! Maybe we can find some too!"
"Pika Pika!" Pikachu suddenly perked up its ears, jumped off Ash's shoulder, and began digging at the ground with its claws.
"What's wrong, Pikachu? Did you find something?" Ash squatted down, looking in the direction Pikachu was pointing.
Just then, a familiar voice came from behind them: "Yo, isn't that Ash? You guys came to dig for fossils too? What a coincidence!"
Ash turned around and saw Gary approaching with his signature confident smile, followed by several assistants who looked like researchers.
"Gary!" Ash stood up, unconsciously clenching his fists. "What are you doing here?"
Gary chuckled and pushed up his glasses: "Of course, I'm looking for precious fossil Pokémon. What, you wouldn't think you could find anything good with your limited knowledge, would you?"
"Hmph, that's not necessarily true!" Ash retorted, unconvinced. "Pikachu seemed to have found something just now."
Gary shook his head disdainfully: "Looking for fossils with an electric mouse? What a joke. Watch me!" He said, walking towards a clearly disturbed patch of ground not far away, and took professional excavation tools from his assistant's hand.
Brock walked over to Ash and whispered: "Don't let him provoke you. Let's go at our own pace."
Xiao You also nodded: "That's right, Ash. Pikachu's intuition has always been very accurate. Let's trust it."
Ash took a deep breath, squatted back down beside Pikachu: "Okay, let's dig together and see what's down there."
The two humans and one Pokémon began to dig carefully, while on the other side, cheers suddenly erupted from Gary's group.
"Haha! Look at this!" Gary held up a strangely shaped stone. "I told you I could find something good!"
Ash looked up for a moment but quickly refocused on his own digging. His fingers touched a smooth surface, and his heart suddenly raced: "Wait, I think I touched something!"
Brock immediately leaned over: "Be careful, don't use tools, slowly clear the surrounding dirt with your hands."
As the dirt was gradually brushed away, a fossil with peculiar patterns slowly emerged. At the same time, the azure flute around Ash's neck suddenly emitted a faint light.
"This is…" Ash looked at the fossil in surprise. "The azure flute is reacting!"
Brock carefully examined the fossil: "These patterns… they look like parts of a Bug-type Pokémon's wings."
The light of the azure flute formed a blurry image in Ash's mind—a Bug-type Pokémon with transparent wings soaring in the ancient sky.
"Scyther…" Ash murmured. "This is the fossil of the long-extinct Scyther!"
Just as they were excited about this discovery, a burst of laughter came from Gary's side. It turned out that after professional instrument testing, the "fossil" Gary found was actually fossilized ancient Pokémon excrement.
"Damn it!" Gary, flushed with anger and embarrassment, threw the stone far away.
Ash couldn't help but laugh, but was quickly drawn back by Pikachu's Growl. Pikachu was pointing at the pit they dug with its claws, looking nervous.
"What's wrong, Pikachu?" Ash asked. Suddenly, he felt a strange fluctuation coming from underground. He closed his eyes, concentrating on sensing this fluctuation—his Aura allowed him to perceive signs of life deep underground!
"There are living Pokémon underground!" Ash suddenly opened his eyes. "Lots and lots of them!"
Xiao You gasped in surprise, covering her mouth: "No way? Aren't all fossil Pokémon extinct except for those revived by machines?"
"My Aura won't be wrong," Ash said firmly. "I'm going down to take a look. Brock, Xiao You, you wait here."
"Wait, Ash! It's too dangerous!" Brock tried to stop him, but it was too late.
Ash had already activated the Mind Plate within him. A blue light flashed, and he and Pikachu instantly disappeared from where they stood.
"Here we go again…" Brock sighed helplessly. "He's always so impulsive."
The underground space was much vaster than Ash had imagined. As the power of the Flame Plate was released, the entire cave was illuminated by an orange-red glow. The sight before him stunned both him and Pikachu—
Dozens of Kabuto and Kabutops were quietly resting on the rock walls, while Omanyte and Omastar gathered in a pool of water in the center of the cave. They were all in a deep slumber until the light of the Flame Plate shone upon them.
"Pika… Pika…" Pikachu nervously gripped Ash's pants leg.
The first Kabutops opened its eyes, then the second, the third… Soon, all the fossil Pokémon in the entire cave woke up. Their eyes glowed an ominous red under the light of the Flame Plate, clearly angered by being disturbed.
"Oh no…" Ash swallowed, slowly backing away. "We seem to have disturbed them…"
An Omastar let out a sharp cry, and immediately, all the fossil Pokémon surged towards Ash and Pikachu!
"Pikachu, prepare for battle!" Ash shouted. "Use Thunderbolt!"
"Pika—CHU!!" Pikachu leaped from Ash's feet, erupting in dazzling golden electricity. Powerful currents poured down like a waterfall, illuminating the entire underground space. Thunderbolt's power far exceeded a normal Thunder Shock, and its Lock-On characteristic ensured that every current accurately hit its target.
The hard shells of Kabuto and Kabutops crackled under the powerful current, while the Omanyte retreated into their shells. The entire cave shook, and rubble fell from the ceiling.
When the electric light dissipated, most of the fossil Pokémon had lost their ability to battle, with a few still struggling to attack.
Ash quickly took out two empty Poké Balls from his backpack: "Go!"
The Poké Balls accurately hit an Omastar and a Kabutops, and after shaking a few times, they made a "ding" sound—capture successful!
"Alright!" Ash clenched his fist, but then realized a problem. "What about the remaining Pokémon? If people discover them living here, this habitat will likely be destroyed…"
He touched the azure flute around his neck and suddenly had an idea: "Maybe I can teleport them to my mini-world! There's enough space and environment for them to live there."
The azure flute seemed to sense Ash's thoughts, emitting a soft blue light. The light gradually expanded, engulfing all the fossil Pokémon. With a spatial distortion, they all vanished from the spot, safely transferred to Ash's mini-world.
"Phew… that's settled." Ash let out a sigh of relief, looking around and finding a passage deeper into the cave. "Pikachu, let's go check it out."
At the end of the passage was a more spacious cavern, with many stalactites hanging from the ceiling. In the center of the cavern, two massive Pokémon stood motionless like statues—they had sharp wings and fierce teeth, they were the ancient sky rulers, Aerodactyl!
"Two Aerodactyl!" Ash lowered his voice, afraid of waking them. "They're still sleeping…"
However, the light of the Flame Plate had already shone upon the Aerodactyl. Their eyelids twitched a few times, then they suddenly opened, revealing crimson pupils.
"Roar—!!" One of the Aerodactyl let out a deafening Roar, spreading its huge wings. The other also quickly awoke, its sharp gaze locked onto Ash.
"Looks like a battle is unavoidable," Ash quickly took a Poké Ball from his waist. "Go, Charizard!"
A red light flashed, and Charizard's majestic figure appeared in the cavern. As soon as it appeared, it sensed the presence of a powerful enemy and immediately adopted a battle stance.
"Charizard, take on the one on the left! Pikachu, take on the one on the right!" Ash quickly assigned tasks. "Charizard, use Dragon Dance to boost your stats first!"
Charizard began a powerful dance, surrounded by the light of Dragon-type energy. Seeing this, the two Aerodactyl attacked simultaneously, their sharp wings cutting through the air.
"Charizard, Dragon Pulse! Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"
Charizard spewed a powerful Dragon-type energy wave from its mouth, striking the approaching Aerodactyl. Pikachu, in turn, unleashed dazzling golden electricity again, forcing back the other Aerodactyl.
The Aerodactyl hit by Dragon Pulse staggered for a moment but quickly regained its composure, diving down at an astonishing speed.
"Charizard, Dragon Rush!"
Charizard, enveloped in blue Dragon-type energy, collided head-on with the diving Aerodactyl. The two powerful Flying-type Pokémon fiercely clashed in the air, their wings and claws constantly striking each other.
On the other side, Pikachu nimbly dodged Aerodactyl's attacks with its small size, occasionally counterattacking with Thunderbolt. But Aerodactyl's Rock typing had strong resistance to Electric-type moves, and the battle became a stalemate.
"Charizard, switch to Flamethrower!" Ash changed his strategy.
Blazing flames erupted from Charizard's mouth, directly hitting Aerodactyl's wings. The rocky wings began to glow red under the high temperature, and Aerodactyl let out a cry of pain.
"Now! Maximum power Dragon Rush!"
Charizard seized the opportunity, launching a full-power attack that sent the injured Aerodactyl crashing to the ground. At the same time, Pikachu also found an opening, continuously using Thunderbolt, finally causing the other Aerodactyl to lose its ability to battle.
"Go, Poké Ball!" Ash threw two Poké Balls, hitting the two Aerodactyl respectively.
The Poké Balls shook violently on the ground, almost breaking free at one point, but eventually settled down—capture successful!
"We did it, Charizard, Pikachu!" Ash excitedly picked up Pikachu and spun around, and Charizard also let out a victorious Roar.
As they celebrated, Ash noticed something glinting on the wall behind where the Aerodactyl had been resting. Upon closer inspection, it was a Mega Evolution ite embedded in the rock!
"This is… Aerodactyl's Mega Evolution ite!" Ash carefully removed it. "How lucky!"
Just as he was about to leave, Pikachu discovered something else in a corner—a Pokémon egg half-buried in moss.
"Another egg?" Ash gently brushed away the moss and picked up the egg. "I wonder what kind of Pokémon egg it is…"
He decided to return to the surface first and give the egg to Xiao You, who was good at taking care of Pokémon. Ash recalled Charizard, held the egg, and along with Pikachu, used the power of the Mind Plate again, instantly returning to the surface.
"Ash!" Xiao You and Brock were both surprised and delighted to see him suddenly appear. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, and I made a big discovery!" Ash said excitedly, handing the egg to Xiao You. "Here, this is a Pokémon egg I found underground."
Xiao You carefully took the egg: "Oh my, it's still slightly warm… It should be a healthy egg."
"And this," Ash took out two Poké Balls. "I caught an Omastar and a Kabutops!"
"What? Live fossil Pokémon?" Brock pushed up his glasses in surprise.
Ash nodded and began to recount his underground adventure. He didn't mention the azure flute or his mini-world, only saying that the fossil Pokémon had left after the battle.
"Wait, you said Aerodactyl?" A voice interrupted. Gary was standing behind them at some point, his face filled with disbelief. "You wouldn't be trying to say you also caught Aerodactyl, would you?"
Ash grinned: "That's right, and two of them." He deliberately shook the other two Poké Balls.
Gary's face darkened, but he quickly regained his arrogant expression: "Hmph, just dumb luck. I won't let you steal the show next time!" With that, he turned and left, but Ash noticed that his footsteps were noticeably more hurried than when he arrived.
Xiao You gently stroked the egg in her arms: "Ash, this egg… I feel like it's very special."
"Then I'll leave it to you to take care of," Ash said with a smile. "I think it'll be a Togepi, perfect for you."
"Really? Thank you, Ash!" Xiao You happily hugged the egg tighter.
As the sun set, the rock walls of Da Sha Valley were painted golden. Ash gazed into the distance, Pikachu contentedly saying "Pika" on his shoulder. Today's adventure not only yielded precious fossils and powerful fossil Pokémon but also a mysterious Pokémon egg.
"Let's go," Ash said to his companions. "We'll head back to the Pokémon Center and have Joy check this egg."
The three, laden with their rich haul, embarked on their journey home, the Da Sha Valley behind them gradually fading into the twilight, as if guarding more ancient secrets waiting to be discovered.