Diancie immediately called Ange as soon as she received the group photo he sent.
"Ange, did you run into Diantha?" Diancie asked, her tone filled with shock.
"Yeah, didn't I send you the group photo?" Ange said.
"Then did you get an autograph for me?" Diancie asked impatiently.
Ange replied, "I already sent you a group photo, didn't I? Do you still need an autograph?"
Diancie said angrily, "That's a photo of you and Diantha, not a photo of me and her! I want an autograph!"
Ange rubbed his nose in embarrassment.
"Hahaha~ I didn't think of that. I promise to get you an autograph the next time I run into her."
"Who knows if you'll run into her again next time," Diancie said, sounding disappointed.
"I definitely will, I definitely will!" Ange promised immediately.
"Fine, I'll forgive you this time," Diancie said.
After hanging up the phone, Ange played with his Pokémon for a while before putting them to bed.
Early the next morning, Ange and his group woke up to the chirping of Fletchling outside the window.
He sat up on the bed, rubbed his sleepy eyes, and asked the three Pokémon with a smile:
"Good morning, how did you sleep last night?"
Munch munch~ Very well!
Munchlax answered first.
Duki duki~ Me too.
Magearna raised a sweet smile.
Tyrunt had just woken up and looked a bit confused. It glanced around and then looked down at the large beef bone still held in its arms.
After staring at it for a while, it started gnawing on it on its own.
"Let's get washed up and go out for breakfast," Ange said while getting dressed.
Munch munch~ Munchlax deftly took off its pajamas and scurried into the bathroom.
After washing up, Ange took the three Pokémon to the Pokémon Center restaurant.
Magearna said while eating breakfast, Duki duki~ It feels a bit strange to eat breakfast outside occasionally.
Munch munch~ Munchlax nodded.
Tyrunt looked at Munchlax and Diancie in confusion. Why is it strange? It's delicious!
After breakfast, Ange saw a group of people pouring out of the Pokémon Center to excavate fossils, so he asked Munchlax and Magearna:
"Should we go experience fossil digging too?"
Magearna tilted its head and said, Duki duki~ Can we dig anything up? It looks like it's very hard to find them.
Ange laughed, "We're just going for the experience, it's not like we have to find something. Besides, we have nothing else to do."
Munch munch~ munch munch~
Munchlax was happy to hear this and indicated it wanted to go.
Duki duki~ Alright, let's go and see.
Magearna nodded in agreement.
"There are shops over there selling digging kits and tools. Let's go buy a set!" Ange said, pointing to a shop opposite the Pokémon Center.
Because so many trainers came to Fossil Cave to dig for fossils, and most of them stayed at the Pokémon Center, someone opened a shop opposite specifically selling fossil digging clothes and tools.
Ange's suggestion was agreed to by Magearna and Munchlax.
As for Tyrunt, it was not interested in digging for fossils and focused on gnawing on its beef bone.
By the time Ange and his group came out of the shop across the street, they had changed their outfits.
They wore matching gray digging suits with hats, each equipped with a headlamp, and carried digging tools on their shoulders.
Ange carried a hoe, Magearna carried a shovel, and Munchlax carried a pickaxe.
Munch munch~ munch munch~
Munchlax walked in front in high spirits, its two short legs taking brisk steps, singing along as it followed other digging teams toward the Fossil Cave.
The Fossil Cave was where the fossils were excavated. It was originally a mountain, but as more and more people went to dig there, it gradually became a cave with tunnels extending in all directions.
Following the main crowd, Ange and his group soon reached the Fossil Cave outside the town.
Watching others enter one after another, Ange said to the three Pokémon beside him: "Let's go in too."
Munch munch~
Duki~
Ah woo~
The three Pokémon followed closely behind Ange.
The light in the Fossil Cave was particularly dim, and Ange and his group had to turn on their headlamps as soon as they entered to see.
Ah woo~~
Tyrunt was indeed still a baby, as it was afraid of the dark. As soon as it entered the cave, it hugged Ange.
Ange patted its large head and said, "There, there, don't be afraid. Aren't we here with you?"
Ange's comfort didn't work; Tyrunt still held tightly onto his waist.
Fine, Ange didn't say anything more and let it hug him.
After walking for only a few steps, Munchlax had already started digging with its pickaxe.
Seeing it digging enthusiastically, Ange asked, "Munchlax, did you find a clue to a fossil?"
Munch? No~
Munchlax looked blank.
"Then why are you digging so energetically!" Ange was left between laughing and crying.
Munch munch~ munch munch~ It'll turn up if I keep digging.
Munchlax scratched the back of its head and giggled.
Ange said, "That makes sense, but this area has probably been dug over countless times. It's definitely not very likely to find anything. Let's go deeper."
Munch munch~~
Munchlax immediately shouldered its pickaxe and headed deeper inside.
The Fossil Cave had been dug by countless trainers, and the passages inside had long become intertwined. Ange didn't know which way was better to go, so he let Munchlax lead the way.
Munchlax walked and stopped, stopping to dig a couple of times with the pickaxe whenever it thought there might be a fossil, and then continued forward after a few shovels.
If it found any strange-looking stones, it would immediately and excitedly bring them over to show Ange.
In fact, the stones that caught its attention, other than being strangely shaped, had nothing special about them.
Ange felt that it hadn't come here to dig for fossils, but was purely here to play.
However, Ange didn't stop it and let it do as it pleased.
Quite a few Pokémon inhabited the Fossil Cave, including Sandshrew, Zubat, and Sableye. It was said that Noibat lived there too, but Ange hadn't encountered any.
After walking for who knows how long, Ange and his group had penetrated deep into the Fossil Cave, and the frequency of encountering other excavators gradually decreased.
Ange hadn't dug much at all; Munchlax did all the digging, and occasionally Tyrunt would use its claws to help paw at the ground.
After staying in the cave for a long time and adapting to the environment, Tyrunt wasn't as scared anymore.
Just then, Munchlax seemed to have discovered something new and was whispering in a corner with Tyrunt.
At this moment, Ange's phone suddenly rang. He took it out and saw that it was a video call from Diancie.
"Ange, where are you guys?" Seeing that it was pitch black around them and that they were dressed in a strange manner, Diancie asked in confusion.
"We're in the cave digging for fossils!" Ange replied.
"No wonder." Diancie wore an expression of sudden realization.
"What's wrong?" Ange asked.
Diancie said, "There's a mission I accepted on your behalf. You'll understand once you take a look."
Just as Diancie finished speaking, Ange heard the System's notification.
"That's all." With that, Diancie hung up the video call.
Ange curled his lips, "Hung up just like that? You don't want to talk to me a bit more?"
As he spoke, he opened the System and saw an additional mission on the mission list.
[Excavation Mission] Please follow the instructions to excavate a Mysterious Fossil in the Fossil Cave — Pending completion.
Mysterious Fossil? Ange fell into deep thought. What kind of fossil would be mysterious?
Omanyte, Kabutops, Anorith, Lileep, Cranidos, Shieldon, Tirtouga, Archen, Amaura, Tyrunt, or perhaps the Fossilized Bird, Fossilized Drake, Fossilized Fish, or Fossilized Dino?
After closing the System, Ange discovered an extra indicator within his Eye of Observation.
In other words, he needed to follow the indicator.
After finding the direction using the indicator, Ange chose a cave tunnel and shouted to Munchlax, Magearna, and Tyrunt:
"Stop playing everyone, come this way."
Munch~ Munchlax quickly dragged its pickaxe and ran to Ange's side.
Ah woo~ Tyrunt followed closely behind.
Duki duki~ Wait for me.
Magearna walked at the end.
After much zigzagging following the indicator, Ange and his group had completely left the excavation team behind and arrived at the deepest part of the cave.
Finally, the indicator stopped spinning, and the arrow began pointing downward.
"This is asking me to dig downwards?" Ange tapped the hard ground with his hoe.
Munch munch~~ Munchlax didn't hesitate, raising its pickaxe and starting to dig.
"You really are energetic," Ange couldn't help but laugh.
Munch~ Munchlax smiled at Ange and pumped its fist.
Ange said resignedly, "Alright, dig!"
As he spoke, he raised his hoe and began digging together with Munchlax.
Duki~ Seeing this, Magearna quickly helped.
Ah woo~~ Tyrunt was not to be outdone, using its strong claws to paw at the ground.
The human and the three Pokémon didn't know how long they had been digging. A downward passage had already been dug out, but the Mysterious Fossil mentioned in the mission was still nowhere to be seen.
"How long is this going to take?" Ange straightened his back, rubbing his sore lower back.
Munch munch~ munch munch~
Seeing this, Munchlax quickly indicated that if Master was tired, he could go take a break, and it would just dig.
"Thanks for the concern, little apprentice, but I can't let you do all the hard work alone," Ange said, pinching Munchlax's chubby cheeks.
Munch munch~~
Munchlax held the place his master had pinched with its hands and giggled.
Ange thought for a moment and said, "Let's have something to eat and take a rest before we continue."
All three Pokémon raised their hands to agree.
Afterwards, Ange found a flat spot, laid out a clean cloth, and Magearna took out the snacks it had prepared from the backpack, while Ange himself took out the fruit juice drink Passimian had prepared for him.
It was the first time Tyrunt had eaten so many delicious treats; it was rolling on the ground happily while accepting hand-fed snacks from Munchlax.
After being full and satisfied, they continued working.
While digging, Ange suddenly felt his hoe hit something hard.
Finally found it? He felt a surge of joy.
He cleared away the surrounding rubble, only to be disappointed to find that the path ahead was blocked by a huge, hard boulder, not some Mysterious Fossil.
He knocked on the boulder with his hoe, only to find that it wouldn't budge at all.
Munch munch~ munch munch~ Master, leave it to me!
Munchlax stepped forward with its fists raised.
"Alright, it's all you!" Ange moved aside.
Munch munch~~ Munchlax raised its fist, which was overflowing with icy energy, and smashed it against the boulder.
Crack, crack, crack~~
Cracks spread across the boulder, but it didn't shatter.
Duki duki~ Let me try too.
Magearna stepped forward enthusiastically.
Munch~ Munchlax made room for Magearna upon hearing this.
Magearna extended one hand with silver light condensing in it, and in the next second, a silver beam shot out and impacted the boulder; the cracks on the boulder grew even larger.
Magearna used the Steel-type move Flash Cannon.
Ah woo~ ah woo~ Seeing that Munchlax and Magearna had both attacked, Tyrunt was eager to try.
Ange said helplessly, "Fine, you go too."
He shook his head, thinking: What use could you little guy be?
To his surprise, Tyrunt actually dug through the boulder. It swung its claws at the boulder, and in the next second, it had dug a hole in it.
Ange was surprised, "Tyrunt, you learned Dig? Since when?"
Ah woo~ ah woo~
Tyrunt hopped to Ange's side, excited, asking for praise.
Following Munchlax, it had automatically learned the move Dig while digging.
Ange patted Tyrunt's head, "Good job, I'll stew you a beef bone when we get back!"
Ah woo~ ah woo~
Upon hearing this, Tyrunt excitedly used Dig again, and soon a spacious path appeared in front of them.
However, Tyrunt's level was too low and its stamina was too low, so it collapsed on the ground in exhaustion after a short while.
Ange was left between laughing and crying, "I didn't ask you to work that hard!"
Ah woo~~ Tyrunt hung its head, listless.
"Alright, you stay behind and get some good rest," Ange said, patting it.
With the path opened by Tyrunt using Dig, it was much easier for them to dig.
Munchlax gave up using the pickaxe, raised its fists, and smashed them one by one, alternating between Fire Punch, Thunder Punch, and Ice Punch; in an instant, debris flew everywhere in the cave.
After who knows how long, Munchlax suddenly let out a cry of surprise.
Munch munch~ munch munch~ Master, Master, come look!
"What is it?" Ange quickly rushed over.
Munch munch~ munch munch~ Munchlax pointed excitedly at the stone in front for Ange to see.
Only then did Ange notice that there were special patterns on the stone Munchlax was pointing to.
"This is... a plant fossil?" Ange looked surprised, "It seems to be a fossil of some kind of lotus."
On the stone, Ange saw lotus patterns and round lotus leaf patterns.
"Don't damage these fossils," Ange said to Munchlax.
Although they weren't Pokémon fossils, plant fossils were also very precious; they held important reference value for researching the ancient ecology of the Pokémon world.
Munch munch~~ Munchlax nodded.
Immediately, Ange and his group carefully took down the plant fossils with Munchlax and Magearna.
As for Tyrunt, he just let it play on its own; it was clumsy and would only break the fossils.
There were quite a few plant fossils. In order to excavate them completely, Ange, Munchlax, and Magearna put in quite a bit of effort.
At the same time, in the center of the many plant fossils, they finally saw the Mysterious Fossil mentioned by the System.
This fossil was huge, nearly the size of more than half of Ange, and it was round; it was really impossible to tell what kind of creature it belonged to.
Clearly, it had become a fossil at the same time as the lotus flowers; perhaps it was playing in the lotus pond at the time.
Regardless, he would dig it out first.
Ange and the two Pokémon then dug out the fossil and stored it in the System backpack.
The moment he obtained the fossil, Ange heard the System's notification that the mission was completed.
Looks like he hadn't found the wrong one!
Ange clapped his hands and said, "Alright, it's getting late, let's head back."
The light in the cave was dim, making it impossible to tell the passage of time, but in reality, they had been digging here for an entire day.
Munch~
Duki~
Ah woo~
The three Pokémon nodded at the same time; they were indeed exhausted, but they had also played very happily.
Digging for fossils was just for fun; none of them really expected to find anything.
If it were that easy to find something, Fossil Pokémon would have been everywhere long ago.
When Ange and his group walked out of the Fossil Cave, the sun was about to set, and other excavators were coming out one after another.
Most people were just like Ange and his group, having gained nothing at all.
Back at the Pokémon Center, Ange let Munchlax and Magearna go to the bathroom one after another to bathe.
He himself used bathing sand and a brush to give Tyrunt a bath.
He was the last one to enter the bathroom.
After a hot bath, Ange felt relaxed all over, and the fatigue from a day's work was reduced by more than half.
Afterwards, he took his Pokémon to have dinner.
(Darkrai: Am I being ignored again today?)
After dinner, Ange noticed quite a few trainers sparring in the backyard of the Pokémon Center, so he ran over to join in the fun, bringing his three Pokémon to watch a few matches.
Around 10:00, he returned to the room with his Pokémon.
Of course, he didn't forget the beef bone he had promised Tyrunt.
After receiving the new beef bone, Tyrunt immediately started gnawing on it on its own.
While the three Pokémon were playing, Ange thought for a moment and made a video call to Steven.
The phone projected into mid-air, and Steven's face appeared immediately.
"Ange, why did you think of calling me?"
Ange pointed to the Mysterious Fossil he had taken out in advance:
"I have something involving stones I'd like to ask your advice on. Can you tell what kind of creature's fossil this is?"
Steven had done a lot of research on fossils; fossil revival technology was developed by his family's Devon Corporation.
Upon hearing this, Steven carefully observed the fossil. After a long time, he said, "Bring the phone closer."
Ange nodded and brought the hand holding the phone closer to the Mysterious Fossil.
"Hmm~~" After observing for a long time, he frowned, "I can't tell at all what kind of creature it is. It's different from the fossils of all the known Fossil Pokémon I'm aware of."
"Incredible, even you don't recognize it," Ange exclaimed.
Steven said between laughing and crying, "I'm not omniscient."
After a long while, he said, "Wait for me to look up the data, and I'll tell you in detail later."
Ange nodded: "Alright, waiting for your news."