"Maybe it's because I've returned safely, and once you relaxed, your minds cleared up."
Misty tilted her head and thought about it.
"Hmm... that seems reasonable."
"When you were fighting Aerodactyl down there, my palms were sweating from nervousness."
"Now that I see you're okay, I'm truly relieved."
Delia also smiled gently.
"That's true."
"Roy, we're relieved that you're safe."
Roy looked at them, easily convinced by the excuse he had made up on the spot, and found it secretly amusing.
But this was exactly the effect of the halo.
Subtle.
Silent.
They didn't need to know about the system's existence.
It was enough for them to just stay by his side, safe and happy.
"Alright." Roy clapped his hands.
"Everyone, let's take a break."
"We'll head back out of the Grand Canyon of Fossils along the same path shortly."
Delia took a water bottle out of her backpack and handed it to Roy.
Misty hugged the Togepi egg, sat on a nearby rock, and carefully wiped the dust off the surface of the eggshell with her sleeve.
The ancient Aerodactyl was still lying over there.
However, its anger seemed to have dissipated a little.
At least it wasn't snorting through its nostrils anymore.
It just glanced sideways at Roy from time to time.
That look.
It was aggrieved.
And unconvinced.
Roy walked over, took a pokéblock out of his backpack, and tossed it over.
The ancient Aerodactyl instinctively opened its mouth and caught it.
Crunch, crunch, it chewed twice.
Its eyes brightened slightly.
Then it deliberately put on a straight face.
It had an expression that said, "Don't think a single pokéblock can bribe me."
Roy chuckled.
"Alright."
"There will be plenty of opportunities for you to prove yourself in the future."
Hearing this, the ancient Aerodactyl's amber-gold eyes immediately lit up.
It raised its head.
It let out a low dragon roar.
Fine.
You said it yourself.
Next time there's team training.
Just watch me beat that Charizard until it's looking for its teeth on the floor.
The Poké Ball at Roy's waist shook.
Charizard's voice came from inside.
It carried a hint of disdain.
The meaning was roughly — Suit yourself, I'm ready anytime.
Roy shook his head.
These two.
It's going to be lively from now on.
Ten minutes later.
The three of them finished their break.
Delia packed away the water bottle, and Misty carefully placed the Togepi egg into the inner compartment of her backpack, even wrapping it in several layers of clothing.
"Let's go."
Roy led the way in front.
Delia and Misty followed behind.
The ancient Aerodactyl spread its wings and circled at a low altitude above their heads, casting a large shadow.
Sunlight spilled down through the gaps in the canyon.
Golden spots of light fell on the three of them.
As they walked, Misty suddenly spoke up.
"Roy."
"When do you think this egg will hatch?"
Roy didn't even turn his head.
"Soon."
"It shouldn't take too long."
Misty looked down at her backpack.
"Then what kind of Pokémon will it be?"
The corners of Roy's mouth curled up.
"It's definitely not a Water-type."
Misty's footsteps faltered.
"Huh?"
Roy quickened his pace.
Behind him came the sound of Misty chasing after him.
"Hey? What do you mean it's definitely not a Water-type! Do you have X-ray vision?"
Roy said with a chuckle, "Ah, I didn't mean it so absolutely. I meant that the Pokémon that hatch from Pokémon eggs are diverse, so don't get your hopes up too high."
Misty puffed out her cheeks, still diligently wiping the egg, holding onto her beautiful fantasies, unaffected by Roy.
Roy and the others walked back along the original path, and when they reached the familiar trail, they saw a large crowd gathered at the excavation site from afar.
It was different from when they had just left.
The atmosphere was clearly strange now.
Those people still held shovels and pickaxes in their hands, but none of them were digging.
They were all craning their necks, whispering to each other, and discussing heatedly.
"Did you feel that movement just now?"
"I felt it, I felt it! The whole ground was shaking!"
"Exactly, I almost couldn't stand steady."
"Was it an earthquake?"
"Earthquake my foot, what kind of earthquake only shakes once?"
"Then what do you think it was?"
"In my opinion... it might be something underground."
The speaker lowered their voice, sounding mysterious.
Several people nearby also crowded over.
"What kind of thing?"
"Do you think it could be... a legendary Pokémon?"
"A legendary Pokémon?"
"Yeah! Hasn't there always been a rumor about this Grand Canyon of Fossils, saying it's the resting place of ancient Pokémon?"
"That tremor just now, maybe it was just some big guy underground turning over."
"Turning over causes such a big commotion?"
"What if it wakes up? That would be trouble."
The crowd got more and more carried away.
Their faces were filled with a mix of excitement and panic.
Some began to imagine what kind of super-giant Pokémon was sleeping underground.
Others worried about whether they could escape if something really woke up.
A few bolder ones were even more excited.
They dug even harder with their shovels.
"Maybe there's treasure down there!"
"Dig! Dig hard!"
Roy stood not far away, listening to their discussion.
The corners of his mouth curled up slightly.
Of course, he knew what the tremor was about.
Charizard and Aerodactyl had collided in the canyon, and Aerodactyl had been smashed into the cliff wall by a Seismic Toss.
It would be strange if that impact didn't cause a tremor.
However, there was no need to explain this to them.
Let them guess.
Delia tugged at Roy's sleeve and asked in a low voice.
"Roy, what are they talking about?"
Roy shook his head.
"Nothing, it's probably just because the commotion when Charizard was fighting earlier was too big."
Misty, holding the Togepi egg, curled her lips.
"These people are really something, they can think of so much just from digging for fossils."
Roy's gaze swept over the crowd.
He saw that familiar figure in the center.
Gary.
This kid was wearing travel clothes, his sleeves rolled up high, and his forehead was covered in sweat.
He was holding a shovel, squatting in a pit, and digging hard.
A small pile of gravel and dirt had already accumulated beside him.
His face was covered in dust, but his eyes were extremely focused.
He was even muttering to himself.
"Almost there, almost there... This piece should yield something good..."
"That tremor earlier must be a sign of a large fossil underground..."
"Maybe it's the complete skeletal fossil of a legendary Pokémon..."
"If I dig it up, Grandpa will definitely praise me..."
He dug with increasing enthusiasm.
He didn't notice what the people around him were discussing at all.
Nor did he notice that Roy was standing not far away watching him.
Roy looked at Gary's serious appearance.
He smiled.
This kid.
He actually thought he was digging up treasure.
Fine.
Let him be happy for a while longer.
Anyway, there were indeed many fossils in this canyon.
Although there were no living ancient Pokémon left, there were still ordinary fossils.
It would be enough to keep him busy for a while.
"Let's go."
Roy withdrew his gaze and waved to Delia and Misty.
"We're leaving the canyon."
Delia nodded.
Misty followed with the egg.
The three of them walked along the path, bypassed the crowd, and headed toward the exit of the Grand Canyon of Fossils.
About a kilometer outside the canyon exit, the three of them stopped under the shade of some trees.
Roy sat down against a tree and started adjusting his lineup; he had captured three more today, so he had to swap out three.
After much consideration, Roy finally chose Haunter, Kabuto, and Omanyte.
These two fossil Pokémon had just awakened; they weren't as hyperactive as Aerodactyl and were more suitable for careful observation in a research environment.
As for Haunter...
This Haunter had been with him for a while now.
Its personality suited his tastes.
But there was a problem now.
Haunter's evolution required a Link Cable.
And he didn't have this item on him.
Without a Link Cable, Haunter couldn't evolve into Gengar.
If it didn't evolve, its combat potential would be limited.
Rather than letting it wait around with him, it was better to let it go back and rest for a while, and reunite with its good brothers.
After adjusting the lineup, the three of them continued on their journey.
Pallet Town.
Professor Oak's laboratory.
Professor Oak was sitting in front of his desk.
He was holding the telephone receiver.
He had a smiling face.
The excited voice of Gary came from the other end of the phone.
"Grandpa! Let me tell you!"
"I've dug up something good this time!"
Professor Oak put down what he was doing and listened.
"Oh? Gary, what did you dig up?"
Gary's voice was full of pride.
"Fossils! A large piece of a complete fossil!"
"I judge it to be the toe bone fossil of some kind of Flying-type ancient Pokémon!"
"It's very well preserved!"
"I've already sent it back to the laboratory by courier, it should arrive in a few days!"
"Grandpa, take a good look at it when you receive it, maybe you can discover a new species of Pokémon!"
Professor Oak smiled even more happily.
"Good, good, good, Gary has grown up, knowing how to contribute to Grandpa's research."
Gary chuckled twice on the other end of the phone.
"Of course!"
"I'm Grandpa's grandson after all!"
"By the way, Grandpa, I'm better than Roy this time, right?"
"He's also here, but looking at him, it seems like he didn't dig up anything good."
"I dug up a complete toe bone fossil this time!"
"Don't you think so, Grandpa?"
Professor Oak was about to speak.
A prompt sound suddenly rang out nearby.
It was the transfer device.
Three Poké Balls appeared on the transfer tray.
Professor Oak paused.
At this time, transferring Poké Balls back...
He glanced at the transfer origin; it was Roy.
"Gary, wait a moment."
Professor Oak tucked the receiver between his shoulder.
He walked over to the transfer device.
He reached out and picked up a Poké Ball.
Professor Oak's breathing hitched.
He subconsciously took half a step back.
He held the Poké Ball further away from himself.
Then he pressed the release button.
Red light flashed.
Two Pokémon appeared on the floor of the laboratory.
One was Kabuto.
A brownish-half-spherical shell, two small claws extended from the bottom, and its eyes looked out from the gap in the shell.
The other was Omanyte.
A blue spiral shell, tentacles extending from the shell opening, swaying gently in the air.
Both Pokémon were alive.
Professor Oak was completely stunned.
The receiver in his hand almost fell to the ground.
"Th-this is alive?"
He squatted down and leaned in to look closely.
Kabuto crawled two steps slowly on the floor.
Omanyte's tentacles touched a table leg and even retracted.
Authentic.
A living ancient Pokémon.
Professor Oak stood up abruptly.
His face was full of a mix of shock and excitement.
"This kid Roy..."
"Where did he catch these?"
On the other end of the phone.
Gary's voice was still ringing.
"Grandpa? Grandpa, what's wrong?"
"What did you just say?"
"Roy? What happened to him again?"
Professor Oak came back to his senses.
He picked up the receiver.
He was silent for two seconds.
Then he sighed.
His tone carried a kind of complex emotion.
"Gary."
"You still need to work harder."
"The gap between you and Roy..."
"Seems to be getting wider and wider."
The other end of the phone went quiet.
After several seconds.
Professor Oak sighed again.
"Alright Gary, Grandpa has important matters to attend to here."
"You keep working hard too."
After speaking, he hung up the phone.
Professor Oak put down the receiver.
He squatted down and lay directly on the ground.
His eyes were level with Kabuto and Omanyte.
A childlike expression of excitement appeared on his face.
"Oh my, oh my..."
"Isn't this the direction Bill is researching?"
Bill, the authority who specializes in researching ancient Pokémon.
At the last academic seminar.
Bill had published a paper on the ecology of ancient Pokémon.
He had stolen the spotlight.
Professor Oak was sitting in the audience at the time.
Although he was smiling on the surface.
He was still a bit unconvinced in his heart.
After all, he was the leading authority in the Pokémon research world.
But in the field of ancient Pokémon.
He could only research fossils.
And fossils were, after all, just fossils.
Compared to living ancient Pokémon.
They were worlds apart.
"Good kid, Roy."
Professor Oak reached out his finger and gently poked Kabuto's shell.
Kabuto retracted.
Then it slowly stretched out again.
"This time you brought me two living ones."
"Oh my, now I can also get involved in research in Bill's field."
Professor Oak grinned.
He smiled very triumphantly.
Like a child who had snatched a candy.
"That kid stole the spotlight at the last seminar."
"I can't fall behind this time."
"When I thoroughly research these two, I'll surprise everyone at the next seminar."
He talked to himself while doing so.
While taking a magnifying glass and a notebook out of the drawer.
He began his preliminary observation of Kabuto and Omanyte.
He kept muttering in his mouth.
"The back shell pattern is different from the fossil sample... needs to be re-recorded..."
"Tentacle reaction is more sensitive than expected... this is interesting..."
"Activity range prefers light-avoiding environments... similar to modern Rock-type Pokémon..."
Professor Oak's competitiveness in academic rivalry.
Was never weaker than any young person.
Age only manifested on his appearance.
His heart always maintained the passion and drive of his youth.
This was also the reason why he could become a leading authority in the Pokémon research world.
On the other side, on the other end of the phone.
Gary was holding the receiver, his face full of confusion.
"Beep... beep... beep..."
The phone had already been hung up.
He was still standing in place.
His mind kept echoing what Grandpa had just said.
"The gap between you and Roy, seems to be getting wider and wider."
Gary hung up the receiver.
"This Roy..."
"What exactly is going on?"
Gary gritted his teeth.
"I dug up such a precious fossil this time."
"Why did Grandpa still praise him?"
He couldn't figure it out the more he thought about it.
"Am I his grandson, or is Roy his grandson?"
Gary fell into deep self-doubt.
Unable to figure it out for the moment, Gary could only set off on his journey again, feeling depressed.