My Pokémon Anime Journey | BOOK ONE: KANTO

Attack of the Prehistoric Pokémon

Was there anything duller than rock?
Misty was starting to hate the sight of stone. They would walk for hours through the stony wilderness, where tye heat pressed down and there was little to distract you from the illusion of progress. Until you escaped - Misty always sighed in relief whenever they breached lush greenery, which always meant rivers brimming with fish, and other colourful Pokémon.
Yet, inevitably, the forest relented to more dusty, boring rock. How many crags could there be on the way to Saffron City? Misty was started to believe Brock had deliberately plotted a path that would let him see as many 'interesting' rocks as possible.
Ari did a flamboyant twirl, basking in the musty air. "Think of how much is preserved in these rocks! We're walking on history! Doesn't that just make you want to explore?"
"Ari?" Misty said.
"Yeah?"
"Shut up."
Ari raised her eyebrows. "Or what?"
"I'll make you part of that history."
"Girls, girls, lighten up," Brock laughed. "We're in the beautiful Grandpa Canyon! Excitement awaits!"
"Was there something in the water flowing through those exciting rocks? Because you two have lost it," Misty said.
"Misty, there are men digging up fossils here - fossils of prehistoric Pokémon," Brock said. "Don't you think that's worth checking out?"
Ari raised a hand, which Eevee and Vulpix mimicked with their paws.
"Outvoted, Misty," Brock announced.
Misty felt herself turn red. "I was totally going to raise my hand!"

Brock truly found watching the archaeologists fascinating. They were chipping away at the very fabric of the earth's history, uncovering the ancient past. Fantastic!
Less fantastic was the company.
"Gary Oak?" Brock had not expected to see that face today.
"Ari, late as usual," Gary sniggered. His personal cheer squad waved and swooned. "I'm here to capitalise on the rush for fossils. I supposed you've just stumbled upon the hype, like always. Never do anything intentionally."
"I wouldn't be so sure, Oak." A girl swaggered over, blonde hair glistening.
Ari's smoldering stare cleared. "Lena!"
"Still as daring as ever, Gary," Lena observed.
"Why, thank you-," Gary blinked. "Wait... what do you mean?"
"Your daring sense of style. Your hair looks like a Nidoran's back"
At that, even Lena's Charmeleon guffawed.
Gary bared his teeth. "I can't afford to spend more time with losers. Not if I want to find the fossils before your grubby hands."
"Take your attitude with you when you leave," Ari advised. "Or should that be leaf, Oak?"
Gary did what only the rich did in response to insults - adorned designer sunglasses too big for his face before leaving in a sports car driven by women with no other life purpose.
"Nice one," Lena smirked, sharing a fist bump with Ari. Ari's Charmeleon emerged from his Poké Ball to greet Lena's, their eyes igniting like lost friends reunited.
"Let's go join this dig, shall we?" Ari said.
"And if Gary gets in the way?" Lena said.
"Then there'll be more for future archaeologists to dig up."
Brock coughed. "Not literally?"
"No, not at all. Think how much effort it would take to dig a grave large enough for that ego," Ari sighed.
Brock failed to stifle his laughter.

"Success! My first Pokémon fossil!" Gary boasted.
"That's a fossilised Pokémon brain," one researcher deduced.
"Ugh!" Disgusted, Gary let the relic slip between through his fingers.
Watching from afar, Ari laughed at Gary's squeamishness. He really couldn't understand what he'd unearthed... a Pokémon brain. Ari wondered how the prehistoric Pokémon had thought, loved, Battled... they would certainly make for interesting opponents.
"If we want to find our own fossils, we should head further into the canyon," she said.
Before she could proceed with Brock, Misty, and Lena, a familiar terrible trio popped up from behind a rock.
"Prepare for trouble!" Jessie cheered.
"Make it double!" James followed.
"To protect the world from-,"
"Charmeleon, Flamethrower," snapped Lena.
Both Charmeleon spewed roaring flames, sending Team Rocket flying.
Ari could only stare at Lena.
"What?" Lena shrugged. "They left themselves vulnerable."
"I like you more everytime we meet," Ari said. "And thanks for the tip."
"That seriously never occured to you?" Lena remarked quietly.
Ari menacingly approached the wreckage of Team Rocket. "Don't you three ever go on hiatus?"
"Nobody likes those," Jessie croaked.
"Unless they have a healthy work ethic," Brock said brightly.
Meowth rasped, "We live for our work."
"Actually, I have quite a few other things to live for-," James began.
"Quiet, James!" The other two said. Jessie added, "If I have to hear about your precious collections again-,"
BOOM! Eevee, Vulpix, and both Charmeleon attacked; Team Rocket blasted off again.
"What about the dynamiiiteeeee," they screeched into the horizon.
"Dynamite?" Misty repeated blankly. They all looked down, noticing a stick of dynamite, the lit fuse crawling closer to calamity.
"Squirtle!" Ari gasped, summoning the Tiny Turtle Pokémon to extinguish the fuse at the last second. "Crisis averted-,"
BBOOOOOOMMM!