“Narrator, are you certain you aren’t overselling this guy? I get he's powerful, but this seems to imply he borders on an emperor or king,” Chad inquired while practicing forming the brown energy on his hands just as Sensei instructed. Occasionally, he would strike out, either denting or fracturing a nearby rock.

“I think it's neat, I would love to have a parade like this in my honneur. It makes you feel important, makes you seem important.” Ginette voiced her opinion, once again offering some cold water to the hard working rock rhinos.

Chad walked in silence, before inquiring “Did you just insinuate Pokemon Mystery Dungeon existed before humanity in this timeline?” His face was warped into a hybrid of skepticism and confusion. The others continued walking, most attempting to ignore the weird fire lizard talking to himself, others opting to whisper comments beneath his hearing.

The world stuttered, as if reality itself were vibrating, before everything resumed as normal. “You mean like that?” Chad asked with heightened insecurity, his head on a pivot seeking the location of the taunted divinity. But the world chugged along as if nothing had occurred.

Yes, but in this case the Narrator does have a contract, so any objections are relegated to the appropriate judicial process, as outlined in section 4.

“Do— do I have a contract? I don't remember signing a contract…” Chad inquired with worry, as Ginette redirected her path to align closer with his. She offered him a sip of cold water, but her teammate chose to decline.

“That isn’t exactly true,” Ginette trailed off. “Chad hatched here in Kalos right?”

“Which makes him a Kalosian citizen. And as a Kalosian pokemon registered to a trainer ID, it means he has automatic union membership unless he completed the multi-stage process to personally opt out as a free agent.”

<…What?>

“You didn’t know about this? There were several chapters in the trainer’s manual covering the rules for training Kalosian union pokemon. Things like limitations on training hours, dietary regulations, enforced holidays; heck there’s even rules about required breaks throughout the day.” Chad listed off each item, showing off his memorization of the handbook he had been so thoroughly quizzed on. Ginette nodded along, blissfully aware of just how sweet of a deal her ancestors had ironed out for her.

Regrettably for you Narrator, they are being truthful. You were rushing the process so quickly that Kalos inherited French culture almost entirely, including the concept of worker’s unions. It seems in response to poor treatment and abusive trainers, the native pokemon unionized and forced negotiations with the local League a few hundred years ago.

“But!” Chad intervened, sensing the slow buildup of anger steaming from the Narrator. “I have been taking great care to ensure we do not run afoul of those protections. Additionally, because I am working at fostering a healthy, competitive, and welcoming team, we shouldn’t need to worry about the single-party-enforced exit compensation packages.”

The Narrator, in true posh Galarian fashion, proceeded to rant and decry what he referred to as the ‘uppity thankless poors’, among other more colorful defamatory denigrations.

One gawker, likely a scientist by their lab coat, took notice of the giant slab barely illuminated in the moonlight, and wisely ran towards the fossil lab while placing a call.

“Yea, this is bordering on a religious congregation. Are they just going to follow this fossil wherever it goes?” Chad remarked with concern, noting the fifty-strong herd of Rhyhorns serving as an escort for the slab..

Up ahead, the lab was fully lit with the front double doors wide open. Two men stood out front, animatedly having a quiet discussion about the oncoming crowd. One wearing a lab coat, likely the same they had seen earlier, and the other in much more casual wear. Neither prepared for what approached them.

“Uh, welcome to the Ambrette fossil lab! We are the regional experts in the study and revival of pokemon from ancient fossils discovered here along the shoreline. In exchange for the donation of any fossils league-approved trainers discover, we attempt to revive the pokemon from the fossil for you to take home with you. Uh… Where is your trainer?” The man in casual wear asked, looking around the procession.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Chad, taking Ginette’s giggle in stride, stepped forward and pulled out his trainer ID. Offering it to the speaker, who waved him off. “No, where is your trainer? We only deal with licensed trainers.”

“Uhm sir—“ the lab coat attempted to speak up, cut off by the man who was presumably his boss, as an open palm covered the scientist’s face.

“Steve, that rock is worth millions, if not billions! I'm not negotiating the handover of something that valuable with a damn pokemon! I've already got a half dozen private parties bidding for this thing, and the last thing I need is to be trying to iron out a deal with something that has less awareness than a toddler. Now I'll ask one more time; where. Is. Your. Trainer?!”

Chad glanced back at Ginette in worry, at the procession which watched the ongoing events with a silent but visible disgust. In a panic, he dropped his bag, digging around inside to pull out his speech device. His body shaking, Chad attempted to type out a response, but was interrupted when the angry human decided he’d had enough. “Fine, per the rules as outlined by the Kalosian Scientific Society, any fossils brought in by unlicensed individuals are forfeit and considered to be lab property. You may leave the stone here and promptly–”

<“Congratulations on the promotion, Steve. I will be resigning, effective immediately.” The former manager said, passing his badge to Steve. “And now I must be away, my people need me,” he explained, quickly running away from the situation and off a cliff at the edge of town, leaping over the guardrail with the practiced grace of an olympic track and field athlete.>

“Oh my god!” Ginette shouted, as a woman screamed nearby. Several people ran to the cliff and looked out over, trying to find the jumper. One could interpret from their panic and collective discussion that he was nowhere in sight. Chad, still in shock over the turn of events, could only stand frozen in place, his eyes repeatedly flying laps between the other lab employee and the cliff-side crowd.

Steve the recently-promoted lab manager continued to watch the cliffside, almost hopeful this was simply some strange prank. His holo caster started to ping with notifications, and buzz with incoming calls. Broken from the stupor, he faced the horde of pokemon awaiting his decision. “Let— let's go inside. I… I need to sit down.” Steve requested, as the procession gently carried the tablet inside; the doorway was just barely big enough to fit the massive slab of rock and took careful coordination to fit it through. Inside, another lab employee quickly strode forward to guide the team towards the reanimation lab.

Steve collapsed onto a nearby soft sofa in the lobby, his expression locked in a daze of fear and inner turmoil. With a slow respect, Chad gingerly slid onto the chair across from him, and opted to wait in silence. Steve’s holo caster continued to ping with notifications, and ring with inbound calls. The new lab manager seemed to make a decision, ignoring the device and focusing his attention on the fire pokemon which sat across from him.

“My– I guess now previous– boss was not exaggerating, about the fact that we have developed the technology to revive pokemon from their fossils. There’s a lot of theory behind it, but… Sorry, I’m just– not sure what this even is right now.” Steve admitted, his face betraying the cacophony of emotions which polluted his thoughts. “Do– Should I give you the whole speech, or just the business? Do you even have a trainer?”

Chad, chewing his tongue, offered his trainer ID to the poor man, before pulling up his device again to type. [AM, TRAINER] it buzzed as he pointed to himself, then the plastic rectangle. Nodding, while eyeing the speech device as the afternoon continued to stretch his worldview, Steve returned the ID. [TELL, ALL, IF, HELPS, CALM, YOU] the device advised, as Chad slid it slightly to the side and gave the scientist his undivided attention.

Whether it was the sudden-onset grief, or the sheer novelty of a pokemon– albeit using a digital aide– communicating with him in his native language without the headache-inducing telepathy, Steve simply stopped. With a sigh to expel the sum total of his recent worries, the fear, and the rapidly escalating stress, he muted the holo caster on the table.

Steve, now holding a steaming paper cup of coffee, looked at the odd lizard across from him. “Thanks, for listening. I don’t know if you understood much of that, but just being able to get into the details– Most trainers’ eyes glaze over once I start mentioning the energy conversion stuff.” Chad, holding his own paper cup of steaming tea, nodded sagely. He quickly jotted a few words down, ripped the scrap of paper from his notebook, and slid it across the table.

Lifting the note, the new lab manager quirked an eyebrow, raising his gaze to the fire type. “This– I don’t know where you got this idea, but it… This could work; it would be expensive, unethical, and would absolutely shatter a lot of concepts people consider facts if true. But, in the long run, it might be best to leave some ideas left unexplored,” he responded, passing the note back. With an affirming nod, Chad took the note back, folded it, and held it over his tail flame until naught was left but ashes.

As the slab was locked in place, the lone black bow on Machoke’s arm began to emit a familiar rainbow light. This time, the energy and the bow itself merged into her arm as the fighting type’s entire body became obscured. She grew taller, and quickly broke free as her four arms tore the body-tight cocoon apart. Flexing to enjoy her new success, the other ‘mons in the room (and the researchers who likely just wanted to be included) applauded her success. With a quick bow towards her trainee, Chad, she confidently strode out of the room, visibly pleased at achieving a monumental boost to her power.

With the process completed, the room automatically unlocked, letting Chad and Ginette be the first two through the door, followed closely by Steve and Rocky. “Oh, they looked like a big baddie. If it's a girl, we’re naming her Lalatina!” She declared, as a crack snapped into existence along the egg’s smooth surface.

“You know their name and gender are pre-determined, so it won’t be happening. But I do concede that is a good name,” Chad admitted, causing Ginette to be visibly thrown off by his alignment with her antics. Both refocused on their new team member as another resounding crack echoed through the room.

With a flare of purple flames from his nostrils, the meter tall pokemon locked eyes with Chad and Ginette, his pupils narrowed in disdain. With a deep breath, a deep melodic tone, and the pomp of an aristocrat, he made himself heard and his anger extremely clear. “Which of you empty-headed, polish-huffing, cotton-eared, rock-munching, slovenly disappointments of a dingleberry interrupted my nap?!”