The rest of the trip through Viridian Forest went slowly. The dense undergrowth made their footing uneven, and both youngsters came close to tripping multiple times. The only Pokémon that appeared anywhere nearby were beginner form types like Caterpie and Weedle, although the odd Pikachu darted among the branches of low-hanging trees.
James spent much of the time in transit working with both his Nidoran, trying to get them up to speed. Blue, in particular, preferred a dodge-and-counter style of fighting, and a scan of her moves indicated that she preferred biting attacks over others. The male Nidoran, however, was much more direct; his Double Kick had already caused Elekid some discomfort, and James was counting on him to take on a big role in upcoming matches. As a result of the fight that had led to the Poison-type's capture, James had had to separate Nidoran and Elekid twice, since the pair had a tendency to cross the line with each other in training.
Jen, meanwhile, had managed to figure out the transfer function on her Pokédex, but wasn't able to access the storage system through the device. Annoyed, she reasoned that they must have to connect to a mainframe and establish access to their Johto-based Pokémon. Unable to train with Weedle, she contented herself with building up Pichu's strength, culminating in her almost knocking Togetic out with a much stronger electric blast than Jen had anticipated. Panicking slightly, Jen recalled both team members, and resolved to wait until they were closer to a Pokémon Centre to practice.
Eventually, they worked their way free of the densest foliage, and were soon on their way out of the forest altogether. The last stretch of Route 2 was similar to the opening part, and Jen noticed a large mound of earth near the side of the road leading to Pewter City.
“What is that, d'you think? Some kind of Pokémon's lair?” James opened his PokéGear map to check.
“It says that's...Diglett's Cave. From the map, it looks like it's an underground tunnel to another town.”
“Wanna check it out?” Jen asked, looking for a path. The pair of them searched the entire side of the road, but the only path to the cave was blocked by a thick copse of trees. Unable and unwilling to burn their way through, the two youngsters continued up the path, and soon found themselves in Pewter City.
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The city was a little bigger than Viridian, with many of the smaller houses built from a kind of dull grey stone. A spacious community garden sat on the southeast part of town, with gardeners spraying Repel over the various plants. As James and Jen walked towards the Pokémon Centre, James stopped short, nearly causing Jen to crash into him.
“What are you doing?” Jen asked, stepping back.
“I thought I saw...something,” James answered. “It looked like the guy turning the corner over there...the pattern on his clothes looked familiar.” Jen shrugged.
“I think you're seeing things.” They entered the building, checked in, and entered their room. James looked puzzled as Jen shut the door.
“Thought you were going to transfer one of your Pokémon so you could start training with Weedle.” Jen shook her head.
“The only Pokémon that can give me a real edge in the Pewter Gym is Tentacruel, and I can't transfer him yet. I'll do everything once I've got the badge.”
“What about Golbat?” Jen shook her head, and James tried again. “Doesn't Elekid have the moves to take on Rock-types?” Jen rolled her eyes.
“I don't want to make things difficult on myself. I don't have your team's attack power, so I have to take any advantage I can get. Once we clear the Rock-type gym, I can start working through other type matchups.” James nodded and conceded the point, and the pair of them began planning their stay in Pewter.
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Among the places of interest in Pewter City was the museum, and James and Jen decided to go visit. Unfortunately, Typhlosion would have to return to his Pokéball in order to tag along, so James gave him a choice: either he could bear the ignominy of being confined for a couple of hours, or he could sleep in the room and wait for them. Typhlosion indicated that he'd prefer the second option, so fifteen minutes later, James and Jen were walking towards the museum without him at their heels. A smiling young woman greeted them at the entrance.
“Welcome to the Pewter Museum of Science.” She scanned their trainer cards, then continued. “Our museum has two main exhibits: Prehistoric Terrors, and Wonders of the Stars. The second floor includes a video explaining how we got the replica of a spacecraft into the museum. Please enjoy your visit.” The two youngsters thanked her, and they turned to one another once they'd left the foyer.
“So...which exhibit do you want to see first?” Jen asked. James considered.
“You know, I'm keen to see the space stuff. The fossils can wait.” With that, they climbed the stairs and emerged into a room with walls painted to look like visitors were actually in outer space. Another room held the massive replica of a space shuttle, with lines of visitors entering and exiting the craft via a side hatch. Jen, to James' mild surprise, was fascinated by the streamlined craft.
“To think they managed to get one of these into space all those years ago. I'd be interested to go up in one of these.”
“Maybe,” James answered. “Imagine the amount of training you'd have to go through just to get on it, though. Even more than Johto fighter pilots do, I'd say.”
Further on, an interactive display demonstrated James' point, explaining all the various skills that a shuttle crew had to have, mostly having to do with fixing satellites. They skipped the section where the displays showed a shuttle exploding, but enjoyed the area where various pieces of tech carried by the shuttle sat in a roped-off area.
The last room of the exhibit was dedicated to moon rocks and meteorites. In pride of place was a massive black rock on a raised platform, a spotlight shining overhead. The light reflected off the shining patches on the rock, as if bits had chipped off and exposed its insides. Jen looked at the information card near the platform.
“It says this is a meteorite that fell on Mount Moon decades ago. It's believed to be a...Moon Stone?” She shrugged, then read on. “Exposure to a Moon Stone is necessary for certain Pokémon to evolve. No kidding,” she said, as she turned to James. “I think using one this big would be overkill, don't you? You could break it up and use it on a lot of Pokémon.” James shrugged too.
“It must here because it's a record size. I know others exist, but none this big. Where would you carry it?”
“You'd need a lot more muscles,” Jen giggled, and James couldn't help but laugh as they headed for the stairs and the ground floor exhibits.
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Prehistoric Terrors turned out to be all about Pokémon fossils and the creatures that had been revived from them. James immediately bypassed a replica skeleton of a Kabutops, since he was already too well acquainted with the real thing than he was happy to be. Jen was intrigued by a spiral-shaped shell in another display, whose card listed it as an Omanyte.
The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
“They can revive an Omanyte with just the shell?” she asked no-one in particular. “I'd imagine the rest of it wouldn't be fossilized.” A nearby docent overheard her and nodded.
“Omanyte and Omastar are unique among prehistoric Pokémon in that their shells are the only part of them that were left behind to become fossils...or at least, among the ones that lived in Kanto. Fossils from other regions may be formed from something other than bones or shells.”
“That's pretty cool.” Jen and James finished their tour of the museum by observing the massive replica skeleton of a flying creature with rows of jagged teeth, named as an Aerodactyl. “Man, imagine reviving one of those. You'd have a time keeping it under control.”
“With enough training, it'd be pretty tough to beat, though,” James replied, staring at the skeleton's empty eye sockets. He could just imagine using one of these monsters, tearing through the league with little effort. Grinning, he turned towards the exit.
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As they left the museum, James thought he saw something move around a nearby corner. Motioning for Jen to stay where she was, he darted towards the corner and peered around. Five figures stood next to a door marked Employee Access Only. Four of them wore black shirts with desert camouflage pants, while the fifth wore a grey jacket over his shirt. The back of the jacket bore a three-toed foot insignia. James didn't need the insignia, or the spiked white hair, to recognize the interlopers. He ducked back around the corner, where Jen waited with her arms folded.
“What was that about?” she asked, frowning. James shook his head.
“I just saw five Team Triassic members crowding around a back entrance. Their Admin is with them. I knew I saw one of them yesterday.” Jen's frown intensified.
“Then let's get out of here. Everything goes wrong when we tangle with Team Triassic.”
“But they're probably going to break into the museum. It's full of fossils and who knows what other stuff they might want to steal.”
“Then let's get museum security, or the police. This place must have cameras everywhere.” Jen said in an exasperated voice. “James, you're not going to take out Triassic single-handed.”
“That's right,” James answered. “You're going to help me.” Jen shook her head.
“You go running in blindly if you want to. I'm going for help.” James shrugged, then peered around the corner again. The Admin was talking to two of the larger men.
“...and make it quick. This must be swift and decisive. Dr. Rexel's notes must be recovered before some fool of a docent reads them, or puts them on display for all to see. Our mission would be ruined, and our plans exposed.” The largest grunt nodded, and made to force the door. “No, you fool! Do you want the entire museum security force on us?” He ordered the four others out of the way, then banged hard on the door. A few seconds later, a man in a lab coat opened it, looking confused.
“Who's hammering on the...” The Admin was on him in an instant, stifling the man's cry of surprise. Moments later, he had dragged the unconscious body behind a row of trash bins, then returned to the now-open door.
“Let's move.” He motioned everyone inside, then let the door swing behind him. James sprinted for the door and stopped it from fully closing, hoping with all his might that none of the Triassic members would turn and see him. Nobody yelled or attacked, so he slipped through the door and into what looked like a storage room. Rows of metal shelves held either massive pieces that must have been part of past exhibits, or else clearly marked boxes for smaller items. A large shipping crate was leaning against a wall. James looked around, then saw two doors, one marked Main Foyer, and the other marked Archives. He figured the Triassic members must have gone into the archives, so he headed through that door, constantly looking around for his enemy.
The archives were housed in an even larger room, also lined with shelves. There were boxes of carefully sorted data drives, and several bookshelves held binders full of hand-written notes. He spotted the Triassic members searching a small shelf marked R-Z, and he hid behind a larger shelf so they wouldn't see him. After fifteen minutes, the Triassic Admin took a binder and a data drive from the top shelf.
“We have it. We must hope that none of these fools have read the notes before archiving them.” The Admin clenched a fist, and the others formed up. They walked calmly toward the exit, and James froze and held his breath. The men walked back into the storage room, and James waited for the door to bang closed before running full tilt out of the archive.
“Hey!” a voice shouted, and he froze again. Another museum worker in a lab coat was running towards him. “What are you doing back here? This area is off-limits to museum guests.”
“You just got robbed!” James shouted, pointing to the entrance to the storage room. “A bunch of guys took a data drive and a bunch of notes. Their leader mentioned something about a Dr. Rexel.” The man frowned.
“Dr. Mack Rexel, of Rexel BioTech? He's one of the pioneers of fossil regeneration technology. We were going to feature his notes in the Prehistoric Terrors exhibit.”
“Well, those guys just stole them. They're part of a gang called Team Triassic, and they're dangerous.” The man looked skeptical, but nodded.
“I'll call security. You see if you can catch up, or see where they're going.”
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As James banged through the storage room door, he saw flashing red and blue lights at the front of the museum, and the Triassic members standing defiantly in front of them. The Admin looked ready to fight, and he'd let his Kabutops out to menace the police.
“One more chance, tough guy!” a tinny voice shouted from a megaphone. “Surrender and this'll all end okay!” James heard the Admin laugh.
“Surrender? Don't deceive yourself. We do not surrender.” James sprinted past them, and the Admin shouted. “You're here to meddle in our affairs again, are you?” He motioned to his Kabutops. “Take him.” James heard gasps as the Kabutops bent to spring at him, and he whipped out a Pokéball.
“Elekid, let's go!” The Electric Pokémon grinned as he squared up to Kabutops, sparks emitting from his horns.
“No fire rat today, kid?” one of the grunts snorted. The Admin silenced him with a raised arm.
“Do nothing without my orders. This one is mine. Kabutops, Aqua Jet!” Kabutops surrounded its body with water and rushed Elekid.
“Brick Break!” Elekid's sparking arm met the top of Kabutops' head, and both were forced back. “Now, Thunderbolt!”
“Slash!” Kabutops dodged the bolt and cut at Elekid's body with its bladed forearms. Elekid snarled as he turned to face the enemy.
“ThunderPunch!” Elekid's fist glowed yellow as it swung hard at Kabutops.
“AncientPower!” Kabutops' body glowed violet, and several heavy rocks materialized from nowhere. The first blocked Elekid's hook, and a second knocked him back down.
“Don't let up! Another ThunderPunch!”
“Mud Shot!” Kabutops shot a blue glowing projectile at Elekid, but the Electric-type dodged it and connected with an uppercut, sending the fossil Pokémon staggering back. The blue bolt splattered mud across the ground. “Stay focused and use Slash!”
“Brick Break!” Elekid's sparking fist met Kabutops' blades, and both were knocked to the floor. As both Pokémon recovered, a new sound met everyone's ears: a rapid whuppa whuppa whuppa that caused all the combatants and their audience to look up. A blood-red helicopter was hovering into view, and a rope ladder descended towards the Admin. He smiled as he recalled Kabutops.
“So sorry to end our game so early,” he said, grabbing hold of the ladder as it reached him. “Unfortunately, my mission does not involve further spats with children. By all means, try your hand if we meet again.” The ladder began to ascend as the helicopter climbed.
“Boss!” yelled one of the grunts. “What about us?!” The Admin gave them a smile that was anything but apologetic.
“My apologies, friends. But to win a game of chess, one must sacrifice a few pawns. Fret not, though, friends! When Triassic rules a reverted world, you will be remembered as some of the many who made it happen.” With that, he dashed up the ladder, and the helicopter raced away in an indeterminate direction. Officers rushed to take the four remaining Triassic members into custody, and James moved towards the line of cars, hoping to find Jen. A hand grabbed his shoulder, and he jumped. A large officer was standing right behind him.
“Easy, son.” The voice was calm and measured. “Your friend came and got us just in time. She's waiting by my squad car. We need to ask you two a few questions—standard procedure, you understand—then we'll let you go back to the Pokémon Centre.” James nodded, and motioned Elekid over. He recalled the Electric Pokémon, then followed the officer to where Jen stood waiting. She had her arms folded again.
“That was really dumb of you,” she said quietly. James' face fell.
“I'm sorry. I thought it would take too long to get help.” The officer smiled.
“Well, you two can work things out once we get back to the station. Any information you have on these thugs will be immensely helpful.” He motioned them to enter the car, and they followed several others back to the Pewter Police headquarters.