Kazuki had originally wanted to test out his Charizard after giving it that Speed Boost Potion.
But then he remembered Charizard still had to face the Aerodactyl later, so he decided to let it rest for now.
Besides, Pidgeot's soft, feathery body was way more comfortable to sit on than Charizard's tough scales.
Still, the moment Pidgeot appeared, everyone traveling toward Grampa Canyon in search of fossils turned their heads in shock.
Because of the air currents and temperature at high altitude, Pidgeot wasn't flying very high. That meant everyone on the ground could see it clearly—its enormous size left them stunned.
"Whoa, look! Th-that's one huge Pokémon!"
"No way! It's gigantic!"
"Could it be… a revived ancient Pokémon?!"
"Maybe it is!"
"Then the fossils in Grampa Canyon must really be the real deal!"
"Come on, hurry up! We gotta get there and start digging before anyone else!"
Kazuki's giant bird instantly made the mysterious Grampa Canyon even more famous, stirring up a frenzy among trainers dreaming of fortune or rare Pokémon.
Even with Pidgeot's help, Kazuki and his two companions weren't the first to arrive.
When they landed, two people were already clawing at the dirt, digging like mad. Their obsession with fossils was so deep they didn't even notice the massive Pidgeot touching down behind them.
But they were just digging blindly, with no idea where to look.
As soon as they landed, Misty whipped out her tiny shovel and started digging too.
Kazuki, on the other hand, closed his eyes and expanded his Aura Power, scanning the valley.
"Kazuki, something's off?" Suzie asked cautiously when she noticed his serious look.
"Nothing bad," Kazuki replied. "I'm just checking to see if there's any legendary Pokémon around here… Hmm. This way."
Because the Aerodactyl was buried underground, Kazuki's Aura Power could only sense its rough direction. He started walking toward a spot a couple dozen meters away.
"Wait, Pokémon? I thought we were here for fossils?" Misty scratched her head in confusion.
Suzie grabbed Misty's hand and smiled. "Come on, Misty. You know how good Kazuki is at finding Pokémon."
"If he says there's one here, there definitely is."
"You're right!" Misty perked up instantly and followed along, excitement replacing her doubts.
The three of them moved down a narrow trail deeper into the valley.
Kazuki led them through a crack in the rock wall—barely wide enough to squeeze through.
"Whew…"
"Good thing we're all skinny, huh? Otherwise we'd be stuck!"
Misty brushed the dust off her clothes, then turned to Kazuki.
"Kazuki! How'd you even find this place? You're unbelievable!"
"So what's in here? Some super rare fossil? Or maybe a legendary Pokémon?"
Her craving for rare Pokémon made her forget her fear of the dark entirely.
Suzie also got serious, eyes sharp and alert, ready to spot anything unusual.
"Just follow me," Kazuki said with a grin. "There'll be a surprise soon enough."
His Aura Power lit up the darkness in his mind like daylight, but his two girlfriends weren't so lucky—they kept bumping into walls.
Eventually, Kazuki suggested letting Suzie's Vulpix light the way with fire, and having Diglett scout the path ahead. That made things much easier.
"Kazuki," Suzie said softly as she brushed against his shoulder, "I still have a lot to learn from you about using Pokémon properly. I can't command Vulpix and Diglett nearly as smoothly as you do."
"Everyone's got their strengths," he replied warmly. "You've got tons of skills I don't."
"Before you joined us, Pidgeot and Pikachu looked dull and weak. But now their coats are shiny, and they're stronger than ever!"
"Your feed-mixing skills are probably better than half the breeders in the League."
Kazuki's words hit perfectly—Suzie's eyes lit up immediately.
Then Misty poked her head in between them, impatient for attention. "Hey, what about me? I've gotten better too, right?"
Kazuki turned and chuckled. "Yeah… Misty's gotten a lot sweeter—and way more flexible."
"Huh?" Misty blinked. At first she was happy—it sounded like praise—but then she realized what he'd said. Her face turned bright red, and she smacked his arm.
"Hey! You perv! Who told you to say that?!"
While the two of them were messing around, Suzie suddenly gasped and pointed ahead. "Kazuki, look!"
She held up the flame from Vulpix's tails—there, squirming in the shadows, was an Omanyte.
"Whoa, a real Pokémon!" Misty's embarrassment vanished instantly.
"It's so cute! I wanna catch it!" Suzie's eyes sparkled.
"Good eye, Suzie," Misty chimed in, equally smitten. "It really is adorable!"
"Huh… how come a rock-type Pokémon can be this cute?"
"It's because Omanyte's both Rock- and Water-type," Kazuki explained, smiling.
"Water-type? Really? Are there more?" Misty started scanning around, her urge to catch rising fast.
"There should be. Let Suzie catch this one first, then we'll look for more."
"Got it! Vulpix, use Fire Spin—let's catch that Omanyte!" Suzie ordered excitedly.
But fire didn't work well against a Rock-and-Water-type like Omanyte.
The flames only startled it, and it quickly retreated into the darkness.
"Wait! Come back, Omanyte!"
Suzie took off after it with Vulpix in tow. Kazuki and Misty followed close behind.
They hadn't gone far when Kazuki suddenly stopped them. "Hold up!"
His Aura Power picked up multiple Pokémon approaching.
Moments later, several pairs of glowing red eyes appeared in the darkness.
Misty clutched Kazuki's arm tightly, trembling. "K-Kazuki, you handle it!"
He gently brushed her cheek. "Haunter's off visiting family. Guess it's up to us this time."
"And don't worry—they're not ghosts."
As the eyes drew closer, the shapes became clear—Kabuto and Omanyte, plus a few evolved Kabutops and Omastar.
Misty's eyes widened. "They're alive! Real Kabuto! They're actually kinda cute… way cuter than that creepy one Bill dressed up as."
After seeing Bill's clunky Kabuto costume at the lighthouse, she'd never thought much of them—but these living ones changed her mind instantly.
"Okay, Suzie, you catch the Omanyte, and I'll get a Kabuto!"
"Go, Starmie!"
…Or so she thought.
Out hopped Psyduck instead, blinking at her in confusion.
"Oh, come on! Not you again, Psyduck!"
"You really think you can handle them?"
Psyduck turned, saw Kabutops's sharp scythes, and ran straight back to her legs.
Misty groaned and smacked her forehead. "Seriously, Psyduck! When are you ever gonna be as strong as you were at the Fuchsia Gym?"
She quickly swapped him out. "All right, Starmie—let's do this!"
Suzie grinned. "This time, let's show Kazuki what sisters can do when we team up!"
"Yeah!" Misty nodded eagerly. "Let's show him the ultimate fire-and-water combo!"
Kazuki crossed his arms, smirking. "I'd rather see you two perform that 'water and fire combo' somewhere more private."
"Careful, though—Kabutops and Omastar are quasi-gym level. You sure you can handle that?"
"Huh?!" Both girls froze. Their Starmie and Vulpix were level 39 and 37—not weak, but still below Quasi Gym level.
Misty puffed her cheeks. "It's fine! We just want to catch them, not fight to the death. And if things go south…"
She turned and winked. "We've got our man here for backup!"
Suzie blushed and nudged her. She'd wanted to prove herself to Kazuki, but… well, maybe next time.
Kazuki chuckled at their adorable faces. "All right, enough flirting—they're coming!"
The sisters jumped into action.
Kazuki wasn't here for these fossils anyway. His real target was the Aerodactyl buried deep below. While the girls fought, he kept scanning with his Aura Power.
But there were so many fossil Pokémon sleeping underground that he couldn't tell which one was the Aerodactyl.
Meanwhile, Misty and Suzie were doing pretty well—at first. Fighting one or two ancient Pokémon was fine, but a whole swarm was overwhelming.
"Ah! Kazuki, help!" Misty cried. She wasn't the tsundere she used to be. After everything they'd done together—especially the kind of things that left nothing to the imagination—she had no hesitation running straight into her man's arms.
Kazuki immediately sent out Bulbasaur and Primeape to join the fight.
In this cramped cave, letting out Blastoise or Charizard would've brought the whole place down in seconds.
Bulbasaur's moves were strong but didn't wreck the terrain, making it perfect for this kind of fight.
Still, those fossil Pokémon were unbelievably tough. Bulbasaur's Vine Whip had already gone dull from hitting their shells, and they were still charging forward.
Finally, Primeape landed two heavy punches square on Kabutops's face. That did it—the fossils turned tail and ran.
Kazuki had wanted to catch Kabutops and Omastar, but they were too sturdy, and they hadn't even entered a weakened state before escaping.
So he chose the two best unconscious ones from the pile of fainted fossils instead.
[Pokémon]: Kabuto
[Base Stats]: 355
[Level]: 23 (Advanced)
[Potential]: Quasi-Elite Four
[Ability]: Weak Armor — when hit by a physical move, Defense drops but Speed greatly increases.
[Moves]: Aqua Jet, Absorb, Sand Attack...
"Huh? Rare ability—Weak Armor," Kazuki muttered. "No wonder that Kabutops ran so damn fast after Primeape punched it."
He then looked at the Omanyte's data.
[Pokémon]: Omanyte
[Base Stats]: 355
[Level]: 18 (Advanced)
[Potential]: Elite Four
[Ability]: Weak Armor
[Moves]: Water Gun, Rollout, Withdraw, etc.
Another Weak Armor. Guess all these fossils share it. Makes sense—run fast, live longer.
But an Elite Four–level potential? Not bad at all.
"Didn't expect that from you, little guy," Kazuki thought, impressed. Still, he decided not to add it to his active party—it grew too slowly, just like Dratini.
Too many slow-leveling Pokémon would only drag down his team's pace.
After finishing up, Kazuki called the girls over. "Come pick one each."
"Wait… can I really catch one?" Suzie hesitated.
Since Misty had dragged her into fighting the tougher Omastar earlier, most of the fossils here were defeated by Kazuki himself. That meant these were basically gifts.
"Of course. I'm no rock-type master—I can't raise all of them. Might as well let my girls have a few."
He pinched both their cheeks affectionately.
"Aww, Kazuki, you're the best!" Misty cheered and gave him a quick kiss before happily choosing her fossil.
Suzie, softer in nature, simply whispered, "Thank you, Kazuki," and kissed him tenderly in return.
[Ding! Romantic Side Mission – Suzie: Help Suzie capture three suitable Pokémon Progress 2/3!]
The sudden system chime made Kazuki grin. Nice—progress on Suzie's romance quest!
But wait… didn't Misty just catch one too? Why didn't hers go up?
Maybe it's because we're already like an old married couple, he thought. Harder to move her heart these days.
Last time, giving her that pink Butterfree only bumped it to 1/3.
He rubbed his chin, smirking to himself. "Guess I'll have to spice things up for her later… get her emotions flowing again."
Just as that thought crossed his mind, his Aura Power suddenly flared—something was approaching fast.