Chapter Sixty-Five: The Dragon of Ice and Snow

“What a beautiful fossil... Judging by the appearance, this should be a Cradily fossil, right? This is truly rare—it's not often you see a fossil so perfectly preserved... As for this one... it's also a fossil, but I've never seen a type like it before. I'll need the more specialized researchers at my company to reconstruct it before we can identify it.” Steven set down the fossil in his hand with clear satisfaction, though when he glanced at the other fossil, he hesitated for a moment.

“Mr. Steven, you really are knowledgeable. I can’t even tell what types these fossils are,” Zhao Fang said with a smile, offering a bit of flattery. He didn’t mention that the Cradily fossil was already beyond revival, since he had no way to explain how he could tell.

“These are excellent fossils, Dr. Odagiri said you wanted to try reviving them?” Steven looked at Zhao Fang, his smile gentle.

Champion Steven, in fact, was a very easygoing person, except for his obsession with stones. He was so passionate about stones that eventually, feeling the champion title interfered with his fossil excavations, he simply resigned and handed the position to his good friend Wallace. Of course, Wallace was no pushover himself, being both an outstanding trainer and a top coordinator.

The real reason behind this, of course, was that none of the Elite Four could beat Wallace, so the League had no objections to Steven's decision.

“Yes, Mr. Steven. I’d like to see if these two fossils can be revived. If not, I’d rather exchange the unrevivable fossils for resources to raise my Pokémon,” Zhao Fang replied tactfully.

“Mm, Dr. Odagiri told me about you. Come with me to Devon Corporation first. We’ll need the lab to reconstruct the Pokémon forms in your fossils, and determine whether they can be revived,” Steven nodded. Although he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and had never encountered anything he couldn’t afford, he understood the struggles of ordinary trainers.

In the Hoenn League, those who made it to the finals were usually from wealthy families. Ordinary trainers might go a decade without seeing one reach the finals, and the crux of the issue was the lack of money and resources.

Zhao Fang didn’t refuse, following Steven as they soared high into the sky on his Skarmory. The moment they took off, Zhao Fang gripped tightly, his lips trembling, which made Steven want to laugh.

“Are you afraid of heights?” Steven asked, amused.

“A little...” Zhao Fang swallowed and nodded.

This was nothing like flying in a plane in his previous life—Zhao Fang felt as if he might fall at any moment, his legs weak with fear.

“You’ll have to get used to it sooner or later. Your Gyarados is a Flying-type, isn’t it? Practice riding it when you can—maybe it’ll pick up the move Fly sooner,” Steven offered some practical advice. Zhao Fang nodded; if Gyarados could learn Fly, it would make things much easier for him.

And since Gyarados was also a Water-type, surfing would be no problem either.

Skarmory flew swiftly, and before long, Zhao Fang and Steven landed at the gates of Devon Corporation. The security guards, spotting the figures atop Skarmory, didn’t come over to check IDs, but instead greeted Steven with respectful salutes.

Steven paid them no mind. Dismounting, he returned Skarmory to its Poké Ball and hurriedly led Zhao Fang into the company building.

As soon as Zhao Fang stepped inside, he felt almost as if he’d returned to his previous world—a cute receptionist in black stockings, busy office workers everywhere. But Steven didn’t linger; he quickly led Zhao Fang to a laboratory, where several people in lab coats were waiting.

“Did you bring the fossils? And a rare one, too?” The leader, a middle-aged man, looked at Steven in astonishment.

Once the answer was confirmed, the researchers came over, grinning, and shook Zhao Fang’s hand enthusiastically.

“My, my, so young and already so accomplished—finding such a rare fossil! May I have a look?” The middle-aged man’s eyes shone with the same excitement as Steven’s. Zhao Fang hurried to take out the fossils; if he delayed any longer, he feared the man would reach out and touch them himself.

“Beautiful... This Cradily fossil is perfectly preserved and would make a wonderful collector’s piece. But it seems it’s no longer suitable for revival—what a pity.” The man’s expertise was clear: with a brief touch, he had already determined the Cradily fossil’s state.

Steven’s expression turned a little crestfallen. Though he loved stones, he much preferred seeing the Pokémon inside a fossil open their eyes to the world once more, rather than having a fossil that was merely a relic.

Zhao Fang put on a disappointed look as well—he had already known the outcome, but he had to play along.

“This fossil... very rare indeed. In all the fossils I’ve collected in Hoenn, I’ve never seen one like this... Wait, I recall a fellow researcher in Kalos once mentioning a form like this...” The man hesitated as he examined the other fossil, then hurried back to his computer, tapping away. Soon, he produced a file, flipped through it, and finally pulled out a page.

“This is it! The beautiful and elegant Aurorus!” The man was instantly elated—this was a major discovery.

“Are you sure you found it in Hoenn? Why would a Pokémon from Kalos be discovered here? This is a huge find!” The man was so excited he seemed ready to drag Zhao Fang off to write a paper together.

“So, can it be revived?” Steven didn’t care much about historical significance; he cared only for that answer.

And Aurorus—could it really be an Ice and Dragon-type Pokémon? But all fossil Pokémon hatched so far seemed to have Rock as a type.

“From the appearance, it should be possible, but we’ll need to run it through the machine to be sure.” The man stroked the fossil, unable to make a definite judgment.

Steven looked at Zhao Fang, who quickly signaled he had no objection. The man then carried the fossil to a strange-looking machine, placed it inside, and closed the door. After about ten minutes, a line of text appeared on the screen, along with an image of a Pokémon.

A blue Pokémon stood on the screen, next to the words:

[Life energy strong. Revival possible.]