Aftereffects

Aoki picked up Aerodactyl's ultra ball and handed Charizard a packet of his favorite poke block.

'And now for the mess.'

Aoki's gaze swept over the damage the attack had left behind.

There were numerous craters on the ground, and the majority of the ground stabilizers were damaged.

Additionally, because of all the movements, it was unsafe to excavate without the use of specialized equipment.

Fortunately, no trainers or Pokemon were hurt, or the organization—which is still fairly new—might have had problems.

Misty, the others, and the staff members all joined forces to thank Aoki as he flew back in her direction.

Nobody questioned why Aoki didn't get involved earlier given that he had such a powerful Pokemon.

The Aerodactyl was rightfully Aoki's now, so nobody even brought up the subject of ownership.

Despite there being no fatalities, numerous injured Pokemon and trainers required medical attention.

The camp was unharmed, which made the tasks easier, and the battle took place in the areas of the excavation.

A small police force showed up an hour later riding on some Pokemons like Dodrio and Ponyta.

But by that time, many trainers had left for Fuchsia City, while the rest who remained were asked for their perspective on the incident.

Lastly, Aoki, Misty, and Ash's team were called in together.

Ash had asked Graveler to make a big hole while he tired for other spots.

While this was going on, Gravellar discovered something hard, and Ash assisted in digging for it in the hopes that it was a fossil. However, as they dug, the ground gave way beneath them, causing them to fall a considerable distance.

Ash immediately summoned Bulbasaur, who, along with Gravellar, made their fall more secure.

Surprisingly, the underground area was not as dark as it appeared due to the presence of numerous glowing plants and glowing liquid in various patches throughout the area.

The scientists immediately began drawing conclusions by connecting dots, which made them excited every second.

Bit by Ash revealed the existence of living fossil Pokemon down there, shocking and surprising everyone.

That's when Ash came across the Aerodactyl, who attacked them out of nowhere and defeated both Bulbasaur and Graveler. That was Ash's last memory before passing out.

What Ash said has the potential to cause significant changes in the fossil revival process.

The presence of the blue glowing liquid discovered years ago was the only reason the fossil revival process existed.

If the amount Ash described was true, it would be extremely valuable.

The archaeologists immediately dispatched a team to Fuchsia City to contact the researcher alliance headquarters in order to dispatch a team.

This was a fantastic find.

Ash was promised a large monetary reward if his claims were proven to be true.

Officer Jenny turned to face Aoki but said nothing.

She had heard that his single Pokemon had defeated the Aerodactyl that so many people were having trouble dealing with.

Jenny was initially skeptical of him defeating such a powerful Pokemon alone, but when he discovered that Aoki was an elite trainer, all her doubts were dispelled.

Aoki must be a big deal if he has an elite-level Pokemon at such a young age.

Elite trainers, after all, had a different level of identity.

She refrained from asking him why he didn't intervene earlier because he was under no obligation to do so.

In all honesty, she was relieved that the case had been resolved before she arrived because, according to trainer reports and video of the battle, she lacked the strength to defeat a top-tier elite Pokemon.

The job of a Pokemon trainer is filled with difficulties, and that particular battle was one of those difficulties that a trainer could not avoid.

She was relieved that there had been no fatalities and that, based on the celebrations and reactions of the archaeologists, something positive had come of it.

Aoki was also promised a reward, which he could pick up at the Fuchsia city police station.

*********

While Misty ventured a little too far to get acquainted with her new Kabuto in the evening, Aoki vanished once more to train his Pokemon.

She had intended to return Kabuto to the gym because she was currently unable to care for any additional Pokemon.

The fact that the egg she discovered would take months to hatch saved her from having to send the egg home as well.

Aoki and Misty had agreed to accompany Ash's group to Fuschia City.

While Ash's Pikachu and Charizard slept, Brock and Daisy were hard at work in their studies back at the camp.

Ash was a little disappointed that he had not discovered any fossils, but he quickly moved past it because he had other concerns, such as his Charizard.

Charizard's evolution and resulting strength made him happy, but he was also disappointed in himself.

With all the Kanto starters, Ash was assembling a team akin to his father's, but things were not going well.

A different trainer quickly identified the issue and helped Charizard grow stronger than he had ever been able to.

Because of his evolution, Charizard is now more powerful than the rest of his team. Charizard's cooperation would have been advantageous, but it was evident that it was giving him the cold shoulder.

Ash, regaining his self-confidence as a trainer, enquired of Aoki what Ash's mistake was in the Charizard's upbringing. Aoki didn't say much and handed him a research paper on the Charmander line written by Professor Gunhildr.

The more he read, the more he realized why his Charizard didn't listen to him.

Simply put, Charizard didn't think he was worthy enough.

Ash recalled all the instances when he put Pikachu ahead of his other Pokemon almost exclusively in battle.

Since Pikachu was his starter, it was true that he was a little partial to him, but he never had a weaker affection for any of his other Pokemon.

He should have realized Charmander wanted to fight more, train more, and be recognized more.

When Charmander evolved into Charmeleon, he lost interest in his trainer and decided that Ash was not deserving of his cooperation.

Ash tried a few times and didn't put as much emphasis on regaining Charmeleon's trust because he thought he'd be back to normal in no time, but it only made matters worse.

This made Charmeleon feel unwanted, and he became colder to Ash as a result.

Charmeleon's dragon pride was harmed.

Chameleon had decided to become strong on his own, so he challenged every wild pokemon that came in front of him whenever Ash released him.

Charmeleon was able to evolve thanks to Aoki's intervention; otherwise, with what he and Ash were doing, Charmeleon would never evolve.

"Hah! So many mistakes.....

I would have lost Charizard forever if it hadn't been for this wake-up call.

There's still time... I need to regain his trust... I will never abandon him or any of my Pokemon," Ash muttered.

~Pika ~~

Pikachu, who was sleeping a few meters away, approached Ash and snuggled with him once more.

"Thank you very much, Aoki…..Thank you, professor Gunhildr," Ash muttered as he fell asleep.