As he held out Noivern on his palm, Paul frowned and asked, "Why are you telling me this?" Ace smiled and wiped his face, "Yeah, why? Because I see my old self in you. Paul, you might think I'm just an idiot who doesn't know anything about raising Pokemon or whatever. And I'm not telling you to change your entire style and outlook on Pokemon."
He looked at Paul, continuing seriously, "What I'm saying is that your Pokemon are just like you and me. They need rest, proper nutrition, care, etc. I know that you're going to give away that Azumarill. I don't mind you swapping Pokemon or releasing them. I'm not as idealistic as Ash. But I want you to remember one thing. Even after how badly I treated my Pokemon, they still sacrificed themselves for me in the end."
Paul was silent and Ace patted his head, sighing, "You don't have to change. I wouldn't listen to me in your shoes either. Who am I? Just some stupid Gym Leader who doesn't know anything and got his Pokemon killed. All I want to show you is; going for pure power is alright, but when you go too far, it never ends well."
He shook his head and walked out of the Cemetery, leaving Paul there. Before he left, he threw a Peat Block at Paul, "Tonight's a Blood Moon. Give this to your Ursaring in the moonlight."
Paul caught the Reddish Peat Block, looking at it. He looked back at Ace, who was a bit hunched over, thinking about something.
Ace returned to the Gym and rubbed his neck, seeing Dawn in new clothes, talking Ash's ear off. Ash saw Ace and smiled, "I'm ready!" Ace laughed and rubbed his nose, "Something came up… How about tomorrow?"
Ash wilted, "Aw man…" Ace forced a laugh and turned off the livestream, closing the Gym as he said to all the Pokemon, "Go play for now, take a break today." The Pokemon nodded as Ace stretched, smiling, "Wanna see something cool?"
The three nodded as Dawn skipped over, "Ace! Thanks! You know, I didn't know that you sold Beauty Products here! Also, I heard that your Company did the Partnership with the new RotomWatch? It's awesome, I used it all the way from Jubilife to here!" Ace patted her head, smiling, "Oh… Oh!"
Ash pulled Dawn away, "Alright, Alright!" Ace laughed and walked out of the gym, "We're going to the Museum." as he looked at his phone.
[Elesa: Are you alright? What happened?]
Ace rubbed his chest, this crazy woman, how did she find out something was wrong? He smiled warmly, texting back, "I'm fine. Just went to the Cemetery." Elesa texted back, "Awe. It's okay, Darling~ <3 Mwah! I can fly there to comfort you!"< p>
Ace's scalp was numb and he texted back, "Oh, busy! Gotta go!" before wiping the sweat from his forehead.
The group chatted and Brock asked, "Ace, are you going to use the same Pokemon for Ash's battle, tomorrow?" Ace laughed and looked at Ash, "You left everyone at home again, right?" Ash scratched his cheek and grinned.
Ace rolled his eyes, "I'll use the Gym Pokemon." Brock asked, "There's still Gym Pokemon?" Ace's lips twitched, "What do you think this is? I have several different teams for beginners to strong trainers. They're all Fossil teams."
Dawn asked, "Fossils?! What did I miss!?" Ash explained the battle and Dawn waved her fist, laughing, "Good! I'm a fan! I wish I could've seen that jerk's face when he lost!" Ace chuckled and rubbed her head, "You're pretty lively!"
Dawn made a cute pose, "I'm known for my liveliness!" Ace laughed as Ash muttered, "Right…" Dawn punched him on the head, "What does THAT mean?! ASH! KETCHUM!" Ash surrendered, "Nothing…" before changing, "Just that you're crazy!" Dawn exploded, "I'M WHAT?!"
Ace looked at the sky, "Number three here we come!" Brock nearly tripped…
They arrived at the Museum as Ace walked in with the group, saying, "This is our Mine Museum. We don't only have rich Coal veins, but precious Metals, Gems, Ores, and of course… Fossils!" He pointed, "That Ore there is Shieldite. It's a special Ore that can only be found in Oreburgh. If you use it on an Onix, it'll evolve into a special Defensive Steelix… That one over there…"
Ace gave them a tour of the Museum before coming to the Fossil area, pointing at a Fossil, "That Fossil is an Aerodactyl. One of the largest ever found." The three looked up at the huge Aerodactyl hanging from the ceiling, "Wow!"
Ace pointed at the side, "That is a recovered Relicanth fossil." They looked at the Relicanth in a tank and said, "Wow!" Ace pointed again, "That one is… Well, it's just some Human remains."
"WOAH!"
Ace laughed and waved, "Come on, I'll show you the process." He met a Researcher, who smiled, "Ace! Did you find another Fossil?" Ace smiled and nodded, taking out a Fossil from his Bracelet.
The Researcher looked at the Fossil, "Oh! I see…" he looked at the trio, "Do you want to help?" Dawn waved her hand, "I wanna!" Ace handed her the Fossil, "Here." The Researcher said, "Place it in the chamber…" he explained how it worked and the group waited for a few minutes.
Dawn looked excited and Ash asked, "Teacher, how many Fossils are there?" Ace smiled and replied, "Well, there's quite a few. Three in Kanto, two in Hoenn, two in Sinnoh, two in Unova, two in Kalos, and sixteen in Galar."
Brock counted as Ash asked in shock, "Sixteen in Galar?!" Ace smiled and waved, "The problem with Galar fossils is that their DNA matches each other. There's 4 original Pokemon, but there's 12 combinations, so it's technically 16. You saw them before."
Ash realized and asked, "Then Elesa's Velovish?" Ace nodded with a smile, "Yeah, that's one of them. Old man Oak also has one, the other professors have a couple, and Cynthia has a Dracovish." Ash sighed, "I wish I had one…"
Ace smiled at him, "Never say never, Ash. Maybe you'll get one someday." Dawn looked at the Pokemon that appeared, "Woaaaahhh! So cute!" The Pokemon looked at her happily, dancing on it's legs, "Amaurarara~"
Ash looked at the Pokemon with his RotomNav, "Amaura, the Tundra Pokemon. It lived in cold areas in ancient times. It's said that when Amaura whinnies, auroras appear in the night sky." Dawn touched it and said, "You're so cute~!"
Ace looked at her and smiled, "You can keep her if you want, Dawn." Brock and Ash looked at each other, I knew it!
Dawn was ecstatic, "Really!?" Ace nodded with a smile, "Sure. I also have a few things that I can't take care of…" Ash and Brock rolled their eyes. Dawn hugged Amaura, "Do you want to come with me?" Amaura chriped, "Amaura~!"
Dawn cheered, "Yay!" while spinning with Amaura, "I got an Amaura!" while holding Amaura above her head.
Ace looked around quickly as he heard the classic Zelda Item Get sound. He patted his chest, nearly gave me a heart attack!
He took the trio into town and showed them around, Ace pointed at his own store, "Those are my places. The one on the left is an Item Shop, the other is a TM Store." Dawn asked, "TMs??" Ace smiled, "Technical Machines. They have moves on them that you can teach to your Pokemon. The Attendant will tell you which TMs your Pokemon can learn, her name is Nami."
Dawn pulled Ash, "Let's go see, Ash!" Ash was pulled away as Ace patted Brock's shoulder, "Sorry…" Brock's lips twitch, "If Lucy wasn't busy with the Battle Frontier, I wouldn't be the only one getting slapped with public affection!" Ace rolled his eyes and laughed, "You go in too… By the way, you see that house all the way up there?"
Brock looked where Ace pointed and nodded, Ace smiled, "That's my house. When you're done for the day, come there and rest. I also have a Hot Spring. I'll treat you guys to dinner."
Brock smiled and nodded, "Okay." Ace smiled and jumped into the air, kicking behind him and disappearing instantly.