Returning to Slateport City

It didn't take Terrance much effort to bring the fossil from the desert, but once he reached a populated area, Altaria could no longer help him carry it.

With Terrance's strength, he could barely manage to carry such a fossil, but it was extremely exhausting—after ten minutes of walking, his arms were already sore.

Currently, both the Cinnabar Lab and Devon Corporation research teams possess technology that can revive Pokémon fossils, which has sparked a bit of a "fossil craze."

The differences between ancient and modern Pokémon is a topic worth exploring in various fields. Among the Pokémon fossils, many belong to species that are now extinct, which adds even more value to these fossils.

Terrance remembered that Devon Corporation's first fossil revival was showcased a year ago. It was a sub-fossil of a Geodude, buried deep underground thousands of years ago due to a disaster.

A sub-fossil refers to a fossil from a relatively more recent time period.

The successful revival of Geodude marked another display of Devon Corporation's impressive foundation. Since then, Devon has published numerous results, and a common trait among the revived fossils has emerged.

Due to being revived from fossils, the Fossil Pokémon all are part Rock-type. These Pokémon are notoriously difficult to raise, and while a few are extinct species, the majority still have records of existing habitats.

In other words, whether the fossil in Terrance's possession belonged to an existing species or an extinct ancient Pokémon, if it could be revived, it would likely be a Rock-type.

Terrance originally wanted to contact Steven, since Devon was his family's company. However, considering that Steven might be busy, he only sent an email with a few questions.

To Terrance's surprise, Steven responded quickly and even provided him with a contact.

Researcher Kennard, one of the lead researchers in Devon's fossil research team. Since Steven wasn't very knowledgeable in this area, he directly introduced Terrance to the relevant expert.

After thinking over what to ask, Terrance finally dialed the contact number.

Since Steven had made the introduction, Kennard was happy to assist Terrance. Based on Terrance's description, Kennard judged that it was likely a complete sub-fossil. Additionally, reviving an ancient Pokémon requires its complete fossil, from which the Pokémon's genes are extracted and reassembled into Pokémon. However, the revived Pokémon wouldn't look exactly the same as before, nor would it have its past memories.

All Pokémon revived in this way possess Rock-type, which suggests that the revived Pokémon might not be entirely identical to its ancient form. Being sealed in rock for so long may have altered its genes to some extent.

The longer the fossil has been sealed, the more likely the genes have been altered.

For example, the Geodude revived by Devon showed only minor changes and wasn't vastly different from its modern counterpart.

The fossil Terrance held was likely less than ten thousand years old, a Pokémon from after the Ice Age, and not considered an ancient creature.

"However, if it's a complete fossil, there is a chance it can be revived…"

Understanding Researcher Kennard's explanation, Terrance started to grasp the situation. But even with a complete fossil, the current gene extraction and revival technology wasn't perfect—it still depended a lot on luck. This was why Devon was acquiring large quantities of fossils. Even incomplete ones could be used for practice, to hopefully improve fossil revival technology in the future.

Researcher Kennard didn't recommend that Terrance attempt to revive it now. Currently, the technology was still immature, and there was a risk of failure. But if Terrance wanted to sell the fossil to Devon, they would first need to further verify the kind of Pokémon the fossil belonged to, as different fossils had varying values.

Fossils of Pokémon that went extinct before the Ice Age, especially complete ones, are extremely valuable.

However, sub-fossils from after the Ice Age or fossils of Pokémon that still exist today are less valuable.

Based on Terrance's description alone, Researcher Kennard couldn't determine the exact value of the fossil in Terrance's possession. However, Terrance was only satisfying his curiosity and didn't care too much about the fossil afterward.

Whether it was to sell it for money or to revive a Pokémon, neither was something he urgently needed right now.

If he revived a new Pokémon, Terrance would have to capture and train it, which would be greatly annoying—something he couldn't handle at the moment.

As for selling it, that sounded tempting, but right now the Pokémon Contest was his main priority. Preparing for the Grand Festival was even more important than selling ten fossils, and Terrance was still somewhat attached to the fossil. He didn't want to sell it too soon and planned to study it himself for a while.

"The Grand Festival is about to begin. Most Coordinators have probably already made their way to Slateport City."

"Speaking of which, I should head there early as well... so that Beautifly can adjust its condition before the competition."

"The methods used by the Frontier Club are quite effective. I can at least imitate the basics."

---

Slateport City, a major city in the southern part of the Hoenn region.

It was also an important stop for Terrance as he traveled from Fallarbor Town to the Breeder Headquarters in Lilycove City.

Terrance made the journey from Mauville City on foot, and it didn't take much time. Additionally, it's worth mentioning that the Grand Festival is surprisingly popular this time. Word has it that Top Coordinator, Master Wallace, will be performing at the opening ceremony, which has drawn an even larger crowd.

By the time Terrance arrived in Slateport City, there were only nine days left until the start of the Grand Festival. Registration closes two days before the festival begins, so there was no rush to sign up just yet. What Terrance needed to do first was find a temporary place to stay.

The Pokémon Center was bound to be full. Unlike the League Tournaments, the Pokémon Contest didn't provide accommodations or meals for participants, so everyone had to make their own arrangements.

However, though not as grand as the League Conference, the Pokémon Contest, as the second-largest event in the world, still had a massive impact.

Despite the large influx of outsiders into Slateport City, its security remained impressively well-organized, with no sign of disorder. Additionally, after Terrance stepped into Slateport City and saw the Pokémon Contest Hall, temporarily renovated for the Grand Festival, its grandeur and elegance stirred a wave of excitement in his heart.

There were many Coordinators like Terrance, gazing at the Grand Festival's venue. From a distance, Terrance could clearly sense the excitement in the hearts of the countless people.

But...

"The throne at the top... is mine." Raising his palm to shield his eyes from the luxurious building in front of him, Terrance gently clenched his fists before turning around to leave.

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