In the crowd, Brock thought he saw a familiar figure.
He squinted hard, wanting to confirm he wasn't imagining things.
But before he could fully open his eyes—
Ash had already brought Chloe right to him.
"Long time no see, Brock!"
"Pika~!"
Pikachu leapt straight from Ash's shoulder onto Brock's.
Just from that familiar weight—eyes open or not—
Brock instantly knew he wasn't mistaken.
"Ash! What brings you here? At least call ahead—give me time to prepare!"
Brock laughed warmly.
Traveling with Ash for the longest time, their bond was closer than close.
Mistaken "harems": Misty, May, Dawn, etc.
The real harem: Brock!! (NO!)
"I'm here for the Fossil Expo! I didn't expect to see you right after arriving in Pewter."
Ash's eyes sparkled—he really hadn't seen Brock in ages.
After a round of greetings, he introduced Chloe.
Yet even with a young, bright girl standing before him, Brock's "special skill" didn't activate.
After all, Brock liked older women.
Chloe was cute, but not his type.
Brock clapped Ash on the shoulder with emphasis.
This guy… every new region, a new sweetheart…
Enviable! Truly enviable!!
Having lived through the Misty, May, and Dawn eras, Brock understood Ash's mysterious lethality toward girls his age.
Fortunately, he didn't dwell on it.
When he learned Ash was here for the expo, Brock volunteered to lead the way.
Along the way, he shared stories from their travels.
And Chloe—keen as always—picked out some repeated key names:
Misty.
Dawn.
May.
She had heard these names several times already… and from different people.
Is finding a boyfriend really this competitive nowadays?!
Chloe was sweating internally.
Soon, they arrived at the expo entrance.
It was packed with people. Fossils and ancient Pokémon always drew crowds.
Many visitors from other regions filled the plaza.
"Brock, we'll head in first," Ash said, turning.
He had wanted to invite Brock along—but he only had two tickets from Professor Sakuragi.
He couldn't possibly leave Chloe outside.
That was something Ash would never do.
Brock, however, didn't leave just yet.
He pulled something badge-like from his pocket and placed it in Ash's hand.
"This is the Pewter Gym identification plate. With it, you can get a Fossil Detector at the front desk."
"Fossil… Detector?" Ash blinked.
"Yup. It scans for fossils within a certain range—brand new tech, not yet released."
Brock lifted a finger, speaking like it was a secret.
"Wow! That's my Brock!"
Ash instantly understood—
being able to detect fossils meant he didn't have to rely solely on eyesight.
His eyes shone. This was a huge gift!
"Haha! Then good luck finding the hidden treasure buried among the fossils," Brock laughed.
Helping Ash always made him happy.
But when Ash offered a fist bump—
Brock instinctively sidestepped.
An excited Ash did not manage his strength well.
Brock still had things to do today, and lying in the Pokémon Center was not on the schedule.
Ash's fist met empty air. He awkwardly pulled it back.
"Ash, don't be so rough~" Chloe said quickly, holding his arm to smooth over the moment.
Brock narrowed his eyes and looked Chloe up and down thoughtfully.
"Well then, Ash~ I'll leave you two alone."
With that, he turned and departed.
But his retreating back—
Had an unmistakable aura of desolation.
[Misty: Brock… are you jealous?]
[Brock: Absolutely not! I just had things to do, obviously.]
[Gardenia: Sure. When people get embarrassed, they pretend they're very busy. Chloe and Ash's interaction must've pierced Brock's lonely heart.]
[Chloe (Goh's partner) / 小优: I get it! This is what you call "the resentment of a single dog."]
[Misty: Brock, don't tell me you're STILL single after all these years.]
Pewter City, Kanto.
Clenched. His fist clenched.
Five years! Do you know how he survived these five years?!
Could Misty be right—
was he really still single?!
Impossible!
He, a self-proclaimed love expert, refused to accept that!
He should set a goal:
Get a girlfriend within three years!
Officer Jenny was a great option.
Nurse Joy worked too!
Which to choose…?
So difficult… so painful…
Behind him, his younger siblings all stepped back in unison.
Big Brother Brock is doing it again…
No way—he really started choosing?!
...
On screen—
"Brock is such a good guy~" Ash said earnestly, gripping the identification plate.
A good deed with no name attached.
Chloe nodded.
Though for some reason… Brock's back had looked a lot like her family's Yamper.
Probably her imagination.
Before she could think more—
Ash had already dragged her into the Fossil Expo.
At the front desk, after handing in the ID badge—
Ash received a round device.
After the staff member explained its usage patiently, Ash eagerly led Chloe toward the excavation zone.
Pewter City was originally a mining city.
Before people knew fossils could be revived, most residents were miners.
The fossil detector itself was based on old ore-scanning tech.
Fossils and minerals had many similarities, after all.
To reach the excavation zone, they had to pass an area inhabited by revived fossil Pokémon—
Omanyte, Omastar, and many other ancient species.
Seeing them gave Ash an odd sense of familiarity.
He felt like he'd seen them somewhere…
But couldn't recall.
After the Giant Chasm incident, his memories of that time were hazy.
If not for that Aerodactyl being unforgettable, he might've assumed it was all a dream.
(World Tree: Fine! Fine! Guess I don't matter!)
After taking photos with the fossil Pokémon, Chloe and Ash finally reached the excavation site.
Pewter City's transformation from a mining town to a tourism hub hinged on fossil discoveries.
And at the expo, any fossil you excavated could be revived and taken home.
A temptation no one could resist.
Where there's profit, there's crime.
Illegal fossil digging used to be common, so the Kanto League moved all legal excavation inside the expo.
Only ticket holders could revive fossils—
another safety measure.
That's why tickets were so scarce.
But loopholes always existed.
Just like now—
Three figures walked past Ash.
Viewers instantly recognized them—
Team Rocket!
Where Ash goes, Team Rocket follows!
While Ash and Chloe remained oblivious—
Team Rocket spotted them immediately.
"The twerp's here too!"
"Just follow him—we'll find the best fossils!"
They decided to wait.
Once Ash dug up something valuable—
They'd strike.
Viewers cheered.
After all, based on experience:
If Team Rocket intervenes, Ash will definitely get something good.
Team Rocket's "Assist Kings" title wasn't for nothing!
(Team Rocket: "Even a slight intervention from us elevates the ceiling for everyone else! When it comes to assists—we're the professionals!")
...
Since Team Rocket didn't interfere—
Ash got to work immediately after reaching the digging zone.
Following the staff's instructions, he activated the fossil detector.
Sure enough—
With its help, Ash and Chloe soon found many fossils.
But…
They were all broken fragments.
Nothing valuable.
Thus—
They dug until dusk with no major finds.
No one else had much luck either.
Just fragments.
Still, Ash and Chloe weren't empty-handed.
Chloe dug up an Evolution Stone—
the best find of the day.
Stones were extremely valuable.
As closing time approached—
Ash still hadn't found a complete, revivable fossil.
But he wasn't upset.
Just being able to dig fossils made him happy.
After all, complete fossils were extremely rare worldwide.
Only intact, unbroken specimens could be revived.
As the expo neared closing—
Ash and Chloe整理ed their findings.
Seeing a backpack full of fragments and scattered items—
Chloe looked quite satisfied.
Just as they were about to leave—
Pikachu walked aside holding the fossil detector.
The red dot on the display grew brighter.
It had found something!
Of course it had—Pikachu was a lucky star.
Right when Ash was about to leave empty-handed—
Pikachu stepped up to turn the situation around.
Ash turned, searching for Pikachu—
And saw it waving him over.
Ash hurried over with Chloe.
Seeing the flashing red dot—
They immediately took out tools and began digging.
Pikachu truly had some kind of luck buff.
Even with the detector, Ash and Chloe hadn't found a single intact fossil.
Pikachu, meanwhile, simply wandered a few steps—
And located a treasure.
After digging—
Ash lifted from the soil an orange piece of amber.
Chloe quickly called the expo supervisor.
Upon seeing the amber—
The supervisor's expression turned serious.
After examining it carefully, he spoke solemnly:
"You're very lucky. This amber contains the DNA of an unknown Pokémon. Extracting the sequence will allow us to revive a fossil Pokémon. But I cannot confirm exactly which species it will be."
"And this—this is a Beautiful Scale, a tool that lets Feebas evolve."
He bent down and picked up a shard near the amber.
Ash's face lit up. He grabbed Pikachu and spun it around.
"Pikachu! You're amazing!"
Chloe was stunned as well.
She didn't expect a Beautiful Scale to be hidden among the fragments.
Seeing the scene, the supervisor was moved too.
But he cleared his throat.
"Revival will take some time. You two can stay at the Pokémon Center tonight. By tomorrow, the fossil Pokémon should be fully revived."
Ash and Chloe were delighted.
Chloe hadn't found a fossil Pokémon this trip—
But she got a Beautiful Scale.
A great find in itself.
Both of them were leaving Pewter with full rewards.
[Sabrina: So Pikachu also has a hidden lucky ability?]
[Lance: Don't tell me Pikachu's Ability is Serene Grace. Otherwise this level of luck is impossible.]
[Professor Kukui (一树): For real. The detector only found fragments for Ash and Chloe. Yet Pikachu walked a few steps and discovered amber containing ancient DNA.]
[Iris: Serene Grace? I've heard legends of a Serene Grace Dragonite~]
Lance: What are you implying?!
[Steven: I didn't expect such an incredible place hidden in Kanto—fossils! Minerals! This is heaven for people like me!]
[Wallace: It's over. Steven's stone obsession is back! When will this guy finally let go of the Champion title for my Wallace Cup?!]
[Steven: That Champion title is yours! Relax and stay put! The Hoenn Champion belongs to you, Wallace!]
[Diantha: I'm curious—what ancient Pokémon is inside that amber Pikachu found?]
[Steven: Me too!]
The unknown was always the most enticing.
And the fact that this amber held an ancient Pokémon—
Made it even more exciting.
...
On screen—
Night fell.
Ash and Chloe rested at the Pewter City Pokémon Center.
No matter how excited they were—
They had to wait until the next day.
But…
Would things really go that smoothly?
Forgotten by everyone in the corner—
Team Rocket finally made their move.
They had been hiding near the excavation area all day, listening to everything.
When they heard the amber could revive a fossil Pokémon—
All three pairs of eyes lit up.
That night, they sneaked into the fossil revival lab.
Trying to revive the fossil ahead of schedule, they began mashing buttons wildly—
And unbelievably…
They succeeded.
But at what cost?
…
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