As everyone knows, Oreburgh City is famous for its mining, and its primary mineral is coal. This is why the city's gym badge is called the Coal Badge. However, anyone who has studied high school geography knows that it takes hundreds of millions of years for coal to form. During this process, the remains of extinct ancient creatures can easily get buried within it, and through the erosion of time, they form what we call fossils.
Oreburgh City is also a city famous for its fossils. Every year, people can find fossils here. For example, Gym Leader Roark's Aerodactyl and Rampardos were both revived from fossils found here, using the fossil restoration machine at the Oreburgh Museum.
This was the sight that Ash and Brock were here to see today. They wanted to see the intricate machine that could revive fossils. As for why they were here with nothing to do, it was all because Dawn had a sudden idea. She wanted to train her Piplup and Buneary. With no other choice, Ash and Brock came to the museum to look around. Honestly, Ash was quite interested in the machine that could revive ancient fossils. The fact that the people of the Pokémon world could see ancient Pokémon, much like people on Earth could see a T-Rex, showed how advanced the technology was.
"Hey, Ash, I didn't expect to see you here."
A familiar person suddenly appeared in the museum. It was Gym Leader Roark, wearing his red construction hat. He walked over to Ash and Brock with a smile.
"Uh, hello, Gym Leader Roark!"
Both of them greeted Roark, though Ash's expression was a little strange. It had only been one day since he challenged the gym, yet on the second day, Roark was acting as if nothing had happened. This was quite a surprise.
"Gym Leader, why are you here? Don't you have to welcome challengers?" Ash asked.
"Oh, I also work security for the museum. I've posted a notice outside the gym saying I'll be accepting challengers again this afternoon," Roark said with a laugh. "I didn't expect to see you here at the museum, Ash. Would you like me to show you around and play the host?"
"That, we'd be happy to, Gym Leader Roark!" After exchanging a glance with Brock, Ash immediately accepted Roark's kind offer. It would be crazy to turn down a guided tour from the Gym Leader himself. As for why Roark was being so kind? It was simply his personality. From Ash's impression of Roark in the original story, he was a genuinely good person.
So, Ash and Brock happily followed behind Roark, enjoying a pleasant tour of the museum with his detailed explanations.
However, Dawn on the other side was not so lucky. In the coal mine, she ran into the person she disliked most, Paul, who was also training his Pokémon there.
"Hmph!" The sharp-eyed Paul noticed Dawn's arrival but didn't seem to care. He simply scoffed and continued training his Pokémon.
"Hmph, you annoying guy!" Dawn huffed, glared at the cold-faced Paul, and then ran far away to another part of the coal mine. She sent out her Piplup and Buneary and began to train them.
The training focused on the unique Swift attack from Aipom in the Pokémon Contest. It involved a graceful spin that made the attack spiral, making it somewhat unpredictable. Her training, however, was different from Ash's. She had a sudden thought to apply the graceful spinning to her Pokémon's dodging. Would it be possible to use this unique method to dodge an opponent's attack in a contest and thus deduct points from them? Although she wasn't sure if her idea would work, Dawn still wanted to try it out with her Pokémon.
"Piplup, Buneary, let's get moving!"
"Piplup~"
"Mimim~"
The blue penguin and yellow rabbit jumped up, following the energetic girl. Time passed slowly, little by little.
...
Almost the entire morning passed this way, and Dawn's training began to show some results. Just as she was about to do one last special training session, Ash and Brock, along with Pikachu, arrived.
"How did you guys get here?"
"The fossil revival machine at the museum was stolen! And there was an Aerodactyl being revived in it!"
"What?" Dawn exclaimed. "How did they steal such a big machine?"
"It was the three members of Team Rocket. Ash already sent them packing, but the Aerodactyl was accidentally released. We came here to find you just in case," Brock said, rubbing his forehead in frustration. He felt like those three were everywhere.
"Anyway, we should..." Just as Ash was about to lead Dawn away, a roar echoed from the sky. The three of them looked up and saw a fierce, brutish Aerodactyl. It was watching them with malicious intent, and a dark purple Hyper Beam formed in its mouth. The beam shot toward them.
"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt! Pidgeot, use Gust!" Ash quickly threw Pidgeot's Poké Ball and ordered his two Pokémon to counterattack. They managed to make the Hyper Beam explode in mid-air.
"Pikachu, Pidgeot, go together!" Ash's face was grim. The Aerodactyl had dared to launch a sneak attack. It was too much.
"Ash, are you trying to catch that Aerodactyl?" Dawn asked, seeing that Ash was holding an empty Poké Ball.
"Of course. Since we ran into it, we can't just ignore it. Consider this a gift to thank Roark for being our guide today!" He gave a simple reply, then looked at Pidgeot, which was flying into the air with Pikachu on its back.
"Roar!" As the ancient ruler of the skies, Aerodactyl saw Pidgeot and Pikachu as intruders. It instantly used Giga Impact to attack Pidgeot's position.
"Use Double Team!" Pidgeot, along with Pikachu, created seven or eight copies, easily dodging Aerodactyl's Giga Impact.
"Pidgeot, use Quick Attack and Steel Wing! Pikachu, use Iron Tail at the right moment!" The moment they dodged the attack, Pidgeot became a blur and charged forward. Its incredibly hard steel wings aimed for Aerodactyl's head, delivering a direct strike.
"Pika~" But that wasn't the end. Pikachu leaped from Pidgeot's back. Taking advantage of its excellent condition, it used its two-meter-long Iron Tail to slice into Aerodactyl's head.
The newly revived Aerodactyl, whose strength had not yet fully recovered, didn't even have a chance to show off before it was brutally beaten. It was truly the most tragic Aerodactyl of all time.