Chapter 132. Charizard
"Alright then, since Gary Oak has collected so many coprolites, I won't fall behind.
Copro— mmph!"
Gary clamped a hand over Ash's mouth, a vein throbbing on his forehead.
Just as everyone was quietly snickering, a deafening explosion came from afar.
"Boom!"
Rocks cascaded down, and the whole ground trembled.
"It looks like Team Rocket!" Misty cried, pointing at a Meowth balloon peeking out not far away.
Everyone dashed off in a blur, leaving only Natsume and Honora where they stood.
"Natsume, aren't we going?" Honora looked at him curiously as he put away a Master Ball and took out a stone slab instead.
"Ash and the others will handle it."
Natsume lifted the Abundance Slab and held it up to the sunlight, studying it carefully.
"Mm." Honora smiled knowingly and nodded.
After traveling this long, she'd come to understand their companions quite well.
Though they bickered often, when it mattered, Ash and the others were very reliable.
Under the sunlight, a thin sheen of gold glimmered across the Abundance Slab.
Natsume frowned and closed his eyes, not quite used to the glare.
"Wow— a fossil I've never seen!"
Snap.
A young man with a camera walked over.
"You're being rude."
Seeing the lens practically bump the slab, Honora stepped in front of Natsume.
"Ah— sorry.
Without permission and all— but that moment just now was too beautiful."
As he spoke, the young man handed Natsume a photo.
The photo captured the moment when sunlight fell across Natsume's face.
Fragmented specks of light dotted his features— little windows cut through the slab's carving of open plains and tiny black dots that represented Pokémon herds.
Those areas had been carved so thin that light could pass through.
Natsume's gaze fell on the other, thicker patches of shadow.
"Sir, look— doesn't this shadow here look like a crown?"
The young man excitedly pointed at the shadow over Natsume's forehead in the picture.
"And here— these two long shapes… don't they feel like royal guards holding lances?"
His imagination ran wild, and in a moment he was lost in his own world.
When he came back to himself, he found Natsume and Honora staring right at him.
"Ahem… my bad.
Let me introduce myself.
My name's Asher, and my dream is to become the world's number one Pokémon photographer!"
Asher lifted the camera in his hand.
"I was last year's Kanto Photography Contest— hey!"
Before he could finish, the newly printed photo was already in Natsume's hand.
The next second, Honora had taken the camera as well.
"Mr. Asher, this slab cannot be made public."
With that, Honora proceeded to erase the image completely.
"Uh… are you researchers?" Asher scratched his head.
Natsume nodded, put the slab away, and examined the photo he'd taken.
"Hunting…"
His brows knit, and he recalled the elder's legend.
"Alright— here you go."
Honora sweetly handed the camera back to Asher.
"Hey, hey, Researcher— do you know where there might be any rare Pokémon around here?"
Asher took the camera back, asking with practiced ease.
"You can call me Natsume.
As for rare Pokémon…"
Natsume thought for a moment, then pointed in the direction Ash had run earlier.
"Wait by the edge of that pit over there.
If I'm right, you'll be able to snap something."
"Got it— thanks, Mr. Natsume!"
Asher's eyes lit up, and he sprinted toward the crater Team Rocket had blasted open.
"He's a lot like Ash."
Honora tilted her head.
Along the way, she'd met so many people brimming with dreams and drive.
Natsume nodded.
He'd dealt with plenty of Pokémon photographers— especially the ones who lived out in the field.
They always managed to capture rare Pokémon at some hidden foot of a mountain.
Those photos would usually get sent by the Pokémon League to the nearest lab as survey leads.
As Professor Oak's only assistant, the day-to-day survey jobs usually fell to Natsume.
Judging the time, Natsume unzipped Gary's green tent.
"Honora, come here." Natsume beckoned.
A short distance away, Honora— grinning at her Rotom Phone— startled upright.
"It's time to test your classification." Natsume pointed at the pile of fossils in the tent.
"Sort these fossils into their categories."
Honora sorted outside, while Natsume stayed inside the cleared tent to keep working on the Abundance Slab.
In one corner, he noticed a copy of Kanto Fossil Classification Compendium, author: Bill.
Clearly, Gary had been collecting fossils according to this book.
Though many were just fragments, quite a few had genuine research value.
Time slipped by, and the sun began to set.
After squatting for so long, Honora's legs went numb; sweat beaded on her face, hair clinging to her cheeks.
Every so often she snuck a glance into the tent at Natsume.
"Rooaaar—!"
A furious bellow rang out, and a pillar of fire speared into the sky.
Natsume poked his head out of the tent, and he and Honora looked up together.
In the evening light, the flames were dazzlingly bright.
A gray-violet silhouette shot up at speed, casting the fire behind it.
"That's… Aerodactyl!"
On a boulder with a perfect view outside the crater, Asher stuck out his rear for balance as his camera rattled off like a machine gun.
In Kanto, Aerodactyl's habitats were scarce.
This was only a fossil site— no one said Aerodactyl actually lived here.
Asher was thrilled.
This meant he might be the first to photograph Aerodactyl in this area.
If the League ever introduced this site, they might use his photo in the textbooks.
"Rooooar!!!"
The air suddenly turned scorching.
A Charizard followed right after, bursting out of the hole and giving chase in the sky.
"Did Charizard evolve to save me?!"
Clutched in Aerodactyl's talons, Ash's eyes brimmed with tears.
The next second, a Flamethrower washed over his face.
Aerodactyl flailed its claws but couldn't shake off the human hugging its thigh.
It regretted everything now.
Down below, Misty and Brock stared anxiously up into the air.
"Charmeleon evolved to save Ash."
"No— I think Charizard just wants to challenge a strong opponent."
Watching Ash get repeatedly singed by Flamethrower, Brock's mouth twitched.
"Natsume, there's someone in Aerodactyl's claws!"
Asher ran toward Natsume while snapping away.
"Natsume, Ash is in real danger!"
Misty, Brock, and Gary hurried back as well.
"Come out, Dragonite."
Natsume sent out his Dragonite.
"Wooo—"
Dragonite let out a sky-shaking cry, instantly drawing the attention of the two Pokémon chasing above.
"Whoa, such a massive Dragonite!"
Asher reflexively fired off dozens more shots at the big Dragonite.
"But Dragonite can't fly."
Misty looked at Dragonite's mismatched small wings, a little worried.
The catastrophic 'glide' from last time was still fresh in everyone's mind.
"Not flying has its own fixes."
Natsume's eyes flashed azure.
"Wooo!"
Blue light wrapped around Dragonite, its wings hammered the air, and it rocketed upward.
The big Dragonite just had to push; Natsume could handle all the steering.
Until the modifications were done, this was the only way to fly.
"Boom—!"
An orange "shell" shot skyward, ramming itself between Aerodactyl and Charizard.
With its hulking frame, the two looked like chicks before Dragonite.
"Gah!"
One hand clamped around Aerodactyl's neck.
"Gah!"
One hand clamped around Charizard's neck.
Dragonite began to fall.
"Thud!"
The "shell" slammed into the ground, gouging out a deep pit.
"Rooaar—!"
Aerodactyl sprang from the crater, scrambled on hands and feet, and fled headlong back into the underground tunnel.
"Hmph!"
Steam jetted from Charizard's nostrils as it looked at Dragonite, fighting spirit blazing.
But Natsume recalled Dragonite first.
He studied the Charizard that had evolved in anger at Aerodactyl, and he couldn't help thinking of the many Pokémon back at the lab who had evolved early after being moved by him.
It was the same in a different key.
"Rooaaar—"
Charizard looked at Natsume, clearly wanting a battle with Dragonite.
"Don't, Charizard.
Dragonite's strength is the same as mine."
Ash came over to break things up.
"Rooaar?"
Charizard eyed Ash skeptically.
After a moment, it leaned its head toward him and tapped a finger against Ash's forehead.
"Natsume, what's Charizard saying?" Ash asked, baffled.
"Oh, he says he wants you to give him one," Natsume translated.
"Pika-pika-pii-ah!
Jeep! Jeep! Jeep!"
Center-parted popped out at once, lobbying tirelessly for Charizard like a relentless outreach worker to secure the best possible treatment.
Ash thought for a second, then patted Charizard on the head.
"Alright— but be careful."
Charizard shook its head and snorted, clearly not taking it seriously.
The next second—
"Boom!"
A Charizard, face twisted, went flying backward.
"Click!"
Asher caught it dead-on.
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