The researchers from Silph Co. could only speculate about Nozomi's identity, their expressions filled with awe and uncertainty.
Meanwhile, Nozomi was standing over the fallen Aerodactyl.
This Aerodactyl looked almost identical to the one he had seen before with Lance, except this one was noticeably larger—and its eyes burned with a fiercer, wilder light, as if it carried the true savagery of the ancient skies.
"Such interesting eyes," Nozomi murmured, looking at it thoughtfully.
Apparently, his words only enraged the prehistoric predator. As a proud ruler of the ancient world, when had Aerodactyl ever been treated so casually?
With a defiant shriek, the ancient beast staggered back to its feet, spreading its mighty wings and lifting itself into the air once more.
"GAAAHH!"
Aerodactyl let out a furious roar, its entire body beginning to glow with a faint, volatile light.
"This is…"
Nozomi narrowed his eyes, flipping through the information stored in his mental archive of the Pokémon Breeding Manual. Within seconds, he identified the technique.
"That move—it's Giga Impact."
Giga Impact was a high-risk, high-power technique that unleashed the user's full strength in one devastating strike. However, the drawback was obvious: after using it, the user would be completely drained and unable to act for a while.
Clearly, this Aerodactyl was beyond furious. Otherwise, it wouldn't resort to such a desperate, self-destructive move—it was truly going all out.
"But Giga Impact or not…" Nozomi calmly raised his hand. "Metagross, use Protect!"
There was nothing in this world that one well-timed Protect couldn't handle.
Crossing its massive steel arms in front of its body, Metagross projected a shimmering blue barrier at the exact moment Aerodactyl came crashing down.
BOOM!
The impact this time was far greater than before, shaking the cave and sending a powerful gust whipping past Nozomi's face.
Instead of anger, a spark of satisfaction flickered in Nozomi's eyes.
Without giving Aerodactyl the chance to recover, he gave his next command instantly.
"Use Zen Headbutt!"
The cross-shaped metal crest on Metagross's forehead flared with blue psychic energy. With a single, brutal lunge, it slammed its head forward, striking Aerodactyl square in the chest.
At such close range—and with the recoil from Giga Impact still paralyzing its body—Aerodactyl had no way to resist.
CRASH!
The blow landed clean. Aerodactyl screamed as its body spun through the air before crashing to the ground, unconscious.
Already badly injured from their earlier battle, the ancient ruler of the skies could no longer withstand another hit from Metagross.
Nozomi retrieved an Ultra Ball from his belt and threw it. A flash of red light enveloped Aerodactyl and pulled it inside.
The Ultra Ball shook violently for a moment. But Aerodactyl, already unconscious, had no strength left to fight back. The ball soon clicked and fell still.
When Nozomi turned back toward the researchers, he found all of them staring at him with wide, admiring eyes—some filled with respect, others with sheer gratitude.
"...Come on," he sighed. "You're looking at me like I just saved the world. I only knocked out a few ancient Pokémon."
To him, it was nothing remarkable—just a routine battle.
But he had completely underestimated the impact of what he'd done, and the impression a powerful Pokémon Trainer left on ordinary people.
One person, alone, had defeated an entire group of revived ancient Pokémon—and had even subdued the mighty Aerodactyl, ruler of the ancient skies. For these researchers, who rarely saw true power firsthand, it was like witnessing a living legend.
One female researcher in particular was staring at him with an adoring, almost starstruck gaze.
Feeling a chill crawl up his spine, Nozomi quickly changed the subject.
"Shouldn't you be, you know, conducting your research?"
His reminder snapped them out of their daze. The researchers hurriedly began their work, splitting up to collect samples and secure the defeated Pokémon.
Several of them gathered the fallen Kabutops and Omastar, placing them into special Poké Balls designed specifically for scientific research.
According to Arl's earlier explanation, these Poké Balls were extremely expensive, built to monitor a Pokémon's physiological data and spontaneous behaviors while transmitting real-time readings to their computers.
After taking rock samples from the cavern walls and measuring the humidity of the air, they installed cameras in various corners to observe the daily habits of the revived Pokémon. Once the setup was complete, the team exited the cave and sealed it off to preserve its internal environment.
"That's all?" Nozomi asked.
"Yes," Arl nodded. "Thanks to your help, we caught enough ancient Pokémon for our study."
"I see. Though, I have to ask—how does studying a few ancient Pokémon translate into profit?" Nozomi tilted his head. "Unless it's classified, of course."
"Ah, no, it's not really a secret." Arl smiled. "Part of it is to expand our database by studying their genetics and evolutionary traits. But more importantly, with the revival technology becoming more refined every year, more and more trainers own ancient Pokémon now. Silph Co. plans to launch specialized food and training equipment tailored for these species—to dominate a brand-new market segment."
"So you launched an entire expedition just to secure the market for ancient Pokémon products…" Nozomi sighed, speechless.
Even though he was now fairly wealthy himself, he couldn't help but be impressed—and a little appalled—at Silph Co.'s extravagance. It was pure money-burning ambition, the kind of corporate recklessness only a titan could afford.
With the work completed, Nozomi had no reason to stay any longer.
He boarded a helicopter and left the excavation site, heading straight for Celadon City.
He had already spent enough time in Saffron. It was about time to challenge the Celadon Gym—otherwise, Gary and Ash would eventually catch up to him.
And if his memory served correctly, there was also a Rocket Game Corner operating right there in Celadon.
"This time," Nozomi thought, a faint grin forming on his lips, "I'll take down Team Rocket's base while I'm at it."
The thought filled him with a quiet thrill as the helicopter carried him toward his next challenge.