While Ace was diving in the labyrinthine tunnels below, the others on the surface busied themselves as they waited for him to return. And there was PLENTY for them to do.
Chloe was helping Janine collect different parts of the various plants that could be found around the pool, while also collecting several samples for herself to send to Cerise laboratory for analysis. The entire time she had Yamper running around her legs while barking excitedly.
Professor Oak was busy sorting through the discarded shells that Ace had sent up to them, analyzing things like their size, possible age, and also how exactly the pokemon that once lived in them were killed. He'd already noted the scratch marks that could have been made by an Anorith, crunches from the mouth of an Omastar, and even the marks of digestion left by a Cradily.
Brock's team meanwhile were busy doing more or less the same thing as Janine and Chloe, namely sorting through the foliage to learn more about what the prehistoric pokemon ate and how their habitat actually was back in the day. Brock himself was busy looking after the Cradily that Ace's Croagunk had beat up,
Naturally, Brock had PLENTY of fossil pokemon on his team due to him running the fossil sanctuary, so he had experience dealing with Cradily in the past as well as he cared for this one.
"Thats right... Try this nice pokeblock." Brock whispered to the Cradily slowly, offering it one of his specially made pokeblocks as he did so.
"Dily?" It uttered suspiciously, even as it reached a tentacle out to the pokeblock tentatively.
*SPLASH!*
"DILY!" It cried out in shock as something rupted from the water, which was Ace as he returned from his diving trip.
***
"Haaaa!" I exclaimed while taking in a deep breath as I took the rebreather out of my mouth. The thing worked fine, but I had to regulate my breathing the entire time. It was nice being able to breathe without restraint.
"Ace! How did it go down there?" The professor immediately asked as he and the others came to greet me.
"Pretty good." I said while lifting myself up out of the water, and Floatzel, Totodile and Oshawott jumped out beside me.
"Like I thought, there's an entire tunnel system running under our feet where the majority of the aquatic prehistoric pokemon are living. The Kabuto were the most numerous, but I also found sizeable populations of Omanyte/Omastar, Anorith, and Lileep/Cradily. I didn't find any Kabutops or Armaldo though, so they should be living above ground somewhere.
"From what we saw the Kabuto seem to be the primary food source down there, though Omanyte appeared to be omnivores until they evolved in Omastar. At that point they seem to become completely carnivorous, at least that's how it looked when they attacked us at one point."
"You were attacked?!" The professor asked with alarm.
"Yeah, but Floatzel, Totodile and Oshawott handled it." I assured him, while my three pokmeon puffed out their chests with pride.
"I also caught these guys." I added, before showing him four pokeballs.
"You caught some?" The professor asked, his concern shifting to enthusiasm.
"Yep. I planned to have Brock's team revive some of the fossils I got while I was here anyways. But considering this situation, I decided to catch them to add to my team and for you to study."
"Thank you so much Ace!" Professor Oak declared, his eyes shining like it was christmas.
"No problem. The only ones left here that I need to catch are a Shieldon and maybe another Rampardos, but only if you want to be able to study one of them as well."
"I would much apprecate it Ace! And if you want to revive some fossils as well, then that would be splendid! That way I can be able to do a side-by-side comparison to determine if there's any biological differences!"
As he said that the professor's eyes glossed over as he seemingly imagined being able to study REAL prehistoric pokemon to his hearts content.
"Did you only catch one of each?" Brock asked curiously as he looked at my pokeballs.
"Yeah, and all base form as well so that we can study them as they evolve as well." I said, before calling out all four of my new pokemon.
"Anorith?"
"Kabuto?"
"Omanyte!"
"Lileep?"
"""..."""
"Ace..." Brock groaned as he looked at my pokemon.
"What? I picked out the ones with the greatest potential." I stated while looking my new pokemon over as they looked up at me curiously.
First was Anorith, who was more than twice as large as a normal one, then was Kabuto, who was three times as large, then there was Omanyte, who's size was comparable to an Omastar, and finally Lileep, who was taller than even I was despite the fact that most of them never grew past four feet tall.
"Omanyte!" My Omanyte cried out while raising his tentacles up and wiggling them.
"Om-om oma, Omanyte!" He declared with fervor.
"What is it saying?" Brock asked me while looking Omanyte over curiously. Out of my new prehistoric pokemon, he was easily the most expressive and energetic.
"'Behold, I who have been selected by the gods! Bow before the almighty Lord Helix!'" I translated for him with a deadpan expression. Of my new pokemon, he had been the only one to come willingly without a battle.
"""..."""
"I swear, that's what he said." I told them, though I only got a few weird looks in response.
"Anyways, let's go check out more of the valley." I said wryly while recalling them into their pokeballs, before doing the same with Floatzel, Totodile and Oshawott.
I quickly put my shirt and pants back on and grabbed my bag before we all began to walk through the brush once more, with me leading the way as I focused on the gathering of auras.
"Where to now?" Brock asked as they followed me.
"There's a group of auras up ahead, I think they belong to-"
*BAM!*
Before I could finish speaking, a concussive blast shook the area with enough force that the leaves in the trees and bushes around us started to shake.
"They belong to THAT." I finished while pushing a branch aside, and pointing out the herd of Rampardos that were in the clearing ahead.
"Oh~!" Professor Oak exclaimed excitedly as we beheld the herd of pokemon, two of which were busy competing with one another. And one was an alpha on top of that.
"From what I can feel, the two that are fighting are males while the rest are females. The alpha is the leader of this herd, while the other male was wanting to try and take over." I explained to them, recalling as I did so the dynamics of animals from my first life.
If I recall correctly, several grazing animals would form massive herds composed entirely of females and young, while only a single male would be able to breed with them. If another male wanted to breed, they would need to defeat the one already there and cast him out of the herd.
Of course it was highly improbable that would happen here, as the male in charge was an alpha.
"So are you gonna go for THAT alpha too?" One of Brock's assistants hissed to me.
"Nah. I already have a Rampardos on my team. Plus from the looks of it, males don't get along too well. Maybe I'll see about getting one of the females." I said while pulling out my pokedex, and swapping some of my pokemon around.
By the time I finished the alpha had defeated the rival male, and sent him on his way as he limped off in shame.
"So how are you going to hadnle this Ace?" The professor asked as I stood up.
"I got just the guy for this." I replied, before throwing out a pokeball. "Let's go, Rampardos!"
"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMP!"
"""!!!"""
Rampardos roared as he appeared in front of me, drawing the attention of the other Rampardos of the herd while the alpha looked at him irritably.
"Make sure to record everything, Rotom."
"On it boss!"
Though I started to tell him not to call me 'boss', I halted as the battle between Rampardos and the alpha began.
Though his opponent was roughly twice his size, Rampardos wasn't daunted in the slightest as he used the moves Swords Dance and Focus Energy, while the alpha just charged him from where it was. It was obvious that, in his eyes, Rampardos was just another unworthy challenger.
"Humph." I snorted as Rampardos also charged the alpha once he finished using Swords Dance and Focus Energy, his claws digging into the ground to fling up grass and dirt with every step. And right as they were about to hit, his head shimmered with a metallic sheen.
*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!*
The two of them collided with enough force that the ground cracked, and a shockwave spread out that triggered a wave of alarm in all of the surrounding pokemon. But neither of them cared about either of those.
"RAAAAAAAAAMP!"
The alpha Rampardos roared as he reared up and swung his head down.
"DOOOOOS!"
My Rampardos roared back as he stomped down on the ground, making several jagged stone spires shoot upwards at the alpha from underfoot.
"!!!"
The Stone Edge attack unbalanced the alpha before he could attack, which then gave Rampardos the opening he needed to charge in with another Iron Head attack.
"RAMPARDOOOOOOOOOS!" He roared while charging his opponent, ramming his head right into the middle of the alpha's body to send him flying back.
"Holy crap..." Someone muttered behind me.
"Something I noticed during our dive..." I said without taking my eyes off of Rampardos. "The pokemon here do fight for their survival day after day, but they are also stagnant. They don't know any of the new moves that have been developed in recent years, they haven't undergone the special training that trainer pokemon have, and they haven't learned the same tactics that we teach them. Even if he's an alpha, this Rampardos will never be able to defeat mine."
As I said that, Rampardos approached the alpha where it was laying, and placed his foot on his side to pin him down despite the size difference.
"Raaaaaaaamp..." He growled down at it, and the alpha slowly lowered his head in defeat.
"Excellent." I said while walking towards Rampardos, making the others grow alert as they lowered their heads threateningly.
"RAMP!" Rampardos cried out, and they stopped before trying to ram me as he returned to my side.
"We're not staying down here." I told them all suddenly, channeling my aura and intent towards them as I did so. "I also can't take all of you, but do any of you want to come with us and stay with Rampardos?"
As one might expect, none of the Rampardos seemed eager to depart from the herd and join us.
"Ramp Ramp!"
"Oh?"
"Ramp~!"
From within the herd, a single Rampardos came forward that was smaller than the rest, and also had a pink color instead of their typical blue.
"A shiny Rampardos?" I muttered, even as the small Rampardos shyly approached mine.
"Ramp? Ramp ramp ramp?"
"Dos."
"Ramp!"
And just like that, the small Rampardos agreed to join us as she started snuggling up against mine affectionately.
"Well, that's that I guess." I muttered while pulling out a pokeball, and tossing it at her casually.
A couple small jerks later, and the ball fell silent with a soft 'ding'.
"Want me to send both of you back now?" I asked Rampardos after capturing her.
"Ramp." He answered, and I recalled him to his pokeball as well before sending them both back to the lab.
"Shall we move on to the next herd?" I asked the professor and the others as we backed away from the herd of Rampardos, which were all now looking at me like I was a snack. The alpha especially.
"That might be wise." The professor said as we started moving down the valley.
"We should return to the surface after this to review everything, and meet up with Red since he should be here soon." Brock stated while checking his watch.
"Sounds good. This was only a reconnaissance expedition anyways." The professor replied.
We all nodded in agreement as we hurried over the grassy terrain, only stopping briefly for the professor and Brock to examine certain conditions and habitats, or when we encountered an occasional Kabutops and Armaldo. As I thought, they all moved to the surface upon evolving.
After a while we found the river, and followed it along with the pokemon swimming up and down the current. Most amazingly though, was that we also spotted a solitary Relicanth swimming in the warm waters alongside some of the Anorith.
We only followed the river until I could feel the presence of several large and powerful pokemon, which were thankfully only the same side we were.
"This way." I said, leading the way until we arrived at an open field where several large pokemon were grazing.
"Bastiodon..." Brock uttered with a voice filled with awe. And I had to agree. They truly were an awe-inspiring sight.
"Baaaaaaaast." One groaned as it roamed the field, before ripping up a bunch of grass to eat.
"So how are you gonna catch a Shieldon?" The professor asked me as we observed them. Of course, I had Rotom recording them from above the entire time.
"I don't know... Their guards are all up." I answered as I observed them, both with my eyes and aura. Even if they didn't seem like it, they were all on the alert for any potential threats.
"How about this?" The professor asked, before suggesting an idea to me.
"That might work." I said, while swapping around some of my pokemon once more.
"Come on out, Rowlet and Rookidee!"
"Rowl!"
"Rookie!"
The two small birds chirped as they appeared, before perching atop both of my shoulders.
"I need the two of you to fly around and see if there's any nests near here. But be careful, there's Aerodactyl flying around that might try to make a meal out of you."
"Rowlet!"
"Rookie!"
At my request, the duo of birds flew up and started scouting around while we continued observing the Bastiodon herd with their young.
"You know..." I said after a little while. "Part of me kinda wants to send Tyrantrum out to scare them, see what they'll do in the face of an apex predator."
"Please refrain from that. You might just make them keel over in shock." The professor said with a strained smile.
"Don't worry, I won't." I assured him as we continued watching them, until Rowlet and Rookidee returned.
"Did you find the nest?"
"Rowl, Rowlet!"
"And where there any eggs in it?"
"Rookie dee!"
"I see, thank you. Now I need you to lead these guys there. Come on out, Raticate!"
"""Raticate!"""
My ninja rats cried out as they appeared, all three ready for whatever I had to ask of them.
"There's a nest nearby with some eggs in it. I need you guys to bring me one of them."
"""Cate!"""
Crying in affirmation, my Raticate took off while Rowlet and Rookidee both took flight once more to lead the way to the nests.
"Hmm..."
"Is something wrong Chloe?" I asked as she hummed beside me.
"Its just..... Don't you feel bad for taking their eggs from them?" She asked me worriedly.
"Not really. Its more or less the same principle of catching them, and its not like I have any bad intentions towards the egg. Plus there's always the chance that something else will get to the egg later anyways, pokemon like Weavile and Sneasel are both known for stealing and eating pokemon eggs if they can find them after all." I told her, making Chloe look down in contemplation.
"Not to mention the alternative is to attack them directly to steal one of the Shieldon from them. This way will be much easier on them, and they won't mourn the one we take as much." Professor Oak added on top of that, right as I sensed my Raticate returning.
"Did it go well?" I asked as they came back.
"Raticate!" The eldest of the three of them cried out, as he held up an egg for me to see.
"Nice-"
"Raticate!" The next one said, as he too held up an egg. A completely DIFFERENT egg.
"Huh?" I uttered as I looked at the two eggs.
"Oh my!" Professor Oak exclaimed when he saw them as well. And I didn't blame him.
One egg was similar in pattern to a Shieldon's head, appearing gray with a metallic shell. The other however was white in color, with several red and blue shapes patterned on it.
"Is that....?"
"Cate cate, Raticate!" The third brother declared as he arrived as well, stating that they did not know WHICH egg I wanted, so they just grabbed them both.
"..."
I honesty had no idea how to respond to that, outside of just accepting both of them and placing them into my bag, alongside the Weedle egg I had received from Beedrill.
Now I had THREE eggs to take care of. Hopefully they'll hatch soon.
"My boy, you have no idea how often I find myself wishing I had your luck! Haha!" Professor Oak stated with a laugh as he clapped me on the shoulder.
"You mean the same luck that regularly makes me risk my life fighting against Legendary pokemon?" I asked him, and his expression became slightly strained.
"Good point..."
"Yeah. Now let's get out of here." I said while closing my eyes, and mentally calling for Gardevoir to Teleport us back to the surface.