Chapter 94 – Stones and Fossils

Chapter 94 – Stones and Fossils It didn’t take long for Zinnia to come back downstairs with a wrapped parcel. All of us had already moved i

Chapter 94 – Stones and Fossils It didn’t take long for Zinnia to come back downstairs with a wrapped parcel. All of us had already moved i

Chapter 94 – Stones and Fossils

It didn’t take long for Zinnia to come back downstairs with a wrapped parcel. All of us had already moved into the living room eager to see Zinnia opening her present. After I had told our grandparents about my plan to lure Zinnia back home they gave me their full support. Grandma and Grandpa’s own presents weren’t as expensive or rare as my own, but they brought them out for this occasion just so that my little sister could feel extra loved. Soon two additional wrapped up presents joined the parcel Dusty had sent over to my house.

“Thank you Grandma, Grandpa, Egon.”

After the obligatory kisses on our cheeks had been given Zinnia proceeded to open our presents. First off was Grandpa’s which contained open toe short boots one size bigger because my little sister still had some growing to do. As Grandpa told it he and the local shoemaker came up with this design for trainers who wanted secure footing but also more breathability while hiking through Hoenn’s sweltering environment. Next up was Grandma’s present who had thoughtfully gifted her granddaughter a redeemable twenty thousand poké dollar gift card to be used at any Pokémart. Grandma did make it a point to couple said gift with solid advice on saving up allowance for one of those fancy Silph Co. backpacks. I didn’t have one myself but even I knew that girls needed additional baggage space for toiletries and the wearing of more than one outfit. Contrary to my hobolike self who only recently bought one set of professional workplace attire.

At this point there was only one present left. The package containing my birthday gift to Zinnia came in festive wrapping paper courtesy of Grandpa’s meticulous foresight. My little sister didn’t hesitate for one second tearing through the adhesive tape and styrofoam to get to the prize waiting inside. I was content letting my little sister enjoy the moment, but Aster seemed intent to preserve the packaging for some reason.

“Slow down Zinnia! You’ll tear through the packaging label.”

Zinnia seemed properly chastised and abandoned her efforts for but a moment to find said label before handing it over to her mentor. This action puzzled me enough that I made it a point to address Aster’s apparent interest in the label.

“Excuse me, why would you be interested in acquiring the return address?”

“Our tribe is interested in acquiring more of these Jaw Fossils. Since we’ve had no luck negotiating with our overseas partners the next logical step to follow is getting into contact with a professor known to have a large collection of them.”

‘All this effort just to get more Jaw Fossils? That doesn’t make sense unless…’

“This is Zinnia’s moment, pay attention!”

Acceding to the point Victini was making I kept my focus on Zinnia as she now carefully removed the package’s contents. The fossil itself clearly resembled the lower jawbone of a Tyrunt but that wasn’t all. Bits and pieces of other fossilized bone structures were embedded into the slab. When I chose this particular Jaw Fossil I figured that having more genetic material would help the revitalization process even if the piece itself didn’t look too pretty.

Zinnia, knowing the significance of my gift, slowly let her hand drift across the outline of the Jaw fossil. I could already tell by her dopey smile that she was imagining what having a Tyrunt for a partner would be like. After she had her fill of the fossil Zinnia handed over this precious item to Aster who seemed just as mesmerized before pulling out three poké balls. One of them I recognized as the poké ball I captured Horsea with the other two seemed to come straight out of a museum. The two crank poké balls appeared to be centennial relics designed with no thought to user friendliness. Zinnia’s small hands had to struggle quite a bit before their release mechanisms were activated.

“Horsea, Goomy, Bagon come on out!”

To say I was surprised was an understatement. My unlicensed little sister had managed to snag herself two dragon type Pokémon while away. One more Pokémon than I managed before getting my license.

“Gon…” “Goom…”

The little Bagon and Goomy seemed a tad disoriented being surrounded by so many new people. I had no doubts that they could somewhat sense what was going on from inside their poké ball. However, for Pokémon as young as these two the default reaction to meeting new faces was to hide behind their trainer. Horsea on the other hand seemed completely comfortable being out and about among Zinnia’s relatives. The seahorse Pokémon was sitting smug and comfortable within Zinnia’s embrace. 

“Horsea, it has been a while. Have you been properly looking after my little sister?”

“Seaa!”

The little water type’s puffed-up chest and loud proclamation brought smiles to the rest of the family. This was in stark contrast to my initial struggle getting Horsea to sign off on going with another trainer in the beginning. I had originally expected Zinnia’s natural charisma to win him over and seeing Horsea all cuddled up with my little sister proved my initial assessment to be correct.

After a short round of introductions the both Bagon and Goomy surrounded the Jaw Fossil poking and prodding the inert stone. The two acted like the fossil could spring to life at any moment. When that didn’t happen, they turned to Zinnia seeking an explanation.

“Gon?”

“Not right now but... That fossil is going to be our new friend one day.”

‘Zinnia doesn’t seem to be afraid of letting on what I shared in my letter that means… The Draconids must have snooped through my correspondence and gained knowledge of the revivification machine. That’s why they need Dusty’s address. He is one of the only people who can help them acquire more Jaw fossils.’

Professor Dusty from what I’ve learned of him during our brief stint in the desert together seemed to be wholly uninterested in money. Which meant that those tribe members wishing to acquire a Jaw Fossil of their own would need to barter with objects of similar geological value. Even then judging from Dusty’s fossil album the man only had three more Jaw Fossils in his personal collection.

Since the purrloin was out of the bag I figured there was no harm in talking about possible options in getting that Jaw Fossil revived.

“Zinnia, if you’d like we could go on vacation to Cinnabar Island after the league conference.”

“Cinnabar? That place in Kanto with the Fire Type gym? Of course, you, my nerdy brother, would want to go there.”

“Well yes, but it’s also the place where scientists are hard at work perfecting the revivification machine. Odds are there is someone there that will help you out with bringing that Tyrunt back to life. There are also pristine white beaches and lots of tourist activities. Personally I’ll be up for taking the guided tour through their volcano.

“Really?! Can I go big sis pleaaaase?”

“…I’ll bring it up at the next council session. One of us will have to come along of course.”

The rest of the evening went down without any incidents, most of it occupied with Zinnia sharing anecdotes about how life was like living inside Meteor Village. Hearing that she didn’t have any friends for a long time made my heart cramp but I got eased somewhat after learning that she eventually made friends with a nerdy boy who was scared of his mom’s Gyarados. Likewise I shared what I could on what participating in the circuit was like describing the interesting Pokémon and trainers we came across. 

“Big brother, why do so many of your adventures end up with you exploring the ruins of ancient civilizations? That Cofagrigus especially seemed really scary!”

“Goom!”

“Hmm… I honestly don’t know but I usually come out the better for it. That Cofagrigus and its Yamask subordinates weren’t all that scary, especially since I had Phoebe at my side. You do remember her family’s famous for dealing with all sorts of ghost types? If you ever feel the need to go into ancient ruins be sure to bring along a ghost type expert like I did. Preparation is key and if all else fails try seeing things from the Pokémon’s perspective and reach some sort of compromise.

I could tell that both my Grandparents and Aster agreed with my statement seeing as the three of them nodded and didn’t attempt to naysay my conclusion. The only one who didn’t seem to openly agree with my methods was mother. Who didn’t seem to hold any strong opinions one way or the other.

“Are you sure you didn’t take any of those relics? Show me your backpack!”

“Go ahead, your big brother has nothing to hide.”

The little gremlin didn’t seem to properly register my message and started rummaging into my belongings. Determined to find some of the treasure I had spoken about seeing while exploring inside Relic Castle.

“A Tiara and… bracelet?”

“Rena likes to accessorize in her free time. The silver and rubies are real so do be careful handling them.”

“Ninee!”

“Yeah, I should have them resized now that you’ve grown bigger. I keep forgetting to, sorry.”

Zinnia, despite being a bit of a tomboy, was still a girl and ultimately couldn’t resist playing with the tiara. Pulling it out of Rena’s jewelry box and putting it on top of her head. The reaction from everyone, especially mother, was to be expected.

“That’s my pretty princess!” “So cute!” 

“Viii!!” “Egon, buy me a tiara as well!!”

*Click* ‘Thank Arceus, my Xtransceiver has camera functionality.’

Zinnia who had experimentally put on the head ornament quickly covered her face blushing red with embarrassment. Pleased, she couldn’t restrain the corners of her mouth from turning and in an attempt to paw off this development as her just fooling around my little sister also grabbed Ninetales’ silver bracelet trying to put that on as well. The bracelet was made for a vulpix sized Pokémon try as she might fully enclosing that piece of jewelry around her arm proved fruitless. 

However, something I didn’t account for was her flashing the Mega Stone set inside the bracelet to all parties present. I could see the looks of recognition Aster, Mother and even Zinnia’s own after the realization dawned on her what was contained inside the bracelet.

‘Darn! It’s been so long that I forgot that we had the Mega Stone set inside the bracelet’s fitting. Here we go…’

Aster was the first to speak up. Naturally the woman couldn’t be straightlaced with me and opted to probe me instead.

“That’s an interesting looking marble. Where did you happen to come across such a unique looking stone?” 

‘Marble huh? I guess we can play along.’

“It’s a battle of wits!”

“The jeweler I purchased the bracelet from let me have it for free. Just as long I paid for the fitting itself. He did a pretty good job with it as far as I can tell.”

With her guard lowered the Draconid woman went in for the kill. My assumed ignorance of the stone’s actual value put her at ease. All the while Zinnia was watching us with laser focus. 

‘Where did she get that bucket of popcorn from?’

“How about I pay to have the bracelet resized and fitted with an actual gemstone. Our tribe’s artisans are some of the best in all of Hoenn.”

“No thank you. We’ve actually grown fond of the stone’s rainbow coloring and natural helix pattern. Isn’t that right Rena?”

“Ninee!”

‘Good Rena knows what’s up and is playing along. Although I wouldn’t expect Aster to give up that easily. If Aster insists in front of the family this could turn out ugly.’

That’s not what happened though. Instead, Aster went off for a bathroom break insisting Zinnia come along to show her the way. In my mind that could only mean that the woman was banking on having Zinnia pull on my heartstring to obtain our Mega Stone.

‘Game on.’

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POV – Zinnia

Munch munch 

“This popcorn is delicious, thank you grandpa!”

“Any time dumpling.”

‘This is so much fun! Egon is playing pretend with big sister.’

“Little sister, could you show me where to find the bathroom?”

“Huh?”

Big sis Aster seemed to be in a hurry for some reason, my hand got grabbed and I was led away. The popcorn box grandpa gave me fell on the ground where Bagon made quick work out of the leftover kernels. 

‘He didn’t even share with the others! Hmpff! Bagon is sleeping in the basket by himself tonight.’

The bathroom was kept on the second floor right next to Egon’s vacant room. I was unceremoniously pulled inside after big sis closed the door behind us the interrogation commenced.

“Little sister, you haven’t told your brother about Mega evolution right?”

“No?” ‘Egon explained it to me first.’

“Then the solution to this problem is simple. You are his cherished little sister; I am sure Egon will hand over the stone if you just ask.”

“Mmmm Mmmm. Do I have to?”

“The Mega Stone fitted inside that bracelet is one that the tribe highly values an Ampharosite.”

“The one turns Ampharos into a dragon type! You can tell from just looking!?”

“Our clan has kept detailed records on each and every Mega Stone. As the Lorekeeper I get to read those in my spare time. If you manage to get the stone, you can keep it for your own use.”

“Okay! Then I’ll have two Mega stones and a keystone. Will you teach me how to use them as well?” 

“Perhaps once you are a bit older. The process significantly drains a person’s aura reserves.”

“Aura? Like what Lucario use?”

“Yes, but lessons on Aura use will have to wait until you’ve properly grown up. I don’t want you to hurt yourself. Now go get that stone, I know you can do it.”

Racing back downstairs I couldn’t hold my excitement. Egon was still downstairs prodding at Goomy’s gelatinous body. Letting out Ooh’s and Aah’s sounds like a doofus.

“Goo?”

“Amazing how long until a Pokémon like you needs to rehydrate? Being stuck under Lavaridge’s dry heat must have taken a toll on your epidermis.”

“Goo, Goom!”

“Hmm… try having a sip of this soda pop. You don’t mind fizzy drinks, do you? It’s Sitrus berry flavored.”

“Goo!”

“You like that don’t you?” 

‘Big brother gets along with my Pokémon, even if they’re not fire types. I should get to know his new Pokémon better as well.’

“Oh, Zinnia, what's up?”

“Big brother… Can I play with your new partner Pokémon?”

“Of course they’ve been wanting to get to know you better too. Raven, go ahead.”

Brother’s Houndoom who had been laying down near the fireplace perked up at hearing its trainer’s call. Standing up the canine Pokémon wasted no time to join the two of us on the couch resting her head right on top of my thighs.

“This here is Raven. I caught her inside the Safari Zone as a Houndour. She’s really friendly and gets along well with everyone. She especially likes getting scratched at the base of her horns.”

“Good doggie.”

“Ruff!”

“Next is… Orin. You remember when I talked about Unovan ghost types right?”

“Laaaamp!”

“Hello cutie! Egon… you told me a lampent’s inner flames are indigo. How come this one’s flame is purple?”

“Orin’s a little different; he was born as an off-color variant.”

“A Shiny!!”

“Yes, that’s what I used to call them during story time. We met Orin inside the Celestial Tower as a Litwick. I didn’t know a lot about ghost types back then but a resident expert living there taught me what I needed to know to properly take care of him. Orin’s our second youngest member but his hard work paid off and now he’s become strong enough to battle alongside the rest of the team.”

“Pent! Pent!”

Orin grew excited from my brother praising him and twirled around the room like a spinning top. 

‘He’s so much fun! I’ll be catching a ghost type too someday!’

“Next up we have my oldest and youngest. Glove is a darmanitan who had recently been unpetrified having been mistaken for a statue while trapped in the Desert Resort and Halo is the daughter of Sunny the Volcarona whom I encountered somewhere inside that same desert.”

“Nitan.” “Vess!”

“Halo is still very impressionable, so do make sure to set a good example for her to follow.” 

“Dummy! I can be the best auntie ever! We can do sleepovers with Goomy. No boy Pokémon allowed!”

“Vi Vii!” “I’ll come too if you bring more of that popcorn!”

Victini had managed to execrate herself from mommy’s clutches, the last one to hold her in hug prison. Getting to bring her along to birthday parties will make me the most popular girl in Meteor Village. Now I just had to spin it in such a way so big brother wouldn’t make a fuss about it. 

“Lastly Victini otherwise known as Tini or the Victory Pokémon. Tini already introduced herself earlier but as her partnered trainer I reserve the right to veto any nicknames she comes up with.”

“Vi! Vi!” “I come up with really good nicknames!”

“Your last foray into the art of nomenclature was giving a rock type Pokémon the nickname Rocky. I rest my case.”

“Vi! Vi!” “Rocky didn’t complain!”

Witnessing my big brother arguing with Victini sure was entertaining. All of were distracted until Big sis Aster who had returned from the bathroom gave me a pointed look.  

“Ahem! Little sister, are you forgetting something?”

“Ah that’s right! Big brother, can I have that Mega Stone pretty please?”

Egon being a know-it-all didn’t seem to be surprised by my request. 

“I don’t know… You have already received your birthday present. How about I save the stone? If you’ve been good, one of Santa’s little helpers will help me put the stone in your Christmas stocking next year.”

“Aster says it’s for a dragon type Pokémon. Can I have my Christmas gift early? If I get that stone, I won’t ask for any more presents, promise.”

‘Stupid big brother not giving me what I want straight away. I’ll have to use my secret weapon!’

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POV – Egon

Aster seemed exasperated with Zinnia who had unintentionally used the term Mega Stone while in the company of outsiders. The Draconid lady didn’t account for the fact that my little sister hates misleading others. Coupled with the certitude that I already had an understanding of what these stones were capable of left Zinnia resorting to the more direct method.

“Don’t give in, Egon! We were going to sell the Mega Stones and use the money to expand Kecleon Brothers & Co. regionwide!”

‘Any valuable item we find during our travels is split seven ways. Your share of the bounty would do little to further the goals of the company.’

“Us civilized Pokémon need more than just food and belly rubs, don’t be a tyrant!”

Victini’s playful antics could no longer distract me from Zinnia’s pleading form. Her eyes sparkled and seemed bigger than a regular human’s.

‘Zinnia is serious about this. Using the Baby-doll-eyes is just unfair; Rena should’ve never taught my sister that move.’

As an older brother I was naturally weak against this particular fairy type move. The technique has proven super effective over our numerous years of living together. Arguments over who should get the last pudding cup or picking the tv channel were all quickly settled with Zinnia more or less always proving the victor. Luckily Grandmother was already here to scold my little sister into compliance.

“A young lady shouldn’t be eying her older brother’s property. Whatever this Mega Stone is, it can wait until next year’s holiday season. Keep going like this or it’s bed with no dessert!”

“Sorry Grandma! I’ll behave…”

The move proved to be not very effective as my Grandma’s equally powerful Noble Roar disrupted my sister’s concentration.

‘Grandpa is powerless against Zinnia. Thank Arceus Grandma’s here, she is immune.’

Now that my little sister has been properly cowed. It was time for the devil who had orchestrated this entire affair to step out of the shadows. Aster, who now had an inkling regarding the extent of my knowledge gave me this inquisitive look before motioning me to follow her into the garden. I was eager to sit out on Grandma’s chastisement of Zinnia and followed the Lorekeeper without much preamble. Despite Aster’s methods I could tell she cared deeply about my little sister that alone will keep the woman in my good books indefinitely.

Having stepped outside into the garden our only companions were the celestial bodies lighting up the skies and a snoozing camerupt who had grown sleepy from the dropping temperature.

“Egon, you know about Mega evolution?”

“Yes, I am not a professional scholar of any sorts, but I’ve become a fair hand at translating ancient texts. Don’t worry, aside from Zinnia I haven’t talked about my findings with anyone.”

This is the excuse I came up with when people started questioning the origin point of my accumulated knowledge. Background checks would reveal that I did indeed visit numerous ancient dig sites.

“Why keep it a secret at all?”

“Hmm… I’ll be honest that one is not the only Mega Stone I’ve come across. I figured that it would be best to slowly gather them and when Mega evolution inevitably becomes public knowledge in a few years, sell them to interested parties. Next year I’ll be stuck without a sponsor and also having to fund my little sister’s eventual journey on top of that… They’re still small now but those dragons of hers will eat me out of house and home.”

“Zinnia’s needs will be met by the tribe, you won’t have to worry about that. Also, as a representative of my people I can negotiate on their behalf. We would be willing to buy any Mega Stone you’ve already collected.”

“How exhausting it must’ve been to keep up this charade for a millenium’s worth of time. Anyone with a working computer can look up pictures of the Granite cave murals, you know? Couple that with my own work uncovering lost ruins and it won’t even take ten years until everything is out in the open. Personally, I give it five years at the most.”

“You… are correct.”

“…Eh!?”

“I’ve been working against my people’s self-imposed isolation for years but they’re not ready yet, especially among the more traditional elders. When the tribe does open up to the outside world I’ve always thought it would be best that we be the ones guiding trainers interested in learning the art of Mega evolution among other things. If we are open and honest to the wider region then those in power would be disinclined to take more drastic actions for fear of scrutiny.”

‘If the Draconids become more progressive Zinnia could have the best of both worlds. This woman… I want to support her. ’

“Vi!” “On it!”

Victini seemed to have listened in on us from inside the house. Following that statement, I could see her petite silhouette carrying the box containing our other Mega Stones into the garden. Which she promptly presented to Aster who seemed surprised by Victini’s spontaneity.

“This is what you need right? Fifty thousand pokédollars each and not a penny less!” 

“Just hold on a minute Tini! Those stones are worth quite a bit more than just fifty thousand!”

“Vi Vi? Vi!” “But you like her and want to be friends, right? Friends are more important than money!”

“Ugh…”

Although they tried to be sneaky the rest of my Pokémon were also peeping in on us from the windowsill overlooking the garden. Even Numsy seemed to have woken up and was looking on with keen interest.

‘Going from dreams of corporate domination to insisting on making another friend. Never change Tini, …alright you can show her the goods.’

With a single mental nudge from the psychic type Pokémon the box opened up revealing the three other stones we collected. The first sky blue with a swirl of yellows and pinks in the center which I received as part of a garbage bin deal from that stall vendor at the base of Mt. Pyre. The second one cameo green with a swirl of reds and black in the center which we received as a reward for reuniting Spoink with its parents at the base of Mt. Chimney, the final one in the lineup Victini managed to acquire by trading in that moonstone I bought with the clefairy tribe she befriended while exploring the cave system underneath Meteor Falls. This last stone itself being a mix of purple, indigos and grays. 

I long since figured none of these paired with a fire type Pokémon so it didn’t bother me too much seeing them traded or sold. Naturally when mega evolution eventually gets popularized, I could sell these for ten times as much, but it wasn’t as if Mega Stones were the only way for me to make money. If I wanted to, I could go work for Professor Juniper as a research fellow. Discovering new abilities or branches of evolution and be generously paid in research grants.

“Fifty thousand each is very generous Egon. I’ll be able to afford these on my own.”

“Could you perhaps tell me the names of these Mega Stones? I’ve often wondered which ones I’ve been lugging around with me all this time.”

Pointing her finger at each one in succession the Lorekeeper enlightened 

“Medichamite, Tyranitarite, and the one fitted inside your silver bracelet is an Ampharosite. However, as for this last one… I wouldn’t know. The tribe’s records do describe this particular one, but we’ve never come across the Pokémon who can actually resonate with the stone.”

“Hmmm… you figure the Pokémon species this stone belongs to must have gone extinct at some point?”

“That is one possible explanation.”

‘From what I can remember the only stone paired up with a prehistoric Pokémon was… Aerodactylite.  The stone might not be worth much now, but I am sure that with the advent of revival technology its intended users will be revealed.’

The woman proceeded to cradle the offered box as if it were a lifeline. Undoubtedly pleased with her run of good luck. I always figured that the Lorekeeper had final say on anything happening within that village, especially one who had a personal relationship with the Pokémon the Draconids collectively worshipped but it seemed like their customs weren’t entirely backwards.

“With these I’ll be able to gain some needed favors from the council. You must have spent endless nights searching to gather this many, little brother.”

“...Eh?”