Pokemon : I'm Just a Photographer!

Chapter 111: Chapter 111

"They were fossils belonging to Kabuto and Omanyte. We’ve already managed to revive all of them," Roark explained as he continued leading the way through the mine.

"Kabuto and Omanyte?" Mike searched his memory for the appearances of the two Pokémon before asking curiously, "Did you catch them after they were revived, Gym Leader Roark?"

"No. They were sent away for research."

"So they’re not in Oreburgh City anymore?"

"They are. Why? Are you that interested in them?"

"Of course." Mike answered without hesitation.

"If possible, I’d like to photograph them. I’ve been thinking about making a special episode of The Wide World of Pokémon focused entirely on prehistoric Pokémon."

Truthfully, Mike had always been rather curious about ancient Pokémon.

Dracovish in particular fascinated him.

As far as he remembered, it had been revived by combining different fossils, and Arctovish had similarly been reconstructed from mismatched fossil parts.

The fact that Pokémon could actually be brought back to life from combinations of completely different fossils was enough to remind Mike just how absurdly fascinating this world could be.

"Prehistoric Pokémon? Sure." Roark’s eyes brightened at once. "My Rampardos counts as one too. How about it? Want to photograph him?"

"I can?" Mike immediately smiled. "Then I’ll have to trouble you."

"Hahaha, it’s no trouble at all. I also have a Cranidos. As for Shieldon and Bastiodon..."

Roark glanced back at him before continuing, "You could ask Elite Four Lucian to contact that person and have one transferred over for you to photograph."

’That person?’

Mike thought about it for several seconds before realizing who Roark meant.

His father, Byron, the Gym Leader of Canalave City.

Byron’s ace was a Bastiodon, which formed quite an amusing contrast with his son’s Rampardos.

Rampardos and Bastiodon were also two of Sinnoh’s most representative fossil Pokémon, though if Mike were being less charitable, they were also among the more awkward fossil Pokémon when it came to actual battling.

"There’s no need to go that far. When my journey eventually takes me to Canalave City, I can ask Gym Leader Byron myself."

Mike shook his head and declined Roark’s suggestion.

He had never liked creating unnecessary trouble for other people, especially when all he wanted was some footage.

There was no reason to inconvenience someone just because he was impatient.

"All right, suit yourself." Roark shrugged. "At the moment, the fossil Pokémon we have here are Cranidos, Rampardos, Omanyte, Omastar, Kabuto, Kabutops, Lileep, and Cradily. Other than those, there really aren’t any others available right now."

Mike stared at him in surprise as Roark rattled off the names as casually as if he were reading dishes from a menu.

’That many?!’

Then Mike remembered something.

"What about Aerodactyl?"

"Aerodactyl..." Roark sighed with obvious regret. "We did have one before, but it escaped."

"I see..."

Mike nodded.

He remembered that Roark’s Cranidos had evolved into Rampardos during a battle involving an Aerodactyl.

At some point later, Roark would eventually have an Aerodactyl on his own team as well, so presumably he would catch one in the future.

"All right, we’re here."

Roark stopped walking.

Mike came to a halt beside him and looked around.

A large number of workers wearing safety helmets were scattered throughout the area, each swinging heavy pickaxes against the stone walls.

Every impact produced sharp metallic sounds, while occasional sparks flashed from the rock.

Around them were numerous members of the Machop evolutionary line—Machop, Machoke, and Machamp alike—helping transport the excavated stone out of the mine.

Before Unova, the Machop line had practically been the construction industry’s best partner.

After Unova, the Timburr line had begun taking over much of the same work.

However, aside from the Pokémon helping the miners transport stone, Mike couldn’t see a single wild Pokémon anywhere.

"That’s strange. Why haven’t I seen any wild Pokémon down here?"

Roark heard his question and smiled.

"This is an active mine, not a natural cave. If wild Pokémon were allowed to wander around freely inside, accidents would happen far too easily. Whenever we excavate a new area, we usually drive the wild Pokémon away first."

"So that’s why..."

Mike had originally assumed that an underground mine would be filled with wild Pokémon just like any ordinary cave.

"Of course, there’s no way to drive every single one of them away," Roark added. "There are still wild Pokémon hiding in parts of the mine. Whether you actually encounter any depends entirely on your luck."

"Then I’ll keep my eyes open."

Mike glanced toward the miners working nearby before asking, "Gym Leader Roark, would it be all right if I tried mining for a while myself? I’ve never done it before, so I’m a little curious."

"Of course. Anything you personally dig out, you’re free to take with you."

"Thank you."

Roark nodded, found a spare pickaxe for Mike, then headed toward another section of the mine and released Rampardos to help with the excavation.

Mike took the pickaxe and found an area with relatively few people around.

He carefully imitated the stance of the miners nearby, raised the pickaxe over his shoulder, and swung with all his strength.

Clang!

An ear-piercing metallic sound rang through the mine.

Sparks burst from the stone wall, while the tremendous recoil traveled straight through the handle and into Mike’s arms.

His hands went numb and the pickaxe immediately flew out of his grip.

Worse, it spun backward toward his head.

Before Mike could even react, a Vine Whip shot out from beside him and wrapped securely around the handle, stopping the pickaxe in midair.

Mike stared at it for a moment before turning toward Snivy.

"Thank you."

That had genuinely been a lifesaver!

Snivy continued staring at him with narrowed eyes for several seconds before reluctantly returning the pickaxe.

"Sni~."

[Be careful. If it happens again, I’m confiscating the pickaxe!]

"Okay, okay."

Mike smiled awkwardly, accepted it, and returned to the wall.

"Young man, there probably isn’t anything worthwhile over there."

A middle-aged miner who was resting nearby called out to him with a laugh.

Mike looked back and smiled.

"Thanks for the warning. I’m mostly here to experience mining for myself, and I’m recording some footage while I’m at it."

He pointed to one side.

The miner followed his finger and saw Snivy wearing a safety helmet while using Vine Whip to hold Mike’s camera, keeping the lens trained steadily on Mike and Gengar.

Seeing that, the man simply chuckled and said nothing more.

Mike turned back toward the stone wall and concentrated on imitating the way the experienced miners used their strength.

After experimenting for a while, he felt as though he had finally figured out the trick.

"Gengar, try doing it the way I am. I think this posture saves a lot of—"

Mike turned toward him.

Then stopped.

"What are you doing?"

Gengar wasn’t mining at all.

Instead, he was sitting in a corner with a small brush in one hand, carefully sweeping dust away from the ground.

"Gar—"

[Come look at this. What is it?]

Mike immediately put down his pickaxe and walked over.

The dust around Gengar had already been brushed aside, exposing something embedded beneath the surface.

A delicate pattern resembling the veins of a leaf could be clearly seen in the stone.

Mike lightly nudged Gengar’s backside with his foot.

"Move over a little."

Gengar shuffled his large body aside.

Mike crouched down, and Gengar handed him the brush.

He carefully began clearing away the remaining soil and dust while Snivy used Vine Whip to hang from above, holding the camera steady and recording the entire process.

"Looks like some kind of leaf fossil."

Mike examined the outline that was gradually becoming visible.

"Gar?"

[Can we sell it for money?]

"Probably. Let’s dig it out first and see what it actually is. Be careful."

Gengar nodded.

The two of them slowed down considerably and carefully excavated the stone from the surrounding rock.

When they finally lifted it free, they discovered a palm-sized piece of stone with an exceptionally clear leaflike pattern preserved across its surface.

Gengar puffed out his cheeks.

Before Mike could stop him, he blew as hard as he could.

A cloud of dust exploded into the air.

"Cough! Cough, cough..."

Mike immediately covered his nose and mouth, coughing uncontrollably as dust filled the space around them.

He reached over and tugged Gengar’s ear.

"Stop blowing it!"

Gengar immediately clamped his mouth shut and held his breath.

Mike stared at him.

"I didn’t tell you to stop breathing..."

Gengar blinked, resumed breathing normally, and obediently handed the stone over.

Then he placed both hands on his thighs and waited curiously for Mike to identify it.

’System, can you tell me what kind of fossil this is?’

Mike raised the stone toward the light and examined it while silently asking the system.

{Leaf Stone Fossil: A Leaf Stone from ancient times that became buried deep underground. After countless years of geological pressure and movement within the earth, it fossilized completely. It has lost the effects of an ordinary Leaf Stone, but it may still make an interesting collectible.}

"A fossilized Leaf Stone?"

Mike glanced at the system description before looking toward Gengar.

"Looks like this used to be a Leaf Stone."

At the same time, he extended one hand toward Snivy.

Snivy understood immediately. She removed the Leaf Stone hanging around her neck and placed it in his palm.

Mike held the modern Leaf Stone next to the fossil and carefully compared the two.

"Look. Doesn’t the pattern on this fossil resemble a Leaf Stone?"

Gengar immediately pushed his face closer.

After examining the two for a moment, his eyes widened.

"Gar—!"

[Whoa! How much can we sell it for?]

Mike: "..."

"Can you stop bringing everything back to money?"

Mike looked at him helplessly.

"It makes you sound incredibly materialistic."

Gengar scratched the inside of his thigh and pouted.

"Gar—"

[Money buys food!]

Mike fell silent for a moment.

He returned the Leaf Stone to Snivy, then reached over and tugged the corners of Gengar’s mouth.

"Relax. The payment from our videos has already come in. We’re not short on money anymore."

Hearing that, Gengar finally grinned.

He took the fossil from Mike.

Then immediately stuck out his tongue and licked it.

"Don’t—"

Mike’s warning came too late.

Gengar had already dragged his tongue across the entire surface of the fossil!

Mike stared at him helplessly.

"Why do you have to lick every strange thing you find? Aren’t you afraid of getting some kind of bacterial infection?"

Gengar tilted his head.

"Gar?"

[I’m a Ghost. How are bacteria supposed to infect me?]

"You... I..."

Mike opened his mouth several times.

Then gave up.

"Fine. Just try not to lick everything you find next time."

Gengar obediently nodded.

"You like it?"

Mike gestured toward the fossil.

"If you do, keep it. You’re the one who found it, so it counts as your spoils."

Gengar immediately smiled and tucked the fossil away before happily returning to his pickaxe.

Nearby, Beedrill was also using his long stingers like mining tools, steadily chipping away at the stone wall.

Mike swung his own pickaxe a few more times.

It didn’t take long before a dull ache spread through both arms.

Eventually, he simply gave up, sat down on a nearby rock, and watched Gengar and Beedrill continue digging enthusiastically.

Mike had never liked ruining his Pokémon’s fun.

If Gengar and the others were enjoying themselves, he was perfectly happy to sit nearby and keep them company.

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