“Xiao Mao, you've collected all 8 badges. Do you still plan to continue your journey?” On the way back to the Pokemon Center, Na Zi asked.
“I plan to continue traveling for a while. If I encounter a gym, I’ll challenge them as well,” Xiao Mao said.
“Good.”
After hearing this, Na Zi nodded slightly. It was obvious that she was in a better mood.
If Xiao Mao ended his journey, Na Zi wouldn’t have any excuse to stay by his side. She could insist on staying, but as a young woman, she was too shy to bring it up.
Now that Xiao Mao said he would continue traveling, Na Zi didn’t need to say anything. She could just follow him.
“Where are you planning to go next?” Na Zi asked.
“I’m going to check out the Big Stupid Valley. I heard they dig up ancient Pokemon fossils there.”
“Big Stupid Valley... ancient Pokemon fossils.” Na Zi had never heard of Big Stupid Valley before.
“Yeah. Anyway, there’s nothing better to do, so I’m going to check it out.”
“Okay.”
Na Zi didn’t object. As long as she could go out and have fun with Xiao Mao, she was happy.
…!
The next day.
Xiao Mao and Na Zi left Zhen He City and headed for Big Stupid Valley.
After a week-long trek, Xiao Mao and Na Zi finally arrived at Big Stupid Valley. As soon as they got close, they could see a lot of treasure hunters. They were all hoping to find fossils in Big Stupid Valley and become rich overnight.
In recent years, many Pokemon professors had proposed reviving ancient Pokemon. This led to many companies starting research, and ancient Pokemon fossils became crucial to this project.
This also caused fossil prices to skyrocket. Now, if you could find a complete ancient Pokemon fossil, you wouldn’t have to become a trainer. You could basically lie flat for the rest of your life.
Xiao Mao and Na Zi came to Big Stupid Valley to find ancient Pokemon fossils. Naturally, they joined the digging team.
The two bought pickaxes and headed to Big Stupid Valley in broad daylight.
Along the way, they encountered many others who were also digging for fossils. Xiao Mao was observing the people around him the entire time. Based on the timeline, he figured that Satoshi and the others should be arriving soon.
After all, Xiao Mao had inquired about the situation. There hadn’t been any cave-ins near Big Stupid Valley, so Satoshi and the others definitely hadn’t arrived yet.
“Xiao Mao, look over there.” While Xiao Mao was observing the team members, Na Zi suddenly pointed in a direction, reminding him.
It was a three-way intersection, and three people were about to reach the center of the intersection. The three were Satoshi and his companions.
They’re here!
Better late than never. Satoshi and the others arrived at the perfect time. It seemed that he would be able to catch the Fossil Ptera today.
“It’s Satoshi and the others. Let’s go say hi.” Xiao Mao said.
Na Zi nodded. She had realized that every time they encountered Satoshi, Xiao Mao would inevitably go tease him, as if encouraging him. Fortunately, Satoshi was a guy. Otherwise, Na Zi would definitely think too much.
Meanwhile, Satoshi and his companions were wondering why so many people were in Big Stupid Valley.
“What’s going on in Big Stupid Valley? Why are there so many trainers?” Satoshi asked with a confused expression.
“You don’t even know this?” A familiar voice came from behind.
Satoshi immediately turned around, and then exclaimed in surprise, “Xiao Mao... uh? Why are you dressed like that?”
Looking at Xiao Mao’s brand new attire, Satoshi was completely dumbfounded.
“Because extinct Pokemon fossils have been discovered here. There’s a craze for finding Pokemon fossils.”
“Pokemon fossils!”
Satoshi and his companions said in unison.
“I don’t have time to chat with you, Mr. Late. I’m going to dig for fossils first.” Xiao Mao said before leaving with Na Zi.
He’d said all he needed to. Satoshi would definitely be there to join in.
“What are you saying...!”
Hearing Xiao Mao call him Mr. Late, Satoshi was quite angry. If it wasn’t for Takeshi and Kasumi holding him back, he would have rushed forward to duel with Xiao Mao.
“Damn it, I have to find a fossil before Xiao Mao. I’m going to show him what for.” Satoshi immediately decided to compete with Xiao Mao. He wanted to see who could find a fossil first.
…!
Inside Big Stupid Valley.
Xiao Mao and Na Zi had already arrived. They could hear the clanging of iron pickaxes all around them. They were all digging with iron picks.
Because there were fossils nearby, they were forbidden from using Pokemon to dig. They were afraid that they would destroy the fossils, so they only allowed manual digging.
“Xiao Mao, where are you going to dig from?” Na Zi asked. She didn’t know anything about digging for fossils, so she could only ask Xiao Mao.
“Let’s dig from a flatter area. Ancient Pokemon should have chosen flat areas to live in.”
“Okay.”
So, they found a relatively flat area and started digging.
Xiao Mao wasn’t interested in digging for fossils. He kept an eye on the surrounding environment, occasionally hitting the ground with his pickaxe to pretend he was digging.
Ding!
Soon, Xiao Mao noticed that the sound of his pickaxe hitting something was different. He looked down and saw a spiral-shaped stone in the pit he had dug.
Xiao Mao: (?へ?╬)...!
A piece of crap!
Seeing the spiral-shaped stone in the pit, Xiao Mao’s eyebrows twitched. In the original story, Xiao Mao was the first to dig up a fossil, and it was also a dung fossil. And now, Xiao Mao had randomly chosen a spot to dig, and he had dug it up again. It seemed that Xiao Mao was destined to dig up this dung fossil.
But Xiao Mao didn’t plan to show off. He pretended he hadn’t found anything and prepared to continue digging elsewhere.
“Oh... young man, you’ve found a fossil.”
However, just as Xiao Mao was about to leave, an old man with a grizzled beard appeared out of nowhere. He picked up the dung fossil from the pit and observed it. “It’s really a fossil, but it’s a dung fossil, unfortunately.”
Xiao Mao: (;￢д￢)...!
You old coot, you’re trying to make me look bad, aren’t you?
“Xiao Mao, you’ve found a fossil!” Na Zi was also attracted over. “You really know a lot. You actually found a fossil on flat ground.”
Xiao Mao blushed when Na Zi complimented him.
“Nothing, it’s just a dung fossil. There’s nothing to brag about,” Xiao Mao said awkwardly.
Na Zi just smiled and didn’t say anything. She continued to dig for fossils.
Xiao Mao saw Na Zi secretly smirking. He thought that she wasn’t as aloof as he thought. She seemed to have a bit of a scheming personality.
“Young man, although it’s a dung fossil, it still has some value as a collectible.” The old man said.
“No need. If you like it, you can have it.” Xiao Mao waved his hand and ran away.
“Thank you then.”
The old man didn’t mind. After all, he was a fossil enthusiast. He had been playing with fossils for a lifetime and didn’t mind this kind of dung fossil.
Xiao Mao casually found a spot, hit the ground a few times, and slowly searched.
Boom!!!
An explosion sounded, and the entire Big Stupid Valley shook violently.