Author's Note:

Greetings my fanfiction friends! We're back with another chapter of Bonnie's adventure, and this will be the longest of the story thus far. But this chapter is important for another reason as well. As of word number 2003 for this chapter, I will have written one million words for fanfiction! Never expected to do that, but it's pretty cool. I am looking forward to the next million, and hopefully you are as well. And to start, let's get to the chapter.

Chapter 14: Clyde Can't Hide

Times were quite stressful for Butch and Cassidy, although neither wanted to admit it. For a pair of Team Rocket members that were generally in Giovanni's good books, this undercover operation with Team Archaic had tested their ability to stay composed while being looked down on from admins in the new criminal organization. While they were used to low-level members looking to them in fear, they now had to grovel at the feet of people such as Viktor and the very strange Courtney.

"I've had it with waiting around for a mission from these idiots!" Cassidy almost yelled, staring down at Rustboro City below them while they watched the city from their Raticate balloon. It was a fairly cloudy day, so they were able to somewhat remain hidden. "All we've been doing is following that little brat and her friend and the one time we got to act, we were blown away by bugs!"

"Raaaticate," Raticate sighed out, sounding just as frustrated. Butch was sure it was feeling the same dread that he and Cassidy were feeling.

"We're becoming...like..."

"WE ARE NOT LIKE THOSE THREE!" Cassidy yelled, causing Butch and Raticate to back up quickly, the former waving his hands in surrender. "I am nothing like that ugly witch, Jessie, and as dumb as you are, you're no James. And Raticate might not be able to talk, but he's far better than any of their loser Pokemon."

Butch wasn't sure whether to feel insulted or flattered, but he decided not to comment. In his mind, Cassidy was demonstrating her "Jessieness" at this very moment, and he was sure that James had felt just like he did at this moment many times over the years. They really were becoming like those three, and it was very humiliating.

Cassidy appeared like she was about to go on another rant at that moment, but just then, she noticed a call coming in from their transmitter. "Oh great," she muttered, holding it up. "Probably Viktor telling us to keep a close eye on that brat."

Butch didn't answer, just watching as she turned and clicked to answer the call. A moment later, an image of the greasy haired man appeared. "Agents," he said, looking at them in disgust before pulling up a piece of paper and glancing at it. "I have orders for you to carry out now that you're in Rustboro City."

Both of the Team Rocket members tensed up, unable to hide their excitement at finally getting something. Lyanna had mentioned to them a few days back that a mission appeared to be going forward in Rustboro City, and that it would likely be at Devon Corp. They had yet to hear anything, though, and had assumed they were being left out.

Viktor continued a moment later, confirming their thoughts. "We're planning to strike Devon Corp. this afternoon. As you know, they're famous for their fossil restoration technology and we believe it is in the process of being completed. Darwin wants it. We are aware that the Rustboro Gym Leader, Roxanne, is quite involved in some of the experiments around this technology, and considering your target is nearby for her gym battle, we want you to deal with her. According to our intel, she's battled four straight days. Her Pokemon will be in no position to battle."

Butch and Cassidy exchanged a look, each knowing this mission would be key to improving their standing within Team Archaic. When they looked back at Viktor, they saluted. "Yes sir!" they said at the same time. "We're on it!"

Viktor seemed pleased by the show of respect, nodding as he put his paper down. "Very well. Good luck and don't screw up."

When the call was over, Butch could see that Cassidy was immediately in a much better mood. He couldn't blame her. It was good to have a task, and one that seemed important for not only Team Archaic, but also Team Rocket. Cassidy seemed to be thinking the same thing, looking thoughtful as she stared down at the city below.

"Butch...if we can take care of this gym leader, maybe we can be part of the bigger mission. Maybe we should...take a little initiative." She looked back, eyes lighting up as the plan came to her mind. "This fossil restoration technology could be a huge deal for both organizations. If we help Team Archaic get it, we'll immediately be in their good books. And if we get something for the boss as well..."

"We'd be welcomed back like heroes when we got back!" Butch said excitedly, seeing where Cassidy was going with this idea. "So what do you have in mind?"

Cassidy looked back towards the city, peering up as the sun started to poke out a bit through the clouds. "Let's get back on the ground first. If that gym leader goes to the Pokemon Centre, we'll be able to make our plan from there. The brat's probably there as well. We'll find out what they're doing and then see what we can do about getting that fossil technology, or at least some kind of blueprint."

Butch was surprised, thinking the plan seemed pretty solid. He just hoped the girl and her friend wouldn't get in their way again. It would be awfully embarrassing to lose to her in front of more Team Archaic members. The boss probably wouldn't be too happy either.

It took a few minutes to find a landing spot for their balloon on the outskirts of the city, and then another few to walk back to it, but eventually they made it, wearing dark jackets, wigs and sunglasses to hide their uniforms from the people walking about. Cassidy suggested they find a place to lay low near the Pokemon Centre, just in case anyone was suspicious, however. When they reached it, they found a small alleyway they were able to stay out of view in, while keeping an eye on their target.

"The brat must be in their already, and the gym leader will probably show up to check on her Pokemon at some point," Cassidy murmured as she glanced out, before turning back and looking at Butch. "We should wait here till we see anything."

Butch nodded, taking a glance around the corner as well before sitting back against the wall of one of the buildings they were between. He was about to ask Cassidy how long she thought they should be waiting, before suddenly spotting something by an old tattered box in the alley. Cassidy and Raticate noticed it at the same time, all three of them jumping up as something moved again, finally emerging from the box.

"Smear smeargle smear," it said, tiredly wiping its eyes before lazily looking towards the Team Rocket members. "Smear?" It didn't seem particularly bothered by them, turning away after a moment and sweeping some dust out of its box with its paintbrush-like tail.

"What is that thing?" Butch asked, sure he'd seen something like this Pokemon somewhere, but not remembering.

"A Smeargle," Cassidy answered, looking interested as she watched the Smeargle continue its sweeping. "It's a very useful Pokemon. It can learn almost any attack. The boss would love it." She immediately pulled out a pokeball, smirking as she nodded for Raticate to move forward. "Besides...we can't have it letting anyone know we're here."

Butch couldn't argue with that, nodding as he watched Raticate approach the Smeargle slowly, the Painter Pokemon not even noticing as it continued its sweeping. As Raticate took another couple of steps, Cassidy tensing up as she prepared to call an order, Butch grew excited, eager to see if Cassidy could pull of the catch. When Raticate was finally within reach, Smeargle turned, finally looking surprised, but far too late to properly react.

"Super Fang, Raticate!" Cassidy hissed, trying to keep her voice down so they weren't heard.

Fortunately for her, Raticate was quiet as well, pouncing on its opponent immediately and sinking its glowing fangs into Smearlge. The Painter Pokemon appeared to start to cry out, surprised and in pain from the attack, but Cassidy quickly ordered a follow up attack to silence it.

"Skull Bash!"

Once again, Raticate acted without a sound, stepping back and rushing forward quickly, barreling into Smeargle's head with his own as the wild Pokemon started to cry out. Smeargle was sent rolling away, wincing as it struggled to stand back up. Before it could try any counterattack, however, Cassidy's pokeball was sailing forward.

The pokeball hit the Painter Pokemon square in the middle of the head, before bouncing back up and opening. Smeargle's body was enveloped in a red beam of light, before its was pulled into the capture device which closed immediately, dropping to the ground and starting to shake. Butch, Cassidy and Raticate watched in anticipation as the pokeball slowly shook three times, before finally stopping and emitting a soft ding.

"Excellent," Cassidy murmured, smirking as she walked over to her pokeball and picked it up. "This will be an excellent addition to Team Rocket."

"You said it can learn almost any attack?" Butch asked, excited by the possibilities of what the Smeargle could learn.

"Yes, but I'm sure it already knows one or two powerful ones," Cassidy told him, eyes drifting back towards the Pokemon Centre. "It may come in handy today."

While Bonnie had felt pretty good about her performance in her gym battle against Roxanne, she couldn't deny the fact that the loss still stung a bit. When she and her friends had returned to the Pokemon Centre after the battle, she'd quickly begun to dread calling home and telling Clemont about how she'd lost after having told him she was going to win.

"You can't beat yourself up about it, Bonnie," Clemont had said, though, not sounding troubled by his sister's defeat in the slightest. "These things happen all the time, even to the best trainers. Remember that Ash lost when he first challenged the Kalos gyms. It didn't stop him from getting right back up and trying again."

Bonnie had agreed with that, assuring Clemont that she wasn't about to give up after one close defeat. She'd been around Ash too much to do that. She was already looking forward to that next match against Roxanne, and she was pretty sure Roxanne was excited as well. She was a little bit worried about Dedenne, however, noticing he'd been pretty glum about the loss. She just hoped a stay overnight at the Pokemon Centre would help him.

After her call with Clemont had finished, Bonnie and Clyde, joined by Kenny, had their dinner, before Bonnie had wished her Pokemon a goodnight and they all retired to bed. When the morning came, she was feeling as refreshed as ever, excited about planning her rematch with Roxanne. She was in the lobby well before Clyde and Rotom, and was quickly at Nurse Joy's desk to ask about her Pokemon.

"Your Pokemon are doing very well, Bonnie!" Nurse Joy said, handing Bonnie Beautifly's pokeball, while Dedenne hopped up onto her shoulder. "I think they'll be more than ready for their rematch tomorrow."

Bonnie nodded, smiling up at Dedenne as he looked on with determined eyes. "We're going to win for sure. We need to come up with some new strategies, but I'm sure we can figure something out."

"It always takes a lot to beat Roxanne, but you sure seem determined," Nurse Joy told the young trainer, laughing at her enthusiasm. Her eyes then drifted up, looking towards the front door of the Pokemon Centre. "Perfect timing!"

Bonnie turned around at that, surprised to see Roxanne coming through the door, the gym leader smiling at her as she noticed her. "Hello Bonnie," the Rustboro Gym Leader said, walking up to her, greeting Nurse Joy as she did so. "How are your Pokemon doing?"

"They're good. We're planning to do some training today for our rematch tomorrow." Dedenne cried out excitedly at that, accentuating the point.

Roxanne gave them an amused look. "Well that's good. My Pokemon should be more fired up than ever after a stay at the Pokemon Centre, so it will be a tough match." At that, she turned to Nurse Joy. "Are Nosepass and Geodude doing all right?"

Nurse Joy nodded, giving the gym leader a reassuring smile. "They're doing great. It would be good to give them the day here just to make sure they're fully recovered after a few days of battling, but there don't appear to be any injuries."

"That's a relief," Roxanne said, sighing. "Thank you, Nurse Joy."

Bonnie looked at Roxanne in confusion, trying to remember if she'd seen the gym leader the night before. "When did you bring Nosepass and Geodude?" she asked.

"Oh I took care of all the minor things at my gym after the battle since I needed to teach a class shortly afterwards," Roxanne told her, looking up as the door to the Pokemon Centre guest rooms opened, Kenny and Clyde emerging, Rotom floating between them. "I must've been here after you'd gone to bed. I figured they'd need the day to rest up as well, but I thought I'd check on them before heading out."

As she finished, Kenny and Clyde reached them, greeting the gym leader as they noticed her. Bonnie rolled her eyes as Clyde did one of his goofy stares, but fortunately Roxanne was distracted by Kenny, who was looking confidently towards her. Bonnie had been glad to see him looking much better after he'd seen their battle, apparently inspired by it.

"I'm going to be working a lot harder, Ms. Roxanne," Kenny told his former teacher. "I want to be ready for our next battle. Poliwag is going to be a lot stronger, and maybe my Magikarp can get better as well."

"That's good to hear, Kenny," Roxanne told him, looking pleased by his declaration. "I'm certainly looking forward to it. Do you plan to be doing some training today?" she asked, before looking to Bonnie and Clyde as well. "If any of you would like to come with me, I'm heading over to Devon Corp. to do some work on fossils with President Stone. It might be a nice mental break before working on some of your strategies."

Bonnie probably would've thought a little more about it, but Clyde was answering before she could even register the question. "That would be so amazing!" he almost shouted, surprising a couple of trainers walking in to the Pokemon Centre. "Don't tell me the restoration technology is nearing completion."

"The what?" Bonnie asked, unsure what Clyde was excited about, minus the mention of fossils.

"The fossil restoration technology that the Devon Corporation has been working on," Roxanne answered, laughing as Clyde's eyes lit up. "I've always been a fossil enthusiast myself, so I've been doing some work with them on it. They're using the technology to restore fossils. It's similar to some technology developed in other regions, but President Stone wants it to be flawless before it's all said and done. The Pokemon restored with this machine will hopefully have a much easier time adapting to the current time period, and they'll be as strong and healthy as any Pokemon that are out there now."

Bonnie remembered seeing the prehistoric Pokemon back in Kalos, particularly the Tyrantrum she'd befriended. If this Devon Corporation was creating a machine that would make it easier for the restored Pokemon to adapt to the current world, there wouldn't be as much concern about holding a Pokemon like Tyrantrum in a conservation area. She couldn't blame Clyde for being excited. She wanted to see this as well, and knew she would have a chance to train later.

"I'm in!" she said excitedly, Clyde looking pleased by that. "How about you, Kenny?" Bonnie asked, looking to the blue-haired boy.

"I'll probably be in Rustboro a little longer, so I'm going to head out to work with my Pokemon on a few things and maybe see it another day," he answered, looking outside. "There are a few things I want to try. Thanks, though."

"No problem, Kenny," Roxanne told him, nodding in understanding. "I hope you have a good day with your Pokemon." She then looked to Bonnie and Clyde, turning towards the door. "If you'd like, we can leave for Devon Corp. now," she said, surprising them a little. "I'm sure President Stone will give us some breakfast, and then we can have a tour!"

Both Bonnie and Clyde were agreeable to that, saying a quick farewell to Kenny, before following along as Roxanne led the way out of the Pokemon Centre. As they walked, Clyde asked a few more questions about the work being done on this fossil restoration technology. Bonnie didn't really understand it, so she started to tune them out, thinking of what kind of training she was going to do once they were done.

I need to find a way to deal with Sandstorm, she thought to herself, glancing up at Dedenne, remembering how they'd been totally blinded by the swirling sand. It had been far too easy for Nosepass to trap Dedenne and hit him with Zap Cannon. If Dedenne could just find a way to navigate it, they would have a good chance of winning. They had been close to doing so before Roxanne had called for Sandstorm.

She was also worried about how to use Beautifly, considering another reason for Nosepass' victory over Dedenne was the previous battle the Antenna Pokemon had fought with Geodude. Beautifly just needed to maximize her attacks to make up for the weakness against rock types. They'd been about to attempt a Tackle from high above, which ended up working for Dedenne, but it would be hard to hide that strategy with Beautifly after having Dedenne use it.

"Zzt, what are you thinking about Pokemon Trainer Bonnie?" Rotom asked suddenly, appearing by her head as they crossed a street, Roxanne and Clyde a few steps ahead, the latter continuously asking questions.

"I'm trying to think of what to do in my rematch against Roxanne," Bonnie told him, Dedenne pawing at her as she looked ahead towards the Rustboro Gym Leader. "I need to find a way to give Beautifly a better chance, and how to get around that Sandstorm."

A question mark appeared on the PokeDex's screen as he thought about that. "It is a difficult problem," he said. "Beautifly has an effective attack on Gym Leader Roxanne's Pokemon, but it will not be easy to get the chance to use it without leaving her vulnerable to an attack. Sandstorm is a problem that can be solved with Dedenne, however."

Bonnie blinked in surprise at that, Dedenne looking up in surprise as well. "What? How can Dedenne-"

"Bonnie, did you hear that?"

"Huh?" She looked up, distracted by Clyde's question as he and Roxanne turned back to her, the latter looking amused. "Wh-what is it?" Bonnie asked.

"Roxanne says the Pokemon Trainers' School is going to start teaching special classes on prehistoric Pokemon once Devon Corp. has finished this machine." Clyde turned back to the gym leader, eyes wide with excitement. "Are you going to be teaching those classes?"

"Well...maybe," Roxanne answered, laughing a little as they continued walking again. "I...might be busy with a few other things if it's finished soon."

Bonnie guessed there was more to what she was trying to say with that, noticing the Rustboro Gym Leader glance back at her, but nothing more was said as they continued walking the rest of the way, now close to their destination. When they reached the building, noticing the sign for Devon Corp. out front, Roxanne paused as Bonnie and Clyde looked up in awe.

"I've wanted to come here for a long time," Clyde said, staring at the building with wide eyes. "He looked down to his Treecko as it eyed the building as well. "Isn't it awesome, Treecko?"

"Treecko tree," the grass type answered, nodding.

"Well, it's even more impressive on the inside," Roxanne told them, starting to walk towards the steps that led into the building. "Let's go in and see if we can find President Stone."

As they walked in, Bonnie realized that it was probably quite a big operation throughout the building. She remembered Ash having mentioned coming here, but he hadn't explained the specifics. There were security guards to ensure only employees went past the entrance points, and a big main desk for guest inquiries, and all kinds of cases with various Devon Corp. inventions. She even noticed one with the PokeNav, remembering that she'd been using a Devon invention for her stay in Hoenn thus far.

After a brief look at the inventions and some of the scientists rushing in and out of the entrances, one pair with green and blonde hair looking like they were rushing particularly quickly, Roxanne led Bonnie and Clyde over towards the main desk where a secretary greeted the gym leader. She was clearly familiar with her, and happily handed over three cards which Bonnie realized were for guests. Once they had them, they headed towards one of the doors that presumably led towards the main part of the building where all the work was done, and a security guard led them through.

"I'll page the President for you," he told Roxanne, before stepping back outside, holding up a phone.

Clyde seemed to think that was pretty cool, and Bonnie couldn't blame him. It certainly seemed like Roxanne was important to the work going on here, and she and Clyde were getting VIP access because of it. Bonnie was certainly glad they'd decided to come along, even if it meant delaying her training a couple of hours. It might even clear my head so that I can come up with a good strategy, she told herself, already inspired by all of the various gadgets she'd seen. She wished Clemont was here to see them all.

They didn't wait long for President Stone to arrive, and when he did, he was not what Bonnie had expected. He was a fairly stocky man, although Bonnie wasn't sure if that was just his big purple suit. He seemed to move quite quickly, however, looking excited to see their little group, his spiky grey hair waving a bit on his head as he spotted them down the hallway and did a little jog over to them.

"Ms. Roxanne! Great to see you again," the man, clearly President Stone, said excitedly. "Thank you for coming!"

"Glad to be here, Mr. President," Roxanne told him, laughing as she looked to Bonnie and Clyde. "These are my friends Bonnie and Clyde by the way, and their Pokemon Dedenne and Treecko. They were interested to come along and see some of the work that's being done. They're friends of Max as well."

Bonnie was about to refute that, but quickly stopped, seeing that Mr. Stone was apparently a fan of Max. "Oh that's wonderful!" he said, looking towards the two and smiling wider. "Max is a fine young man." He then looked back to Roxanne, smirking with a knowing look in his eyes. "So are these the two you were-"

"We'll discuss that later," Roxanne quickly said, blushing and waving her hands for him to stop. "That's not important right now."

Bonnie was curious what she meant by that, but decided to wait and simply introduce herself properly. "Nice to meet you, President Stone. I have a PokeNav that I got before I left Kalos to come here for my first journey, and it's been really useful. So thanks for helping me on my journey so far!"

"Zzt! The PokeNav is an excellent invention!" Rotom chimed in, causing Mr. Stone to jump in surprise, eyes widening at the unusual PokeDex. "I am very much impressed with it. Gym Leader Clemont inspired me to appreciate great scientific inventions."

"A PokeDex that can talk..." Mr. Stone said slowly, peering at Rotom before smiling. "Ah, it's a Rotom! Phenomenal! Ah yes, science can certainly do a great deal, my friend."

"Zzt! The future is now, thanks to science!"

"Indeed!"

"Oh great..." Bonnie muttered, shaking her head in exasperation. Fortunately, Clyde decided to speak up just then.

"Excuse me, Mr. Stone, sir," he said nervously, the Devon Corp. President turning to him as he spoke. "Is it true about your fossil technology nearly being complete? Are you really going teach a class at the school? Do you have any prehistoric Pokemon that you've restored yet?"

Mr. Stone looked surprised, but amused, by the questions, laughing as he looked to Roxanne. "For a pair of youngsters that aren't your students, it looks like we have some eager to learn kids here. Not to worry, Clyde, I'll show you everything we've got shortly. After a nice breakfast of course. Let's go to my office and I can show you around there while we eat, and then we can have our tour."

The group agreed to that, following along as Mr. Stone led them back down the hallway he'd come down moments before. As they headed up to his office, Bonnie had a glimpse through a few windows, seeing various scientists and other employees doing work on various inventions and paperwork. It definitely seemed like a busy operation, and Bonnie could easily see why inventions such as the PokeNav worked so well.

After a couple of minutes of walking and going up a few flights of stairs and a small elevator, they finally reached Mr. Stone's office. It was fairly big, but it wasn't overly fancy like what Bonnie would've expected from a prominent businessman. In fact, some areas of the office were somewhat messy, with various inventions scattered about, with parts all over the place. It wasn't much different from what she was used to seeing with Clemont.

Mr. Stone briefly showed them around, explaining that sometimes he liked to work on a few tasks on his own for potential ideas to work on with the company. When the breakfast arrived, a few assistants bringing in platters of food and drinks, the Devon Corp. President even showed off one of his prototypes, clicking a button on some miniature muscle man, that started to open a bottle of orange juice. It ended up spilling quite a bit, but Bonnie was simply glad it didn't blow up.

As they began eating, Mr. Stone then decided to turn the conversation towards Bonnie and Clyde, clearly interested to know more about them. "So, Bonnie, you're from the Kalos region, eh? And you've come here to Hoenn to challenge the Hoenn League?"

She nodded, swallowing a bite of her food before answering. "Yeah," she said, looking to Dedenne as he nibbled on a berry. "Dedenne and I felt it would be best to see something new, and try travelling in a different region from home. My friend Serena was here not too long ago, and she said she learned a lot by going to a new place and having a different experience."

"Interesting...very interesting," Mr. Stone murmured, smiling towards Roxanne. "I can see why you're so impressed with this young lady, Ms. Roxanne. She's got quite the spirit."

Roxanne gave Mr. Stone a pointed look, before turning her gaze to Bonnie and smiling as well. "Yes, Bonnie is certainly something. We had quite the battle yesterday, and I expect it will be a pretty tough one tomorrow as well. I wonder when I'll have another like it..."

Only Bonnie seemed to hear the last part, as Mr. Stone was now looking to Clyde, the brunet boy looking up at a picture of a prehistoric Pokemon that the President had up in his office. "Is that an Armaldo, Mr. Stone?" he asked, eyes shining.

"Indeed it is," Mr. Stone answered, looking up at the picture as well. "A prehistoric Pokemon fan much like Roxanne, I see. Yes, Armaldo is an interesting one. It must've been quite the Pokemon back in its day."

Rotom appeared to be scanning his data for information on the large mantis shrimp-like Pokemon, who appeared on two legs in the picture, its blue armoured body shining in the sun as its eyes on either side of its head looked out over a field. When the PokeDex found the information, Bonnie listened closely, interested to hear.

"Armaldo, the Plate Pokemon," Rotom began, a clearer image of the Pokemon on his screen. "Armaldo's tough armour makes many attacks bounce off. This Pokemon's two enormous claws can be freely extended or contracted. They have the power to punch right through a steel slab."

"It's one of my favourite prehistoric Pokemon," Clyde said, looking back to Mr. Stone. "Are you trying to revive it?"

"We're looking for many fossils to restore," the Devon Corp. President answered, looking at some of his other pictures of prehistoric Pokemon. "I'm aware that Armaldo have been restored already in some places, but with this technology, hopefully we can bring one back that is at its greatest potential."

Bonnie could see the excitement in Clyde's eyes at those words, and she couldn't blame him. She still missed that Tyrantrum she'd befriended back in Kalos. Obviously some prehistoric Pokemon, such as Trevor's Aerodactyl, had been able to adapt over the years, but it was probably incredibly difficult for them. To restore them with the strength to adapt to the new environment would give them the chance to bond with other Pokemon, and potentially more trainers as well.

It didn't take too much longer for them to finish eating, and once they had, Clyde was up first to encourage the group to get going. Mr. Stone seemed amused by that, the Devon Corp. President clearly taking a liking to him, and they were off fairly quickly. Bonnie had seen glimpses on the way up to the office of what the operation was like here, but as Mr. Stone led them through their tour, she realized she had only seen a fraction of what it was all about.

The President was quite thorough as he led them throughout the building, and Bonnie was pretty sure they were seeing almost every kind of invention there could possibly be. If Clemont had been there, he would have been going crazy, although Rotom seemed to fill that role for him, snapping pictures of a few things when allowed to. They saw future designs for new PokeNav models, Pokemon tracking machines, and even a few prototype machines that were apparently for translating Pokemon speak into human language and one for examining Pokemon dreams. Bonnie was sure Clemont would think those were cool as well, considering some of his small inventions had been like that...before blowing up.

Before they reached the fossil restoration machine, the President led them to one final room, and Bonnie noticed the people working inside were focused on what appeared to be pokeballs. Bonnie noticed the green and blonde workers from before as well, the two busily examining a few of the pokeballs. This room even seemed new to Roxanne, who asked President Stone what this room was for. He appeared quite excited by it, and called over one of the workers to give him one of the pokeballs, that appeared to be black, with gold stripes.

"Have you ever heard of an Ultra Ball?" he asked, looking to Bonnie and Clyde, holding the ball up to the light.

Bonnie tried to think if she had, remembering Ash mentioning that there were other pokeballs out there that were supposed to be better than regular ones. However, he'd specifically mentioned a man named Kurt in the Johto region, who made pokeballs from special acorns that helped catch specific types of Pokemon. The Ultra Ball didn't sound quite like that. She and Clyde both shook their heads.

"These are not a Devon Corp. design," Mr. Stone admitted, examining the special pokeball, "however, we are working on producing more of them. We hope to develop our own line of special Devon Corp. pokeballs that are capable of capturing particularly powerful Pokemon. More specifically, however, we are basing a special pokeball off of the Ultra Ball to capture the prehistoric Pokemon we are hoping to restore. A Fossil Ball, we're calling it." He then waved over another worker, who handed him another pokeball, this one a brown colour, with a what appeared to be a grey bone on the top. "We believe these will be quite the hit, although we haven't been able to properly test them."

"You think those can catch Pokemon like Aerodactyl and Armaldo?" Clyde asked, eyes wide as he stared at the pokeball.

"Well, that is the hope," Mr. Stone answered, chuckling as he held the special pokeball out to Clyde. "In fact, maybe you'll find one on your journey with young Bonnie here and you can help us find out."

Clyde looked like he could hardly believe what he was hearing, staring at the pokeball with a blank expression. "Wh...what? You mean... I can have this?"

"Of course!" Mr. Stone laughed out, patting Clyde on the back as he finally took the Fossil Ball. "A fellow prehistoric Pokemon enthusiast needs to have one. Just do your best to find a Pokemon to use it on!" He then turned to Bonnie, holding out the Ultra Ball. "And I haven't forgotten you, Bonnie. This is for you. It'll be much more likely to work on a Pokemon that appears particularly strong. If you're having trouble with a regular pokeball, this one may do the trick for you."

Bonnie was stunned, but slowly reached out to take the Ultra Ball. "Wow, Mr. Stone, thank you so much!" she finally said after a moment of looking at the strange pokeball. "I'll catch a super strong Pokemon with it. I promise!"

"Glad to hear it!" Mr. Stone said, winking at Roxanne as the two exchanged a look. "Now, how about we go see that...hmm..."

Bonnie had been in the process of clipping her new pokeball to her belt, but looked up in confusion as Mr. Stone paused. She followed his gaze which was now aimed towards the exit to the room. Two people, who looked oddly familiar, were sliding through the door, a bag in each of their hands as they went through. Bonnie quickly realized they were the people she'd noticed earlier rushing through the entrance and then here, examining the pokeballs. Intruders, Bonnie realized, narrowing her eyes. They must've slipped through with all those other scientists rushing around earlier.

"Mr. Stone..." Roxanne whispered, sounding nervous, noticing the people making their escape as well. "What do you-"

"Let's follow them," the President said quickly, holding a finger to his lips to signal for quiet as he went to the door and poked his head out. "Come quickly," he told the group. "They're heading towards the fossil restoration room."

"You don't think they're trying to steal the technology do you?" Clyde asked, sounding nervous. "Who would do that?"

Mr. Stone didn't answer, instead leading the way out the room as everyone else followed, Bonnie pulling Clyde along behind her. She had a pretty good idea who was after the technology, and she was pretty sure Clyde did as well. "Come on," she told her friend, narrowing her eyes. "We need to help."

She heard him groan, clearly nervous, but with her pulling him, he came along behind as they followed Mr. Stone and Roxanne. Bonnie could see the intruders up ahead, looking left and right before slipping through another door. Mr. Stone and Roxanne gestured for Bonnie and Clyde to go behind them as they headed up to where they'd disappeared. They all paused just outside, hearing a crash and a few yells, indicating that the intruders must've been attacking. That was enough for Mr. Stone to get up and enter.

"What's going on here?" he yelled out, sounding surprisingly angry as he entered the room, Bonnie and the others coming in behind him.

Bonnie's suspicions were immediately confirmed, seeing the two intruders had removed their lab coats, revealing their Team Archaic uniforms underneath. "Butch and Cassidy," she muttered, glaring at the two of them. Behind them, Bonnie could see a few of the actual Devon Corp. scientists huddled under some tables near the wall. To their left, appeared to be some big machine, vials of some kind of brown liquid under a huge cylinder, with a big screen and all kinds of complicated looking buttons next to it. That must be the fossil restoration machine, Bonnie realized, noticing one of the vials missing, and spotting it in Cassidy's hand as the woman slipped it into her bag. "What are you doing here?" Bonnie finally yelled out.

"What do you think, brat?" Cassidy shouted back, her Raticate snarling in front of her. "Our boss needs this machine, so we've taken the blueprints to design our own! And we nabbed some of those Fossil Balls as well!"

"A successful mission, I'll say!" Butch announced proudly. "Now those fossils we got in Oldale Town can be restored, and Team R- I mean Archaic will have a mighty army of prehistoric Pokemon!"

"Not if we can help it!" Roxanne called out, hand going to her hip to grab a pokeball. However, a moment later she froze, looking to Bonnie in fear. "Oh no! My Pokemon are at the Pokemon Centre!"

"Don't worry, we can handle this!" Bonnie assured her, looking back to Clyde, who was stepping back slowly. "Clyde, we need you!" she hissed, glaring at him as he looked nervously towards Treecko. "We need to stop them."

"Treecko tree!" his grass type partner yelled out to him, giving him a determined look before jumping out in front, joining Dedenne as he leaped off of Bonnie's shoulder.

For a moment, Clyde stared blankly ahead, before finally taking a deep breath and nodding. "Okay...yeah...we'll fight."

"Good," Bonnie said, before looking to Mr. Stone, who was looking concerned as he looked towards his employees. "We'll stop them, Mr. Stone, don't worry."

He nodded at that, smiling as he glanced back to her. "Go get 'em, Bonnie!"

Butch and Cassidy were apparently amused by this, laughing as they looked at their opponents. "You don't have an army of bugs and your friend with the Blaziken anymore," Cassidy said, not looking the least bit worried. "You don't stand a chance." Finished with her taunt, she called out her Sableye, as Butch sent out his Mightyena. As Raticate moved out between them, Bonnie called out Beautifly to join Dedenne and Treecko.

"Dedenne, use Thunder Shock!" she yelled out, starting the battle.

"Sableye, counter with Shadow Ball!" Cassidy shouted back, the ghost and dark type moving forward quickly to fire out the dark sphere, while Dedenne leaped up to send out the bolt of electricity.

The attacks collided in midair between the Pokemon, smoke shooting up and setting an alarm off, a sprinkler starting to rain water down on them. As Dedenne and Sableye slid back, Bonnie was glad to see the nervous looks on Butch and Cassidy's faces, knowing that people would now be aware something was going on here.

"Let's finish this quickly," Cassidy shouted to her partner. "Sableye, Shadow Claw! Raticate, Skull Bash!"

"Mightyena, Iron Tail!"

Bonnie nudged Clyde as she quickly called her orders, seeing Mr. Stone's nervous employees backing up as the Team Archaic Pokemon began to move. "Dedenne and Beautifly, use Tackle!" she shouted, knowing it wasn't the strongest attack, but knowing she needed to keep the battle up close for now. She noticed Roxanne watching closely, realizing that this battle wasn't all to different from fighting amongst a bunch of rocks. With that being the case, she needed to find a way to make it an advantage for her.

As Dedenne and Beautifly clashed with Raticate and Mightyena respectively, Bonnie was glad to see Treecko rush forward to intercept Sableye with a Bullet Seed, sending the Darkness Pokemon stumbling to the side. Bonnie's Pokemon weren't as successful, somewhat overpowered and sent staggering back, but they were otherwise fine, having at least blocked Raticate and Mightyena from landing direct hits.

"Zzt if only Dedenne knew a fairy type move," Rotom said nervously next to Bonnie. "It would be able to work effectively against Sableye and Mightyena."

Bonnie was frustrated by their lack of options as well, but they had to use what they had. Much like her battle against Roxanne, she was limited with her attacks, but that didn't mean she had to lose. She just needed to be creative. That was what Ash would do. But how could she use her Pokemon's basic moves creatively?

"Maybe I don't just have to use their moves," she whispered to herself, smiling as she called out another attack. "Dedenne, use Thunder Shock! Keep Sableye on the move!" She then looked to Rotom quickly, as Dedenne started to move. Those gem stone eyes that Sableye had were giving her an idea, even if it was a long shot. "Sableye can use a fairy type attack, can't it?"

"Zzt, I believe it-"

He was interrupted as Butch and Cassidy called their next orders, Cassidy shouting for Sableye to dodge, and try to get in close with a Shadow Claw, and ordering Raticate to hit Beautifly with a Super Fang. Butch was after Treecko, calling for Mightyena to use Ice Fang.

Bonnie quickly tried to think of how she could use her new strategy idea, glancing at Beautifly as the Butterfly Pokemon struggled to fly in the tight confines. "Beautifly, use String Shot and pull up a table to block it!" she yelled, not looking at Mr. Stone, and simply hoping he wouldn't mind.

"Fly!" the bug and flying type cried out, quickly sending down its String Shot and connecting it to a table that fortunately seemed mostly empty. She pulled up with surprising strength and brought the table up just in time, forming a perfect barrier between her and the leaping rat. Raticate's teeth embedded themselves into it, Cassidy's Pokemon crying out from discomfort.

"Excellent move, Bonnie!" Roxanne cheered, Mr. Stone joining her, apparently okay with the damage to his property under the circumstances.

"Now, drop and use Absorb!" Bonnie yelled, glancing towards Clyde's Treecko, seeing it struggling to avoid Mightyena, while Clyde seemed to be nervously ordering attacks his grass type couldn't use yet, such as Solar Beam. It was apparently more painful for Rotom to watch that than the actual battle, the PokeDex showing a crying face on his screen. Bonnie couldn't pay attention to it, though, shifting her focus quickly to Dedenne as he ducked under Sableye's Shadow Claw. "Use Nuzzle, Dedenne!"

"Beauuutifly!"

"Nenene!"

Her Pokemon pulled off their attacks in unison. Beautifly released her String Shot immediately and flapped her wings, darting over the table shield she'd formed and positioning herself right above Raticate, her body glowing green as she began to absorb its energy. Meanwhile, Dedenne hopped over another one of Sableye's Shadow Claw attacks, rubbing his sparking cheeks and slamming into the Darkness Pokemon.

"No!" Cassidy shouted, enraged as her Pokemon each fell to the ground, Raticate stuck underneath the table and Sableye collapsed due to paralysis.

Bonnie pumped her fist, glancing back and seeing Roxanne and Mr. Stone looking impressed. She then turned back, ready to finish Cassidy's Pokemon off. "Now Dedenne and Beautifly, use-"

"Treecko!"

"Oof!"

Her eyes widened as she saw Clyde thrown back behind her, Treecko hitting his chest. Bonnie whipped around, seeing Roxanne and Mr. Stone quickly checking on the two. They looked mostly fine, but clearly stunned. Bonnie immediately felt bad for forcing Clyde to fight. I can't worry about that now, though, she told herself, looking back to her opponents, Butch and Cassidy looking pleased by the hit on Treecko. Mightyena was staring her down, Raticate now free from the table, and Sableye up as well, joining him. Sableye didn't look too good, but Bonnie could see that Mightyena was mostly fine. Raticate wasn't in much better shape than Sableye, but it still seemed capable of fighting. I need to use my plan, Bonnie thought. But can I use it?

Cassidy's next order answered her question. "Sableye, use Dazzling Gleam and let's make our escape!"

"Sableye!" the dark and ghost type cried out, straightening up, its eyes flashing a bright pink, before it winced and fell back to the ground, electricity sparking across its body.

"What are you doing?!" Cassidy yelled at her Pokemon. "Get up and fight! Don't let this brat's weak attack beat you!"

"Sable...eye."

Bonnie smirked. They still had a chance. "Dedenne, hop on Beautifly's back and get ready to use Thunder Shock!"

"Oh no you don't!" Butch called out, his Mightyena tensing up. "Use Dark Pulse, Mightyena!"

The dark type howled and barked loudly before firing off a dark purple and black jet of energy. Dedenne timed his jump well, though, landing on Beautifly's back just as she darted to the side to avoid the attack. Bonnie could see Sableye still struggling to get up, knowing she had a little time, but not too much. She needed it to take out Raticate.

"Give chase with Ice Fang!" Butch ordered, while Cassidy was too distracted with Sableye to order an attack for Raticate.

Perfect! Bonnie told herself, pointing ahead as Mightyena ran forward, leaping up towards Beautifly with its ice-covered jaws. "Turn and use Tackle on Raticate, Beautifly!"

"Fly!" the Butterfly Pokemon cried out, spinning away from Mightyena's attack and descending quickly to the ground, glancing back as Mightyena continued to give chase. She sped towards Raticate with everything she had, a white aura around her as she prepared to slam into it.

At least, she appeared to be about to slam into it. "Fly up!" Bonnie ordered, just as Raticate's eyes widened, seeing the incoming Butterfly Pokemon. Beautifly did as told, avoiding the Mouse Pokemon entirely as she flew up and circled back, Dedenne still on her back.

"No! Mightyena, wait!" Butch cried out, seeing what Bonnie had planned.

It was too late, though, the Bite Pokemon clamping down onto Raticate with its icy jaws, both Pokemon crying out from surprise. Immediately, ice began to form around Raticate, its body freezing as Cassidy began to yell at Butch. Bonnie wasn't done yet, though, seeing Sableye's eyes shining once more.

"Now Dedenne, jump off and use Thunder Shock!" she yelled pointing towards the dark and ghost type.

"Nene!" Dedenne cried out, leaping off of Beautifly and firing off his attack midair, just as Sableye locked on to him. Dedenne's attack released first, striking Sableye and causing it to stagger once more. However, it was determined to fire off its attack, unleashing bright, pink lights from its eyes as it stumbled. Dedenne was quick, however, ducking and sliding underneath a table to his right, letting the attack miss him and hit Mightyena and Raticate behind him.

All three dropped to the ground at once, leaving Butch and Cassidy stunned as they stared at their defeated Pokemon. "No!" they both shouted, glaring at Bonnie before quickly recalling their Pokemon. "You'll pay for this, brat!" Cassidy added, pulling out another pokeball.

"Shouldn't we try to get out of here?" Butch asked, looking nervous.

"We still have a secret weapon!" Cassidy shouted back, before throwing her pokeball forward. "Smeargle, go!"

As her pokeball opened up, revealing the Painter Pokemon in front of her, Bonnie's jaw dropped, recognizing the Pokemon they had seen at the school, and later in the gym. She had no idea how Team Archaic had gotten it, but she was pretty sure they didn't know exactly what they'd gotten, considering the move it had copied from Kenny's Magikarp. She knew it could still be dangerous, though, if it could copy any other attacks.

"Dedenne, Beautifly, get ready!" she called out to her Pokemon, tensing up as she watched her opponents carefully, seeing Cassidy smirking like she was sure of victory.

"Smeargle! Show what you've got!" she ordered, pointing ahead, her new Pokemon nodding.

"Smear!" Smearlge cried out, stepping forward and...dropping immediately to the ground. "Smear smear smear," it then seemed to chant out, flopping away, just as Magikarp had done. "Smear smear smear."

"Um...Cassidy..." Butch murmured nervously, staring with wide eyes at their "secret weapon" in front of them.

Bonnie smirked, knowing that this was her chance. "Dedenne use-"

"Treecko, hit them with Bullet Seed!"

Bonnie jumped in surprise, but as the seeds shot out ahead of her, striking Smeargle and sending him flying back into Cassidy, who knocked over Butch as she fell over, Bonnie glanced back, seeing Clyde on his feet again, smiling as Treecko looked ready to attack once more in front of him. It was good to see that he was willing to fight.

"Cassidy, what should we do?" Butch asked, backing up as he stood up.

"I don't know..." the angry woman answered, glaring daggers at Bonnie and her friends. She looked like she was about to say more, but just then, an explosion rocked the building, the wall behind Butch and Cassidy bursting apart, debris flying all over the place. If it wasn't for a quick String Shot from Beautifly to pull a table in front of their group, Bonnie was sure they would have been hit. Fortunately, when she looked behind her, her friends appeared all right. Peeking over the table, however, she saw Butch, Cassidy and their Pokemon all knocked out. Behind them, hovering by the open hole in the building, was a helicopter. A man was dangling from a ladder hanging down from it, and Bonnie recognized him as the one from Oldale Town. Viktor, she remembered.

"Looks like these fools lost to a child again," he yelled up to someone in the helicopter. "Grabbed what we're after, though," he said, jumping off the ladder and into the room and bending down to pick up the papers and bags Butch and Cassidy had. They started to stir, and when they noticed who was there, they jumped up fairly quickly.

"Viktor!" they shouted in surprise, saluting suddenly, glancing nervously back at Bonnie and her friends. "We...um.."

"Spare me," Viktor said, pulling something out of his pocket and tossing it into the room. "Return your Pokemon and let's go. We got what we need." His eyes then drifted over to the Devon Corp. employees still huddled nervously against the wall. "Get on the ladder and I'll grab one of them," he told Butch and Cassidy. "We might be able to use 'em."

Bonnie heard Mr. Stone gasp at that, the President starting to stand up immediately, but just then, the device that Viktor had tossed into the room, began to beep. A moment later, smoke started spewing out of it, filling the room with a thick, grey cloud, making it impossible to see. Bonnie shielded her eyes, hearing Mr. Stone crying out for his workers. He must've stumbled a moment later, as she heard a loud bumping sound from one of the tables or chairs near them.

She didn't know what to do, but she knew they didn't have much time. Beautifly was trying to blow the smoke away with Gust, but it wasn't doing nearly enough, too much smoke coming out. Dedenne wasn't going to give up, though, and Bonnie suddenly saw a flash of electricity shoot forward, hitting something that looked like a brown Pokemon with blade-like arms in front of them, the electrical attack lighting the room up for a moment. As he fired off another Thunder Shock, Bonnie could see her partner Pokemon lit up, the antennae whiskers he had twitching as the unusual Pokemon appeared to move forward. He's sensing it with his antennae, Bonnie realized, smiling as the opposing Pokemon cried out. A red light then flashed, Viktor clearly recalling the Pokemon back, presumably because he and the others had made it to their ladder.

"Dedenne, save those scientists!" Bonnie called, knowing they didn't have a moment to waste. "Beautifly, get ready."

"Nene!"

The smoke was just beginning to clear, but luckily Dedenne was already on the move, whiskers twitching as he rushed forward, his cheeks sparking. As he leaped forward, Bonnie could just barely see the shape of what she guessed as one of the Devon Corp. scientists being pulled along, a rope around their arms and chest. The helicopter seemed about to fly away, but Dedenne's Thunder Shock blasted out, hitting whoever was holding it.

"Gah!" Bonnie heard Viktor yell, and as the smoke seemed to be fully clearing, she saw him lose his hold on the rope, the scientist stumbling towards the edge of the room, where there was only emptiness below. Fortunately, Beautifly's String Shot grabbed ahold of them pulling them back to safety. Unfortunately, however, Team Archaic seemed to be making their getaway.

"This isn't over, brat!" Cassidy yelled out, as the helicopter flew further away. "We're not finished!"

Bonnie ignored her, however, instead sighing in relief as she saw Mr. Stone and Roxanne helping the scientist that had nearly been carried away, while Clyde congratulated his Treecko on knocking out Smeargle. He hadn't been too effective, but at least Clyde had given them a chance. Bonnie was glad he'd had the courage to help this time around.

Her eyes then went to Dedenne and Beautifly, her two Pokemon rushing towards her, glad to have the battle over with and to be safe again. She quickly knelt down as they reached her, hugging both of them. "You guys were really amazing!" Bonnie whispered. "Beautifly, that move with String Shot to block Raticate before using Absorb was super cool! And Dedenne, that was so clever to use your antennae to find your way through the smoke. It was..." Her eyes widened with realization. "It was just like Nosepass," she whispered, Dedenne's eyes shining as he looked back at her.

She looked around for Rotom, wondering if that was what he'd been planning to tell her about Dedenne before. When she spotted him, she noticed he was frantically moving around the fossil restoration machine, snapping pictures as quickly as he could. She had no idea why for a moment, until she realized smoke was starting to come from it, various dents and holes in it from what must've been Viktor's attack with his strange Pokemon.

"Zzt! President Stone! President Stone!" the PokeDex cried out, getting the attention of the Devon Corp. President and his employees. "What do we do?"

Everyone rushed over there, Bonnie, Clyde and Roxanne included. Surprisingly, however, Mr. Stone didn't look too worried, only sighing like he was somewhat disappointed. "Well, I suppose that prototype is gone," he said, looking to his workers. "Think we can get the next model up once we have the room repaired?"

"Oh for sure, Mr. President," one of them said. Bonnie was stunned to see it was the one that was nearly taken hostage, the man looking scared after the incident, but clearly still devoted to his work. "I'll get right on getting everything prepared for it."

"Another day," Mr. Stone said, smiling kindly. "You all need a rest after...that. A paid vacation should do you some good. You deserved one anyways."

The employees seemed pleased with the sound of that, although Bonnie was still curious about the restoration machine. "Mr. Stone," she said, looking on in confusion, "aren't you worried about what Team Archaic just got? They stole your technology!"

"Yes, it is concerning," Mr. Stone admitted, frowning as he looked out the broken down wall. "However, they only stole some creation fluid, which was only a test vial for this prototype. And the blueprints weren't for the new model we were planning to bring up today to show you three. They stole valuable technology, but not the most valuable."

"They'll still be able to create prehistoric Pokemon won't they?" Clyde asked, frowning as he stared at the Fossil Ball Mr. Stone had given him. "And they stole some of these...they'll be able to catch them easily as well."

Mr. Stone sighed, nodding. "Yes...that is very true, Clyde." He looked at his employees, though, smiling as a few hugged one another, the relief of being okay after the attack clearly evident on their faces. "But my friends are all right. That's all that matters," he added, finishing by looking at Bonnie, Clyde and Roxanne.

"We'll still find a way to deal with those guys," Roxanne vowed, meeting Bonnie's gaze as she held up a fist. "They messed with the wrong trainers."

Bonnie wanted to agree, and for the most part she did. However, she couldn't help but feel that they'd been defeated. Team Archaic had already collected a bunch of fossils, and now they had a way to restore them, and then catch them. They didn't even know what else this organization was after, but already they seemed to be accomplishing whatever they were setting out to do. She could see the nervousness in Clyde's eyes as well, her friend clearly thinking similar thoughts.

I have to be ready next time, Bonnie told herself, looking to Dedenne and Beautifly. And as she glanced back up to Roxanne, she knew that winning that badge from her was the next step in preparing herself.

Author's Note:

There was certainly a lot of craziness in this one. First, to explain a couple of things. Obviously fossil restoration technology is available in the Pokemon universe, so what I did here was have Devon Corp. preparing a "better" version of it that allows Pokemon to more easily adapt to the modern world. Just enough to make it more new for someone like Bonnie who's seen something like it already. And the Fossil Ball is a little new creation, but something I thought would make sense. We'll see where that goes. And as for Cassidy getting Smeargle...well...that will be clear soon.

Also, there's a little thing I wanted to announce. I've decided that over the course of the Generation Z series, I'm going to have a series of oneshots alongside of them that will provide extra details on things going on outside of Bonnie's adventure, but will otherwise affect her. These oneshots will go in one published story called "Generation Z – Gotta Catch 'Em All". So these oneshots will follow villains, old friends of Bonnie's and more. Hopefully you'll find it interesting.

That's all for now. Hope you enjoyed, and I'll see you all in the next one, where Bonnie goes for her badge once more.