Author's Note:

Bonjour everyone. Another chapter of Generation Z here for you. Yes, I know it's been awhile for LU. Just trying to sort some things out for that, but it's coming this week. For now, though, it's Bonnie's time to shine once more. Hope you enjoy.

Chapter 6: A New Threat, an Oldale Feeling

Bonnie could hear the sounds of Oldale Town in the distance, and it filled her with a huge sense of relief and happiness. It wasn't much. In fact, she would arrive in new towns countless times throughout her journey, and she had already done so when travelling with Ash, Serena and Clemont, but this time, it was her journey. She hadn't gotten here alone, but it was the path she'd chosen for herself, and as she neared Oldale Town, she couldn't help but think of it as a meaningful step on her journey.

"Oldale Town...I remember coming here when I was little." Bonnie turned, looking to Clyde as he looked ahead, the trees giving way to a clear path ahead.

She followed his gaze, squinting as she tried to focus better, seeing the tips of the small houses over the hill. Most interesting, though, were the ruins they saw as they finally emerged from the forest, tall stones sticking up around some kind of excavation site. There seemed to be the remnants of some sort of building in the centre of it all, where a man was currently standing, taking some notes. A couple of other people were watching near some stones, but they wandered off a moment later.

"What did you do here?" Bonnie asked, not remembering any special stories about Oldale Town from Serena. She did remember Ash mentioning some kind of attack from the group called Team Magma, but he'd told her so many stories that she couldn't remember the details of all of them.

"I was pretty young, but I saw those ruins. My...dad was doing some research on them, but I don't think anything came of it." He shrugged, pausing as he looked up to Treecko, who was resting on his shoulder. "It's probably the reason why I like prehistoric Pokemon so much. My mom gave me a bunch of toys for Pokemon like Aerodactyl and Armaldo."

"Zzt, I would very much like to see these prehistoric Pokemon!" Rotom said excitedly, floating out in front of Clyde, who looked at him in surprise. "Where can I find them?"

"I don't know. I never actually saw them," Clyde admitted, chuckling a little. "They're prehistoric...so...you probably can't find them anywhere unless it's with a place like Devon Corp."

"My friend Trevor has an Aerodactyl," Bonnie told him, something that Rotom seemed to remember in that moment, going through his pictures and finding one of the Fossil Pokemon. "He probably found it while doing his photography, though. He goes to all sorts of places to do that."

That seemed to excite Clyde quite a bit, and she was worried he was going to somehow strangle Rotom, until they stopped, hearing footsteps ahead of them. Bonnie looked up, noticing the man that had been taking notes before, approaching them from the ruins. He looked normal enough, running a hand through his spiky brown hair and wiping some dirt off from his yellow shirt, but Clyde seemed to look at him like he was some kind of famous star.

"You're Professor Alden!" he shouted, looking towards the man, who stopped a couple of feet away, smiling, although looking surprised to be recognized. "I read your book on Relicanth and how it's been around for a hundred million years! It was so cool! I've wanted to see one ever since!"

"Oh, well thank you!" the man, Professor Alden, said, chuckling as Clyde seemed to grow more and more excited, turning to Rotom and asking him to get this Pokemon, Relicanth's data. Rotom surprisingly stayed patient, though, appearing interested in this professor. "It's always nice to meet someone who has read my work, especially when it's been published so recently. Are you two just arriving in Oldale Town? I saw you standing here while I was finishing up some of my notes."

"Yeah," Bonnie told him, shaking her head as Clyde began digging into his backpack, muttering something about his book. "I'm Bonnie, and I just started my journey as a Pokemon trainer. Dedenne," she pointed to her partner Pokemon on her shoulder, "and I came here from Lumiose City to challenge the Hoenn League. Rotom is our PokeDex."

"Zzt! Hello!"

"And I'm Clyde," Clyde finally said, calming down a bit, with a book now in his hand, some kind of strange fish Pokemon on the cover. "I just started my own journey as well, but Bonnie and I met on the way here, so we decided to travel together. I'm travelling to...um...well I guess I'm not sure yet."

Alden smiled at the pair, looking amused by the book in Clyde's hand. "Well it's nice to meet you all! I guess you already know my name, but I'm Professor Alden, an archaeologist that has been studying the ruins near Oldale Town for a few years now."

"What are you able to find from a bunch of rocks?" Bonnie blurted out, Dedenne pawing at her cheek after doing so.

Alden just laughed, but Clyde certainly wasn't impressed, holding his book up to Bonnie. "Professor Alden is one of the all time greatest Pokemon archaeologists in the entire world! His work on Relicanth is the most anyone has ever been able to find out about it!"

"You found that out from rocks?" Bonnie couldn't help but ask again, looking unsure as she turned her gaze back to Alden, who Rotom was now taking a quick picture of.

"Sure, you can find out a lot from the ruins," Alden said, looking back to them. "There are some fossils, old footprints, all kinds of things. If you're here in Oldale Town tomorrow, perhaps I can show you a special secret to these ruins."

"We're going to Petalb-"

"That would awesome!"

Bonnie glared at her supposed friend. If they were going to travel together, they were going to have to agree on things like this. Although, she had to admit, seeing how excited he was about these prehistoric Pokemon and these ruins did make her wonder what the excitement was about. If she was going to be a good Pokemon trainer, it would be good for her to learn some more about them, and this did seem like a unique opportunity.

"Yeah, I guess that would be cool," she finally said, Alden nodding at the pair.

"Great! I've got some time to kill right now, though, so how about I take you two over to the Pokemon Centre. Your Dedenne and Treecko look pretty tired." Bonnie and Clyde nodded at that, their Pokemon looking relieved to know a Pokemon Centre was nearby, and with that, they followed after Alden as he turned around, leading them past the ruins, and down the hill towards the town.

As they began to make their way down the hill, however, Bonnie couldn't help but feel like they were leaving behind something important. She looked back to the ruins, wondering if she might've dropped something, but saw nothing except the pair of people who she'd spotted earlier, the two of them appearing to head back up the path she and Clyde had come from. She shrugged, deciding to think nothing of it, looking back ahead as Alden and Clyde continued walking.

It only took a few minutes to get to the Pokemon Centre, Oldale Town very easy to get around, with no big crowds and their destination being clear in the distance as the largest building in the town. As they stepped inside, Bonnie called out her Silcoon, hoping Nurse Joy would be able to make sure it was doing okay after the ordeal with the Taillow. Fortunately, it seemed okay as she held it up in her arms, though, looking quite content as it stared at her with its blue eyes.

"A shiny Silcoon, huh?" Alden commented, looking interested as he peered at the bug type. "That's a rare sight." His words caught the attention of a few people in the Pokemon Centre, many of them pointing out her Silcoon to their companions. One guy, a green haired boy who was probably a year or two younger than Ash, looked particularly interested, also noticing the floating Rotom next to her. When his eyes met Bonnie's, he smiled, before making his way out of the Pokemon Centre.

"I caught it on my first day travelling," Bonnie told Alden as they waited for someone at the front desk who was finishing up with Nurse Joy. "It evolved pretty quickly when we were fighting off some Taillow yesterday."

"Bonnie saved it when it was scared and got stuck in a tree," Clyde added, patting her on the back, which made her shift uncomfortably, Alden looking impressed as well. "It evolved for her after it saw her fighting the Taillow to get to it."

"It evolved that quick, huh? That's impressive," Alden noted, Silcoon murmuring in contentment as Bonnie looked down at it. "Wonder why it got spooked, though."

"There were a lot of Taillow," Bonnie pointed out, not wanting Silcoon to be embarrassed. "Isn't it normal for a bug type to be afraid of flying types?"

"I suppose so," Alden answered, nodding as he gave Silcoon a little pat, the bug type looking up curiously. "Usually one who has a trainer, even if only for a short time, wouldn't run off, though. It probably had a bad experience with a Taillow at some point."

Bonnie frowned at that, walking up to the front desk quietly as Nurse Joy called their group up. She hoped that wasn't the case, but it did make sense. Wurmple had run off really quickly, before they'd even really figured out what was coming. She vowed to herself in that moment that she would make sure her newest Pokemon wouldn't have to be scared like that again. She would train with it to make it capable of beating any Taillow or whatever other flying type that tried to hurt it.

"Hello," Nurse Joy said as they reached the desk, Clyde's Treecko hopping onto it, followed by Dedenne a moment later. She still looked like the Joys back in Kalos, but Bonnie did notice her hair was a little puffier. "How may I help you?"

"Could you check on our Pokemon, please?" Bonnie asked, a Chansey coming out with a tray that Dedenne and Treecko hopped onto, Nurse Joy nodding and smiling. Bonnie then held up her Silcoon, the bug type shifting a little uneasily as she did so. "And my Silcoon...we got attacked by some Taillow yesterday. Can you make sure it's not hurt?"

"Of course," Joy said, looking a little more serious as she reached out to take the bug type. "It looks okay, but I'll make sure." As she started to take Silcoon, though, Bonnie felt something hit her chest, and as she let go, stepping back, the bug type almost seemed to fly back to her, straight out of Nurse Joy's arms. "Oh my. It seems very attached to you."

"Silcoon!" Bonnie scolded, although she smiled at it, giggling a little, realizing it had used a String Shot, which she quickly pulled away. "Don't worry, Nurse Joy is just going to do a checkup on you. You'll be back here soon."

She managed to finally get Silcoon onto the tray with Dedenne and Treecko, although it was still looking uneasy about it all. Fortunately, though, Nurse Joy's Chansey seemed capable of calming it down, eventually rolling the tray into a back room. Nurse Joy meanwhile, remained with them for the moment.

"You wouldn't happen to be new trainers by any chance, would you?" she asked, smiling at Bonnie and Clyde. Clearly she'd seen many new trainers, and their lack of Pokemon probably gave them away. They both nodded, and Nurse Joy smiled once more, moving over to her computer where she typed away at something for a moment. "Are either of you registering for the Pokemon League?" she asked, turning the computer monitor around, showing a screen with some kind of pokeball symbol with triangle extending out of it. "You can register here if you are. For contests, you'll need to do so at the first Contest Hall you reach."

"I'm entering the Hoenn League!" Bonnie said excitedly, Rotom floating forward, aware he would be needed.

"Zzt! I am Rotom, Pokemon trainer Bonnie's identification!" he announced proudly, Nurse Joy looking alarmed, but typing in something else before holding up some kind of device for Rotom to "plug" into. He did so, his screen lighting up with some kind of loading bar, while Bonnie's picture appeared on Nurse Joy's monitor.

"All right, I'll just fill in the rest," Nurse Joy said, typing in a few more things before taking the cord back from Rotom, who looked pleased to have performed his simple task. "Okay! Congratulations, Bonnie, you're officially registered!"

"Yay!" Bonnie said excitedly, Clyde and Rotom each giving her a mini high five. Another step on my journey! she thought, smiling as Clyde informed Nurse Joy he would not be registering. Next step...my first gym battle.

When Nurse Joy finally went back to give the Pokemon their checkup, Alden turned to Bonnie and Clyde, checking his watch. "Well, if you guys don't mind, I've got a few more things to check up on, but I'll be around tomorrow if you still want to see the ruins."

Bonnie knew she couldn't disappoint Clyde about this, nodding as Clyde held up his book to Alden, begging him to sign it before leaving. As he did, Bonnie looked over to the phones in the lobby, seeing a ginger-haired girl who seemed to be talking to some friend or relative. It made her suddenly feel the urge to do the same, excited to see the look on Clemont's or her dad's face when she told them what had already happened on her journey.

So, when Alden left, Clyde happily holding onto his newly signed book, Bonnie led him and Rotom over to the phones. "I'm gonna call my brother," she informed them, Rotom looking excited at that, shouting out something about the future, science and analysis.

"He's the one who set up that cool backpack arm, right?" Clyde asked, managing to look away from his book for the moment, apparently equally interested in Clemont's scientific abilities. Bonnie nodded, smirking as she noticed Clyde's eyes widen excitedly. She then dialled the number, waiting patiently as the phone rang, hoping Clemont wouldn't be too busy at the gym.

Finally, the phone was picked up, though. "Hello, this is Gym Leader Clemont, of the Lumiose City Gym. How may I help you?"

Bonnie bit back a laugh at how formal he was being. "Hello, this is Pokemon trainer Bonnie at the Oldale Town Pokemon Centre."

"Bonnie!" The video monitor suddenly flashed on as Clemont enabled it on his end, his face appearing on the screen. "Wow, it's so good to see you!"

She couldn't help but smile at that, unable to hide how happy she was to see him as well. "It's good to see you too," she said, leaning forward. "I've got so much to tell you! I got to see Professor Birch's lab, I met all kinds of cute Pokemon, I battled with Max, I caught a shiny Wurmple, I almost caught a Zigzagoon, I fought a bunch of Taillow and then Wurmple evolved-"

"Hey I fought them too!" Clyde interrupted, Clemont looking to Bonnie's right from the monitor, seeing the brown-haired boy for the first time.

"Oh yeah, this is Clyde," Bonnie said, gesturing to her new friend. "We met yesterday when the Taillow showed up. We're kind of travelling together."

"I'm a new trainer as well," Clyde said, looking excited to get the chance to speak to Clemont. "Bonnie showed me the backpack you invented! It's so cool!"

"Zzt! I am much cooler!" Rotom argued, floating over to hover in between Bonnie and Clyde. "Gym Leader Clemont helped in setting up the RotomDex! That is his greatest accomplishment as an inventor!"

Clemont chuckled nervously at that, rubbing the back of his neck as Rotom turned to him, Clyde shrugging as he did so. "Haha...yeah, you're great, Rotom." He then looked over to Clyde. "And thanks, Clyde. The Clemontic Gear Mark Two is probably my best invention. I'm working on a new one, though, called the Floor Cleaner Two Thousand! It's going to really help my gym stay tidy."

"What an awesome name!"

"Oh not you too!" Bonnie groaned, shaking her head as Clemont laughed. She decided to move things along, assuming the end result of Clemont's next invention would be an explosion, so not wanting to spend much time on it. "I registered for the Hoenn League just now," she told her brother, Rotom displaying a picture of the registration confirmation.

"Wow, that's exciting!" Clemont said, looking closely at Rotom's picture. "Serena said she met some tough trainers who were challenging it, so you'll need to be ready. I'm sure Dedenne and Silcoon will do well for you, though."

"Of course they will," Bonnie assured him, sitting up straight. "I'll train them just the way you, Ash and Serena taught me."

They didn't really have too much to talk about after that, Clemont simply telling Bonnie what their father was up to, and letting her know that Serena was back in Vaniville Town, before she'd be heading over to visit Aria in Coumarine City. He also mentioned that Sawyer would heading back to Hoenn within a few weeks, and that Bonnie might see him in Dewford Town since he'd be meeting up with Steven there and doing some research with him. It all made Bonnie so excited, glad to know her friends and family were still doing the things they loved, and knowing that now, she was just like them, on her own journey and ready to move forward.

Eventually, the conversation wrapped up, Clemont wishing Bonnie, Clyde and Rotom the best of luck. When they hung up the phone, Bonnie noticed Nurse Joy and Chansey emerging with their Pokemon, glad to see that all three looked okay. She quickly headed over to them, Dedenne hopping onto her shoulder, while she picked up a happy Silcoon.

"Your Pokemon are all doing well," Nurse Joy told them. "Silcoon doesn't seem to have anything wrong with it after the incident you mentioned, Bonnie, but I do think it is particularly afraid of flying types. I had a Pidgey back there and it was a little scared. Some more training should help it, though, and perhaps when it can fly on its own it will be more comfortable."

"Fly on its own?" Bonnie asked, looking down at Silcoon in confusion. It definitely didn't look like it was going to be flying.

"Silcoon evolves into Beautifly!" Rotom said quickly, appearing in front of Bonnie, a picture of a butterfly-like Pokemon with black and yellow wings on his screen. "It will acquire the flying Pokemon typing once it does so."

"Oh it's like Vivillon," Bonnie noted, remembering the Spewpa she'd met with her friends, and how it had evolved from its cocoon-like state.

"It will become quite a bit stronger once it evolves," Nurse Joy told her, patting Silcoon gently. "That's why its in its cocoon-like state, so that it can build up its strength. With your help, I'm sure it will become a great Beautifly."

"I hope so," Bonnie said, smiling encouragingly at her bug type. She knew it wouldn't be easy, but she would do everything she could to help it get stronger. It was her first catch after all, and it would always be particularly special to her for that reason.

As they made their way out of the Pokemon Centre, she decided to give Silcoon a rest, though, knowing that after the ordeal yesterday and the travel today, it deserved it, so she recalled it into its pokeball as she and Clyde stepped outside. There was still plenty of the day left, so she wasn't too sure what they would do, not knowing what there was in Oldale Town. She thought about perhaps doing a little bit of training with Dedenne, but she noticed the same green-haired boy from earlier on the Pokemon Centre training field, working with what appeared to be his Gallade.

"Wow, a Gallade!" Clyde said, following her gaze, watching the fighting and psychic type practising its kicks. "It looks really strong, too. I wonder if that guy is gonna be in the Hoenn League as well."

"You think so?" Bonnie asked nervously, looking up at Dedenne, who tilted his head curiously. As much as she loved him, Bonnie wasn't so sure he could match a Pokemon who looked that strong. She was pretty sure that Gallade would've made quick work of Max's Ralts, and it had beaten her and Dedenne fairly easily.

"Pokemon trainer Bonnie may have to compete with over five hundred other trainers if she does indeed make it to the Hoenn League," Rotom spoke up, displaying some kind of graph on his screen. "It is one of the largest leagues in the world!"

That didn't exactly help Bonnie's nerves as she looked back over to the Gallade, now punching and kicking away stones as his trainer threw them at him. "How am I supposed to beat that?"

"Hey, lots of those trainers will be new," Clyde pointed out, noticing her nervous look. "It depends on how well you train as you earn your gym badges. Just use that as your chance to get stronger and learn how it all goes. I've watched a few Hoenn Leagues and experienced trainers lose plenty of battles if a rookie works hard and plans the right way."

Bonnie supposed that made sense. Sawyer had certainly done well against some impressive competition in Kalos with much less experience. Although, he'd been able to train a bit with Ash, and had a Mega Sceptile...and still ended up falling short. It doesn't matter, she told herself, narrowing her eyes. I'll focus on one challenge at a time. The gyms come before the league.

"Hey, you're the trainer with the shiny Silcoon!" She looked up in surprise at that, realizing the voice was coming from the training field. It was the boy with the Gallade, having paused his training, starting to walk over to them.

While he appeared to be close to Ash's age, about a year or two younger, he did appear to be less sure of himself, not quite like someone with Ash's experience, almost looking nervous to approach. His green hair was fairly messy, mostly sticking up and some of it over his grey eyes. He wore a greyish blue jacket and grey pants, looking fairly clean despite clearly being on his own journey.

When he reached their group, he held his hand out to Bonnie, smiling and losing that minor sense of nervousness he seemed to have. "Hi, I'm Wally."

"I'm Bonnie," she answered, shaking his hand, Clyde following after, along with Rotom, who Wally seemed to find interesting. Dedenne and Treecko hopped down to greet Gallade in the meantime. "Your Gallade looks really strong," Bonnie said, looking over the Blade Pokemon as Dedenne smiled up at it.

"Oh thanks," Wally said, hands on his hips as he looked to his partner. "Gallade and I have been partners since I was a little kid. I'd probably be lost without him. Norman, the Gym Leader from Petalburg City helped me to get him."

"Norman...hey isn't that Max's dad?" Bonnie asked.

"Huh...oh yeah, I think that's his son's name. Only met him once. And May." He looked down at Dedenne, tilting his head curiously, before kneeling down to pet him. "Are you from Kalos?"

"Yeah, Lumiose City. My brother's the Gym Leader there," Bonnie said proudly.

"I battled a robot when I was there," Wally said, standing back up. "Clembot or something like that. It was pretty strong, but I heard your brother was pretty tough."

"Gym Leader Clemont is an excellent Pokemon trainer!" Rotom answered, floating in front of Bonnie. "He entrusted me to help Pokemon trainer Bonnie become just as successful."

"He makes really cool inventions!" Clyde added, shaking with excitement. "Bonnie's backpack can do all kinds of cool things and he designed all of it."

Wally raised an eyebrow at all of that, looking to Bonnie who simply shrugged. She wondered what her brother would do if he was there, getting all of this praise. He was never one to get too high on himself, but he did love his inventions being successful, and knowing they didn't blow up. "Sounds like I missed out not getting to meet him," Wally finally said. "Oh well, if I ever challenge the Kalos League again, I'd like to get the chance to battle him."

"When did you challenge the Kalos League?" Bonnie asked, not remembering seeing him in the most recent one. Of course, she hadn't seen all of it, Serena's Grand Festival being on at the same time.

"Before I came back to Hoenn," Wally said, shrugging as though it wasn't important. "Gallade here got hurt in an early battle so we struggled a little more than I thought we would. Lost to a trainer with a Mega Garchomp."

"Remo," Bonnie remembered, thinking of the trainer that Alain had so easily beaten back in the Kalos League Ash had been in. He'd ended up facing off against some guy with a Mega Scizor, losing a close final match. "So are you from Hoenn then?"

"Yep, born and raised in Verdanturf Town. Never thought of entering the Hoenn League, though. I was pretty sickly as a kid, so I was kind of intimidated by the gym leaders." He shrugged, laughing a little. "I think I'm ready now, though."

"Verdanturf Town..." Clyde whispered, so quiet that Bonnie wasn't sure Wally had heard. She looked over to him, noticing him shake his head quickly before looking back to Wally. "So have you got any badges yet, Wally?"

"Nope, just started out here." He gestured to Gallade, the Blade Pokemon folding his arms as his trainer spoke. "Gallade and I want to take our time, and make sure we're really ready for each challenge. We'll probably start out with the Rustboro Gym soon, though. I want to take some time before challenging Norman in Petalburg."

Bonnie remembered being told that Norman was probably a tough challenge for someone just starting their journey, but she wasn't sure she wanted to pass up the chance once they got to Petalburg City. She was sure Max would be challenging his dad's gym, and she didn't want to get too far behind. Of course, she could tell Wally was pretty smart, clearly having a plan to be patient and ensure all his Pokemon were prepared.

Boom!

They all jumped at the noise, Bonnie and Clyde turning around as they noticed Wally looking up the hill away from the Pokemon Centre, where the ruins were. Bonnie could see some smoke billowing into the air, and even see some Taillow flying off from some nearby trees, apparently spooked. She knew Alden wasn't doing anything that would cause this, though, so she was sure something was wrong. Something, or someone, was trespassing.

"Alden wasn't going back there was he?" Clyde asked, sounding worried as he looked to Bonnie. She shook her head, but he didn't seem less worried. "Someone must be sabotaging his research! A rival archaeologist!"

"Zzt! Professor Alden is the only prominent archaeologist in the area," Rotom pointed out. "There is only a four point two percent chance-"

"It doesn't matter!" Wally cut in, holding his hand up for silence. "Listen." Bonnie waited a moment, listening carefully as she tried to hear what Wally had. And just as she was about to speak again, she heard it. A faint yell, sounding like angry protest.

"That must be Alden!" she said, Clyde and Rotom nodding in agreement. She decided not to wait a moment longer, Dedenne scurrying up onto her shoulder before she broke into a run, nearly bumping into the ginger-haired girl she'd seen in the Pokemon Centre earlier, just emerging from it.

Bonnie ignored the surprised girl, though, hearing Clyde, Wally and Rotom behind her as she ran. She wasn't quite sure why, but she had a sickening feeling that something...wrong was happening here. Perhaps it was the experience with the Taillow the day before, or perhaps it was her experiences with Team Rocket, and worse, Team Flare, but she knew something was up here. She hoped she was wrong, and it was simply part of the ruins collapsing or something simple like that, but she knew better. And when she reached the top of the hill, Clyde, Wally and Rotom coming up behind her, she could see she was right to sense danger.

"Bonnie! Clyde! Get out of here! Go get Officer Jenny!" It was Alden, tied up and sitting on the ground in the middle of the ruins, two people on either side of him, wearing strange brown suits with bones forming an 'A' on the front of them. Behind them, the area where Alden had been working previously was smoking, although it remarkably hadn't seemed to have done much damage, whatever the explosion had been from. Some stones and debris were scattered around the area, but the structure at the centre was still okay.

Bonnie's eyes shifted to the people who were apparently responsible for this, a man on the left, a woman on the right, each probably around the same age as Jessie and James. The man had short teal hair, the woman long golden hair in two pigtails, each smirking at Bonnie and her companions, clearly not worried about the intrusion at all. She realized they were likely the people she'd seen earlier, scolding herself for not thinking more of it at the time.

"Leave Professor Alden alone!" she finally yelled, taking a step forward as Dedenne hopped down in front of her, ready to battle. She knew this probably wasn't the best idea, but Bonnie couldn't stand by while Alden was hurt, and she knew his research was important and that they couldn't allow these people to ruin it.

"Hmph, like we'll do that. We've got orders to follow, and it just so happens that the Professor here has some useful information," the woman snapped back, her purple eyes glaring at Bonnie. "It's none of your concern, little brat. Run along to your mother."

"Come on now, Cassidy, if the girl wants to fight, let's give her a fight," the man spoke up, casting an amused glance towards Bonnie. "Viktor said nothin' about nabbing us some easy Pokemon from rude little brats."

The woman, Cassidy, apparently liked that idea, smirking as she looked at Bonnie, and then Dedenne. "Never seen a Pokemon like that before. Yeah, good thinking Biff. Let's see if we can get ourselves a little bonus."

"It's Butch! How can you of all people keep forgetting my na-"

"Dedenne, Thunder Shock!" Bonnie shouted, hoping to catch them off guard.

"Rrraticate!"

Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, a massive brown-furred rat-like Pokemon barrelled into Dedenne, just as the Antenna Pokemon was preparing his attack. Bonnie's eyes widened as she watched her partner Pokemon thrown to the side, hitting hard against one of the stones to their right, while the rat Pokemon stood tall where it had struck.

Cassidy burst out laughing at that, the Pokemon, which Bonnie heard Rotom referring to as a Raticate, moving to stand in front of her. "Seriously? That little runt trying to attack us? I've seen some weak trainers before, but that was just sad! What a weak Pokemon!"

"How about you try this, then? Gallade, Night Slash!"

It was almost like a blur, a green and white shape bursting past Bonnie as Butch and Cassidy looked on in surprise. As Bonnie noticed Wally moving up behind her, Gallade reached Raticate within the instant, slashing outward with a dark purple arm into the chest of Mouse Pokemon. Raticate was thrown back, Butch and Cassidy ducking as it sailed over their heads, slamming hard into a stone behind them, sliding down and not moving. Wow, Gallade is strong, Bonnie noted, eyes widening as the Blade Pokemon jumped back, readying itself for more.

"We'll make this an even fight," Wally said, standing straight next to Bonnie. "Two against two."

"Zzt, I will help to. I will provide emotional support!" Rotom cried out, coming up behind Bonnie, Clyde nervously standing behind, not exactly looking like he wanted to battle, which Bonnie didn't really mind, knowing he hadn't really expressed much interest in battles since they'd met.

"Ha! Raticate's not the only Pokemon we've got. Sableye, come on out!" Cassidy shouted, a two-legged purple Pokemon with gemstones where its eyes should've been emerging in front of her. It was pretty creepy looking, although as it tilted its head, smiling in Bonnie's direction, she couldn't help but think of it as cute.

A moment later, Butch threw out a pokeball as well, a large hyena-like Pokemon appearing in front of him, reminding Bonnie a little of Poochyena, but looking larger and more intimidating. Rotom informed her it was a Mightyena, confirming that thought, and making her a little more nervous about what was happening. She didn't like this, particularly the fact that these people seemed to be working for someone who had apparently ordered them to go after Alden.

"Think you can handle Sableye?" Wally asked, speaking quietly as each pair of trainers stared the other down, Alden looking between them with wide eyes.

"I don't know," Bonnie admitted, looking at Rotom in case he had any advice for her, while Dedenne stepped up next to Gallade. "We've only had one real battle and we lost to a Ralts."

"Dedenne will have the advantage over both Mightyena and Sableye being part fairy type," Rotom informed her. "Most likely, they will have less effective attacks."

"Don't worry," Wally told her. "I'll help. Just try to hang in there as long as possible."

And with that, there was no more time to talk, Cassidy calling an attack and Bonnie immediately focusing her attention on the woman, needing to react right away. "Sableye, Foul Play!"

"Thunder Shock!"

"SaaaBLYE!" the Darkness Pokemon screeched, leaping forward towards Dedenne, while Mightyena and Gallade moved towards one another as well. Dedenne was the slower one, but as Sableye reached him, swiping at him twice and causing him to stagger back, he managed to fire out a bolt of electricity, striking Sableye with all he had. "Lyyyeee!" it cried out, falling back, its body smoking.

Bonnie, growing a little more confident, decided to keep it up. "Use Tackle!"

"Zzt! No!"

"Nene!" Dedenne leaped forward, moving a little quicker with his own increased confidence, shooting towards Sableye like an arrow...only to pass straight through it, falling awkwardly into the ground behind it.

"Haha! You don't even know ghost types are immune to normal attacks! How pathetic!" Cassidy cackled, apparently enjoying this greatly. "Sableye, use Shadow Claw!"

"I don't think so! Gallade, Dazzling Gleam!" Bonnie looked over, surprised to already see Mightyena down, struggling to stand up, while Gallade quickly turned towards Sableye, holding his arms up and sending bright lights out towards it, striking the Darkness Pokemon head on, making it cry out in what sounded like pure agony. "Now, Bonnie!"

She wasn't sure how she knew what he wanted, and she wasn't sure how he knew she'd be able to do it, but Bonnie acted quickly, Dedenne already up and ready to act. "Use Nuzzle!"

"And Gallade, finish off Mightyena with Close Combat!"

"GaaallADE!" The Blade Pokemon burst forth, moving faster than Dedenne, but battering Mightyena with his fists while Dedenne rubbed his cheeks, causing them to spark with electricity as he struck Sableye, further sparks shooting out across the Darkness Pokemon.

"Now, out of there Bonnie!" Wally ordered, Gallade jumping back from an exhausted Mightyena.

"Dedenne!" Bonnie shouted, knowing she needed to act quickly.

The Antenna Pokemon responded immediately, leaping back from the paralyzed Sableye, landing next to Gallade as the Blade Pokemon spread its arms once more. "Dazzling Gleam!" Wally ordered, thrusting his fist forward, grinning as he sensed their victory.

"Gaaallade!" Gallade shouted, sending the bright lights out towards both opposing Pokemon, each crying out one last time as they were struck, neither able to move, with one too exhausted and the other paralyzed. As the dust cleared, Bonnie was as stunned as Butch and Cassidy, barely able to believe they'd defeated them so quickly. Although, she knew she hadn't exactly done too much. Wally had simply been too strong, and she'd benefited.

"Arrrggghhh!" Cassidy yelled in frustration, she and Butch recalling their Pokemon, while Alden looked hopefully up at Bonnie, smiling. "Butch, call Viktor! We're out of here!"

"I thought you were responsible for calling him. I left my transceiver at headquarters." Bonnie could almost see a vein popping out of Cassidy's head, but before she could respond, a loud sound, similar to the group of Taillow from the day before, seemed to be approaching.

"A helicopter!" Clyde called out, Bonnie and Wally looking up as they noticed the flying black vehicle approaching from above. It battered at them with a a gust of wind, causing Bonnie to shield her eyes and hold onto her hat, unable to properly look up, only seeing a man with black hair looking down at them, dropping a ladder down in their direction.

"Up here, fools. Hurry!" the man yelled, Bonnie barely hearing it from the noise of the propellers.

"We're not done, losers!" Cassidy yelled over to Bonnie and the others. "We don't take kindly to children embarrassing us." Bonnie didn't answer, only watching in shock as Butch grabbed the unconscious Raticate and Cassidy grabbed a cloth bag behind Alden, before each grabbed onto the ladder.

Fortunately, Alden was left behind, the man wincing as he was shoved down before Butch and Cassidy were carried off. He seemed to be crying out about something, but Bonnie still couldn't hear right, only watching as the helicopter flew higher up, glaring at the two people who were laughing as they escaped. She and Wally might've beaten them in battle, but those two had managed to cause some damage here, and had apparently gotten away with something.

When they had finally disappeared into the sky, however, the helicopter's loud propellers no longer within earshot, Bonnie and her friends quickly rushed towards Alden. Wally reached him first, helping the man up and releasing him from the ropes that restrained him. Bonnie and Clyde watched, the latter very quiet, clearly in shock. Rotom, meanwhile, seemed to be scanning the area, searching for any signs of other criminals.

"Are you okay, Professor?" Wally asked, stepping back while Alden took a few deep breaths to recover. "I thought I saw you with these guys in the Pokemon Centre?"

"Yeah...yeah, I'm all right." He looked to Wally, and then Bonnie. "Thank you guys. Unfortunately not the first time I've experienced something like that...but something seemed particularly off about those guys. That guy in the helicopter in particular. He grabbed me outside the Pokemon Centre and got those other two to drag me here. They were looking for fossils. That's what was in the bag they got away with."

"Fossils? What do they want with those?" Bonnie asked, looking to Clyde with a confused expression. He simply shrugged, still apparently having nothing to say on the matter.

"Who knows...some people would pay a lot for them. Could just be to sell them," Wally said, although he clearly thought it was more than that, uneasiness in his eyes.

"Whatever it is...those people are dangerous," Alden pointed out, taking a deep breath. "You all should've been more careful. Especially you, Bonnie and Clyde. You were with an experienced trainer, but you two should stay out of trouble like that."

Bonnie narrowed her eyes at that. "We weren't going to just stand there. That's not what a future Pokemon Master would do!"

"Nenene!" Dedenne chirped out in agreement.

Alden sighed at that, but apparently couldn't hide a smile. "I guess I can't stop you, but do be careful in the future. You won't always have someone there with you, and there must be more in that group than just those two that you fought and the man in the helicopter."

Bonnie nodded, understanding what he was saying. Butch and Cassidy seemed a little more like Jessie and James than some of those scarier criminals like those in Team Flare, but they clearly worked for someone. She knew that was something to be worried about, and considering what she'd seen from Team Flare back in Kalos, an organization with clear planning like that could be dangerous. She wasn't the only one that needed to be careful

Hoenn needed to be careful.

Bonnie was up and ready to go early the next morning, she and Clyde still having the invitation to check out something special in the ruins with Alden. Officer Jenny had asked that the area stay clear for her and her officers to investigate, but Alden had assured her nothing would be out of place. It was a little surprising that the incident with Butch and Cassidy hadn't affected the proposed tour, but Bonnie and Clyde were sure happy to still have the chance.

They were disappointed that Wally hadn't been able to come with them, but he had decided to head off the night before, planning to head towards the Petalburg Woods and see if he could catch some new Pokemon before challenging his first gym. Bonnie was pretty grateful to him for his help, and although they had really only briefly met, she certainly looked forward to the day they'd meet again. She was motivated to become that strong someday.

It was still dark outside when they met Alden in the lobby, nobody else up at the time. Bonnie was a little surprised at how much energy she had, but she supposed after the events of not only the day before, but also with what had happened with the Taillow, she was ready to do something a little more relaxing, even if it meant waking up early.

"I'm so excited!" Clyde exclaimed as they reached Alden, the Professor wearing a bandage on his arm after what had happened yesterday. Bonnie knew it was fortunate he'd gotten away with just a few cuts and bruises, but she still felt bad about what had happened to him. She knew what it was like to have bad guys after you.

"I think you'll enjoy what I've got to show you. It's not too big, but it's helped my research greatly. Fortunately those criminals didn't damage it." Alden then gestured to the entrance of the Pokemon Centre, leading the trio, along with Rotom, Treecko and Dedenne, outside.

Once outside, they took the now familiar path up the hill towards the ruins. It was very quiet as they passed the small houses around them, which was a nice change after yesterday, when people were out and about after hearing the explosion, many in a panic. Luckily, Officer Jenny had managed to calm things down a bit, with the help of some trainer that had been at the Pokemon Centre. Now, it was like any other small town in the early hours of the morning, calm and peaceful.

When they reached the ruins, Bonnie could see some of the debris still around from the explosion that Butch and Cassidy had caused. According to Alden, it had been to uncover more fossils, and it had apparently damaged many of them, although they had been able to gather enough that it had been worth it to them to steal them. There seemed to be a few still around, if Bonnie was correct in what she could see, but she wasn't too sure. Otherwise, the most apparent damage were the stones that were now cracked or on their side, taking away from the mysterious nature of the ruins a bit. Overall, it could've been worse, though.

Alden took a moment, looking around the ruins, before sighing and leading Bonnie and Clyde towards the centre, where a small stone shelter seemed to be, a stone in front of it with strange lines across it and slots for some stones that Alden was pulling out of his pockets. To their left, Bonnie could see one of Officer Jenny's officers, apparently patrolling in case of further attacks, but fortunately, it seemed as though he didn't have much to do, simply nodding to their group as Alden finished up.

Once the stones were inside, Bonnie and Clyde jumped back in surprise as the stone that Alden had placed the smaller orbs into started to move. It made a loud scraping noise as it moved back, echoing inside the cave that it seemed to be sliding into. Bonnie exchanged a look with Dedenne, her Antenna Pokemon's eyes wide as it stared ahead. Up ahead, Bonnie could just see the various carvings and paintings in the stones, that seemed to be of Pokemon.

When they moved forward, Clyde and Rotom ran ahead, the latter snapping pictures while Clyde just seemed to be trying to imprint the cave within his mind. Bonnie couldn't blame them for their excitement, equally awed by the paintings, seeing one of an Aerodactyl up ahead. She even noticed one of two Pokemon that looked a lot like the Latios and Latias Rotom had shown her from his data that he thought might've been the Pokemon they'd seen a couple of days ago.

"Zzt, this is very exciting!" Rotom exclaimed. "I am acquiring great data on some of the prehistoric Pokemon!"

"If you like this, you'll love what's next," Alden said, standing near the stone that had slid forward. "We'll need to wait a couple of minutes for the sun to rise before you see, though," he noted, looking out towards the glow on the horizon that signalled that time was close.

Clyde could barely stop shaking, clearly beyond excited to see what was in store here, moving over to stand with Bonnie as they waited. A moment later, Rotom joined them, snapping another picture as he murmured something about the future and analysis. Bonnie could tell Alden was as excited as her companions, but she couldn't quite think of what he could have in store. There didn't seem to be anything else in here.

That changed as the sun did finally rise, filling the cave with light, shining on the slab of stone that had granted them entry. The stones that Alden had placed began to glow brightly, light shining from them and extending outward, filling in gaps and appearing to make a lined pattern across the stone. The rest of the cave was similar, lines filling up almost all of the empty space.

Then, Bonnie heard the same scraping sound from before. She waited for the light to dim before looking closely, but once she could see, her eyes widened in surprise. A staircase had been revealed, the stone having slid further back to uncover it. Bonnie exchanged another look with Clyde, who stared at Alden, waiting for him to explain what this was.

"Let's have a look!" the Professor said, leading the way down, Clyde following soon after, before Bonnie and Rotom set off after them.

When they emerged into the open cavern down below, even Alden looked awed, apparently still amazed with the sight that he'd likely seen many times. Bonnie could understand why, the clear blue water ahead somewhat mesmerizing. It reminded her of the small cave near the Wetlands where Goodra was, when she, Ash, Serena and Clemont had gone there shortly before the Kalos League. Yet, while it was an incredible underground cave, hidden in a very mysterious way, Bonnie wasn't quite sure what else it could be, and why Alden had taken them there.

She was about to ask, when suddenly she noticed a pair of shadows in the water. Both she and Clyde took a step forward, peering over the edge, before suddenly, there was a splash, a dark shape emerging into the air.

"Zzt, a Relicanth!" Rotom cried out, snapping a picture as quickly as possible of the brown and grey stoney-looking fish Pokemon. He started giving a description, but Bonnie was too focused on the Pokemon to listen.

"Wait a minute..." Clyde said, turning around as the Relicanth landed back in the water. "So this is how you did your research! You've been able to study real Relicanth!"

"Indeed," Alden said, stepping forward and kneeling down too look over the edge and into the pool of water. "I found this area a few years back with a couple of other young travellers. I've been able to study these Relicanth ever since. There are also a few other hidden fossils in here, so those guys from yesterday didn't get everything. Fortunately they didn't find the most valuable part of these ruins."

It was all so surreal to Bonnie. She'd seen so much throughout her journey with Ash, Serena and Clemont, and yet, there was still so much more to find in this world. Even here, in a small town like Oldale Town, a piece of ancient history was literally right underneath it. She had no idea what else she would find on this journey, but so far, she'd already seen more than she could have ever wished to see if she'd never come here.

As she had so proudly told Clemont, she'd seen new Pokemon, cute ones and powerful ones that she might never have seen in Kalos. She had had her first battle, and despite losing to Max and Ralts, she was more motivated than ever to grow stronger and catch up to him. She had caught her first Pokemon, battled with it, saved it and it had evolved for her, already bringing them closer together than she could've hoped before meeting it. She had met Clyde, the two of them deciding to journey together, already becoming good friends. She had met Wally, a potential rival, and fought with him against criminals trying to hurt another new friend in Professor Alden.

And now she had seen this, a piece of history, like a real life movie of the past, right before her eyes. It was a big, wide world out there, and she had so much more of it to explore. She couldn't wait for the next step, and the next challenge.

She couldn't wait to accomplish her dreams.

Author's Note:

A lot happened in this chapter, so I hope everyone was able to keep up. We met Alden, got a little more info on Silcoon (yes...evolved too fast, but what's done is done), Bonnie gave Clemont a quick call, she registered for the Hoenn League, met Wally, and then...

"Why are Butch and Cassidy part of this new organization when they're part of Team Rocket!"

Answers in due time my good people. Meaning...next chapter, Chapter 7: Ralts On In.

As for everything else, though, not too much to say. I suppose it was a lot of set-up, with Wally and Team Rocket/Archaic. I was excited to put Wally into this story, and I think he'll be a good character as we go on. He's not as much of a rival as Max and another character will be, but he'll be important for Bonnie's growth as a trainer.

I suppose we'll see how all that goes later on, though. Hope you enjoyed, and I'll see you in the next chapter.