"Let me have a look."
Professor Doi raised a magnifying glass and motioned for Zinnia to place the fossil on the table.
Neither Gary nor Zinnia could identify it. Gary had assumed it was an Anorith fossil—after all, they were in Hoenn, and Anorith or Lileep were the region's usual finds.
After nearly fifteen minutes of scrutiny, Professor Doi set the lens aside.
"This specimen has a vertebral column, so it definitely isn't Anorith."
"A spine?" Gary blurted, surprised.
Hoenn's known fossils—Lileep and Anorith—were both invertebrates; one resembled a plant, the other an arthropod.
"So what Pokémon could it be?" Zinnia asked.
When Gary had labeled it Anorith earlier, she'd masked her disappointment—a would-be Dragon Master raising a Bug-type didn't exactly fit the image she had in mind.
"Since it has a backbone, the revived Pokémon will be a vertebrate. Where exactly did you unearth it?" the professor asked.
"Granite Cave," Zinnia replied.
"Interesting. Every fossil recovered from Granite Cave to date has produced Lileep or Anorith. This is the first vertebrate we've found there." His eyes lit up with excitement.
"Can you say for sure what it'll hatch into?" Zinnia pressed.
"I can't guarantee anything," he said, "but the odds favor Aerodactyl."
"What—Aerodactyl?!" Zinnia's face lit up. "Gary, it's Aerodactyl! I'm so lucky!"
Gary raised an eyebrow. She had clearly mistaken Aerodactyl for a Dragon-type.
"Aerodactyl only sounds draconic—it's actually Rock/Flying," he reminded her.
Zinnia's grin faltered.
Before fossil revival technology was fully developed, many scholars had assumed Aerodactyl was a Dragon-type, but modern lab data had long since disproven that.
"Well… better than Anorith. At least the name sounds dragon-ish," she muttered.
Gary chuckled, recalling how Lance once padded his "Dragon" team with Aerodactyl, Gyarados, and Charizard—none of which were actually Dragon-type back then.
"Professor, when can we begin the revival?" he asked.
"Right away. Incubation time depends on the final body size; for a fossil of this volume, about three hours."
"Then let's start!" Zinnia said, almost bouncing with excitement.
Professor Doi transferred the fossil into the revival chamber. The computer analyzed its dimensions and determined the required amount of revival serum—an enzyme-rich fluid that restructures fossilized DNA. He loaded ten vials, sealed the tank, and hit Start.
Gary and Zinnia waited nearby. In another timeline, Gary had built a similar device himself—the real hurdle wasn't the hardware, but the serum.
Three hours later, brilliant white light filled the tank. The shielded glass dulled the glare, but the Pokémon inside only became visible once the radiance faded.
"What is it—Aerodactyl?" Zinnia asked, raising her Pokédex.
Pokédex: "No data found for this Pokémon."
"What?!"
Gary and the professor both stared. The creature inside was neither Aerodactyl nor any known Hoenn fossil Pokémon.
"That's… Tyrunt!" Professor Doi exclaimed.
"Tyrunt?" Zinnia's eyes sparkled. "Gary, Tyrunt is part Dragon, right?"
Gary nodded. Fate truly favored the aspiring Dragon Master.
In the games, Zinnia's team even includes a Tyrantrum obtained this very way; stumbling across one in Hoenn by chance would be nearly impossible.
[Lv. 5 Tyrunt ♂ / Quasi-Elite]
"Correct—Rock/Dragon. You hit the jackpot," Gary said.
"Awesome! I actually dug up a Dragon!" Zinnia pressed her face to the glass, gazing adoringly at the sleeping hatchling.
"How is it, Professor?" she asked anxiously.
"Vitals are normal," Professor Doi assured her. "Tyrunt's just sleeping. We'll run a full work-up once it wakes."
"Then please start the examination right away!" Zinnia urged.