Before venturing onto Route 6, we opt to explore the school grounds. There, we encounter a girl named Paula who requests our assistance in delivering a letter to a boy named Frank. Eager to help, we agree to undertake the delivery on her behalf.

As we reach Route 6, we stumble upon Team Yell members gathered around a Silicobra. They seem fixated on the Pokémon, impeding our path to Stow-on-Side.

"What a cute Silicobra," one of the male grunts comments.

"Just look at those adorable eyes," adds the female grunt.

"It's our duty as Team Yell to make sure Silicobra gets a nice peaceful sleep!" the male grunt declares to the female.

"Those guys again? They sure know how to annoy us somehow..." I mutter in frustration as Team Yell's presence obstructs our journey once more.

Then, a woman approaches, inquiring, "Hello there. If I promise not to wake the Pokémon, will you let me through?"

"Of course. It'd be our pleasure," responds one of the grunts, allowing the woman to pass through.

Hop arrives, greeting us, "Oh, hey, Ash, everyone."

"Hop, good to see you again," I reply, noticing the changes in him since our last encounter in Motostoke.

"You're heading to Stow-on-Side, right?" Hop asks.

"Yeah, but first, we have to get past the grunts," Elena mentions. "They are blocking the path after all."

Hop approaches the Team Yell grunts, asking, "Oi, Team Yell. Don't suppose you'll let us through?"

"Nah, you kids are way too loud. Can't be lettin' you through," the male grunt retorts. "An' we're particularly not fond of kids wearin' the Challenge Band!"

"With all your stompin' around, Silicobra is sure to wake up!" the female adds.

"Right..." I acknowledge, realizing their own movements might disturb Silicobra. Hop turns to me, asking, "What do we say, Ash? If we don't get past them, we won't be able to continue our Gym Challenge at Stow-on-Side..."

"Well, then we are going to fight," I sigh determinedly as we prepare our Pokémon, getting ready for battle by reaching for our Poké Balls.

"You two are way too noisy. You don't wanna wake up Silicobra, now do you?" the female Grunt warns.

"I swear, kids these days...Well, we've got no choice. We have to send you packin'. It's all for the sake of Silicobra," the male Grunt remarks.

Subsequently, they send out their Pokémon, Skunky and Liepard. I release my Barraskewda, while Hop brings out his Cramorant to engage in the battle. However, despite our efforts, Hop's Cramorant gets defeated in the end.

Seeing the situation, Alice commands her Vanilla Cream Alcremie to confront the Liepard, while I take charge with Barraskewda to tackle the Skunky. With combined efforts, we manage to defeat both opposing Pokémon.

"Ugh! Why do you 'ave to be such a bother?" the female grunt complains. "Silicobra might wake up after all that ruckus!"

"Then there's no point in us stickin' around! Let's get out of here! We'll make these bothersome kids holler some other day," the male grunt decides. Both of them swiftly flee the scene.

After their departure, I approach Silicobra, offering it some snacks. It eats them, and then I extend an invitation to join our team. Silicobra appears to agree, deciding to accompany me on our journey.

Silicobra: The Sand Snake Pokemon: Ground Type. As it digs, it swallows sand and stores it in its neck pouch. The pouch can hold more than 17 pounds of sand.

"Alice... You and Aromatisse were brilliant together!" Hop compliments.

"Yeah, but why did you lose to them? It's not like you," Alice remarks.

"See, Bede really wiped the floor with me the last time we battled... And don't get me wrong—I can take a loss! Battling means you've got to lose sometimes."

"Then why are you feeling sad about it?" Gloria inquires.

"But he said that I was dragging Lee's good name through the mud, being so rubbish like I was... And I just can't get those words out of my head!"

Elena intervenes, "Hop, you don't have to listen to his words. He's just a jerk who acts as if he's superior by using my Papa's name."

"If I'm weak, then people'll think Lee's weak, too... But I don't want that! I can't let Lee get dragged down! He's the unbeatable Champion! I'm gonna have to take some time figuring this out. See you around, player..." Hop shouts before hastily running off.

"Hop..." I murmur with a tinge of sadness, and then we hear a voice, "You're one of the Gym Challengers endorsed by Aurora, aren't you?"

Turning around, we see an old lady approaching us. It's none other than Opal, the Fairy Type Gym Leader. "My name's Opal. If you want to know more, have a look at my League Card," she says, handing us her League Cards.

"I'll keep an eye on you, child. I want to see what you can do when you go all out," she adds before slowly continuing her path.

"I wonder why someone at her age is still a gym leader," Gloria ponders.

"Well, she's been trying to find someone to succeed her, but to no avail," Elena explains.

Later on, we opt for some training around the area, and to our delight, both our Impidimp and Hatenna evolve into their second forms.

Hattrem: The Serene Pokemon: Psychic Type. Evolved from Hattena at LV:32. No matter who you are, if you bring strong emotions near this Pokémon, it will silence you violently.

Morgrem: The Devious Pokemon: Dark and Fairy Type. Evolved from Impidimp at LV:32. When it gets down on all fours as if to beg for forgiveness, it's trying to lure opponents in so that it can stab them with its spear-like hair.

"And check this out, Morgrem manages to learn a move called False Surrender..." Alice remarks.

"Yeah... it's actually mentioned in the Pokedex entry," I add.

Just then, they notice some Yamask on the road, but rather than holding their faces as usual, they seem to be carrying something else.

"Hey, are those Yamask? They're not holding the faces!" I exclaim.

"Those are Galarian Yamask," Elena explains. "They have Ground-type characteristics."

Alice reminisces, "Remember in Unova when a Yamask tried to possess Cilan?"

"Yeah... I don't think they can do that now," I remark. Then we decide to capture the Yamask.

Yamask (Galarian Form): The Spirit Pokemon: Ground and Ghost Type. A clay slab with cursed engravings took possession of a Yamask. The slab is said to be absorbing the Yamask's dark power.

"So, in other words, it was possessed," Meowth remarks.

"That's horrible," Zoroark adds with concern.

As we continue walking, we encounter two ladders—one leading downwards and the other ascending. A sign nearby indicates that one path leads to Stow-on-Side, while the other heads to Laterally. Alice opts for Stow-on-Side, while I choose the route leading to Laterally.

Upon arrival, we encounter several individuals engaged in fossil excavation. Suddenly, a rock heads towards us, prompting me to shout, "Espeon! Psyshock!"

Espeon swiftly uses Psyshock to break the rock, and a scientist nearby apologizes, "Oh, somebody there? Sorry 'bout that."

"What's with that attitude?" Helen demands.

"I'm Bray Zenn, here to dig up fossils," he introduces himself. "You're looking for fossils, too?"

"Actually, we're not searching, but we do have some fossils," I respond as we present the fossils. As we show him the fossils, the glass reflects a glint of light. "Those are rare fossils..."

"I see you're as rough as ever," remarks another scientist as we turn around to see their approach.

"Well, I forgot to set my alarm clock..." she replies casually.

"You're so careless..." Bray sighs, introducing her, "She's a fellow researcher, Cara Liss."

After we show the fossils to her, Elena inquires, "Do you have a Fossil Restoration machine?"

"Of course. There's a mysterious aspect to Galar fossils. The right combination might just create an odd match-up that defies all prior ideas!" Cara Liss explains while showcasing some tablets. "Here's my prediction: If we combine Fossilized Fish and Fossilized Dino together, considering this area was once a seabed, the resulting Pokémon likely had limbs suitable for swift movement in water. It would've dwelled in the depths and needed a physiology capable of catching prey above. I've named it Arctovish."

Bray Zenn interjects, "And if I combine Fossilized Bird and Fossilized Drake, my theory suggests... this area used to be open plains with only short shrubs. So, the bird Pokémon here would have evolved to run more than fly, leading to a stronger lower body. I've named it Dracozolt!"

"I'm not entirely convinced... It could be right, or it could be completely wrong," Alice comments skeptically.

"They truly are enigmatic," Flora adds.

We decide to share one each for them to try out. However, it seems that they have mistaken both the Fossilized Dino and Fossilized Drake as they put them into the machine. I ask, "So, how long is it going to take?"

Bray Zenn responds, "Who knows? It might take two hours, or even four hours."

While we start training our Pokémon as we wait, to our surprise, the machines finish much quicker than expected. But when the Pokémon materialize, they're not the Dracozolt or the Arctovish we anticipated.

"Are those supposed to be the Dracozolt and the Arctovish?" Helen asks, puzzled.

"And that's the mystery of Galar Fossils! It didn't quite align with my hypothesis, but look at their potential! I'll call it Arctozolt! It once inhabited the ancient seas, likely chilling and storing its prey with its icy body!"

"That hypothesis took quite a turn," I mutter.

"Well, those are Galar's fossils for you. Mysterious indeed! If I had to name it... Ah! Dracovish! With its robust legs and jaws, it was unmatched on land! Unfortunately, it overhunted its prey and went extinct. Yeah, that's probably what happened!" Bray Zenn explains.

"Why does this feel made up?" Alice sighs, bemused.

As we wait for the new set of fossils, Dracovish takes a liking to me and starts chasing me around. "Why me?" I grumble.

"Looks like Dracovish has taken a shine to him," Bray Zenn remarks.

"Really?" Alice mutters skeptically.

Attempting to halt Dracovish, I use Electro-Web, but it counters with a Water Gun. Fortunately, we manage to dodge the attack, though it unintentionally hits Arctozolt. Annoyed, Arctozolt uses Icy Wind, freezing the ground and causing Dracovish to slip and collide into me.

"Ash! Where are you going?" Alice yells out as Dracovish seems determined to drag me into the nearby pond, clearly enjoying a good swim. After returning to dry land, Alice soothes the agitated Arctozolt.

"Are you alright?" Elena asks.

"I think so..." Suddenly, the new set of fossils is complete, and to our surprise, Dracozolt and Arctovish materialize this time.

"It's quite peculiar...having all four of them coexist like this," Elena remarks.

Since we were the ones who provided the fossils, we decide to take responsibility for caring for them.

Dracozolt: The Fossil Pokemon: Electric and Dragon Type. In ancient times, it was unbeatable thanks to its powerful lower body, but it went extinct anyway after it depleted all its plant-based food sources.

Arctozolt: The Fossil Pokemon: Electric and Ice Type. This Pokémon lived on prehistoric seashores and was able to preserve food with the ice on its body. It went extinct because it moved so slowly.

Dracovish: The Fossil Pokemon: Water and Dragon Type. Powerful legs and jaws made it the apex predator of its time. Its own overhunting of its prey was what drove it to extinction.

Arctovish: The Fossil Pokemon: Water and Ice Type. Though it's able to capture prey by freezing its surroundings, it has trouble eating the prey afterward because its mouth is on top of its head.

After thanking the scientists, we bid them farewell and continue on our journey toward Stow-on-Side.

Here is a new chapter, and we have the anime episode for the Fossilized Pokemon in this chapter. I hope you like it.

Ash and Alice's Pokemon:

Venusaur, Charizard x2, Blastoise, Butterfree x2 (One Pink), Pikachu, Meowth, Machamp, Gengar, Kingler, Koffing, Lapras, Eevee, Snorlax, Meganium, Typhlosion (Hisuian), Espeon, Corsola (Galarian), Mantine, Sceptile, Linoone (Galarian), Gardevoir (Shiny), Milotic, Absol, Infernape, Lucario, Abomasnow, Gallade, Samurott, Audino, Yamask (Galarian), Garbodor, Zoroark, Stunfisk (Galarian), Greninja, Meowstic x2, Aegislash, Hawlucha, Decidueye, Lycanroc (Dusk), Mimikyu (Shiny), Melmetal, Raboot, Drizzile, Greedent, Corvisquire, Orbeetle, Thievul, Eldegoss, Dubwool, Drednaw, Boltund, Carkol (Shiny), Flapple, Appletun, Silicobra, Barraskewda, Toxtricity x2 (Amped, Low-Key), Centiskorch, Hattrem, Morgrem, Perrserker, Sirfetch'd, Alcremie x9 (Each Flavor), Dracozolt, Arctozolt, Dracovish, Arctovish, Dreepy, Kleavor