Seymour returned Locke to his pokeball the moment he could. That curse had been nasty, and he wanted to get the Lapimage checked at a pokemon center as soon as possible.

"Yeah, where did the kid disappear to?" asked Seymour when he returned to the others' sides. "Should we... look for him?" Seymour's tone of voice suggested he didn't think that doing so would produce any actual results. Something strange was going on here. Something... eerie.

"I could try looking around for him on Trio..." Pheobe says. "But... this is all so creepy... And what do we do about the memorial? Do we keep cleaning it?"

Jake looked around. Guess the kid skedaddled. Else he was a spooker all along. He then looked to the busted up memorial. They had tried to do the right thing and was punished for it. Well, that's what he thought happened,
"
Maybe the other kid was just a ghost too. With the memorial... feels wrong to leave it that way, but maybe the pokemon did it as a trap... and once we fix it they will bust it up again. Man, I don't know. Maybe you can scoot around on trio just for a quick check and we can at least clean up the worst of the memorial. Maybe 10 minutes tops..."

If they got harrassed by sticking around longer, he'd rate this experience as worse than the marsh!

"That sounds reasonable," agreed Seymour. He no longer wanted to stick around any longer than they had to, but would also would feel bad if they left without at least making a token effort to clean up and look for the kid. "Let's not linger long though, okay? I am thoroughly spooked..."

Phoebe nods, and climbs on Trio to run about. Meanwhile, you take the time to set the memorial back up, and quickly clean up the area. After you're done, Phoebe returns. "No signs of him... it doesn't even look like anything went through the grass..." She looks like she wants to add something, but she seems scared to say it out loud.

You set out not long after, still worried that the Yamask will return. Thankfully, the sun gives you a nice warm feeling as you head down the road.



Around noon, you reach the crossing of route 103, 104, and 205. You saw it from a distance, thanks to the large scrolling text sign announcing Midpoint, a truck-stop/restaurant, with a petting zoo.

Getting closer, you see it's one of the bigger truck stops around. On top of the restaurant and refueling facilities, you see a large statue of a shiny Metagross, and a park with half-a-dozen fossil Pokemon, decorated with statues of their larger relatives.

There are plenty of peoples around, including multiple trainers, but everyone seems more interested in eating than battling at the moment.

Jake stretched as he saw the restaurant,
"Finally, civilization... of sorts. Who else is hungry!"

After the Yamask incident and quite a bit of walking, he had worked up quite an appetite. But there was more that was interesting to him.
"Those are some weird looking pokemon statues. Maybe we can get something to eat while we walk and check it all out at once."

"I like that idea," agreed Seymour. "I could really go for a burger right about now. Those spooky ghosts from before seem to have somehow given me a big appetite. Is hunger-inducing fear a thing?"

After getting his food, Seymour intended to take a look around the fossil area and scan all the pokemon with his Pokedex. Especially the pokemon he didn't recognize. He had always had an interest in pokemon resurrected from fossils. He also wanted to sit down for a while and give his feet a rest.

Most of the pokemon are familiar: a Lileep, an Archen, a Kabuto, a Shieldon, and an Amaura, but you do notice one you've never seen before.

Dohewl, the Dopey Pokemon.
Type: Rock/Ground
These Pokemon could not fly at all, so instead they dug tunnels and walked from place to place.
It is speculated that their poor decision making resulted in them going extinct very quickly.

The Metagross statue seems to be an advertisement for a pokemon race show. The kind that involves smashing a lot of cars or boxes. The others are playground attractions for the kids in the park: an Aurorus slide, Carracosta tower for the kids to climb inside, and a flying Aerodactyl with three swings under it.

"Oh man, that birdo is awesome." Jake exclaimed.

He was not sure exactly what made the pokemon there special. The idea of a fossil was somewhat foreign to them. He turned to Seymour and Pheobe,
"Do you know where to catch those? I haven't heard of a place called extinct before."

Seymour stared at Jakey in confusion for a moment before it dawned on him what exactly Jakey meant. "Oh. No. Extinct is not a location. It means that this kind of pokemon died out completely at one point. But through the miracle of modern technology, the species has been brought back from the dead." It truly was fascinating that such a thing was even possible.

"I don't know where we can catch them. Besides here. Maybe. Are we allowed to catch the pokemon here?" Seymour looked around to see if the fossil pokemon were allowed to be caught or not. There were several "extinct" pokemon that he wouldn't mind trying to convince to join his team.

It looks like it's a playground mixed with a petting zoo, with the kids playing as much with the attractions as they do with the pokemon present. You do see a young man wearing the same uniform as the waiters inside watching over the park. Perhaps he could answer any questions you have.

"Huh, I didn't know something could have ALL of it die out. And to bring it back? Cadien is way cooler than I knew! I bet their king is more than a hundred years old!"

Biology was clearly not Jake's strong suit, but at least he was enthusiastic! He didn't hesitate to approach the employee,
"Hey! This is so cool! My friend just told me what this all means! I bet these pokemon are super rare now. Is there any way to get one though? That birdo over there looks super cool. I'd love to show it off and talk all about where it came from."

Little did Jake know, he intent on re-inventing sponsorships.

"Yeah, I am interested in these living fossil pokemon as well. Although I am sure many, many, many people are... Still, if there is a way to catch one, I am really eager to hear how. Also, if we were to bring in a fossil of our own, would you be able to revive it for us?" Seymour was truly interested in the entire process. He would probably be willing to listen to way more details than the poor employee was willing or able to go into.

"Oh, I'm sure you do. Unfortunately, the only place they can be revived is at the castle. Or outside the country, maybe, but good luck going there with a fossil." The guy says. "My boss got a deal with someone up there, so he can use their labs sometimes. When he can get fossils, of course. That's the rough part."

"They're rare?" Phoebe asks.

"Yeah. Most archeologist here are more interested in historical sites, not pre-historical ones. And when some are found, most of them end up in the hands of the army."

"So there's no way to get one of them?"

The employee shrugs. "Well... there are a few places where people find them. Sometimes, a blast will unearth one around Carcamier, and some are found in the caves around Montaunin. When some civilians find them, they often bring them to the boss. He often trades Pokemon for them, especially if they're good ones.

But... the Birdo? Yeah, the boss won't trade that one. Not only is he really rare, he's just too good with the kids... and pretty much useless in a fight."

Seymour was a bit disappointed that the pokemon were so hard to get, but not surprised. "Well, if I ever do come across a pokemon fossil, I'll try to bring it to your boss too. We haven't been that fortunate in our fossil finding yet though." After all, it was difficult to find a fossil if you never actually spent time searching for one.

"I think I will spend some time hanging around the fossil pokemon, then maybe we can eat and do some training? Not necessarily in that order." He looked to his friends to see if that sounded good to them too.

"Sounds good to me!"

What kind of training would you like for you pokemon? You could improve a specific stat, try to learn their next move, try to get a new ability, or try to get them closer to evolving.

I am personally most interested in trying to get my pokemon closer to evolving. So I will focus on that for my training. I think three or four of my current team have evolutions.

still away from computer! but would like to focus on new abilities. those are always fun!

As you spend some time to train, you notice a muscular man watching you. He has a serious expression behind his sunglasses, as though judging your training methods.  Between his buzz-cut hair, gray tank top, and black pants, he looks rather intimidating.

---

Training result:

For Glumpy: SpA increases to Average, and he learns Headbutt
Headbutt Normal P Average 0 Can Flinch if the damage check's last digit is 1-3

For Locke: Att increases to Average, and he learns Fake Out
Fake Out Normal P Low 0 +3 Priority. Can only be used when the pokemon comes out, causes Flinch

For Jett: HP increases to Above Average, and he learns Brine
Brine Water S Average 0 Damage increase to Incredible if foe has 2 wounds or more

For Marigold: Att increases to Average, and SpD increases to Low
For Glade: Speed increases to High, and she learns Bulk Up
Bulk Up Fighting * Gives +1 Att and Def

For Malley: Def increases to Average, and he gets the ability Sturdy
Sturdy If the Pokémon doesn't have any wound, a OHKO causes 1 wound and until healed, any wound check against the Pokémon that isn't Ex No counts as Ex Yes.


For Skipper: SpA increases to High, and he gets one of those two abilities:
Courage When suffering two Wounds, user gains +1 HP and +1 Pow
Damp Self-Destruct and Explosion cannot be used if this pokémon is in range

For Fetcher: SpA increases to Above Average, and he gets one of those two abilities:
Defiant When opponent reduce user's stats, gain +2 Att
Super Luck Gives user +5 to Crit chance

For Growler: SpA increases to Incredible, and she gets one of those two abilities:
Bodyguard When a Close ally is hit by a single target attack, user can take the attack instead
Conqueror Once per fight, when you KO a foe with an attack, gain +1 Att, SpA, and Speed

For Fairy: SpA increases to Low, and he gets one of those two abilities:
Battle Armor Immune to Critical Hits
Sturdy If the Pokémon doesn't have any wound, a OHKO causes 1 wound and until healed, any wound check against the Pokémon that isn't Ex No counts as Ex Yes.

For Bandy: Def increases to Above Average, and she gets one of those two abilities:
Covert When fighting in favored terrain, gain +2 Evasion
Prankster Status moves have +2 Priority

For FeeFee: SpD increases to High, and he gets one of those two abilities:
Cute Charms When attacked in melee by a pokemon of the opposite gender, the attacker becomes Infatuated
Flash Fire Immune to Fire moves, and user's Fire-type move get +1 damage after being hit by Fire.

Jake was a bit disappointed that the birdo wasn't available and rather weak. He had a soft spot for bird pokemon. Or at least he had a soft spot for bird pokemon at that moment. It didn't take him much time for the training to distract him from the momentary disappointment.

As he finished up his training (giving high fives to all of his pokemon, and if willing all of Seymour's pokemon and Pheobe. He also went ahead and gave any curious onlookers the opportunity of a high five, including the muscle man,
"How did you like the show?" Jake boasted, then gave his own arm a flex. While hardly as muscular, it was clear Jake was fit in his own way.

Seymour had been too focused on the training to notice the sunglassed man watching them at first, but when he did, Seymour only became that much more serious about his efforts. After all, Seymour didn't want to look like he didn't know what he was doing. Especially as an outsider in this nation.

When Jakey spoke to the man at the end of their training session, he added, "Any tips for improvement? I would guess you have some experience with training." If not with pokemon, then at least on himself. You don't get muscles like that on accident.

"Not bad." He says in a gruff voice. "But yeah, I do have an advice. Practice directing your pokemon without gesture. If they need to look at you to know what to do, they're not looking at their opponent. If you get to Vinmur, you'll thank me for it."

With that, he turns back to rejoin a group of soldiers climbing into a gray armored van, marked SPT.

As they drive off west, you realize Pheobe was holding her breath. "Ouf... I didn't notice those cops..." She notices you look a bit confused. "Those guys are the Special Pokemon Tactics division. The police branch of the military. Their headquarters is in the capital, but Vinmur is their training city."

Seymour thanked the man for the advice and made a mental note to practice using fewer gestures. It was a smart idea.

When Phoebe mentioned they were the police, Seymour asked, "Should we have been nervous to be talking to them? Or should we have asked them about the Team Gaia situation?" He couldn't help but notice how nervous Phoebe seemed around them, but then again she had a rough history with law enforcement. Seymour himself kind of wanted to see if any headway had been made in taking down Team Gaia, since they had seemed to have had a lot of run-ins with the group lately. Maybe next time.

"Huh..." Jake's voice trailed as he considered he may be monitored. He brushed off the idea quickly though. Of course they were being monitored most people, especially foreigners were being monitored. If they had done anything seriously wrong, they would probably be in jail already.
"Spooky yeah, I didn't see them either. Usually my neck gets tingly when people are hiding around me.

He then pondered why they would be at the 104 rest stop,
"Maybe they were returning to Vinmur from the capital. Or maybe they were tracking down team Gaia and rested here."

Pheobe nods in agreement. "Probably. I hear everyone passing through these roads stops here for food."

With your meal and training done, you set out on road 205, continuing your trip to Vinmur.