Deep Sea Fossil (4,000 words)

"Wai..."

Beneath the cliffs, a Wailord idly swished its enormous blue tail, sending huge waves crashing violently against the nearby rock face. That was why cliffs had formed here.

It blinked, feeling that its life as a whale was rather dull. All it ever did was eat, eat, eat, from the Frozen Sea all the way here. How boring.

Before evolving, it could still go onto the beach to play ball, but now, never mind playing ball—it could not even get close to the beach.

The other Wailord nearby lay around lazily. They were full, so wherever they happened to be was fine with them.

The Wailord looked around in boredom, then suddenly grew excited. It slapped the water and leaped gracefully into the air. "Wai—"

It waved its aqua-blue fins excitedly and bared its big front teeth, looking thoroughly delighted.

"Ah!"

Professor Fennel clasped her hands in front of her chest, gazing in wonder at the leap unfolding before her.

Anyone who had never witnessed it firsthand could hardly imagine how breathtaking it was to see a behemoth over a dozen meters long suddenly soar into the air.

"Wow!"

Truffle's eyes shone. "Big Blue, do it again! Do it again!"

Unfortunately, after that one leap, Wailord merely splashed excitedly beneath the cliff, as though trying to communicate something. It paid no attention to the little girl at all.

Indeed, compared with Wailord's enormous size, she really was just a tiny little thing.

"Ugh..."

Truffle puffed out her cheeks. Only then did she remember that she had a professor for a big sister. "Sis, Sis, make Big Blue fly up again!"

"Truffle, no. You mustn't force others to do things, and that goes for Pokémon too."

Yet Fennel, who had always doted on her little sister, spoke with a solemn