But he still had to give it a try.
Caleb stood in the clearing and waved to the several Legendary Pokémon before him.
Arceus, Dialga, Palkia, Giratina, as well as Groudon and Regigigas who hadn't yet left the mountain, either flew or stood in place, watching him leave.
He activated the Warp Beacon...
The next second, the scene before Caleb abruptly changed from the clear blue sky to a deep, dense forest.
This was the forest where Xerneas lived.
Since obtaining the 'Child of the Forest' title and upgrading his Viridian Power in the previous Instance, he felt a kind of sense of familiarity every time he entered a forest.
This feeling was very comfortable for him, like returning home.
Because their habitat was the forest, Caleb directly released Celebi, who was also known as the Guardian of the Forest, from its Poké Ball.
He looked at Celebi and asked, "Can you sense Xerneas's presence?"
Celebi flew a circle in the air and called out: "Bii!"
It could sense it.
Led by Celebi, Caleb boarded the Dragonite Express and began flying at low altitude through this forest.
Watching the trees swiftly passing by on either side, his mind wandered in a rare moment of distraction.
Dragonite was clearly not suited for rapid movement in places with many obstacles like this...
Although Mewtwo could take him directly via Teleport, constantly teleporting would be rather boring. If he wasn't pressed for time, Caleb wanted to enjoy the wild winds of the Pokémon world a bit longer.
In such situations, Pokémon capable of running on flat ground like grasslands and forests would be very useful.
Thinking this, several figures of rideable Pokémon quickly flashed through his mind, such as Arcanine, Zebstrika, Rhyhorn, Onix, Ponyta, and the like.
Among these Pokémon, the one that most captured his heart was undoubtedly Ponyta. Not the ordinary form of Ponyta, but the Galarian form, the rainbow Ponyta.
It would be great if he had a chance to visit Galar someday.
"Bii!"
At that moment, Celebi, who was leading the way ahead, suddenly stopped.
Before them was a thick, leafy tree, but this tree's shape was different from the others around it. Its crown spread toward the sky like antlers on both sides.
And on that crown grew countless lush, verdant leaves, which, when caught in the sunlight, shimmered with tiny specks of shimmering green.
Caleb looked up and saw this scene...
He was stunned for a moment, then realized the next second that this "tree" was the target he was searching for; Xerneas in its tree form.
What happened?
Seeing this, Caleb used Scout on the tree:
[Xerneas (Tree Form): A special form resulting from overexerting its own life force. Requires sleeping for a very long time to awaken.]
"How am I seeing these details now? Was Scout upgraded?" Caleb murmured, flipping through his system notification panel, which he hadn't opened for a long time.
Most of the notifications were about him defeating some wild Pokémon, gaining experience, or a certain Pokémon leveling up.
Previously, because each of these notifications would annoy and distract him, he had simply turned off this function...
He filtered through the experience notifications from battle results and soon found a notice among the text:
*Ding!*
[Scout has been updated! From now on, players can use Scout on any target!]
[Infinite World Version 1.14 Update Content.]
[Due to receiving numerous complaints about serious discrepancies in Pokémon strength assessment values, the function to view Pokémon levels via Scout is now officially removed. Players will no longer be able to view their own and enemy Pokémon levels and strength values. Experience Candies have also been removed, and each experience candy will now be replaced with an equivalent amount of points!]
[The current exchange rate between Experience Candies and points in the Infinite World is 1:10, meaning one Small Experience Candy can be exchanged for 10 points, Middle for 20 points, Large for 30 points.]
["Scout" is officially renamed to "Appraise", with the added the function to use Appraise on all targets. This function can view detailed information/lore of items.]
«Note: The content revealed by Appraise is related to the player's own Charisma and Luck values...»
Caleb skimmed through it roughly, got a general idea, and then focused his attention on the large tree before him.
The panel showed that Xerneas had turned into its tree form after overexerting its life force. But he remembered that when he last saw Xerneas, it was still in its prime...
Thirty-eight years might be very long for humans, but for Xerneas, which possessed eternal life, it meant nothing.
"Did Xerneas fall into hibernation because it helped me?" Caleb recalled the scene where Xerneas bestowed life upon the Distortion World.
'Or maybe something happened during these thirty-eight years that made Xerneas share its life force? Also, could Xerneas still have consciousness while in hibernation?'
Caleb pondered seriously for a moment, then stepped forward and tried to sense Xerneas's condition through his Viridian ability.
But the moment his hand touched the tree trunk, a hidden quest notification popped up:
*Ding!*
[It is detected that player Caleb Chase's friendship with Xerneas meets the conditions. This has triggered Xerneas's exclusive Hidden Quest: The Seed of Eternal Life!]
[The Seed of Eternal Life (Unique Hidden)]
[Quest Objective: Have a conversation with Xerneas.]
[Quest Reward: ???]
Caleb: "?"
'What's going on? Why did a quest pop up just as I was about to leave this Instance?'
This was reminiscent of when you're about to get off work, but the boss suddenly notifies you to work an extra hour...
Caleb felt somewhat reluctant to do it, but since it concerned Xerneas, he patiently and carefully read through the quest description again.
[Quest Objective: Have a conversation with Xerneas.]
"It seems simple enough. Anyway, let me communicate with Xerneas first."
Thinking this, Caleb continued using his Viridian ability, attempting to connect with the large tree before him.
But minutes passed with no response from Xerneas. With no success in his attempts, Caleb decisively turned to look at Celebi.
If it were other players, they might have no way around this, but Caleb could travel back through time, year by year, until he reached the year before Xerneas fell asleep.
"Bi!" Celebi nodded cheerfully. The Time Ripple around it began to erupt.
Soon, green light enveloped Caleb, taking him away from this era and back to one year ago.
Everything before him dissipated like a dream bubble. Caleb opened his eyes and found the same large tree still standing before him.
He said to Celebi, "One more time!"