The year before last, the antler-shaped large tree stood quietly deep in the forest. A beam of sunlight shone through the leaves onto the ground, casting a large patch of dappled shadows...
This scene made Caleb feel it was very much like the place in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, where the Master Sword was inserted in Korok Forest.
But the timing was wrong. Caleb looked back at Celebi...
Celebi understandingly nodded and continued to activate the Time Ripple.
The year before the year before last.
The year before that.
The year before that.
All the way back to thirty-one years ago.
The experience of traveling through time wasn't very pleasant; it was like riding a rickety old bus on a dirt road. Just thinking about it, Caleb felt dizzy and a bit nauseous.
He looked up at Celebi before him.
Even for Celebi, the continuous use of the Time Ripple was hard to bear. So after this journey, it directly landed on Caleb's shoulder, panting heavily.
"Whew!"
Seeing this, Caleb reached out and transferred some Viridian energy to the tiny Pokémon to replenish its overly depleted reserves.
But at that moment, Celebi suddenly raised its small hand and let out a weak cry: "Bi..."
Caleb turned his head. At first, he didn't notice anything wrong, but after Celebi cried out again, he realized that this time, there was no large tree before him!
This meant that at this point in time, Xerneas had not yet fallen into slumber!
"Can you sense its presence?" He asked.
"Bi..." Celebi closed its eyes, and green light emanated from its body.
Its perception followed the forest wind, drifting to every corner of this forest.
Soon, Caleb received a positive answer.
He tucked Celebi into his pocket and rode the Dragonite Express in the direction indicated by Celebi.
When Caleb found Xerneas, it was drinking water from the river.
As Caleb arrived, Xerneas seemed to sense something. It stopped drinking, raised its head, turned around, and looked over.
"Hi, long time no see!" Caleb greeted it while carefully observing Xerneas's expression and condition.
Xerneas looked at him and slowly said: >..Human..<
Caleb nodded in response, simultaneously pondering the specifics of this hidden quest.
Next year, Xerneas would transform into its tree form and enter hibernation. This meant that something would happen this year that would cause Xerneas, in the prime of its youth, to overexert its vitality.
'But what exactly could that be?'
Thinking this, he asked, "Have you been feeling well lately?"
Hearing this, a puzzled expression appeared in Xerneas's eyes. It had awakened from its last millennium of slumber less than fifty years ago and was currently at the peak of its physical condition.
Just by seeing Xerneas's expression, Caleb understood. He thought for a moment and decided to change the question, "Alright... Then, have you seen Yveltal these years?"
>..Yveltal...<
Xerneas knew of it.
It was a destructive Pokémon with a dark aura. It could take the lives of other creatures, end their lives, and turn them to stone.
Additionally, Yveltal had the ability to absorb the life force of living beings. Whenever its lifespan was nearing its end, it would absorb the life force of all creatures around it, then revert to a cocoon and sleep for a thousand years.
Xerneas did not like that brutal and merciless Yveltal. Before its last millennium of slumber, Yveltal had used Oblivion Wing to suck away the vitality of various creatures over a wide area, causing a great disaster where all living things were turned to stone...
That time, to save them, Xerneas had shared its own life force, then transformed into its tree form and entered hibernation. But since awakening this time, it had not yet encountered the other.
Xerneas gently shook its head and said: >..I can sense its presence. It has not yet awakened from its slumber..<
Hearing this, Caleb's heart skipped a beat.
'No way? Could this year be the year Yveltal awakens?'
Looking at Caleb's expression, Xerneas seemed to discern his thoughts and said softly: >..Do not worry. It will still need a long time to awaken..<
"How many years exactly?"
Xerneas carefully used its senses for a moment and answered honestly: >..Approximately one hundred years later..<
After hearing this, Caleb was even more perplexed.
'If it isn't Yveltal that would cause Xerneas to enter hibernation, then what else could it be? Could it be the humans of this world?'
At this point in time, those humans should have already officially arrived in this world.
Caleb thought of the strict rules and regulations of the future human continent thirty-eight years from now.
Arceus wouldn't treat those humans that way for no reason; something must have happened to cause this world to become what it is now...
'Could that incident be related to Xerneas?'
Caleb originally didn't want to get involved, but now that incident might be connected to his hidden quest...
'What a headache...'
But before figuring out what happened, Caleb needed to clarify some things with Xerneas. He looked into Xerneas's eyes and said, "I have traveled back from the future."
>..The future?..<
Caleb hummed in agreement and continued, "In the future, no, one year from now, you will turn into a tree and enter hibernation..."
Xerneas was not surprised. It thought for a moment and said: >..Do not worry. For me, that is only the beginning of a new life..<
It then asked: >..Did you come back to find me for something?..<
Only then did Caleb remember his main purpose for finding Xerneas, "I came to say goodbye."
>..Goodbye?..<
Caleb nodded, "I am leaving this world. I might never see you again, so I wanted to see you one last time, and then I discovered that the future you had turned into a large tree."
Xerneas did not dwell on the topic of turning into a tree. It just looked at Caleb quietly and asked: >..Did you find your friend?..<
"Of course. Would you like to meet them?"
>..If possible..<
It wanted to see what kind of friend could make this human travel the entire world to find it.
Hearing this, Caleb took out the red-and-white ball containing Mewtwo from his inventory.
Although putting Mewtwo in a regular Poké Ball was indeed unreasonable, the players' Poké Balls were empowered by the Infinite World's power and would not burst open from the Pokémon inside.
Of course, this was under the premise that the Pokémon did not struggle or resist becoming the player's Pokémon...
With a flash of dazzling white light, Mewtwo's simple and unadorned figure appeared beside Caleb.
Caleb introduced to Xerneas, "This is Mewtwo."
...
Stones and Reviews, please🙏🏾. These will motivate me to take up another Pokémon fic among one of my next translation projects...
That aside, read the rest of this fic's chapters here:
[email protected]/MayaMatengele01