Chapter 912 - The Antler of Xerneas

The ranch road stretched wide and expansive, forcing Aoki to deliberately stop here to capture more Gogoat and Skiddo, which consumed a considerable amount of time.

However, because of this delay, his Pokémon gained numerous battle opportunities.

On the first day, Aoki successfully caught four Gogoat and ten Skiddo.

By the second day, he had added five more Gogoat and twelve Skiddo to his collection.

On the third and fourth days, every time they arrived at a new area, they immediately searched for traces of these Pokémon.

Naturally, the capturing process wasn't without resistance—Blaziken and Swampert ended up fighting far more than the others.

They remained on the grassland for six full days.

By the end of the sixth day, Aoki had captured a total of thirty-four Gogoat and seventy Skiddo.

Effectively, aside from those belonging to ranchers, the majority of the wild Gogoat and Skiddo on the entire route now resided in Aoki's possession.

These hundred-plus Pokémon represented a substantial fortune.

Regardless of their levels or individual potential, they were essentially walking moeny generators.

Before teleporting them to the island, Aoki had Porygon2 designate a small pasture area where they could graze freely.

Once established, the island would have a steady supply of milk, with surplus available for sale.

Since Aoki had already formulated specialized Pokéblocks to enhance Miltank's milk production, creating a similar blend for Gogoat was no challenge.

With some additional methods to encourage breeding, it wouldn't be long before Aoki had his own thriving ranch.

Perhaps he could even compete with Whitney's Miltank for market share.

The Pokémon on the island would benefit too—fresh goat milk daily would greatly aid their growth.

This was why Aoki had been willing to invest so much time here.

On the sixth night, Aoki and his team camped at the grassland's edge, where a wide river flowed toward the Kalos Sea. Once they crossed it, they would reach Shalour City.

After resting overnight, they would fly across the river on Flygon and arrive by midday.

In many ways, Shalour City was the birthplace of Mega Evolution in the Pokémon world.

Gathered around the campfire, Aoki sat with his team—Ralts, Blaziken, Lairon, Pupitar, Politoed, Swampert, and Carbink.

The Kalos region was Carbink's native habitat; perhaps here, they could find a way to accelerate its mutation.

Currently, the diamonds on Carbink's body were fractured, the pink hue within now clearly visible.

If the Carbink Minister saw it now, he would likely deduce its condition immediately.

But Aoki had no intention of letting the Carbink Minister examine it anytime soon.

As Ralts and Carbink played near the fire, both suddenly froze, staring blankly toward the river behind Aoki.

Simultaneously, the Unown script on Aoki's wrist, long dormant, flickered to life.

At night, the symbols glowed brighter, unmistakable even in the dark.

Noticing his Pokémon's reaction and the sudden glow on his wrist, Aoki whirled around.

Across the river, deep within the forest, a shimmering light pulsed between the trees.

Blaziken and the others sensed it too, rising to stand protectively beside him.

The light was multicolored, shifting like a prism, but the dense foliage obscured its source.

Yet, an instinctive certainty formed in Aoki's mind.

Without hesitation, he recalled all his Pokémon except Ralts and Carbink, summoned Flygon, and took off toward the light—nighttime be damned.

Flygon, sensing Aoki's urgency, beat its wings harder, speeding over the river.

Ralts and Carbink remained fixated on the distant glow, as though hypnotized by an unseen call.

The closer they got, the faster the Unown symbols on Aoki's wrist flashed.

But just as they neared the light's origin, it vanished abruptly.

The Unown script dimmed just as suddenly.

With the light gone, Ralts and Carbink snapped out of their trance, bewildered by their own actions.

It was as if something had overridden their will entirely.

Though the light had disappeared, Aoki refused to turn back.

They were too close now.

At his command, Flygon descended into the forest where the light had been.

A small, crystal-clear spring lay before them, undisturbed and seemingly empty.

But in the mud beside it, four shallow impressions marked the ground—footprints, likely left by a Pokémon.

The spring itself was unremarkable, save for its purity.

Yet the surrounding plant life told another story: the trees and flowers here thrived with unnatural vitality, far surpassing the rest of the forest.

"Xerneas," Aoki murmured, staring at the water.

Xerneas—the legendary life-giver of Kalos, a being of boundless grace and power.

A mythical Pokémon, radiant as the dawn.

To encounter it here, even briefly, was beyond improbable.

Though they hadn't met directly, the evidence was undeniable: the light, the Unown's reaction, the way Ralts and Carbink had been drawn in, and the unnaturally lush vegetation.

Aoki was 80% certain now—Xerneas had been here.

Only a Legendary Pokémon could trigger the Unown script's response.

As he studied the spring, a glint beneath the water's surface caught his eye.

Rather than reaching in, he used Telekinesis to lift the object out.

A slender, pale protrusion, faintly luminescent under the moonlight.

His system scanned it immediately.

Item Name: Xerneas's Antler Fragment

Description: The secondary antlers on Xerneas's head shed periodically, regrowing anew. This is one such fragment.

Function: Unknown

Note: Though detached, the fragment retains traces of Fairy energy, albeit diminished from its original state.

Aoki turned the glowing antler fragment in his hand.

Xerneas possessed eight primary antlers, milky white and branching into smaller, colorful secondary points when its power activated.

This fragment was likely from one of those secondary points, though its color had faded after separation.