The Failed Birth of a Legendary Pokémon

After leaving the Ecopark, Yuga pondered how to solve the issue of the White herbs' root rot.

Carefully flipping through the "Comprehensive Guide to Medicinal Herb Cultivation," he indeed found a solution outlined in there.

However, this method, although sounding simple, could be quite troublesome to execute.

It required carefully pulling out the white herbs with root rot from the soil and then placing it in a well-ventilated environment for some time.

This sounded straightforward, but the greatest challenge was to extract the herbs from the soil without damaging their fragile roots since these white herbs plants were still in their seedling stage.

During the time the herbs were placed in a well-ventilated environment, a special potion needed to be prepared and sprayed on the herb's leaves periodically to prevent them from drying out.

Once the herb's roots were dry, the entire herb field needed to be dried and disinfected before replanting.

After researching the method for treating root rot in white herbs, Yuga realized it was getting late and decided to prepare the potion first. Cleaning the herbs could wait until the next day.

The preparation of this potion wasn't overly complicated, and the materials were common, although most were chemical substances that Yuga needed to purchase outside.

To expedite the process, Yuga asked Misaki for help. It wasn't a secretive task, so Yuga had no reason to hide it.

After an entire night of work, Yuga and Misaki finally prepared enough potion.

Early the next morning, Yuga went to the Ecopark with the Grass-type Pokémon to address the issue with the white herbs.

The Grass-type Pokémon were responsible for delicately pulling out the seedlings from the soil since they could perform this task with greater precision without harming the herb's roots. Yuga's role was to clean the excessive soil from the seedlings' roots.

After a busy morning, they managed to clean the seedlings and placed them in a well-ventilated area, then sprayed them with the prepared potion.

Yuga entrusted the remaining potion to the Pokémon, instructing them to apply it to the herb seedlings regularly. He couldn't stay in the Ecopark all the time, as there were other tasks to attend to.

Leaving the Ecopark and returning to the store, Yuga spotted Kris inside, enjoying a cup of tea.

"Yuga!"

Kris exclaimed with joy upon seeing Yuga enter.

Yuga walked over and sat across from her, asking, "Feebas evolved?"

"Hey! How did you already know before I mentioned it?" Kris was genuinely surprised.

"It seems I was right. You're planning to leave Verdanturf Town, aren't you?"

"Yes." Kris nodded. "I've been here for quite some time. I want to start traveling as soon as possible."

Yuga asked, "Have you decided where to go?"

Kris replied, "Just going to wander around for now."

Yuga nodded and asked, "When are you leaving?"

"Tomorrow! First stop, Rustboro City!"

Kris said excitedly, showing her eagerness for the upcoming journey. She was heading in the opposite direction from her hometown, Lilycove City.

Yuga said, "Then consider today as your farewell. Don't come by tomorrow; I won't have time to host you."

"Hey, why are you so cold-hearted? You don't even care about sentiment!" Kris was quite unhappy with Yuga's words.

Yuga gave her a sidelong glance and said, "Why should I care about sentiment with you?"

"Never mind, I won't bother saying more. I've said everything I wanted to. Goodbye!"

With that, Kris stood up and walked toward the door.

"Take care out there!"

Yuga shouted after Kris as she left.

"I know!"

Kris raised her hand in acknowledgment.

After seeing Kris off, Yuga headed to the workshop in the new store.

He came here not to help Misaki with crafting Pokéblock but to continue his research on meteorites.

For these past few days, Yuga had been studying meteorites at the workshop in the new store. The several meteorite pieces were stored here, and both he and Misaki were occupied with their respective tasks, not interfering with each other.

Entering the meteorite storage area, Yuga prepared to retrieve a small piece for his research.

Seeing the meteorite, which was about the same size as himself, Yuga suddenly felt that it was taking up too much space. Since it was for research purposes, why not cut it into smaller pieces? This would also make it easier to transport.

Without hesitation, Yuga brought out the stone-cutting machine he had specifically purchased for meteorite research, intending to reduce the size of the largest meteorite.

This cutting machine had been bought by Yuga when he started researching meteorites, and he had used it several times before. So, using it now was quite a familiar process.

In no time, half of the meteorite had been sliced into smaller pieces.

However, as he attempted to cut the other half, he suddenly felt that the cutting machine couldn't make any further progress, no matter how much force he applied.

What was going on? This shouldn't be happening!

Yuga stopped cutting, looked into the existing gap, and noticed a faint purple glow coming from within.

What was this? Yuga wondered.

However, due to the small gap, Yuga couldn't get a clear view of what the purple glow inside the meteorite actually was.

Curiosity getting the better of him, Yuga continued to cut away the meteorite bit by bit and slowly extracted what was inside.

It was a crystal.

A fist-sized, irregularly shaped, light-purple circular crystal.

Yuga could sense that this was no ordinary crystal. Through his perception, enhanced by the Light of Life, he could clearly feel the terrifying energy contained within this crystal.

"System, do you know what this is?"

Unable to identify the object in his hand, Yuga turned to his trusty system for answers.

The system replied, [ This is half of Deoxys's Energy Core! ]

"What!"

Yuga couldn't help but exclaim in shock.

"What's wrong, boss?"

On the other side, Misaki, who had been diligently crafting Pokéblock, was startled by Yuga's loud exclamation.

Yuga awkwardly replied, "Ah, nothing, nothing. You focus on your work, don't mind me."

Seeing Yuga's strange expression, Misaki was puzzled but decided to continue her work.

In his mind, Yuga urgently asked the system, "Are you sure what you said is true?"

The system responded, [ It's true. The meteorite in front of you was likely in the process of nurturing a Deoxys before it fell to Earth. However, for some unknown reason, the Deoxys was not fully nurtured when the meteorite landed. Most of the meteorite was consumed during the descent, and the half-formed Deoxys inside likely lost its vital signs when it hit the ground. Whether it encountered an accident in space or during the descent, the specific reasons are unknown. In any case, the half of the Deoxys Energy Core in the host's hand is already deceased. ]

As far as Yuga knew, Deoxys possessed incredibly strong vitality. Even if its body was destroyed, as long as its Energy Core remained intact, it could regenerate.

He never expected that this Deoxys, still in the process of formation, would die without its Energy Core being fully developed.

Yuga gently rubbed the half Energy Core in his hand, feeling incredibly lucky.

If it weren't for the unique properties of the meteorite, which could isolate internal energy fluctuations, this crystal, containing enormous power, wouldn't have gone unnoticed, let alone ended up in his possession.

He had taken advantage of Steven!

However, the thought of returning it never crossed Yuga's mind. He hadn't stolen or looted it; he had acquired it through a legitimate transaction.