Cocoon

Before entering the room, Yuga instructed Shin and Kazuma not to disturb him unless it was absolutely necessary. He also postponed any pending appointments.

As soon as he closed the door, Yuga couldn't contain his eagerness and immediately asked the system, "System, please tell me, what is the thing you mentioned that can replace the Insect Heart?"

[ Do you still remember what you obtained in the Ruins of Oldale Town? ]

"The Ruins of Oldale Town? Oh, you mean the ancient Pokémon, Cradily?"

The key to the Ruins of Oldale Town was indeed the four mysterious gems. Yuga had initially hoped to find some valuable treasures inside. However, apart from fossils, there were only a few ancient Pokémon.

Fossils could revive ancient Pokémon, which was valuable to some extent, but compared to the four gems, they seemed insignificant.

[ Yes, there were ancient Pokémon, but you forgot about a special fossil. ]

With the system's reminder, Yuga did recall. In the ruins, there was an altar with an unfamiliar fossil placed on it.

Even now, the technology to revive fossils had not been developed, so those fossils had piled up in the system's backpack, including the unidentified one.

If the system hadn't reminded him today, Yuga might have forgotten about these fossils.

"Are you referring to this one?"

Yuga rummaged through the system's backpack and finally found the unidentified fossil.

This fossil was a pale purple color, slightly translucent, unlike the other fossils.

[ Yes, that's the one. ]

The system's voice echoed in Yuga's mind.

"Do you know what kind of Pokémon this fossil belongs to?"

Yuga asked curiously.

[ It's a Genesect fossil. ]

"Genesect?!"

Yuga couldn't help but exclaim, surprised to the point of almost shouting. Fortunately, the room had excellent soundproofing.

[ Yes! ]

"Why didn't you tell me about this before?"

Yuga was genuinely annoyed. Such crucial information had been withheld from him.

[ You didn't ask, Host. ]

"So if I don't ask, you won't say anything?"

For the first time, Yuga felt that the system was unreliable. It hadn't shared such important information with him.

[ Even if i'd tell the Host, what can the Host do now? ]

Yuga paused for a moment, realizing that even if he knew about it, what could he do with a Genesect fossil?

Revive it?

The technology to revive fossils hadn't been developed yet, so it was like having rice but no way to cook it.

"I can't possibly figure it out myself! I don't have that talent," Yuga exclaimed.

Even if he managed to figure it out, there was no guarantee that he could revive a special Pokémon like Genesect.

With these thoughts in mind, Yuga sighed deeply.

[ Furthermore, I must remind the Host that even if a fossil revival device becomes available, this Genesect fossil cannot be used as a resurrection material. ]

"Why not?" Yuga asked, astonished. He had just been thinking that when the fossil revival device became available, he could obtain a Legendary Pokémon for free!

[ Because the genetic sequence in this fossil is incomplete. Otherwise, I wouldn't have kept silent about it, and I wouldn't have suggested using it as a replacement for the Insect Heart. ]

After the system's explanation, Yuga learned that Genesect had lived in the Pokémon world three hundred million years ago, and after becoming a fossil, it had drifted from the Unova region to the Hoenn region due to continental drift.

Over such a long time, as Genesect fossilized, its genetic sequence had suffered losses.

"How could this happen?"

Yuga was heartbroken. A magnificent Legendary Pokémon had been lost in this way.

He remembered in the original story that Genesect had been successfully revived, and it seemed that others could do it, but when it came to him, the fossil was incomplete! It was truly frustrating.

"Is there no other remedy?" Yuga asked hopefully, looking at the system.

[ There isn't, unless... ]

"Unless what?"

[ Unless the Host can obtain a specific golden item. ]

The system replied hesitantly.

"A golden item? Are you joking with me? If I could randomly obtain a golden item, I might as well go and capture a Legendary Pokémon myself; it would be more convenient."

He had been with the system for over two years, and with the additional two years spent in Arus, it had been nearly five years in total. In all that time, he had only obtained one golden item, the Seed of Unknown.

Having hope for a golden item was like hoping that one day Jynx would become as sexy as Tsareena.

"No other options?" Yuga inquired.

[ No... none... ]

Even the system felt guilty about the drop rate of golden items.

[ Actually, using the Genesect fossil as a replacement for the Insect Heart is worthwhile. Not only can Vivillon undergo a transformation, but also the Host's mission can be completed. ]

"Mission? You mean the mission related to Vivillon's Scale Powder Mystery?"

[ Yes, the completion method for this mission is to have Vivillon fully transform into Butterfly King. ]

Perhaps feeling too guilty, the system went against its usual policy and detailed the completion method for Yuga.

"Well, it seems that's the only way."

Yuga sighed in resignation.

"But, what exactly is the Insect Heart? Why replace it with Genesect's fossil?"

[ Actually, the Insect Heart is the Amber of the Insect King, containing the power of the Insect King's life. Butterfly King is a special branch of the Insect King, but it's much more challenging to evolve into than a typical Insect King because butterfly groups usually lack a king.

However, in the end, the Insect King or Butterfly King is just an ordinary Pokémon. Genesect, on the other hand, is on par with Legendary Pokémon. Using its fossil as a substitute for the Insect Heart is more than sufficient.

The transformation of Butterfly King only requires the power left by the Insect King in the amber. So even if Genesect's genes are incomplete, the power inside is still intact, and it won't have any special effect. ]

"I see! So how should Vivillon use this?"

[ You just give it to Vivillon, and it will naturally know what to do. ]

Yuga nodded, summoned Vivillon from its Poké Ball, and said to it, "Vivillon, this is for you."

Vivillon looked at Yuga with confusion, not understanding why he was giving it a piece of stone, even though the stone looked quite pretty.

However, despite its puzzlement, Vivillon obediently took the fossil from Yuga's hand.

The moment it touched the fossil, a strong reaction occurred between Vivillon and the fossil.

From the pale purple fossil, countless threads of yellow-green color suddenly extended, emitting a faint fluorescence as they wrapped around Vivillon.

Vivillon didn't resist these threads attempting to wrap around it; it felt a strong connection to them.

As more and more yellow-green threads accumulated, Vivillon involuntarily folded its wings, encasing the entire fossil within them.

When Vivillon folded its wings, it appeared as if it had transformed into a cocoon.

The yellow-green threads didn't stop; they continued to multiply. Soon, Vivillon had become a genuine cocoon.

The entire cocoon emitted a soft glow. The yellow-green light wasn't too bright, and it seemed to be pulsating, expanding and contracting like a living heart.