Pokémon: I picked up a reborn Eevee at the start of the game

Even the well-informed Cynthia didn't know what this "snail shell" was, and guessed to herself.

But she immediately dismissed her guess, "No, if that were the case, this knight snail would be at least four or five meters tall... Besides, although they are both snail shells, their shapes are so different."

The Knight Snail's shell is shaped more like a horn, while the one in front of us is more rounded, resembling a disc.

Xia Chen suddenly asked, "Could it be some kind of spirit, like the ghost Zorua, that has a unique elven form found only in Xicui?"

Cynthia's eyes lit up; she realized that the possibility of this was quite high.

If that's the case, then this metal snail shell would be extremely valuable.

A new form of elf, even if it only existed in history, is enough to cause a global sensation.

…………

However, the snail shell alone was not the main reason why Garchomp was shocked.

She pointed to the dark opening in the snail shell, indicating that what truly surprised her was inside.

First, use a water gun to clean the blockage at the entrance of the hole, then Roseradore extends her vines to explore inside.

A moment later, her face also showed the same look of shock as Garchomp's.

As the vines retracted, the thing that had amazed both champion Pokémon was finally revealed to Xia Chen and Cynthia.

It was a... sprite egg, covered in some kind of slime!

Xia Chen finally understood what kind of thing could have shocked Pokémon like Garchomp and Roserade.

Although it was covered in an unknown slime, there was indeed a perfectly intact Pokémon egg inside the transparent liquid.

In places like ruins, it's quite normal to find fossils of elf eggs, or even fossils of elves themselves.

But this Pokémon egg in front of me... still has a sturdy and intact shell, with clearly visible light purple and silver-white patterns. Even if I took it to the breeding center now, it wouldn't look out of place at all.

But the biggest problem is that it doesn't feel out of place, because... it was dug out from deep underground in the ruins, perhaps from an elf egg from a thousand years ago!

Everyone present, both human and elf, was so stunned by this miraculous sight that they were speechless.

After a long silence, it was Cynthia, the pillar of the family, who spoke first: "Let's put it back in the snail shell and take it out with us."

…………

Xia Chen wasn't in the mood to cook lunch, so she just whipped up something quick and easy and made do.

Cynthia and the elves had no objections; their minds were now completely occupied with that mysterious elf egg.

After quickly finishing their lunch, Xia Chen and Xilona returned to the snail shell.

Under the sunlight, the silvery-white metallic shell reflected a dazzling light, so smooth that it didn't look like it had just been unearthed.

Xia Chen stroked his chin and analyzed, "This should be part of some kind of elf's body. Artificially forged steel buried in the ground, even stainless steel, will inevitably rot away within a hundred years. Only things forged with the elf's own energy can remain as good as new after a thousand years."

Cynthia agreed with her assistant's analysis, adding, "And one would need at least Champion-level strength to achieve this."

Although the snail shell looked very hard, Cynthia didn't dare to let the elves test its strength. It was a unique artifact from a thousand years ago, and no one could guarantee that it was as sturdy as it appeared.

Set the snail shell aside for now; what's more important right now is the fairy egg hidden inside.

Roserade used her vines to remove the Pokémon egg covered in slime, and Xia Chen and Cynthia began to analyze the origin of the slime.

Although such matters would certainly be brought to the outside world and analyzed and processed more accurately and effectively by more professional modern instruments, the two of them simply couldn't contain their curiosity.

For a mythologist and evolutionary biologist, this mysterious fairy egg was incredibly intriguing.

Look around.

Under sunlight, the mucus is colorless and transparent, looking like a non-Newtonian fluid that is somewhere between a liquid and a solid, similar to honey.

It flows like a liquid, but if it is hit by a heavy external force, it tends to be like a solid, and has defensive properties.

One can imagine that this thick layer of mucus, along with the outer snail shell, is the biggest contributor to the fact that the fairy egg has survived from thousands of years ago to the present day.

Moreover, the slime and the patterns on the eggshell are also important clues for analyzing what kind of Pokémon is inside the egg.

…………

Xia Chen and Cynthia's first guess was some kind of water-type Pokémon, such as Vaporeon.

Studies have shown that the body cells of Water Eevee are very similar in structure to water molecules, so when dissolved in water, they can almost disappear without a trace.

The properties of a Water Eevee are somewhere between a solid and a liquid, much like slime.

"But Eevee's pattern doesn't look like this, does it?"

Xia Chen, who was very familiar with Eevee eggs, denied it, saying, "Besides, I've never heard of any Eevee evolution that can contain two types."

To date, only one Pokémon, Empoleon, has possessed this attribute combination.

With its dual Water/Steel attributes and a height of at least two meters... Xia Chen couldn't imagine what Eevee would look like.

The two guessed several more water-type Pokémon, but none of them seemed quite right.

"Maybe it's not necessarily a water-type spirit?" Xia Chen suggested, stroking his chin.

So the two guessed many more Pokémon, and in the end even Muk appeared.

The purple patterns on the eggshell, the non-Newtonian fluid mucus... it all seems plausible.

However, both of them denied these outrageous possibilities, and the situation reached a stalemate for a time.

Looking at the somewhat familiar clump of slime, a sudden inspiration flashed through Xia Chen's mind.

He remembered a Pokémon he had previously considered breeding, "Could it be... Goodra?"

Although the pattern on the Goomy Dragon's eggshell is not exactly the same as this one, it also has light purple elements, and the remaining silver-white color corresponds perfectly with this steel-type snail shell.

Cynthia was also stunned. She stared at the slime and the elf egg closely, becoming more and more certain of Xia Chen's guess.

If this is true, it means one thing: the Green Goodra in its green form is most likely a Steelix-type Pokémon!

And it's a pseudo-legendary!

The power of the Steel attribute needs no further explanation. Even when combined with other attributes that are relatively weak, such as Bug and Grass, it is still considered an excellent combination.

Not to mention the combination with the Dragon type. Just look at Duraludon to see how powerful a Steel/Dragon type Pokémon can be.

With Fairy-type Pokémon being extremely popular, Duraludon is almost a must-have Pokémon in the teams of many powerful Dragon-type specialist trainers.

Even when Xia Chen first went to the Qianlong Gym, Long Ye's reason for going on a long trip was to catch a Duraludon in the Galar region.

Not to mention, Goodra is a pseudo-legendary that is even more terrifying than Duraludon when it grows up.

…………

However, this is just wishful thinking on Xia Chen and Cynthia's part. This unknown Steel-type Pokémon could be a regional form of another Pokémon, or even a Pokémon species that has disappeared into the annals of history and is now unknown to anyone.

In short, there is currently no professional instrument for analysis, and the two have no other way to obtain a more accurate answer.

As for why such a well-preserved Pokémon egg was unearthed here, Xia Chen speculated, "Perhaps the Goodra mother encountered some danger, and knowing that she was no match for it with her own strength, she used this method to save her child?"

With its slime and the steel shell of an Elite Four-level Pokémon for protection, it is indeed not threatened by ordinary dangers.

And indeed, the fairy egg remained intact even a thousand years later.

At least that's how it appears from the outside.

However, Xia Chen didn't know why it was found underground.

Perhaps it's due to the changing times, or perhaps it's because they made an agreement with other spirits to raise the animals but were stood up—any of these are possible scenarios.

The origin of the Pokémon eggs has been roughly figured out, but what follows is even more mystery surrounding them.

For example, the location where the Pokémon egg was dug up was right under the statue of Dialga.

Dialga's type is also Steel-Dragon. Is this a coincidence, or is there some connection between them?

And most importantly, is the Pokémon inside this perfectly intact egg... alive or dead?

…………

If it were an egg from an ordinary creature, let alone a thousand years, it would be considered dead after being buried underground for about a year.

But that's the magic of elves. Even fossils can be restored to the appearance of elves through a fossil revival machine. Does an elf egg that has been preserved for thousands of years necessarily mean it is dead?

Faced with Xia Chen's ingenious idea, Cynthia gently shook her head and said, "Lucario just used Aura to probe it. The nutrients in the slime surrounding the egg do indeed maintain the minimum survival standard, but..."

"After all, too much time has passed, and the little guy in the egg has lost too much of his life energy. Although I can still sense some signs of life, it is almost impossible for him to hatch."

Cynthia didn't make any definitive statements, after all, there are too many legendary Pokémon with mysterious abilities in this world, and Champion level is just a standard for humans.

Having witnessed the world-destroying power of Yveltal upon its awakening, probably no one would dare to confidently say that they could face its wrath directly.

Even the strongest champion in the world right now, Cynthia.

“Life energy, huh…” Xia Chen glanced thoughtfully at Sylvanas and Kirlia.

He remembered that when he met Xerneas, both of the little ones had received gifts from the god of life.

In the Diancie movie, Diancie, who was gifted by Xerneas, ultimately achieved her Mega Evolution without the help of a Trainer or a Key Stone, a miracle created by the explosion of life energy.

So, in this world, can Xyzsun and Kirlia, who received Xerneas's gift, also create a miracle of life?

…………

Xianbu understood Xia Chen's gaze, but she had no idea whether she was capable of doing it.

After all, she had no information about this Xi Cui Nian Mei Long in her memories of her past life.

Sylveon knew the location of the treasure hidden in the statue because, during the legendary Pokémon incident in the Sinnoh region, she and Xia Chen learned from the news that Team Galactic had stolen two different pairs of Orb and Orb.

When she saw the two statues on the screen, Senbu immediately understood that these were the ruins where the statue containing the treasure was located.

This is why, after entering the ruins, she was able to find the hiding places of those treasures as if they were second nature.

Sylveon has absolutely no memory of this Pokémon egg that is suspected to be a Goodra.

So either Sylveon didn't pay attention to this matter in his previous life, or the elf egg ultimately failed to hatch and died without any hope.

Sylveon thought it was unlikely, because from now until the time of his rebirth, almost no new Pokémon have been discovered.

If a new Pokémon of the level of Goodra in its Emerald form were to be discovered, it would have a world-shaking impact, and I would certainly remember it.

I don't recall it... The most likely explanation is that either the egg was never discovered, or it never hatched.

In either case, it illustrates one thing: hatching this elf egg from a thousand years ago was by no means an easy task.

But Xia Chen was looking at her like that, how could she possibly refuse...?