Elf: I have a secret realm of emerald green.

Before long, the little foxes in the cave all gathered around and enjoyed the food from this other world together.

Zoroark looked at Xia Shen, who had a bright smile on his face, and remained silent for a long time before transmitting his voice, "Let's continue forward, Divine Envoy. Let's leave them here."

“Okay, Gible, you stay here and play with them.” Xia Shen patted the little shark’s head, then got up and followed Zoroark deeper into the cave.

After about five minutes' walk, Zoroark finally stopped. "This is it. This is where our tribe stores items of unknown use. Please feel free to choose."

Xia Shen was dumbfounded when he saw the pile of unlabeled and messy items.

What a blunder! What should we do now? Are we going to waste our precious time on this treasure hunt that's no different from panning for gold in the sand?

"System, do you have any kind of detector or anything like that?" When in doubt, ask the system.

If the system can't help either, then Xia Shen will have no choice but to go back to the real world to brush up on his knowledge and come back here later.

[You can open the Arceus phone]

Hmm, this looks promising.

Xia Shen opened his phone and found that a new app had appeared on it at some point—[Item Appraisal].

He casually picked up a sharp, tooth-like object: [Dragon Fang: A dragon tooth of unknown origin. When carried, it increases the power of Dragon-type moves.]

What a great start! Xia Shen was pleasantly surprised. It's a special edition for Gible; he'll get one for him.

In reality, this is a valuable item worth hundreds of thousands, and it would be even more expensive if the price increased further.

In my memory, a few years ago there was a mysterious water droplet containing extremely rich water energy that was auctioned off for millions!

"This, let's exchange it for a box of chocolates," Xia Shen said, as if he might end up hanging from a streetlamp.

Zoroark nodded in agreement; after all, to their people, everything here was junk.

Xia Shen continued to draw lots, [Bone: A bone of unknown origin, weathered over the years, perhaps it would crumble with a single tap]

Well, it's impossible to win every time.

Next, [Iron Piece: Perhaps it's trash left behind by a trainer from the Green Region passing through.]

I haven't gotten anything good in the last two times, hopefully this time will be the best!

Xia Shen then took out a stone that looked useful: [Stone: A hard stone that can be used as a throwing weapon.]

…………

After six or seven items were identified as junk, Xia Shen's face darkened. Half of the exploration time had already passed, and he had only found one Dragon Fang.

Alright, let's try one last time. Whether it succeeds or not, I'll have to collect the illustrations in the encyclopedia!

[White Jade Orb: A jewel that radiates beautiful light. If Palkia carries it, the power of Dragon-type and Water-type moves will be increased.]

Ah, very good.

I have the White Jade Pearl. Where can I get Palukia?

Xia Shen stood up, preparing to leave, when suddenly his attention was drawn to an inconspicuous black clod of mud.

Although the mud itself was unremarkable, for some reason, Xia Shen had a strange feeling that it caught his eye.

[Peat Block: A peat block with magical powers. When held by Ursaring, it can evolve into Umbreon on a full moon.]

Heh heh, intuition really does work. This isn't like a pretty but useless white jade pearl.

The evolution of the circle bear into the moon bear was a crucial part of his plan.

Why don't we strike while the iron is hot and look for traces of the bear cubs?

Xia Shen happily put away the peat blocks and said, "That's enough for today. You have too much stuff. Come again next time. I'm in a hurry to collect illustrations for the Creator God."

"There are three boxes of chocolates in total." Xia Shen handed over the items for the transaction.

…………

Xia Shen called over Gible, who was having a great time playing with the Zoroans, and got on the same bus as yesterday.

"Can we slow down a bit today? We're not in a rush," Xia Shen asked weakly, lying in Zoroark's arms.

Zoroark glanced down at Xia Shen, nodded coolly, and then started the engine.

The speeding figure kicked up the snow on the ground, and Xia Shen experienced the bungee jumping sensation again, just like yesterday.

"You promised... to go slower...!"

I really need to catch a Warrior Eagle...

Feeling dizzy and disoriented from the jolting, Xia Shen made a decision.

(Please add to your collection, invest, and read further! (ˉ?ˉ)?)

## Chapter Twelve: If I Had Never Seen the Light

Gastly: A gaseous life form, elusive and difficult to detect. Highly toxic; absorbing even a portion of its body will cause immediate loss of consciousness, making it extremely dangerous.

Skillfully recalling and releasing Gastly, adding another Pokémon to the Pokédex.

Xia Shen fed Gible an Energy Cube and patted its head approvingly, "Well done, Gible, your fifth victory today!"

After another twenty-five minutes, Xia Shen now has a base time of seventy minutes for exploring the secret realm each day.

The only downside is that I haven't been able to find the trails of the Pokémon I want.

Bear Cub, Brave Eagle, or Ralts and Riolu, which exist in the pure white tundra in our memory.

Xia Shen had never even seen ordinary elves, let alone boss-level ones.

"Let's go to the next place." Pulling himself out of his thoughts, Xia Shen decided to continue collecting illustrations.

As for these elves, let's leave it to fate. We've only been in the secret realm for a few days, so it's no use for Fairy to worry.

Xia Shen put Gible into a Poké Ball and patted Zoroark, but the latter did not move.

"What, have we collected all the Pokémon species in the area?" Xia Shen thought of the most likely scenario.

Zoroark nodded, then shook his head.

Is it yes or no? Xia Shen was confused by him.

"Forget it, let's go back then. Five is about enough for today." Xia Shen stopped worrying about it and decided to go back and continue shopping on Taobao.

…………

"He means that there are no more Pokémon around that we can catch at will."

Back in their homeland of Zoroark, the chieftain took on the role of translator.

“Our tribe isn’t considered powerful in this area, and this is all we can do to help you.”

They had indeed helped him very hard, and Xia Shen accepted the fact that they would eventually part ways.

However, it's very likely that we won't find another Pokémon that can be directly communicated with like this leader, Zoroark.

"So, do you know where nearby you can find Braviary, Teddiursa, or Riolu and Ralts?" Before parting, Xia Shen planned to inquire about these Pokémon.

"I don't know about Ralts and Bear Cub. As for Brave Eagle, it will appear at Wise Lake and Pearl Village in the north."

As for Riolu, we'll head south; we might find traces of them around the Icefall area.

"Thank you for your selfless sharing, and I am also very grateful for your care over the past few days."

Xia Shen sincerely thanked them. Although the time they spent together was not long, the help he received from the Zoroark tribe was undoubtedly enormous.

Chief Zoroark nodded in acceptance of the thanks, hesitated for a moment, and then spoke: "Honorable Divine Messenger, please grant me a request."

Xia Shen was startled. What was with such a formal tone? Was he entrusting his son to someone else?

"Please tell me, and if I can do it, I will definitely not refuse."

"Could you bring my unborn child to the world God has made yours?" the leader of Zoroark asked earnestly, almost pleadingly.

Seriously? It really is a case of entrusting one's son to another...

"Why...why did you do this?" Xia Shen was genuinely curious.

Why would this father entrust his child to someone he'd only known for less than three days?

"I learned about your world from Gible, a paradise-like environment," Zoroark said with a hint of longing.

"Therefore, I don't want my child to spend his whole life in this desolate, barren place, struggling to survive every day, where all you can see is ice and snow!"

……

"I could have endured the darkness if I had never seen the light..." Xia Shen murmured to himself.

"If I had never seen the light..." Zoroark repeated the phrase, then smiled with relief.

"I may never see the light of day again in my life, but I hope my child will. So, I beg you, Your Excellency!"

Actually, you do have a chance to see the light...

Xia Shen really wanted to invite the intelligent Zoroark to join the team.

But considering that he was still the leader and backbone of this tribe, bearing a huge responsibility, Xia Shen decided not to make a fool of himself.

"I promise you, Chief. And I will not let your child forget its homeland." Xia Shen had originally planned to raise a Zoroark.

Since it was a request from an elf who had helped him before, he naturally couldn't find a reason to refuse.

Seeing that Xia Shen agreed, Zoroark's tone was full of barely suppressed joy, "Please wait a moment, I'll go and bring it out right away."

At full speed, Zoroark's leader was incredibly fast; Xia Shen's naked eye couldn't even catch a glimpse of him.

In just half a minute, he reappeared in front of Xia Shen, carefully holding an egg in his hands.

"The egg is due to lay in the next day or two. You'll be in charge of taking care of it from now on," Zoroark said, his tone unusually gentle.

"Please rest assured, it will definitely become an even more outstanding elf than you." Xia Shen accepted the elf egg that carried a father's hopes, making a firm promise with his eyes.

“And this,” Zoroark handed over another stone, which shimmered with a captivating purplish-black glow.

"This is a stone I always carry with me. It can greatly enhance the power of Ghost-type moves. Please accept it."

Xia Shen solemnly accepted it and placed it into his space along with the elf egg, saying, "You don't need to be too sad. This isn't a matter of life and death. I'll bring it back to visit you later."

Zoroark smiled, accepting Xia Shen's consolation.

Xia Shen estimated that the time was almost up and said, "I'm leaving soon, so let's say goodbye for today, see you tomorrow."