The Tree of Beginning was, from the start, a living organism.

These phantom fossil Pokémon were like white blood cells, intending to devour intruders like bacteria.

This wasn’t something Mew could control.

“Don’t tell me... Jessie and James too...” Meowth’s voice was hoarse.

Just then, footsteps suddenly echoed from the end of the path.

Steven came running, with a whole horde of phantom fossil Pokémon following behind.

He clutched his suit jacket in one hand, wearing a white dress shirt, running ahead with an excited look on his face.

“Yo, Teacher Lu, you’re still alive!” Steven waved.

“Why the h*ll did you drag over so many monsters!!” Lu Ye screamed.

“I got a little too excited seeing so many fossils,” Steven chuckled.

The swarm of phantoms surged toward them like a tidal wave.

“Mew, can you suppress these white blood cells, nya?” Meowth had no choice but to plead for help.

Mew hesitated for a moment, then nodded firmly.

“Wait!” Lu Ye’s expression changed.

But Mew had already closed its eyes, releasing a soft glow that spread outward.

In an instant, the entire Tree of Beginning burst back to life.

The phantom army froze, then gradually faded away.

James and Jessie, who had been swallowed up earlier, reunited with Meowth.

“Thank goodness!” The Team Rocket trio collapsed into a sobbing group hug.

Lucario looked toward the gentle glow. “So this is... the power that quelled the war back then?”

Steven looked at Lu Ye. “See? It’s all fine now.”

Lu Ye sighed. “No—it’s worse…”

Suddenly, a tremor shook the ground beneath them.

The trees around them began to wither, and the crystals dulled to lifeless gray.

“Mew…” Mew’s cheeks were flushed, like it was burning up, and it collapsed weakly into Lu Ye’s arms.

“What’s happening?” Ash looked around in confusion.

“If I had to put it in human terms...”
Lu Ye cradled Mew and explained:

“There was a stress response failure—the invading source wasn’t dealt with in time. Now Mew and the Tree of Beginning are both affected…”

Before he could finish, a deafening crash echoed around them.

Outside the Tree of Beginning, the waterfall had stopped flowing. Huge crystal branches cracked and shattered with a loud snap.

Lucario’s pupils contracted. The terror of that day came flooding back.

But this time, it didn’t hesitate. It closed its eyes, sensed the tree’s core, and dashed forward:

“Follow me!”

Lu Ye held the feverish Mew and glanced toward the bend in the corridor.

A majestic, furious roar erupted.

The three legendary titans emerged from the corner, their presence oppressive and chilling.

This clearly wasn’t a problem they could solve with ancient language negotiations.

Steven’s expression turned serious, and he let out a quiet sigh.

“Teacher Lu… the situation I least wanted to face… it still happened.”

Lu Ye sighed as well.
“I knew I shouldn’t have jinxed it…”

Registeel, Regice, Regirock—the Three Regis.

These three ancient guardians were one of the main reasons Steven had once reached his limit in the alternate timeline.

A glint passed through Steven’s eyes, as if remembering the Hoenn calamity.

After a long breath, Steven exhaled slowly.

“Teacher Lu, take Mew to the Tree’s core. It’s the only way now.”

“But you—”

Steven raised a hand to cut him off.

“Leave this to me.”

His voice carried a calm authority, along with a powerful sense of assurance.

The man with pale blue hair adjusted his tie, the click of his leather shoes echoing as he stepped forward.

He positioned himself between the Three Regis and Lu Ye.

Steven reached up to the pin on his lapel and kissed it gently. A dazzling rainbow light flashed.

“Kangjin!!”

The white Metagross let out a thunderous roar, its two arms splitting into four, its body surging with a fierce fighting spirit.

“I’ll show you…”

Steven’s hair danced in the wind. He stood tall behind Mega Metagross, his gaze sharp as he faced the three divine titans.

“…who truly is the strongest!”

<h34374" data-end="4411">The Core of the Tree of Beginning

All around them was red crystal glass.

Due to Mew’s weakness, the entire Tree of Beginning had become extremely unstable.

Lucario stayed silent, but its eyes suddenly locked onto a pair of gloves resting on the crystal platform.

“These are…” Lucario rushed over and crouched down. “Aaron’s gloves…”

“Teacher Lu,” Ash looked toward a crystal flower on the ground, “this is…”

“The Flower of Time, which shows scenes from the past,” Lu Ye replied.

Ash knelt beside the flower and reached out. Instantly, a vision appeared before him:

Aaron, in a time of looming war, had found Mew. He used his life as a price to borrow the Tree’s power to end the chaos.

He sealed Lucario inside his scepter, ensuring it could survive…

Even if it meant Lucario hated him—in Aaron’s eyes, bearing everything alone was the best possible outcome.

Lu Ye’s eyes flickered with emotion.

He looked down to see Squirtle tugging at his pants leg.

Lu Ye smiled gently and took Squirtle’s hand.

Lucario stood frozen in place, stunned.

The last image in the vision was Aaron’s peaceful smile.

Lucario silently pressed its hand against the crystal where Aaron had rested, then stood up.

“I have a way to save the Tree of Beginning.”

Ash choked up. “Your way… might mean sacrificing yourself…”

Lucario didn’t respond, continuing resolutely toward Mew.

“Mew…” Mew weakly floated up.

“Mew?” Looking at Lu Ye beside it, Mew tilted its head slightly.

“If you’ve formed a bond with a Pokémon… then you must take responsibility for it.”

Lu Ye sighed softly, smiling. “I’ll go with you.”

“Mew~!” Mew giggled, then coughed lightly and floated weakly to Lucario.

“Aura… with me!!”

Lucario extended its hands. A surging wave of aura flooded into Mew, and the blinding white light nearly tore Lucario apart.

Lu Ye’s eyes trembled slightly.

This was the scene—Lucario sacrificing itself to save the Tree of Beginning…

But for him…

Lu Ye looked down at his gloved hand and slowly clenched it.

Wasn’t the answer already clear?

“My aura is just like Aaron’s, right?!”

Ash shouted as he put on the gloves. “Then what Aaron could do—I can do too!”

“What?!” Lucario turned around and saw Ash wearing Aaron’s Aura Gloves, his hands glowing with intense energy.

“Aura, with me!!” Ash roared.

Agonizing pain surged through Ash and Lucario.

Aura waves burst out in all directions.

Outside the core, Steven, still holding off the Regis, let out a muffled cough and wiped the corner of his mouth.

“I told you already,” Steven grinned, his eyes sharp.

“This trip’s gonna be one h*ll of a ride!”

Wrapped in radiant white light, Ash felt his consciousness being torn apart.

Suddenly, he felt a large hand rest on his head.

“Ash.”

He struggled to lift his gaze.

There stood a young man, handsome and calm, eyes deep and dark hair fluttering.

He placed his gloved hand gently on Ash’s head, wearing a faint smile.

“Congratulations.”

Lu Ye smiled.

“You’ve passed Professor Oak’s test!”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read