Exciting Battle, Regirock

The tires of the buggy ran over the flat ground.

As it approached the Tree of Beginning, the buggy that had driven out of the Cameran Palace was also finally touching the rugged ground.

However, Cynthia was not Irisviel von Einzbern.

Even though the road surface had changed from a flat piece of concrete to a rugged dirt road the buggy she was driving still maintained a suitable speed and ran in the direction of the Tree of Beginning.

"The fog has gotten even thicker..."

Above the co-pilot, Aisha gazed at the surrounding mist and frowned slightly.

"Legend has it that the mist that surrounds the Tree of Beginning is the very protection mechanism that exists to prevent some people who don't want to do it from mistakenly entering the Tree of Beginning's range."

The thick fog could not be illuminated even by the bright headlights of the buggy.

For a traveling trainer without a special Pokémon as escorts, if they met such a fog that made it impossible for them to find their way, the only way to go was to go back the way they came, except for the mangaka who dove headfirst into the thick fog and relied on his senses to move forward.

"It doesn't matter."

Cynthia, who was holding the steering wheel, smiled.

"We have someone to guide us."

As Cynthia's words fell, an athletic figure scurried down under the buggy's roof.

'Follow my footsteps!'

Its voice was transmitted telepathically within Aisha and Cynthia's minds.

After that, this Aura Pokémon ran swiftly down the mist-covered path, keeping up a speed that was faster than the buggy's advance at all times, though not by much.

Lucario was dutifully serving as a guide.

It closed its eyes and ran headlong towards the Tree of Beginning.

"I see."

Ash poked his head out from above the backseat, gazing at Lucario, who was utilizing the power of Aura to explore the road ahead before the car, and said, "No wonder Instructor Ai insisted on letting Lucario travel with us, so it turns out, this fellow still has such a magical power."

However, Ash looked at Cynthia again.

"But doesn't Miss Cynthia have Lucario all the same?"

Ash was preparing to ask why Aisha and Cynthia didn't simply use the more powerful Lucario's power to guide the way.

Aisha, on the other hand, smiled helplessly.

The current Ash lacked experience.

It was also natural for him to be very one-sided when thinking about problems, and his emotional intelligence was frighteningly low.

"Indeed, a champion level Lucario is also bound to surpass this Lucario in every aspect." Aisha acknowledged that Ash's thoughts were reasonable, however, immediately spoke the reason why he insisted on carrying Lucario along, saying, "However, there are some things that only this Lucario can do."

"Oh..."

Ash also seemed to understand Aisha's words in response.

"You should be able to understand later."

Aisha saw through this guy's failure to understand his words with a single glance.

"Our priority right now is still to find Pikachu, so you'd better not be imagining things."

A change of mind was not something that could be decided by one's own words.

Aisha wasn't in a hurry either.

Anyway, the current Ash was just a new trainer who was just starting out in the party.

Along with traveling, his mind and emotional intelligence could also gradually develop, and what he should understand could definitely be understood, not needing to waste his own thoughts on teaching here.

"..."

After Cynthia heard Aisha's conversation with Ash, she instead watched Aisha's expression with the help of the lens of the rearview mirror on top of the car.

Aisha's expression didn't change much and didn't seem to be thinking about anything.

Cynthia was different.

Although, she and Aisha had not known each other for a total of two days.

However, she naturally couldn't care less about Aisha's behavior and words.

It was really too marvelous...

Aisha had been very confident ever since the time they arrived at Cameran Palace.

This teenager, it was as if he knew in advance what was about to happen to Cameran Palace and the Tree of Beginning.

It seemed as if everything was all within his grasp.

It was clear that he had only come into contact with the royal family of Cameran Palace for the first time, but he clearly knew that there was a Lucario sealed within the scepter of Sir Aaron, and clearly knew that the condition for awakening the Lucario was that Ash, who had similar Aura breath as Sir Aaron's, came into contact with the scepter, and even knew that the Lucario had an ineffable knot in his heart which couldn't be easily undone, and needed to go to the Tree of Beginning in order to be unraveled.

"..."

Cynthia wasn't an idiot.

Aisha's every move, she had also watched inside her eyes.

Now, naturally, she began to make wild guesses.

Aisha seems to be able to predict the future...

Before Cynthia and Aisha met in Vermilion City, all the information about this teenager still came from Steven and Wallace's boasting.

They said that Aisha was someone who could harness the gods.

Gods...

"Ha~"

She let out a light laugh as well.

Thinking of the word "god", Cynthia suddenly relieved herself.

Everything that was in doubt was strung together under the power of the gods.

Indeed.

If Aisha was indeed a trainer who had mastered Legendary Pokémon, then it was no mystery that he could be so prescient.

After all, there were quite a few existences within Legendary Pokémon that had mastered time.

Celebi, Dialga...

If Aisha had already been favored by them, then it wasn't impossible to peek into the mysteries of time.

Moreover, Aisha's goal of traveling to the Tree of Beginning was itself to investigate the Three Pillars.

This teenager was indeed pursuing the power of Legendary Pokémon.

Really hammered.

"..."

Cynthia looked at Aisha with eyes that deepened by a few points.

However, Cynthia did not become hostile towards Aisha because of this.

Aisha's person, she had also practically felt it.

Warm-hearted, kind, and unconventional but with a clear bottom line.

Undoubtedly, he was the righteous type.

Moreover, as a trainer who was willing to unconditionally share his tactical theories and wild training experiences on the internet for the benefit of the general audience, Cynthia really didn't want to suspect that this teenager was a bad person.

As for, the behavior of pursuing the power of Legendary Pokémon...

There was one thing to say, there probably wasn't any trainer who hadn't longed for the power of a Legendary Pokémon.

Aisha just had the ability to put it into action.

Even Cynthia herself was once obsessed with Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina, but she simply gave up on the idea now that she realized the reality of the situation.

No one could blame Aisha for pursuing power.

Instead, Cynthia was a bit excited.

She herself was the type who loved myths and legends.

Aisha was truly suspected to have the ability to master Legendary Pokémon.

She was now very much looking forward to just how much of the power of the Legendary Pokémon this teenager could master?

...

Early in the morning, the sun was rising.

The warm sunlight pierced through the thick mist.

Along with the dissipation of the mist, a painting of birds and flowers also came into everyone's eyes together.

"We've arrived."

Aisha looked out the window and said, "Now, we have entered the scope, or territory, of the Tree of Beginning..."

"Hmm."

Cynthia also responded to Aisha's words with an agreeable face.

"Wow!"

Ash poked his head out.

It had to be said that the scenery of the Tree of Beginning was indeed mesmerizing.

Such a look of isolation from the world made one willing to stay over here permanently for a long time.

"Alright."

Aisha opened the car door and walked on top of a flat and empty lawn.

"After running all night, it's almost time to eat."

"Good!"

Ash instantly showed a cheering expression.

Heaven and earth, it was clearly the main character of the ball, but as a result, the old woman who was the housekeeper looked at Ash to death from the moment he sat on top of the chair.

Ash couldn't even eat his dinner.

After that, in order to comfort Lucario and search for Pikachu and set off on a non-stop journey to the Tree of Beginning, his stomach was already starving.

"Oh!"

That's why when he heard Aisha preparing to pack breakfast, Ash rushed next to him at once.

"Oh?"

Cynthia was also quite surprised.

"Instructor Ai still has cooking skills?"

Usually most of the trainers didn't have the ability to cook, moreover, building a fire and cooking in the wilderness wasn't a simple operation, and people normally chose to buy some frozen or vacuum-packed instant food products to deal with a few meals in the wilderness in order to save time and effort.

"Is the cooking technique also a skill you learned from your elders in Alola?"

Cynthia uttered in a teasing manner.

"No."

Aisha smiled awkwardly and said, "Cooking is something I'm preparing to learn on my own during this time."

"After all, it doesn't matter if you aggravate yourself a little, Pokémon can't be aggravated." Aisha also stroked Marill and Eevee's little heads and said, "There is no difference between the status of a Pokémon and a trainer in terms of being high or low, even if they treat me as their master, they will always be family members to me, and for me to make delicious cuisine for my family, I think it's the natural thing to do. -

"My goal is to have created a cuisine that even steel lifeforms like Beldum can consider 'delicious'!"

Aisha clenched her fists, a hot flame burning within his eyes.

"Hmm!"

Ash also showed a hot-blooded expression from the side.

It was too combustible.

Although it was said that he didn't understand what Aisha was trying to do at all...

'Hmph!'

At this time, Lucario's cold snort however, entered the trio's minds.

"Hey, what do you mean?"

Ash, who was Instructor Ai's number one licking dog, was instantly displeased.

'It's just the flowery words of a human!'

Lucario was also a bit uptight.

''Humans can never be relied on as objects either!''

Having said that, Lucario was ready to move away a bit.

Ash, however, caught up with it.

"Wait, you said humans can't be relied on?"

'Right.'

Lucario responded to Ash unflinchingly, saying, 'You can certainly just as easily abandon Pikachu if you do meet any trouble.'

Ash was instantly annoyed.

"There's no way I'm abandoning Pikachu, even if it means sacrificing my own life, there's absolutely no way I'm abandoning Pikachu!"

'Big talker brat, who knows what you're thinking?'

Lucario, on the other hand, was very disdainful.

The line of confrontation between one person and one Pokémon became progressively more intense along with the rising emotions.

After that, they even wrestled together and fell into the nearby creek together.

Ash and Lucario were fighting within the turbulent river.

Cynthia frowned at the side and prepared to stop... As a result, she suddenly realized that it seemed that Ash had the upper hand, the hot-headed ten-year-old boy was holding down Lucario's head and shaking it inside the river, splashing the water.

Cynthia: "?"

"Instructor Ai."

Cynthia was a bit confused and looked at Aisha who was matching the dishes next to her.

"What's the situation?"

"Oh?" Aisha looked at it and showed an expression of habit, saying, "Normal phenomenon, trainers from Pallet Town are always a bit unusual, just get used to it."

Cynthia: "..."

Indeed.

In the end it was the smell of the meal that interrupted the wrestling between one person and a Pokémon.

"It's so delicious, Instructor Ai's cooking."

"..."

The snotty and swollen Ash and Lucario sat on top of the blanket hugging their bowls, eating Aisha's cooking with their heads facing each other, occasionally raising their heads to look at each other, and then as if they were competing, immediately lowering their heads and burying their heads inside their bowls, seemingly dueling to pick up their meals as quickly as they could.

"Instructor Ai is probably a chef extraordinaire if he's not a trainer."

Cynthia was also awestruck.

Aisha's cooking did not lose out to some professional chefs in the slightest.

Even the Sinnoh Champion smacked her lips over it.

"I'm flattered."

Aisha smiled.

After finishing the meal, Ash and Lucario seemed to have a conflict once again, with one person and one Pokémonsitting on top of a rock without talking.

Aisha and Cynthia, on the other hand, idly wandered under a rock wall.

"Hmm?"

Aisha's eyes locked onto a flower growing above the rock's face.

It wasn't a simple flower.

Its petals seemed to be like crystals, shimmering with brilliant colors.

"This is the time flower?"

Aisha recognized the flower at its base.

"Instructor Ai recognizes it?"

Cynthia was interested in myths and legends, and by the way, she had learned quite a lot about ores while digging and mining, but she was a bit insensitive to plants instead.

"Hmm."

Aisha pointed to it and said, "Within the legend, the time flower used to record what happened above this land, and an Aura Guardian who can harness the power of Aura can see those images."

Rubbing his chin, he also revealed a thoughtful expression.

"Something so magical surely isn't a plant that appeared out of thin air, I suspect that this thing is more or less glued to a little bit of Celebi or Dialga."

"After all, it's a Legendary Pokémon and Mythic Pokémon that can master time."

Cynthia echoed with a shrug.

"Unfortunately, these flowers only grow near the Tree of Beginning."

"Well."

Aisha also understood what Cynthia meant.

If the time flower was distributed all over the world, once her archaeological team recruited people who could utilize the power of Aura, they would be able to further understand the past through the time flower, and this operation would undoubtedly be a huge boost to the archaeological cause.

As for the candidate who utilizes Aura...

People with the power of Aura were rare, and there were too many Pokémon that could utilize Aura.

It wasn't a problem at all.

"Pity."

Cynthia patted Aisha's shoulder.

"Let's go, dinner's done." Cynthia looked out at the Tree of Beginning, which was already gradually approaching, and said, "Almost at the end of this afternoon, we will be able to arrive."

"Good."

The crowd set off once more.

"Pikachu..."

Ash sat on top of the backseat of the carand chanted Pikachu's name worriedly.

It had already been a night apart, and Ash was overflowing with worry and longing for his partner.

"..."

Lucario wore an annoyed expression on top of the roof of the car.

Its heart was in turmoil.

Just now, at breakfast, Aisha's care for Pokémon didn't seem to be fake, and Lucario's waveguide hadn't detected a trace of dirt in that teenager's heart; and although Ash liked to talk big, his emotions for Pikachu were just as full of genuine feelings.

Their wave guide wasn't lying.

In that case, Aaron...

Why had he abandoned itself?

'Damn it!'

Lucario showed an expression of abhorrence and clenched its teeth.

It was unwilling to admit that Sir Aaron was inferior to Aisha and Ash.

However, Aaron did do those things.

''What the hell is going on?''

Lucario looked towards the cloudy Tree of Beginning in the distance.

'The Tree of Beginning... What the hell did Aaron do over there?'

It remembered Aisha's words urging it to travel with it.

'Can I really have found the answer at the Tree of Beginning?'

Lucario fell into self-doubt.

The time available for it to self-doubt was but short.

Without warning, earth tremors swept through the land, and naturally, the buggy entered the area affected by the earthquake.

"What's wrong?"

The somewhat sleepy Ash woke up at once.

"It doesn't look like a normal earthquake, it should be a Pokémon move!"

Cynthia, who was driving the car, also jerked the steering wheel.

"I'll take care of the problem."

Aisha opened the car door, ignoring the fact that the car was still running at breakneck speeds, and jumped ten meters away in a single bound, standing firmly on top of the ground.

In front of him, the earth cracked into deep gullies under the violent vibrations, and rock giants poked their heads out from under the abyss.

"Sure enough!"

Aisha revealed a smile.

"Regirock?"

Shadows obscured the earth, and Cynthia, who had stabilized the vehicle with the steering wheel, also exclaimed the Pokémon's name.

It was very large.

The rough body was carved out of solid rock, the mutilated humanoid-like shape glowed with a mysterious aura in spite of its sloppiness, and the face was in the shape of an H arranged with some special glowing gems, which were now flashing with a dangerous red light.

"One of the guards of the Tree of Beginning, Regirock."

Aisha read out its title.

"Re-gi-!!!"

The Pokémon of Rock let out a sound mixed with a mechanical texture.

The body that exceeded ten meters just stood above the earth, and a terrifying sense of oppression was already sweeping towards its enemies...

"You guys leave quickly."

Aisha, however, loomed large, not avoiding it.

"I can handle this guy."

His smile was very confident.

For a moment, his aura was actually not inferior to Regirock.

"The Tree of Beginning is ahead."

"Re-gi-!!!"

Regirock raised its hand and swung a fist at the arrogant human in front of it.

Aisha had an additional green figure next to her.

"Caterpie, Draco Meteor!"

In just an instant, the Celestial Dragon Meteor exploded the giant's fist.