Chapter 292 - The Tree of Beginning and the Three Regis

Chapter 292 - The Tree of Beginning and the Three Regis

"What a life… not a moment of rest," Asahi muttered, holding Eevee in his arms.

The little Eevee was still sulking over what had happened earlier. Even when Asahi tried its favorite head pats, it stubbornly turned its head away, deliberately acting as if it didn't want to pay him any attention.

Seeing this, Asahi smirked and deliberately withdrew his hand.

Eevee turned its head away, pretending to be indifferent, but in reality, it was secretly enjoying itself. Suddenly, it noticed that Asahi had stopped petting it, and a wave of anxiety surged in its heart.

Could Asahi be mad at it for sulking? Maybe… he didn't like it anymore?

Its ears twitched uneasily. Sneaking a glance at Asahi from the corner of its eye—

The next moment, Asahi grabbed it and pulled it into a tight hug, rubbing his face against its fur.

"Bui! Bui!"

Eevee used its soft, paw pad-covered feet to push against Asahi, but its resistance was half-hearted, more of a playful protest than a real struggle.

Their little scuffle caught the attention of Gardevoir, who was standing nearby.

"Hm? Gardevoir, do you want a hug too?" Asahi nudged Eevee aside to make some space, opening his arms invitingly.

Gardevoir: "..."

Glancing at the way Eevee was being smothered, Gardevoir made a face of disgust and turned its head away.

Asahi shook his head.

Gardevoir was great in every way—except it was too shy.

Good thing he didn't say that out loud. If anyone heard him, they'd definitely call him out on it.

"What do you mean, Gardevoir is shy? Clearly, you're just a massive creep!"

Letting Eevee perch on his head, Asahi took out his phone and sent a message to Green.

It didn't take long before Green came rushing down from upstairs.

"Asahi, are you heading to Sinnoh right now? We haven't even finished sorting through the intel on Team Galactic…" she said.

This was different from the original plan—wasn't this too sudden?

"This isn't really about Team Galactic… well, okay, it's a little related," Asahi admitted. "The main reason I'm going is to save someone."

He briefly explained the situation regarding the Berlitz family and Platinum.

Then he said, "I'll head to Sinnoh first and check things out… Green?"

Green had spaced out the moment she heard 'Sinnoh's richest family' and 'young heiress.'

"Huh? Oh… I got it!" she responded, snapping out of her daze.

Asahi wasn't sure if she really got it, but whatever—

"I'll go find Celebi and Mew first… Mew still hasn't responded to my messages. Don't tell me it lost the communicator I gave it…"

Muttering to himself, Asahi called for Gardevoir, preparing to leave in search of Mew, leaving Green deep in thought.

---

The Tree of Beginning was located in the northern mountains of Mt. Moon.

Beside it stood Oldoran Town, a settlement whose architectural style clashed completely with Kanto and Johto's aesthetics.

Riding on Salamence, Asahi arrived discreetly, his eyes filled with curiosity as he took in the sight of the Tree of Beginning before him.

Even though this was Mew's home, this was Asahi's first time visiting.

Despite being called the Tree of Beginning and resembling a tree, in reality, it was a unique lifeform composed of rock and crystal layers.

It sustained itself by absorbing energy from sunlight.

As he had Salamence descend and returned it to its Poké Ball, Asahi debated whether to enter directly or call for Mew to come out and meet him—

Boom!

A loud explosion echoed through the area as a group of disheveled individuals came scrambling out of a nearby tunnel.

Asahi took one look at them and immediately pegged them as Pokémon Hunters.

How did he know?

Call it a ranger's instinct.

Even from several hundred meters away, he could practically smell the stench of Pokémon poachers on them.

"So these guys were trying to poach Pokémon inside the Tree of Beginning?" Asahi mused, scrutinizing them.

The Tree of Beginning was home to many rare Fossil Pokémon—perhaps these poachers had set their sights on them.

But since he was here now…

A smirk tugged at his lips as he reached for a Poké Ball at his waist, ready to help Mew deal with these intruders—when suddenly, he noticed something.

The poachers, now outside the tunnel, wore expressions of sheer terror.

The next second—

Beep— Beep—

Heavy footsteps thundered against the ground, sending tremors through the earth.

A massive Pokémon squeezed through the tunnel entrance.

Standing over ten meters tall, its entire body was composed of irregular gray and orange stones, and its head bore seven glowing, H-shaped orange dots.

It was the Titan of Rock—Regirock.

Now this is what a Legendary Giant Pokémon should look like… Asahi thought. That 1.7-meter-tall version from the anime was a joke.

The poachers had spotted it even before he had.

The sheer horror on their faces made it clear—they had fled the tunnel because of this thing.

"Not again—!"

"Damn it, this thing is relentless!"

Their panic was palpable.

They had barely set foot inside the Tree of Beginning and captured just a few Pokémon before this thing locked onto them. And now, even after escaping outside, it was still chasing them down!

Regirock's blank, emotionless face gave away no signs of emotion.

It simply raised its massive rock-formed arm—

Then, with an overwhelming force, slammed it down.

Boom!

The ground cracked instantly from the impact.

The Pokémon Hunters, seasoned in their trade, reacted quickly, releasing their Flying-type Pokémon to evade the attack.

Most of them managed to escape unscathed.

But the transport truck they had parked outside—the one meant for loading captured Pokémon—wasn't so lucky.

Regirock's Earthquake flipped it over, shattering its cages.

Dozens of Pokémon, trapped inside, seized the chance to break free.

"Damn it, take it down!"

From above, the airborne poachers launched a barrage of attacks at Regirock.

Hydro Pump, Hyper Beam, Thunderbolt, Seed Machine Gun…

A storm of moves struck Regirock's body, shattering chunks of its rocky form.

The poachers hesitated, momentarily stunned—then their faces lit up with wild excitement.

They had been too afraid to attack it before.

But now that they had? It didn't seem as invincible as they'd thought.

If they could damage it—maybe they could capture it!

Could this be an undiscovered Pokémon?

As that thought crossed their minds, their excitement soared—

But they failed to notice the flickering glow of the seven orange dots on Regirock's head.

The next second, a massive surge of stones gathered from the ground, seamlessly repairing its broken body.

Then—

Regirock raised its arm and swung fiercely.

Whoosh!

A barrage of jagged rocks shot towards the poachers and their Pokémon in the air.

Caught off guard, they had no time to react.

With a chorus of screams and wails, a dozen poachers and Pokémon tumbled to the ground.

Seeing this, Asahi assumed the fight was over.

He started putting away his Poké Ball, about to approach Regirock and ask for directions to Mew when—

Beep— Beep Beep—

Regirock suddenly turned its head towards him.

Its featureless face was impossible to read, but its posture was anything but friendly.

Why are you looking at me like that? I'm not a poacher… Asahi thought.

But Regirock wasn't convinced.

It lifted another boulder—

And hurled it straight at Asahi.

Whoosh—!

The massive rock came hurtling toward him—

Thud.

A burst of white light flashed.

Gardevoir materialized in front of Asahi, stopping the rock midair with Psychic.

"Hey, I'm on your side! Mew and I are close friends!" Asahi protested.

He was just here to visit—why was he getting caught up in all this?

But Regirock wasn't listening. Seeing its attack fail, it picked up another boulder, ready to throw again.

Asahi sighed.

All he wanted was to find Mew, yet here he was, being targeted by Regirock.

Nodding at Gardevoir—

A sharp gleam flashed in Gardevoir's eyes.

With a swift motion, it reversed the trajectory of the rock—sending it flying back at Regirock.

Boom!

Regirock, just about to throw another boulder, was struck mid-motion. Its body crumbled like a brittle cookie, shedding chunks of rock, and the stone it was holding fell to the ground.

But soon, Regirock began absorbing more rocks from the surroundings, quickly restoring its damaged body.

It was built to be repaired as fast as it was broken.

Seeing this, Asahi immediately abandoned the idea of defeating it.

After all, Regirock was one of Mew's guardians—he couldn't exactly capture it.

No point wasting time here.

Giving Gardevoir a quick nod, Asahi had it use Psycho Cut to slice off a portion of Regirock's arm.

Then—

"Gardevoir, let's go!"

Seizing the moment while Regirock was still regenerating, Gardevoir teleported Asahi deeper into the Tree of Beginning.

By the time Regirock, dragging its heavy body, turned to search for them, they were already gone without a trace.

---

The interior of the Tree of Beginning was vast and maze-like, its tunnels twisting in every direction.

As Asahi walked through, he noticed countless shimmering crystals embedded in the walls. Wild Pokémon roamed freely, most of them Fossil Pokémon.

Aerodactyl, Omastar, Kabutops—Pokémon that were rare outside were common sights here.

But Asahi wasn't interested in them.

Right now, his only goal was to find Mew.

However, before Asahi could find Mew, another Pokémon blocked his path.

Beep beep beep—beep beep—

A massive Pokémon, similar in height to Regirock, appeared before Asahi. Its body was a metallic sphere of silver, and the seven red dots on its face flickered continuously.

"Registeel!"

As if responding to Asahi, Registeel took heavy, deliberate steps. Despite its movements appearing slow, it was incredibly fast. It swung a claw glowing with a white light straight at Asahi.

Metal Claw!

Faced with Registeel's sudden attack, Asahi and Gardevoir vanished with a flicker.

Crack!

Registeel's massive claw struck the crystal behind where Asahi had been, shattering the three-meter-high formation into fragments.

That one strike was like kicking a hornet's nest.

In an instant, the originally green crystals throughout the tunnel turned bright red.

Streams of crimson liquid oozed out of the crystals, shifting and morphing into Pokémon-like forms that lunged toward Asahi.

According to the lore from the movie, these were "white blood cells"—the Tree of Beginning's immune system, meant to eliminate intruders.

But…

Having just teleported away, Asahi was utterly baffled.

"???"

Can you guys not see what's happening? It wasn't me who attacked—it was Registeel! Why are you coming after me?!

With no time to argue, Asahi commanded Gardevoir to shatter the red liquid Pokémon while releasing another Pokémon.

"Mewtwo!"

Since he had come here to find Mew, he hadn't brought Rayquaza—but he did bring Mew's "good kid," Mewtwo!

The moment Mewtwo appeared, it saw Registeel charging at it with incredible force, each step shaking the ground.

Heavy Slam!

Mewtwo's gaze sharpened. Gripping its psychically infused spoon, it swung it forward with rapid precision.

The spoon, wrapped in a powerful psychic aura, collided head-on with Registeel!

Boom!

A thunderous explosion echoed through the tunnel, making Asahi's head buzz from the shockwave.

In this clash of power, Mewtwo emerged victorious—after all, this was the same Mewtwo that had defeated Rayquaza. Even without Mega Evolution or Plates, it was still overwhelmingly strong.

Meanwhile, Registeel was nowhere near Rayquaza's level.

Its massive body was sent flying, slamming into the tunnel wall with half of its body embedded in the stone.

Asahi observed Registeel. Even after being struck by Mewtwo's full-force attack, its metallic body remained completely undamaged.

Asahi: "....."

Registeel and Regirock were total opposites.

One was indestructible, the other crumbled like a stale cookie…

If he remembered correctly, the Tree of Beginning's guardians also included Regice…

Just as that thought crossed his mind, a chilling sensation crept up his spine.

Turning his head, Asahi found Regice standing behind him.

Its body was entirely composed of ice, exuding a frigid aura so intense that just looking at it felt like his soul was about to freeze.

The yellow cross-shaped pattern on Regice's face flickered rapidly before it raised its arm without hesitation.

A blue sphere of energy formed in front of it.

At the same time, Registeel's silver body began to glow, gathering a shining silver energy orb.

From the tunnel entrance, where it had finally caught up, Regirock raised its arms, summoning massive boulders infused with Rock-type energy.

Ice Beam + Flash Cannon + Ancient Power!

The three Legendary Titans unleashed their attacks simultaneously.

Even with Mewtwo and Gardevoir at his side, Asahi's expression changed.

Without hesitation, he grabbed Mewtwo and had Gardevoir teleport them away.

One second later—

BOOM!

The combined attack collided, triggering a violent explosion that engulfed the entire tunnel.

Having barely escaped, Asahi patted his chest, wasting no time as he rushed toward the Tree of Beginning's core, guided by his Aura.

---