Chapter 293 - Mew: My Home Just Exploded!
Chapter 293 - Mew: My Home Just Exploded!
"What was that just now?" Mewtwo asked.
Before coming here, Asahi had told it they were going to find Mew, its "mother", but suddenly these three had appeared.
"Those three…." Asahi thought for a moment and explained in simple terms, "are Mew's housekeepers."
Mewtwo needed a few seconds to process the absurdity of that statement.
"…Then why are we fighting them?" It didn't understand.
According to Asahi, weren't they all on the same side?
"I don't want to fight them either, but they don't understand human speech…" Asahi sighed.
He could communicate with Groudon and Kyogre, but these three—who basically spoke in encrypted Morse code—were impossible to reason with.
As they spoke, Asahi dodged another red liquid Pokémon trying to engulf him.
The deeper they ventured, the stronger the immune response of the Tree of Beginning became.
The red liquid Pokémon had evolved from weak Omastar and Kabutops into highly aggressive Aerodactyl.
But against Mewtwo and Gardevoir, they were utterly useless.
"Where are we going now?"
"The Tree of Beginning's core!"
Sensing the three Titans closing in from behind, Asahi sped up.
Soon, he arrived at a massive stone wall.
"Is this the core?"
Asahi used his Aura to confirm. "Beyond this wall, yes."
Turning to Gardevoir, he nodded. Its eyes glowed blue—
Swoosh!
A moment later, Asahi, Mewtwo, and Gardevoir vanished.
When they reappeared, Mewtwo found itself in a huge hall.
At the center stood a massive crystal, and beside it lay… a pair of gloves?
The gloves of the Aura Guardian, Sir Aaron?
Asahi wasn't particularly interested in them. He was here for Mew.
But after scanning the entire hall—
No sign of Mew.
Mewtwo glanced at Asahi.
"Emmm… Maybe Mew went out?"
That was the only reasonable explanation.
In the corner, there was a pile of random objects, likely Mew's personal collection.
Asahi rummaged through the odd assortment of toys and evolution stones, eventually finding a communicator with multiple missed calls.
Mew had left its phone at home and run off to play.
Just as Asahi was about to speak, a loud rumbling came from behind him.
Turning around, he saw the cave wall shatter, and through the gaping hole, the three Titans stepped in—staring directly at him.
"...."
Sighing, Asahi placed the communicator back down.
"You guys really don't give up, huh…?"
Running away wasn't his style—and he still had to wait for Mew to return.
So…
"Looks like we're fighting!"
"Gardevoir, protect the core."
"Mewtwo—Mega Evolve!"
The Keystone on Asahi's wrist responded to the Mega Stone on Mewtwo.
A brilliant light erupted—
In moments, a muscular, battle-ready Mega Mewtwo X stood before him, facing the three Titans head-on.
With a flick of its spoon, psychic energy surged.
Mega Mewtwo X charged straight at the Titans!
---
Meanwhile, outside the Tree of Beginning—
Mew and Celebi had just returned from a festival, Mew wearing a flower crown and holding an ice cream.
Seeing Pokémon Hunters knocked out everywhere, Mew froze—then clenched its tiny fists.
Every year, these bad guys came to poach from the Tree of Beginning.
But this year was different.
This year, Mew had backup!
It was going to call Asahi and have him lock these poachers up.
But just as Mew turned toward the entrance, Celebi suddenly looked up at the sky.
What was it looking at?
Just as that thought crossed Mew's mind—
BOOM!
A massive explosion erupted from the Tree's crown.
Flames and debris rained down.
Celebi: "Bi…?" (Is this part of the festival…?)
But Mew's ice cream dropped to the ground.
Staring at the explosion—
Mew was completely stunned.
After several seconds…
"Mew!"
With a worried expression, Mew completely ignored the ice cream that had fallen to the ground and hurriedly flew toward the inside of the World Tree.
Along the way, both Mew and Celebi witnessed the shattered crystals, the devastated passageways, and the scattered red liquid all over the place.
Mew couldn't understand how simply going out for a bit had resulted in its home becoming like this.
It recalled the Pokémon hunters outside… Could it be that their leader had infiltrated the place?
At this thought, Mew became even more furious!
Once it got hold of the communicator and called Asahi over, it would make sure to teach this intruder a harsh lesson!
With that in mind, Mew and Celebi passed through the green corridor and arrived at the core of the World Tree.
Then… the scene before them left Mew completely stunned.
Two of the World Tree's guardians, Regirock and Registeel, were embedded in the walls, while the remaining Regice was suspended mid-air by psychic energy.
"Mew? Mew? (Mewtwo? Asahi?)"
Mew never expected that the ones who wrecked its home would be Asahi and Mewtwo.
Asahi also noticed Mew.
For a moment, the atmosphere became incredibly awkward…
However, Asahi was, after all, Asahi. He quickly regained his composure and casually greeted Mew.
Mew: "…"
It felt so foolish. Who else but Asahi could have fought his way to the World Tree's core while tanking the full force of the legendary titans?
Looking at the devastated hall, Mew's heart ached.
"Mew!"
It quickly called out to the struggling Regice, stopping it from launching another attack.
Seeing that the golems had ceased their hostility, Asahi also signaled Mega Mewtwo X to stand down.
Mew angrily flew up to Asahi, waving its tiny fists in protest!
Asahi: "This has nothing to do with me… Blame these three for chasing me down relentlessly!"
Mewtwo nodded in agreement.
Mew turned to the Regi trio. Their glowing dots flickered as they communicated with Mew in a way Asahi couldn't understand.
In the end, Mew let out a helpless sigh.
"Mew!"
It called out to Regirock.
Unlike before, when Asahi had failed to communicate with the golems, Regirock now understood Mew's command. It walked to a broken section of the cave wall and raised its arm.
Rumble—
With a deep, grinding noise, the shattered rock slowly pieced itself back together, sealing up most of the hole—at least enough to stop the wind from blowing through.
Despite having been beaten up, Regirock still had to do repair work…
Watching as the hall was more or less restored, Mew finally felt some relief in its wounded heart.
Fortunately, the most important part—the World Tree's core—had been protected by Asahi and remained undamaged.
If it had been harmed, things wouldn't be so easily resolved…
Noticing that Mew still looked a bit down, Asahi took out one of his few remaining specially-made Pokéblocks and handed one to Mew.
"Alright, cheer up. Pack your things—we're going to Sinnoh!"
Unable to resist the temptation of the Pokéblock, Mew's eyes lit up. It took the treat and stored it away carefully.
However, hearing Asahi's words, it tilted its head in confusion.
"Mew?"
"We need to save someone, and we might need Celebi's power." Asahi glanced at Celebi.
Celebi had the ability to heal wounds, and Asahi needed that power to attempt to heal Platina.
"Mew…?"
Mew still didn't quite understand. If they needed Celebi's power, why did it have to go along too?
Asahi: "Just in case…"
Just in case he had the misfortune of running into that alpaca searching for its elemental plates.
Having an extra Mew meant an extra layer of insurance.
If things got dicey, he might even strip more of the alpaca's plates while he was at it…
—
In the end, Mew was convinced and decided to accompany Asahi to Sinnoh.
Not because of anything else, of course.
It was just worried about Mewtwo. Definitely had nothing to do with Asahi.
After handing over the Pokémon hunters—who had been knocked out by Regirock—to Officer Jenny, Asahi returned to the Saffron City headquarters with Mew and Celebi.
The moment he stepped inside, he heard Gary, facing away from him, excitedly say, "With Asahi going to Sinnoh, I'm finally free from this torment!"
Across from him, Sabrina gave a subtle smile, while Courtney nodded slightly, her eyes gleaming with amusement.
Gary saw their reactions and mistook them for agreement, which only made him more enthusiastic.
"I recently got intel from my grandpa about Suicune's whereabouts! I'm going to catch Suicune while Asahi's away, and give him a shocking surprise!"
"I'll put pressure on him—make him realize that I, Gary Oak, will one day surpass him!"
At this point, Gary was absolutely brimming with confidence.
However, he suddenly noticed that Sabrina and Courtney's smiles seemed a little… odd.
And… why did it suddenly feel so chilly behind him?
Wait… chilly?
Gary's body stiffened. Slowly, he turned his head.
Asahi was standing right there, smiling at him.
"You're finally free from torment, huh?"
"Giving me a shocking surprise, are you?"
"One day, you'll surpass me?"
With each sentence Asahi uttered, Gary trembled a little more.
"Uhh… I was just joking!" Gary laughed nervously.
Asahi shook his head. "No way, this isn't just a joke! Gary, I'm really glad to see you so motivated!"
Gary: "Huh?"
Although Asahi's words sounded completely sincere, Gary had a really bad feeling about this.
"As someone with experience, I have to say—if you want a Legendary Pokémon's recognition, and if you want to capture one, you need a strong body…" Asahi patted Gary on the shoulder. "So, to help you reach your goal, starting tomorrow, you'll be training with Slowbro!"
Hearing this, Gary let out a sigh of relief.
Oh, just training with Slowbro?
Wait… training with Slowbro?
Gary turned to look at the Slowbro lying lazily on the rug.
Then he recalled Asahi's insane Slowbro training regimen…
His soul left his body.
Asahi, as always, remained consistently inhuman.
Gary slumped onto the sofa, mentally preparing for his impending hell.
"…?"
Slowbro lifted its head, looking around in confusion.
Did it just hear someone calling it?
—
Asahi wasn't worried about whether Gary could handle Slowbro's training.
After all, Gary was the Super Rookie. Physically speaking, before Asahi had gotten Mewtwo's cells, he had been far weaker than Gary.
This was just a slightly tougher training routine. No big deal.
After making sure Gary completed his first session, Asahi headed toward Indigo Plateau.
Before leaving, there was still something he needed to discuss with Lance.
—
Inside Lance's office…
"You're saying that Giovanni and Team Rocket stole a special Pokémon called Deoxys from Hoenn? And that, once fully developed, it will have the power of a Legendary Pokémon?" Lance's expression turned serious.
"To be precise, a Deoxys. There are two," Asahi corrected.
"That makes this even worse…" Lance sighed. "Why didn't you mention this earlier?"
"It wasn't that big of a deal… I could've handled it myself. But who could've predicted I'd suddenly have to go to Sinnoh?"
Asahi spread his hands helplessly. This was an unexpected development.
"So, are you telling me this because you want me to deal with Giovanni and those two Deoxys?" Lance raised an eyebrow at the tongue-twisting name.
Asahi wasn't that optimistic about Lance's capabilities.
If it were just a Legendary Pokémon, or just Giovanni, Lance might have a chance. But Giovanni plus two Deoxys?
That was way out of his league.
Asahi shook his head. "Not at all. I just need you to keep an eye on Giovanni while I'm away in Sinnoh. I can't monitor things here while I'm gone."
Lance nodded. That was manageable.
Still…
"Team Rocket really can't stay out of trouble, huh?"
Asahi: "If they could, they wouldn't be Team Rocket!"
Both of them chuckled.
Compared to before, things were way better now.
Back in the day, the League had been infiltrated like a sieve, barely able to breathe under Team Rocket's oppression…
"Alright, that's all I needed to say. I'm off," Asahi said. "Sinnoh's waiting, after all. Can't ignore someone who's come begging for help."
Lance nodded.
The Berlitz family—Sinnoh's wealthiest lineage for centuries—held immense influence in the region.
They said that gaining the Berlitz family's support wouldn't necessarily
make someone the Sinnoh Champion, but as long as their strength wasn't too lacking, becoming one of the Sinnoh Elite Four would be a given.
Just as Asahi was about to leave, Lance suddenly recalled something.
"Asahi, have you heard about it?"
Asahi stopped in his tracks, slightly puzzled. "Heard about what?"
"The World Championship!"