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It was the first time Roy had seen such a massive tree.
From his viewpoint, one-third of the tree's crown was hidden above the clouds, making it impossible to see the peak. The trunk was as thick as a mountain, a true tree reaching to the heavens. Even the legendary trees from ancient myths - the sacred foundation tree from the Book of Mountains and Seas or the World Tree of Norse mythology - couldn't compare to this magnificent sight.
World Tree...
Yes, Roy remembered that in the Pokémon world, there existed something very similar to the World Tree.
The Tree of Beginning.
It wasn't actually a tree in essence. Its trunk was composed of rock formations that resembled a normal tree, and its foliage consisted of biological tissue that could absorb light energy. It was essentially a crystal life form that relied on light for sustenance.
The Tree of Beginning was a sentient being, and it was reasonable to think of it as a giant Pokémon that couldn't move.
There was also a Pokémon that lived in a symbiotic relationship with the Tree of Beginning.
Mew.
The legendary Mythical Pokémon.
The number of Mew was more than one. It was said that in ancient times of the Pokémon world, there used to be a group of Mew, but over a long period, some major changes occurred that caused the group to scatter. In the end, only several Mew remained, roaming around the world.
No matter which Mew it was, their abilities were amazing.
Legend said that Mew had no gender.
According to legend, only those with pure hearts and a strong desire to meet Mew could make Mew appear.
Legend claimed that Mew possessed the genetic factors of all Pokémon and could learn all the moves that Pokémon could use, so many people believed it was the ancestor of all Pokémon.
Its genes were once used to create a powerful life form called Mewtwo, whose strength was comparable to that of legendary Pokémon. Its Transform move could turn it into any kind of Pokémon, even Legendary Pokémon were no exception.
"Is Mew still here..." Roy was very interested in this Mythical Pokémon.
However, now wasn't the time to think about Mew. Roy looked around, but he didn't find Arlo who had been attacking him.
At the same time, in the Poké Balls on Roy's waist, only Nebula, Electabuzz, Ninetales, Metagross, and the rented Lairon remained. Lucario and Blastoise, who had been protecting him before, were completely gone.
Mimikyu poked its head out of the shadows and climbed onto Roy's shoulder.
"Did you see Lucario and Blastoise?"
Mimikyu shook its head, indicating that it had also been caught in that space storm and lost consciousness briefly. After waking up, it had stayed near Roy and hadn't seen Lucario and Blastoise at all.
"They should have been randomly teleported to some location in the spirit realm by a space node," Roy speculated while staying calm despite his worry.
"You and everyone in the Poké Balls were teleported with me because you had physical contact with me."
This could also explain Arlo's previous behavior.
As a professional trainer, Arlo didn't lack knowledge about spirit realms. He must have known that after a spirit realm's arrival, space nodes would randomly send people somewhere within the realm. To avoid being separated from his own Pokémon, Arlo had decisively recalled all his Pokémon. Besides protecting himself, the more important reason was maintaining physical contact.
If Roy, now separated from Lucario and Blastoise and missing two main fighters, encountered Arlo at this time...
"That would be a major disadvantage," Roy muttered.
Fortunately, he was an Aura user, and Lucario and Blastoise were also proficient in Aura. As long as they were within five kilometers of each other, they could sense one another, making the probability of reuniting quite high.
At the same time, he could use Aura power to detect Arlo's position in advance and temporarily avoid him before gathering his main team.
Roy released all his main Pokémon except Nebula and Lairon.
The top priority was to reunite with Lucario and Blastoise as soon as possible. Whether it was to face enemies or leave the spirit realm, all team members needed to be gathered together.
"Electabuzz!" Electabuzz suggested that as long as it emitted mega-level voltage into the sky, creating unique lightning, Lucario and the others would definitely be able to see it.
"Nine?" Ninetales was speechless. If they did that, they would more likely alert enemies as well as the wild Pokémon living throughout the spirit realm.
Metagross was amused by Electabuzz's crude thinking and made a mocking sound.
Mimikyu sighed, mourning for its partner's intelligence.
It was rare for Electabuzz to use its brain and make a confident suggestion, only to be criticized by all its partners. After looking around, Electabuzz felt that Ninetales and Mimikyu weren't easy to mess with.
Instead, it glared at Metagross, who was always at odds with it.
"What's your brilliant idea then? Let's hear it," Electabuzz challenged.
Actually, Metagross did have an idea.
It suggested that as long as they walked toward the huge tree, there was a high probability they could meet Lucario and the others.
Ninetales and Mimikyu suddenly understood.
"?" Electabuzz was puzzled and didn't get it.
"Good thinking," Roy praised with a smile.
Seeing that Electabuzz still didn't understand, Roy patiently explained: "When you arrive in a strange place and want to find partners without alerting others, the first thing you should do is go to high ground and survey the surrounding terrain and visibility. Other than that, head to the most conspicuous place in the area."
"The most conspicuous place can often serve as a meeting landmark."
"This huge tree fulfills both functions of 'height' and 'landmark' simultaneously."
"Lucario and Blastoise will most likely head to the Tree to investigate when they're without other clues."
"Of course, Arlo is also very likely to go near the Tree of Beginning, which increases the risk of encountering him. However, with Aura sensing, there's still room to maneuver."
Electabuzz crossed its arms and nodded at everything Roy said.
"I see... Brilliant, truly brilliant!"
Mimikyu and Ninetales couldn't bear to watch, exchanging glances as they both realized Electabuzz was just pretending to understand.
Roy patted Electabuzz on the shoulder without calling it out. "Let's go if you understand."
The group headed toward the Tree of Beginning.
Electabuzz took the lead, opening the path ahead.
Ninetales exuded its aura, filled with charming spiritual energy, persuading wild Pokémon who wanted to approach and stop them.
Of course, there were always Pokémon who didn't know better or were attracted by curiosity who came forward to cause trouble. They were all "persuaded" by Electabuzz's fists.
Mimikyu escaped into the shadows, serving as both defender and scout.
Metagross guarded the rear of the team to prevent sneak attacks.
Roy noticed something odd.
In incompletely integrated spirit realms, wild Pokémon usually became extremely aggressive due to unknown reasons, but in this spirit realm with the Tree of Beginning, wild Pokémon seemed to maintain their sanity and could be reasoned with.
Was this Mew's power, or the influence of the World Tree?
Since the Pokémon weren't violent, Roy thought they could walk all the way to the World Tree without problems.
However, after only thirty minutes of walking, Roy suddenly stopped and stared toward the front right.
In his Aura perception, four kilometers away to the front right, there was a creature containing extremely powerful Aura, walking toward them.
Everything had Aura. Whether the Aura was strong or not could indicate the creature's strength to some extent.
This creature's Aura was comparable to a professional-level Pokémon, at least as strong as those used by elite trainers.
As if sensing the presence of Roy and the other outsiders, the creature suddenly exuded murderous intent and started running toward them.
Its running speed increased steadily, and the ground gradually began to tremble.
Without Roy's order, Electabuzz spontaneously became alert.
Soon, this Pokémon with powerful Aura appeared.
It was a beetle-like Pokémon with a brown carapace and two scythe-like appendages growing from its arms.
"Kabutops..." Roy whispered.
Kabutops were Fossil Pokémon, ancient Pokémon resurrected from fossils. There were currently no such Pokémon living on Earth naturally.
Roy wasn't surprised by the appearance of Fossil Pokémon.
The Tree of Beginning was also considered the origin of Fossil Pokémon, where many Pokémon species had lived in the ancient times of the Pokémon world, maintaining the oldest ecological environment.
This Kabutops had broken through its racial limits and had lived for an unknown period. The brown carapace on its body looked very ancient at first glance, exuding an aura of antiquity, and its body size far surpassed its peers, standing 2.5 meters tall.
It stared at Roy and the others coldly, its murderous aura growing heavier.
"No matter how you look at it, it doesn't seem like we can communicate," Roy observed, though he still let Ninetales serve as a diplomatic ambassador.
If they could avoid fighting, that would be best.
Ninetales called out twice, trying to communicate with the other party, but Kabutops sneered disdainfully.
"Kabu! (This old one has lived for hundreds of years and has long since lost interest in worldly desires!)"
Immediately, Kabutops swung the scythe on its arm mercilessly.
The Water-type move, Razor Shell.
A slash like flowing water was drawn instantly, forming a stream of liquid sword energy.
The speed was incredible.
Among the Pokémon present, only Electabuzz reacted in time and responded with Brick Break.
However, the flowing water sword energy was not only amazing in speed but also in power far beyond Electabuzz's imagination. Its proud Brick Break was instantly crushed in the strength confrontation. Its arm was in severe pain, and its entire body was sent flying.
Roy was surprised.
Although Electabuzz hadn't used Totem aura or lightning armor, this kind of complete crushing wasn't something normal professional-level Pokémon could perform. At least, Arlo's Bisharp, purely in terms of cutting power, wasn't as good as the Kabutops before them.
Kabutops proudly raised its sharp scythe, showing off its strength to Ninetales.
"Kabu! (Woman? Women only affect the speed at which I draw my sword! Swordsmen don't need women!)"
"Nine?!" Ninetales was furious.
From birth until now, no male had ever dared to be so arrogant in front of it and show such contempt for females.
The air seemed to shake with cold energy.
"I understand," Roy said, seeing Ninetales' mood, and took out an ice-blue diamond-shaped crystal from his pocket.
This was an Icium Z crystal.