Following the petrified Tree of Beginning, Caleb entered its interior directly from the crown...
The air was filled with a desolate, decaying aura. The surroundings were eerily silent, devoid of any sound.
The interior of the Tree of Beginning had once housed a complete ecosystem... Lush green grass covered the ground, crystal-clear flowing streams, and beautiful valleys that bloomed with flowers…
These scenes, once depicted in the Anime, had now vanished without a trace, reduced to barren wasteland.
The grass was gone, the rivers had dried up, and the flowers had withered. It was impossible to imagine what had happened here before.
'If the Tree of Beginning turned out like this… what about Mew?'
A bad premonition suddenly rose in Caleb's heart.
Following the passage leading upward from the crown, he and Dragonite made their way to the core area of the Tree of Beginning, the very place where Lucario had sacrificed itself in the movie.
It was at this moment that Caleb received a quest update notification:
[Phase 2 Quest: "The Aura Guardian" Completed!]
[SSS-grade Item Fragment has been placed in your inventory!]
[Next Stage: "The Savior" Unlocked!]
[Objective: Wear the Hero's Glove and transfer your Aura to the Tree of Beginning (Optional, no penalty for failure)]
[Reward: ???]
Staring at the quest, Caleb fell silent for a few seconds before opening his inventory and looking at the forgotten item in the corner...
- Hero's Glove: A glove once worn by the Aura Guardian. Allows the wearer to transfer their Aura to another target...
'Transfer aura…'
Caleb thought of Sir Aaron and his Lucario...
"Wouldn't I just… die after transferring it?"
Moreover, even if the Tree of Beginning were revived, would it truly save this world?
Clearly not...
Though he didn't know what Team Rocket had done to the Tree to reduce it to this state, Caleb was certain that if the Tree were revived, Team Rocket would just destroy it again...
After some thought, he abandoned the quest outright and instead turned his attention to the Time Flower growing beside the crystal bedrock...
Time Flowers only grew near the Tree of Beginning. They could briefly record surrounding events, but required Aura to activate.
Caleb couldn't use aura, but Lucario could. Just as he was about to ask Lucario to activate the Time Flower, the smartband on his wrist suddenly beeped.
Lucario paused, and Caleb gestured for it to wait before checking the band.
It was Nozomi, she was calling from the Resistance base.
Two days had passed since he left the base. Caleb had been so busy, that he'd forgotten to check in with them...
Adjusting his expression, he answered the call. A faint blue holographic projection emitted from the band.
The image was dim, and chaotic noises mixed with the girl's panicked breathing came through. In the background, the distinct sound of gunfire could be heard.
Caleb immediately tensed, frowning as he asked, "What's going on?"
Nozomi's voice sounded urgent:
<..There's a traitor in the base! Our location has been exposed! They're looking for you! Don't come back! Go to Hoenn!.>
As soon as she finished speaking, a sharp gunshot rang out from behind her...
A bullet tore through her back. Scorching blood splattered across the projection like a blooming crimson flower.
*Thud*
Nozomi let out a muffled groan, collapsing to her knees.
Gritting her teeth, she tore the smartband off with her left hand, shouting:
<..DON'T COME BACK!.>
Then she smashed it onto the ground...
*Bzzzt–*
The screen went black.
Faced with this situation, Caleb couldn't just stand by. He turned to Mewtwo.
Without a word, Mewtwo nodded, its eyes glowing blue as it Teleported him out of the Tree of Beginning.
....
~Twenty minutes later, above Vermilion City~
The sky was densely packed with cold, mechanical armors. The moment Caleb appeared, they turned in unison, their cannons locking onto him...
He narrowed his eyes, his expression unchanging as he scanned them before finally settling on the ruined building below.
A figure in a crisp black suit, hair neatly combed, with hawk-like sharp eyes, slowly turned to face him.
Giovanni smirked, as if he had expected this, "You came."
Caleb didn't respond.
Unbothered, Giovanni shrugged and gestured to the ruins around him, "Too bad you're late."
"You killed them." Caleb's voice turned cold.
Giovanni grinned, "Yes, I did. So what? Weren't you all trying to kill me too? If I hadn't prepared in advance, I'd be a corpse by now, wouldn't I?"
He clapped his hands, and several mechanical Pokémon flew out from above.
Their claws gripped Nozomi, Reika, Kai, Latias, Latios…
Giovanni took a few leisurely steps forward, pulling out several Poké Balls, and taunted, "Want to save them?"
Caleb glanced at the unconscious figures in the sky but remained silent. {T/N: So Giovanni killed everyone except these 5?}
Giovanni waved his hand, and the mechanical Pokémon aiming their cannons at Caleb immediately withdrew, returning to standby.
"It's been a while since I've had a proper Pokémon battle," Giovanni mused, "If you want to take them away, it's simple... win against me. One win, one person freed. Of course, if you lose even once… someone dies. So? Will you play?"
Before Caleb could answer, a visible ripple distorted the air. Then, two massive Pokémon, each nearly five meters tall, emerged from the spatial tear.
It was Dialga and Palkia...
Cyrus swept his gaze across the scene, a faint smile playing on his lips as he landed beside Giovanni
"Oh? Quite the commotion here." he mocked.
Giovanni gave him a cold look and asked, "What do you want?"
Cyrus chuckled, then turned his attention to Caleb, asking, "So you're the one asking about Cynthia?"
Having already seized control of the Sinnoh region, Cyrus's attitude toward the Resistance differed slightly from Giovanni's. He quite enjoyed watching the insects struggle in their death throes.
Thus, he had planted many of his own spies among them, observing their performances.
Not long ago, he received intel that the person who had stolen Mewtwo from Kanto was inquiring about Cynthia's whereabouts from Sinnoh's Resistance.
'Cynthia...'
Cyrus would never forget that name.
Even now, he could vividly recall the woman on the battlefield of Mt. Coronet. Even though she was covered in blood, she refused to fall.
No, to be precise, what he remembered was that monstrously powerful Garchomp that was capable of fighting a hundred foes alone!