That pain—so sharp it felt like it tore through the heart itself.
If a shinobi had seen it, his eyes would have awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan on the spot.
That boy—the one who risked everything to prove the bond between himself and Pikachu—
had now vanished, just moments after finally reuniting with his partner.
At this moment, Ash's silhouette seemed to overlap once more with Sir Aaron's.
But this time, it wasn't because of their shared Aura.
It was because of Ash's own nature—that same magnetic spirit that Sir Aaron, the legendary Aura Guardian, had once possessed.
A single tear rolled down Lucario's cheek.
It… was crying.
Lucario didn't even know why it cried.
But the tears kept falling, unstoppable.
Just witnessing the bond between Ash and Pikachu moved it so deeply.
If Lucario had known the truth of what had happened long ago…
perhaps it would have chosen, without hesitation, to follow Sir Aaron into death as well.
Kanto Region – Pallet Town.
Pikachu stared blankly at the image on the light screen.
It was just a projection… and yet, the pain it felt was real.
As if it were truly losing Ash.
Standing on Ash's shoulder, Pikachu suddenly clung tightly to his face.
"Pika… Pi!"
"Ash and Pikachu will never be separated!"
"Pika! Pikachu!"
"Don't worry! I'm not going to die either!"
"Pika!"
"Alright! That's a promise! We're going to become Pokémon Masters together!"
Watching the ever-silly pair, Brock and Misty could only shake their heads.
Sometimes, these two were so childish.
But… their bond was real.
On-screen—
Pikachu was crying, Lucario was crying, and all of Ash's Pokémon were crying too.
Their sorrow poured out like a river.
Mew looked helplessly at the scene before it—the Pokémon gathered, weeping uncontrollably.
Pikachu's grief hit especially hard.
Something in Mew's heart clenched painfully.
"Mew…"
It glanced around, then picked up the cap Ash had left behind before being consumed by the white blood cells.
Mew floated over to Pikachu and gently held out the hat.
"Mew~"
It hoped this small gesture might bring Pikachu even a bit of comfort.
Pikachu took the hat with trembling paws…
then buried its face in it.
"PIKAAAA!!"
No! Don't leave me!
No words were needed—Mew could feel Pikachu's despair as if it were its own.
Thinking of how cheerful this little creature had been just moments ago…
Mew's resolve hardened.
It circled once around the grieving Pokémon, then let out a long, quiet sigh.
Closing its eyes, Mew's body began to glow.
Because Mew and the Tree of Beginning shared one life, one soul—
Mew was the Tree of Beginning, and the Tree of Beginning was Mew.
Mew drew on that bond now, connecting its essence with the heart of the Tree.
Hovering above a great blue crystal, it released a burst of brilliant green energy!
At that moment—
the Tree of Beginning erupted in light.
Every blue crystal within it shimmered, glowing like radiant emeralds!
The light coursed through the Tree's veins, spreading in every direction.
Before Pikachu's eyes, two streams of green energy began to rise from the ground.
Then, as the light faded—
Ash and Kido's bodies reappeared, standing before them.
They had been resurrected!
"Pika-pi!!"
Overjoyed, Pikachu leapt straight into Ash's arms.
And Ash, of course, caught him tight.
Pikachu then proudly presented Ash's hat like a treasure.
Though he didn't quite understand, Ash smiled and put it back on his head.
The other Pokémon gathered joyfully around them.
Even Meowth heard the voices of Jessie and James calling out in the distance.
Everything seemed to end so perfectly.
The mistake caused by humans had been mended by the kindness of Mew.
Wallace:I'm crying… Mew is such a pure and kind Pokémon!
Caitlin:Mew is amazing! I want to give it a hug!
Goh:Sniff… The world really wouldn't turn without Pokémon in it.
Sabrina:I've decided—Mew will be my Pokémon from now on!
Bruno:Hold on, doesn't anyone see something's wrong? Mew looks feverish! Isn't this what they call a "final flare" before death?!
Lance:Bruno, shut your cursed mouth!
But the image didn't lie—Mew truly was feverish.
Its floating form began to waver.
Could Bruno… have actually been right?
On-screen—
Not only Ash and Kido, but Jessie and James were also safely reunited with Meowth.
May, Max, and Brock had all found their Pokémon again.
Everything seemed peaceful, even beautiful.
But then—high above—Mew wobbled in the air, trying to invite Pikachu and the others to play.
Yet its forehead was flushed red, its strength fading fast.
Even the act of floating was becoming impossible.
Mew suddenly fell from the sky—
and Ash barely managed to catch it in his arms.
Then, around them, the once-blue crystals began turning orange again.
But this time, instead of transforming into those white-cell blobs…
they burned—first orange, then black, and then to gray ash.
The ash lasted barely a second before dispersing completely into the air.
Things were… going wrong.
Horribly wrong.
And not just where Ash stood.
Across the entire Tree of Beginning, the same phenomenon was happening.
The Tree was beginning to die.
Ash and the others quickly recalled their Pokémon.
Kido contacted Banks for an analysis of what was happening.
After a rapid calculation, Banks' grim conclusion came through:
The Tree of Beginning's immune system was collapsing.
Originally, after the white blood cells had destroyed the "invading virus" (the humans), the system should have returned to normal.
But Mew, moved by compassion for Pikachu, had reversed that process—
rewriting the Tree's natural order to bring Ash back.
This caused a catastrophic misfire in the immune system's recognition ability.
Now, it could no longer tell friend from foe—
and had begun to attack itself.
If the process wasn't stopped soon,
not only would the Tree of Beginning perish—
the entire world it sustained would also collapse.
A global crisis!
Riley:Mew is too kind—it didn't even hesitate to sacrifice itself for their sake.
[RECURRING] Flint:Pokémon are so gentle… and yet willing to give everything.
Lorelei:It's those reckless explorers' fault! They're the ones who deserve punishment!
Kido:Impossible! The Tree of Beginning can't be destroyed because of this—it's unthinkable!
Lance:That's what happens when you seek "adventure" without restraint. Disgusting.
Cynthia:There's still a chance. If Mew recovers, the Tree might stabilize again.
As expected of a Champion's intuition—
Cynthia had hit the truth at once.
Because Mew was the Tree of Beginning.
If the Tree was collapsing, then so was Mew.
If Mew could be healed, perhaps the Tree could be saved too.
But how?
If they could somehow take Mew to a Pokémon Center, perhaps the League's medical tech could heal it.
Yet… would the Tree of Beginning—or Mew—last that long?
Already, the Tree's breakdown was accelerating.
In just one minute, its entire trunk had turned fiery orange.
The color of annihilation.
On-screen—
The Tree's transformation was visible even from afar—
its once-green glow replaced by a raging orange-red blaze.
Flames licked its surface, as though it were burning from within.
Even the distant royal palace of Rota could see the inferno clearly.
Queen Irene stood on her balcony, hands clasped at her chest, praying like her ancestor Linnea once had for Sir Aaron.
"Please… let them all return safely."
Inside the Tree, Mew stirred weakly in Ash's arms.
It managed to lift itself into the air one last time.
"Mew…"
Pointing ahead with a trembling paw, Mew slowly drifted forward.
Ash understood immediately.
"Mew wants us to follow it."
Without hesitation, he led the way.
Following Mew's light, they soon reached the very heart of the Tree of Beginning.
The crystals here glowed brighter than anywhere else—
the Tree's core.
But Mew's strength was spent.
It collapsed once more, and Ash caught it again.
At the center, a single massive crystal pulsed with searing orange light.
"Rrr!"
Lucario suddenly gasped—it had sensed something within.
Without even needing Aura, it knew.
Ash turned. "What is it, Lucario?"
But Lucario didn't answer.
It rushed toward a nearby crystal and knelt, picking up a pair of old, black gloves.
Even after a thousand years, it recognized them instantly.
They belonged to Sir Aaron.
Tears filled Lucario's eyes.
It lifted its head, staring through the crystal—
and faintly, a blurred figure could be seen inside.
All the fragments of memory fell into place.
Sir Aaron's strange behavior, the unanswered questions—
it all made sense now.
"Ash, whose gloves are those?"
'Sir Aaron's.'
"Why would Sir Aaron's gloves be here?"
Lucario didn't answer.
It simply began to cry again, harder than before.
Its emotions surged beyond control; its Aura flared wildly—
and within the crystal, Sir Aaron's image slowly appeared.
The truth was undeniable.
"Sir Aaron… how could he be here?"
Ash's voice trembled.
After all, the old legends of Rota had never mentioned this.
But Lucario couldn't speak.
Its heart was too heavy.
Ash stepped forward, examining the crystal carefully—
and there, lying before it, was a Time Flower.
"A Time Flower…"
He instinctively reached out to touch it, Aura resonating from his body.
Kido, still on the communicator with Banks, turned—just in time to see Ash holding Mew and touching the flower.
In the next instant—
the vision bloomed.
Mist shrouded the scene.
Sir Aaron appeared.
"Mew, please show yourself—I need your help!"
As the image rose upward, instead of Mew, another figure appeared—
a majestic Ho-Oh!
Its radiant feathers shimmered with all the colors of the rainbow.
It looked exactly like the Ho-Oh Ash had once seen.
But Sir Aaron had called for Mew!
Why was Ho-Oh here?
Ash:See?! I told you Ho-Oh was real! No one believed me before!
Gary:Idiot! You said Ho-Oh was Mew—this one's clearly the real Ho-Oh!
Cynthia:Actually, the legends say Mew possesses the genes of all Pokémon. Theoretically, it can become any Pokémon it chooses. In other words—Ash was right. This Ho-Oh is Mew.
Gary:What?! But it looks exactly like Ho-Oh!
Professor Oak:That's Mew's gift, Gary. You really should study more, you know.
Gary:Grandpa! I'm your grandson! Take my side for once!
On-screen—
As Ash had said, the "Ho-Oh" truly was Mew in another form.
It circled joyfully around Sir Aaron.
"Mew, I know you and the Tree of Beginning are one. I need your power."
"Mew?"
"I'll give all my Aura—my very life—to stop this war! If my death can bring peace to the world, then so be it! Aura is with me!"
"Please, Mew—take my Aura!"
Lifting his hand, the crystal in his glove began to shine with blinding blue light.
His Aura gathered into an orb that enveloped Mew completely.
That immense power flowed into Mew's body—
and Mew, in turn, responded to his wish.
The Tree of Beginning erupted in brilliant green light.
It was the missing piece of the story seen in the first broadcast—
the true ending of Sir Aaron's tale.
He had sacrificed his life… to end the war.
The vision faded.
Lucario stood silently before the crystal, tears streaming down its face.
Sir Aaron had never abandoned it.
'Sir Aaron… my master…'
Looking at the fading blue Aura within the crystal, Lucario felt only sorrow.
"So that's it…" Ash whispered. "Sir Aaron gave his life to stop the war. That's the truth behind it all."
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