To Become a Pokémon Master

by SelfUnacceptance

No one ever thought becoming a Pokémon Master would be this hard. As Ash Ketchum, the would-be hero of our story, begins his first adventure through the Kanto Region, meeting lifelong friends, he'll overcome many trials and hardship, thus growing as a person. But the hardest and biggest obstacle he'll have to overcome is himself.

14. Lucario and the Mystery of Mew

To Become a Pokémon Master

Chapter 14 Special

Lucario and the Mystery of Mew

The smell of the makings of a bloody war in the hazy, morning air stung Lucario's nose like a horrible incent. Skies of yore that were once blue and dotted with fluffy clouds had churned into an ugly gray with bolts of lightning raining down on the world. Sheer cliffs that Lucario stood upon gave him the perfect view of two large kingdoms on both sides of the Cameran Kingdom mustering their horrendously large and vicious armies at their gates. In between them stood the Cameran Kingdom and the Tree of Beginning, one home to many innocent people and the other home to many innocent Pokémon.

The time to intervene was nigh as Lucario jumped off the cliff and onto the ground below him. As he landed, he was met by three Machamp from one of the rivaling kingdoms. One of the Superpower Pokémon took hold of Lucario with its four arms and allowed the other two to wind up Mega Punches. Seeing the attacks coming right for him, the Aura Warrior turned his calm aura into an outward shockwave that at once freed him from the enemy's grasp and blew them away.

As the Machamp began to retreat, an enemy Excadrill, who was able to feel the struggle from underground, drilled upward and struck at Lucario with its mighty horn. However, the warrior had already seen the Pokémon's aura well before the battle began and managed to perform a perfectly executed dodge roll to avoid it. However, he failed to anticipate the Subterrene Pokémon's back-up plan of wrapping around it and using a Mud Slap attack. The murky substance splashed in Lucario's eyes, causing him to scream in pain as a terrible burning sensation pained him so much that he had to close his eyes.

Upon closing his eyes, he could see everything that stood before him in complicated waves of aura. The trees, the cliff he stood on moments ago, the fleeing enemy, the one enemy that stood before him- all of it had aura. It was as if the warrior's eyes were completely open as he fired an Aura Sphere that landed a flawless hit and sent the opponent scurrying away.

Lucario turned around and saw the large rock formation off in the distance known as the Tree of Beginning still safe and sound as he liked. But he knew that would change soon. He knew that once the humans and their Pokémon slaves began their meaningless war, both it and the Cameran Kingdom would be no more. Hoping to change what he thought was inevitable, Lucario took off toward the tree with blinding speed.

"Lucario!" a man dressed in blue yelled from behind the Pokémon. Lucario looked back to see the man with a staff in his hand, following just inches behind him. "Hold, for I have important news of the palace!"

Lucario did as instructed from the man and held his place. "Yes, Master?"

Sir Aaron held his down, reluctant to speak what was dangling off the tip of his tongue. What he was about to say would change the course of history forever, as he opened his mouth and spoke the words "I have betrayed Queen Cameran and the entire kingdom and have been thrown from my position as Aura Guardian."

The Aura Pokémon's eyes widened at such an outlandish claim from his amiable master. Never before would he have thought those words would come out of that man's mouth, or anyone's mouth for that matter. "What are these foolish words you speak?!"

Only the apology of "I'm sorry, my friend…" escaped the man's lips before a flash of aura escaped from his fingertips. The aura shot into Lucario's chest and froze his joints stiff to the point of silence. The Aura Pokémon's body became enveloped in a strange light as he felt his body separating into little orbs of energy that flew into the tip of the staff. Aaron let go as the staff shook wildly with attempts from Lucario to break free, but soon it seemed to allay. It plunged lifelessly to the ground, casting a reflection of the man's miserable face back up at him.

With a sharp whistle, a Pidgeot swooped down and grabbed the staff, transporting far off behind the man. Aaron closed his eyes and placed the tips of his fingers down to the rich soil of the world. He could feel it quiver under the march of soldiers and Pokémon alike, all ready to cleave one another in half with no intent of mercy. The skies began to fill with screams and blood as the thousand year war begun.

. . .

Many MANY millennia later…

A sinister sundown casted on the city of Rota as two trainers began to face off in the arena. One of them, some trainer from a far off land, and the other, a young, ten-year-old boy with hopes of becoming a Pokémon Master whose name was Ash Ketchum. Both trainers, much to their delight, were able to dress up in clothing that people of ancient times would wear. Ash took to dressing himself in garments similar to the legendary Sir Aaron, which included a mostly blue uniform with a blue hat, while the other trainer resembled that of a lowly peasant.

The referee stepped into the ring and waved his arms up. "Let the Aura Festival Tournament begin!"

A crowd of thousands, nearly a million people, roared in utter excitement as the two trainers began their fierce battle. Among the crowd were Ash's friends, Riley, the Child of Viridian Forest, Serena, the girl who journeyed from Kalos just to see him, and Rhys, a kindhearted boy, but not much was known about his past.

Order after order was called out between Ash and his opponent. Aipom threw powerful punches and scratched with sharp claws while the enemy, a Bayleef, whipped razor edged leaves and tackled with her hard body. It was a tough battle, but Ash managed to come out victorious and proceeded to move onto the second round.

Surprisingly, Ash's childhood friend and current rival, Gary, even took to participating in the tournament. Unfortunately, they ran out of men's clothes and he was forced to dress up as Queen Cameran, to which he couldn't stand. Due to the fact that he had to wear such a dreadful outfit, he was quickly taken out in the first round by a woman and her Weavile. This was mainly due to him not having his eye on the battle, but focusing more on how excruciatingly hot it was to be in the dress. He unsheathed the get-up as soon as possible and went to join Ash's friends in the crowd. But of course cheering his rival on is completely unacceptable Gary Oak behavior.

Flag after flag was raised in victory for a trainer as the tournament quickly progressed to the final round. Ash, much to Gary's surprise, made it to the final round and took his place in the arena. His opponent would be a woman in a lovely who entered by the name of "Kidd". The sour taste of defeat stung the boy's tongue as he realized it was the same person he'd lost to in the very first round.

As the referee allowed the battle to begin, Ash called upon his trusty friend Pikachu and she, her Weavile. The Mouse Pokémon was told to release a Thunder Shock attack, but suddenly began to feel his electricity run up to the tip of his tail. The energy expanded into an outward force, creating an orb of electricity and he hurled it at his unsuspecting opponent, landing the first hit with the newly-learned Electro Ball attack. The Sharp Claw Pokémon quickly recovered from the surprising blast and raked her foe with claws imbued with shadowy power. Pikachu flew back, but let another Electro Ball rip before hitting the ground. Weavile, fully aware of the new attack, met the attack with an icy wind blown from her mouth. The two moves met in the middle of the arena and exploded with power. In an instant, Pikachu dashed through the smoke with a Quick Attack and slammed his opponent all the way into the wall. As the Mouse Pokémon backed off, he suddenly found himself frozen with an Ice Beam attack at point blank range. Hope began to dwindle for Ash, but his Pokémon managed to break free with a powerful Electro Ball that smacked into Weavile and managing to knock it out, declaring Ash the winner of the Aura Festival Tournament.

The great descendant to the throne of the Cameran Palace, Queen Cameran the Forty-Fifth, descended from her seat high above the arena and met the winner down on the field in person. Her appearance, Ash thought, was quite stunning. The woman was wearing a beautiful, azure-blue dress with sapphires that sparked in the afternoon sun as she approached him. Her porcelain white shoes clicked with an almost satisfying sound with every step. And her face left the young boy nearly speechless. Such deep, blue eyes that made him feel like he was looking straight into a large, shallow pond with beautiful water and the original Queen of Cameran Palace wading in its shores and lips so red and gorgeous that he just wanted to stand up on his toes and kiss her threw his heart into a frenzy. "Ash…" she spoke. Her voice was loud enough so that in the dead of the silence from the crowd, everyone was able to hear her, yet so quiet that his ears felt blessed to have heard such a delicate voice. "As winner of the Aura Festival Tournament, I would like to officially crown you as Guardian of the Year." The woman presented his with an ancient, rusty staff. As he accepted it, he immediately felt by its now softened metal that he needed to take extra care when handling it. Once the staff was in his hands and he opened his mouth to thank her, he looked down and noticed that she had taken to bowing in his presence. The crowd went absolutely mad for the winner and Queen Cameran took him by the hand, escorting him off the arena.

. . .

Later that night, Queen Cameran stood in the ballroom at the head of many invited guests and delivered the welcoming speech. "Hello to you all, many that have traveled far and wide, and welcome to the Aura Festival Ball. On behalf of myself and everyone who resides within the kingdom, we are honored to have to here on such a wondrous day. Today is the day that long ago, Sir Aaron gave his life to protect everything that you see here today. We pay great homage to him by recognizing a guardian each year who has claimed victory in the tournament to lead us in a dance of his honor!"

As the crowd stood in waiting, nothing seemed to happen. Queen Cameran grew slightly distressed by that fact and looked over at the winner of the festival who was sitting in Sir Aaron's seat right behind her in the very front of the ballroom. Ash quickly looked up at her and realized she meant for him to stand he did, taking extreme care to not break the staff, with Pikachu by his side.

But he only stood there, which made the queen even more distressed. She raised an eyebrow at the boy, trying to signal to him that he should probably say something, but she knew that went straight over his head as he stood there smiling like a goof. She quickly cleared her throat and repeated her last sentence, enunciating and stressing not all, but just a few certain words… "WE PAY GREAT HOMAGE TO HIM BY RECOGNIZING A GUARDIAN EACH YEAR WHO HAS CLAIMED VICTORY IN THE TOURNAMENT TO LEAD US IN A DANCE OF HIS HONORRRRRR!"

"Oh!" Ash said, flashing his silly smile and embarrassingly scratching the back of his head. "As the new Guardian for a Year, let the dancing begin!"

The music, a soft, quiet melody was played by a small group of violinists, adding harmony a few Kricketune rubbing their blades together and a Jigglypuff, Blissey, Plusle, Minun, and Minccino humming beautifully to the music. Many of the patrons and people began to slowly dance as gracefully as they possibly could around the dance floor. The lights flickered down slightly and the smallest of Joltik shot a tiny, electrical shock on the chandelier that made it sparkle elegantly as people danced underneath it. It was as if the room was filled with stars.

However, there was one part of the room that wasn't so filled with stars. It was more like star-struck as Ash's eyes immediately fixed themselves on Serena in a lovely pink dress with her honey-colored hair flowing down to her shoulders slow-dancing with that wretched Gary Oak in a stupid-looking suit and tie. The boy nearly bolted up from his seat, but was quickly pushed back down by the queen's grandmother, Lady Cameran the Fourth-Third. Sparks began to fly from Pikachu's cheeks, but both he and his trainer quickly saw that was a mistake. "Now, now!" she said in a harsh, shrill voice, much unlike her granddaughter's. Ash's ears quickly got the message that her voice was not to be blessed by. "As Guardian of the Year, you must sit up here and watch the event! You are not allowed to leave your seat to preform duties that are unbefitting to a guardian such as dancing."

"But ma'am," Ash started, trying to get a word in edgewise. "You don't understand! Gary is-"

"Young man if you don't stop such jejune behavior at this second my foot will be so far up your butt that it'll be your new brain and that'll be the only thing you understand. Are we clear?"

Ash quickly sat back in his seat out of fear of losing his brain and unenthusiastically watched the spectacle of him possibly losing a chance with Serena unfold before his very eyes.

"So," Gary Oak said as his hands were around Serena's hips, guiding her across the dance floor in a beautiful slow-dance. "It's finally nice to see you again after all these years…" he smiled. "You've gotten way prettier."

Serena looked away with her hand placed over her mouth, giggling like an idiotic school girl as her face turned a bright red. "Why thank you. You certainly have gotten… handsomer." She said as she quickly looked him up and down. Her partner began to grow a smile on his face that made her heart scream "He's such a hottie!"

Over at the food table, too young to dance with anyone there, Riley sat in his suit that was forced onto him by one of the staff, much to his disdain, and pecked away at cheese squares with his Pokémon friends, Rattata, Caterpie, and Dedenne. The Pokémon, however, seemed to be having fun as they gorged themselves on delicious food that could not be found anywhere else. The cheesiest of cheese squares, the richest of crackers, the most decadent of meats, and the juiciest of vegetables and fruit- they were having the time of their lives.

Rhys, however, was standing off far in the distance, leaning up against the wall. This was a bit unusual for him as he was the most social out of Ash and his friends. If not the most social then at least the most courageous. It seemed as if he was deliberately choosing not to get himself involved with any of the events that were taking place. But why? Had someone said something mean to hurt him? Did he hurt his ankle? Was he holding in a really big poo and didn't want to do the embarrassing poo-waddle? To this day, no one really knows why he chose not to participate.

Ash began to grow tired of having to sit there and watch his potential girlfriend be swept off her feet by some other man. ESPECIALLY GARY OAK. As he shifted forward to make another effort to stand up, he was stopped by an odd, echoing voice calling out to him.

"Traitor…" the voice growled.

The guardian and his Mouse Pokémon looked around, but saw no one facing him or near him. He tapped on the grandmother's shoulder and asked if she heard anything, but she simply shook her head. Then the voice happened again…

"Aaron…" the voice now roared loudly, echoing throughout the room. Everyone stopped, surprised by the sudden outburst, and turned to Ash with shocked expressions on their faces. The staff suddenly began shaking violently. The guardian relinquished his hold of it. Beams of light began to pierce through the delicate object as it cracked and burst open, enveloping the entire room in a blinding light.

Ash unshielded his eyes to see a blue, human-like Pokémon kneeling in front of him with its eyes shut tightly. The room fell quiet as it spoke to him with a strange power that projected its voice into the entire room. Bright streaks of blue pierced through the staff and took shape in the form of a Pokémon that knelt before the boy with its eyes closed shut.

"Queen Cameran… Sir Aaron…" the Pokémon spoke.

A strange, red energy began swirling about in Ash's hands. He gasped at the sight of it, but for some reason, he felt the energy pull himself toward the unidentified Pokémon. It was almost as if the energy wanted him to touch it, but Ash resisted the temptation and held his ground as the Pokémon continued to speak.

"Aura… Who are you…?" the creature asked. "I can feel it… We have met before…"

Ash began to grow increasingly uneasy at the creature's words. The energy in his hands began to flow faster.

"… No… You are not the one…" the creature growled angrily. The hairs on its body began to stand as its black paws became enveloped in an odd, blue energy. "But your aura reads just like his… it must be you…"

Ash gritted his teeth as he gave up possession of his Poké Balls and Pikachu to Serena as she quickly retrieved them and ran back to Gary's side.

"Why aren't you him…?" The creature's voice began to grow low and dragged out. "Sir… Aar… on…" It soon became clear who the Pokémon mistook Ash to be. "Sir… Aaron…" The Pokémon slowly rose to its feet with powerful energy coursing through its body. "Sir Aaron!" Without any warning, the Pokémon charged at the guardian with his eyes wide open. It was only then that it could see Ash was not the person it originally thought him to be as it stopped just centimeters away from the young boy's face.

The red energy that once swirled in the boy's hands erupted from all parts of his body uncontrollably in a large, red barrier that encapsulated himself within it. As the Pokémon's fist was within the barrier, the energy spun around and engulfed it, pushing it back through the wall with a powerful blast and sending it flying out into the garden. Ash and early everyone in the palace was in complete shock of what happened.

Suddenly, Gary could feel a green energy taking form in the tips of his fingers. He raised his hand up and called out to Ash, but along with the yell, fired small blast of the green energy from his fingertips that struck Ash and sent him flying in a completely different direction than the odd Pokémon.

Mass hysteria and panic rang out as people began to flee the area in an unorganized mess. Tables were turned over, food was trampled, and dresses were stepped on in an effort to get the Giratina out of that room.

Queen Cameran stood up and roared "That's enough!" Pink energy shot from her fingers in three separate directions, one at Gary, and the other two at Ash and the weird Pokémon. It stopped as it reached their bodies and trapped them inside a large, pink orb that traveled to her.

"Agh!" Gary yelled, trying to break free.

"What is this?" Ash said as he was brought back into the room, also trapped in a pink sphere.

"Queen Cameran! I request of you to let me go at once! A traitor is on the loose and the kingdom is under attack!" the Pokémon screamed, writhing inside of the pink sphere.

Queen Cameran let out a long sigh and turned to the blue Pokémon. "Lucario…" she called it in a sad voice. "I'm afraid that isn't the case anymore…"

Lucario looked obviously confused as he still tried to force his way out.

"Lucario, please, listen to me." The queen begged of him. "You've been asleep for thousands of years… the kingdom isn't in any danger anymore."

The Aura Pokémon stopped his struggle, his paws falling to his side, and a pale expression washing over his face. "I… what?" he stammered, unable to believe the statement he was told.

"Sir Aaron, he sealed you in the staff when he left to go save the kingdom and stop the war. He's passed on and so has the Queen Cameran of your time…"

"I kindly ask you to not use that monster's name around me." Lucario growled, giving a glare to Queen Cameran.

"Monster?" Queen Cameran questioned.

"Wait…" Ash cut in. "Sir Aaron was a hero. He saved this place."

"So how could he be a monster?" Gary asked.

"I told you to stop using that name in my presence." Lucario roared at them. Blue energy flared from his paws like a raging fire, but quickly died down once he looked back at Queen Cameran.

Lady Cameran approached her granddaughter and tapped for her attention on her shoulder. "Don't you think you've held these three long enough?"

Queen Cameran nodded in agreement and released the three from their pink, spherical imprisonment.

Riley peered from underneath one of the tables to see his friend freed and decided it was safe to get up. Rhys, who remained in the corner, looked at his hand. He saw that yellow energy was bouncing around on it, but channeled it back into his body and kept it hidden.

"Serena, Riley, Rhys," Ash called out as he ran over to a quivering Serena. "Are you all okay?"

"We're fine!" Riley said as he hopped up from underneath a table.

"Can someone please explain what's going on here?" Gary asked, obviously annoyed, folding his arms.

Queen Cameran let out another long sigh. "If you all could accompany me to the foyer, I'll be glad to explain everything there."

. . .

As Ash, Riley, Serena, Rhys, Gary, and Lucario all moved to the foyer and grabbed a chair, they sat around Queen Cameran and Lady Cameran who began to recant the tale of the legendary Sir Aaron, the man who gave his life for country and queen.

"Long ago…" Queen Cameran stated. "There was a war. It was called the Thousand-Year War because many thought it would have gone on for thousands of years… Year after year of endless slaughter and useless turmoil, but Sir Aaron, the first Aura Guardian, ended it on the very first day. He traveled to the Tree of Beginning and sacrificed himself to spread his aura within the valley to bring everyone to peace. That was about four thousand years ago."

"Whoa…" the kids said in awe, showing great admiration for the man in the legend.

"So what's the Tree of Beginning?" Ash inquired.

"The Tree of Beginning isn't exactly a tree, but a rock formation." Lady Cameran started. "No one knows exactly how or when it was created for sure, but it was said that the first living thing emerged from it on this world."

Gary sat back, while impressed, still with a quizzical look on his face. "So wait, what does this have to do with what happened to me and Ashy boy?" he asked with a furrow of his eyebrow.

"What happened to you two was the power of aura was awakened inside you both." Lady Cameran stated. "Aura is a form of spiritual energy that rests within every living thing. Sir Aaron was able to harness his aura and take control of it. The true extent of his powers, however, was unknown. But it was established that there are two types of aura that we know of- Guardian and Warrior. The Guardian Aura, which is what we assumed Sir Aaron had, is a defensive type of aura that allows him to protect. The Warrior Aura, which is what Lucario is believed to possess, is an offensive aura that allows the ability to fight back. So far, Sir Aaron is the only known Aura Guardian and Lucario is the only known Aura Warrior."

Uninterested in the story, Lucario knocked his chair over as he stood up and began making his way toward the door. "I've heard quite enough of such fallacies about the hero, Sir Aaron."

"What's wrong?" Queen Cameran asked as she stood up gracefully from her seat.

"Your so-called hero is nothing more a traitorous swine who abandoned the queen and country on the day the war began, sealed me in a staff for four thousand years, and ran. He didn't protect anything that day but himself."

"But wait!" Ash stood up. "The legend says Sir Aaron gave his life for the kingdom."

"Yeah!" Gary said, joining his rival in the outburst. "You mean to tell me you're just gonna go against that?"

Riley and Serena shared a similar objection to their friends as they stood up and gave in their opinions as well.

"You can't just go against a story like that." Serena stated.

"If the legend says it's true, then it has to be true!" Riley stated.

Rhys abstained from any involvement, sitting there with his arms folded and watching the squabble before him.

"The two of you and your friends best learn your place." Lucario turned around with a low growl. "Lest I don't stay my hand any longer."

"That's quite enough." Lady Cameran called out. "Now, Ash, Gary, were you two there?"

Ash and Gary stopped with confused looks on their faces as they turned to one another. They could both see how puzzled they were with the question and turned their attention back to Lady Cameran. "What do you mean?" they asked.

"Were either of you two or anyone in this room for that matter present on the exact day all of this happened?" Lady Cameran asked.

Everyone in the room, save Lucario, shook their heads in denial of being there.

Lady Cameran sat back down and took a deep breath, saying something that surprised everyone in the room, especially Lucario and Queen Cameran. "Then we cannot say for sure that we really know what happened on that day."

"But the legend-"

"The legend states what has been passed down century after century." Lady Cameran cut in on the young guardian's statement. "Stories have been known to get distorted and changed over the course of many years. The Legend of Sir Aaron and the Thousand Year War are of no exception to this."

"So maybe we should find out what really happened…" Ash said. "How do we do that?"

"I think I know how!" a familiar female voice said as a woman dressed in a purple jumpsuit entered the room uninvited.

Ash recognized her as the same woman he faced in the finals of the tournament, minus the dress, and spoke to her. "Kidd? Is that you?"

"Sure is." She smiled. "If you guys are looking for information on Sir Aaron and the legend, we could probably find some at the Tree of Beginning."

"Hold, woman!" Lucario immediately protested. "You expect to be shown the path to such a sacred ground? I am appalled by such intruding claims. Humans of today have certainly evolved to a lower form of respect."

Both Ash and Gary could feel Lucario's aura tense up as their own muscles tightened slightly.

"Well, Lucario," Kidd smiled as if she expected Lucario would be against taking them to the Tree of Beginning. "When I was in the ballroom, I saw everything that happened. So the way I see it, if Ash had never won the tournament and released you from Sir Aaron's staff, you would still be asleep right now. I think you at least owe it to Ash and his friends to take them to the tree since he woke you up."

"After what Sir Aaron did to me, I owe you humans nothing more than the direction I spit at you in."

Queen Cameran knelt before the Aura Pokémon and took his paw into her hands, looking up at him with beautiful, blue eyes that made her the picture perfect twin of the very first Queen Cameran. "Lucario, please. Ash and his friends are good people. I know you can see it in his aura. Allow them to help you…"

Lucario hesitantly pulled away from Queen Cameran, having flashbacks of the first one and growled slightly, reluctantly agreeing to help the humans, but only because she requested it of him. He was still bound to his duties to the kingdom after all.

. . .

The very next morning, Ash and his friends bid their goodbyes to Queen and Lady Cameran, piled into Kidd's yellow recreational vehicle, and set off on the winding roads out into the wild with Lucario guiding them on foot to the fabled Tree of Beginning where they would get their answers.

Ash had the window seat on the left with Serena sitting next to him, looking slightly worried as he did nothing but stare intently out of the window, appearing to be deep in thought. Gary sat next to Serena, occasionally hitting on her with his smooth talk, while Riley sat in the window seat on the right, petting the three Pokémon and Ash's Pikachu that sat in his lap. Rhys remained in the front seat, unwilling to talk to anyone, still with his arms folded but now had an uncomfortable look on his face as if something was really bothering him. All attempts from Ash and his friends to reach him ultimately failed.

The group stopped on a long stretch of dirt road to stretch their legs and relax for a little bit. Riley stuck with his Pokémon and Ash's Pikachu with Serena joining him in playing with them, Rhys and Lucario remained on their own, detached from them, Kidd fiddled around with something inside of her RV, and Ash and Gary sat on the grass, taking in the fresh, morning sky.

"So both of us have the power of the aura…" Ash sighed.

Gary sat up and looked toward the sky. "Looks like it. I wonder what kind we have."

Ash quickly jumped up and pulled Gary to his feet by his arm, tugging him along. "Come on, let's go ask Lucario! Maybe he knows."

The two childhood friends rushed over to the Aura Pokémon who sat alone on a rock that was on the edge of cliff, overlooking the valley that led up to the Tree of Beginning. "Lucario!" Ash called out. With a careless run toward him, the boy tripped over a hard rock and fell to the ground, taking his friend with him. The rock began to unfold and bloom like a flower.

"A Time Flower?" Lucario turned back see a grand scene explode before their eyes.

A man, dressed in blue, walked down the path under the afternoon skies, appearing to be carrying something. Lucario identified the man as none other than Sir Aaron as he slowly made his way down the trail. A soft whimper could be heard from whatever he carried in his arms, to which he replied "Don't worry, Riolu. I promise I'll take good care of you." The scene quickly faded from everyone's view and the Time Flower shriveled back up into the rock it was when Ash tripped over it.

"Lucario…" Ash said as he turned back to the Aura Pokémon who had already turned away from the situation. "Was that Sir Aaron carrying you as a Riolu?"

"You are not required to hear an answer from me, human." He growled as he brushed past Ash. "Come, we must get back on the road."

Kidd saw the children piling back into the RV and pulled a small communicator device from her pocket. "Charles," she whispered hastily. "Come in! Do you read me?"

"Yes!" a man replied from the other end of the communicator. "What is it?"

"We're on our way to the tree. Keep a good eye on us. I'll let you know what happens as we go." Kidd shut off her communicator and hopped back in the vehicle. The group continued to make their way to the tree.

. . .

As night fell, the team stopped on the road and began to set up camp for the night. Kidd pitched a few tents in front of the RV with the assistance of Serena and Riley and his Pokémon. Rhys, finally absolving from his abstinence, decided to cook some food for everyone with the help of his Mienfoo. Ash and Gary kept to themselves off in the distance, trying to figure out their new powers, while Lucario remained by himself.

Gary could feel his aura moving through his body and to the tips of his fingers. He held out his hands and let loose a small, green blast that snapped the trunk of a nearby tree, causing it to begin to fall over. Ash focused the power to his hands and created a field of red aura that contained the tree and lowered it safely to the ground. The two boys high fived each other, having gained a little understanding of their new powers.

"So I think it's safe to say that I have the Warrior Aura." Gary smirked happily.

"Yeah," Ash agreed. "And I have the Guardian Aura. So what do we do now?"

"You stay your tainted hands and never use the power of the aura again." Lucario appeared from behind them with an angered expression on his face. "Fools! Training without a master present is dangerous."

"Well, you're here now, right? That means we can train." Ash pointed out.

"I refuse to teach apes as you." Lucario looked down at Ash's Pikachu and Gary's Eevee who were watching their trainers from underneath a tree and approached the two Pokémon. He knelt down with a sinister, cold look in his eyes that sent chills down their spines. "Your trainers will abandon you and leave you for dead just as my master did."

"Hey! What gives?!" Gary said, putting himself in between the Pokémon and Lucario. "You can't just say stuff like that to my Eevee! Totally not cool!"

Ash dug around in his pocket and took out a Time Flower. "Lucario, look at this." He said as he activated it. A spectacular scene began to play before their eyes.

It was the middle of the day underneath an ancient, golden sun and a clear, blue sky. Sir Aaron and Lucario as a Riolu were near a pond with crystal clear water. "Now, Riolu," Sir Aaron started. "It's time for me to teach you how to use the power of the aura. We need you by our side to help protect the kingdom." However, Riolu appeared to only want to splash carelessly in the water. Numerous times, Aaron tried to get the attention of his student before having to raise his voice in anger and startle him. "Riolu! Such behavior is unfitting for a guardian. Now come along, it's time to train."

The scene faded from view and the night sky returned to them, as did the trees and grass that had grown over where the pond once was.

"It looks like Sir Aaron just wanted the best for y-" But Ash stopped mid-sentence, seeing that Lucario had already disappeared, probably before the scene even ended. He called out for the Aura Pokémon, but no answer. Ash didn't really expect him to answer though. He sat down next to Gary and his Pokémon and let out a long sigh. "I don't get it. This doesn't add up. So far all we've seen is Sir Aaron helping Lucario and all Lucario can seem to talk about is how much of a traitor he was."

"Well, you're right about that." Gary agreed. He lie back against the tree and put his arms behind his head, trying to relax, but couldn't seem to get comfortable. The unnerving feeling of Lucario's words made him slightly restless as he held his Eevee. "I think he's got some tough problems to deal with though."

Ash took a moment to think to himself about what Lucario could have going on with him. It came to him that he was in a new world with the last memory of his old one being abandoned by his best friend. "We can sort of relate to him." He said.

Gary raised an eyebrow to the boy as he explained the correlation between the two and the Aura Pokémon.

"Think about it… He was left by his best friend. I was left by my dad and you were left by both of your parents."

"Yeah…" Gary nodded his head. "One person abandoning you like that is enough to get really angry at the world. Arceus knows both of us are."

"Hah, speak for yourself." Ash laughed. "I spent my whole childhood being mad about it. I just want to find him and ask him why he left."

"Come on, Ashy boy." Gary snickered. "Get that anger back and use it as your motivation to find them. That's what I'm doing."

"You can't just stay angry all the time like that. It'll blind you from really connecting with them."

"Yeah, and if you stay calm about it all the time like you are, then you won't notice when they're walking all over you."

The two boys reached a standstill in their conversation, neither of them knowing how to respond to one another. As the night continued on, everyone soon ate and fell asleep in the RV, save Lucario who chose to sleep outside and Rhys who chose to not sleep. He instead, approached the Aura Pokémon with an angered expression on his face. "You." He said.

Lucario didn't bother to turn his head at the angry, insignificant human, hoping that if he ignored it, that it would go away. But it seems that his lack of attention only made the sack of flesh angrier.

"Look at me!" Rhys barked.

The Aura Pokémon turned around with an uncomfortable expression on his face, not wanting to even look in his general direction. "You of all people have no business talking to me."

"We're only a few more miles from the tree. Tell me what happens tomorrow at the Tree of Beginning." Rhys ordered.

Lucario could see the boy's aura flaring up with rage and fury the likes of which he had never seen before, which only made him all the more uncomfortable. "I know not of events that have yet to come. Now please, leave me be."

"Why should I? Because I make you uncomfortable?"

"That's precisely why, boy. Both of us know that you don't belong here. You're out of your element and the fact that you've remained here as long as you have makes me physically uncomfortable. You may have been able to conceal your aura from Ash and Gary as they have not learned the sight yet, but I see straight through your illusion."

A yellow energy swirled in Rhys's hand, but he shrugged it off and channeled it back into his body. "I'm just trying to change things, because tomorrow, it's all supposed to go to hell."

Lucario eyed the boy carefully and read his aura as it began to settle. "You seem to possess knowledge of future events. But you're wrong. Not just your statement but your entire existence here is wrong. Allow me to handle events that are to come and stay out of where you don't belong, human."

Rhys stepped back as an impending sense of doom struck his heart. "Hold, Lucario. You may have seen through my trickery, but I possess power far greater than that of yours and Sir Aaron's combined. I think we both know that." The energy swirling about in Rhys's body dissipated and fell back into the illusion of being undetectable. As he began to retire to the RV, he stopped and turned back to Lucario with a warning. "You might want to begin training Ash and Gary. You're going to need the help."

. . .

In the very early hours of the morning, Ash and Gary were both startled awake by a familiar voice calling for them in their heads. "Ash, Gary, meet me outside. Quickly!" the voice said. Both of the boys identified it as Lucario's voice and crawled over everyone carefully, managing to stumble out of the RV and onto the ground. The two looked up to see Lucario standing in front of them. He helped the boys up and turned his back to them.

"Lucario? What's up?" the boys asked.

"I apologize for my inexcusable behavior these past few days. Since last night, I have seen that now if I wish to save the Tree of Beginning and uncover my past, I cannot do it alone."

"Oh, Lucario…" Ash sighed.

"It's okay! We understand! You had every right to be angry."

"No matter what, we'll help you find out what happened to Sir Aaron and save the tree!"

"Truly?" Lucario looked back to see the smiling, determined faces of the two boys and felt compelled to smile back at them. So he did, and it was the first time since being released from the staff that the Aura Pokémon had smiled. "I cannot thank you enough for finding it in your hearts to forgive after the trouble and pain I have caused everyone. Now, I'm sure by now that you two have figured out what kind of aura you possess?"

The two boys nodded and conjured balls of aura on the palms of their hands. Lucario's eyes widened with yet another smile as he looked at the energy spheres. "Well, congratulations. It seems you've gone against my previous orders and continued to practice on your own- you two have just created Aura Spheres."

"Aura Spheres?" Ash tilted his head in confusion.

Gary crushed the sphere in his hand. "Aura Sphere. It's an attack that only a select few Pokémon can use."

"You know your knowledge about Pokémon." Lucario complemented him. "Now, before you two can begin learning skills catered to your specific types of aura, it is important that you learn how to sense aura signatures of living things."

"Isn't that just where you close your eyes?" Ash asked.

"Close, but not exactly." Lucario stated. "You must close your eyes and focus hard on the life around you, but at the same time, be calm and become one with nature."

The two students of aura closed their eyes, relaxing their bodies but also sharpening their focus on the world around them. All they saw was pitch black for a few moments until a glorious world of bright colors erupted before them. Everything they had just seen with their open eyes now was visible to them in waves of beautiful, flowing aura. From the wind blowing through the trees to the ground beneath their feet, all that they saw became colored in with vivid tones that made them feel as if they were in a different world.

"This is so cool!" Ash cheered.

"Whoa…" Gary could only say in complete and utter awe.

The trainers opened their eyes and returned to the world they saw before, which appeared horribly unsatisfying after seeing the aura signatures of the world around them for the first time.

Lucario folded his arms and smirked with delight at the young students. "You two are what we used to call back in the ancient times 'Fast Learners'."

"What's next?!" Ash eagerly asked.

Gary looked at him and closed his eyes, seeing his red aura signature was going absolutely wild, bouncing and shooting all over the place. "Arceus above, Ash!" Gary exclaimed. "Calm down!"

"No way! This is too much fun!"

"Now, now," Lucario started. "You must control yourself, or else the power of the aura will escape your grasp."

Ash immediately calmed down and hung his head low with a sad expression on his face. "I'm sorry…"

"Now," Lucario clasped his paws together. "Since Ash has the Guardian Aura, he can create barriers and shields, much like he did back at the palace when I attacked him. Gary, since you have the Warrior Aura, you can pull off many different attack maneuvers. Now, you two face each other."

Ash and Gary did what they were told and turned, facing each other. They read one another's aura signatures and saw they were both calm, but extremely determined and ready to learn, which somewhat intimidated each other.

"Next, take a few steps back."

The two students distanced themselves adequately from each other and stood, awaiting further instructions.

"Now, Gary, I want you to focus your aura to the very tip of your fingers and charge at Ash. And Ash, I want you to focus your aura outward and around you. Are we clear? If so, then begin."

Gary began to feel the energy travel throughout his body and up to his fingers. The energy exploded from his fingertips and shrouded his hands in green claws. The ground beneath his feet erupted in force as he charged at his rival, bearing his sharp claws at him. Ash focused his energy outward and created a red barrier that surrounded him. He held his position as Gary furiously attempted to claw his way in, but the second contact was made, the red aura wrapped itself around Gary's body and exploded, sending him flying back out of sight.

"Ash! Use your sight to find him!" Lucario quickly yelled.

Ash closed his eyes and began to see the world in signatures of aura. He looked around frantically, but saw no sign of his rival to be seen anywhere. Suddenly, a green burst of energy erupted in the distance. The trainer looked over just in time to catch a glimpse of his opponent dashing back toward him with incredible speed. Ash was met with a smack of a large, green broadsword made of aura to the chest and knocked back into a mountain behind them.

"Hold, Gary. Your opponent is not down yet. Use your sight to locate and pinpoint where his next attack will come from." Lucario informed the young student.

Gary did as instructed and shut his eyes tight, looking around in the world of aura signatures that flowed around him. However, he could not locate the red aura that was his opponent until the last second. A red flash quickly shined from above him. The boy just barely got a chance to see Ash crash down on him with a large heater shield made of aura. The impact erupted the land beneath them, flinging dust and dirt everywhere. Everyone fell out of the RV in shock and looked over at the explosion of energy.

Lucario closed his eyes and saw through the smoke that Ash and Gary stood at arms, waiting for the other to make a move. He plunged into the dust cloud and expanded his aura outward while spinning, creating a tornado of energy that cleared up the field and revealed Ash and Gary staring each other down. "Hold!" the Aura Pokémon yelled. Both of the boys relaxed their tense selves, sheathing their weapons back into energy that returned to their bodies. "You two have surpassed the expectations that I put in place. I'm more than proud of you both."

As Ash and Gary began to walk over to Lucario to thank him, Gary tripped over a rock and fell flat on his face. The rock began to sprout and bloom like a flower and played yet another scene for the group.

"Another Time Flower…" Ash said as the movie played before his eyes.

The episode revealed Sir Aaron at a dead end in a deep, dense forest, surrounded by Primeape that looked ready to strike. In his hands was a small, diamond like Pokémon that he appeared to be protecting from the angry Pokémon. Just as one of them lunged out after the Aura Guardian, Riolu appeared and blew the Primeape away with an Aura Sphere. He then became shrouded in a blue energy as his body changed and shifted shape into the Lucario that everyone saw standing before them today. The newly-evolved Lucario made quick work of the Pig Monkey Pokémon and returned to his master, who had fallen to one of his knees. "Master!" Lucario yelled. "Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm fine, Riol- I mean Lucario." Aaron smiled as he stood up and laid eyes on his new partner. "You evolved… just to protect me?"

Lucario looked at himself, appearing to not even having noticed that he underwent an evolution and nodded his head.

Aaron fell back down to his knees in tears of joy and wrapped the student in his arms, sobbing in his chest. "Oh, Lucario, thank you!"

The scene ended there and the group was returned to reality. Lucario could feel his anger drawing back inside of him. Ash and Gary, now possessing the sight, could feel the Pokémon's rage expand outward. But suddenly, the rage subsided and Lucario had calmed himself completely. "Now isn't the time for me to be angry." He thought to himself.

"Hey, Lucario, are you okay?" Ash said as he and Gary put sentimental hands on the Pokémon's shoulders.

He nodded slowly as he looked off in the distance with the large tree in sight. "We have to keep moving."

Ash and Gary nodded as everyone gathered back in the RV and resumed their journey down the road. Lucario still lead the team on foot as they began to near the tree more and more.

. . .

It was late into the evening when the group arrived on the outskirts of the tree. Not much longer and they would reach the entrance in which they would be able to walk in. More and more Pokémon began to appear as they neared the tree.

Lucario suddenly stop and froze in the middle of the road as if he had seen a ghost. Everyone got out of the RV and saw a Time Flower sitting right in front of the Aura Pokémon.

"Lucario?" Ash inquired. "What's wrong?"

"This is the place…" he said, looking down at the flower with his body shaking in utter fear. "The place where…" but his mouth would not allow him to speak anymore words, for if he did then he would be choking back tears that would inevitable flow from his eyes. His foot slowly went out and activated the flower. It bloomed slowly and unfolded a scene that began to play for everyone.

"Lucario!" a man dressed in blue yelled from behind the Pokémon. Lucario looked back to see the man with a staff in his hand, following just inches behind him. "Hold, for I have important news of the palace!"

Lucario did as instructed from the man and held his place. "Yes, Master?"

Sir Aaron held his down, reluctant to speak what was dangling off the tip of his tongue. What he was about to say would change the course of history forever, as he opened his mouth and spoke the words "I have betrayed Queen Cameran and the entire kingdom and have been thrown from my position as Aura Guardian."

The Aura Pokémon's eyes widened at such an outlandish claim from his amiable master. Never before would he have thought those words would come out of that man's mouth, or anyone's mouth for that matter. "What are these foolish words you speak?!"

Only the apology of "I'm sorry, my friend…" escaped the man's lips before a flash of aura escaped from his fingertips. The aura shot into Lucario's chest and froze his joints stiff to the point of silence. The Aura Pokémon's body became enveloped in a strange light as he felt his body separating into little orbs of energy that flew into the tip of the staff. Aaron let go as the staff shook wildly with attempts from Lucario to break free, but soon it seemed to allay. It plunged lifelessly to the ground, casting a reflection of the man's miserable face back up at him.

With a sharp whistle, a Pidgeot swooped down and grabbed the staff, transporting far off behind the man. Aaron closed his eyes and placed the tips of his fingers down to the rich soil of the world. He could feel it quiver under the march of soldiers and Pokémon alike, all ready to cleave one another in half with no intent of mercy. The skies began to fill with screams and blood as the thousand year war begun.

The scene kept going as it depicted vicious murders before them. Blood splattered everywhere and limbs flew among the warring colonies carelessly like popcorn thrown in a movie theater. Ash ran to cover Riley's eyes, but it was too late. Everyone already had the horrible atrocities burned into their heads. Serena clung to Ash for dear life, feeling as if they were really in the middle of the war. Horrible, disgusting profanities were yelled out by the soldiers, some of them cut off by an enemy's sword or attack. Soldier after soldier and Pokémon after Pokémon fell to the ground, dead. Enemies that were still alive trampled over the fallen as if they weren't even there and continued the horrible strife. Ash could feel Riley crying into his shirt as he held the young boy with one arm and kept Serena close in the other. Rhys and Gary folded their arms with faces of disgust, not even bearing to be able to look at the abhorrent event before them. But no matter how much they closed their eyes, they could still see everything through the aura signatures, which eventually made them, along with Ash, begin to scream in horror. Lucario, distraught, began to fire Aura Spheres into the illusions, but no use came of it. He fell to his knees, roaring pain and agony as he, along with everyone, watched Sir Aaron valiantly making his way through the warring armies, sustaining many wounds and injuries. By the time the Aura Guardian emerged from the struggle and entered the tree, he had a severe limp and his left arm was missing.

The Time Flower shriveled back up and took the horrifying scene with it. Everyone stood, cowering, unable to look and see if it was over until Lucario himself finally addressed them. "You may look now. The Time Flower has closed."

The kids opened their eyes to see themselves back into the afternoon sun, but that didn't stop their tremoring.

Kidd suddenly flew out of her RV like a maniac, having been in there the whole time and looked in back of them, yelling up in the sky "Hey! Down here! Right here!"

Everyone looked back to see an armada of planes and helicopters swarming the skies and touching down in front of them. The jets of the planes and whirring of the blades of the helicopters made it impossible to hear anything at all.

Lucario, Ash, Gary, Serena, Riley, and Rhys piled into the RV and hid on the floor of it, able to escape from some of the noise.

"What in the hell is going on out there?!" Gary asked, looking up and peering out of a window. News reports and cameras all flashed at Kidd as she spoke to them. They all praised her as if she was some sort of god before running towards the tree like excited school children.

"No…" Lucario said softly with his body shaking wildly. "T- The tree… I feel it… It's in danger…"

Ash got up in the driver's seat and quickly turned the key in the ignition, revving the engine loudly.

Riley got up and sat next to him in the passenger's seat, frantically flailing his arms. "Ash! You know how to drive?!"

"Nope!" Ash said confidently as he smacked his foot down on the gas pedal and tore down the road, passing all of the running news reporters. He quickly lost control of the large vehicle and began to veer off the road with a large in their direct line of sight. Suddenly, a pink, feline-like Pokémon that Ash, Riley, and Pikachu recognized from Pikachu's past descended into Ash's lap and took the wheel with its tiny, pink paws, managing to get the vehicle back on the road.

"H- Hey…" Gary stammered. "Is that…?" he took out his Pokédex and pointed it at the magical little Pokémon.

"Mew, the New Species Pokémon. Its DNA is said to contain the genetic codes of all Pokémon, so it can use all kinds of moves and techniques. It is a rare sight and said to be the ancestor of all Pokémon."

"Whoa…" Ash said as he watched the New Species Pokémon flawlessly drive the vehicle up to the tree and parked it next to the rock. Everyone quickly scampered out to see the news reporters quickly closing in on them on foot.

"What do we do?!" Serena panicked with Riley clenching himself to her hip.

Ash, Gary, and Rhys stepped forward, calling out all of their Pokémon. From Ash, Pikachu, Bulbasaur, Aipom, and his recently caught Carbink appeared in front of him. Gary called forth his Pidgeotto, Nidorino, and Eevee to join them, while Rhys relied on his faithful Mienfoo. Energy erupted from the tips of Ash and Gary's fingers as they summoned their weapons, an Aura Shield and an Aura Broadsword. Serena joined them and called out her Fennekin and Rhyhorn to help. Riley, seeing that he had no choice but to battle, freed his anger and called his Pokémon friends, Rattata, Caterpie, and Dedenne to help. Lucario and Mew stood at the ready to stop the reporters from barging into the tree and harming it.

Suddenly, a mysterious, psychic force enveloped everyone, rendering them unable to move as they were caught in a powerful Psychic attack. Ash, Gary, and Lucario closed their eyes and located the source of the attack.

"Up there!" Lucario yelled. A large, black helicopter flew high above them as numerous Team Rocket Grunts began to descend down with various Psychic type Pokémon following close behind them. Among the grunts was the duo of idiots Ash and Riley faced back in the Viridian City Pokémon Center.

"Prepare for trouble from the skies!"

"Beyond the stars a nasty surprise!"

"An evil as old as the galaxy…"

"Sent here to fulfill our destiny…"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"

"To extend our reach to the stars above!"

"Jessie!"

"And James!"

"And Meowth are the names!"

"Wherever there's peace in the universe…"

"Team Rocket…"

"Will be there! To make everything worse!"

"Who are those barbaric oafs?!" Lucario yelled.

"Didn't you just hear the motto?" Jessie groaned.

Jessie and James approached the group and stood in front of them with what seemed like an army of grunts standing behind them.

Jessie approached Ash and pinched his cheeks while he stood there motionless, unable to fight back as the psychic power held him. "Let's have a big round of applause to the twerp and his friends for leading us right to the Tree of Beginning!"

The grunts began to applaud and cheer for the boy's ignorance of them tracking his every movement. Many thanks and cheers and insults alike were called out to him and his friends as all they could do was stand there and take it.

James walked up to the young boy and smacked his hard in the face, grabbing him by the shirt collar and spitting on his cheek. "That's for my beautiful face, you pint-sized weasel."

"Now, men and women of Team Rocket! Charge!" Jessie yelled.

All at once, the Rocket Grunts began pouring into the sacred tree, beginning their defilation of it. They captured many of the wild Pokémon that resided inside of it and began to carelessly take samples of its hard roots and large, blue crystals that stuck out of it. The news reports ran in straight behind them, fighting with the grunts over who would be the first to defile the tree.

Kidd walked by the group with fat wads of money in her hand and sly smile on her face.

"Kidd!" Ash and Gary yelled, trying to break free from the psychic hold.

She only waved at them as she retired into the tree and began pillaging parts of it to sell.

Suddenly, the hold on the children and their Pokémon was broken. Everyone fell to the ground and with a loud, high pitched scream, Mew managed to teleport everyone to a room away from the turmoil. The trainers quickly returned their Pokémon, all except save Ash's Pikachu and Gary's Eevee.

"What just happened?" Ash asked, looking around at the small, rocky room they were crowded into.

"Mew teleported us away from everything going on…" Gary surmised. "That must have taken a lot of power and I doubt it'd be able to do it again… So where are we?"

Lucario closed his eyes and sensed the aura signature of the life around him. Bright lights of aura flashed like Christmas lights as he saw many wild Pokémon being captured and hurt by grunts and news reporters alike. "We're at the top of the tree!" he quickly opened his eyes.

A loud explosion rang out from the bottom of the tree, followed by screams of pain and agony. The three aura users, Ash, Gary, and Lucario, closed their eyes. They looked down at the entrance and saw a multitude of grunts and reporters fleeing for their lives with a large, rock-like golem firing Hyper Beams at them.

"What in the world is that thing?!" Gary shrieked.

"That's a Regirock." Lucario opened his eyes once again. "Technically speaking, it isn't the real one. The Tree of Beginning is much like a body. It creates white blood cells to fight off diseases."

"So it views humans as diseases?" Serena asked.

However, right as she asked her question, an orange glob that appeared to be a white blood cell of the tree, fell down onto Rhys. He screamed as he tried to break free from the cell's grasp, but found himself being broken down by it. Quickly thinking on his feet, he grabbed a Poké Ball from his pocket and released Mienfoo before being completely broken and destroyed by the tree. Everyone was taken completely off guard by the incident and had no time to help him.

The now lonely Mienfoo fell to his knees where his trainer once was and wept tears as he pounded the ground in anger, roaring for him to come back. But nothing happened.

"It views us as diseases too?!" Ash yelled.

Lucario growled and closed his eyes, seeing the world in aura and frantically looking around. He suddenly opened them and fired an Aura Sphere at the wall. The sphere broke through the wall, revealing a hidden passageway. "Come on!" he said, guiding everyone into the narrow tunnel. "We have to get out of here!"

Mienfoo refused to come as he simply curled up on the cold, rocky floor where his trainer disappeared, and cried his martial arts heart out. Lucario couldn't wait any longer and was forced to abandon the poor Pokémon as they made their way into a set of tunnels.

A beam of ice shot in between Ash and Gary as they looked back to see a golem with an ice body heading straight towards them. It roared demonically as it fired off a Hyper Beam.

"Regice!" Lucario yelled.

Ash and Mew quickly stepped forward and shielded everyone with a barrier made of aura. Lucario and Gary fought back with twin Aura Spheres that struck the ice titan and managed to stun it temporarily. Matters were soon made worse as a titan whose body was composed entirely of steel emerged from a nearby tunnel and the titan of rock burrowed from under the rocky ground up to them.

"Registeel and Regirock too?!" Lucario said as he found himself bunched together with the children, surrounded by the terrible titans. Each one of them roared demonically before firing off powerful Hyper Beam attacks at them.

Ash and Mew stepped forward again to create a barrier, but the added pressure of two more Hyper Beams caused the two a great deal of trouble as it began to crack all over. The two looked at each other with the same idea and expanded the barrier outward, blowing the three titans away with a blast of energy.

Suddenly, a white blood cell rose from the ground captured Serena.

"Serena!" Ash and Gary yelled as they rushed to her side, trying to pull her out.

"Get me out of here!" She yelled desperately, which scared both Ash and Gary. The two boys tried to tug, but pulled so hard they lost their grips and flew back. Serena quickly released her Fennekin and Rhyhorn from their Poké Balls before being completely dissolved by the white blood cell.

The two students sat there with horrified expressions on their faces as they screamed out as loud as their lungs would allow them.

"You two!" Lucario picked the two boys back up. "I know it hurts, but we cannot risk mourning right now!" he said, pointing at the golems quickly returning to them. "We have to move!"

Ash and Gary stopped their screaming, choked down their sadness, and kept moving with the remaining members of the group with Fennekin and Rhyhorn refusing to leave the spot their trainer disappeared. The team quickly blitzed through hallways of the tree, hearing the horrified screams of grunts and news reporters alike echo throughout the tree. A few Pokémon lay motionless, almost as if the life had completely escaped from their bodies.

"What do we do, Lucario?! It's like the tree only sees us as enemies and not the humans!" Ash yelled as the group kept running.

"We have to escape this place before anymore are lost!" he yelled back at the aura student.

A demonic shout echoed throughout the tree as a Hyper Beam struck the ceiling above them, causing large rocks to fall and divide the group with Ash and Riley on one side and Lucario and Gary on the other.

"Guys!" Ash and Riley yelled as they pounded on the rocks.

Ash jumped back and began to throw multiple Aura Spheres at the fallen boulders, chipping away at them. Gary and Lucario did the same while Riley called on his Pokémon friends from underneath his straw hat to gnaw away at the boulders. Pikachu also joined in, whipping Electro Balls, in an effort to help reunite everyone.

A white blood cell jumped from the shadows and came down towards Ash. Riley quickly pushed the boy out of the way and was caught in the mass. "Riley!" the trainer screamed as he reached out his hand and tried to grab Riley to pull him free, but it was no use. The tree had picked off yet another 'disease'.

A loud explosion rang out from behind Ash. Gary and Lucario quickly ran through the broken barrier of rocks only to see Ash on his knees with a straw hat on the ground in front of him. Gary put a hand on his friend's shoulder as he quickly wiped the tears away from his eyes and stood up. The remainder of the group, Ash, Gary, and Lucario kept moving while Riley's Pokémon refused to leave their friend's straw hat as they crowded around it and wept as long as they possible could.

Regirock burrowed from underneath the ground and stopped the three in their tracks. It fired off a power Hyper Beam attack that Ash stepped forward and shielded them from. Mew teamed up Gary and Lucario to fire off a powerful Aura Sphere that knocked out the rock golem. It fell to the ground with a mighty thud and a demonic roar.

"Well, that takes care of that." Ash said as he leaned against the wall of the hallway they were in, completely exhausted.

"Looks like that thing won't be bothering us any-" Gary was quickly cut off by the Regirock's body melting into a white blood cell and clamping down on his arm. The cell quickly spread to cover his body as it began to sink down into the ground. With a quick yell, he released his Pokémon so they wouldn't suffer the same fate as him. In the blink of an eye, Gary Oak was gone. The once courageous boy that was said to have been able to handle everything was wiped from the face of the world just like that. Lucario would have forced Ash to move on by now, but a depressing sight froze them in their spots. Gary's Eevee had taken to blasting the ground where his trainer disappeared with a Hyper Voice attack, as if he was trying to get his trainer from underneath the ground. But Gary wasn't in the ground. He was gone. Eevee tried desperately to scream his trainer out of the tree with Hyper Voice after Hyper Voice, alas nothing happened. The little Pokémon collapsed from exhaustion and Ash, Pikachu, Lucario, and Mew couldn't bear to look at the sight any longer. They had to keep continuing.

"Lucario, what are we going to do now?" Ash said as he ran, his voice cracking slightly.

"Change of plans." Lucario stated. "We're going to the heart of the tree. There just may be a way to save everyone."

A soft smile of hope crept across Ash's face as they continued to make their way through the dangerous tree. As they ran, the screams of humans began to die down, which only could have meant that everyone was either absorbed or everyone got away. The screams of Pokémon, however, only increased as explosions one after another rang out, sometimes being so powerful that they shook the tree and caused Ash and Lucario to fall. But no matter what, they kept on racing toward their goal of the heart of the tree.

Ash, Pikachu, Lucario, and Mew eventually stumbled from inside the tree to a bridge outside under the night sky. It was made completely of rock and stretched far out into another section of the tree. Lucario closed his eyes and saw the heart of the tree just across the bridge. The three looked down to see that even after all of the running, they were still extremely high in the air. Soft winds blew past them as demonic roars called out from the other side of the bridge.

"No…" Lucario said as he looked over to see the two remaining golems, Regice and Registeel, slowly approaching them with murderous intent in their eyes.

Ash charged at the golems with a mighty roar. Aura erupted from his fingers and wrapped around arm to create his heater shield and he valiantly bashed it into Regice. The ice golem flew back and hit the bridge hard, causing it to rumble with the impact. Regirock pulled back for a Hammer Arm attack, but Ash shoved his shield into the cell along with Pikachu hitting it with an Iron Tail so hard that the combined force made its arm of rock shattered completely. The rock golem began to withdraw, giving Regice the perfect coverage to leap above it and fire a surprise Zap Cannon. The attack caught Ash and Pikachu off-guard and left him no time to dodge, but Lucario deflected it back at the ice golem with a Metal Claw attack. Regice was hit with its own attack hard, and coupled with its secondary effect, it became immediately paralyzed.

"Now's our chance!" Lucario yelled as the three charged past the almost defeated golems and across the bridge.

Ash looked back with a yell to see the golems giving chase as fast as they could. Mew turned around and slammed an Aura Sphere into the middle of the bridge, crumbling it and rendering the two golems stuck on the other side as the group made it into a large room with a giant, blue crystal in the middle. Energy sparked from the crystal like lightning rhythmically, almost as if it was a heartbeat. The only problem was that the rhythm was extremely fast.

Suddenly, Ash felt a sharp, stinging sensation to his side that made him fall over and convulse uncontrollably. Pikachu screamed as hard kick with a steel-toe boot was delivered to his face, sending it across the room and knocking out against the wall. Lucario turned back to see a red-haired demon putting a cattle prod to Mew and shocking it vigorously. As the pink, feline Pokémon fell to the ground, he began beating Ash's twitching body mercilessly with the other end of the prod. With the thud of the New Species Pokémon's body, the tree began to roar and shake, almost as if it were groaning in pain and couldn't stand anymore. The boy grabbed Mew by the tail and looked over Lucario who had already begun charging an Aura Sphere between his paws. "Discard your attack or Mew will feel the stinging end of my cattle prod."

Lucario reluctantly dissolved the Aura Sphere and stood there, watching Mew be dangled like a chew toy hanging out of a dog's mouth. "What do you want, disgusting human? Don't you know this tree is in grave danger? And you waste your time attacking the innocent"

"I could honestly care less about what happens to the innocent, you, or this stupid kid." He spat, kicking Ash in the stomach. "I have orders to find the secret of this tree, which I have. Mew and the Tree of Beginning are inexorably linked together. If one is in pain, the other one feels it. Oh? What's that? You asked for an example? I'd be happy to oblige." The boy let Mew's body fall to the ground. His foot followed it as it stomped vigorously on the poor Pokémon's windpipe, choking it nearly to death. "If my foot were to choke the life out of this stupid little thing…"

Air began to suddenly get sucked out of the tree as if it there were a vacuum being created inside of it.

"Then the tree chokes as well! Isn't that just interesting?" the boy said sarcastically as grabbed Mew by the tail again.

Ash's eyes quickly opened as he conjured a spherical barrier around Mew that was intended for only Mew. Since the Rocket Executive's hand was inside of it and not meant to be, the aura barrier quickly realized him as an enemy as it left Mew and wrapped around his arm, exploding and sending him flying out of the room. As he neared the ground, he fell right into the cushiony grasp of a white blood cell and was absorbed by the tree.

Mew flew back, but Ash managed to get up and dive to catch it in his hands just before it hit the wall. The two fell to the ground with Mew wrapped in the safety of his arms. But it was too late. As Ash opened his arms up, the little Pokémon released one final breath before the remainder of its life escaped from its body. Ash and Lucario sat, frozen to the core as various sections of the tree began to explode and wither away. All of their options had just been exhausted. As the Rocket Executive previously stated, Mew and the Tree of Beginning were linked together. No tree, no Mew.

Lucario suddenly stood up and looked over at the giant crystal that had turned dim with no energy flashing from it anymore. "There's still a way…"

"What is it?" Ash said as he slowly sat up, his abdomen and stomach being in a great deal of pain, with the dead body of Mew still in his arms.

Lucario seemed hesitant to say it, but as explosions began to grow closer and closer, he knew that this wasn't a time for him to choke on his words. "We can reset the tree…"

"Reset?"

The Aura Pokémon slowly nodded his head and took Mew from the boy's hands. "It's the only way…" Lucario said with a saddened expression on his face, as if he didn't want to do it. He walked over to the large crystal and smashed it open, placing the dead body inside. With a mighty roar, the aura was summoned from his body and it began to flow inside of the crystal. "Ash!" Lucario yelled, straining himself. "I need your help!"

Ash picked himself up and slowly limped over to Lucario. He took the Pokémon's paw into his and began to expel the aura from his body and allowed it to flow into the crystal. "So how does this work, exactly?" Ash said as he could feel an immense pressure on his body press down.

"The energy of us living beings flows into the tree. The tree takes our energy and starts a new cycle for itself!"

"So when this is over, the tree is just gonna be a seed?"

Lucario nodded as the aura from the two of them began to flow faster and more powerfully. "Yes! The tree and everything connected with it will return to its original birth spot to be born again!"

"Wait, that means-"

The Aura Pokémon grabbed Ash's hands and flung him from the crystal, disconnecting him from the tree.

"Lucario!" Ash yelled as he tried to get up, but was in too much pain and had wasted too much of his energy to even crawl.

"I'm sorry, Ash… It's the only way! Thank you for your help!"

The crystal began to crack and shine brightly, blinding Ash as he crawled over to his unconscious Pikachu and hugged him for dear life. A bright light continued to grow and expand, swallowing up the trainer and his Pokémon and the entire tree until everything was enveloped within it. Lucario's scream was heard as the light exploded with an extreme amount of energy, sending winds so strong that nearly every tree within a four mile radius was obliterated, along with every Pokémon and fleeing grunt and news reporter that just happened to be within the radius. The night sky all covering Kanto blinked white for a solid minute before falling back to its dark, purple and black color with the stars resuming their twinkle in the sky.

The Tree of Beginning was no more. Nothing but rubble and dust covered the area where it once was and the four mile radius the blast covered. Ash's eyes slowly opened to the forsaken, empty land as wind blew dirt up his nose, causing him to sneeze loudly, which woke up his Pikachu who was next to him. He looked down and checked himself out. While his clothes had been torn and ripped nearly to shreds, the pain and exhaustion he felt just moments before the tree's reset were gone. He looked around to see Serena, Riley, and Rhys laying in close proximity to each other. The trainer quickly got up and ran, shaking each one of his friends awake and hugging them tightly with tears dripping from his eyes. Their Pokémon, happy to be reunited with their trainers, pounced and piled on top of them for a big hug. Ash even called his three other Pokémon out and hugged them tightly.

Serena ran over and hugged Ash from behind, nuzzling her head against his with tears falling down her face. "I'm so glad you're alive!" she yelled, hugging him so tight that he could barely breathe.

As she let go, it was Riley's turn to pounce on Ash and give him a big hug. "Oh my Arceus!" he screamed. "I had no clue if I was ever gonna see you again!"

Once Riley had released his grip from Ash's body, Rhys gave Ash a soft hug, thankfully. "I'm glad we're all safe."

A hand appeared, reaching down and offering Ash some help up. As he reached for the hand, he saw that it belonged to none other than Gary Oak himself, who was actually helping him for a chance. "Glad to see you're okay." He said as he shook his rivals hand.

The two looked oddly at each other and burst out into tears, holding onto one another for dear life as they bawled in each other's arms.

"God dammit, Gary Oak! Don't you ever die on me like that again!" Ash sobbed.

"S- Shut up!" Gary hit him on the back as the two continued hugging.

"Hey guys…" Serena started. "Where's the tree?"

Ash slowly pulled away from Gary with his head held low. "Lucario used his aura and sacrificed himself to reset it and everything connected to it… He said that once it was reset, everything and the tree connected to it would return to their original birth spots to be reborn again…"

The four kids grew appalled looks on their faces as their eyes began to well up with tears.

"S- So Lucario and all those Pokémon are… gone?" Riley said with tears beginning to roll down his tiny cheeks.

Ash slowly nodded, trying to remain strong and holding back his tears. But suddenly, something caught him off-guard. An odd feeling that made him close his eyes and view the world in waves of aura. "Gary, close your eyes!" Ash said, reading over a thousand aura signatures within the area.

Gary did the same and was appalled to see that many signatures at once. "What in the world… its all of the reports and Team Rocket grunts!"

"That's not what I'm looking for!" Ash yelled as he turned around and saw a familiar aura signature off in the distance. He began to run as fast as his feet would carry him with Gary, Serena, Riley, and Rhys and their Pokémon following him until he reached the signature and opened his eyes. Right where the heart of the tree was, Lucario was sitting up against a rock.

"Lucario!" everyone yelled happily. But the happiness was short lived once they got a good look at him. The Aura Pokémon's body was severely crippled and his breathing was staggered. He could barely move, let alone talk, but he managed to smile at the sight of his friends.

"Ash, Gary, everyone…" Lucario coughed weakly. "I'm so glad I got to see you all again…"

"What's happening to you?!" Ash said as he dropped to his knees next to the Aura Guardian.

"My body is… breaking down. Getting ready to be reborn again." Lucario said, coughing more harshly this time. He looked over and saw two Time Flowers placed next to each other. His paw stretched out as far as it could to touch the one closest to him. The flower activated and immediately opened up, giving birth to a scene that was depicted before them.

A young Sir Aaron stood in the heart of the tree with a young Mew flying playfully around him. Mew floated above the large crystal and began to glow blue, as did the crystal itself. Energy sparked wildly from the two which made him throw up an aura barrier. The crackling began to slowly die down as a ball of energy began to spin around in front of Sir Aaron until it took form in the shape of a blue egg with black markings on it. As the egg floated into his hands, he smiled down warmly at it with a child-like excitement dancing in his eyes.

The vision ended there. By the time the vision ended, every single person had taken to crowding a safe distance from Lucario as to not aggravate him, watching the second Time Flower explode with a vision that played out in the word around them.

This time, Sir Aaron was noticeably older. He stood in the heart of the Tree of Beginning once again, but looked completely exhausted. The battle damage they witnessed earlier when he moved through the vicious armies was present on his body. His severe limp, his missing left arm, the horrible, gaping wounds on his body- all of it could be seen and it broke their hearts to pieces. Aaron limped over to the wall and slowly sat down with extreme pain and discomfort which happened to be right in front of Lucario.

"What a fool I've been today…" Sir Aaron said weakly with a terrible cough. "I wouldn't forgive myself for what I did here today… Not a single bit. Using the tree to wipe out two whole armies… I am unfit to be a Guardian of Aura. But all of that… all of it… doesn't even matter. Because here I lay dying alone…" Tears began to fall from Aaron's eyes as he sniveled and groaned slightly in pain. "I knew if I hadn't sealed you in that staff that you would have followed me here and suffered my same fate…"

Lucario couldn't hold it back anymore and he began to cry. The Pokémon that had remained so strong for everyone in the group and motivated them to press on even when things got tough had just lost it. And damn did he ever deserve to.

"What I did, I did without choice…" Sir Aaron coughed harshly again. His body began to grow pale and the color from his blue eyes faded. "Had I not taken down both armies with this tree and shown them its true power… they would have risen and fought again… Both kings of the rivaling kingdoms have been informed that should there be another war, the tree will take hostile action… And Lucario…"

Lucario looked up from his tears as if he truly believed Sir Aaron were still in this world with him. "Yes, Master?!"

"I just want you to know…" Sir Aaron began weeping and sobbing uncontrollably as he shed his hat and squeezed it together in his hands, needing something to hold onto. "Lucario! I just want you to know that I'm so sorry for what I did! No matter what you think or what you may say when you get released from staff, know that I always loved you! I did what I did to protect you! You're my…" Aaron paused as he realized he was on his last breath. A single tear rolled down his cheek and the last smile of the Aura Guardian was seen by all. "You're my… best friend…" Sir Aaron reached his hand out, as if he saw something and tried to grab for it.

"Aaron! NO! PLEASE DON'T GO!" Lucario begged as he reached out his paw desperately to touch his best friend one last time, but the vision faded. The Aura Pokémon fell back down and let out what he intended to be a loud, distressed scream. But it was much quieter and sadder than he expected. He calmed down, sensing that his time had just about run out, and turned to Ash, taking the boy's hand in his paws. "Ash… Gary… thank you so much for what you've done. Please know that, you two… and Serena… and Riley… and Rhys… are my friends… and I love you all. My aura will be forever with you all. I'll never forget any of you… I'm s- sorry…" the last breath escaped from the Pokémon's body and he was now motionless on the ground.

"LUCARIO!" Ash and Gary screamed as his body began to fade away. Soon, all that remained of the brave, ancient, Aura Pokémon, was a small, blue egg that now rested within Ash's hands.

"'Everything connected with it will return to its original birth spot to be born again.'"

"I- is that…" Gary stammered as he looked down at the egg with Ash.

Ash slowly nodded through the tears in his eyes as he held the warm egg in his hands. "It's Lucario…" He looked over and noticed an odd-looking rock on the ground. Ash closed his eyes and saw powerful energy signature inside of the little stone. He gasped on the sudden realization of what the rock was and pointed over toward it, unable to speak due to shock.

Gary quickly realized what the stone was and grabbed it carefully in his hands. "It's the… the seed… of the Tree of Beginning…" He dug a hole in front of Ash where the egg sat and planted it.

As Gary covered the seed back up underneath the earth, grass and flowers immediately began sprouting all over the desolate wasteland, as if the land had begun completely anew. Wild Pokémon began running through the new grasses and making their homes right in front of them. The children felt blessed to witness such a miracle and didn't feel that sad anymore.

However, an angered Ash closed his eyes and saw the aura signatures of over a thousand people nearby, people that were the ones who devastated the tree in the first place. His power began to swell up inside of him and his rage sharpened his aura into an outward shock wave that stunned every single defiler, rendering them motionless. Kidd, Jessie, James, and red-haired devil all screamed the loudest as he rose from the ground with red aura coursing through his veins and eyes angrier than anything they had ever seen.

"You people…" he growled in a low, demonic voice. His power began squeezing their bodies and the screams of the people rang out into the night. Gary, Serena, Riley, and Rhys all took a step back from the incredible power that Ash displayed and the wild Pokémon who were beginning to make their homes on this land stopped and quivered in fear. "It's because of YOU PEOPLE THAT ALL OF THIS HAPPENED."

Suddenly, a pink aura enveloped Ash and quickly calmed him down, causing him to release the people he had under his control. Queen Cameran emerged from the pathway that once stood in front of the tree and began giving her royal decree. "You are all ordered to return home immediately, never to return to this sacred land again!" she shouted. "You will tell no one of the events that happened here today! This is the royal word of Queen Cameran. If my word is ignored and any of you dare open your mouths or set foot in my kingdom or on this land again, it will be considered an act of war!"

The people that destroyed the tree quickly fled the scene in helicopters and planes and took off like rockets in the sky, not wanting to suffer the wrath of thy majesty anymore.

The Queen turned her attention to Ash, who was now sitting on the ground with his Pokémon around him, holding the egg. "I felt everything that happened from the kingdom. I also felt the dark rage inside of you when you used your aura on those people." She knelt down with a stern look on her face and pointed at the egg he held tightly in his arms. "You have a new responsibility now- to ensure that Riolu gets the life it was robbed of from being in Sir Aaron's staff. If it were to hatch right now, it would be born with murderous intent and that will be on your hands. I understand your anger, but it's not up to you to decide what their punishment is. Do you understand?"

Ash slowly nodded and was helped up to his feet by the noble Queen. He was then given a kiss that nearly made him fall back down to his butt as he blushed uncontrollably. Gary was given the same kiss to which he also blushed. Serena held her jealous tongue, figuring that it probably wouldn't have been a good idea to speak out against her.

Ash, Gary, and Queen Cameran all knelt down where the seed of the Tree of Beginning was buried. The Queen focused her aura to create a small barrier around the seed that went invisible shortly after its creation.

"What did you do?" the boys asked.

"I created a force field around the seed that will expand as it grows. If anyone who happens upon this area is filled with negative intent, the field will react and turn them around so that they won't defile the land again." Queen Cameran explained.

"How come you didn't do that before?" the two asked again.

"Such a thing never had to be worried about. But now that I know the evil, whether it be intentional or not, that lurks out there, the tree and this land will be ready next time."

Ash and Gary smiled up at the Queen as they helped her to her feet.

"I must be getting back to my kingdom." The Queen stated. "But first…" She placed her hands on the boys' heads and they became enshrouded with a mystical, pink glow that seemed to amplify the aura inside of them. "For your duties preformed today, I dub thee, Ash Ketchum, an Aura Knight, the highest ranking I am allowed to give someone with the Guardian Aura. And I also dub thee, Gary Oak, an Aura Knight. May your aura keep you and those you love safe. But you must promise to never do bodily harm with your powers. Are you understood?"

The two boys nodded and accepted their ranks of nobility. As Queen Cameran bid them farewell and returned back to the palace, Serena, Riley, and Rhys approached Ash and Gary, noticing that even after the promotion, they still looked completely miserable.

"Ash…" Riley tugged on the red-eyed Aura Knight's tattered jacket. "Are you two okay?"

The Red Aura Knight looked at his fellow Green Aura Knight briefly and the two smiled at each other. "No," he stated, which wasn't a big surprise to them. "But we will be." The Red Knight smiled. He looked up to the sky with his friends and watched the stars as they twinkled under the ancient land. "Because Lucario's aura will always be with us!"

---

AN: Well, that wraps up the first segment of this story, which was "Rockets in the Sky". Man did this take a long time to write, but I had so much fun doing it. Please leave a review and tell me your thoughts on it! I'd really appreciate it.

As far as the next segment of the story... it's called Crossed Lovers. As Ash and his friends continue their journey, they notice feelings being developed for one another. As these feelings develop, fights break out, arguments are had, and friendships that seemed once unbreakable tear apart at the seams. Who will pair up with who? Will someone be leaving the group? Will the dreaded "L" word get tossed around?! Find out on the next segment of "To Become a Pokémon Master: Crossed Lovers"!

Uh-oh, looks like I forgot to erase the names of random upcoming chapters!

Chapter 15: Peace and Discord

Chapter 16: Mega Problems

Chapter 19: Burning Rage

Chapter 20: Couples Retreat

Chapter 21: Lovers Quarrel

Chapter 22: Just Like You