"Why are you here again?" Quillon asks.
"Can't I support my friends?" Ash asks, tilting his head to the side.
"Uh-huh. And the other reason?" Gary's eyes narrowed and asking.
"To make sure they have no ill intentions towards Mew," Ash replies.
"Why would you think that?" Horace asks.
He sighs, "In this world, there will always be idiots who think messing with Legendary and Mythical Pokemon for their own gain is a good idea. Even if it risks the world being destroyed in the process."
"And if they do?" Goh quietly asks.
"I'll destroy them," Ash smiles innocently.
"Pi pika chu," Pikachu adds.
"…OK then," they sweat-drop.
People have died trying to hunt Mew. That is a fact. Ash knew chasing after Mew is a dangerous endeavor. Considering his experiences, he knows how dangerous Mythical Pokemon are, even if they don't mean anything harmful. Some are just chaos gods, and some are just so playful that they don't realize what they're doing is destructive. And sometimes (most of the time) its humans that are at fault for trying to control the gods for their own gain.
So when Pro. Amaranth mentions going to the Tree of Beginning, Ash freezes for a second. Then his eyes narrowed, "Do you guys have permission from Rota? You need it in order to even go there."
'He's been there before?' Goh questions in his head.
Pro. Amaranth blinks before saying, "No. Not yet. But that won't deter us from going."
"Do you have a death wish?" Ash asks, completely serious.
"Ash?" Goh asks, concerned for his friend.
"Poachers have gone into the Tree, and no one's heard from them since. They're probably dead," Ash states matter-of-factly, "Plus, the Regis that protect the place are unable to be caught. So Mew probably can just as easily make themselves unable to be caught."
"Even so, we have to check if Mew really is there," Danaka states.
Ash glares at her before looking at Goh and Gary, begging them, "Trust me on this. Please. Don't go there. Just don't."
"Sorry Ash…but I can't turn down this opportunity to catch Mew," Goh apologizes, his eyes burning with determination.
"Is your research more important than your life?" Ash seriously asks.
Gary sighs, shaking his head, "No. It's not that. I just feel like if I don't do this, I'll regret it."
Ash's eyes narrow at their answers, "… don't say I didn't warn you," before leaving.
Tree of Beginning…
'I warned them not to come here, but they didn't listen!' Ash grumbles angrily. Now he's their opponent if they want to get to Mew. Putting Sir Aaron's gloves on, Ash covers himself in aura as he prepares to drive them away.
He lets all of his Pokemon out. Charizard, Infernape, Sceptile, Krookodile, Lucario, and Dusk Lycanroc. Pikachu was already out anyway, as per usual.
They greet their trainer with a cry.
"Hey guys… Mew here needs help with some intruders. I just want to drive them away. Knock them out if there's an opportunity. Don't kill them," he directs towards Mew, "I don't want unnecessary deaths."
"Mew~!" Mew whines.
"Sceptile…" he looks around.
Ash sighs, "You remember this place, don't you?"
"Sceptile," he nods.
Ash smiles at him, "I'll be fine. No need to worry."
"Scep Sceptile," Sceptile mutters.
"Mew, can you teleport them out to the base of the Tree after we knock them out?" Ash asks.
"Mew mew," Mew nods.
"Great!"
When the Project Mew Chasers arrived at the Tree of Beginning, in full uniform, Prof. Amaranth warns that of not just the three Regis protecting the Tree but the white blood cells of the Tree as they'll trap any intruders and dispose of all those who enter and get caught.
They cautiously approach the Tree and climb up. Of course, they initially face the three Regis as their first obstacle.
Both Quillon and Danaka's Urshifu easily deal with them along with Goh's Intelleon and Gary's Arcanine.
As they climb, they sneak past the white blood cells, and eventually stumble upon a portal. They slip through, and end up in a clearing with crystals everywhere.
"I thought I told you guys not to come here!" someone yells at them angrily.
"Ash?!" Goh and Gary yell in surprise.
Horace asks, "Why are you here?"
"To protect Mew," Ash glares, "Mew and the Tree have a symbiotic relationship. If Mew dies, so does the Tree and vice versa. It's why you guys have to leave."
Then Mew teleports beside Ash and Pikachu, huffing and pouting, "Mew~!"
Ash sighs, "Besides, Mew's being all huffy about you guys being here uninvited."
"We came this far. There's no way we can turn back now," Danaka declares.
"You won't make us leave," Quillon adds.
"Wanna bet?" Ash raises an eyebrow before forming an Aura Sphere in his hand and launching it at them. It exploded and created a crater in the ground.
This shocked them as they've never seen a human use aura before.
"You scared of me now?" Ash tilts his head to the side, genuinely asking.
"Never," Goh grits his teeth. 'If I have to fight Ash to get to Mew, so be it!'
Ash just hums as Pikachu calls, "PIKACHU!"
Some Pokemon come out.
"You brought your Ace Team?!" Gary yells in shock.
Ash brought Charizard, Infernape, Sceptile, Krookodile, Lucario, Dusk Lycanroc, and Pikachu.
"Now you'll experience the kind of battles I've fought with evil teams," Ash muses, his expression dark, "Losing is not an option."
The battle starts as the Chasers let out their Pokemon.
Blastiose and Charizard are locked in a rematch.
Sceptile's Leaf Blade clashes with Horace's Virizion's Leaf Blade.
Krookodile and Infernape use Dig hit-and-run tactics with Lycanroc running interference on Weavile, Azumarill, and Meganium.
Lucario, Ash, and Pikachu are busy battling the two Urshifu, and Umbreon head on.
'Of course Ash is crazy enough to fight Pokemon himself…but with his aura, he'll probably manage somehow,' Gary thinks to himself as he watches Ash fight one of the Urshifu using the moves that a Lucario can learn.
Eventually, multiple Pokemon on the Chasers' side are knocked out and promptly returned to their poke balls.
Ash's Pokemon all stood strong, Ash using Heal Pulse on them to restore them to full health. Then Mew uses Heal Pulse on Ash to heal his injuries.
"Thanks…"
"Mew!"
Then… the Chasers are forced to take cover behind some rocks as attacks bombard them. A Flamethrower here, a Stone-Edge there, a Thunderbolt, a random Bullet Seed, and occasionally an Aura Sphere or two.
As the Chasers catch their breath, they now know why Ash is a Champion level trainer.
Meanwhile… Gary's thinking. About the situation, Ash's reaction to them being here, and his expression when he warned them not to come here. It was then that he understood what Ash's doing.
"Let me handle Ash," Gary states.
"Huh?" Goh blinks.
"He doesn't want to kill us, just drive us away," Gary sighs as there was a pause in the barrage. He comes out from behind the rocks.
"Gary!" Horace yells.
Gary only winks at them, "Ashy has a soft spot for me. He won't hurt me. Not on purpose."
As Gary approaches, Ash launches Aura Spheres at him, each one missing their mark by inches.
"You died here before, didn't you?" he asks.
"So what if I did?!" Ash yells, shocking the other Chasers.
'He's…died here?' Goh gulps.
"Leave! Now!" Ash yells angrily as he launches another Aura Sphere, that still misses. It lands and creates even more rubble.
Ash mutters in a scared tone, "Please leave… I don't want to kill you."
'I doesn't want to do this, but you leave me no choice!'
Gary was just a few feet in front of him, Pikachu's cheeks sparking and Lucario glaring at him.
"We aren't going to catch Mew, OK? Not this one," Gary assures him, stepping getting closer to Ash, trying to appear as non-threatening as possible, "It's OK…"
As the other Chasers watch, they're subsequently knocked out by Infernape and Krookodile, who had used Dig to sneak up on them.
Then Mew teleports the unconscious Chasers outside, at the base of the Tree. All except Gary, who manages to hug Ash, holding him as he starts crying.
"It should've been me…" as he remembers Lucario, sobbing into Gary's uniform.
After letting Ash cry for a while, Gary gets out a handkerchief and dabs the tears away.
"I'm surprised you haven't given up on humanity yet," Gary comments.
"I know right?!" Ash grins before it turns into a small, sad smile, "…me too."
In the end, Ash got his way. The Chasers were picked up and left to rest in Prof. Amaranth's ship, and didn't remember what happened, courtesy of Mew.
Gary, on the other hand… decides not to write a report on this incident. For the world's and Ash's sake, it would be better to keep the Tree of Beginning's Mew a secret.
Of course, Ash kissing him on the cheek when he told him that is a bonus.