THE BLUE SPIRIT
CHAPTER 005 – THE TREE OF BEGINNING
Ash, Pikachu and Mewtwo appeared out of thin air right in front of the cabin he was using to train at Mount Silver. While Ash put on his sweater's hood and Pikachu slipped inside his backpack to escape the freezing cold, Mewtwo merely brought out his psychic shield once again to protect himself from the harsh weather. Both human and pokemon took in their surroundings to see if they could find the one they were looking for.
After looking around for a bit, Ash turned towards Mewtwo. "I don't see Riolu around here. Then again, it's kind of hard to see anything, even in this light snowfall. Should we split up?" suggested Ash.
Mewtwo shook his head. "No need for that. I will use my psychic senses to look for life forms near us."
"Hey, that reminds me, I can try using my aura senses too! It'll help me get better using it as well!"
The psychic feline was surprised for a second over that, having momentarily forgotten that he was capable of doing that as well. "I see. Might as well give it a shot. Alright then, let us both try."
Mewtwo's eyes glowed blue suddenly and started using his psychic abilities by sending out another faint psychic wave to sense for anything nearby. Ash followed with his own detection as his aura outlined his body faintly in a blue glow with his eyes glowing a slight blue as well. It took a few seconds before he was able to send out a transparent, light blue pulse of aura energy around him that traveled outwards like a wave from him. After some time of trying to sense something, both of them got nothing. When they stopped with their actions with the glows fading away, Ash bent over a bit with his hands over his knees while breathing a little harder.
Mewtwo noticed that from the corner of his eyes and turned his gaze directly towards him as he spoke. "Are you alright Ash?"
Ash glanced at him, a little surprised for the question of concern. Even if it was made with no emotion. "Yeah, I'm good. Just haven't had much practice. Anyway, I got nothing. How about you?"
"Nothing for me either it seems. Perhaps we should try at the base of the mountain."
"Okay, let's go."
Again they disappeared. Barely a second passed and they reappeared at the base of the mountain, in front of the cave entrance. They both tried sensing for Riolu again. After a short while, Mewtwo stopped what he was doing and grabbed Ash's arm, causing him to lose focus and leave his aura sensing state. Before the young man could say anything, Mewtwo raised his other arm and pointed towards their right side with his gaze locked on something in the distance.
Understanding the gesture, Ash nodded in agreement when Mewtwo glanced at him and they both set off in that direction. The young man struggled a bit walking over the snow, while the psychic feline simply floated over the accumulated snow on the ground. After walking for about two hundred feet, they noticed a small black and blue figure leaning against a tree, with snow covering most of its body. Ash hurried past Mewtwo towards the figure and once he got close enough, he noticed it was the pokémon they were looking for and knelt beside him.
The small fighting canine looked to be unconscious and in bad shape. Ash brushed off most of the snow that was on Riolu that revealed the bruises and cuts on him. Must be from some wild pokemon attacks, he thought. He noticed something else that scared Ash the most however which was the fact that he was hardly breathing. He quickly checked for a pulse and felt that it was very weak. He looked up at the psychic feline. "This is bad Mewtwo. He's very cold and he's in pretty bad shape, probably from wild pokemon attacks. We need to get him to a pokémon center quick."
Mewtwo noticed the worried tone and expression on Ash, not responding for a moment before he gave a curt nod in agreement. Gingerly picking up the pokémon, Ash made sure he had a good grip on him before he stood up and faced the psychic signaling he was ready. Mewtwo's eyes glowed blue and they vanished from sight once more.
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A small group appeared right in front of an extremely large tree, similar in size to that of a mountain. As soon as Ash realized where they were, he turned to Mewtwo with a confused expression. "Why are we here Mewtwo? We should be at a pokémon center instead!"
"Riolu's wounds are too severe. My sister Mew will be able to heal him much more quickly than any Nurse Joy. Plus, he can receive the aura knowledge. Kill two birds with one stone, no?"
Ash couldn't disagree since it made a lot of sense and he chose to trust Mewtwo. They walked towards the tree for a little bit with Riolu still cradled in Ash's arms when the ground began to shake suddenly. Three large golem like pokémon burst up from beneath the ground right in front of them. The guardians of the tree, Regirock who was made entirely from rock, Regice who was made up of ice and Registeel who was completely metal, had emerged from underground and blocked the newly arrived group's path from going any further towards the tree.
Seeing the three titans of earth towering over them as they stood in their way, the young trainer spoke up. "Please let us pass. We must see Mew so she can help us save Riolu!" said Ash, trying to reason with them.
But the golem trio did not move or respond to his pleas and that made the psychic feline huff. "This is a waste of time," stated Mewtwo and his eyes began glowing blue.
Seeing his new friend ready himself for battle, Ash quickly moved to stop him. "Don't fight them. They're only doing their job!" Mewtwo glanced at him and Ash took that opportunity to look back at the mountain like tree and yelled as loudly as he could. "MEW! WE NEED YOU!" shouted Ash, hoping to get the legendary pokemon's attention.
Luckily his shouting was heard as a pink bubble the size of the young man appeared in front of them suddenly. It remained for a second before it started fading away only to reveal the powerful pink legendary pokemon. The smaller feline psychic was floating a few feet above the ground with pink eyes locked onto her guests. "Hello there silly. My, you're here quick! Still, what took ya?" giggled Mew with a playful grin on her face.
"Mew! Thank Arceus you're here. Please, help Riolu!" pleaded Ash, showing the unconscious pokemon in his arms.
Mew came closer to take a look at Riolu after Ash placed him on the ground carefully. After a moment of looking at the weakened and battered pokémon, Mew's eyes glowed blue. Riolu had a pink glow appear around him as well. After a little while, the glowing stopped as she finished healing and Mew's eyes returned to their original color. A few seconds later, Riolu groaned a little, then slowly opened his eyes and blinked a few times, trying to focus his vision. He saw three figures standing over him, two of them pokémon and the other a human. Riolu recognized who two of them were and instantly sat up, surprising the three.
"I guess you're feeling better, huh, Riolu?" asked the young man.
Riolu turned towards him before replying back. "Yes…thank you. And I remember where I was before. If it wasn't for you, I would've been gone from this world. Looks like you saved my life again," replied Riolu as he got up. "Thank you, Master Ash," he added with a bow.
Ash chuckled lightly while rubbing the back of his head while becoming nervous. "You're welcome. But…" He hurriedly told the jackal pokémon to not call him master and that Mewtwo and Mew were also involved in saving his life.
Riolu thanked both psychic pokemon for helping him. Afterwards he turned his gaze back towards the raven haired trainer. "As my ancestors have done before me, whenever we are partnered to an Aura Guardian, or we have our lives saved in any form, we show our respect by calling them our Master, even if they are our friend. It is tradition and a sign of respect. I will not break such a thing," explained the aura pokemon, making Ash let out a sigh but didn't say anything back. "But I must ask, how did you find me?" questioned the black and blue jackal.
Ash began explaining to Riolu while Mew kept flying around above them, glad to have visitors. Mewtwo was leaning against a tree with his arms crossed, observing everything. The two waited while Ash told Riolu everything. His training on Mount Silver. The meeting with Arceus. The vision that was seen and mentioned. What they were advised to do. How they were supposed to find him and come to Mew, so she can pass on the sacred knowledge of Aura. After he finished explaining, Ash took a breather while Riolu thought about what he learned. "So, will you join us?" asked the young man.
Riolu looked at Ash for a moment. "I'm surprised you even asked me that. You have helped me twice already, and you knew I was looking for you. I will be honored to be fighting beside a kind and brave soul such as you, Master."
Ash smiled and took out a luxury ball from his backpack. "I always ask first, even if I kind of know already. Regardless, welcome to the team buddy!" Ash held out the luxury ball and Riolu tapped the button with his paw. A flash of red light later, he was captured and the ball instantly dinged. Riolu was quickly let back out. Both trainer and pokemon faced up towards Mew to call her down since she was still zipping around excitedly but was pretending to not have heard their calls, giggling all the while.
Her behavior was grating on someone's nerves however. "Mew! You pink pinball! Get down here and pass on the knowledge to Riolu so we can leave!" called out Mewtwo suddenly with an annoyed tone that made Ash's and Riolu's jaws dropped at what they just heard.
Mew teleported right in front of the purple feline and there was an obvious fake smile on her face. "What did you just call me, little brother?" she asked with fake sweetness.
Mewtwo scoffed in response. "I think you have to get your facts straight. You're the one who's smaller. And I called you a pink pinball cause that's what you are, constantly zigzagging all over the place. Don't you ever get tired of annoying everyone?"
The raven haired trainer and the blue jackal pokémon glanced nervously at each other, while Pikachu shook his head as he got out of the backpack when he heard their argument. He had been taking a nap since entering the backpack and just woke up due to their argument.
Mew glared at her brother. "Hmph! I may be smaller, but I am older than you, and more powerful, so don't push it!"
"Is that a challenge? Well then, let's go another round," Mewtwo replied as he stepped away from the tree and got into a battle stance with a smirk on his face.
"That's it! I'm gonna flatten you like a pancake and then I'm gonna feed you to the Regis!"
"Stop it, both of you!" interjected Riolu suddenly and very loudly. For a small pokémon, he sure did have a loud voice. Mew and Mewtwo turned their heads with dumbfounded expressions on their faces. They were surprised to hear the loud voice coming from Riolu who capitalized on their silence. "You should be ashamed of yourselves! We're on a noble and important mission! Yet you're fighting for no reason like a pair of children! Now, let's get back on track and focus on what needs to be done before my Master and I leave you here and call your Father to let him know you two are playing games when we should be starting on our goal!" threatened Riolu while glaring at the two legendary psychic pokémon.
Ash's eyebrows were raised and his eyes were widened in shock at what his pokémon just said. Wow, he must really have no fear, thought Ash. He just scolded those two as if they were children, not caring that they both are powerful legendaries. Arceus was right. Riolu will be a great addition to the team.
"No! Please don't tell Daddy! I promise I'll behave! I'll go get some stuff for you guys so you can enter the Tree of Beginning okay? Just give me a quick minute!" With that statement, Mew disappeared.
Mewtwo however, quickly composed himself before speaking. "I admit I may have gone a little overboard. However, speak to me like that again, and I will not let it go so easily, even if you are Ash's pokémon. Understood?" Riolu neither spoke nor moved, just continued to glare at Mewtwo.
Ash and Pikachu looked at each other and both shook their heads. "This is gonna be rough."
"Pika pika…" agreed Pikachu.
A second later, Mew appeared again in their midst while carrying two aura crystals shaped as poke balls hanging from a necklace. She gave one to Ash and another to Mewtwo. "These aura crystals will let you go into the Tree of Beginning. The Regis will not bother you anymore and neither will the other defenses the Tree has. As for your pokémon Ash, they don't need one since they are bonded with you. Your aura crystal is enough for you and all your pokémon. Since Mewtwo is not really your pokémon, he needed his own. Now follow me while we head inside!" Mew began leading the way immediately afterwards and the three Regis cleared the path that allowed Ash, Pikachu, Riolu and Mewtwo to follow after her.
"Why must we go inside? Can you not pass the knowledge to Riolu so we may leave without going inside the Tree?" asked Mewtwo.
"I could, but it will take longer. The Tree has many Aura crystals inside of it that will help me transfer the knowledge quicker since Riolu and I must connect with our Auras to pass the knowledge over," clarified Mew, satisfying Mewtwo with her explanation.
After walking a few minutes through the tree's passages, they finally reached the center of the tree. Ash and Pikachu smiled as they were greeted with a beautiful area, remembering it. Riolu gasped in surprise over what he saw while Mewtwo kept his stoic demeanor even though he was impressed by the sight.
The inside of the tree had a fairly large lake in the center of it, with a waterfall that went a good distance up in the air, against the north side of them. Many aura crystals were seen all around them that were embedded in the walls of the tree, in the ground and some in the lake as well. They ranged in size from small ones able to fit in one's pocket to enormous ones that were as large as cars. There was also a circular path to their right that was connected to the walls, spiraling up towards the top of the tree along with several different passage openings along the path.
"Follow me Riolu. Ash, you and my brother can wait here while I transfer the knowledge. Please feel free to relax and you can even take a swim if you'd like!" said Mew, leading the way towards the spiraling path along the walls of the tree.
Ash thanked the pink legendary and Riolu followed after Mew. Ash set his backpack down and sat down near the lake, enjoying the view in front of him. He watched as Pikachu ran around to each crystal nearby and made funny faces with his reflections. Ash chuckled at his pokémon's actions. Mewtwo had an expression of annoyance all over his face that he noticed when he turned to him. "What's the matter Mewtwo?"
"Nothing is wrong Ash. I'm merely annoyed at what Pikachu is doing and want to leave as soon as possible."
Pikachu heard the psychic feline and stuck his tongue out at Mewtwo before continuing his antics. Ash chuckled again. "You know, there's nothing wrong in having a little fun. You should try it sometime." Mewtwo glared in return that caused him to become nervous, rubbing the back of his head. "Or maybe not. Okay…um…if you don't want to just stand around…ah…oh, how about we start making plans on what we should do?" suggested Ash, hoping that doing something would appease the powerful feline.
Mewtwo replaced the glare he was sporting with his usual stoic expression. "Alright, let's go over what Arceus told us and see what we can come up with."
Ash reached into his backpack and took out a notepad and pen. Both he and Mewtwo began discussing the advice the Alpha Pokémon told them. Quickly jotting down the main points of Arceus's plan so they can remember, they went over it a bit to make sure they understood. After doing that, they then discussed several other things that included the island that was prepared for their training, the tournament that Ash would compete in, letting his family and friends know what they were allowed to tell them, which pokémon they should look for and in what locations, what sort of training regiments they should incorporate, what kinds of diets they and the pokémon should be on, what to do about weaknesses, and so on.
As they discussed these topics and many others, Ash was filling up his notebook quite rapidly. As their planning continued Mewtwo was beginning to become comfortable around him to the point of actually taking a seat beside the teenager and letting his guard down. They talked a little more, clarifying some things and ideas while Ash wrote down some more notes so they wouldn't forget anything. Mewtwo finished speaking, looking at the area around them. This time he took in what he saw, appreciating the view. As Ash caught up in his notes, he began scratching Pikachu softly behind his ears since he had curled up next to him a little while ago to take a nap after tiring himself out at making funny faces.
Finishing up with his final notes, Ash had a goofy grin form on his face. "And there. Done. Okay, that's the final thing we talked about. Whoa, that's a lot of things we came up with," remarked Ash as he flipped through the filled up pages. "Once Riolu gets back we should talk to him as well and try to prioritize this stuff into something that will make sense and help us."
"Agreed. It's been a while. How much longer do you think it's going to take?"
"I'm not sure Mewtwo. When I had some beginner's training as an Aura Guardian in the Kingdom of Rota with Master Riley, that took a couple weeks. This may take a while. Let's rest until they're done."
"I suppose you're right. I'm going to explore a bit before I take a rest."
"Alright. I'm gonna take a few winks. I'll be here if you need anything buddy."
Mewtwo nodded, getting up to his feet and left. Ash took out his sleeping bag from his backpack and set it up away from the lake. He went back to his spot near the lake and picked up Pikachu carefully so he wouldn't wake up. Returning to the sleeping bag, Ash placed Pikachu beside his sleeping bag before he got in it himself and went to sleep.
While Ash was sleeping, Mewtwo explored the area for a little bit before returning to his previous position of standing in front of the lake. Going over what they had discussed in his head, he was actually quite surprised as to how Ash was able to come up with such good ideas. Glancing back at the sleeping trainer, he began thinking a bit. Hmmm….he's much more than just a typical trainer. He may seem oblivious to everything else around him, but when it comes to pokémon and battling, he's a natural. I wonder where he gets it from. Perhaps there is something I can learn from him. Mewtwo faced towards the lake again and after thinking some more, he decided to meditate as he waited. Crossing his arms and closing his eyes, he started doing just that.
As soon as he began however was when he sensed two great powers drawing closer to him. He raised his gaze above him and opened his eyes to see both Riolu and Mew floating down in a pink bubble. "About time. Are you finally finished?" asked Mewtwo, his impatience evident in his tone.
"Of course silly!" answered Mew as they landed right in front of her brother with the pink bubble disappearing. "If we weren't, then we wouldn't be here, would we? Geez, and you say nothing gets past you. Yea right!" teased the pink legendary.
"Alright, that's enough!" interrupted Riolu. He sensed Mewtwo getting angry again and didn't want things to escalate. "We have more important things to do. Where's Master? Ah there he is!" The aura pokémon moved towards Ash and when he passed Mewtwo, the canine pokémon put up an aura shield to stop a small Shadow Ball launched at him from the psychic feline. After the attack, Riolu went on guard, his aura flaring around him powerfully. "What was that for?!" growled Riolu.
Mewtwo smirked before answering him. "I was merely testing you. I wanted to see the results of Mew's knowledge transfer."
"Hmph." The aura pokémon relaxed and the aura around him faded away. "Stick around. I promise you'll see more." Riolu went to Ash and woke him up by shaking him a bit. When he finally woke up and as soon as he saw his pokémon, Ash asked him how the transfer went. Riolu grinned. "It went smoothly. I have all the known knowledge about aura imparted onto me thanks to Lady Mew. We can leave now."
Ash had his trademark goofy grin form on his face. "That's awesome Riolu! But before we go, you should know some things that Mewtwo and I talked about regarding what we need to do next." Looking over Riolu, Ash signaled Mewtwo to join them. "C'mon, we need to go over this with him."
The three discussed the ideas that the guardian and feline came up with as well as the advice that Arceus had given them with the pink feline hovering around them and listening in. After some time, they prioritized what they needed to do. Their objectives were lined up, in a general idea of which to tackle first before the others. Of course they would adjust accordingly if they could do something quicker or had to leave something for later. The steps to take for their plan went as follows;
Go to New Island and check it out; figure out what they need to add, what to discard and what to change.
Figure out how to tell his family and friends that he will be gone for a while.
Find the pokémon he let go for the time being and see if they wanted to come back
Move all of his pokémon who wanted to come from Professor Oak's lab to the island
Figure out how to have new pokémon that he captured or befriended on his journey go automatically to the island.
Figure out a way to bypass the maximum 6 pokémon on him rule
Research perfect diet and training regiment for each pokémon and figure out how to combat their weaknesses, while enhancing their strengths naturally
Come up with island defenses for when the darkness comes
Figure out communications between everyone
Find good locations for secondary bases and secret supply stashes.
"Okay, this looks like a good plan. We'll follow this outline and we'll make adjustments if and when it's needed. Any questions guys?" asked Ash. Both Riolu and Mewtwo shook their head and stood up, ready to leave.
Before anything else happened, Mew squeaked above them and bobbed up and down in the air excitedly. "Oh! Oh! Pick me! I can help you with a couple of those! Please let me help! Oh! Oh!" squeaked Mew as she flew around them erratically.
"Will you cut that out?!" snapped an annoyed Mewtwo.
Ash chuckled in amusement before he looked at Mew. "What can you help us with Mew?"
"I know how you can have all your pokémon with you and how you can have them automatically transport to the island instead of your professor's lab!" Mew spoke very fast and sounded like she was trying to say everything in one breath.
The trio raised their eyebrows in surprise. Pikachu gave a short growl as well as letting out a few sparks from his cheeks, as if to signify for them to be quiet so he can continue his nap. Ash ignored his starter's grumpy display since his attention was on Mew. "That sounds great. Please tell us, how can we do that?" asked Ash.
"Simple silly. All you have to do is take one of these large aura crystals from here…" Mew pointed at an aura crystal a short distance away from them, which was the size of a small car. "…and set it on the island. Then, channel your aura into it. This will cause that aura crystal to be connected to you, and you alone. After that, just have all of your poke balls, whether empty or filled, touch the crystal once and it will bond as well. That way, any new pokémon caught with the bonded balls will automatically transfer to where the crystal is, which will be the island and whenever you switch out pokémon they'll go there instead!"
"Wow! That sounds so cool! But how will that help me have all of my pokémon with me?" Ash asked while scratching the back of his head, confused.
"Well, you didn't let me finish Ash! Wow, he's almost as impatient as you brother!" Mewtwo scowled over Mew's words. He was about to say something when she cut him off. "Alright, this is how you can do that. You see that crystal around your neck I gave you?" Ash glanced down at the crystal and held it up with his right hand. "Yes that one. Have that crystal also touch the giant crystal after you channel your aura into it. Keep that smaller one with you at all times for now. Then you will be able to call any pokémon to your side from the island by using your aura alone by willing them to your side! Their poke ball will appear in your hand and your chosen pokémon will automatically come! It will work over any distance! It will also over ride the rule where you can only have a maximum of 6 pokémon with you at a time, so you can call as many as you wish! Also, you will only need the small crystal until your aura powers become much stronger. Then you can do so without the crystal. Neat huh?" explained Mew while turning in the air slowly as she floated in front of the young guardian.
Ash had his eyes widen in amazement and his jaw dropped, frozen like that for a moment. Until he snapped out of it and started shouting happily. "Neat? That sounds incredible! That's perfect!" he said with Riolu and Mewtwo nodding their heads in agreement.
A sudden Thundershock hit Ash. "Pika!"
Ash shrugged off the electric attack but had a sheepish look on his face. "Sorry Pikachu. I guess I just got a little too excited. But might as well get up. We're about to leave soon."
"Pika…" Pikachu replied grumpily. He stretched out while lying down before getting up. Ash chuckled while the other pokémon stared at the duo's antics.
Mew caught Ash's attention a moment later so she can give him more information about the aura transferring ability. "I must warn you. Don't use this ability to your advantage in official matches or battles Ash. I know you won't, but I had to mention it anyways. Of course in unofficial battles, helping others or when you're training go crazy, but don't break any rules when it's official. We don't want anyone knowing about how you can do such a thing. Everyone will go crazy for these things. Of course they wouldn't be able to do it since they're not Aura Guardians, but people don't listen do they?"
A serious expression formed on Ash's face. "No worries Mew. I won't tell anyone, and I won't abuse these special gifts you're giving me." Mew smiled at him and Ash turned to the other pokémon. "Looks like we can scratch off a couple things already huh guys? Let's go check out the island and then we'll come back for the large crystal." They agreed and Ash turned to face Mew again. "Thanks again for everything Mew! You truly are an amazing pokémon."
"Well duh! And don't you forget it buddy boy!" said Mew boisterously with a smirk on her face.
Ash chuckled as he went to pack up his stuff. When he finished, Pikachu jumped onto his usual spot on his shoulder and waved goodbye to the pink legendary. "Pika pi!"
"Goodbye to you too Pikachu! Hope to see you soon!"
"Thank you for everything Lady Mew. You're help is much appreciated," said Riolu with a deep bow, making Mew giggle at his proper send off.
A short silence followed after the canine's farewells as both psychic pokemon locked their gazes onto one another's. "Thank you," said Mewtwo finally after Mew started glaring at him. The pink legendary smiled and nodded in acceptance of the thanks, even if it was said half heartedly.
Ash, Pikachu, Riolu and Mewtwo glanced at each other and nodded. Ash took out the small flower crystal that Arceus bestowed on him and placed it in his hand. Riolu and Mewtwo placed their hands onto the crystal as well. A second later, Mewtwo's eyes glowed blue and they all vanished as they teleported to the island, which would soon become their new home for a long, long time.