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A disaster out of nowhere.
A disaster there was no escaping from.
Li Xiang's vision went dark, and inwardly, he cursed his luck.
This Dark Matter simply didn't play by the rules. Even Mo Ye couldn't react in time; he had been careless and failed to dodge.
What was even stranger was why the Four Legendary Beasts were so ineffective, allowing Dark Matter a chance to erupt.
So, what was the situation now? Was he dead?
No.
Li Xiang could feel his limbs, his arms and fingers, and he could hear his heartbeat and breathing.
At that moment, he was lying on the ground, still wearing his helmet, feeling the hard shape of Aegislash beneath him. Everything was pitch black; he couldn't see a thing.
Why was this happening?
Perhaps they were still within Dark Matter's range.
Li Xiang got up, feeling the ribbon-like arms of Aegislash reaching for him, and a hand extended his way.
"Teacher Mo?"
He spoke softly, simultaneously pressing his hand on his Poké Ball. He had returned Greninja to it earlier.
"It's me."
Mo Ye's calm voice responded, followed by a bright light that instantly dispelled the darkness.
The light source came from Starmie.
The surrounding environment became clear. Both of them were shocked to discover they were not on the summit of Trophy Mountain, but in a deep, secluded cavern.
Crystals lined both sides, yet strangely, they didn't reflect any light.
Li Xiang looked down and saw that the bracelet given to him by Suicune earlier had a small hole broken in it.
Not far away, the three members of the Ho-Oh Guard lay prostrate on the ground, their bodies covered in injuries.
They had only just been healed not long ago.
Li Xiang glanced at them, then looked beside them, noticing a large, white, orange-winged moth.
'Huh? This is... Volcarona? When had it appeared?'
Li Xiang was momentarily stunned. Mo Ye's voice came from beside him, "We're no longer on Mist Island."
"Huh?"
He turned his head and saw the Elite Four member holding an hourglass in one hand and a communication device in the other.
"There's no signal here, and time is flowing at a normal rate."
Mo Ye put both items away, looking at the Ho-Oh Guard and Volcarona. "Let's wake them up first and heal their injuries."
He took out a Poké Ball and released a Cloyster.
"Life Dew."
Cloyster chuckled eerily as ripples of azure water swayed around its body, then spread out like waves toward the Ho-Oh Guard, rapidly healing their wounds.
The Ho-Oh Guard's endurance was strong.
After their exhausted bodies were revitalized, they quickly opened their eyes and regained their strength through their own methods.
Volcarona slowly awoke. Its injuries were much less severe than those of the three Legendary Beasts; it had simply fainted.
"Volcarona?"
It glanced at the three Legendary Beasts, then shifted its gaze to Mo Ye and Li Xiang, ultimately fixing its stare firmly on Li Xiang.
A complex, indescribable emotion surged within it.
What was this feeling?
Though it had never seen this human before, an invisible thread seemed to connect them. It made Volcarona's eyes well up with tears as it involuntarily moved closer.
"Uh."
Li Xiang quickly took two steps back, hiding behind Aegislash. Then, inexplicably, he saw a myriad of complex emotions on the large moth's dark face.
He even noticed glistening droplets beneath its bright blue compound eyes.
Li Xiang: ???
'Do bugs even have tear ducts? And what was with that expression?'
"Roar!"
In the distance, Entei let out a roar that halted Volcarona's approach. It reluctantly flew over to them.
Li Xiang watched its back, suspecting it had something to do with the blood that had vanished earlier.
There was a precedent for this, after all. Deoxys and the special manga version of Ash had a similar connection; the former had absorbed the latter's blood.
But thinking about it again, it didn't seem right. Deoxys was an extraterrestrial DNA Pokémon, so absorbing DNA from blood made sense.
What did that have to do with a sun Pokémon?
But Volcarona's expression didn't seem fake... so what was going on?
He couldn't figure it out for now. There also wasn't much time to think.
Mo Ye had already begun conversing with the Ho-Oh Guard. The immediate priority was to figure out where they were and why they had appeared in this place.
Did Dark Matter have teleportation abilities? Or had Uxie sent them away?
On Mist Island, many issues remained unresolved. They had to go back and get some clear answers.
After listening to Mo Ye, the Ho-Oh Guard raised their heads and closed their eyes, as if sensing something.
Moments later, they looked at each other, expressions of shock on their faces.
Mo Ye frowned. "Are you—"
"We are at the very center of this planet."
A voice spoke.
It came from the brown-furred, lion-like Pokémon with a face that seemed to wear a mask: Entei.
Raikou's voice followed. "This is the origin of everything, the ultimate destination of everything."
"In your human myths, there are also records of this place."
Suicune chimed in with its two brothers.
Then, they spoke in unison: "This is the Tree of Beginning!"
The Tree of Beginning.
In this world's mythological tales, after Arceus created the planet, it created this tree, and upon this tree, it created Mew.
Finally, Mew, possessing the genes of all Pokémon—past, present, and future—spontaneously gave rise to the myriad species of Pokémon.
This differed in many ways from the mythology of the original Pokémon world and was also quite different from the tree of the same name in "The Lucario and the Mystery of Mew."
The mythological tree was a plant, while the one in "The Lucario and the Mystery of Mew" was a crystalline lifeform.
But there was no denying that this tree was part of mythology.
Li Xiang was stunned. How had they ended up in a place like this?
Could it be... that the Tree of Life corrupted by Dark Matter was actually the Tree of Beginning?
But the Tree of Life in the exploration team was transformed by Xerneas!
What was going on?
Li Xiang's mind was a bit muddled, and Mo Ye beside him was similarly perplexed.
"Why have we come here?"
He held his sword, his face showing little unease, only a desire to understand everything that had happened. When he returned to the Association, he would have to write a report, after all.
This trip to the Mirage Island counted as his first solo large-scale mission. He had to get to the bottom of it.
"Of course, someone brought us here."
Entei stated the obvious.
"Who exactly, we don't know either."
Raikou added.
Suicune was about to speak when its expression suddenly changed. "Something is coming! It carries heavy hostility!"
Everyone instantly went on high alert. Starmie dimmed its light, plunging the cavern back into darkness.
Li Xiang silently pressed himself against the wall.
Ahead, at the end of the passage, heavy footsteps sounded. Then, six crimson lights appeared, arranged in an H-shape.
It was Regirock!
'So this really is the Tree of Beginning!'
Li Xiang immediately recognized what was coming and tried to warn Mo Ye, but the Ho-Oh Guard had already launched their attack.
These beings attacked without hesitation!
Frigid beams of light, roaring lightning, and scorching flames merged into a three-colored energy blast that struck Regirock!
Boom!
The earth shook!
Smoke instantly filled the entire cavern. After unleashing their attack, Entei and the others immediately turned away, not bothering to check if their combined assault had been effective.
"Get on!"
Entei growled low at Mo Ye. The Elite Four member nimbly climbed onto its back, recalling his Pokémon.
As for Li Xiang, the moment Suicune turned, it used its two ribbons to grab him and lift him onto its back.
A desperate escape.
The Ho-Oh Guard fled with incredible speed. Even with his helmet on, Li Xiang could feel the wind howling past.
Moreover, they seemed very familiar with the Tree of World's Beginning's interior structure, never hesitating at forks and charging straight ahead.
How could Regirock possibly catch up to them?
At least bring out Regieleki, the Electric-type with base 200 speed, right?
As they ran, Mo Ye didn't forget to ask questions.
"This place is infected too. More precisely, this is the source of the black mist."
Entei explained gravely.
Raikou picked up the thread. "The Tree of Beginning and the ley lines of Mirage Island are connected."
"The black mist spread to Mirage Island through the ley lines. It's likely the same for the other two locations. This is a huge problem."
Suicune concluded.
"Other two locations? Which locations?" Mo Ye asked again.
Raikou glanced sideways at him and said, "The Lake Guardians reside in lakes. Uxie is in Misty Lake, Mesprit is in Underground Lake, and Azelf is in Crystal Lake."
"There were no signs before this black mist erupted. It couldn't have been natural. Someone deliberately caused this."
Entei said in a deep voice. "The Regirock earlier was originally a guardian of the Tree of Beginning. It seems it has already been affected by the black mist and can no longer distinguish friend from foe."
"The tree isn't right either. The primal crystals not glowing means they are being influenced by the black mist. This situation is serious."
Suicune gestured for them to look at the surrounding crystals.
According to Suicune, these crystals were supposed to glow.
Li Xiang couldn't help but think of the rejection response of the tree in the movie. It had released cellular objects that engulfed Ash and the others.
Since Regirock was here, those cells should be present too.
'Corrupted by Dark Matter, could it be that they couldn't be released?'
'If the Tree of Beginning were destroyed, would it be similar to the situation in the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series?'
As Li Xiang was pondering, light suddenly appeared in the distance.
It grew brighter and brighter as the Ho-Oh Guard advanced.
Faint sounds emerged. It was the exit!
They were finally getting out!
His spirits lifted slightly. He was eager to know exactly where they had ended up. And where the Tree of Beginning was located.
The light suddenly flared!
In an instant, a vast, dark, boundless sea came into Li Xiang's view, along with thick, leaden clouds shrouding everything.
It wasn't much different from Mist Island.
At that moment, they were standing before a cliff, buffeted by sea winds, hearing the sound of waves crashing against the rocks.
And... the rumbling explosions overhead.
Li Xiang turned his head and saw a massive rocky tree, its crown piercing the sky, covered in lush greenery.
Its peak was so high it vanished into the clouds, completely invisible.
But within the clouds, black-purple and pink lights flashed intermittently. The continuous rumbling originated from there.
"We've found it! That's the source!"
Entei seemed to have sensed something. Flames-like light radiated from its body as it carried Mo Ye upward.
The other two Legendary Beasts did the same, with Volcarona following closely behind.
The three members of the Ho-Oh Guard all possessed the ability to fly. They burst out from the exterior, soaring into the sky!
To seek the source of Dark Matter!