Paul and his Pokémon had withdrawn—but not completely.
Less than two hours later, coming from a new direction, Paul and his team once again reentered the Tree of Beginning's territory as if returning on cue.
And within the hour, they were forced to retreat once again after another intense battle.
...
Just like that, two days had passed.
By now, every one of Paul's six Pokémon had battled against at least five of the Regis—in all sorts of matchups—rapidly honing their strength through repeated combat.
Among the six, three Pokémon stood out for their unique growth trajectories: Torterra, Electivire, and Hisuian Samurott.
The Tree of Beginning was—strictly speaking, not a true tree—but it still retained many of the biological and visual features of one. Like a plant, it could absorb light energy and even heal Pokémon in its vicinity…
As a Grass-type, Torterra gained much simply by observing the Tree of Beginning. Even if those insights weren't immediately evident, they contributed to a slow accumulation of understanding—one that would inevitably lead to a qualitative transformation over time.
Electivire, on the other hand, discovered something else entirely: as long as it went all out—maximum power and maximum speed—it could defeat any of the Regis, even without stat-boosting moves.
After that, it lost interest in fighting the ordinary Regis.
Every time they returned to the Tree of Beginning's vicinity, Electivire would single out Regieleki as its opponent.
To be fair, due to both typing and the presence of the Electric-type Plate, Regieleki posed little actual threat to Electivire.
In fact, battling Regieleki did less to improve Electivire's raw power than fighting nearly any other Pokémon.
But that wasn't the point.
What fascinated both Electivire and Paul was Regieleki's signature move: Thunder Cage.
Electivire's current move was mostly direct, power-driven attacks. Outside of Psychic, it lacked any distinctly tactical moves.
Its Electric-type attacks could track an opponent at best—but they lacked any real binding power, something Electivire found deeply unsatisfying.
It had tried learning Electroweb in the past, but found its restraining effect underwhelming. Against opponents of comparable strength, Electroweb rarely provided enough control to lock them down.
Regieleki's Thunder Cage, however, struck the perfect balance between power and suppression.
That terrifying thunderbolt not only dealt damage, but also improved into a literal cage of electricity—trapping the opponent in place, denying all escape. The sheer effectiveness of the technique captured Electivire's full attention.
It longed to wield such a move itself.
And so, Paul and Electivire made a joint decision: they would observe, analyze, and study the move in depth. Whether or not Electivire could ever learn Thunder Cage directly, it would do everything in its power to master a similar skill.
Even if it couldn't replicate the exact technique with its natural talent and Psychic as a supporting move, Electivire might just be able to create something comparable.
No matter the outcome—as long as there was progress, wasn't that good enough?
Just keep learning. That's all that mattered.
From then on, every time Regieleki appeared, it was guaranteed to go up against Electivire.
After a few matchups, all the few Regieleki who resided near the Tree of Beginning learned the hard way—electric-type moves had no real effect on Electivire.
Eventually, whenever they faced Electivire, they didn't even bother with moves like Thunder Cage or even basic Thunderbolt. It was pointless.
Under such conditions, Electivire could only yield its chance to battle Regieleki to other Pokémon and instead observe from the sidelines, taking every opportunity to watch and train.
After a long period of rigorous training, repeated battles, and meticulous observation, Electivire finally managed to devise a method to keep electricity coursing outside its body for extended periods.
Only by sustaining external electricity could it truly trap an opponent for a prolonged time.
To accomplish this, besides learning from Regieleki, Electivire also studied the move Electroweb.
With a few more critical theoretical breakthroughs, Electivire was confident that it could develop its own custom version of Thunder Cage.
It might not match the original's precision or raw power, but when paired with Psychic, it would still be highly effective.
Then finally, the day came.
While battling Regice, Electivire used Motivate—a specialized move or possibly a unique training command—to push its power to the same level as its opponent. Then, in a sudden burst, it soared into the air above Regice and unleashed a tremendous surge of electricity.
The rampant electric currents twisted and crackled like serpents of lightning, forming a blazing cage that trapped Regice inside. The violent voltage relentlessly struck Regice, battering its crystalline body.
"Rrreee—gggiii—iiice!"
Relying on brute physical strength alone, Regice tried repeatedly to break free but only ended up injuring itself with surface wounds. In the end, it had to expend an enormous amount of stamina to cast Blizzard, finally shattering the Thunder Cage through sheer force.
But by that time, Electivire had already finished preparing its next assault.
Plasma Shower + Charge + Giga Impact—
One devastating combo sent Regice hurtling deep into the mountainside, leaving it heavily injured.
Immediately after, Electivire followed up with a rapid flurry—combining close-range physical blows with a precise Brick Break. With that, the embedded Regice was decisively defeated.
While training during this period, Samurott had drastically improved its Aqua Burst Technique—refining it to the point where it could explosively accelerate in a flash, surpassing even an Electivire that wasn't boosted by Motor Drive at the start of battle.
It was precisely this breakthrough that allowed Samurott to close the distance between itself and its opponent in an instant at the start of combat.
Then, using its masterful blade techniques, it launched a relentless assault on the Regi, striking over and over until it achieved victory.
Easier said than done.
To suppress and defeat a Regi—especially one stronger than itself—was no simple feat.
If it gave even the slightest opening, the Regi could erupt with overwhelming power, breaking through Samurott's offense and blasting it away—or worse, defeating it outright.
But little by little, through this intense and specialized combat training, Samurott's swordsmanship advanced at an unprecedented pace, integrating its various skills into one coherent fighting style.
And in doing so, it gradually acquired the true ability to take down a Regi in earnest.
The other Pokémon were also hard at work, training in their own distinct ways—each seeking to push past their limits and evolve in battle.
Meanwhile, not far away on the Tree of Beginning, a small pink Pokémon that looked like a cross between a cat and a fox was perched on the edge of a branch, kicking its tiny legs cheerfully as it watched the ongoing training with fascination.
With a casual wave of its paw, it could conjure a close-range, high-definition, directional projection of the battle—completely under its control.
This playful creature was none other than Mew, the Pokémon in symbiosis with the Tree of Beginning.
Having lived here for countless years, Mew was, truthfully, often quite bored.
With nothing else to do, it would play with the ancient Pokémon who slumbered within the Tree, or chat with the guardian Regis. Sometimes, it would sneak down to visit Rota City to "borrow" fun toys and trinkets to bring back up the Tree for amusement.
Over the last millennium, very few had ever made it into the heart of the Tree of Beginning—only a select few like Aaron and Ash Ketchum had managed it.
So when Paul stepped foot into the Tree, Mew noticed immediately.
At first, Mew wasn't particularly interested in Paul. Sure, his Pokémon were decently strong—but within the Tree of Beginning, Mew was practically invincible!
As long as it remains within the Tree of Beginning, its power would undoubtedly rank among the top five in the entire world. Aside from Arceus itself, there's truly nothing else that could pose a real threat to it.
Mew: "Hmph~ Little Mew here, I am the strongest, you know!"
Of course, even outside the Tree of Beginning, it's still pretty powerful! Super strong... Definitely!
Inside the Tree of Beginning, Mew is nearly invincible. But once it leaves, its power drops significantly. Additionally, since it shares a symbiotic bond with the Tree, any damage to the Tree would also affect Mew.
After Paul was driven away by the Regis once, only to return a second time—and even a third—Mew began to grow increasingly curious about him.
What exactly is this human trying to do? Doesn't he know that the Tree of Beginning is under my protection?
It wasn't until Mew discovered that Paul was using the Regi encounters as training for his Pokémon that it developed a special impression of him—
This human's got guts!
If it weren't for the fact that the strongest, cutest, and most amazing Mew was here, the Tree would've probably already unleashed its powerful Regi guardians to wipe Paul out.
There's no way it would just send out a few of the weakest Regis to "play" with him each time, right?
Who do you think is planning all this behind?
Naturally, Mew, being easily bored, would sometimes round up an entire squad of Regis to ambush Paul—just for fun, to give him a good scare.
Every time Paul and his Pokémon were frightened off, Mew would giggle behind its paws and cheerfully tumbling through the air in delight.
As this bizarre training continued—under Paul's persistence—and perhaps because no deeper malice was involved, the Tree of Beginning gradually grew accustomed to this "virus-like" intrusion. Its defense patterns began to stabilize.
Though Paul often ended up attacked and forced to flee in tatters, no major damage ever occurred.
Over time, the Tree's defensive capabilities steadily improved as well.
In a sense, this was turning into a mutually beneficial training exercise.
(End of Chapter)
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