Milyfa Town - A unique settlement located in the Kanto region, Milyfa Town is renowned for its beautiful environment and the harmony between humans and nature. Because of this, it is affectionately known as "Nature's Embrace."
Near Milyfa lies a forbidden forest — the Forest of Okoya. Legends say this forest is home to mysterious Pokémon, and somewhere within lies a sacred spring said to cure all illness.
Various corporations and organizations have long sought to explore the forest in search of this miraculous spring, hoping to uncover its secrets and harness them for the benefit of humans, Pokémon, and the world.
Recently, it was rumored that one such company may have found the sacred spring's location, but all subsequent reports abruptly ceased.
Not that Paul particularly cared.
After earning the Luck Symbol, he traveled a great distance with his Pokémon to this place, his goal not so different from the corporations'. He too sought the sacred spring not for power or profit, but to treat his Electivire, who had only just recovered enough to get out of bed.
Why not go straight to Mew for healing?
Certainly, Mew could offer some healing, but it wasn't Paul's Pokémon. He couldn't rely on it for more than a single favor. Instead, it made more sense to investigate the spring, even just for a temporary soak that might aid recovery.
More importantly, Paul was intrigued by the forest's rumored mythical Pokémon.
He didn't know how things played out in the anime world, but in this reality, the setting of the movie Secrets of the Jungle in the Forest of Okoya, existed right here in Kanto. Which meant the forest was home to a tribe of Zarude.
Since obtaining Torterra, Paul had grown less interested in Grass-types. Even though Zarude was a Mythical Pokémon, he had no intention of capturing one.
But capturing was one thing—Paul was still very interested in Zarude, especially its signature move: Jungle Healing.
He wanted to know if there was a way to combine Torterra's Forest Healing with Zarude's Jungle Healing to create a more powerful technique.
And if not? Well, just teaching Torterra Jungle Healing would still be worth the effort.
Though Zarude weren't exactly rare, Paul recalled from the movie and from earlier conversations with Ash at Professor Oak's lab that their strength wasn't anything special. At least not enough to be a challenge to him now.
And if by some chance, things turned out differently—if his regular Pokémon couldn't handle the situation, he still had Mewtwo.
In recent days, thanks to Rotom's help in gathering a comprehensive understanding of the world, Mewtwo's strength had skyrocketed. Once susceptible to being overwhelmed by a six-on-one battle, it now took six strong opponents fighting together to stand a chance against it.
That kind of power growth was nothing short of terrifying.
It wouldn't be long now, with just a bit more time, Mewtwo might truly surpass the Champion tier.
"Rotom, scan the terrain. Mewtwo, assist."
From above the sky, Paul stood on the back of his Garchomp, surveying the forest below as he pulled out his Rotom Phone.
"Roger that, Rotom~!"
"Understood." came Mewtwo's telepathic reply.
A pulse of psychic energy rippled out from Paul with Mewtwo amplifying the effect. Normally, Rotom could only map out a few dozen kilometers, but with Mewtwo's assistance, the entire forest now lay within its scan range.
Moments later, a detailed geography map appeared on the phone's screen, allowing Paul to examine every inch of the forest.
"Mark all locations with significant water sources, large ancient trees, and signs of monkey Pokémon, those roughly humanoid in shape."
Rather than searching blindly, Paul relied on his memory of the divine tree from the movie and fed the features into Rotom for rapid scanning.
"Okay, Rotom~ Please hold, Trainer!"
Rotom chirped cheerfully as another, stronger wave of psychic scanning spread through the forest.
Most Pokémon didn't notice a thing. But in a hidden glade deep in the forest, atop an enormous ancient tree, a tribe of humanoid, vine-draped Pokémon suddenly tensed.
"Zaru~?"
What's going on?
One burly Zarude turned toward another, who wore a distinctive cloak—the Zarude known as Koko's father.
"Zaru-zaru."
Not sure. But something feels... off. Has something intruded into the forest?
Koko's father shook his head, unsure.
"Zaru..."
Maybe. Whatever it is, we'd best be ready. We can't repeat what happened last time.
An elder Zarude descended slowly from the divine tree, its solemn words sparking memories of past intrusions. The others quickly rallied. This time, they would be ready. No strange human devices would catch them off guard again.
"Did you find it? Garchomp, let's go."
Paul glanced at the map, then signaled Garchomp to descend.
"Gaaar!"
With a roar, Garchomp folded its wings and dove at high-speed toward the marked area.
The trees blurred past in a sea of green. In just minutes, Paul laid eyes on an enormous tree standing alone in the center of the forest. It stretched over a hundred meters tall, with sacred water spilling down from its branches.
Zarude were everywhere—dozens, maybe hundreds of them, standing guard in a tight formation. They clearly expected an invader.
But the moment they realized the intruder was flying hundreds of meters above them, the entire tribe froze.
As Mythical Pokémon, the Zarude weren't weak, but one fact remained: none of them could fly.
And from this height, even their best attacks would either miss or be easily dodged.
Their defense had been pointless.
"Mewtwo, provide cover for landing."
Paul didn't bother strategizing. The fist decides the truth.
He tossed out a special Poké Ball from Hisui.
"Leave it to me."
Mewtwo emerged, its voice echoing in Paul's mind.
Cover? What did that mean? How best to cover?
Mewtwo wasn't quite sure. But logically, if all the enemy Pokémon were eliminated, then Paul and Garchomp could land safely.
With that rationale, Mewtwo soared ahead, locking onto every Zarude with a single sweep of overwhelming psychic pressure.
"Zaru!"
Attack!
"Zaru!"
Charge!
The Zarude, enraged by Mewtwo's lone advance, roared in unison. As planned, they unleashed a coordinated assault, a barrage of Leaf Storms.
Countless razor-sharp leaves converged, forming a fatal hurricane of green energy that tore through the air toward Mewtwo.
It was a terrifying sight. Even Cynthia's Garchomp wouldn't survive a direct hit.
But Mewtwo didn't flinch.
Its eyes closed briefly. Activating Nasty Plot, it sharply boosted its Special Attack, then launched a Psystrike straight into the oncoming Leaf Storm.
The psychic wave disappeared into the vortex like a pebble into the ocean, but it weakened the attack from within.
Mewtwo then extended both arms. A shimmering barrier formed in front of it, a reinforced Protect, recently mastered and adapted with defensive enhancements.
Even a fully charged Electivire at peak performance couldn't break through this shield.
The use of Psystrike was merely a precaution. Mewtwo only activated it to ensure Paul's safety because in truth, a single Protect would've been enough to withstand even an army.
As the storm of Leaf Storms howled toward him, Mewtwo's barrier shimmered in midair like a galaxy-spanning divide.
No matter how fierce the wind and leaves raged, they couldn't break through the barrier by even a hair.
While the battle raged above, Paul paid it no mind. Riding on Garchomp's back, he broke off and dove rapidly from another angle. Once they were less than 20 meters above the sacred spring beneath the Tree, Paul tossed out a Poké Ball.
"Vireee!"
With a cry, Electivire launched into the air. A magnetic field bloomed at its feet stabilizing its descent. Despite still nursing injuries, it twisted midair, groaned about its aching back and plunged joyfully into the sacred spring.
It immediately began absorbing the restorative energy in the spring, its body already reacting to the healing effect.
Meanwhile, Mewtwo, having effortlessly nullified the Zarude's collective attack, unleashed a powerful wave of psychic energy. All at once, every Zarude in the area found themselves suspended in the air, bodies immobilized.
"So this is it? Is that really the full might of a Mythical Pokémon?"
Mewtwo observed the suspended Zarude with an expressionless stare. Despite their numbers, not one could resist its power.
"A species' strength only sets the floor and rough ceiling of a Pokémon's potential." Paul said calmly, now alongside Mewtwo aboard Garchomp.
"It's individual growth that determines just how far one can go."
Aside from a few outliers like the so-called first-rank Legendaries and certain Mythicals, the rest—most second- and third-tier Legendaries were just rare and naturally strong Pokémon. Nothing special, really.
In fact, some Mythical Pokémon were even weaker than these Zarude. Shaymin, for instance—another Grass-type was infamously feeble in its hedgehog form unless it held the Gracidea Flower. Most of the time, they were just timid, passive creatures with barely any presence.
Of course, in this world, there was an unspoken rule: the fewer there are of a species, the more powerful they tend to be. The more abundant, the weaker they are on average. But like most rules, there were exceptions.
"What should we do with these guys?" Mewtwo asked, casting a glance at the immobilized Zarude who were still growling in frustration, snarling "Zaru! Zaru!"
"Leave them be. Just don't let them interfere for now. I may need them for something later."
Mewtwo gave a brief nod. A moment later, a silent surge of psychic energy spread through the air, and the cries of all the Zarude were abruptly silenced. Not a single sound escaped their muzzles.
Paul leapt off Garchomp's back and landed softly on the ground.
"Come out, all of you."
With that, he released all of his other Pokémon.
"Raaaa!"
"Draah!"
"Gaaaar!"
"Aggrrr!"
"Ursaah!"
Their cries rang out one by one as each Pokémon appeared beneath the Tree, energized and focused.
"This spring's different. Move freely, feel it out for yourselves."
With that simple statement, Paul gave them free restraint.
The Pokémon looked at one another, a moment of shared silence settling over them.
...Something was off.
Despite the sacred spring's obvious restorative aura, none of them rushed to dive in.
After all, most of Paul's team weren't particularly fond of water. Between Ground-types and water-averse Pokémon, it wasn't the most enthusiastic crowd.
Torterra was the only one that didn't seem too bothered. But its sheer size made interacting with the spring a logistical challenge.
"Raaa…"
Without waiting for the others to make up their minds, Torterra took the initiative. It slowly made its way toward the base of the tree where the spring gushed forth.
It could feel it, an energy rich with life. Something about the flow of vitality in the water pulled at its roots, quite literally.
Torterra activated Ingrain, extending its roots toward the sacred spring. The roots reached into the water and began drawing in the raw, natural energy.
Its eyes lit up.
Just as it had suspected, the sacred spring was indeed saturated with pure life force, far more concentrated than what it typically absorbed from the land.
If one were to categorize life energy, the peak would be what Xerneas radiated. Below that would be the life force conjured by Celebi and certain other Mythical Pokémon, and then natural springs like this one.
Torterra had gathered a large reservoir of life energy before, but the quality had always been mixed and impure.
This spring, however, was different. For Torterra, it was an unexpected windfall, a rare opportunity to refine and purify what it had stored.
Inspired by Torterra's reaction, the others cautiously took sips from the water. Realizing just how revitalizing it was, they soon followed suit splashing into the spring one after another.
"Vireee!"
Meanwhile, Electivire, still soaking, wasn't feeling quite as thrilled anymore.
Sure, the spring was helping. But compared to being healed simultaneously by both Mewtwo and Torterra, the difference was sharp.
And with all these "freeloaders" jumping in and guzzling the spring's energy, its effectiveness had already dropped.
There had to be a better spot, one with even higher potency.
Electivire turned its gaze upward… to the Tree itself.
BOOM!
With a loud burst, golden light exploded from the water. Electivire shot upward like a missile, leaving a trail of sparks behind.
In the stunned and furious stares of the immobilized Zarude, it launched itself into the canopy, directly toward the spot where the sacred spring flowed most abundantly from the Tree.
"Vireee!"
As sacred water washed over its battle-worn body, the energy surged into Electivire's core. The wounds from before tingled and buzzed with life, and a deep warmth spread through its limbs.
HP +1 +1...
EXP +1 +1...
Soaking in this spring might not have been as potent as direct aid from Mewtwo and Torterra, but it still worked. It soothed deep injuries and even slightly boosted physical stats, but it was no miracle cure.
Still, before Electivire could fully restore itself, several other Pokémon climbed from the water and began stretching, revitalized.
And every one of them turned their eyes toward the same thing:
Paul and Mewtwo who stood calmly before the silenced floating tribe of Zarude.
(End of Chapter)
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