A single sentence from Professor Oak instantly cooled Ash's excitement. Something had happened to Pallet Town.
"What happened, Professor Oak? What's going on? Where's my mom?" There was a rare hint of panic in Ash's voice.
Pallet Town was his home. His mother was still there. All his Pokémon were there too. It was as if someone had snuck in and raided his main base.
"Calm down, Ash. Delia is fine for now, and so are your Pokémon. As you can see, I'm still talking to you on the phone, which means the situation hasn't gotten completely out of hand yet." Professor Oak gestured for Ash not to panic.
Hearing this, Ash breathed a sigh of relief. If something truly catastrophic had happened, Professor Oak wouldn't be calling him this calmly.
Once Ash settled down, Professor Oak began explaining.
It all started with one of his former students, Dr. Spencer Hale. Spencer was an exceptionally accomplished researcher, well-known in academia, ranking just a step below Professor Oak himself. Unlike Professor Oak, whose research spanned a wide variety of topics, Spencer specialized in Legendary Pokémon.
Not long ago, Spencer had vanished inside an ancient ruin. The search and rescue team sent by the League turned the entire site upside down, finding neither him nor his body. The official report ultimately announced his death. For a professor without Elite Four-level Pokémon by his side to personally delve deep into ruins associated with Legendary Pokémon, meeting with an accident was hardly a surprise.
The rescue team found only Spencer's personal backpack near the entrance of the ruins. Inside were his final research documents and sealed puzzle-like tiles. These belongings were returned by the League to his daughter, Molly.
When Ash heard this, his brow twitched. He knew practically every household in Pallet Town, but the name Molly left little impression in his memory.
"Her mother passed away early, and Spencer was away from home year-round, so that child spent most of her time alone." Professor Oak's voice was heavy. "She lives not far from Pallet Town. A rather large manor. But people rarely visit."
This morning, Professor Oak and Delia had discussed going to check on the girl. Ever since Spencer's disappearance, neighbors had been helping bring her meals. They thought they'd head over to see how she was doing and keep her company.
They never made it to the front door.
Before they even reached the manor's entrance, the ground cracked open. A pillar of light burst out from directly under the manor, followed by transparent crystals frantically surging out from deep underground.
The manor was swallowed in an instant. Trees, ground, fences, everything was encased in a hard crystalline shell within just a few minutes. With the manor as the center, a radius of ten kilometers was completely sealed off, and the crystalline area was still expanding outward.
"It's almost reached the edge of Pallet Town now." Professor Oak sighed. "If this continues, the entirety of Pallet Town will be swallowed whole."
"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Ash's voice came out as a low growl. Ever since setting out on his journey, he rarely lost his composure like this. But this was different. This involved his family.
Looking at the tightly strained face on the screen, Professor Oak sighed. "When I called you earlier, nothing had happened yet. The crystal tower only appeared this morning, and the expansion has all taken place over the past few hours. It's not that I didn't want to tell you. There just wasn't enough time."
Ash's hand gripping the receiver clenched until his knuckles turned white. It took several seconds before he slowly loosened his grip. He said nothing more, leaving only a single sentence before hanging up.
"I'm coming back right away."
When he stepped out of the phone booth, Misty was sitting on a sofa in the waiting area, holding Togepi. Seeing Ash's expression, she asked no questions. She just patted the seat beside her.
Ash sat down. The chair squeaked under him.
Brock returned from outside with a cup of hot coffee. Seeing the scene, he stuffed the coffee into Ash's hands without a word. Ash took it, didn't drink, and simply held onto it.
Serena softly asked what had happened. They'd been sitting in the distant seats earlier while Ash was reporting the good news to Professor Oak, so they hadn't walked over. But they'd seen Ash's agitated movements and knew something serious had come up.
Ash briefly explained the situation with the crystal tower, his voice much lower than usual, but still clear.
The Pokémon Center lobby fell quiet for several seconds.
Brock was the first to stand up, placing his coffee on the table. "I'll go check how much longer Lucario and Snorlax need." He was already walking toward the treatment room, his pace far brisker than usual.
If Snorlax and Lucario hadn't finished recovering, Ash couldn't leave. They were mid-treatment. No matter how anxious he was, he had to wait.
Brock knew this, which was why he went to ask Nurse Joy rather than saying anything to Ash.
Misty patted Ash's back, resting her head on his shoulder. "It'll be alright. Professor Oak is a Champion-level Trainer, after all."
Ash nodded and held Misty's hand, though the tension on his face didn't ease. He knew Professor Oak was strong. But the fact that Professor Oak had called him about it meant things had reached a point that even Oak found difficult to handle alone.
He had to hurry back.
"Nurse Joy says another half hour." Brock ran back with the answer. Given the urgency, he hadn't even tried anything with Nurse Joy.
Half an hour. He just had to hope everyone stayed safe until then.
When Nurse Joy finally emerged holding a tray, Ash was already waiting at the door. He took the two Poké Balls, checked each one to confirm that Snorlax and Lucario's condition had mostly recovered, and clipped them back onto his belt.
Then he retrieved the black-and-gold Poké Ball from his waist. Before Ash could say a word, the Poké Ball opened on its own, and Mewtwo emerged amidst the light. It floated in midair with its arms crossed. It already understood the situation and knew why Ash had released it. No words needed.
"Mewtwo, Teleport. Take us back to Pallet Town."
Mewtwo nodded. A pale purple light spread outward like an invisible curtain, enveloping Ash, Pikachu, Misty, Brock, Serena, and Togepi. The moment the light vanished, the reception counter of the Pokémon Center was completely empty. Nurse Joy looked on in slight astonishment. That Pokémon just now seemed to be a species she had never seen before.
With Mewtwo's power, traversing a thousand miles took only a single minute.
When the pale purple light dissipated at the entrance of Pallet Town, the first thing Ash saw was the towering crystal tower soaring into the clouds on the east side of town.
It was immense. So huge that even standing miles away, one could feel an almost oppressive sense of presence. Sunlight struck the body of the tower, cut into fragmented light by countless facets, reflecting a cold and eerie beauty.
At its base, the edges of the crystal pushed forward inch by inch. The small stream on the east side of town was already mostly frozen over, the crystal shell on the water's surface continually thickening.
The walls of several houses were covered with crystalline patterns. Just a few hundred meters further and it would reach the town center.
Ash looked at the tower and took a deep breath. His home was here. His mother and his partners lived here. He would never let this cold, unfeeling thing advance another step.
"Mewtwo, use Psychic to hold these things back." This wasn't the time to rely on his own strength alone.
Mewtwo extended its arm, sending out a surge of powerful Psychic energy that enveloped all of Pallet Town. The seemingly indestructible crystals surging toward the town were shattered to pieces in the blink of an eye.
God-level Psychic power was simply on another plane of existence. What had been an unstoppable advance was reduced to nothing.
A visible barrier appeared around the perimeter of Pallet Town. Outside this barrier, the mysterious crystals still attempted to spread inward, but they couldn't advance even an inch. When they pushed harder against the barrier, the crystals themselves shattered instead.
The crystalline power was formidable, but compared to Mewtwo, it wasn't enough.
"It's done." Mewtwo's voice resounded in everyone's minds.
Ash let himself breathe. The crystals hadn't fully reached Pallet Town's core, so his mother, Professor Oak, and his Pokémon hadn't been directly attacked. But having Mewtwo shield the entire town was a temporary measure at best. He needed to find the source.
"Let's find Professor Oak first. Mewtwo, can you tell what those crystals actually are?"
Mewtwo floated beside Ash, its gaze fixed on the distant tower. After a moment, it spoke. "These crystals are solidified mental power. Only a Psychic-type Pokémon at god level should be capable of crystallizing psychic energy into physical matter."
A god-level Psychic-type. If Mewtwo was right, the situation was far worse than it looked. Why would something at that level target Pallet Town?
Ash expanded his Aura senses across the town and located Professor Oak and Delia inside the lab. At the same time, he detected many neighbors and townspeople gathered in Oak's backyard. And alongside them, several extremely powerful Auras.
Now Ash understood the full picture. Professor Oak and the neighbors must have tried to stop the crystal expansion themselves, but couldn't hold it back. So Oak had gathered everyone at the lab and released all his Pokémon to defend just the lab and backyard. Protecting the entire town was too large a task, but holding the lab compound was manageable.
"Let's go, Misty, Brock, Serena!" Ash took the lead and ran toward Professor Oak's lab. The others followed closely behind.
Mewtwo floated in midair, its gaze still fixed on the distant tower. It constantly sensed a familiar presence inside that tower. A presence it found revolting.
If this were an ordinary god-level threat, Mewtwo could charge straight into the heart of it right now and destroy the source. But that faint sense of something deeper made even Mewtwo cautious.
Better to wait until Ash gathered the details before making a move.