Pawmot wanted to learn the "Three Elemental Punches"—Thunder Punch, Fire Punch, and Ice Punch.
Furthermore, it already knew Thunder Punch, so it still needed to learn Fire Punch and Ice Punch.
Coincidentally, Munchlax knew all three punches, so Pawmot consulted it through a video call.
Ange held the phone for Pawmot as the latter began practicing with a series of spirited shouts, following Munchlax's guidance in the video.
Pawmot practiced Fire Punch first. Because Munchlax frequently dealt with flames while cooking, it was particularly skilled in this move and gave very thorough instructions.
Taking Munchlax's experience to heart, Pawmot swung its fists while calming its mind to perceive the power of fire.
Conversely, moves cannot be mastered instantly. Despite swinging its fists for a long time, Pawmot did not sense even a trace of the fire energy Munchlax described.
Right then, a Pidgeotto carrying a satchel descended from the sky. After landing, it transformed into an adorable Pikachu.
Needless to say, this was Mew arriving as promised.
Mew mew~
Mew jumped onto the bench and stuffed the satchel into Ange's arms.
"Thank you, Mew," Ange thanked it sincerely.
As he spoke, Ange opened the satchel to find it filled to the brim with lush green leaves.
However, when he looked at them with his Eye of Observation, the description provided was:
[Leaves from the Tree of Beginning, inferior quality, has no effect.]
Ange was speechless.
No way? Do the leaves of the Tree of Beginning have different quality levels?
Seeing Ange's troubled expression, Mew asked in confusion: Mew? What is wrong?
Ange had no choice but to tell the truth. "The quality of these leaves is not good enough; they are useless to me."
Mew was completely bewildered by Ange's words. There are quality differences for the leaves of the Tree of Beginning? I have lived at the Tree of Beginning for so many years, how come I did not know that?
Is this kid tricking me? Does he have some ulterior motive?
Mew's gaze was so direct that Ange looked embarrassed. "Really, I am not lying to you!"
Furthermore, he pointed to his eyes. "My eyes are a bit different; I can see things that others cannot."
Hearing this, Mew let out a sigh.
Mew~ Fine, I will believe you this once.
With that, it took the satchel back from Ange's arms, quickly transformed into a Fearow, and flew away.
Consequently, Ange had to continue waiting for Mew's return while accompanying Pawmot in its training.
About an hour later, a panting Delibird flew back. After landing, it transformed into a Smoochum.
Smoochum quickly climbed onto the bench, handed the satchel to Ange, and then lay sprawled out on the bench.
"I am sorry for the trouble," Ange said apologetically.
Smoochum waved its hand dismissively.
Ange opened the satchel and saw that the appearance of the leaves this time was indeed very different from before. Not only were they greener, but they were also more complete, without a single tear or a single wormhole.
However, when Ange looked with his Eye of Observation, the display still read:
[Leaves from the Tree of Beginning, inferior quality, has no effect.]
Ange froze. He looked at the exhausted Mew and hesitated to speak.
Seeing Ange's expression, Mew instantly realized something and bounced up.
Mew? Still not good enough?
Ange nodded awkwardly.
Mew was furious and desperately wanted to jump up and stuff those leaves into Ange's mouth.
Despite this, thinking about how it had eaten his food yesterday and promised to bring him leaves, it managed to restrain itself. It snatched the satchel from Ange's hand with gritted teeth and flew away as a Skarmory.
Ange shouted loudly, "Thank you for the hard work! I will treat you to something delicious later!"
Lokke, who was crouching nearby, asked, "What quality of leaves do you actually want?"
Ange shook his head. "I do not know either; I have to see it with my own eyes."
Hearing this, Lokke buried its head under its paws and said in a pitying tone, Mew is so pitiful.
Ange remained silent.
About another hour and a half passed before a Dragonite descended from the sky. After landing, it transformed into a Cleffa and threw the satchel at Ange with an angry look.
"Mew, thank you for the hard work," Ange said.
Mew~ Hmph!
Mew turned its head away, refusing to look at Ange.
Ange looked down at the satchel, opened it, and checked the leaves inside.
[Leaves from the Tree of Beginning, inferior quality, has no effect.]
Ange began to tremble.
Is Mew going to kill him?
Mew turned its head back and happened to see Ange's strange expression. It understood immediately.
It clenched its fists and gritted its teeth, but eventually calmed its emotions again. It leaped onto the bench and sat down heavily with an expression that said "do whatever you want."
Seeing Mew like this, Ange checked the time and said, "Let's have lunch first and talk after we eat."
At the mention of lunch, Mew's ears twitched.
Ange had already taken out a table and chairs from his backpack, arranging them one by one before bringing out dish after dish of delicious food.
Saliva Chicken, Steamed Pork with Preserved Mustard Greens, Stir-fried Pork, Stir-fried Shredded Pork with Rolling Beans, Steamed Egg with Shrimp, Braised Lion's Head Meatballs, Hand-shredded Cabbage, Sautéed Lettuce, Eggplant with Garlic Sauce... a large table was fully set.
These dishes were all made by Ange early in the morning. Each one was packed in a box and placed in the system backpack. When taken out and opened, they were still steaming hot.
Smelling the aroma wafting through the air, Mew could no longer stay angry. It jumped off the bench, changed from a Cleffa into a Clefable, and sat down at the table with a serious expression.
Ange sat beside it, served it a large bowl of rice, and said, "Eat up."
Mew immediately couldn't wait to start eating with the spoon Ange handed over.
Mew mew~ So tasty! So tasty!
It was just as delicious as the barbecue from last night.
Seeing this, a smile appeared on Ange's face. He then turned to Lokke, Metagross, Pawmot, and Komala.
"Let's eat too."
Upon hearing this, Pawmot and the others immediately gathered around the table.
Having trained all morning, Pawmot was already starving and ate voraciously.
Ange saw this and said to Pawmot and Mew, "Slow down, no one is going to snatch it from you."
Paw paw~
Pawmot grinned at Ange with its cheeks bulging with food. Mew was too busy eating to pay any attention to Ange.
At this time, Sneasel was out foraging for food. Attracted by the aroma in the air, it tracked the scent to where Ange and the others were eating.
When it saw Ange, it looked surprised.
I ran into this human again!
However, it did not approach rashly; it only watched from a distance. The injuries it had received from the beating last night had not yet fully healed.
Looking at the table full of delicacies, Sneasel couldn't help but swallow its saliva.
It looks so delicious!
No, it must be delicious! Because it was so fragrant, it could smell the scent of the food even from this far away.
After smelling it for a while, Sneasel suddenly turned and left. A few minutes later, it returned to the corner where it had been hiding, now holding half a piece of moldy bread in its hands.
It had just found this half-piece of bread in a trash can.
Luck is really good today; found food as soon as I went out.
Life in the city is better after all; food can always be found in the trash cans. Most of the time it didn't have to go hungry, unlike back then on the snowy mountains, where it could work hard for half a day and not find a single Berry.
But why... did it slightly miss that life?
While gnawing on the bread, Sneasel inhaled deeply the aroma in the air, imagining that it was also sitting at that table, enjoying the delicacies.
Because almost no passersby went near the bench, Ange and the others enjoyed a very leisurely and quiet lunch.
After lunch, Pawmot and Mew, who had transformed into a Clefable, sat slumped in their chairs with satisfied expressions, one hand gently stroking their bellies as if they were "six months pregnant."
So comfortable!
Ange, meanwhile, boiled a pot of hot water on a small stove and brewed a cup of tea for each of the Pokémon.
This tea had digestive properties. Since he saw Pawmot eat too much yesterday, he had specifically bought this tea from the System Store today.
After resting for a while, Pawmot began its training for the "Three Elemental Punches" again.
Ange said to Mew, "How about... Mew, you just take me to the Tree of Beginning, and I will pick the leaves myself?"
He truly felt bad making Mew run back and forth like this.
Hearing this, a look of hesitation appeared on Mew's face.
Seeing this, Ange quickly promised, "I definitely will not cause trouble!"
Mew stared at Ange without blinking. After hesitating for a moment, it silently held up one finger toward Ange.
Mew~ One meal.
Ange said happily, "No problem."
Realizing its asking price was too low, Mew quickly changed its tune. Mew mew~ Two meals... no, three meals!
As it spoke, it changed its one finger to three fingers.
Ange agreed readily, "Fine, no problem."
Mew showed a happy smile. It leaped into the air, transformed into an Altaria, flapped its wings, and flew away.
Mew mew~ I will wait for you at the Tree of Beginning!
Mew's cry drifted back from the distance.
Ange thought: Could you not have just taken me there directly?
Mew's internal response: No, this is a test for you!
Watching Mew disappear into the horizon, Ange said to Lokke and the others, "In that case, let's set off!"
The Pokémon nodded in agreement.
Once they had packed their things into the backpack, Ange led the Pokémon toward the Tree of Beginning.
From the high points of Cameran Palace, Ange and the others could faintly see the canopy of the Tree of Beginning.
Furthermore, crystals were everywhere in Cameran Palace—by the roadside, in corners, by the river, in the grass... they were everywhere. These crystals were a derivative of the Tree of Beginning.
Sneasel, hiding in the corner, hesitated for a moment after seeing Ange and the others leave, then silently followed them.
Soon, Ange and his group left Cameran Palace and entered the endless rolling mountains and forests.
The reason Rota and Cameran Palace were not as prosperous as other cities in the Kanto region was that their location was too remote. If one didn't pay special attention, many people probably wouldn't even know such a place existed.
Moreover, Queen Ilene didn't seem to have any intention of specifically expanding the reputation of Rota or Cameran Palace. Ange guessed this might be related to the Tree of Beginning.
After an unknown amount of time, Ange and the others noticed that fog was gradually starting to rise. The closer they got to the Tree of Beginning, the thicker the mist became.
If they hadn't relied on the perception of Aura Power, they would have lost their way long ago.
Indeed, the Tree of Beginning was not a place just anyone could visit.
As they walked, a roar suddenly echoed through the mist. Before Ange could distinguish which Pokémon's cry it was, a pitch-black Pokémon that looked like a hound from hell leaped out from the fog.
It was a Houndoom.
Houndoom spat flames, and without a word, it controlled a pillar of fire to sweep toward Ange and the others.
Pawmot immediately leaped forward, its fist flickering with lightning, and crushed the pillar of fire with a single punch.
Actually, originally on the way to the Tree of Beginning, there was only layer upon layer of mist and no Pokémon standing guard.
But when Ash and his friends came to the Tree of Beginning that time, they triggered a massive crisis, and the Tree of Beginning was nearly destroyed because of it.
In the end, it was Sir Aaron's Pokémon, Lucario, who sacrificed itself and contributed its Aura Power to the Tree of Beginning, preventing things from reaching an irreparable state.
Regardless of the organism, once it loses its own Aura, it will directly disappear.
It was like that for Lucario, and it was also like that for the Aura Hero, Sir Aaron, back then.
When the Aura Hero Sir Aaron went to the Tree of Beginning to calm the war years ago, he had sealed his partner Lucario inside the Hero's Staff.
Sir Aaron did not want Lucario to sacrifice itself along with him.
Lucario admired Sir Aaron the most. If it knew Sir Aaron was going to sacrifice himself, it definitely would not have sat by and watched.
Sir Aaron, who understood it, sealed it for that reason.
Lucario was sealed for hundreds of years until Ash obtained the Hero's Staff. His Aura reacted with the Hero's Staff, finally releasing Lucario.
After Ash's visit, Mew realized it could no longer let people approach the Tree of Beginning at will. So, it selected some powerful individuals from the Pokémon living in the Tree of Beginning to enter the mist and serve as guardians.
The reason Mew was previously unwilling to take Ange to the Tree of Beginning was the fear of triggering an uncontrollable crisis again.
It wasn't until it had observed Ange for a while and roughly confirmed his character that it decided to give him a chance.
It definitely wasn't because Ange's cooking was delicious! Definitely not!
Seeing that its strike had missed, Houndoom immediately launched another attack, focusing its target directly on Pawmot, who had crushed its strike.
Awooo~
With a roar, Houndoom used Flamethrower again, spitting out a crimson pillar of fire at Pawmot.
Pawmot used the Dig move, disappearing from the spot in the blink of an eye. It moved quickly underground toward Houndoom and then suddenly burst out, striking Houndoom in the belly with a punch.
The Dig move was Ground-type, which was doubly effective against Houndoom. Houndoom let out a wail and was knocked down instantly.
After falling, Houndoom opened its mouth and spat out a large amount of black smoke.
This was Smog. Although the damage wasn't high, it could cause the opponent to fall into a poisoned state.
Just as the Smog was about to submerge Pawmot, a gust of icy wind appeared out of thin air, freezing all the Smog into ice beads.