Faced with everyone's inquiries, Lucario looked around and murmured. 'This place... is where I was sealed.' The sight triggered Lucario's sorrowful memories once again.
It was the last memory before he lost consciousness—and his most painful one!! 'Why... why did you seal me! Sir Aaron!' Lucario knelt on one knee, and by chance, a Time Flower stood before him! His overwhelming grief caused his Aura to flow out uncontrollably, triggering the flower.
Then, the scene from back then appeared before everyone once more! Lucario was right; it was indeed Aaron who had sealed him! Furthermore, not long after the sealing, this very place had become a battlefield for two warring nations.
As Lucario watched the illusions of the constant fighting around him, his mind grew increasingly violent! He even uncontrollably fired several Aura Spheres!
"Lucario, calm down! These are just illusions!" Ash nimbly dodged several Aura Spheres and called out to Lucario. At Ash's cry, Lucario regained his senses and, unable to contain himself, ran toward the valley. The Time Flower stopped transmitting images as Lucario moved away.
The audience was now extremely anxious. Why did the plot develop this way? If Lucario's Aura had lasted just a bit longer, he would have seen the power of the Tree of Beginning surge forth to stop the war, and he would have seen Pidgeot carrying the Hero's Staff back to the castle! If that had happened, the misunderstanding would have been cleared up! But it cut off right at that moment! Poor dog! Our poor Lucario!
In the footage
After Lucario left, everyone began to question the truth of the legend. However, since Aaron could manipulate Aura and had earned Lucario's recognition from the start, he didn't seem like the kind of person who would abandon his partner!
"...Could it be that Sir Aaron was trying to protect Lucario?" May voiced her doubt, but for now, no one knew the truth of what happened back then.
"I'll go check on him!" Ash said, running after Lucario. Max wanted to go too, but Brock stopped him. "Let Ash go.
His Aura is the same as Aaron's. Besides, the bond between him and Pikachu might help Lucario believe in humans again and find redemption." At a time like this, letting Ash go was the best choice. Max obediently stayed behind.
In the valley—
Lucario knelt on the ground, seemingly unable to accept the reality recalled in his mind. The sound of light footsteps approached, and Lucario turned his head.
He saw the boy he had mocked yesterday standing behind him. Had he come now to mock his pathetic state? But what Ash said next surprised him immensely.
"I'm sorry..." "Yesterday, I didn't consider your feelings at all and said some very hurtful things." "It must be so painful to experience betrayal from someone so close.
The images just now proved that what you said was not wrong... so, I apologize to you!" Ash bowed his head, clear tears streaming from his eyes. He... he was actually crying?
Lucario found it hard to believe. Was this boy crying just because of what was said yesterday? No... it wasn't because of those words! This boy was... feeling pain for Lucario's sake!
"But I believe Sir Aaron must have had a reason!" "If the bond between you and Aaron was like mine and Pikachu's, then Aaron must have had an unavoidable reason for sealing you! I hope you can believe in him!"
Lucario: ... Ash's words left him unable to respond. If he had a choice, he wanted to believe in Aaron, too. If he hadn't experienced it personally, he would have always believed in him! But... what kind of unavoidable reason could have made Aaron do such a thing? Lucario didn't know.
However, he knew that the boy before him was even more righteous and sensitive than Aaron! He would argue with someone for criticizing his partner, apologize for his own mistakes, and even shed tears of heartache for Lucario's plight! Why had he said those things to such a boy yesterday?
'I am the one who should say sorry.''Ash... no matter what, don't ever give up on Pikachu, okay?' Ash wiped away his tears and gave Lucario a brilliant smile.
"Of course! No matter what, I will never abandon Pikachu! Anyone who wants to harm Pikachu will have to step over my dead body!!" Hearing this, Lucario also showed a small smile. He believed the boy's words. Man and Pokémon had finally reconciled!
[Diantha: I'm in tears. Ash loves Pikachu so much!]
[Karen: Ash... is such a righteous, kind, and sensitive boy! Even though Lucario said such awful things to him, he is still grieving for Lucario and even apologized to him!]
[Cynthia: From our perspective as gods-eye viewers, neither side is wrong. But from Ash's perspective, Lucario undoubtedly insulted his friendship with Pikachu.]
[Cynthia: Under these circumstances, Ash could still reconcile with Lucario and even shed tears of heartache for him. This shows just how exceptionally noble Ash's character is!]
[Wallace: Exactly. Ash's line, 'Anyone who wants to harm Pikachu will have to step over my dead body!' is not just lip service! It's sincere! Because we've already seen a scene like that once before!]
In the previous "Hero of the Rainbow" inventory, the audience had already seen Ash fulfill that promise.
He truly used his own life to protect Pikachu! They believed that under any circumstances, Ash would never abandon Pikachu. This was the bond between Ash and Pikachu!
[Bruno: At this moment, both of them have acknowledged each other. Maybe in the near future, we will see a Champion Lucario added to Ash's roster!]
[Drasna: Oh~ it really seems that way. After all, Ash's Aura is the same as Aaron's. Now that Aaron is gone and Ash has earned Lucario's recognition, Lucario might actually follow Ash in the end!]
Many Champions and Elite Four members agreed. Ash and Lucario were indeed a perfect match! After all, there was likely no one else in the world with Aura as vast as Ash's! And since Lucario had no one else to follow, joining Ash was naturally the best choice!
However, some were puzzled. In the previous "Road to the Master Eight" inventory, they hadn't seen a Lucario in Professor Oak's backyard! Even Charizard had returned!
Could it be that although Lucario became Ash's Pokémon, he stayed at Cameron Palace? Perhaps Lucario only rejoined the team when Ash needed him, much like Charizard at the Charific Valley! Yes, that must be it!
In the footage—
The two reconciled and shared a smile. Suddenly, Lucario's expression turned solemn. He closed his eyes, and the four ribbon-like appendages on the back of his head drifted upward.
"What's wrong, Lucario?!" Lucario didn't answer Ash but immediately ran back, and Ash could only follow. Soon, man and Pokémon returned to the place they had stopped.
The others didn't even have time to be happy about their return before seeing Lucario's grave expression. He skidded to a halt, kicking up a large cloud of dust, and shielded Max and the others.
"Lucario, what's going on?" Just as Ash spoke, Lucario swiftly pushed him aside. From under Ash's feet, a top-like object spinning at high speed burst out of the ground! It then landed heavily on the soil.
When the dust settled, the group saw the intruder's appearance. It was composed of gray and orange rocks, with an "H" shaped pattern made of seven orange dots on its face.
It had two thick rock arms with giant gray boulders for hands, and its shoulders were made of massive, towering orange spiked rocks.
This was... one of the three Legendary Titans, the Rock Peak Pokémon, Regirock!! There were actually legendary Pokémon around the Tree of Beginning?
The lights on Regirock's head flashed, and it hoisted the off-road vehicle high into the air, hurling it violently at Ash and the others! Such a slow attack naturally couldn't hit Ash, but Team Rocket inside the car was miserable! The massive jolt nearly made them pass out!
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