"There's still a way?"
Lucario froze for a moment, but then, as if realizing something, hurriedly said,
"Lord Chen Mo, you absolutely cannot—"
Before it could finish, Chen Mo interrupted.
"Since I came here, naturally, I intend to find a way that won't require us to lose anyone or any Pokémon ever again."
Having heard Chen Mo's call through his thoughts, Marshadow no longer remained hidden. Its body slowly rose from the shadow beneath Chen Mo's feet.
"!"
Lucario's pupils contracted slightly.
So it really was there!
As a Pokémon naturally gifted in perception, and one whose life level had already reached the Legendary realm, Lucario had actually sensed an unusual aura coming from Chen Mo's shadow ever since it regained consciousness in the secret realm.
However, Marshadow had never taken the initiative to reveal itself, and Lucario wasn't the sort of Pokémon that insisted on getting to the bottom of everything.
As for worrying about Chen Mo's safety?
He had Gengar, which could also enter the Shadow World, by his side, along with a Wish Star that Lucario had only ever heard about in legends. His own mastery of Aura was also no weaker than that of the Hero of Aura, Sir Aaron.
Someone like that didn't need Lucario worrying about him.
It was just... that appearance...
The Tree of Beginning and Ho-Oh had an extremely deep connection. During the years Lucario had followed Aaron, it had naturally learned many legends concerning Ho-Oh.
"The Guide of Shadows... Marshadow?"
Lucario's expression was filled with astonishment.
This... this didn't make sense!
As a Legendary-level lifeform, Lucario could naturally sense the aura of a powerful existence that seemed to favor Chen Mo.
The Hero of Ideals!
That was one of the pieces of information Lucario had learned from its conversations with the officials over the past few days.
At the time, Lucario had been extremely surprised.
Why was the hero foretold by Ho-Oh not the Rainbow Hero, but instead the Hero of Ideals, who had not appeared for a full thousand years?
And now, after seeing Marshadow—the examiner of the Rainbow Hero's trial—emerge from Chen Mo's shadow, Lucario was completely bewildered.
What exactly was going on!?
"..."
Marshadow merely glanced at Lucario, who seemed to want to say something but couldn't bring itself to do so.
Marshadow had never been a talkative Pokémon. When it first stayed in the Shadow World, it had barely even bothered responding when Chen Mo spoke to it.
Now, facing a Lucario it wasn't familiar with at all, Marshadow naturally preferred to remain silent.
Knowing that Marshadow feared loneliness, yet was even more socially anxious than Gible, Chen Mo took over the conversation.
"Since you already know Marshadow, I won't bother introducing it."
"Let me briefly explain the plan."
"Lucario, do you remember the energy Jirachi used to replenish Kartana this morning?"
Although Lucario was still filled with questions, it nodded.
Chen Mo continued.
"Jirachi told me that this extremely special energy is actually a portion of the life energy separated from all living things. So I was thinking—could we use this life energy to nourish the Tree of Beginning and save it?"
"Life energy!?"
Lucario's eyes lit up, and it hurriedly said,
"Lord Chen Mo, please have Jirachi help—"
"Don't get ahead of yourself."
Chen Mo looked toward Mew, sealed within the red crystal in the distance, and slowly said,
"Lucario, your plan is to transfer your Aura into the severely injured Mew, thereby indirectly saving the Tree of Beginning that shares a symbiotic relationship with Mew, right?"
"But in the end, you yourself aren't completely certain that your Aura alone can repair the breach in the Tree of Beginning."
"Am I right?"
Although Lucario's life level had already reached the Legendary realm, the one it was trying to save was Mew, known as the ancestor of all Pokémon.
The difference between the two was like heaven and earth.
Naturally, Lucario didn't have sufficient confidence. Its sense of duty simply compelled it to try.
Chen Mo looked at the silent Lucario.
"Let's work together, Lucario."
In Pokémon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew, Lucario had explicitly stated that its Aura alone wasn't enough. In the end, Ash had also contributed his own Aura, and only then had Mew been healed.
So Chen Mo's idea was simple.
"With the life energy Jirachi has borrowed, combined with the Aura of you, me, and Marshadow, if everything goes smoothly, perhaps we can save the Tree of Beginning without sacrificing anyone."
"Of course."
"You don't need to worry about me, either. I'm not like certain hot-blooded idiots who lose their heads and don't even care about their own lives. I value my life very much. So if things become dangerous, I'll stop immediately."
Lucario looked at the young man with the bright smile.
Deeply moved, it finally condensed all the words in its heart into a single sentence.
"Thank you, Lord Chen Mo. May Aura remain with you throughout the years to come."
They immediately put the plan into action.
Jirachi flew above the red crystal containing Mew, while Chen Mo, Marshadow, and Lucario surrounded the crystal in a triangular formation.
Meanwhile.
Outside the Tree of Beginning.
The Bureau personnel and government officials led by Professor Zhou suddenly noticed conspicuous white motes of light drifting through the night from all directions toward the Tree of Beginning.
"Isn't that what appeared during the day?"
"Yeah. It seems to have been created by that Pokémon called Jirachi."
"What exactly is Teacher Mo doing inside the Tree of Beginning...?"
The crowd whispered among themselves.
Standing at the very front of the group, Hu Chengliang couldn't help following the drifting white motes with his gaze toward the towering Tree of Beginning.
Because of the Tree's defensive system, they had no way to venture any deeper.
"Sigh..."
Hu Chengliang let out a heavy sigh inwardly.
At this point, all he could do was pray that the guy who never gave anyone a moment's peace would return safely.
"They're here!"
Inside the Tree of Beginning.
Noticing that the white motes summoned by Jirachi had begun merging into the Tree of Beginning's energy supply system, Chen Mo nodded toward Lucario and Marshadow.
Without further hesitation, the three simultaneously extended their palms toward Mew within the red crystal.
"The power of Aura resides within my heart!"
Three streams of azure Aura, identical in color yet fundamentally different in nature, were released from the palms of Chen Mo, Marshadow, and Lucario.
They spread outward before merging together, forming a blue sphere of light that passed through the crystal and tightly enveloped Mew's body.
At that moment.
Aside from the occasional crackling sound produced during the transfer of Aura, the surroundings were completely silent.
Chen Mo's Pokémon stood some distance away, watching nervously.
Zoroark in particular had both hands clenched tightly, not even daring to blink. It was clearly nervous to the extreme.
It hurts... I'm so tired...
As his life force, carried by his Aura, was continuously transferred into Mew's body, Chen Mo felt as though a knife were slowly, slowly cutting open wound after wound across his body, with his blood steadily flowing out through each one.
However.
For Chen Mo, this mental torment was still within the limits of what he could endure.
What truly weighed heavily on his heart was that the Aura they were sending into Mew seemed to vanish into a bottomless abyss, without creating even the slightest ripple.
This isn't looking good...
Chen Mo increased his Aura output.
In an instant.
A piercing pain shot straight into the top of his skull.
His face twisted slightly from the agony, and his eyes instinctively began to close.
"No!"
Just then.
A voice suddenly rang out from the depths of his heart.
Realizing that if he collapsed here, the pressure on Marshadow and Lucario beside him would instantly double, Chen Mo shook his head and hurriedly forced his eyes open.
And at that very moment.
Chen Mo suddenly realized something.
The scene before his eyes had changed!
His viewpoint had become incredibly low, and where the red crystal containing Mew should have been was now a small fountain, surrounded by flourishing flowers and grass. Farther ahead stood an enormous mansion that looked incredibly luxurious from the outside.
"What's going on...?"
Chen Mo was still completely bewildered when—
A clear, youthful, energetic child's voice suddenly came from behind him.
Although the language wasn't any language Chen Mo knew, he could effortlessly understand its meaning.
The child said,
"You're Riolu, aren't you?"
Chen Mo realized that his viewpoint was turning around on its own.
The next second.
He saw a boy around seven or eight years old, dressed in a blue suit, looking down at him with a gentle smile.
No.
More accurately, he was looking at the owner of this viewpoint.
"Could it be..."
Chen Mo recognized him.
Although the boy was much younger, his appearance bore many similarities to the Aaron Chen Mo had seen in the Time Flower.
This was clearly Aaron as a child!
Then.
The answer was simple.
The owner of the viewpoint Chen Mo was currently seeing through should be Riolu, before it evolved.
"Is this the scene of Aaron and Riolu's first meeting?"
Chen Mo frowned slightly.
But soon, relying on the knowledge of Aura that had surfaced in his mind, Chen Mo gradually formed a theory.
"My Aura and Lucario's are connected in some sense right now. So through that connection, I'm able to see Lucario's memories?"
Chen Mo fell into thought.
Above his field of vision.
"I can sense your Aura. Hmm... powerful and filled with righteousness."
Young Aaron, still a refined little gentleman, extended his right hand toward "Riolu" and smiled warmly.
"Riolu, I want to become your partner. Would you be willing?"
Suddenly.
Chen Mo recalled his own first encounter with Pichu.
How nostalgic.
Just as Chen Mo was watching with interest, intending to continue watching—
The scene before his eyes suddenly blurred.
Then a flame appeared before him.
In the blink of an eye, the fire grew larger and larger, spreading toward the mountain forest ahead. In an instant, it seemed as though the entire mountain had caught fire, with countless living creatures writhing amid the flames and cries of agony ringing out everywhere.
"Marsha..."
A weak, trembling little hand reached forward.
Chen Mo saw it.
The flames raging all around seemed to have been immensely satisfied, burning wildly as though determined to reduce everything in the world to ashes.
Choked sobs and agonized cries continuously came from the owner of the viewpoint.
Chen Mo clenched his fists.
He felt so powerless.
Because he knew that this had already happened.
This was Marshadow's memory.
Although he knew that Marshadow would soon be rescued by Ho-Oh, and that the Pokémon whose lives had been lost in the wildfire would all be restored—
But!
As long as he heard Marshadow's agonized cries, Chen Mo felt an inexplicable sense of agitation.
He didn't want to watch any longer!
Just then.
As though it had heard the cry from Chen Mo's heart, the scene before his eyes blurred once more.
The wildfire, the struggling Pokémon, and all the surrounding sounds gradually faded away.
And in that instant.
Another burst of rainbow-colored light blossomed before his eyes.
Chen Mo saw it.
A Pokémon enveloped in a soft seven-colored radiance beat its enormous wings and shot into the sky at incredible speed, soaring high into the night.
"Ho-Oh!?"
Chen Mo recognized the Pokémon.
"Is this another one of Marshadow's memories?"
While Chen Mo was still thinking, another enormous creature burst out from the clouds at the edge of his vision.
Its huge white wings, shaped almost like hands, were especially striking against the night sky.
Seeing the solemn expression on its face, Chen Mo recognized this Pokémon as well.
The God of the Sea—Lugia!
Farther away.
A green light slowly rose into the sky.
Even higher above.
Deep purple, deep blue, and dark crimson light spilled from the void.
The energy radiating from those lights gave Chen Mo a terrifying yet strangely familiar sensation.
It was as though...
It was as though he had once again returned to the deepest part of his own memories, standing before that gate formed from the powers of the three Legendary Pokémon governing space, time, and the Reverse World.
"What exactly is this...?"
Chen Mo's pupils contracted sharply, and his entire mind felt as though it had been struck by an earthquake.
Without a doubt.
Everything appearing before him—including that unidentified green sphere of light—represented the highest level of power in the Pokémon world.
They had gathered here, and every one of them radiated an aura of solemnity.
What exactly were they about to do!?
Just then.
Chen Mo suddenly noticed something.
Whether it was Lugia, Ho-Oh, those points of light representing different Legendary Pokémon, or even the owner of the viewpoint he currently inhabited—
All of them raised their heads at the exact same moment and looked toward something even higher.
Chen Mo's heart began pounding violently.
He had completely stopped breathing.
He could feel it.
A powerful pressure.
A dense aura of death that seemed capable of taking his life at any moment was gathering above.
The next second.
The instant he raised his head—
Chen Mo saw it.
A beam of light carrying both destruction and divinity, filled with an overwhelming sense of discord and grotesque abnormality, blossomed high above.
Like a falling meteor—
It descended toward the world below.
At that moment.
The entire world fell into an eerie silence.
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