"This place has Security guards? Isn't this just a wild area?"
Misty is stunned.
If there's Security here, it means this land is private property—you're not supposed to just wander in.
"Mm‑hmm~ looks like you guys got lucky and just didn't run into them."
Green grins as she speaks.
"This whole area actually belongs to a single conglomerate. Strictly speaking, this is one huge ranching district."
Green thinks for a moment, then explains.
"You must've seen it on the way here, right? The Pokémon ecosystem here is really complete, and the environment's insanely good."
"Then we just broke into someone else's private property?"
Misty looks worried.
That's seriously rude behavior.
If the ranch's owner decides to pursue this, they're going to be in trouble.
But since they're already inside, there's no going back.
"But this big a chunk of land, all owned by one person? How much money would that even take?"
"And that Tree of Beginning… it's way too huge, isn't it?"
Ash stares at the distant Tree of Beginning and can't help clicking his tongue.
"Right? We actually really wanted to go in and see it too, but there are signs outside that tree. It says the inside's extremely dangerous, we're not allowed to go in."
"And once you get close to that tree, tons of Pokémon show up to block you."
Tree of Beginning?
So that's the tree's name?
Green blinks wide eyes.
She and Silver only came into this area yesterday; they're not actually that familiar with the place either.
"Miss Green, why'd you two come in here anyway? And that's Legendary Regirock, right?"
Brock frowns and narrows his eyes at Green, pointing out the key problem.
This is somebody else's private territory, and Green clearly knows that.
That Regirock is obviously raised here by the owner of this ranch, but that red‑haired boy is in the middle of a capture battle?
That's clearly wrong.
Everything points to the same conclusion—these two aren't quite on the level.
"You've got a good eye. But let me tell you a little secret—this ranch actually belongs to Team Rocket."
Green's lips curl up; she smiles sweetly at the trio.
"What?!"
"Is that true?!"
Ash and the other two are shocked.
This place is Team Rocket turf?
"No mistake. I, Green, had to work really hard to dig that info out. This is Team Rocket's Pokémon ranch in Kanto."
Green speaks with absolute certainty.
She'd only gotten this info after a lot of digging.
"But even so that's not right, is it?"
Ash hesitates.
Yeah, it's Team Rocket's ranch…
But while they're still talking, Silver's Ursaring swings another Hammer Arm and finally brings Regirock down.
Regirock crashes heavily to the ground and loses the ability to fight, immediately drawing Ash's attention.
"That boy's insanely strong."
Brock and Misty both notice it.
That's a Legendary Pokémon.
But that Ursaring beat Regirock and barely looks hurt.
Says it all.
"Go. Poké Ball."
Silver doesn't hesitate.
He coolly hurls a Poké Ball at Regirock.
Seeing that, Ash opens his mouth and lifts a hand like he wants to say something.
If this Regirock were Wild, he obviously wouldn't care.
But this Regirock is clearly part of Team Rocket's ranch.
Even if Team Rocket is an illegal evil organization, it's still theirs.
How to put it…
Ash feels like this really isn't right.
The Poké Ball pops open the second it hits Regirock, white light enveloping it.
A heartbeat later, though, the white light pops back out—the capture failed.
"This Regirock's already been caught."
Brock gets it instantly.
Once a Pokémon's been caught, unless it's released, it can't be caught a second time.
The attempt just fails.
And clearly, Regirock's exactly like that.
"Just as I thought."
Silver doesn't look surprised.
He recalls Ursaring, his cold face completely expressionless.
"Looks like we'll have to try something else."
"Yeah."
Green steps up beside Silver and speaks.
Silver just nods.
"You two know this isn't okay, right?"
After wrestling with himself for a bit, Ash finally blurts it out to Silver and Green.
Yeah, in Ash's eyes, Team Rocket is an evil organization; they've left a really bad impression on him.
But no matter what, that doesn't mean you can just catch Pokémon on Team Rocket's ranch like it's nothing.
One thing has nothing to do with the other.
Silver glances at Ash and the other two.
His expression stays flat.
That's just his personality.
"You really are just like Red. Absolutely full of justice."
Green chuckles behind her hand as she looks at Ash, teasing him.
"But you can relax a bit. Silver's not trying to catch this Regirock because he wants it. He's got a different reason."
Green explains Silver's motive.
"…?"
Ash scratches his head, at a loss.
"It's not really convenient to spell it all out for you. Silver just wants to see his Brother, that's all. This is the only way."
Green thinks it over, then puts it that way.
If they catch one of Team Rocket's precious Legendary Pokémon, Damian definitely won't be able to sit still.
He'll come find Silver himself.
That's what Silver and Green are thinking.
Brother—
Silver's eyes darken.
No matter what, he really can't accept that his gentle big Brother Damian is a Team Rocket member.
And not just a member—Team Rocket's boss.
That fact has hit Silver's psyche way too hard.
That's his real big brother.
Silver's called Damian before, sent him texts.
But Damian's never answered once.
Clearly, Damian's deliberately avoiding him.
"I see…"
Ash looks at Silver.
So there is a reason.
"Let's go, Green. We're heading deeper in."
Silver doesn't want to have too much contact with these random people they ran into.
The Tree of Beginning area is an extremely important ranch for Team Rocket.
Especially that giant tree—there might be secrets inside it.
Green shrugs, but still heads off with Silver.
Can't be helped; he's her little brother.
When she first heard Silver had found family, Green was genuinely happy for him.
But when she found out Silver's dad is Giovanni, she was stunned.
And sure enough, that Team Rocket kid Damian is Silver's real big brother.
The moment she realized that, Green's whole expression was basically: (O‑O)
"You're going inside the tree? We'll come too."
Ash and the others hesitate for a second, then chase after Green and Silver.
"It might be really dangerous in there. You should just leave."
Green tries to stop them.
"We've got our own reasons for coming here."
Misty sighs helplessly.
If it weren't necessary, she honestly wouldn't want anything to do with Team Rocket at all.
Damian's left a pretty deep psychological shadow on her.
"We passed through Rota Town earlier, and then—"
Misty gives a quick summary of why the three of them even came here.
Basically, Ash won the event in Rota Town.
Then he accidentally awakened the Lucario sealed in the staff.
After that, they learned about what happened to the Aura Guardian from Rota's queen.
Supposedly, that Lucario's old partner, the Aura Guardian, came to the Tree of Beginning in the end.
"I see. All right then. Just be careful."
Green thinks about it, then doesn't turn them away.
Ash is Red's little brother.
Red's mentioned Ash to Green before—Ash is one of the rivals he respects most.
That means Ash must be pretty strong.
Traveling together won't hurt.
The five of them head toward the Tree of Beginning.
Along the way, they run into a lot of Pokémon trying to block them.
And the Pokémon keep getting stronger.
"It's so weird. Why are they all trying so hard to stop us?"
Misty is completely puzzled.
She looks at the Regice and Registeel lying there, both of them having lost the ability to fight.
Those two are also among the Legendary giants.
Luckily, their strength isn't ridiculous; Silver's Ursaring and Ash's Pikachu managed to beat them.
"No idea. Maybe we'll understand once we get inside."
Brock knits his brows.
He's got a bad feeling in his gut.
"Landorus~!"
Right then, a deep roar echoes from not far away.
An orange, tiger‑like, powerfully built Pokémon slowly drifts over on the wind, looking down at Ash and the others with dignified eyes.
It's a Therian Forme Landorus.
"Landorus!!"
The unfriendly roar booms out of Therian Forme Landorus's mouth.
"What Pokémon is that?"
Misty stares at Therian Forme Landorus in shock.
The pressure it gives off is insane.
No doubt this Pokémon is way stronger than Regirock and the rest.
"It looks like it's telling us not to go any farther. If we do, it's going to attack."
Ash basically understands what Therian Forme Landorus means.
He pulls out his Pokédex—but the screen just shows "No data."
"Silver?"
Green can feel that crushing pressure from Therian Forme Landorus too.
This Pokémon is absolutely no joke.
And compared to Regirock and the others, it's not even the same class.
Silver's brows draw tight.
"We just want to go in and take care of one thing. It won't take long. Could you please let us through?"
Ash speaks up to Therian Forme Landorus.
"Landorus!!"
Therian Forme Landorus refuses flat‑out.
The Tree of Beginning is their habitat now.
And the Tree of Beginning will never let humans go.
Landorus is the "Security" that Mew personally placed here for the current Tree of Beginning.
No matter how you slice it, Therian Forme Landorus cannot allow any humans to enter the Tree of Beginning.
"It's not giving us any room to talk this out. Should we head back? Or force our way in?"
Misty can't help asking.
"No way!"
Silver shoots that down instantly.
"I have to get inside. There might be some info on Brother Damian in there."
Silver's voice is low.
This Tree of Beginning is too important.
It might hold crucial information about Damian.
"No one is going to stop me from finding Brother Damian!"
Silver hurls a Poké Ball.
A Honchkrow appears in front of him.
"Then we're forcing our way in."
Green can only spread her hands helplessly and send out a Blastoise as well.
"Let's bring it down! Pikachu!"
Ash slaps his cheeks.
He's got a promise to keep to Lucario too.
Pikachu hops down to the ground, brimming with fighting spirit, lifting his head to stare at the Therian Forme Landorus in the sky.
"Go, go!"
Misty and Brock both step back a couple paces, automatically becoming the cheer squad.
That orange tiger looks monstrously strong, but Misty and Brock still have a lot of faith in Ash and the others.
They beat the Legendary giants Regirock and its buddies.
So what's one orange tiger?
They'll win for sure!
Seeing these humans not only ignore his warning but actually choose to fight, Therian Forme Landorus's eyes flash with danger.
Then—
"Pikachu!!!"
"No way. We can't beat it. This Pokémon is way too strong. We gotta bail."
Ash lets out a devastated yell as he looks at Pikachu, buried under a Rock Slide with only his tail sticking out.
Even Green is stunned.
This orange tiger is ridiculous.
One Stone Edge and Silver's Honchkrow crashed.
Then it dodged Hydro Pump and Thunderbolt, followed up with a massive Rock Slide that buried Ash's Pikachu.
After that, one more psychic blast and her Blastoise was basically done for.
It's way over the top. Absolute strength crush.
"Landorus~!"
Therian Forme Landorus lets out another cry.
The earth keeps trembling, yellow‑brown energy flickering across the ground.
Ground‑type Earth Power.
Seeing Therian Forme Landorus unleash another offensive, Green and the others all go pale.
Crap.
Just then, a clear female voice rings out.
"Please stop, Landorus."
Hearing that voice, Therian Forme Landorus freezes.
It turns its head and looks past Ash and the others.
The Earth Power steadily dies down before it's unleashed.
Ash and company turn as well.
The moment they see who spoke, they all freeze.
Why is she here?!
~~
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