Queen Ilene rose from her throne and raised her hand, pointing toward a towering tree in the distance.
"That is the World Tree, where Mew resides."
"However, Mew can transform into any Pokémon, which makes it quite difficult to spot."
"Since it's already late, how about we have Lucario use his Aura to guide you there tomorrow?"
"Lucario, would you be able to do that?"
Lucario bowed his head slightly and placed a hand over his chest.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Steven mimicked Lucario's gesture and thanked Queen Ilene.
"You're welcome. After all, you are this era's Guide of the Hero," Queen Ilene said with a soft chuckle.
Steven scratched his head, feeling a bit embarrassed.
After all, he was supposedly the "Guide of the Hero," yet he couldn't even use Aura.
…
The next day arrived.
Steven and Wallace had changed back into their regular clothes.
Steven rode on Metagross while Wallace rode on Pelipper. Lucario ran along the ground below them.
Steven had offered to have Skarmory carry Lucario, but Lucario politely refused.
The fog ahead was thick, so Metagross and Pelipper could only fly low to the ground, following closely behind Lucario.
Lucario kept his eyes shut tight, using his Aura to sense the path ahead and guide them forward.
Their progress was somewhat slow.
Throughout the journey, Wallace seemed like he wanted to say something but kept hesitating.
"Wallace, don't worry. At least so far, I haven't felt any discomfort," Steven said, noticing Wallace's concern and speaking up first.
"But…"
"Let's talk about everything after we meet Mew," Steven said with a soft sigh.
What a situation this had turned into…
Since Steven had said so, Wallace could only swallow the words he wanted to say.
During their journey, Steven and Wallace ate a simple meal along the way.
Lucario didn't accept Steven's offer of food. Instead, he picked some wild berries to eat.
Even when Riolu brought food over to him, Lucario politely declined.
When they set off again, Steven worried that Lucario might run out of energy from eating only wild berries.
Before long, Lucario suddenly stopped in his tracks.
Since it was already noon, most of the fog had cleared away.
Steven looked at the continuously erupting geysers ahead and said to Lucario, "How about we fly over this area, Lucario?"
Lucario scanned the rock walls on both sides and shook his head gently.
With his own strength, he could simply run across the rock wall on one side.
"Steven, that flower is beautiful," Wallace called out softly, pointing at a blue-purple spiral-shaped flower on the rock wall.
"That's a Time Flower. This flower allows Aura users to witness the miracle of time," Lucario explained, glancing at it briefly.
"The miracle of time…" Wallace observed the Time Flower up close with great interest.
"Alright, let's keep moving. We still have a long way to go before we reach the World Tree," Lucario reminded them.
The hot springs near the geysers held memories for Lucario and Sir Aaron, and he seemed reluctant to linger.
Whenever Lucario recalled these past events, he would remember Sir Aaron abandoning the castle, sealing him away, and fleeing alone.
Steven nodded and followed Lucario around the geyser to continue forward.
As evening approached, Lucario stopped at a fork in the road.
"This is… where I was sealed."
While Lucario was lost in thought, Steven looked around their surroundings.
He spotted a Time Flower.
"Lucario, try looking at that Time Flower!"
At Steven's prompt, Lucario noticed a blue-purple Time Flower not far ahead.
He quickly crouched down and used his Aura to make the Time Flower bloom.
A cluster of small light particles appeared, displaying scenes from hundreds of years ago like a projection.
Sir Aaron sealed Lucario within the Staff of the Hero, then rode on Pidgeot and flew into the distance.
Immediately after, a group of Pokémon wearing red armor came charging toward them!
"Is this the war from back then?" Wallace guessed.
"It seems to be a massive, full-scale war," Steven mused, looking at the dense army of Pokémon.
Perhaps in that era, Pokémon were still called magical beasts.
"Lucario!"
Lucario usually communicated through telepathy, but this time he suddenly opened his mouth and spoke aloud.
A blue sphere of energy gathered in his hand, which he continuously fired at the charging Pokémon army!
"It seems the projection has stirred up some painful memories for Lucario." Steven sidestepped, dodging the incoming Aura Sphere.
The Aura Sphere passed through the projection and blasted a large crater in the rock wall behind them.
It was fortunate that Lucario's target wasn't him. Otherwise, avoiding the Aura Sphere would have been extremely difficult.
"Metagross, use Psychic to restrain Lucario," Steven commanded.
"Metagross!"
Metagross's eyes glowed blue as it used Psychic to restrain Lucario's movements.
"Lucario!!"
Unable to move, Lucario bared his teeth, clearly agitated.
"Lucario, calm down," Steven said in a firm voice.
"These are all events from the past—projections from the Time Flower."
Lucario gradually calmed down upon hearing this.
The light particles from the Time Flower vanished, and the projection disappeared along with them.
"Perhaps the legend isn't false, and what you saw isn't false either," Steven suddenly said, addressing Lucario, who sat on the ground.
"Sir Aaron didn't want you to be in danger, so he chose to stop the war by himself."
"No…"
Lucario covered his head with his hands, unable to accept it.
The image of Sir Aaron sealing him, abandoning the castle, and fleeing alone kept replaying in his mind.
"If it wasn't Sir Aaron who stopped the war, then who did?"
"If you don't trust Sir Aaron… then what about Queen Ilene? The story of Sir Aaron being honored as the Guide of the Hero was passed down by Queen Ilene herself."
Steven hadn't simply slept through the previous night, waiting for morning to arrive.
He had obtained Queen Ilene's permission and searched for information in the castle with Wallace.
Listening to Steven's words, Lucario hesitated.
"The truth of everything might be waiting at the World Tree," Steven said, looking up at the World Tree, which was now within reach.
Before Lucario could think more carefully, he suddenly sensed a dangerous Aura!
"Run!"
"Metagross!"
Lucario and Metagross's simultaneous warnings put Steven on high alert.
The ground beneath them began to shake violently. Lucario lunged forward and tackled Steven to the ground.
A Pokémon made entirely of gray and orange rocks, with seven orange dots forming an "H" shape on its face, suddenly burst from underground.
Steven recognized this creature immediately.
This was the Legendary Golem Pokémon—Regirock!
Metagross used Psychic to lift Steven and Lucario, placing them safely behind itself.
"Regirock!"
The dots on Regirock's face flickered rapidly before it unleashed an orange energy beam from its face!
"Metagross, Flash Cannon!"
"Metagross!"
Metagross immediately raised both of its arms and fired a silvery-white Flash Cannon to counter the attack.
"Lucario!"
Lucario immediately launched an Aura Sphere, helping Metagross push back Regirock's Hyper Beam.
Bang!
The Aura Sphere and Flash Cannon struck Regirock's face directly.
"Now, run!"
Steven leaped onto Metagross. Using Psychic, Metagross lifted Lucario, and they rushed up the mountain.
Wallace, riding on Pelipper, followed closely behind them.
"Why didn't you keep attacking?" Wallace asked curiously.
That Regirock hadn't reached a level of strength that would leave Steven and him completely helpless.
"It was warning us not to go any further," Lucario explained.
"It's probably the World Tree's defense mechanism against intruders…"
On the ground below, Regirock's brief paralysis ended. It watched the figures disappearing into the sky.
Its body began rotating like a drill, and it burrowed back underground!
It vanished without a trace!