When Lorze and his wives reunited with Ash's group, Ash's side also seemed to have finished their satisfying hot spring break.
Moreover, Ash also told Lorze about discovering the Time Flower.
"Oh, this thing. Actually, we encountered one too."
Ash scratched his head in confusion. Why does mentioning the Time Flower... make Mr. Lorze's Pokémon all look so shy?
But thinking that asking such a thing might result in May very violently pounding her fists on him, Ash swallowed the question, having learned to be smart.
Anyway... both sides discovered the wondrous use of the Time Flower in different ways.
The rest of the time passed boringly. Dinner was again cooked by Brock and Lorze, giving everyone a great feast.
That night, everyone sat on the grass enjoying the night breeze before going to sleep.
It's said that people tend to be sentimental late at night. Ash, missing his important companion by his side, was still somewhat lonely.
"Actually, Pikachu and I didn't get along well at first either, and I got electrocuted by him many times."
Lorze listening on the side sweated: Don't speak of being electrocuted by Thunderbolt so casually. If you mislead others, they're done for...
May, sitting beside with her legs together, gave a sweet smile: "Then, what made Pikachu and Ash so close?"
Max also chimed in from the side: "I want to know too!"
Even the thick-headed Ash recalled with a sentimental face—
"The day we started traveling together, we were attacked by Spearow. We overcame the difficulty by helping each other. Perhaps that was the opportunity to become friends."
"It was also after that that Pikachu and I began to trust each other."
The dog not far away listened, entranced, because Sir Aaron had also said things like mutual trust to him—at that time, they were still training together as Aura Guardians.
But...
Why, why did Aaron abandon everyone and run away, and even seal me!
Lucario simply couldn't reconcile the image of a companion who was both a teacher and a friend with that of a deserter. This contradiction tore at him, and he turned his anger onto Ash.
"Hmph! What's there to trust? Humans... are completely untrustworthy!"
Ash, whose reverse scale was touched, ran in front of Lucario a step ahead—
"Hey, Lucario, what are you saying!?"
"If you encounter some difficulty, you might also abandon Pikachu, who knows."
Lucario bypassed Ash and walked away on his own. That casually arrogant attitude dissatisfied Ash, so his mouth seemed to act a step ahead of his brain—
"Do Aura Guardians passed down through generations all casually abandon their Pokémon like Sir Aaron? You're talking nonsense!"
Sure enough, Ash's words directly hit Lucario's sore spot, so he also shot a cold glare and replied with very vicious words.
"Maybe... Pikachu just thought you were too stupid so he left, tsk tsk."
Lorze: Quack! Oh no, aren't they going to fight again like this!?
"You bastard! Wa wa wa wa!"
Seeing Ash about to charge at Lucario, Lorze hurriedly activated his telekinesis to stop him, but he found he actually couldn't quite handle this ox-like stubbornness, and could only call everyone to stop Ash together!
—In the movie, these two even fell into the river and got completely wet because of fighting. In the dead of winter, won't they freeze to death!
Fortunately, in the end Ash didn't get into a big fight with Lucario, but both were still angry and couldn't properly apologize to each other.
But this is fine. Lorze wasn't worried Ash would get hurt, but worried Lucario would be directly beaten to death by Ash...
In the dead of night, Ash seemed to hear Pikachu's call, so he opened the car door and walked out melancholically, only to find Lorze was already outside looking towards the direction of the Tree of Beginning.
"Did Ash also hear Pikachu's voice?"
"Yes... Mr. Lorze, you too..."
"Yeah, I heard Jirachi's voice. I don't know if she's feeling scared right now. So, let's go to the Tree of Beginning together and bring Jirachi and Pikachu back!"
However, if Lorze knew Jirachi had also become able to take care of others, he would definitely be very gratified.
"Yes!"
Lucario, hiding in the dark, listened secretly to their conversation without saying a word.
After traveling day and night, everyone finally arrived at the foot of the Tree of Beginning.
However, just as they were about to enter the Tree of Beginning, Lucario suddenly stopped.
"What's wrong, Lucario?"
"Here... is where I was sealed."
Bad memories welled up in his heart. Lucario knelt on the ground in pain, but accidentally activated the Time Flower here.
And what this Time Flower recorded was exactly the instant Sir Aaron sealed Lucario back then!
He planted the staff into the ground, and the crystal sphere sucked Lucario in.
After that, Sir Aaron rode the Pidgeot and fluttered away, but the Time Flower's projection continued.
Overwhelming footsteps and rolling dust, followed by a mighty army composed jointly of humans and Pokémon!
This scene directly triggered Lucario. After all, the prelude to the war back then was truly too terrifying, and also left him with some PTSD symptoms.
Lucario had already closed his eyes, rubbing Aura from his paws, almost about to launch an indiscriminate attack!
Seeing him about to go crazy again, Mewtwo directly pinned the dog firmly to the ground, and Lorze also reminded him in his ear: "Lucario! These are all illusions!"
"Ugh!"
After a burst of jackal "purr" sounds, he finally seemed to have calmed himself down.
Lorze really couldn't bear to watch Lucario being tortured by memories, so he patted the dog's shoulder and comforted him: "Maybe Sir Aaron also had unspoken difficulties back then. Let's not make wild guesses for now, okay? Literature I once read said Sir Aaron told his companions he ran away so they wouldn't worry, and then went to the Tree of Beginning alone to resolve the crisis."
"Purr purr... are you, are you telling the truth!?"
"I believe it's the truth. How it really was... once we get to the Tree of Beginning and see the Time Flowers there, won't everything become clear?"
Lucario's wolf ears drooped, and he stood up straight again, looking towards the north.
The Tree of Beginning wasn't in his line of sight due to obstruction, but he seemed to be able to see through this barrier.
But just as everyone relaxed...
"Boom!"
The legendary titan composed of a body of rock broke out of the ground—exactly one of the Regis, the Rock Peak Pokémon Regirock!
The indicator lights on that guy's head flashed frantically, and without a word, it launched an attack on everyone!
Mewtwo, with swift reaction speed, immediately deployed a barrier. Latias and Gardevoir followed closely to counterattack—a purple Dragon Pulse and Moonblast smashed into Regirock from left and right, causing its figure to visibly pause!
But... such an attack wasn't fatal. No matter what, Regirock is still a Legendary Pokémon.
"Go in quickly! Leave this place to me."
Urged by Mewtwo, everyone hurriedly stepped between the narrow rock walls and ran forward.
Thus, at the entrance to the Tree of Beginning, only Mewtwo and Regirock were left facing off.
The indicator lights on Regirock's head flashed wildly. The message hidden within that was...
"Me fighting Mewtwo!? Are you serious? Do I have to engage..."
On the other side, Ash ran at the very front, and Lorze followed at the very back of the team. It could be said the most dangerous parts were borne by the two strongest. Then they passed through this narrow corridor and all froze in place.
At first the opening was very narrow, barely admitting a person. After walking a few dozen steps, it suddenly opened up. There was fertile land, beautiful ponds, mulberry trees, and bamboo...
These words from The Peach Blossom Spring perfectly interpreted this segment of the journey.
Right now, Ash and Lorze's group were exactly directly beneath the Tree of Beginning. Trickling rivers, lush water plants, and a large number of rare Pokémon playing and roughhousing—they could even see abundant Fossil Pokémon!
Lucario used aura to detect, then turned to Ash and Lorze: "Pikachu and Jirachi... are right above the Tree of Beginning!"
"Alright! Pikachu... wait for me!"
The young man and the boy followed closely behind Lucario, but ignored the little movements of the female explorer Kidd at the end of the team.
She took out investigation modules that looked like Falinks section by section from her bag. Then those modules separated, grew wings resembling drones, and began collecting intelligence on the Tree of Beginning like mosquitoes.
The reconnaissance robots she released stimulating the Tree of Beginning would directly activate its defense system, which could be said to be the direct cause of Lucario's sacrifice in the movie.
Lorze normally would have stopped this, but... because he also urgently wanted to see Jirachi, he temporarily pushed other things to the back of his mind!
And at this moment, they were still feeling complacent about a new discovery in the scientific community, completely unaware of what terrifying things would happen next.
A congratulatory voice came from Kidd's communicator. That was the result of headquarters' Banks analyzing the data collected by Kidd: "This is the Tree of Beginning. It has constantly protected the survival of the surrounding Pokémon, and hasn't been disturbed by the outside world for thousands or even tens of thousands of years. Its energy source relies on absorbing solar energy... Keep up the good work, Miss!"
"Not bad, I'm getting excited too." "Me too!"
But before they could finish rejoicing, new trouble appeared—
Following the appearance of Regirock, Regice and Registeel also appeared one after another, obstructing everyone's advance!
"Sis Gardevoir, Latias... Mega Evolution!"
With Lorze's current strength, delaying the Regis was a piece of cake. Amidst two clusters of dazzling rainbow light, the Mega Evolved Latias and Gardevoir forcefully confronted the Regis!
Under the protection of the vanguard Lucario and Lorze's two wives, their situation was much better than fleeing in panic holding their heads in the movie.
Even... when Mewtwo also returned to Lorze's side, transforming into her Mega form, she fought three against one and still didn't lose ground, fully displaying her demeanor!
But the threat from the Tree of Beginning didn't just lie in the three Regis, but also in this "tree" itself!
From the female explorer's communication, everyone heard instructions from headquarters.
"Kidd... retreat quickly! This Tree of Beginning is alive!"
But now they had already gone deep into the Tree of Beginning, and wanting to escape again was as difficult as ascending to heaven. From those crystal clear ores spawned orange-red jelly resembling Pokémon, pouncing fiercely on everyone—those were existences similar to white blood cells within the Tree of Beginning, which would purge objects that posed a danger to the organism.
However, this thing was only hostile towards humans, and wouldn't harm Pokémon.
There were so many of these things that relying only on Gardevoir, Latias, and Lucario was even somewhat difficult to handle. So Delphox also pulled out the wand from her tail, and with Meowstic standing on her shoulder, joined the battle!
As a result, only Mime Jr. was still held in Lorze's arms. She didn't have any combat ability right now. Although she was anxious for everyone, she was helpless.
But going on like this wasn't a solution. Max and May didn't have strong combat power, and Brock, because he was out traveling, hadn't brought his main team with him.
Acting together with them was a burden for Lorze and Ash. In order to retrieve Pikachu and Jirachi a step ahead, they could only split the forces and go first under Lucario's suggestion!
So Lorze's Pokémon stayed behind to protect the three. Only Latias was ridden under Lorze, following behind Lucario—
Ash didn't need a mount at all. In such an unopen place, this guy did parkour even faster than Latias, simply leaving Lorze dumbfounded!
Truly worthy of a humanoid Pokémon, I'm in awe...
Meanwhile, on the other side, Jirachi and Pikachu were also proactively searching for Lorze and Ash. Mew followed closely behind them, and finally was Meowth, who wasn't good at physical activities.
Lorze and Ash finally saw the Pokémon they had been longing for, but they were separated on two sides of a cliff.
"Pikachu!" "Jirachi!"
This abyss lying between them was a piece of cake for Latias. The dragon sister effortlessly brought Pikachu and Jirachi back, allowing Ash to hug Pikachu, and Lorze to hug Jirachi.
Naturally, Mew also nimbly flew across the canyon and arrived on this side of the cliff.
"Jirachi, I'm late! Have you been well during this time?"
"No, Jirachi has been very obedient, and took very good care of Pikachu and Meowth too!"
Just as Lorze and Jirachi were hugging and saying some mushy things, Mew, however, was stunned.
That man she had been longing for, the perfect "Lorze" in Jirachi's mouth, was actually the same person!?
"Mew..."
Clearly their reunion was such a touching thing, but for some unknown reason, Mew felt a faint, piercing pain in her heart, a somewhat inexplicable sense of loss.
So the man I like is actually a married man...
But before Lorze had time to share this joy, Registeel appeared on the other side of the cliff and launched an attack this way!
It wasn't because Mewtwo couldn't beat them, but because she couldn't handle all three at the same time, so they stealthily ran away.
Regardless, everyone was forced back into the cave by the Steel titan's attack, only to be attacked from both front and back by swarming Pokémon jellies!
The combat power around them was simply too scarce, so much so that Lorze, Ash, and Kidd were all sucked in by the jellies!
Ash and Kidd were both saying their final goodbyes to their Pokémon, only Lorze looked calm and composed.
How should I put it... the feeling of being enveloped by jelly is actually quite wondrous. Does this count as vore? Not quite sure.
Latias and Jirachi were almost crying their eyes out, but Lorze just caressed them and comforted them: "Latias, Jirachi, don't worry about me. We'll see each other again in a bit."
But before the two girls could think carefully about Lorze's words, the man they loved disappeared right before their eyes...
The instant Lorze disappeared, Mewtwo arrived at the scene using Teleport.
At first glance, she saw Jirachi and Latias staying together, and felt somewhat gratified: The most important thing is finding Jirachi.
But at second glance, the expressions of the two made her feel something was wrong. Scanning the surroundings, Where is the beloved, familiar man?
As a result, Jirachi and Latias threw themselves into her arms and cried bitterly—
"Woo woo woo! Big Sister Mewtwo, Big Brother Lorze is gone, woo woo woo!" "Woo woo woo, Lorze, Lorze he..."
Mewtwo's pupils experienced an earthquake. Why did things turn out like this?
But the two younger sisters were still here, as an older sister, she couldn't cry.
So Mewtwo just forcefully held back her tears, continuously soothing Jirachi and Latias.
Lorze's Pokémon were crying, Ash's Pokémon were crying, and Kidd's Pokémon were crying too.
For a time, the small cave was filled with wailing everywhere.
Even the aloof Lucario, his calm heart violently fluctuated, not to mention Mew, who witnessed the entire process from the side.
Latias and Jirachi seemed to calm down under Mewtwo's soothing, but still sobbed continuously...
After taking care of the younger sisters here, Mewtwo floated in front of Mew. She landed, her large, suction-cup-like toes stepping on the ground.
Although she said that to Lorze before, the grudge against Mew in her heart still existed somewhat. After all, she was the prototype from which she was cloned.
But now... no matter how much grudge there was, how could it compare to Lorze's importance?
Mewtwo didn't hesitate in the slightest, dropping to her knees with a "thud", begging Mew with a somewhat heartbreaking voice.
"Mew... do you have a way to bring Lorze back? Please..."
Mew was terrified by Mewtwo's actions, and hurriedly grabbed her older sister's hand to make her stand up.
"I, I will rescue everyone! Please don't do this! Especially Lorze, actually..."
"Although I feel sorry for Big Sister Jirachi... but I, seem to have fallen in love with Lorze too..."
Saying so, Mew didn't dare to look into the eyes of Lorze's Pokémon, especially Jirachi. She just closed her eyes, seeming to be conversing with the Tree of Beginning.
After that, the originally blue crystal ores emitted a green light, spreading to the entire Tree of Beginning!
This was Mew telling the Tree of Beginning: These humans are not enemies, please do not attack them.
Thus, as if responding to Mew's request, Lorze and the others were spit back out by the ores on the Tree of Beginning, completely intact, even their clothes perfectly fine.
Regirock and Regice not far away saw this scene and silently left. They wouldn't treat these humans as targets of attack anymore either.
The young man dizzyingly patted his head: The taste of being swallowed by the Tree of Beginning really is unpleasant. Did Mr. Steven have a similar feeling to mine when he was petrified by Yveltal back then?
To say he wasn't afraid, he actually was a tiny bit afraid, as if falling into a bottomless black abyss, as if he would suffocate the next second.
But before he could react, Mewtwo, Latias, and Jirachi hugged him together. Their hugging force was so great that it even hurt Lorze a bit!
But Lorze just smiled and accepted it all, using his hands to soothe his wives: "Didn't I say see you in a bit, really~"
"Did you know Mew could do it?"
"Yeah."
Mewtwo's fist suddenly smashed into the young man's chest, just hitting him symbolically to vent her dissatisfaction.
"Don't ever do this again next time, are you trying to scare everyone to death!" "Mmhmm, I know, I'm sorry."
In the end, they still smiled through their tears. Regardless... as long as he was fine.
Ash and Kidd on the other side were also sharing the joy of reuniting with their Pokémon.
Mew watched happily, but she felt her body was soft and weak, her head also groggy...
Seeing her about to fall from the air, Lorze stepped forward with a lunge, catching her directly in his arms!
Placing his hand on her forehead, this temperature could simply be described as terrifyingly hot...
At the same time, the internal ores of the Tree of Beginning began to rot and collapse. Looking from afar, it was as if a huge fire had started!
From Kidd's communication device came Banks's voice: "The life reactions of the Tree of Beginning are abnormal, the energy transmission is very chaotic, probably due to bodily damage caused by intense immune activities!"
"How could this happen..."
"This tree... seems to be one with Mew! So right now, neither of their conditions is optimistic!"
Mew moved her eyelids and forcefully opened her eyes. At this moment, she realized she was being held in Lorze's arms. Because her consciousness was already somewhat unclear, this hazy feeling made Lorze's image even more romantic.
So happy... I want to stay like this forever, being held by Lorze like this...
But, there were still things that needed to be done...
She very reluctantly floated up again, gesturing for Lorze and the others to follow.
As long as we can get to the front...
Mew seemed to have exhausted her strength, plummeting down in front of the core room of the Tree of Beginning, being caught by Lorze again.
"Ash, Kidd, Lucario, Mew's high fever is very serious right now. I've learned some knowledge of Pokémon medicine. As long as we can cure Mew, the crisis of the Tree of Beginning can also be resolved together. So during this time... don't come into the room and disturb us, okay?"
They nodded, guarding outside the door of this room, watching Lorze and Mewtwo carry Mew inside...