I'm the Owner of the Pokémon Day Care In the World of Pokémon

Chapter 1202: Chance Encounters and Wishes Fulfilled

Yuga and Gary hadn't anticipated finding Mew in such weak state—it was far worse than even the regis had described. Ninetales hadn't expected this either, and now wondered if it would still be able to receive Mew's blessing given Mew's frailty.

But the moment Mew saw the stone in Yuga's hand, a spark of joy lit up in its eyes.

"Miu!!!"

Mew's weak but excited voice called out. Gary didn't understand it, but Yuga did—it was summoning him to come closer.

Yuga guessed that Mew calling him over must have something to do with the stone he held, so he obediently approached.

Following Mew's guidance, Yuga crouched down. Mew reached out with its tiny hand, and the instant it touched the stone, an even brighter light burst forth. The entire Tree of Beginning began to tremble.

This time, not only Yuga but also Gary, Ninetales, and the regis sensed an awakening consciousness—a consciousness belonging to the Tree of Beginning, a unique living entity that now seemed to be intensely craving the stone in Yuga's hand.

Under Mew's touch, the "Time Flower" in the center of the stone began to bloom slowly, and an image was projected outward.

In the vision, two Mews poured all their energy into a ball of light that enveloped a crystal flower. When the light faded, the two Mews were gone, and the crystal flower was encased within an icy blue stone—the very stone Yuga and his companions had brought with them.

The vision lasted only about twenty seconds, but by the end of it, Mew was in tears, while Yuga and the others were left bewildered.

Mew's weakness stemmed from the Tree of Beginning's weakened state, so the immediate priority was to address the problem with the Tree. Judging from Mew's reaction, it was clear that the icy blue stone in Yuga's possession was the key to solving this crisis.

Following Mew's instructions, Yuga carried the stone to a rock formation resembling a tree. In the "trunk" of this "tree," there was a blue vortex. Guided by Mew, Yuga threw the stone into the vortex.

As soon as the icy blue stone touched the blue vortex, it began to melt swiftly, like ice against flame, transforming into energy and merging with the vortex. The "Time Flower" at the heart of the stone spun slowly as it vanished into the vortex.

The moment the "Time Flower" disappeared, Yuga, Gary, and all the Pokémon present sensed a joyful, life-filled consciousness emanate from the Tree—it was, without a doubt, the consciousness of the Tree of Beginning.

A blue ring of energy radiated outward from the tree-like rock, filling the entire space with a brilliant glow.

It was the power of aura; Yuga could feel it.

What Yuga and the others didn't realize was that outside, the entire Tree of Beginning was now radiating a rich green light. This green glow symbolized life, and under its influence, all the plants and trees parasitically growing on the Tree of Beginning began to flourish anew, while the Pokémon living within the Tree erupted into joyful celebration.

Not only that, but the green light continued spreading across the ground, extending to nearby forests, lands, rivers... all life around fell into a state of joyous celebration.

The rangers guarding the area around the Tree of Beginning were astonished to see trees around them sprouting new buds at an incredible speed, flowers forming buds, and resilient grasses pushing their way through the soil.

No one knew how much time had passed before the green light faded and the celebration of life came to an end. It was as if everything that had just happened was a fleeting illusion, yet the rangers felt it keenly—the land seemed to have come alive.

Meanwhile, at the Tree of Beginning, Mew had regained its vitality along with the Tree itself, now flying energetically back and forth in the air.

"Mew, what exactly happened here? Why did you and the Tree of Beginning end up like this?" Yuga couldn't help but ask.

"Miu..."

Hearing Yuga's question, Mew paused mid-air, hesitating for a moment before revealing the truth.

Long, long ago, the Tree of Beginning's core went missing. Back then, there were still quite a few Mew in the world.

To the Tree of Beginning, its core was equivalent to a human's heart. Without a heart, the Tree lost its source of life.

In an effort to save the Tree, one of the Mew formed a symbiotic relationship with it—that was the very Mew that Yuga and his companions saw now.

The energy source that the Tree of Beginning needed was the power of aura, the same type of energy present in Mew. Thus, only through a symbiotic bond with Mew could the Tree's decline be slowed.

During this time, the other Mew who lived at the Tree of Beginning ventured out in search of the missing core.

However, many years passed, and none of the Mew who went out ever returned, nor was the core found.

Many years ago, the Tree of Beginning helped a warrior named Aaron end a war. However, with no core, its power was limited. In the end, Aaron sacrificed himself, using his aura to revive the Tree of Beginning.

But relying on others' aura was merely a temporary fix, and over time, even the effects of the symbiosis with Mew began to weaken.

Over a year ago, Ash and his friends visited this place when the Tree of Beginning fell into weakness once more. Aaron's Lucario sacrificed itself again to alleviate the Tree's frailty.

Yet, Lucario's sacrifice could not buy the Tree much time. Not long ago, the long absence of the core caused an even more violent backlash within the Tree, and its internal ecosystem began to collapse.

The Tree of Beginning was on the verge of perishing when, against all odds, Yuga and his companions returned with the core.

The core was none other than the "Time Flower" encased within the icy blue stone.

However, it was not the real Time Flower but rather manifested in that form. The Time Flower was a life form that accompanied the Tree of Beginning, and the core naturally took on that shape.

Because Yuga and the others carried the core, the Tree's immune system had responded when they were attacked. Realizing the core's presence, the Tree was eager to welcome Yuga and his companions and would never have allowed its immune system to harm them!

From the image projected by the core, it seemed that, years ago, two Mew had indeed located the core. However, by then, it had almost lost its vitality, unable to last long enough for them to bring it back to the Tree of Beginning.

To preserve the core, the two Mew sacrificed themselves, transforming into crystallized aura.

By a series of fortunate coincidences, the core ended up in Yuga's possession and, by fate, was brought back.

As for the stone slab placed with the core, it actually didn't hold any special significance—it was likely just a clue left behind by the two Mew who sacrificed themselves. Without that slab, Professor Oak probably wouldn't have asked Yuga to bring the core to Mew.

After listening to Mew's explanation, both Yuga and Gary couldn't help but feel deeply moved. They hadn't realized that, by sheer luck, they had managed to save the Tree of Beginning.

Mew, however, was a little stingy. It hesitated for a while before conveying its wish to thank Yuga and Gary, asking what kind of reward they wanted. It also noted that it couldn't fulfill overly difficult requests, so they should think carefully before responding.

Yuga: ...

Gary: ...

They hadn't expected Mew to be this kind of Mew.

Gary's request was simple: he wanted a single strand of Mew's fur, a precious research material. Even his grandfather didn't have such a sample, so this was a rare opportunity.

This request was easy for Mew, who, with a look that seemed to say Gary was being sensible, plucked a strand of its pink fur and gave it to him.

Gary received the strand and carefully wrapped it in a handkerchief before placing it in his backpack.

When Mew turned to look at Yuga, he found himself in a dilemma. He didn't have any particular request for Mew.

"Woo... woo..."

At this point, Ninetales, standing to the side, grew anxious: "What about me? Don't forget me!"

Yuga immediately understood Ninetales' intention and rolled his eyes, saying, "We already helped you meet Mew as you requested. I have no reason to ask for more on your behalf!"

Ninetales became even more frantic, "I gave you all my treasures, how can you be like this!"

Yuga shrugged indifferently, "Fair is fair. You gave us the treasure, we brought you to meet Mew—simple and clear! If you want Mew's help, ask it yourself!"

Hearing this, Ninetales quickly turned to Mew and made its request. However, Mew, being the stingy Mew that it was, pretended not to hear. Helping a Pokémon achieve a purple potential wasn't an easy feat, so Mew looked away, ignoring Ninetales' pleas.

Mew's helpers were Yuga and Gary—Ninetales was just tagging along, so Mew naturally didn't want to entertain its request.

Ninetales was genuinely desperate. After going through so much to meet Mew, it knew that if it returned empty-handed this time, it wouldn't be easy to get another chance.

It raised its paw and kept scratching Yuga, hoping he'd lend a hand, but Yuga was unmoved.

"What will it take for you to help me?" Ninetales finally burst out.

Yuga's eyes gleamed with an idea. "Helping you isn't impossible. But this is a rare opportunity for me. If you agree to follow me for a hundred years, I'll give up my chance for you!"

"A hundred years?!" Ninetales exclaimed, "What are you thinking?!"

Ninetales hadn't used telepathy to speak with Yuga but had simply called out like a fox, so although Gary could tell they were communicating, he didn't know what they were talking about. Seeing Ninetales' angry expression, he curiously observed both it and Yuga.

"Miu... miu..."

Mew started urging them impatiently, while Yuga remained calm and glanced at Ninetales with a "take it or leave it" look.

Finally, Ninetales gritted its teeth and said, "A hundred years is too long; fifty years!" Even with its long lifespan, a hundred years was simply too much for Ninetales.

Hearing this, Yuga reluctantly said, "Fine, I'll make a little sacrifice—fifty years it is!"

He had intentionally set the years high, not actually expecting Ninetales to agree to a hundred. Even twenty or thirty years would have satisfied him, so fifty was more than enough.

Yuga was confident that if Ninetales followed him, it wouldn't take fifty years for it to become too attached to leave. By then, this agreement wouldn't even matter.

Who could offer Ninetales a more comfortable life than him?

Hearing Yuga's agreement, Ninetales breathed a long sigh of relief. After preparing for nearly a hundred years, it finally had a chance to fulfill its wish.

A weight seemed to lift from Ninetales' shoulders.

Now that they had reached an agreement, Yuga stopped keeping it in suspense and directly told Mew that he was willing to give his reward to Ninetales.

Ninetales' request was much more demanding than Gary's, and Mew hesitated, considering it for a long while before reluctantly agreeing.

Mew flew over to Ninetales and drew a purple light sphere from its forehead, then sent the sphere into Ninetales' own forehead. Yuga and Gary watched as a faint purple glow enveloped Ninetales, and its nine long tails swayed in unison.

Though not a Psychic-type, Ninetales could harness its powerful mental energy to develop its unique talents, and Mew was now aiding it with that energy.

After some time, all nine of Ninetales' tails unfurled, each with a crimson flame at the tip, creating a stunning sight.

Then, Ninetales' flames suddenly surged, and Yuga activated his Insight skill to observe it.

...

[ Ninetales ]

Type: Fire

Ability: Flash Fire

Gender: Female

Aptitude: Purple

Level: 100

Moves: Ember, Tail Whip, Baby-Doll Eyes, Will-O-Wisp, Sunny Day, Quick Attack, Fire Spin, Confuse Ray, Hex, Inferno, Psyshock, Flamethrower, Inferno, Fire Blast, Overheat, Energy Ball, Dark Pulse, Tail Slap, Return, Hypnosis, Heat Wave, Iron Tail, Pain Split.

...

Ninetales' potential ascended to purple, and its level increased by one, making it a genuine Level 100 Pokémon.

Feeling the power of a Level 100 Pokémon firsthand, Ninetales admitted: although its made big sacrifice, but it still acceptable.

However, after the ritual, Mew seemed somewhat weakened, wavering slightly as it floated.

At this point, Yuga pointed to the box in Gary's hand. Gary suddenly remembered they hadn't completed their mission and quickly held up the box, saying, "Oh, right, Mew, this is something the League wanted us to deliver to you."

Seeing the giant stone fragment inside the box, Mew's eyes lit up. It eagerly picked up the fragment and flew around joyfully in the air with it.

"Miu... miu... miu..."

The fragment's influence visibly rejuvenated Mew, who looked much livelier. Since the stone had been cut down to a smaller size, it fit perfectly in Mew's embrace.

With the Tree of Beginning restored to healthy, the League's item delivered, and their debts repaid, Mew no longer wished to linger with Yuga and Gary. Using its psychic powers, it transported them out of the Tree of Beginning.

After depositing Yuga and Gary outside, Mew flew away without looking back, perfectly demonstrating the phrase "payment complete," leaving Yuga and Gary staring blankly at each other.

With everything settled, Yuga and Gary planned to set off for home the next morning. As night was already falling, they decided to find somewhere nearby to rest for the night.,