It was rare for Paul to have an opportunity to enter the anime world. Was he really going to do nothing but train for a few days before retu
It was rare for Paul to have an opportunity to enter the anime world. Was he really going to do nothing but train for a few days before returning?
Wouldn't that be a waste of precious interdimensional energy?
Honestly, that kind of approach felt a bit foolish.
After all, there was always time and opportunity to train back in his original world. Now that he was here, even if he didn't attempt to capture powerful Pokémon at the very least, challenging this world's top-tier trainers and gauging the depth of its waters would be worthwhile.
Who knew if he'd ever get another chance to visit this place again?
Of course, even with that thought in mind, Paul still felt a bit uncertain about how to best use this limited window of time.
At this point in the anime timeline, "Paul" had just witnessed Reggie's crushing defeat at the hands of Brandon and was about to begin his journey. That meant Ash hadn't traveled far yet, and most of the storyline hadn't even begun. Many so-called encounters and opportunities likely hadn't appeared yet.
Speaking of encounters in the anime world, legendary or mysterious powerful Pokémon—were there any viable targets?
Most people who've watched the anime could list a few examples:
From the original Indigo League arc, there was the thousand-year-old Gastly at Maiden's Peak, the Crystal Onix in the Sunburst Islands, and the mysterious giant Pokémon at Bill's Lighthouse.
There were many powerful and peculiar beings, but truthfully, Paul wasn't particularly interested or the timing just wasn't right.
The Gastly at Maiden's Peak and the giant Pokémon at Bill's Lighthouse only appeared during specific times; Paul only had three days here, and encountering Brandon's Battle Pyramid was already a stroke of luck. There was no way fate would conveniently line up for him to run into the others as well.
As for the Crystal Onix, its value lay more in collection and research than in actual battle potential; it might not even be able to evolve into Steelix.
Paul had little interest in that.
Even if he captured one, it would likely just be sent to Reggie and Professor Sycamore for research, more like a mascot than a serious team member.
All in all, Paul's strength was already significant enough that ordinary Pokémon no longer caught his eye.
If he were after certain Legendary Pokémon from other regions or hidden Legendaries in Kanto, the bigger question was whether they even existed at this point in time.
That said, Paul did know about the fixed locations where some of these Legendary Pokémon appeared.
For example, the Legendary Birds of the Sunburst Islands—Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres could probably be found if he visited their respective islands.
However, their actual strength remained uncertain. Capturing them might even disturb the natural balance and the consequences were unknown.
Elsewhere, on Newmoon Island and Fullmoon Island, Darkrai and Cresselia might exist. In the anime, neither was particularly strong, so Paul could probably defeat them but as in his original world, locating them was another matter.
Then there were the Mythicals and Legendaries at places like the Tree of Beginning, the Snowpoint Temple's Regigigas, Stark Mountain's Heatran… They undoubtedly existed, but capturing them, defeating them, or even finding them was an entirely different issue.
After carefully considering his options, Paul eliminated the more distant locations and refocused on the nearby Johto and Kanto regions.
After much deliberation, he set his sights on two of Kanto's most legendary and significant Pokémon:
Mew and Mewtwo.
There was little need to elaborate on Mew. While Paul didn't know exactly where it resided, there was definitely one at the Tree of Beginning.
The Tree of Beginning in the anime world held considerable research value for Paul. He was curious how it compared to the version in his own world and wanted to assess this Mew's abilities firsthand.
As for Mewtwo—well, its status among interdimensional travelers' "most-wanted Pokémon" lists was practically unmatched.
Paul wasn't sure whether Mewtwo Strikes Back had already occurred in this timeline, but one thing was certain: Mewtwo existed.
According to the timeline, Mewtwo was created around the time it was still with Amber Two, Charmander, Squirtle, and Bulbasaur during its early development.
Sadly, its companions eventually succumbed to genetic instability, while Mewtwo, overwhelmed by grief, unleashed immense psychic energy that forced Dr. Fuji to inject tranquilizers.
From then on, Mewtwo spent years in a state of induced slumber endlessly pondering: Where am I? Who am I? Who brought me here?
The rest was simple enough: Mewtwo awakened, destroyed the lab, and was manipulated by Giovanni into wearing armor and serving Team Rocket for a time.
After defeating Gary, Mewtwo shattered its armor in a fit of rage and escaped to New Island leading into Mewtwo Strikes Back, Mewtwo Returns, and later reappearing briefly during Ash's Journeys arc.
"At this point in time… Mewtwo should be close to awakening, right?" Paul speculated after having Rotom check on the recent activities of the Viridian Gym.
"Rotom, search the network for any information or maps of New Island, or for mysterious uninhabited islands near the Kanto region. Compile the data for me."
He activated his Rotom Phone and issued the command.
Paul knew full well that trying to locate New Island on his own would be a massive time sink, even if it was theoretically possible.
This was where specialized tools came into play. With the near-limitless computational power of the Arc-model Rotom Phone, its data-gathering capability was second only to the Porygon line.
"Leave it to Rotom!"
The phone screen displayed Rotom's confident grin before transforming into a flurry of rapidly shifting webpages and data streams.
Clearly, Rotom was working hard.
While Rotom gathered information, Paul wasn't idle either. After letting Torterra restore Garchomp's stamina, he mounted Garchomp with Electivire and headed toward Rota Town.
Although this was a different world, the location of Rota Town was almost identical between both versions. After some travel, Paul and his two partners soared above the town.
Unlike his original world, here the Tree of Beginning was much more brazen. He could spot it towering in the distance with a simple glance upward.
"Let's go see how this world's Mew measures up." Paul said, patting Garchomp's head.
"Gaaar!"
"Viree~!"
Garchomp and Electivire responded enthusiastically, exchanging excited glances.
The Mew in their original world was quite powerful, they hadn't been able to overcome it before.
Maybe this time, they could finally settle the score.
Of course, snagging a Regieleki or Regidrago would make things even more perfect.
With those thoughts fueling their determination, both Pokémon picked up speed.
After crossing dozens of miles, Paul and his Pokémon hovered above the Tree of Beginning, surveying its vast expanse from the sky.
Unlike the heavily fortified version in his world protected by countless Regi guardians, this world's defense was surprisingly lacking.
Even after slowing down, Paul only spotted a handful of Regice, Regirock, and Registeel emerging from the tree and observing them warily.
"Huh?"
Even Garchomp looked toward Electivire in confusion.
These guardians weren't weak, their auras suggested Champion-level strength but compared to the dense ranks of Champion-level Regi guardians in his own world, this felt rather underwhelming.
How is this giant Tree of Beginning even protected like this?
Honestly, if Paul had no Pokémon and played his cards right, he could probably storm his way from the outskirts straight to the tree's summit without these few Regi guardians managing to stop him.
"Vireee~"
Electivire shook its head, equally confused. Not only were the numbers lacking, but even their individual strength felt inferior to their counterparts from the other world.
Even in a one-on-one battle, it felt like it had a decent chance of defeating these Legendary Titans.
"Gaaar~"
"Viree~"
Before long, the two Pokémon noticed something odd—there were only three Titans here. Where were Regieleki and Regidrago?
"This Tree of Beginning... most likely only has these three Regi guardians." Paul said calmly, watching the Legendary Titans below who stood poised to strike.
After all, this was the anime world. The Electric and Dragon Titans were much rarer, and in a way, could be seen as content from future versions. Their absence here made sense.
"Is this Tree of Beginning that poor? It can't even afford Regieleki or Regidrago?"
That thought flashed through the minds of Garchomp and Electivire. Their faces quickly showed a clear sense of distaste.
With the current setup of the Tree of Beginning, if Mew weren't particularly strong, the six Pokémon on Paul's team could coordinate, strike one by one, and break through the entire tree's defenses, it wouldn't even be a dream.
After observing Paul for some time, the three Legendary Titans finally lost patience when they saw he had no intention of leaving. In unison, they locked on and began a barrage of long-range attacks.
In an instant, attacks rained down from the sky.
"Dragon Pulse. Thunder."
As he spoke, Paul gently patted Garchomp, signaling it to pull back and intercept the attacks, while simultaneously tossing out two more Poké Balls.
"Gaaar~"
"Vireee~"
Garchomp opened its jaws, releasing a multicolored dragon-shaped wave of energy. Meanwhile, Electivire's body crackled with electricity, releasing a massive burst of lightning.
The two attacks intertwined in mid-air, fusing into a massive Thunder that tore through the incoming attacks like a raging serpent.
Electivire, well-trained by Paul, had in fact already begun reinforcing itself while chatting and standing off earlier. The Thunder was merely a vessel, the real destructive power lay within Electivire's charged-up electricity.
With a deafening boom, the sky erupted into a violent explosion.
Through the smoke, stray attacks broke apart the Thunder and rained toward Paul, but both Garchomp and Electivire stood still—there was no need for further action.
"Wooo~"
"Chaah~"
Bathed in flames, Ninetales floated gracefully into the air from one of the Poké Balls, while Samurott, its twin swords wrapped in flowing water, landed beside it.
Ninetales unleashed a massive fiery Flamethrower, while Samurott swiftly swung its swords, sending countless blades of wind and water slicing through the air. The remaining attacks were completely neutralized under their combined assault.
After this clash, both sides stood tense, eyeing one another in a standoff ready to erupt at any moment.
At first glance, it seemed as though Paul might really be able to break through the Tree of Beginning's defenses. But in reality, that wasn't the case.
The Tree of Beginnings in the movie universe was ruthless, to the point that it would even sacrifice itself to eliminate threats.
In the movie, none of the Pokémon or humans had caused any real damage to the Tree of Beginning. Instead, its own defense system had nearly destroyed both the invaders and itself.
Paul wasn't afraid of the Tree of Beginning. What concerned him was provoking it too much and triggering some irrational countermeasure that could cost him his life.
He had no idea what would happen if the Tree of Beginnings was destroyed, and he didn't want to find out.
Paul never thought of himself as a good person, but he wasn't evil either.
In this world, he was just a passing traveler. He might leave traces of his presence or take something away, but there was no need to bring harm to the world itself.
As both sides remained locked in their stalemate, a pink bubble suddenly appeared in the sky above. From within, the Mythical Pokémon Mew emerged.
Mew floated down and called out softly, "Mew~ Mew~ Mew~"—at its command, the three Legendary Titans obediently withdrew and disappeared back into the Tree of Beginning.
"Mew~"
Seeing its guardians depart, Mew cautiously looked toward Paul.
In a flash, it teleported directly in front of him, perching playfully atop Garchomp's head. Tilting its head, it stared at Paul with curious innocent eyes, studying him closely.
As the being symbiotically linked to the Tree of Beginning, Mew could naturally sense the strange aura within Paul, a faint trace of "itself" some mysterious and grand presence, and most of all, energy foreign to this world.
"Aren't you going to take us to your place first?" Paul asked, skipping any formalities.
"Mew~"
Understanding instantly, Mew summoned its power and teleported Paul and his team to an upper level of the Tree of Beginning.
From a stash of snacks it had recently acquired from Rota City, Mew pulled out treats and handed them to Paul and his Pokémon, then sat on a floating bubble watching Paul with a bright innocent smile.
"I come from another world." Paul said bluntly. "I've met your counterpart from that world—compared to you, that one is far stronger."
The Mew he had encountered before had been unfathomably deep and subtly cunning, while this one was simply pure, naive, and frankly rather weak. The contrast was obvious even to Paul.
"Mew~"
Mew looked troubled. It wanted to become stronger too, but due to the nature of its symbiotic relationship with the Tree of Beginning, its growth was painfully slow.
When the Tree of Beginning grew stronger, Mew could grow stronger.
When Mew grew stronger, the Tree of Beginning could grow stronger.
But if either one lagged behind, both would suffer slowed progress.
Even after living for thousands of years, Mew's strength was still progressing at a snail's pace.
It had simply grown used to it.
Shaking its head to dispel the gloomy thoughts, Mew happily floated over to Ninetales, the most beautiful Pokémon present and snuggled up against her affectionately, playing and cuddling.
"…"
Paul silently watched, mentally grumbling to himself.
With a symbiotic partner like this, no wonder neither of them had grown stronger. If they'd only put in the effort together, their potential growth would be terrifying. But one of them was lazy, the other too complacent—how could they possibly progress quickly?
(End of Chapter)
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