Chapter 204: The Regis's Expulsion
Three days later, in the afternoon.
"This is the Tree of Beginning?"
Will, Meowscarada, and Platane stood at the base of the Tree, looking up at the massive rock formation.
"If you don't look closely, you can't even tell this thing is made of rock," Platane said, staring at the top.
Suddenly, she froze. She rubbed her eyes, then quickly slapped Will on the arm. "What?" he asked, annoyed. He followed her gaze upward.
Three two-meter-tall pillars had gathered energy and were simultaneously firing three yellow beams of light at them.
Regirock, Regice, Registeel. The three Regis. Rock, Ice, Steel. The whole gang was here.
Will's eyes widened. He opened his mouth and fired an identical yellow beam in response.
BOOM!
The beams collided in mid-air, setting off a massive explosion and a rolling shockwave. For a moment, Will actually held his ground. But he knew he couldn't keep it up.
"Meow," Meowscarada moved in a flash. She grabbed Platane, who was blinded by the light, and dashed to the safety of the plains, where she immediately hid in the tall grass. This was a battle she couldn't interfere in.
"Oh my..." Platane peeked out from the grass, murmuring in a daze as she watched the spectacle. The four beams of light, converging on a single point, seemed to have created a black hole that was absorbing the sunlight. The space between Will and the Regis had become a void of gray, pierced only by the blinding light.
"Meow," Meowscarada fidgeted nervously. This was the first time she had seen the other pillars. She had been hoping they could be friends with the Regice she knew. Who would have thought they would try to kill them on sight?
"Hyper Beam... Solar Beam... Wait? Sceptile's Solar Beam doesn't need to charge?" Platane, ever the Pokémon Professor, immediately recognized the moves being used.
"Meow," Meowscarada explained. "He's always charging. Even when he breathes, he's slowly absorbing sunlight."
"Always charging?! Can all Grass-types do that?"
Meowscarada shrugged. She didn't know about other Pokémon, but she couldn't. She hated the feeling of her body constantly being overheated.
"Incredible... And those three. I've heard of the 'Legendary Titans,' and here they are, at the Tree of Beginning," Platane said, pulling a camera out from... under her skirt.
"Meow?" Meowscarada stared at the long black skirt. Is that a pocket dimension under there?
On the battlefield, Will didn't bother with a beam struggle. He knew he couldn't win a battle of attrition against three beings that had lived for tens of thousands of years. Besides, this battle wasn't about winning. The Regis's goal was to drive Platane away. Or, to put it more bluntly, kill her.
The Tree of Beginning does not reject Pokémon. In fact, it actively cultivates them within itself as a means of self-defense.
"REGISTEEL~"
The steel pillar, Registeel, stepped forward. Seeing that Platane had retreated, it issued a warning. Then, the three of them turned and disappeared back inside the Tree.
"Those three... do they have no free will?" Will frowned. They seemed to be nothing more than machines set to a single command. He much preferred the Regice he had met in Sinnoh; that one had a personality.
"Meow?" Meowscarada ran over.
"It's nothing. They were just trying to expel the human," Will said, shaking his head.
He walked back to the tall grass and pulled Platane out.
"What? Why'd it stop? I thought I was about to witness a battle of the century!" she pouted, her camera still at the ready.
"You can't go in with us for now. You're their main target," Will said, poking her in the face.
"B-But... what am I supposed to do? Wait out here all alone?"
"Where are your Pokémon?" Will asked, pointing to the Poké Balls on her belt.
"Oh? This little one? Hehe, he's not much of a fighter," Platane said, tapping one of the balls. A white light emerged, and a small Pokémon, a Mime Jr., popped out.
"Mime-mime?" it said, appearing and looking up at Will's giant foot... then up... and up... Thump. It fell over backward.
"A Mime Jr.," Will said, picking up the little creature and placing it on Platane's shoulder. They are cute Pokémon, famous for their love of imitation.
"Mime-mime," the Mime Jr. hugged Platane's head, searching for a target to mimic. It settled on Meowscarada. "Mime-mime!" It immediately stood at attention on Platane's shoulder, perfectly imitating Meowscarada's cool, aloof expression.
"Alright. Meowscarada, you stay out here and protect them. I should be able to get you all inside in a day or two," Will said.
"Meow," she nodded. Then she saw the Mime Jr. also nodding, mimicking her. She raised an eyebrow and took a step. The Mime Jr. also took a step... and promptly fell off Platane's shoulder.
"Meow-hehe," Meowscarada giggled.
"Then wait here for me. Don't get too close. If those three pillars come out, just run," Will said, patting her head.
"Meow."
"You have to come back quick~" Platane said, waving like a wife sending her husband off to work. After witnessing that brief clash, she wasn't worried about Will's safety at all. If even he was in danger, no one in the human world could save him.
"Shh. Don't be so loud," Will warned, then headed towards the Tree of Beginning.
Because he was a Pokémon, this time, nothing came out to stop him.
He entered the lowest level of the Tree. The first thing that met his eyes was a forest of shining crystals.
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