Outside Oak's Research Institute, Professor Oak and his companions stood in front of the door, their expressions serious.
The speed of the crystal coverage outside was getting faster and faster, and it wouldn't take long before it reached Oak's Research Institute.
Faced with these crystals, he couldn't say he had no solution, but protecting all of Pallet Town was truly unrealistic.
The hardness of the crystals couldn't be shattered by attacks below Elite Level, their spreading force could only be resisted by Elite Level defense moves.
Now, he had Venusaur cooperate with Gengar to set up a protective 'barrier' outside the entire Oak's Research Institute.
Using the power of Frenzy Plant and the vast life force of Venusaur, they formed a shield to protect the whole Oak's Research Institute, while Gengar used its powerful spiritual power to fill in gaps, directly shattering any crystals that might spread inside.
The place where Professor Oak was standing now had the most crystals, and without surprise, within ten minutes, this place would be the first to be invaded by crystals.
The amount of crystals in this position was the largest, and their quality was stronger, ordinary Elites couldn't solve them, so he guarded the most critical gateway.
Just as Professor Oak was ready, he suddenly noticed a transparent beam of light flashing through the sky.
Due to the extremely short duration, he briefly thought it was his illusion.
Until he saw the figure running forward, wearing a red and white hat, accompanied by Pikachu, Professor Oak then realized it was not his illusion; Pallet Town's savior had returned.
"Professor Oak? Professor Oak!!!" Ash paused for a moment when he saw Professor Oak; he had just sensed Professor Oak here but didn't know he was right at the entrance of Oak's Research Institute.
Although he had long known Professor Oak was safe and sound, seeing him still made Ash very excited.
"Ash! How did you get back so quickly!" Professor Oak was not only happy but also surprised when he saw Ash, knowing they had just finished talking on the phone not long ago, Ash should still be in Ecruteak City.
Even if coming back directly from there, it would take at least a day by express train.
If one were to use some swift Flying Type Pokemon, the speed could be faster, but absolutely impossible to return to Pallet Town within a mere thirty minutes.
"I asked Mewtwo to use teleportation to bring me back."
Upon hearing the reason, Professor Oak was relieved; if it was Mewtwo, it indeed might be possible to return within thirty minutes.
If Professor Oak knew it took Ash only a minute, he would probably still be astonished.
After all, it was a distance of over a thousand kilometers, calculated in a straight line, nearly two thousand meters per second, utterly astonishing.
"Professor Oak, where's my mom? And these Frenzy Plants... they should be Venusaur's handiwork, right? What's happening in Pallet Town?"
Seeing Professor Oak, Ash bombarded him with questions, and Professor Oak waved his hand, indicating Ash not to worry.
"Since you're back, how are those crystals outside?"
"Mewtwo isolated them outside. As long as Mewtwo is here, those crystals can't come in."
"Alright then, the crisis is temporarily averted. Come with me inside the research institute." Hearing this, Professor Oak breathed a sigh of relief and then recalled his old companions back into Pokeballs.
Then he gestured for Ash and the others to enter Oak's Research Institute, knowing these matters couldn't be explained in a short time.
Inside Oak's Research Institute was crowded with people, neighbors were sitting in threes and twos in the hall and the corridor in the backyard, some held their Pokemon, others sipped instant coffee brewed by Professor Oak, their expressions tense, but at least no one was injured.
Seeing Ash pushing the door open, several familiar neighbors were first startled, then all stood up.
"Ash? How did you get back!"
"Weren't you going to Johto? You just left for—"
"Why did you come back at this time? It's been unstable in Pallet Town right now!"
"..."
Ash nodded in response while scanning the crowd.
In the far corner of the hall, Delia stood, bending over to feed Energy Blocks to a frightened Raticate.
She heard the noise and straightened up, then saw Ash, she clapped the crumbs off her hands, before she could speak, Ash was already at her side in a few quick steps.
"Mom." Ash wanted to reach out his hand but pulled it back. If his mother was in trouble, he would hug her instantly, but now Delia looked perfectly fine, calming the urge and fear within him.
Hugging his mother in front of everyone, how embarrassing! He was a mature Trainer now!
So in the end, Ash didn't hug or take Delia's hand.
But Delia easily saw how nervous Ash had been.
She patted her son's head, displaying a gentle smile: "Why did you suddenly run back? Don't you need to continue your journey in Johto?"
"He called me." Professor Oak approached them from behind, his expression much calmer than before, "I told him there was trouble in Pallet Town, so he came straight back from Ecruteak City."
Delia didn't question Ash on how he managed to get from Ecruteak City to Pallet Town in such a short time, after all, she knew that Ash was no longer the inexperienced boy he had been half a year ago.
"Since you're back, there's something I need to tell you," Delia's voice was calm, "If you have a way, please get Professor Oak, the neighbors at the institute, and the Pokemon in the backyard out of Pallet Town."
"You've seen what's happening outside, those crystals are spreading inside, and who knows how long Pallet Town can hold out..."
Delia said so much but didn't mention herself, which made Ash unable to hold back any longer. He grabbed her shoulders, his eyes locking with hers, "Mom, I won't let anything happen to Pallet Town. I'm back, so nothing will happen."
Delia was taken aback as she looked at her son standing before her, much taller than before, with a thousand thoughts racing through her mind.
Yes... her child had grown up, becoming a top Trainer who could shoulder any burden, and now, her son was that strong figure.
Though Delia was still a bit worried about Ash, since he said so, she chose to believe in his actions.
"I understand, go ahead and do what you need to do, Ash. I only have one request — come back safely."
"Don't worry, I'm aiming to become a Pokemon Master, how could anything go wrong in my own hometown?" Ash's face lit up with a confident smile as he then turned to Professor Oak, "Professor Oak, first tell me everything that you've learned."
Professor Oak nodded and walked over to the computer, pulling up an image. The screen showed a bizarre pattern, like some kind of ancient script, or perhaps an eye.
The edges of the pattern were unclear, seeming to writhe slowly.
"This is the data Dr. Spencer Hale brought back from the ruins before he went missing," Professor Oak began to explain the origin of the image, "This pattern corresponds to a type of Pokemon called Unown."
He continued to scroll through, revealing more than twenty different images on the screen, some resembling letters, others eyes, and some twisted tentacles.
"Unown is a very special type of Pokemon. Alone, they possess almost no power, not even as much as an Ordinary Level Pokemon, but when their numbers reach two or more, some incredible transformation occurs."
"It's said that different kinds of Unown possess different abilities, and when they gather to a certain scale, these abilities combine, triggering an extraordinarily rare phenomenon."
"Dr. Spencer Hale's research even proposed that Unown can sense and fulfill human desires."
The hall was silent for a moment before soft murmurs filled the room.
To the neighbors and residents of Pallet Town, the existence of Unown, comparable to legendary Pokemon, was unheard of, let alone the idea that they possessed the power to fulfill human desires, which was utterly unbelievable.
"According to Dr. Spencer Hale's last report before he went missing," Professor Oak continued without paying attention to the murmurs, "that Crystal Tower is most likely the product of the Unown responding to someone's wish. And the wisher is likely..."
"Mitsumi," Delia suddenly spoke.
She stood behind Ash, her expression complicated, "After Dr. Spencer Hale's incident, Mitsumi has been living alone in their villa. Dr. Spencer Hale was like a mentor to me, even helped with my homework before, and had a good relationship with our family, although we saw less of one another after they moved."
"After he went missing, I often visited Mitsumi. Every time I brought food, I found her staring at her father's relics. She's not even ten years old yet..."
"Her father's departure was too big of a blow for her. If there was truly something capable of granting wishes, she would probably wish for her father to come back."
So that's how it was...
Ash looked through Oak's Research Institute's window, viewing the towering spire, having already made his decision.
"Ash, you plan to enter the Crystal Tower and wake Mitsumi, don't you?" Professor Oak could immediately tell Ash's intentions.
Ash didn't deny it and nodded.
He believed that Mitsumi didn't willfully cause the current situation. As long as he enters the Crystal Tower and calmly explains everything to Mitsumi, she would certainly awaken and remove these crystals.
As for Mitsumi's father... since he hasn't been found, not even his body, they can't conclude that he has passed. After awakening Mitsumi, Ash could let things go and help Mitsumi search for her father.
But all this requires resolving the trouble created by the Unown first.
"Approaching the Crystal Tower isn't that easy. When it first appeared, I tried having Dragonite approach from the air, but it was stopped mid-air."
Upon hearing this, Ash's pupils contracted—was Professor Oak's Dragonite blocked?
That's a Champion Peak Level Pokemon, even if it hadn't fought in a while, its latent power was genuine. How could it be stopped by normal Pokemon?
"These are photos taken by the camera attached to Dragonite," Professor Oak moved the mouse, opening a folder and enlarging the photos for Ash to see.
It was an orange-red beast, resembling a sabretooth. From its mouth, two columns of smoke-like whiskers sprayed white mist, even in photos, you could feel the aura it emitted.
"The Three Holy Beasts—Entei!" Ash enunciated the true identity of the Pokemon in the picture, word by word.
Misty and Serena couldn't help but cover their mouths, not expecting Entei, one of the Three Holy Beasts, to guard the Crystal Tower!
Why was this the case? Did Unown relate to Ho-Oh?
"This Entei's power far exceeded my imagination. My Dragonite's attacks seemed to cause harm but it recovered almost immediately," Professor Oak continued to reveal astonishing information.
Entei's level could withstand Dragonite's attacks and swiftly recover from its injuries.
That much is undeniable. A level capable of withstanding Dragonite suggests at least a Champion Peak rating; otherwise, even if it could heal itself, Dragonite should've been able to eliminate it instantly!
Compared to the other Holy Beasts Raikou and Suicune, Entei's strength stood a notch higher!
However, if it's just at Champion Peak Level, it wouldn't be enough to stop them from entering the Crystal Tower.
"Moreover, the Entei can control the surrounding crystals, benefiting from the terrain. It's called Entei but those abilities don't align with what we know..." Professor Oak added.
In battles against Entei, he had an odd feeling, that though it looked like Entei and used Fire Type Moves, he didn't sense the sacredness associated with legendary Pokemon.
The thought echoed in Ash's mind, 'Inside that Crystal Tower lies a force even I find intimidating. If it were just a Champion Peak Entei, it wouldn't feel this daunting. There's something beyond Entei inside.'
Mewtwo's voice reached only Ash's mind. They shared this information solely with him.
It felt pointless revealing it to others and would only induce anxiety about Ash's journey.
Indeed, no matter what was inside, Ash would go. Letting others know would fuel their worry and hinder his entry.
After all, there exists a Divine Domain Level within!
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