The rejuvenated Tree of Beginning stirred with a refreshing breeze.
“w~” w led Lu Ye and the group toward the exit of the tree.
Steven looked back.
The crystalline stones radiated a gentle glow, Pokémon frolicked freely, and even the Three Regis had returned deeper into the tree.
“That was one interesting journey,” Steven murmured, a rare smile breaking across his firm features.
Lucario and Ash walked side by side ahead.
The system's quest completion chi rang out.
Lu Ye was a bit surprised, but didn’t pay it much attention for now.
“I’ve got a bad feeling about this…” he thought, pausing in his tracks.
“w~” w drooped its tail, its expression full of reluctance, floating listlessly in the air.
“It says… goodbye, nya,” owth translated softly.
“Goodbye,” Steven smiled. “We’ll et again.”
“w, you, Pikachu, and all of us—we're friends now!”Ash adjusted his cap and turned to grin. “Right, Pikachu?”
“Pika-chu~” Pikachu, perched on his shoulder, nodded cutely.
To Lu Ye’s right stood the freshly evolved Blastoise.
With a sturdy, reliable gray shell, powerful deep-blue limbs, and twin cannons glowing faintly with cold light—
“Blas! ヾ(??■_■)”
The big boss vibe was real. Blastoise nudged its sunglasses up with a nod.
At the sa ti, Lucario, walking ahead, twitched at the corner of his eye.
Since evolving, that guy’s Aura was ridiculously overpowered!
Lu Ye cleared his throat.
By all logic… Blastoise had two cannons, aning it could fire Hydro Pump twice in one turn.
Or maybe—two Hydros stacked into a single ga Hydro Pump.
Even ga Kangaskhan’s Parental Bond wasn’t this broken!
“What’s with all these absurd abilities…” Lu Ye muttered, looking away.
His gaze fell on the floating pink kitten.
The mont he reached out, w darted over and pressed its little head against his hand, giggling softly. “w~~”
“Even if we can’t et often,” Lu Ye smiled, “I’ll make sure to send you fun things.”
“w?” w tilted its head.
“Well yeah,” Jas chid in with a grin, “Teacher Lu has his own ga company!”
Steven raised an eyebrow, recalling his own addiction to Gold Miner.
Now that he thought about it… this actually might be a great way to pass the ti?
“w, you can play with
online too!” Ash clenched his fist proudly. “I’m a master-tier Angry Pidove player!”
Surrounded by everyone, w’s eyes sparkled with curiosity. “w~?”
“I’ll send them over later,” Lu Ye gently patted w’s little head. “That way, you won’t feel so lonely.”
w tilted its head, then zipped around the group in circles, beaming brightly. “w~!”
Then, it flew back into the Tree of Beginning.
A mont later, w reappeared, holding a music box, and handed it to Lu Ye with a little bow.
“For ?”
“w!” w nodded with great flair.
Lu Ye opened the box. A soft tune flowed out as a toy Lapras gently swayed with the lody.
“Thanks~”
Lu Ye smiled and stroked w’s fuzzy little head.
“I’ll treasure it.”
“w~~(〃'▽'〃)”
Ash left Aaron’s Aura Gloves inside the Tree of Beginning.
Lucario gazed at the gloves, closed its eyes, and placed its right hand over its chest.
Aura, be with .
Then it turned and walked toward the exit.
Sunlight poured down through the dappled forest. Birds chirped, and in the distance, a stone castle shimred in the light.
Steven gripped the off-road vehicle's steering wheel and smiled. “Hop in. I’ll give you all another lift!”
“We can co too?” Team Rocket asked timidly.
“Of course!” Steven laughed heartily.
“Thank you, Mr. Steven!” The trio leapt up with glee.
Lu Ye chuckled helplessly.
Though even if Steven hadn’t brought them, chances are they’d have built another hot-air balloon on the spot.
“Oh right, owth,” Lu Ye asked from the passenger seat, “can you get Wi-Fi in the Tree of Beginning?”
“It’s technically tricky, nya.” owth licked his paw, smugly adding, “But hey, we’re Team Rocket’s elite, nya!”
“Yeah! Just leave sothing that minor to us!” Jessie and Jas chid in.
No one knew how it worked.
But their black-tech gadgets sohow even pierced the Tree of Beginning’s shielding barriers.
This level of tech… absolutely cracked.
Lu Ye looked up at the sky.
Giovanni not assigning you three to the R&D departnt is the biggest waste in Rocket history!
“Teacher Lu,” Steven suddenly asked, “do you think letting w access the internet might pose risks?”
“w, like Pallet Town, symbolizes pure innocence.”
Lu Ye rested his hand on the window fra, gazing out at the receding lush forest, his dark hair fluttering in the breeze.
“Even war, greed, and malice in humanity haven’t dulled its curiosity or childlike heart.”
“And it’s just gas,” Lu Ye smiled. “Keeping its spirit cheerful and optimistic is the best thing for the Tree.”
Ash nodded as if he’d just had an epiphany.
owth muttered, “The only problem… is if w turns into a screen-addicted kid, nya!”
Lu Ye understood Steven’s concern.
This world’s wtwo, created with Blaine’s DNA, sought the origin of its own existence.
In a parallel world, Revenge wtwo, after accessing the internet, began questioning the essence of Pokémon and humanity.
That wtwo… did have a hint of a philosopher’s mind.
But for Lu Ye, his main goal was simple: help w fight off loneliness.
“…Maybe I should just help it build a civilization?”
Lu Ye fell into thought.
Who knows, maybe one day w will open its eyes, look at its phone, and go—
“Whoa! A few centuries just flew by!”
Steven nodded. “If you need a satellite, I can help.”
owth’s eyes went wide. “That’s actually a thing, nya?!”
Steven smiled. “Mossdeep Space Center has a launch scheduled soon, and Devon Corporation is involved.”
Lu Ye blinked in surprise.
Then looked again at Steven—whose looks were only slightly inferior to his own—and raised an eyebrow.
D*mn. That’s ruthless.
Back in Orudoran Castle.
Queen Eileen held a grand welco ceremony for the hero who saved the Tree of Beginning.
And of course, the ntor of the Hero of Aura, and Hoenn Champion, received the sa royal treatnt.
Lu Ye made a call to Blue and asked if she could hook him up with a few gaming consoles:
“Send a bunch, so I won’t need to keep sending them in for repairs.”
He only regretted not having Nokia-brand ga devices—those might’ve lasted w a few thousand years.
“No problem!”
“Oh, and can you get them to Orudoran Castle in the next couple of days?”
“Don’t underestimate a rchant’s professional pride, Teacher Lu!”
The next day—
Blue used Team Rocket Logistics (cash on delivery).
She had phones, consoles, handhelds, and other electronics delivered straight to the castle.
Because it was cash on delivery… the delivery guy trembled at the sight of Lu Ye and didn’t dare accept paynt.
“Oh co on, I’m not so villain,” Lu Ye muttered, handing over the money.
Afterward, Teacher Lu returned once more to the Tree of Beginning.
Thanks to Team Rocket’s miraculous black-tech, w got its very first smartphone.
“Got Wi-Fi?” Lu Ye asked.
“w~????(??????*)”
w was already in a multiplayer session with Togepi, giggling with joy.
“Doo-yii~” Next to Togepi sat a giant bottle of cola and a pile of chips.
“w~!” w spun around a few tis, holding its console, giggling sneakily.
Lu Ye’s eye twitched.
Oh no… I’ve actually turned w into a total shut-in gar.
Reviews
All reviews (0)