Pokemon: This Ash Is Too Versatile

When he came out of the phone booth, Misty was sitting on the sofa in the waiting area, holding Togepi in her arms.

She saw the look on Ash's face and didn't ask anything, just lightly patted the seat beside her to let him sit down. When Ash sat down, the chair even gave a creaking sound.

Brock came back from outside with a cup of hot coffee, and when he saw this scene, he shoved the coffee straight into Ash's hand. Ash took it, didn't drink, just held it there.

Serena softly asked Ash what exactly had happened.

Because Ash had just gone over to report the good news to Professor Oak, they hadn't followed, staying instead in seats a little distance away.

But they had seen Ash's agitated movements, so they also knew that during Ash's call with Professor Oak, he must have learned something serious.

Ash briefly explained the situation with the Crystal Tower, his voice much lower than usual, but still clear.

The hall of the Pokemon Center went quiet for several seconds.

Brock was the first to stand up, putting the coffee he'd only taken one sip from onto the table. "I'll go see how much longer Lucario and Snorlax need," he said as he was already heading toward the treatment room, his steps much quicker than usual.

If Snorlax and Lucario hadn't fully recovered, Ash had no way to leave right now; they were still in treatment—how could he just take them away on a whim.

So no matter how anxious Ash was right now, he still had to wait here, wait for Snorlax and the others to recover.

Brock knew this too, so he ran over to ask Miss Joy.

Misty patted Ash on the back, her little head leaning against his shoulder. "It'll be fine, Ash. Professor Oak is… a Champion Trainer after all!"

Ash nodded and clasped Misty's soft hand in his, but the emotions on his face didn't fade.

He knew Professor Oak was strong, but since Professor Oak had just said the situation was extremely grave, that meant things in Pallet Town had already reached a point that even Professor Oak was finding hard to handle.

He had to get back as fast as possible!

"Miss Joy said it'll be another half hour." Brock jogged back and told Ash what he'd learned.

The situation was urgent; he didn't even clown around in front of Miss Joy this time.

Half an hour… he could only hope everyone would be safe!

After waiting for nearly half an hour, Miss Joy finally came out carrying a tray.

Ash was already waiting at the door. He took the two Pokeballs, weighed each in his hand, confirmed that Snorlax and Lucario had almost fully recovered, then clipped the balls back onto his waist.

Then he took the black-and-gold Pokeball from his belt. Before Ash could even speak, the Pokeball had already popped open, and Mewtwo appeared in the light.

She was levitating in midair, arms crossed. She had already more or less grasped the situation, and she knew why Ash had released her, so there was no need for many words—she just needed to help Ash.

"Mewtwo, please, use Teleport to take us back to Pallet Town."

Mewtwo nodded. A light lilac glow spread out from her body like an invisible curtain of water, enveloping Ash, Pikachu, Misty, Brock, Serena, and Togepi.

The moment the light withdrew, the front desk of the Pokemon Center hall was already empty. Miss Joy looked at this scene in slight surprise. That Pokemon just now seemed to be a species she had never seen before.

With Mewtwo's power, crossing a thousand miles took only one minute.

When that pale purple light dispersed at the entrance to Pallet Town, the first thing Ash saw was the towering Crystal Tower on the town's eastern side, reaching into the clouds.

It was huge—so huge that even from several kilometers away, one could feel an almost oppressive presence. Sunlight struck the tower's body, being split into shards by countless facets, refracting into a cold and eerie beauty.

At the base of the tower, the edge of the crystal was pushing forward inch by inch. The small creek on the town's east side had already been sealed off by more than half, and the crystal shell on the water's surface was still thickening. The walls of a few houses were already covered in crystal patterns, and just a few hundred meters more, it would reach the town center.

Ash looked at that tower and took a deep breath. His home was here; his mother, his partners, all lived here. He would never let that cold, lifeless thing push forward another step.

"Mewtwo, use Psychic to seal these things off!" This time Ash didn't hold back from relying on Mewtwo's power; this was not the moment to show off on his own.

Mewtwo stretched out her arm, and a surge of powerful Spiritual Power burst forth, enveloping the entire Pallet Town. Those mysterious crystals that had poured into Pallet Town and were previously indestructible all turned into fragments in the blink of an eye!

The power of a Divine Domain Level being was indeed terrifying, and a Psychic-type Pokemon at the Divine Domain Level could almost be called omnipotent!

In Pallet Town's current situation, if it had been Ash, who possessed the same Divine Domain Level power, he still would have had no way to solve it.

As Mewtwo's power surged out, a barrier visible to the naked eye appeared at the outskirts of Pallet Town. Outside this barrier, those mysterious crystals still attempted to continue spreading inward, but they couldn't advance even an inch.

Even if they increased their power and crashed against the barrier, the only result would be the crystals themselves shattering.

That mysterious crystal power was indeed strong, but compared to Mewtwo, it still seemed far lacking.

'That's enough.' Mewtwo's voice echoed in everyone's minds, allowing Ash's taut heart to relax a little for the moment.

Fortunately, things hadn't reached the point of no return. For now, the crystals hadn't completely surged into Pallet Town; his mom, Professor Oak, and his partners hadn't been hit by the crystals.

It was just that having Mewtwo shield Pallet Town like this was only a stopgap measure. He had to figure out why this Crystal Tower had appeared in the first place.

"Let's go ask Professor Oak about the situation first. Mewtwo, can you analyze what those crystals actually are?" Ash asked Mewtwo while using Aura Power to search for Professor Oak's location.

Mewtwo levitated beside Ash, her gaze fixed intently on the distant giant tower. After a moment, she finally said slowly: 'These crystals are made from pure Spiritual Power. To turn Spiritual Power into tangible objects like this, only Psychic-type Pokemon that have reached the 'Divine Domain' could pull off something like that.'

A Divine Domain Level Psychic-type Pokemon… If things were really as Mewtwo was guessing, then this was trouble.

Why would a Divine Domain Level existence set its sights on Pallet Town?

After searching Pallet Town with his Aura Power, Ash also found the positions of Professor Oak and Delia.

They were currently together in Oak's Research Institute, and at the same time Ash sensed that many neighbors from the town were all in the back yard of Oak's Research Institute.

Moreover, there were several very powerful Auras there—by rough estimation, some at Champion Advanced Level, and the strongest even at Champion Peak!

After detecting these Auras, Ash roughly understood why Professor Oak and the townsfolk were holed up inside the Institute.

It seemed they must have tried to stop the spread of the crystals, but in the end they still couldn't hold them back.

So Professor Oak gathered all the townsfolk into Oak's Research Institute, then released all his combat strength to Protect the Institute.

Pallet Town as a whole was not small; trying to defend the entire town was a bit difficult. But if it was just defending Oak's Research Institute and the back yard, then it was still doable.

"Let's go, Misty, Brock, Serena!" Ash said, taking the lead and running toward Oak's Research Institute, with the others close behind.

Mewtwo was still Levitate in midair, her eyes still fixed on the distant high tower.

She kept feeling that there was a familiar presence inside that tower, a presence she loathed.

If it were an ordinary Divine Domain Level being, she could go straight in and destroy it right now. But… that faint sense of threat made even her feel a little wary.

It looked like they would have to wait for Ash to get the full story before making a move.