Aizen stared in horror as the divine chains locked around Mew, sealing her powers, and then pulled her away from Mewtwo, who was stunned at everything that was happening.
Lyla, who was about to proceed and kill her little brother, suddenly stopped.
And Mew's one final cry rocked through the sky before she lost consciousness.
Suddenly, a wave of dizziness hit the Orayen Prince, and when he looked around, he found all the Pokémon fast asleep.
Sabrina had lost consciousness as well, and he fought hard to keep his senses as he dragged her body away from the edge.
He eventually lost all his strength and sprawled by her side, staring at the three figures in the distance.
The Orayen Prince could no longer hear what Lyla was saying to Mewtwo, and right before he lost consciousness, he saw Mew getting freed from the chains and entering her sister's arms.
He also witnessed a bright light drop from the sky, saw a glimpse of the All-Father, Arceus, and then fell into a deep sleep.
When he woke up, it was late in the afternoon, and he was inside the Heart of the Tree of Beginning, on top of a soft giant stalk.
Sabrina was lying by his side, peacefully asleep, and the things inside the Tree seemed normal.
Pokémon were playing around, having fun, and even Diancie was playing around with them in the distance.
He was tempted to believe that everything he had witnessed was just a dream, but then he saw the figures of Arlo and Bonna, who were bound by vines against a tree, still unconscious.
"Lyla?"
His heart tensed up when he did not receive a reply from her.
"Lyla?" He worriedly called out to her again, and tears brimmed in his eyes.
Aizen could tell that she was no longer in the Promise Ball.
She was gone...
And her absence made his heart feel hollow.
A few minutes later, he started calling out the injured Pokémon from the Promise Ball, and he was not surprised to see that they were all healed.
Even the Shadow Pokémon seemed to have been cleansed of all the Ghostly Energies, and the Orayen Prince freed them all inside the Heart.
He smiled when he watched them join the other Pokémon in the Tree, and then looked at the now empty Pokéballs, which he quickly destroyed.
Aizen tried to distract his mind by focusing on other things but soon found himself sitting against a rock, fighting his tears.
"Lyla?" He called out to her again, but only silence answered him. "Mew?" He softly called out to the Little Goddess, and his heart skipped a beat when he heard a pop by his side.
"Meww..." The Pokémon flew to him and then sat on his head like a mischievous kid, which made him chuckle.
"Where's Lyla?"
[Father has forbidden her from staying with you.]
The answer was what he feared the most.
"Why?" He sadly asked and could sense Mew's sadness as well.
The two stayed silently, but the Prince managed to smile again as the little Goddess' tail kept slapping his face.
"Behave."
Mew playfully smacked him again, but then flew in front of him, staring into his eyes.
[She left you a gift.]
"What?" He curiously asked.
[You will find out soon.] She then came close to him and planted a kiss on his head. [Mewtwo won't be working with the bad humans anymore.]
He curiously looked at her, and in the next instant, Mew disappeared.
Sabrina, who was now awake, slowly sat up.
She frowned when she turned to look at him and saw tears on his face, and without saying a word, she stood up and came to sit next to him, hugging his arm.
Her presence eased the pain in his heart a lot, and even though he still felt hollow, he found his love for her burning brighter than ever.
Yes, he had fallen in love with her.
It was something he could never deny.
When he managed to genuinely smile again, he turned to face her and softly kissed her lips.
"What happened?" She finally asked, and he nudged his nose against hers.
"I don't know. I fell unconscious."
"Why are you sad?" She asked and furrowed her brows so cutely that it melted his heart.
"Lyla is not with me now. I am just sad because I don't know when I will see her again," He gently informed her, and only Arceus knew how much her presence made him feel at ease.
Sabrina did not ask him another question and just stayed by his side for a good hour, hugging his arm.
Suddenly, their Watches started vibrating, and they received a call from Bill.
"Hey." The Prince smiled at his friend, who was immensely relieved after seeing him.
The Team seemed to be inside the Valley where they had their battle against Team Doom last night.
"We are inside the Tree of Beginning. I have Arlo and Bonna with me..." he informed them, and was relieved to learn that everything was fine on their end as well.
After ending the call with Bill, Aizen called his Grandmother and informed her that he was fine and the plan of Team Doom had been thwarted.
Afterwards, he made a call to Anira at the Oak Laboratory and had a good chat with her.
She was not aware of the battle, and so he decided to not talk about it with her.
His sister, however, could tell at a glance that he was sad, and when she learned that Lyla was no longer with him, she too felt very sad and even started worrying about his safety.
And then she glared at him when she overheard the conversation Hilda Oak was having with Gary on the call.
The Prince sighed and then explained everything to her in detail, and by the time their call ended, the Action Team had arrived by his side.
"The Pokémon?"
Aizen smiled at all the Pokémon who were inside the Heart of the Tree of Beginning.
"They are safe and at home."
"And Mewtwo?" Joseph solemnly asked.
"He lost his fight with Mew. I don't know where he is right now, but he won't be working with Team Doom anymore."
"Are you sure?" Bill seriously asked, and seeing him nod his head, everyone was relieved.
"Why did he even want to fight Mew?" Krane frowned.
"He wanted to replace her as the Guardian of the Trees of Beginning."
His answer surprised them all, and finally, things started making sense to him.
"So, he lost his battle and gave up?" Glacia raised her brow.
Aizen nodded to her and then turned to look at Cynthia, who smiled at him.
"Alright everyone, we now know about the hideouts of Team Doom in Kanto and Johto. Let's get to work. We will start clearing them right away..." Joseph gave them their new orders, and except for Aizen and Sabrina, who stayed to guard the Rota Kingdom, everyone else left in teams of two.
Cynthia, as always, was paired with Glacia. Bill and Riley worked together. Krane left with Joseph Stone. And Lance paired up with Blue Oak.
Upon their return to the Palace, the people were immensely relieved to see that the Cameran Queen was safe.
'Ilene' addressed the guests, led the Prayer to Arceus, and called an official end to the Annual Games of the Year.
All the participants and guests took their leave. The Champions of the Games received their rewards and were relieved to see that their Pokémon Eggs were safe.
Ash, Gary, and Brock stayed at the Palace for a couple of more days, and during this time, the Orayen Prince got acquainted with the Lucario of Sir Aaron Hart.
After the boys from Pallet Town and the aspiring Pokémon Breeder left on the third day, the Orayen Prince left Sabrina with Anabel and Kidd and took Lucario with him to the Tree of Beginning.
The Pokémon wanted to meet Mew for the answers, but it was not like the Goddess was going to show herself to him because he demanded answers.
Lucario stayed at the Tree of Beginning for weeks to come, searching for the Empyrean Pokémon, and Aizen visited the Tree daily to train his Pokémon.
Days passed, and the Orayen Prince drowned his mind and heart in training his Pokémon.
His cute little Nidoran evolved into a Nidorino, and even his Golbat evolved into a Crobat.
It was exactly two months after the Battle of Cameran Palace, when he was training his two Scyther that Lucario stepped out of one of the caves and sat down on the edge as he stared at the sinking sun.
"Hey..." Aizen smiled at him and then sat down by his side.
Seeing the tears in Lucario's eyes, he knew that the Pokémon had found his answers.
"Found Mew?"
Lucario shook his head, and the Prince raised his brow at him.
"Then?"
"Sir Aaron left me a message inside a Time Flower."
"I see."
"He wanted me to live..."
"He cared for you," The Prince nodded.
Aizen stayed by Lucario's side and listened to his story. And his eyes stayed on his two Scyther, who were having their duel.
A bright smile formed on his lips when he saw that both of them had accomplished all the goals he had set for them.
They were ready for their evolution now.
"What's your plan now?" He asked Lucario, who stayed silent at his question for a while.
"I shall protect Queen Ilene."
"She would love to have you by her side. Do you know that she already has a Lucario? I am sure you will like her." He teasingly said and laughed when he saw the Pokémon blush at his words. "Come, I will send you to Ilene."
The Pokémon curiously looked at him, and then stood up to follow him to the Hall of Mew.
Lucario was shocked to see it for the first time in his life, and he was even more shocked when he experienced Vein Travelling for the first time.
Aizen did not go to the Orayen Palace. He returned to the Rota Kingdom after dropping the Aura Pokémon at Blanc Island.
Even though the Pokémon did not know where Ilene was, he was sure that Lucario would find his way to her.
He found the two Scyther waiting for him when he came out of the Tree of Beginning, and seeing their enthusiasm, he smiled at them.
As soon as they arrived at the Cameran Palace, Aizen made a call to Anira and Ilene and then gathered Sabrina, Old Jenny, Anabel, and Kidd as he handed his two Pokémon their Evolutionary Items and recalled them before calling them out again.
Two bright lights engulfed them, and moments later, a proud Scizor and a proud Kleavor revealed themselves.
The girls happily cheered for them, and both the Pokémon seemed very happy.
"Not today. We have had enough duels for the day." Aizen stopped them when they looked at each other, and both the Pokémon obediently returned to their Pokéballs.
"Aizen, are you going to attend the Cinnabar Festival?" Leaf asked him and pouted when he shook his head.
"My apologies, Leaf, but I have some places to visit."
"No fun! Anira isn't going as well. She has joined Aunt Hilda and Daisy in their Research."
"I know." He smiled at his sister. "I will come and see you tomorrow."
"Yayy!!"