On the morning of his second day back home in Saffron City, Liu Qing was brushing Arcanine's fur in the Day Care while chatting with Gengar when his expression suddenly froze. The image of a towering tree appeared in his mind again, accompanied by waves of calls urging him eastward.
"Could this be the World Tree calling?" Liu Qing immediately stood and looked east, murmuring to himself. Still, he could not help feeling nervous, afraid that the connection would break. He hurriedly took out his Poké Balls and recalled Gengar and Arcanine, gathered Togepi, who had been playing on Arcanine's head, into his arms, and ran into the Pokémon Day Care. Slipping on his shoulder bag, he called his parents to explain that he was going out, then summoned Salamence, climbed onto its back, and flew in the direction his senses led him.
They raced through the skies, yet even at Salamence's speed, it took three days to reach a place shrouded in thick fog. Flying through the unchanging mist, Liu Qing might have thought they had gone the wrong way if not for the call growing ever stronger within him.
After another day of flying through the fog, an immense tree that seemed to connect heaven and earth finally appeared in the distance. Although Liu Qing knew it was not a real tree but a life-form, the sight was no less awe-inspiring. Once he reached the foot of the World Tree, its call grew even stronger. Energy slowly seeped from his body, forming a pale blue halo around him. Liu Qing recalled Salamence into its Poké Ball and entered the World Tree with Togepi in his arms. What greeted him looked like a paradise untouched by the outside world: clear streams, lush trees, and all kinds of Pokémon living