The New Normal - 13-17

The New Normal – 13-17 – Relief and Answers

Seeing Cyrus being whisked away by Giratina was a moment of profound relief for me, because I knew that the nightmare was finally over. After all that, we had finally put a stop to the plots and schemes of a madman.

We had triumphed in the battle for our lives and the fate of the world.

We had survived in a battle of Legends.

We had finally won. Team Galactic had failed.

It took me a while to fully process that victory, and I almost collapsed to my feet as all sorts of different emotions rushed through my mind and body. There was undoubtedly a sense of relief, but there was also satisfaction, terror from knowing that I was that close to dying, and also pride in the fact that my Pokémon and I managed to actually beat down a Legendary.

But ultimately, I felt free. Free to continue enjoying my life as a trainer and not have to worry about world ending threats. Free in the knowledge that the madmen had finally been put down.

“…Sla… king…” My starter growled out from next to me, and I turned to him with a large grin.

“You did get in some good punches, I agree.” I chuckled at the pride in his voice, “But I don’t think I’m going to be asking for a rematch anytime soon.”

“King…” He faux-grumbled, pretending to be annoyed about being denied his rematch. Though, with his battle lust, there might be a grain of truth in that.

“I’m afraid I don’t share your enthusiasm, Tyrant.” Was what I replied instead, “To be honest, I would be perfectly happy if I didn’t need to go through something like that again. One battle like that was more than enough for my lifetime.”

“Bliss…” “…Clef…” My two support Pokémon quickly chimed out in agreement. They didn’t have Tyrant’s same enthusiasm for large battles, and they were well-aware of how close that battle was.

“Obsta! Obsta!” In the meanwhile, Ornstein was boasting enthusiastically about his successful parry of Palkia’s Dragon Claw, and was repeating his feat to anyone who would give him the slightest bit of attention. Usually, Smough would be tasked to rein him in, but he had slumped over after the battle and was currently taking a quick nap on the floor of Spear Pillar.

It was very typical of him.

It didn’t help that Zephyr and Klaus, usually two of my most energetic of Pokémon, had joined him. They both must also have been completely exhausted from the fight.

The sound of footsteps brought me back from my thoughts, and I turned to see Regigigas lumbering up to me – a few visible injuries scarring its body.

“Thank you for the help once again, Regigigas.” I said to him, “Your efforts have won us this day, and have likely saved my life and that of my colleagues’ as well. If not for your help, we wouldn’t have been able to save the world from Cyrus’ machinations. So, thank you again.”

“Regi.” He said, this time to me directly instead of having Regirock speak for it. Was that a sign of trust?

Nevertheless, there was one important question that I had to ask, “So now that the crisis is over, what will you be doing now? Will you return to your slumber once more?”

At first, I didn’t really understand intellectually why Legendaries often kept themselves distant from the rest of the world. However, having now seen their sheer almighty power firsthand, I came to understand their decision.

If they were always active and wandering around the world, their power would be impossible to ignore – let alone the damage that they would accidentally cause. Therefore, it was safer for both us humans and Pokémon if they stayed asleep or hidden somewhere, just so that their destructive power would remain inactive.

Regigigas actually paused for a moment before it answered my question. It stared off of Spear Pillar, observing the surroundings below him. Regice, Registeel, and Regirock all hovered around him as they joined the Legendary Titan in its introspection.

After a moment of silence, it turned back towards me, but this time it reached out with a hand pointing towards my head. I felt the connection between us strengthen, and I became able to understand Regigigas more clearly.

Using this newfound connection, it explained to me in a series of buzzes and beeps that its job was to maintain the natural order of the world, and the continuation of human civilisation. That was its unofficial role, to serve as a protector of Sinnoh from threats that humanity was ill-equipped to handle.

The unnatural summoning of Palkia had been one such threat, as it was a subversion of the natural order of the world for it to have been dominated and have its power wielded by man. Now that its duty was fulfilled, it was time for it to rest once again.

“I understand.” I nodded, “Then what will you be doing about the other three Regis? Will they be released into the wider world?”

“Regi.” It replied, stating that it intended for the three Regis to rest alongside it at Snowpoint Temple.

“Then I have a suggestion, if you could consider it.” I said, “Instead of keeping the Regis with you in the Temple, why don’t you have them rest at the three Lakes? With the Lake Guardians? They would serve as an extra layer of protection for them, and they might help them prevent getting them captured again.”

So that a situation like today would never happen again.                   

Regigigas seemed to thoughtfully consider my request, but after a while it gave off an affirmative nod. It gestured to the three Regis, and they moved over to me with an assortment of buzzes and beeps that seemed to signify their agreement. Before they left though, I politely asked if they could keep control of the emission of their natural energies, just so that the Lakes won’t suddenly be frozen over or turned to rock or steel respectively.

They agreed. Then, they flew off towards what I could assume was their new resting places at the new Lakes.

I was about to thank Regigigas one more time, but it spoke up before I did.

“Gigas…Regi...”

Its words were shocking – because it was praising us. It praised our battle together, and the courage that we all showed in the face of overwhelming odds. It praised the strength of our teams, and the fact that we managed to even do damage to Palkia in the first place. It praised the trust that our team had in us, to even be willing to face off against a Legendary in the first place.

Then it spoke of me directly. It said that it was pleased with my conviction and for awakening it for a genuinely selfless purpose. And while it would never have a master, if a world-ending crisis ever popped up again, it would be content if it could call on my strength to fight alongside it once more, and vice versa.

But more importantly than that, it praised the effort that I put into bettering this world. Having read my memories, it knew that this was my second life. It knew all of my secrets. However, it praised me for not using my knowledge and twisting it for my own selfish purposes. It praised me for striving to create a better world, even if I could have easily indulged in my greed and vices and selfishly hoard things for myself.

It was why it had called to me when it was time for it to awaken.

…I had never felt more honoured in my life. To be complimented by a Legendary and to have my efforts acknowledged by one was… almost too much for me. I had to forcefully stop myself from tearing up right then and there.

Thankfully, with Regigigas and the rest of my team standing around me, no one was able to see me as I quickly wiped the tears from my eyes before I pulled myself together.

Then, partially in an attempt to distract myself from my swelling emotions, I asked the question that had been on my mind for some time.

“Regigigas, if you don’t mind telling me, but why did you awaken? Why did you call to me?” I asked it, “Was it because of the Plates? Or because you sensed the oncoming crisis?”

“Regiii…” It explained to me that it was a mixture of both. The Plates were actually fragments of its own power, and by bringing them back to its slumbering form, it was like returning its old power back to it.

Regigigas then proceeded to explain what had happened in its previous summoning that had caused its power to split off like that. Previously, another madman had tried to summon the power of the Creation Trio to enact his will. However, instead of summoning Palkia, he summoned Giratina. Regigigas explained that it had woken up that time too, and had fought to subdue Giratina and take down the madman. Yet Regigigas suffered great injuries in the process, and in order to fully recover, it had to split parts of itself off – which ended up crystalising into the Plates.

…I think I knew who Regigigas was referring to. That sounded like a distant ancestor of a certain someone. I also couldn’t help but note that Regigigas had done a lot better in this battle, having suffered relatively few injuries itself. It made me proud to know that our efforts did make a difference.

However, there was something that confused me. From my metaknowledge, I had thought that the Plates were actually fragments of Arceus’ power, not Regigigas’. But when I asked, the Legendary Titan helpfully clarified it was due to the misunderstanding of humans that caused this mistake. In summary, we had mislabelled Regice/Regirock/Registeel as the Icicle/Stone/Iron Plates respectively. But in reality, they had always been the Regi trio, just in a different, dormant form.

The real Plates of Arceus were something completely different.

On that note, returning back to my original question, it explained to me that bringing the three Regis back to it were not actually required for it to awaken. If I had not brought the Regis to it, it would have still awakened naturally once Palkia began its rampage – as its duty dictated. However, it had deliberately reached out to me, having already sensed my character and meta-knowledge from our very first meeting, and called to me to return the three Regis to it so that it may regain most of its former power.

And now that it had done so, it no longer needed Regice, Regirock, or Registeel to be present if it needed to be awoken once again. It would simply do so when the situation called for it, hence why it was fine with separating from the other three Regis.

That managed to clarify a lot of the questions that I had about what exactly had happened. I asked if I could share this knowledge with the others, and it easily agreed.

“…I just have one last question.” I felt a little embarrassed about my seemingly endless stream of questions, but there was still one more thing I had to ask about, “Is the Red Chain fully destroyed? Does it serve as any further threat to us?”

In response, Regigigas moved over to where Koga and Bertha were standing over the shattered Red Chain. Seeing the Legendary coming, they moved out of the way as they allowed Regigigas to inspect the broken remains.

It then stomped down on the broken remains, before confirming its destruction.

However, it had more to say, and the following beeps and buzzes from it told me that the Red Chain was incomplete. As a master craftsman, it could tell that the Red Chain – if it had been properly forged – should have been able to summon and control both Palkia and Dialga simultaneously, and the extent of control would have been more powerful.

In other words, due to the rushed nature of Cyrus’ Red Chain, Dialga was actually able to resist and reject the summoning. Not only that, but Cyrus would have had a much easier time utilising Palkia’s power, which made it likely that he could have made the battle a lot more difficult for us by instantly ramping up its spatial manipulation to the levels of its final attack.

Seeing my dawning look of horror, Regigigas reassured me that Dialga and Giratina would have intervened earlier if such a situation happened – as their duties similarly dictated. Though I noted that it pointedly did not say whether my colleagues and I would be alive by the time they deigned to act. It seemed to catch on to my thoughts, and it stated that at the very least, Palkia would have been stopped before it completely wiped out the world.

Even if most of said world would be partially destroyed by that point.

That was a subtle and humbling reminder that we had not actually ‘beaten’ Palkia, only a lesser version of itself. Had Palkia been able to fight us at full strength, the first wave of attacks would likely have wiped us all out.

Thank Arceus we won, though.

A hand tapping on my shoulder dragged me out of my thoughts, and I turned around to see my girlfriend standing next to me.

“Even after the battle is over, you still seem to be so busy.” Cynthia said amusedly, though exhaustion too lined her face, “Is there anything I can help you with?”

“No, everything’s fine.” I replied, “I was just speaking to Regigigas about the future… and for it to answer a few questions that I had.” I then gave her a summary of everything we had discussed, from the three Regis new resting places to Regigigas’ complimentary words about our performance in the battle, and the true details of its awakening. Though I left out the part about why it chose me specifically.

A wide smile immediately split across her face, “Wow. The scientists are going to go mad with glee once they hear about this. That answers so many questions we’ve had about the Legendaries.” Then she quickly pulled herself together as she faced Regigigas, “But I am glad we were able to live up to your expectations, Titan.”

“I hope you didn’t mind that I asked the Regis to settle down at the Lakes without asking first.” I said sheepishly, “The idea just sprung to my mind.”

“It’s fine.” She waved me off, “If anything, it’ll make the Lakes more interesting. So don’t worry about it.”

She turned back to Regigigas, “Now that Spear Pillar is safe once again, would it be okay if we were to create something to commemorate this fight to be placed here? Like a statue or something? Would you mind?”

Regigigas shook its head, signalling that it was fine with it. That caused Cynthia to smile again, “Excellent. That’s something we’ll have to work on soon. A battle like this should be remembered – to commemorate the time that the world united together to fight against a common threat.”

Then her voice took on a darker tone, “And it should serve as a warning for any who are foolish enough to attempt to replicate Cyrus’ actions in the future – that any such attempt is doomed to fail.”

That got a few cheers from a few people who overheard her speech. But then, Cynthia gestured for silence as she made a show of stepping closer to Regigigas.

“Regigigas.” She started off formally, “As the main representative of the Sinnoh League – we humbly thank you for your assistance in taking down this madman and helping to safeguard the wider world. Yet, now that this crisis is over, and you are returning to your resting place, would you accept a guardian to watch over you and await your return? Someone that you trust to fight alongside you if a crisis like this ever appears again so that you would not be awakened for the wrong reasons? Or to prevent a madman from controlling you like Cyrus did with Palkia?”

In response, Regigigas stared down at Cynthia with its full attention, almost as if it was trying to observe her expressions and judge her sincerity. To Cynthia’s credit, she didn’t flinch, and met its gaze with a firm one of her own.

On my end, I was completely surprised at what she had just proposed, though I quickly understood her intentions, which many of our colleagues did too.

I realised that the role would certainly be mainly ceremonial, though there would undoubtedly be a huge chunk of prestige attached to it. If Cynthia and the Sinnoh League described it in the right way, the position could be just as influential (or maybe even more so) as an Elite Four member. Without any of the usual duties attached to it.

Now, I knew that such a role wasn’t actually necessary. Regigigas had just explained to me about how it was able to sense the intentions of others, and there was no actual way that it could be manipulated into fighting for a malicious cause. And even if Cynthia was right that having a human guardian may help prevent a madman from dominating Regigigas directly, such a situation was very unlikely to actually occur.

At the end of the day, Cynthia was only suggesting this so that we could be together while still maintaining an equal level of prestige and influence. Nothing more, nothing less.

Then as if to surprise me yet again, Regigigas actually turned towards me and asked if this was what I wanted. It wasn’t concerned about our minor deception, or the political implications of the decision. It easily saw through Cynthia’s true intentions for suggesting this role, and it didn’t care.

Instead, it warned me that if I were to take on this position, then I needed to be willing to accept the responsibility of fighting alongside the Legendary Titan if it was called to battle against another Legendary in the future. I would be its partner in battle, no matter what who we’d be facing against.

…Despite everything that I had said to Tyrant earlier, there was only one answer I could give.

I accepted the responsibility. After all, if there was a threat to the world, then I couldn’t just stand aside and let it happen.

No, I would fight.

Receiving my confirmation, Regigigas turned back towards Cynthia and gave off a short nod, causing Cynthia to grin happily.

“Excellent! Thank you for this show of trust, Regigigas.” She said to the Legendary Titan, “I swear that it will not be abused. Your guardian, whoever we decide to appoint, will live up to the title.”

No one around us believed that lie – they all knew that Cynthia intended for me to be appointed to the position eventually. She just needed to set up the foundation for that to happen.

It wouldn’t be easy, since I was still a foreigner being placed into a position with immense security implications tied to it, but after the events of today became known to the public… it was far from impossible.

I was getting excited just thinking about it. Finally, after so long, we finally had an actionable plan about how we would finally be together.

However, I decided to table those thoughts for now as that was a problem for later. For now, there was still a lot of cleanup left to do.

Cyrus might be gone and taken care of, but his actions had still left a significant scar on Sinnoh. Chaos was still reigning in the streets due to everything that had happened.

Therefore, after our conversation was over, we spent a little more time checking up on both ourselves and our Pokémon to make sure that we were all okay. After that, Cynthia practically disappeared as she hurriedly returned to her office in order to deal with the larger consequences of Palkia’s summoning, and from what I had heard was busy trying to reinstall a sense of order and calm within Sinnoh – reassuring the public that the world wasn’t about to end and that they had dealt with the crisis.

Compared to her, I had lucked out significantly, since I wasn’t actually a part of Sinnoh and therefore didn’t have any immediate duties I had to attend to. Of course, that didn’t mean I was going to sit out and do nothing, even if I was tired enough to be tempted to, and I volunteered to help out where I could since Regigigas had also returned to its slumber back at Snowpoint.

Koga and I also reported the situation to Lance, though he had already heard most of it from Cynthia.

“…Let me just say this, John. When I first heard you had allied yourself to Regigigas, I had thought we were about to have another crisis on our hands right after this one ended.” He said, “I thought you had captured and unintentionally stolen away with a Legendary from Sinnoh. You don’t know how much I thanked Arceus that it didn’t happen. No offense. But it would’ve been an administrative and political nightmare. The scandal that it would have brought about…” He shuddered dramatically.

“None taken.” I replied with a chuckle, “I understand how bad it would’ve been too.”

Calling a scenario like that catastrophic would be an understatement. It would completely overturn all of the good relations we had built up with Sinnoh in an instant.

“Anyways, I thought to let you know that I’m not going to recall the Gym Leaders and other reinforcements that are being sent over.” He said, “Since they’re already on their way, they’ll be staying there for a few days to help out. I’d reckon it’ll be fine to have them around for a bit, especially since there likely isn’t any more world-ending threats around the corner. Wallace thinks the same too.”

Made sense. “They definitely need the help.” Koga agreed.

“Plus, there’s undoubtedly going to be a few ceremonies that will be hosted to commemorate your victory.” Lance continued, “So I’ll be sending over the rest of the Elite Four there as well so they can be there. You all deserve it – much like you both deserve to have a good night’s sleep.” He chuckled, “I know you must be exhausted out of your minds, and I’m sure you have other people you’d like to talk to. So we can talk more later – just get some rest!”

Yes, we very much needed it. After everything that had happened today, I was exhausted.

A.N. Lots of wrapping up after the battle that just happened, and I hoped this chapter helped to answer a few questions about what had occurred in the past few chapters. I wanted to provide a reason for why Regigigas awakened as it did, and what exactly were the Plates that they had uncovered.

Likewise, I hoped that you liked the setup about where John will be ending up in the future. I struggled long and hard about where I wanted to place John, and I felt that having a position by the side of Regigigas would be suitable. This is as close as it gets to John ‘capturing’ Regigigas. So I hope you liked the direction I’m taking it.

Also, I haven’t forgotten about the bonus chapter that I mentioned. Sadly, I haven’t really had the time to write it out fully yet, as I needed to spend time to proof-read this chapter, but I’ll try to deliver it sometime over the weekend.