Chapter 0767: Regigigas: Say My Name Out Loud!

"Hoopa, can you fish out the Regigigas from our own world? I’m not familiar with any of the others," Natsume said.

"Um… Hoopa will give it a try."

Hoopa opened a portal and reached through with a little hand.

Snowpoint City, Snowpoint Temple.

The open-air Snowpoint Temple stood in a circle of towering stone columns, shrouded in a Light Screen. At the center, an unadorned stone pedestal sat.

Resting in a groove on the pedestal, a simple Imprison Stone orb slept in silence.

Suddenly, a portal opened beside the Stone orb, and a small hand poked around, feeling over the surface.

The ancient Stone orb glimmered faintly, almost like glazed glass, flickering with limpid light…

"It seems to still be asleep," Hoopa said, withdrawing the hand.

"Then just take the Stone orb over here later," Natsume replied. "No need to summon it right on the spot."

Every time Daigo transforms, a battle plane goes down.

Every time Natsume calls Regigigas, a Temple gets destroyed.

Let’s give it a break this time…

After all, Natsume isn’t a complete devil. He does feel bad for Brandon.

At the horizon’s edge—

Shiny Regigigas and Hoopa’s battle shook the land with thunderous noise.

The sun had sunk completely below the line, the sky was deep gray, and Hoopa had utterly gained the upper hand.

"I’ve got to manufacture the Prison Bottle as soon as possible…"

Natsume looked toward the center of the Desert Spire, where a sundial-shaped vessel connected the primordial flames, water, and earth.

Recalling the knowledge Ghris taught him, Natsume closed his eyes and held out both hands.

A gentle, golden light bloomed in his palms, linking the energies and steadily forming the Prison Bottle’s shape.

Natsume let out a soft "huh."

The process was remarkably smooth.

My Power of One was granted directly by Arceus—perhaps it’s related to this.

Natsume cleared his mind, focused all his will, and gritted his teeth:

"Hang in there just a little longer, Ghris…"

Under the darkening sky—

Ghris walked alone, step by step, up the high dune outside the town.

"Hoopa, please calm down."

His gentle gaze fixed on the towering demon god, both hands surging with soft, golden light.

The Power of One—the strength to soothe negative emotions.

Hoopa stared blankly at Ghris, the red glow in its eyes slowly fading.

However, shiny Regigigas swung its mighty arm and hammered Hoopa in the face!

Thud!!

Ghris coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Hoopa’s eyes turned savage. With a swipe, it opened a portal and roared:

"Hoopa, let’s fish!"

A portal hovered above Regigigas’s head, spewing scalding magma that poured down in a boiling flood.

Sssss—

Steam billowed up.

Shiny Regigigas was engulfed by the surging heat, its signal lights flickering red, and with a thump, it dropped to one knee in the sand.

Ghris swallowed hard.

If Hoopa wanted, it could even defeat almost every deity!

This is the rage of Freeing Hoopa!

In the darkness, a streak of starlike white light shot from the Desert Spire—Latias flew by trailing a comet’s tail.

As Latias swept past Ghris—

Natsume’s expression was grim as he handed the brand new Prison Bottle to Ghris.

"This is…" Ghris’s eyes went wide.

He really made a Prison Bottle in such a short time!

"The Imprisonment is up to you."

"And you?" Ghris asked, voice trembling.

In the darkness, Natsume’s eyes blazed, his tone ringing out:

"The battle is up to me."

"Hoopa—"

Natsume extended his hand to one side.

Hoopa grinned and opened a portal: "Hoopa, let’s fish!"

"Here… for you."

Hoopa handed over the ancient-shaped Stone orb to Natsume.

Natsume held the Imprison Stone orb, taking a deep breath.

Aura’s blue light whipped into a breeze, Natsume’s black hair billowing as he intoned each word:

"Regigigas, from darkness, return to the light!"

The Imprison Stone orb lit with dazzling radiance—turning night into day in the desert.

In the ruins of the shattered town, wounded tribesmen lifted their hopeless eyes, staring out past the edge.

A hundred-foot-tall bronze metallic giant stood immovably, plants growing from its head and feet, landing with a thunderous thud that shook the entire desert!

"REGI—GIGAS!!"

Natsume’s favorite to call, the Legendary Pokémon he commands most smoothly—Regigigas!

Ghris’s pupils narrowed to pinpricks.

How… is this possible?

Another Regigigas!!

Hoopa glanced over, a thread of wariness in its eyes that quickly twisted into a mocking sneer:

"Hoopa is not going to lose!"

Such a slow-moving column of metal—no chance!

Natsume thrust out a Poké Ball, red light flickering, and Sylveon appeared to stand by his side.

"Sylveon!"

Sylveon’s ribbon lifted the sparkling Pixie Plate high, showering the area with radiant light.

"Sylveon—"

Natsume snapped, "Skill Swap!!"

"Sylveon!"

Sylveon’s baby-blue, Baby-Doll Eyes focused on the sluggish Regigigas, firing a crystalline beam from the Pixie Plate that struck Regigigas’s form.

"Sylveon~"

Sylveon lazily yawned and allowed Natsume to gather it into his arms, shutting her eyes in tsundere fashion.

Hmm… even if I didn’t strike myself, this feels pretty good…

In an instant—

An overwhelming aura surged around Regigigas, a fairy-like luster sheening its metallic shell as it balled its iron fist with a resonant bang.

Regigigas—activated!!

Shiny Regigigas glanced over in bewilderment.

This Senior… clearly has more combat experience than me!

Or perhaps, under this human’s command, it’s become even stronger!

"Tsk…" Hoopa clicked its tongue, wariness now obvious.

That pesky Fairy type…

"Hoopa, let’s fish!!"

With a sweep, golden rings surged with different dimension’s pulse, flying for Regigigas.

"Regigigas—"

Natsume growled, "crumb!!!"

The golden ring hurtled through the air—Regigigas crashed its huge palms together with a monumental slam, seizing the rampaging golden ring in an unbreakable grip.

Immediately, Regigigas’s signal lights flickered madly, its giant hands squeezing tighter.

CRACK!

Hoopa’s face was thunderstruck.

A fully activated Regigigas—even my different dimension golden ring can be crushed by Crush Grip!?

Golden rings tumbled to the sand.

But then, bathed in white light, they gradually rebuilt themselves and flew back to Hoopa.

Portals flashed around him—Hoopa, enraged, shouted:

"Hoopa—let’s fish!!"

Portals all around swelled with the terrifying aura of Legendary Pokémon.

Hoopa was concentrating fiercely to balance the strength of all these Legendary Pokémon, completely off guard.

Natsume looked to Ghris.

Ghris nodded hard, stepped up to the cliff, and raised the Prison Bottle high:

"Transcend—the order of time and space!"

A tremendous force pulled at Hoopa’s body.

Hoopa gasped in shock, face twisting in fear.

"No!! This isn’t my strongest form—Hoopa can get even stronger!!"

Even as Hoopa shrieked, it dissolved into an enormous shadow, sucked back into the Prison Bottle.

Ghris clamped the bottle shut, his own Power of One wrestling with the shadow until, finally, he exhaled in relief.

He placed the Prison Bottle down, trembling, awe and worship in his eyes.

There, on the cliff in the midnight dark, the Aura warrior stood with one hand in his pocket, coat billowing, the immense Regigigas behind him.

The black-haired young man stood lost in thought, silent.

Ghris hardly dared breathe; he didn’t dare interrupt, but glanced back toward the town.

In the pitch-black desert, torch flames bloomed, then multiplied, swinging back and forth.

From the town’s direction, faint sounds of cheers, sobbing, and shouts floated up.

"You…"

Ghris turned back, voice shaking. “Are you alright?”

An Aura warrior able to command Regigigas—unheard of. It completely overturned Ghris’s worldview!

"I’m alright…"

Natsume took a deep breath, calming his erratic heart.

It’s the normal reaction to command a Legendary Pokémon… I felt the same last time I fought Primal Groudon.

Thankfully, the crisis passed, Hoopa was sealed up in the Prison Bottle once again.

But… what did Hoopa mean about being able to grow even stronger…?

Would it really fish out even more Legendary Pokémon, to battle everyone all at once?

If you consider its movie-level power… Hoopa truly does have that kind of despair-inducing strength…

Natsume felt inexplicably restless, worrying for the City of Wastes in the present, and resolved to return at once.

He breathed out, looked at the metallic giant by the cliff, and spoke gently:

"Thank you, Regigigas."

"Regi." Regigigas rumbled, casting a lingering gaze at the blue Regigigas.

Tens of thousands of years ago, Regigigas was all alone and molded the holy pillars after its own shape, just to have company.

But in different worlds, there are different selves… This comforted Regigigas, yet left it melancholy.

Glad to have a companion who understands me; sad to know I am not the only one, but I am still unique.

The blue Regigigas felt the same.

It slowly extended its huge hand to clasp the brass Regigigas’s own.

Immediately, the two Regigigas entered into a test of strength, massive palms trembling in an unspoken wrestling contest.

Natsume smiled helplessly. "Hoopa, send the two Regigigas home for me, if you please~"

"Hehe, leave it to Hoopa!"

Hoopa took down its golden ring, tossed it into the sky, and the enlarged portal enveloped both giants.

The silhouettes of the ancient Pokémon faded out, the dusky desert now left only with scars of the great battle.

Ghris stood in profound awe behind Natsume, heart filled with emotion.

So many secrets tied into today… all must be concealed…

But the name, Aura warrior, deserves to be sung…

"Oh no!"

Natsume glanced at his palm, face changing: "Forgot to put the Stone orb back!"

Snowpoint City, Snowpoint Temple.

A massive portal opened above the open-air Temple, and a Regigigas more than six meters tall crashed down to earth!

CRACK!

It smashed the temple’s Light Screen—the concussion shattered several stone columns.

In the empty center of the Temple, only the stone pedestal remained.

Regigigas slowly sat on the pedestal, hands resting on its knees, gradually becoming a stone statue once more.

A while later, the portal opened again.

Hoopa stuck out a tiny hand and set a Stone orb on Regigigas’s head.

With a pop, Regigigas vanished into red light, sealing itself inside the orb, which dropped perfectly into the pedestal’s groove.

Wind flickered, and all was silent—only debris and Light Screen fragments remained.

At the edge of the snowy landscape, a serious man in military-green archeologist gear walked slowly into sight.

This is my thirtieth day inspecting the Temple; I haven’t found any suspicious persons, so there’s no need to worry…

Brandon looked up in confusion at the empty sky, then at the ruined grounds around him.

He strolled to the pedestal; the Imprison Stone orb was perfectly fitted and motionless as ever.

Brandon looked up again, his eyes wet.

This is a travesty!