As Marco opened his eyes, the first thing to pour into his pupils was the sight of the sky, now a dark blue colour, with what seemed like whips of red lightning pulsating wildly within it. There was still dust and debris riding the wind above him. There seemed to be no sound audible in the area, as if time had frozen still; he felt like he'd just awoken from a sleep during which a significant amount of time had elapsed. In a flash, his memory of the situation returned to him, and he struggled to his feet and looked around. He was on top of some rubble slightly farther down from where the battle had begun. Only when he tried to take a step he realised that his entire body was on fire with agony; Steelix had rammed into him at full force. While he was in pain all over, it did not feel like he had broken any bones. But where was Regigigas? Had it been harmed in the attack? Had Giovanni already taken it? If he had been successful in its capture, the world would soon be in a great turmoil than it was now. Marco had noticed that the frost and snow on the hills had begun to melt and form trickles of water - the climate of this area was being thrown off-course already. His train of thought was then knocked off its rails as a huge figure slithered from behind a pile of debris; Steelix was still here. It raised its head again and glared at Marco. Above it, the helicopter appeared, Giovanni standing in its doorway, seething with anger. Marco found his throat was sore and his mouth was dry, but he managed to shout to Giovanni.

"What have you done with Regigigas?"

"I've no idea where that beast has went," he snapped back, "But it will be easier to find if obstacles like you are removed."

"You don't know what you're doing!" bellowed Marco at the Team Rocket leader.

"Are you still bitter about losing to me?" chuckled Giovanni, "Here, take this if it means that much to you."

He reached into his breast pocket and removed a small object, and casually dropped it. It fell through the debris, somehow still glinting, and Marco caught it in his hand. He examined it closely; it was a small, shiny image of a sprout - an Earth badge. Before he had time to decide whether to feel happiness or continued distress, Giovanni spoke again.

"Now, erase this pest, Steelix."

A flicker of fear swept across Marco's face as he turned to the giant iron serpent began to lunge at him. Time seemed to move slowly as it moved towards where he stood. He simply couldn't take another hit like that, it would finish him off for sure. He closed his eyes and raised his hands in a pointless attempt to prevent his demise. Instead of feeling the impact though, he felt a slight tremor in the rubble, a loud slamming sound and Steelix roaring in pain. He slowly opened his eyes and lowered his arms to see Steelix with its eyes closed tightly, shaking its head, in which there was a large crack and dent. Standing in front of Marco, fist still outstretched, was Regigigas.

The altar came into view as Tara rounded a group of trees, the ice on their leaves melting quicker by the minute. The ball containing Lunatone shook violently as the strange being inside tried to escape, to partner with Solrock and continue to disrupt the elements. Her legs were on fire with agony, but there was no chance of her stopping. Upon reaching the altar, she released the ball from her grip; it was a relief like no other she had felt before, as though the bones in her hands were reassuming their correct position after being horribly mutated. As the black Pokéball exploded and Lunatone emerged, Tara instinctively threw up a Pokéball of her own.

"Lombre! Hydro Pump! And give it all you've got!"

From the ball, Lombre sprang into the air and immediately inhaled, releasing the most powerful jet of water it could from its mouth. Lunatone was slammed downwards by the force, and came into contact with the stone altar. Tara watched as the Pokémon began to glow a strange yellow colour, and in moments, it had turned back to stone, as it had looked when they originally found it. Tara sank to her knees and gave out a lengthy sigh, as Lombre landed next to her from its aerial attack, and leaned against her side to comfort her. She smiled weakly, putting her arm around her companion. They had sealed Lunatone again; but what of Solrock? And moreso, what of Regigigas?

Marco stood motionless, watching the silent scene in disbelief; Regigigas had saved him. He glanced at Steelix, still wincing in pain, then back at the golem before him. It lowered its fist from its attack, and turned slowly to face Marco. The Pokémon had no facial features, but somehow Marco knew it was sort of nodding to him, as if to say "I trust you." Marco nodded back to it. The fact he was working with a legendary, powerful Pokémon was beyond anything he could comprehend. At that point, Giovanni's voice came from the helicopter. Marco had almost forgotten he was there.

"Steelix! Enough of this! Use Gyro Ball this instant!"

Steelix looked back at Regigigas. It opened its mouth, and some sparks began to appear inside. Marco didn't know what a Pokémon like Regigigas was capable of, so he gave the first command he knew it would be able to perform.

"Regigigas! Rock Throw!"

Almost instantly, Regigigas reached down, clutched a large rock, and effortlessly hurled it through the air, just as Steelix shot its Gyro Ball attack. The rock passed through the pulsating orb of energy, disintegrating it, and slammed into Steelix's face with an almighty crash. It roared in pain once again, and lowered its head slightly, losing its energy to battle.

"Gah!" cried Giovanni from above, "Steelix! Get up!"

But Steelix did not move. Giovanni became enraged.

"Fire the nets!"

The underside of the helicopter opened once again, and the thick netting shot out towards Regigigas. This time however, without Marco's command, Regigigas grabbed the net, and in one pull, brought the helicopter flying towards it. Marco knew this was their chance to end it. Slightly excited by what he was about to say, Marco pointed at the rapidly descending helicopter.

"Regigigas! Giga Impact!"

Time seemed to slow down as Regigas drew back both of its massive arms, which began to glow a brilliant blue colour. Moments before the helicopter hit its body, it swung them out once more and smashed them into the vehicle's underside with an inconceivable force. The helicopter went hurling into the air, at least a thousand feet from the ground, before unstably maneuvering away from the island through the mass of dark clouds.

"You did it!" cheered Marco, looking at the legendary Pokémon. It started back at him, and he began to feel uneasy; what was he supposed to do now? He took a few steps towards it.

"Now we can return everything to normal."

With that, the Pokémon turned and took off over the debris and out of sight. Marco was about to give chase when something he'd forgotten came back to him with a lurch in his stomach; Typhlosion was still missing. He couldn't leave his first companion behind, could he? Of course it would only be for the time being, but what if it was badly hurt and needed his help? He scanned the area, looking for signs of movement, but there were none. He called out a command from his Pokémon, but no fire came blasting from beneath any debris. With something wet forming in his right eye, he forced himself to run in the direction of Regigigas.

At the eastern peninsula, Solrock floated in front of its altar, showing signs of fatigue; Shadow had managed to force it back here. He and Marowak now stood facing its scratched and chipped body, its eyes glaring at them with a look that said it was not giving up.

"Alright Solrock, time for you to go back..." said Shadow, pointing a finger at the Pokémon, "Marowak! Mega Punch!"

Marowak ran forwards, and using its bone as a vaulting pole, hurled itself into the air. It outstretched its fist and darted into Solrock, sending the solar creature crashing down. It collided with the altar, and in a bright yellow flash, was conjoined with it once again.

"Thank you, Marowak." nodded Shadow. He held out a Pokéball and Marowak was pulled back inside. Before he had a moment to rest, there was a loud crashing noise coming from the direction they had just travelled. The baron turned on his heel and took off along the coast, his cape billowing in the cruel winds.

Outside the cave where they had originally set up camp, Regigigas stood with its arms stretched into the air, clearly distressed. It seemed to wince as it faced the entrance of the cave, from where it had emerged. Marco came running from the trees, just as Shadow appeared in the distance, quickly approaching the scene, while Tara and Marshtomp appeared with Leafwood, Frankston, Scarlet, while Willis was coming from further behind, supporting a wounded Alpharm.

"Marco! What's happening?" called Frankston.

"Regigigas defeated Giovanni," replied Marco, as the group got close enough to talk normally, "But now it seems to be enraged. It ran away from me afterwards-"

"I understand!" exclaimed Leafwood, interrupting Marco.

"What? What do you understand?" asked Scarlet, who seemed to be getting excited.

"The ancient writings on the cave wall. It's what I thought earlier. The Solrock and Lunatone here are not like others of their species; they act as a seal on Regigigas. That itself is some sort of paranormal being; it must have been sealed here long ago, because of...well, look at what's happening now that it's released."

There was a huge clap of thunder and a flash of lightning, as if the weather had been waiting for its cue.

"This isn't going to stop - this storm - and who knows how much worse it's going to get. The only way to stop it will be to seal Regigigas back in the cave, which shouldn't be too hard now that Solrock and Lunatone are gone."

"Shouldn't be too hard!?" cried Tara, "Look at that thing! We could never defeat something like that!"

Leafwood didn't look at her, but replied.

"Solrock and Lunatone were giving it energy whenever we battled before. Now that they're sealed once more, our combined efforts should be able to take it down."

They all turned to look at Regigigas, which was standing silently still, somehow aware of what they were planning. Shadow stood on the other side of it, also prepared for combat, clutching a Pokéball.

"Alright! Let's do this!" Marco cheered, a surge of leadership in his veins. The imperial waves crashed up against the snow-and-sand mixture of the beach as all of the group drew their Pokéballs. Looking at them all, Marco found himself a little eager to find out what Pokémon they would use; he had been through all this with these people, but still didn't know much about them.

"Hitmonlee!" cried Leafwood, releasing the humanoid fighting Pokémon. It kicked its elasticated legs as a sort of warm-up.

"Drifblim, go!" commanded Frankston, throwing a white Pokéball into the air. Marco had never seen this Pokémon before; it resembled a hot air balloon, with a white tuft of hair, beady red eyes and a patch for a mouth.

"Come on out, Jumpluff!" said Scarlet, taking her turn. The blue cotton spore Pokémon bounced high into the air, blowing slightly in the rough winds. Marco remembered seeing many of its pre-evolved form, Hoppip, floating on in the fields next to his house back in the Johto region. Alpharm then slowly reached into his pocket, wincing in pain as he did, and threw a Pokéball. From it came Nidoking, a fierce armoured creature with a large horn protruding from its nose. At the same time Willis threw a black Pokéball and from it came Electivire. Marco had read about this Pokémon, but had never encountered one in the flesh. It reminded him of a typical alien, except it was also furry, its yellow and black hairs standing on end as some static buzzed its way down its body from its antennas. It didn't seem like the sort of rare Pokémon that a lowly Rocket grunt like Willis would be partners with; perhaps it had been given to him by Giovanni? Marco watched as the last Pokémon, Marshtomp, entered the battle. There was nothing he could do but observe; none of his Pokémon were fighting fit, and one was missing completely.

Nidoking charged at Regigigas in an attempt to jab it with its poison horn, but Regigigas simply outstretched an arm and held Nidoking at a distance, before swinging another arm round and sending the poison pin Pokémon flying sideways into the sand. Electivire then ran towards Regigigas, drew its arm back, and swung. Again, Regigigas grabbed its opponent, but the latter giving off an electric shock when their arms made contact. Regigigas trembled as the electrical surge ran through its massive body, but then managed to push Electivire away from itself. Electivire then clenched its static fists and released a Thunderbolt attack, which hit Regigigas in its braille-like face. The large Pokémon stumbled back, but did not lose its balance. As Drifblim approached it, it raised its mighty arms, and with a tremor, some large rocks emerged from the ground and began to fly in the blimp creature's direction. It was successful in avoiding the majority of them, until one slammed into it with a force that would have knocked the heaviest Snorlax over, never mind a light balloon-type being. It soared helplessly backwards in the icy winds.

"Help Drifblim, Hitmonlee!" ordered Leafwood. Upon its master's command, the kicking Pokémon darted forward, jumping seemlessly over the rocks which were now being thrown at it by the mysterious force emitted from Regigigas. As it approached the area below where Drifblim was caught in a vortex of wind, it jumped, kicked off of one of the rocks and bounced high into the air, grabbing Drifblim by one of its four small arms. It then landed in front of Regigigas - releasing Drifblim on the way down - and began aiming a series of lightning-fast kicks at it. Regigigas lowered its arms (the monopoly of rocks ceasing) and crossed them, as a sort of shield from Hitmonlee's diamond-hard sole. It seemed to be holding up well against the kicks, until it was hit by a force from behind. Hitmonlee darted out of the way as it toppled forwards (but still not collapsing) revealing Drifblim, the remnants of a Hyper Beam attack still burning in the air around its mouth.

"Good job, Drifblim!" cheered Frankston.

"Jumpluff, Sleep Powder!" commanded Scarlet. The cotton spore - also perhaps too light for this situation - bounced forward and started to shake a gold powder from its cotton spores. Regigigas's head began to droop, but Jumpluff's powers simply weren't capable of putting it to sleep - enough however, to prevent it from noticing Hitmonlee and Nidoking coming running towards and slamming it simultaneously. This time, the imperial beast's body was sent flying backwards and into the mouth of the cave.

"Alright! That's doing it!" exclaimed Marco, wishing he could partake. Regigigas raised its arms again in fury, and a silver-blue glow surrounded its right arm, which it then moved across its face, similar to its shield gesture from minutes ago. It then however, moved its arm quickly back to the right, creating a huge whip-like string of light, which slashed across Hitmonlee and Nidoking, who instantly fell to the ground, almost knocked out. Regigigas itself was showing serious signs of fatigue; its own attack seemed to have taken a lot out of it.

"We can't give up now!" shouted Frankston, "If we can push it back into the wall where it came from, I think we can seal it once more!"

"Nidoking! Get up, and use Horn Drill!" bellowed Alpharm. Nidoking struggled to its feet, but began to dash forward as if it was in no pain at all. A conical white light appeared around its horn and began to spin rapidly, like a drill. Before Regigigas had a chance to defend itself, Nidoking had jabbed the horn right into its stomach area. Marco wasn't surprised to see Regigigas collapse backwards; Horn Drill was an extremely powerful move.

"That got it!" cheered Leafwood, recalling Hitmonlee who had collapsed from exhaustion. The Pokémon trainers jogged forwards into the cave as Regigigas slowly pulled itself up off of the ground. Before anyone had a chance to command their Pokémon to make their next move, it raised its arms once more, and a ball of light appeared between its hands. Behind it, the space behind where Regigigas had come from glowed a mysterious blue.

"That's a Hyper Beam attack!" cried Frankston, worriedly.

"It'll probably bring this entire cave to the ground! Then we can't win!" replied Scarlet, tears beginning to line her eyes. Despite the rumble of the earth as Regigigas charged its attack, there seemed to be a silence for a moment, before Willis's wavering voice spoke:

"Electivire! Solarbeam attack!"

For some reason, Willis was the last person Marco had expected to make such a bold move. Regigigas hurled its arms forward as the ball of light began to fire a thick beam of dazzling white-hot light which illuminated the entire cave, while a similar ray of solar energy tore into the scene from outside and into Electivire's antennas, which it then released as a similar attack, only light green in colour. The two intense rays collided; Electivire was knocked back a few feet, but maintained its balance and continued to hold its attack against Regigigas's.

"Willis, what excellent work!" Frankston congratulated the Rocket, who had a newfound glint of courage in his eye.

"What?" said Marco, half curious as to what Frankston meant, half taken aback at why a Team Rocket member should ever be congratulated (and perhaps another half curious as to how an electric Pokémon knew a grass attack; rigorous training or genetic tampering on the part of Team Rocket, perhaps?).

"Hyper Beam is an attack of solely concentrated energy from the Pokémon's spirit," began Frankston, as though this was an appropriate time to give a lecture, "There are only four forces more powerful than that; the elements."

Marco clicked instantly, and realised how worthy of credit Willis was at this moment; he had harnessed the power of the earth element to counter Hyper Beam.

"Earth! Now we need water! You, girl!" he bellowed, pointing at Tara, "Your Marshtomp!"

Without waiting for Tara's command, Marshtomp opened its mouth and spewed the most powerful jet of water it could into the pulsating orb of spirit and solar energy in the centre of the two beams. It must have helped, since Electivire was able to pace forward a few steps, the strain apparently decreasing. Marco wondered where the wind element was going to come from.

"Drifblim! Aeroblast!" answered Frankston, in the form of an attack command. Drifblim floated into position, before inhaling as much air as it could, its bulbous body inflating to an even bigger size, before releasing the vaccumed air as a swirling jet, which joined the melée of forces. Regigigas was now being pushed back from whence it came.

"Does anyone have any Pokémon with fire capabilities!?" panicked Frankston. Every second was invaluable now; despite the battle being three-on-one, Regigigas was still holding its own, and their Pokémon may lose their power at any moment. And if the cave was destroyed...

The group looked from Frankston to one another, before realising no one had any fire Pokémon. They watched helplessly as Regigigas's Hyper Beam slowly began to overcome the other three attacks, the users of which now sweating uncontrollably. None of the trainers spoke as they began to come to terms with the sequence of events which was about to ensue; their Pokémon wouldn't be able to hold off any longer, the Hyper Beam would destroy the entire cave (and perhaps the Pokémon too), and Regigigas would be freed forever. Marco, a lover of all Pokémon, never thought he'd want to see one trapped against its own will; this was different from catching a Pokémon in a Pokéball, this was sealing one into an eternal sleep. Marco looked into its effete face, and couldn't believe he had been in control of it for a short period. What right did they have to deny it a life like all other wild Pokémon? But they had to lock it back in the wall, or all other wild Pokémon would be denied life. The orb was now moving faster towards the three Pokémon and away from Regigigas; any second now, their attacks would break, and the beam would hit.

The blast of raging fire came from behind the group of trainers and into the centre of the ball of energy. The entire thing hissed and turned a bright yellow colour, with flames, sparks, and visible gusts of wind and jets of water encircling it; it resembled the sun, if anything. Marco and the others followed the trail of flames to the source; the mouth of a badly scarred and bruised Typhlosion, nonetheless with a fire burning in its eyes as it battled to protect its trainer and best friend. Marco felt something move inside him, and blinked in an attempt to dry the tears now welling up in his eyes.

"Everyone! Just a little more!" came the voices of Frankston, Tara and Willis. The Pokémon increased the intensity of their attacks to the point where the pain seared through their bodies. The "sun" began to move back towards Regigigas, and suddenly, there was an almighty sound of an explosion, and a flash which Marco was surprised didn't blind everyone. Regigigas took the full blow of the four elemental powers and was launched back into the space where it had first emerged. The group watched as it lost control of its body and was suspended in mid-air as it crossed the border of the cave and the void beyond the wall. Then, the debris from the hole in the wall began to re-position themselves, building the wall again. It looked to Marco like a video being rewound, and the film being shown backwards. What an absurd thing to be thinking about at a time like this. As the last rock drifted into place, he caught one last glimpse of Regigigas; there was an air of peace about its face. Peace, or perhaps acceptance. The wall shook slightly, and then settled, as though a creature had never emerged from it and set to bring about the apocalypse. The four embodiers of the elements collapsed, and all was silent.

The group sat in a comfortable silence as the boat carried them back to the Kanto region, the weather now at peace and the sun setting on the horizon. Shadow, as reclusive as ever, stood at the rear, looking back at the island he wouldn't forget in a hurry, and the other boat on which the now-unfrozen scientists and Team Rocket members were finding their way back home. Cress was sitting inside, nursing a cup of cocoa, none the wiser of what had just happened. He listened to Scarlet and Frankston's account of the story, bewildered as to how he could have missed all of this when it was going on around him. Marco sat listening intently; there was no point in even trying to forget the tale, so he may as well embrace it. He couldn't wait to get back to the mainland and let his Pokémon have a nice long rest in the Vermilion City Pokémon Center, especially Typhlosion. He would also have to get better acquainted with Snorunt, he thought. He looked from his bundle of Pokéballs to the Earth badge, and smiled. All he needed now was one more gym badge and he could enter the Pokémon League at the Indigo Plateau. But as far as he was concerned, the ordeal was over. He knew that somewhere, Regigigas was nodding off into another eternal sleep.

At the front of the boat, Tara and Alpharm stood looking at the horizon.

"You were amazing," smiled Tara, "Your Nidoking really came through."

"Oh, I don't know..." blushed Alpharm, "I think you're due more credit than I am. What you did with Marshtomp was incredible. If it wasn't for you, we may not have defeated Regigigas."

"If it wasn't for all of us we wouldn't have done it." she replied. She turned to face him, and her eyes darted to the tattered Team Rocket shirt he was wearing. He noticed, and quickly pulled his coat over the logo.

"I'm quitting," he began, as though to redeem himself, "I want nothing more to do with Team Rocket after this. I'll find a better team of scientists to work with."

She smiled at him. There was a few moments of silence, before she tip-toed slightly (he was taller than her) and kissed him quickly, before walking back inside to join the others. Alpharm looked stunned.

As the sun finally subsided and the stars began their shift, Murkrow opened its eyes, yawned with a "Caw!" and stretched its dark wings. Stumbling slightly to the edge of its hollow in the tree near Pallet Town, it took off into the cool night air once more. It looked over Saffron City, its neon lights flickering and glowing like candles, like the fires that had burned in the hearts of the heroes who had overcome a sinister ancient power to save the world which people and Pokémon would continue to share together.