-Chapter 21: The Golem Maker-

-Roy's POV-

After I made sure everyone was sound asleep on their bunks, I floated through the tent and into the moonlight. I found that it refreshed my spirit, which, technically speaking, was my body. I couldn't sleep tonight. But it was no big deal. "Need" is relative to a ghost. I don't have to eat, drink, or sleep. I just continued them out of habit, I guess.

I flew over Wigglytuff's Guild, the torches lighting up the place, and I sighed dreamily, "Wow… I never realized just how breathtaking Treasure Town was from this high up…"

I was minding my own business when I felt the wind pick up, making me stop. I looked around, but in this darkness, I couldn't see very well. I was body slammed out of nowhere, and I fell to the ground on the outskirts of Treasure Town.

"Oof!" I floated a few feet above the ground, not seeing who knocked me out of my midnight stroll, "What is the meaning of this?!"

A Seviper with a scar across one of his eyes snaked out of the shadows, followed by a Houndoom, a slightly melted Klinklang, and Crobat. I eyed all of them warily, then floated up casually, trying to talk my way out of this predicament I found myself in, "Good evening. What are a group such as yourselves doing out at such a late hour?"

The Seviper didn't talk, instead looking to the Houndoom, then shifting his pupils towards me. My eyes widened, "Oh. So that's how you want to play…"

The Houndoom smirked and its mouth was wreathed in flames as it leapt forward.

-Connor's POV-

Even though Team Charm and our team entered the dungeon at the same time, we were still separated since we were two different teams. We should get to the bottom around the same time though, so it's no big deal.

Atlas had a ball fighting the Machamp in this part of the dungeon while Vulcan and I took care of the Crobat. Nocturne took care of any Unown. We got a few stones, but we shouldn't need them, so we kept a few for ammo and tossed the rest.

One thing I hadn't noticed was that with all the trips we made through the different parts of the dungeon, we had found a plethora of items, including five reviver seeds to add on to the one we have left from our Registeel fight, since Vulcan had to use one. When we got to the huge chamber at the end, Team Charm walked alongside us and we moved forward together. Lopunny leaned forward as she looked around, "This appears to be the last chamber…"

We stepped forward and came up to a bunch of stone statues. Four Bronzong and Four Hitmonlee making a half-circle around a giant stone statue that looked like the granddad of the three other golems.

Then, a deep voice shook the room "THOSE WHO SEEK THE TREASURES SLEEPING IN THE GROUND… SHOW ALL OF YOUR POWER!"

A light flashed, and the pokemon statues began filling in with color, then began moving.

"The stone statues!" Medicham shouted. "They're alive!"

Lopunny turned to us, "We'll team up for this battle!"

Vulcan leaned in, "That's Regigigas, the fourth and most powerful golem. We're in for a tough fight, Connor."

I nodded and spoke up, "Noc, you and Vulcan take care of the ones on the right. Atlas, you and me are tackling the big one in the middle until Vulcan and Noc can get to us!"

He cracked his knuckles, "Works for me!"

We all scattered, and I rode a boulder straight into Regigigas. He tried to raise his arm to block me, but I easily dodged, and it shattered against his face. I pulled the shards back together into a smaller platform that I landed on and continued flying. I expected some damage, but nothing happened when I looked back. Regigigas didn't so much as flinch. He continued lumbering forward at his slow pace. I landed next to Atlas, who smiled, "Let me give it a try…"

His fist began glowing as he readied a Dynamic Punch and he ran forward. Regigigas started to kneel down to stop him, but he leapt up and slammed his fist into Regigigas' face. He rode the shock wave a short distance back, and he landed next to me.

He smirked, but then gasped as he turned around. Regigigas just shrugged off the attack and continued forward.

I tilted my head, "What…? That was a full-force Dynamic Punch!"

Atlas just stood there, his jaw hanging open. Then, he charged forward again, this time sliding underneath the giant. He used low kick on it, and it fell on its face. He jumped onto its back, his muscles glowing from bulk up, he used cross chop, then another dynamic punch. Regigigas stopped moving, and Atlas smirked, "Heh. That wasn't too bad. You'd think that the final guardian would be-"

Suddenly, Regigigas heaved, throwing him off balance. It rolled over, and Atlas ran back over to me after leaping off of its back. It planted its hands in the ground and stood up rapidly.

Then, it charged forward so fast that even I was caught by surprise. I used protect, and Regigigas' glowing fist hit the shield.

The ground around me cratered from the force, and Regigigas turned to Atlas, who launched a Focus Blast at him. He sprinted forward, closing the distance rapidly, and Atlas barely dodged the mega punch thrown by the giant.

I lowered protect and rushed forward towards the dust cloud that had formed from the blow. Atlas sprinted out of it and gasped, "That… Was way too close."
When the smoke cleared, Regigigas was pulling his fist out of the ground, a crater right where Atlas was a moment before.

Lopunny ran up beside us, "Regigigas has been asleep for a long time… It must have just been waking up while you were fighting it. I'll help too. Medicham and Gardevoir can handle the others."

I nodded as the giant turned back to us, "Um… Don't suppose you can sweet talk Regigigas?"

-Vulcan's POV-

I crashed into a Bronzong with Dragon Rush after using Dragon Dance, and I knocked it into the wall. Noc tripped up a Hitmonlee with Grass knot, then used needle arm to knock it back into another Bronzong. He sprouted two Vine whips and began lashing any others that dared to get too close. I bellowed a flamethrower at the nearest Bronzong, and when I stopped, I expected it to be down, but it was just glowing, but otherwise didn't look fazed by my attack, still floating forward. What the-?! That should've melted it!

Nocturne countered a Hitmonlee and used drain punch, then threw it with Vine Whips. I turned and saw Atlas, Connor and Lopunny all fighting the Regigigas, and I gasped as a Hitmonlee leapt in front of me. I used flamethrower again, and it had the same effect as the Bronzong.

Glowing, but otherwise unaffected. I grunted once as I started putting the pieces together, knocked it away with Brick Break, and turned to Noc, who was having trouble with two Hitmonlee.

I readied Focus Punch and began charging while I ran to help him. I focused all of my power into my punch, hoping that I was right. The Hitmonlee turned as I drew near, and I jumped up and punched a hole straight through its face.

It stumbled backwards and fell to the ground. Nocturne looked at me, "What the-?! That was a bit excessive!"

I pointed to the remains, which turned grey and shattered like pottery, then crumbled to dust. I nodded. I was right. "They're stone statues. They're not alive, so we have to break them, which means that we have to hit without restraint. Regigigas said show all of our power. I think this is what he meant. I think that in order to beat the statues, we can't hold back."

"You mean like you just did?"

"Yeah."

He nodded and used growth, boosting his mass and making himself bigger, "Let's do this." He turned and decked the Hitmonlee with a needle arm, then stomped on it, shattering it. He grunted with displeasure, but turned to the Bronzong and threw plus-sized seed bombs. Two of them went down and turned to grey stone dust. I used Dragon Dance a few times, then sprinted over to Team Charm and explained what I found out. They all nodded and began making short work of the rest of the statues.

-Nocturne's POV-

Man… Even though they aren't alive, this still doesn't feel right. I hope we don't have to do this again.

"You think you can handle the rest, Vulcan?" I asked while I deflected a Hitmonlee's kicks with needle arm.

He nodded as he sprinted next to me, and I smiled, "Good. I'm going to join the big fight."

I charged forward, where Connor had frozen a portion of Regigigas' leg and used needle arm on the back of its calf, forcing him to take a knee. Atlas leapt up and used cross chop, knocking Regigigas on its back. I pinned it down with Vine Whips, but it broke through them easily and nearly hit me with a backhand swing. I threw disorienting seed bombs towards its eyes, or whatever circles I thought were its eyes, and it stumbled backwards.

I tripped it with Grass knot, and it fell onto the floor. Connor slammed a chunk of the wall into the giant, and Atlas used dynamic punch. Lopunny used jump kick when it got up, knocking it back into the wall. Connor collapsed the chamber wall onto him, but he remained standing, and growled, its eyes glowing red.

Uh-oh…

It grabbed a chunk of the the wall remaining behind it and lobbed it at us. I barely dodged the massive rock, and it slammed its fists into the ground, triggering an earthquake. Connor floated above the carnage on Ancient Power and slammed the boulder into Regigigas.

It didn't even flinch, and slammed Connor with its fist, sending him flying all the way across the chamber and making a shallow mudkip-shaped crater in the opposite wall. I saw a Reviver seed latch onto him, and I turned back to face the threat. Regigigas' veins glowed purple, and I realized what Connor had done. He had set a timer.

Vulcan's POV-

After Connor was sent flying, I dashed over to him with my Dragon Dance boost. After he awoke, I heard a rumbling noise behind me, and the fight was taking a turn for the worse. Medicham and Nocturne were both sent flying with one swing from Regigigas' arm.

Connor smiled weakly, "Vulcan… Gak… I… Used Toxic."

I saw Regigigas' veins tinted with a hue of purple, and I smiled, "Smart. Now, wait here until the Reviver seed's done, alright?"

He nodded, "I'm not going anywhere…"

I took off to join in on the fight. I sprinted up Regigigas' arm and used focus punch, sending it reeling back into the wall, then used inferno. It crossed its arms to block, and Atlas leapt forward. Faster than I could blink, Regigigas snatched Atlas right out of the air and began constricting, its hands glowing yellow. Atlas strained and used bulk up to try and break its grip, but it put its other hand on him and began squeezing. Atlas groaned in pain, and I leapt up to it again, readying another Focus Punch. I swung, but before it connected, it held Atlas in front of me, making me divert my punch. I hit the ground, and it kicked me away.

Lopunny tried to use Jump Kick, but Regigigas threw Atlas like a ball into the floor, then stomped on him, then proceeded to knock Lopunny away. Then, Nocturne threw more seed bombs after running back to the fight, but they didn't do much except stun Regigigas for a moment. He looked at all of us, his foot still on top of Atlas, and I glared at him. His veins pulsed purple, and he faltered for a moment before staring at us again.

Then, something insane happened: Regigigas' foot was lifted up, slowly, then all at once, and Atlas threw him back into the wall! He stood up and turned, tackled Regigigas, then grabbed the colossal titan's foot and spun it around in a circle before tossing it back into the middle of the room. Then he sprinted forward and used cross chop, forcing Regigigas back several meters.

When did he get so strong?!

He grunted, his muscles radiating power, and I saw that his belt was missing from his waist. He turned to us, "Don't just stand there! Get him!" As I sprinted past, I heard him mutter, "I need to get my belt..."

We all rushed forward, and Regigigas attempted to stand up, but I slammed into its gut with Dragon Rush, Lopunny hit it with a Jump Kick, Medicham used high Jump Kick, and Nocturne used needle arm, then Grass knot. It struggled to stay upright, taking several steps back, and Atlas sprinted forward again, his belt back on his waist, and used dynamic punch.

Regigigas grabbed one of the pillars of stone and ripped it off of the pedestal, and held it like a two-handed sword. It raised its arms and swung, but the stone pillar broke apart in his hands and turned into one big floating maelstrom of stone that slammed into Regigigas from above.

Connor rolled into Regigigas' leg with Ice Ball, freezing it to the ground, then bellowed steaming hot water all over Regigigas' face. Regigigas roared and turned away from the scalding water, but Atlas used low kick to trip it up again, then charged a focus blast.

Gardevoir from Team Charm held Regigigas still with psychic long enough for me to charge up a Focus Punch, and I shouted, "Atlas, toss me the blast!"

He nodded and shot the orb towards me, and I slammed focus punch into it, sending it straight into Regigigas with several times the force that it had originally. The blast connected and blew up.

-Connor's POV-

When the smoke cleared, Regigigas was still standing, and my jaw dropped. Atlas panted, "H… How?!"

Regigigas took another step forward, then another, and its veins glowed purple again. It continued moving, and I started charging Hydro Pump. Vulcan and Atlas stood beside me, and they both bellowed Flamethrowers. I shot my hydro pump, and Nocturne used Magical Leaf. Regigigas stumbled backwards, but took another step forward. I used hydro pump again, and Regigigas shuddered once, then fell forward. Unlike the other statues, he didn't turn into stone and crumble away.

Then, a light shone in front of Regigigas and another stone marker appeared, this one much larger and Crimson colored.

Lopunny leaned forward, "Wh-what is this?!"

Gardevoir floated up to it, "There's an inscription on the stone marker!"

Nocturne stepped forward since it appeared to be in unown letters, "Let me read it…"

He cleared his throat, "Close your eyes, then let your aura flow into the ground..."

I closed my eyes and the same shimmering sound emanated from the stone tablet. I opened them, and the green, silver, and blue lights from the other golems spread from us into the ground.

Then, we heard a scraping sound behind the stone marker. Regigigas started getting up.

"What?!" Medicham shouted.

"Regigigas!" Gardevoir added.

Lopunny stepped back, "We're in for another round?"

I readied another hydro pump, and Vulcan stepped forward, charging another Focus Punch, but unlike before, Regigigas roared and jumped up, slamming its fists into the ground The entire chamber began rumbling from the blow, and pieces of rock started raining from the ceiling.

"Hurry! We have to get out!" I shouted.

We all made a circle and Gardevoir from Team Charm teleported us out. Reappearing at the entrance, we saw it collapse right in front of us. The tremors continued for a bit before stopping. Gardevoir called out, "Is everyone alright?" I did a quick head count: Vulcan, Atlas and Noc were all here. Atlas' body was bruised, and based off of the way he was groping at his chest, I suspected that Regigigas broke more than a few of his ribs and other bones. He'd have to heal up before doing anything else.

Nocturne looked to the sky, "Whoa! We were in there for so long the sun's already up again!"

Surprised, I turned to see the sun almost directly overhead.

"Oh!" We all turned at Medicham's surprised shout. "Look at that!" We looked to where Medicham was pointing and saw a massive plateau risen out of the ground with a hole leading inside.

Lopunny gasped, "Oh! That's…!"

"The ground heaved up! And a gap opened up in the face of the cliff!" Medicham finished.

Gardevoir murmured, "The tremor earlier… What Regigigas and the others were protecting… This must have been it!"

Medicham jumped with joy, "I get it now! That's where they hid the treasures! And they're undisturbed!"

"Wonderful!" Lopunny cheered. "This exploration turned out to be a huge success after all!"

While they celebrated, Nocturne used ingrain and wrapped his arms around Atlas, sending the healing energy through him.

Gardevoir placed a hand on her chin in thought, "But the credit doesn't belong to us this time." They all turned to us, and Gardevoir continued, "Team Firestorm. The credit belongs entirely to you."

I began to say, "But you helped-"

"I'd say it does!" Medicham interrupted. "The treasures in there, all of it belongs to you." She laughed, "My word, weren't you something special! It was like seeing Wigglytuff in action in the old days!"

We all laughed along and when we stopped, Gardevoir turned, "So, shall we go on our next adventure, old friends?"

"Yes, let's do that!" Lopunny answered. She turned to us, "We enjoyed ourselves very much, Team Firestorm. It was fun exploring with you!" She smiled, "If we keep up our explorations, we may run into each other some day. But next time, we'll beat you to the treasure! Take care! Send our love to Wigglytuff!"

She waved as she turned away and Team Charm left.

Vulcan nodded, "We need to get back, too. We've got some explaining to do to the recruits. We were gone for a long while."

-Roy's POV-

Yeesh, I wonder what their deal was…

After squirming my way out of that dilemma with that little group last night, I had dedicated my time to finding a mission with a Dusk stone. I did long for a little bit more… power than I have now.

After another run through the psychic/fighting maze, I floated to the guild to check the next batch of missions. Along the way, I saw Connor and Vulcan coming down the stairs from the guild. I smiled, "Ah! Connor and Vulcan, back from the dead! Everybody was worried, you know! Why, I don't think I got a wink of sleep in your extended absence!"

Connor smiled slightly, "Need is relative to a ghost. You don't need to sleep anyways."

I tilted my head, "Oh, so you know about that little perk as well? Marvelous!"

They kept walking to Spinda's Cafe, and I decided to follow. I just sunk through the floorand took my position next to miss sunshine. Speaking of her, when they walked in, she asked, "What of Nocturne and Atlas?"

Connor said, "Atlas is getting patched up by Chimecho."

Jade nodded, and Nocturne walked down the stairs, "He'll be fine. Chimecho said that he's not allowed to do anything for the next few days, though."

Vulcan and Connor both nodded in response, and I looked around, "So… What exactly went on that put Mr. Muscles in the infirmary?"

Connor said, "We'll fill you all in when everybody's here."

Sunshine said, "Perhaps we may exchange information when all of the recruits return from their missions. For now, as your advisor and second in command, I'd suggest getting some rest. You've been in that dungeon for over 24 straight hours."

Vulcan nodded and began walking up the stairs, "Alright… Noc, come wake us up when everyone's back if you're not taking a nap. Roy, if you scare us before then, then your ghostly face is going to know what a flamethrower feels like."

I smirked, "What makes you think that I was going to do that?"

-Mirage's POV-

"Hah!" I slammed Alice with my tail in the training grounds I found and zipped off. Jade had let the two of us have the day off to do whatever, since we got so many stolen items back yesterday.

Naturally, Alice and I wanted to duel, since it was a good way to pass the time. So I spent a good portion of this morning searching for a good location to hold our little battle.

She rolled out of the impact and stood back up, keeping an eye on me as I flew around her.

"Batting your eyelashes might get you somewhere with the boys, but that won't do you any good against me!"

She winked, "Don't you think I already know that?" I flew in with dragon rush, but right before I hit her, she used baton pass to swap our positions, and I had to force myself to stop before I hit the nearest tree. She then leapt onto my back using quick attack, then followed up with an Ice Punch. I fell to the ground, my wings frozen stiff, and she smiled, "I win! What is that, three out of four?"

I rolled over and stood up, using dragonbreath to melt the ice off of my wings, "Two out of four. Tiebreaker round?"

She jokingly scoffed, "Yeah, right! We need to get back. Connor, Vulcan, Atlas and Noc are probably back by now. We'll settle this another time."

-Alice's POV-

After Mirage and I came back, we found everybody present, including the group that went to Aegis Cave. I gasped at Atlas' appearance since he was wrapped in bandages in several locations, and he was evolved now, making him a couple feet taller than me, "Oh! What happened?"

Atlas' right arm was in a sling, and he smiled sheepishly, "Uh… I'll let Connor and Vulcan fill you guys in."

Jade nodded and spoke up, "Now that everybody is present, I will relay the reports of the missions I assigned in your absence, if that is alright."

Connor nodded for her to go on, and she explained all of the missions and the reports, then again for what happened today. Some of the other recruits added points in. (Mostly Magnus about how he "wrecked that Empoleon")

Once that was done, we all turned to Connor, Vulcan, Noc and Atlas, waiting to hear what went down. Roy was actually floating in plain sight, too, which was totally unlike him.

They explained the process of finding all the right stones, and how Noc could read unown, and all of the guardians and the fights. Magnus seemed pissed, muttering, "Always miss the good fights…"

I was alright hearing this from them. Judging by the typings of the enemies, I wouldn't have done much good anyways. Once they were finished, everybody was chock full of questions, including me. One of the most asked was, "When are we exploring these ruins?"

Connor smiled, "How about tomorrow?"

We all cheered and ordered gummi smoothies to celebrate.

Boom! That was the Regigigas fight! Let me know how it went! If you enjoyed, go ahead and tell me all about it in a review or PM! If you didn't, then let me know how I can improve! Any ideas for OCs in the next story, go ahead and PM me! Much Love!

-PL