Chapter 36 - Regirock
Crystal woke at the sound of something sliding. She thought it sounded vaguely familiar, but she couldn't remember. Opening her eyes and glancing toward the source of the sound, she saw a creature walking toward her. It had two arms and two legs, and its body was tan-colored. Most of it was covered by strange white and black material.
She floated upright, watching it apprehensively. In the back of her mind, she thought, It's a human. But she didn't know how she knew this, and after a moment of trying to recall in vain she gave up.
Uxie floated up from a few feet away to hover next to her, facing the human, though his eyes were closed. Crystal still wasn't sure why they were always closed.
The human reached into the white material covering it and produced a small metal object. Then it spoke. "Since the Froslass is of no further use, it has been ordered to be terminated."
Crystal's eyes widened as she processed that statement, and a moment later Uxie moved in front of her. "You cannot do this."
The human pointed the metal object at him. "Move. You are still useful."
Uxie shook his head, and Crystal backed away slightly. Then the human was surrounded by a purple light, and Crystal froze, watching in confusion.
After a second, the human's hand moved slightly, and Crystal gasped as Uxie suddenly collapsed to the floor limply. She rushed toward him in concern, only to be stopped as the human then pointed the metal object at her.
Crystal stared at it for a moment, before the human pressed a button on it, and a pulse of light shot from it. For a long instant that seemed to last forever, she struggled to move but found that she couldn't, helpless as the light sped toward her.
Then Uxie rose in front of her, absorbing the light. Crystal watched in dismay as he jerked violently, then fell to the floor again. The human stared for a moment, before turning and leaving.
Crystal didn't even wait to see the human leave the room before rushing forward to check if Uxie was alright. Upon reaching him and instinctively knowing what to do, she felt his wrist for a pulse, and to her horror found none.
Uxie's foot twitched once, before he suddenly dissolved into countless glowing white particles and disappeared.
.
Emerging from the dust was a large creature, about as tall as Kaden. It appeared to be made of rock, even though it was moving, and was formed vaguely in the shape of a human. It had two arm-like protrusions and two leg-like protrusions, and on its back were three spikes of red rock. On the spot where its face would be if it were human was a pattern of seven dots, arranged to look like two columns connected by another row in the middle. I was immediately struck by the similarity between this creature and the creature I had encountered before, the one made of ice.
It took a few steps in our direction as the dust settled, then stopped. We stared at it in astonishment. After a few seconds, it spoke in a masculine voice, though in a language I didn't know. This again reminded me of the other creature.
Kaden and Jirachi immediately moved in front of me protectively, and Brandon stepped forward, exclaiming, "That's Regirock!"
The creature he called Regirock spoke again, this time understandable. "Language confirmed. Voice key is incorrect. Unauthorized access not permitted. Threat confirmed."
My eyes widened as I recalled how the other one had attacked anyone who talked, and I turned to Brandon, crying, "Move!" Brandon glanced at me, startled, then jumped aside as Regirock dashed toward him, punching with one rocky arm. He took out a Poke Ball and pressed the button in its center, releasing the creature within with a flash of light.
"Budd, Magical Leaf!"
The small, vaguely human-shaped green creature it had released raised its arms, pointing the flowers at their ends at Regirock. Regirock moved toward Brandon, but stopped as it was hit by many glowing leaves and knocked down. Brandon smiled, moving backward and recalling Budd in another flash of light.
Then he produced another Poke Ball, releasing from it a large round creature roughly four times as large as me that appeared to be at least partially made of rocks, with some reptilian features.
"Gravl, use Earthquake."
The round, rocky Pokemon, which I supposed was called Gravl, raised one three-fingered claw and smashed it into the ground. The earth underneath us shook from the impact, cracks appearing. As I looked on in amazement, rock formations nearby crumbled, and sand rose into the air, clouding my vision.
I breathed in sand and dust and coughed before holding my breath, waiting for the air to clear. Gradually the dust settled, and I could see again.
Brandon was still standing, which was impressive considering he was the only one besides Regirock and his Pokemon who couldn't float. Regirock was lying on the ground motionlessly, and Gravl was watching the other rocky Pokemon.
Suddenly, Regirock said in a monotone voice, "Threat identified." It climbed back to its feet and faced Gravl. The dots on its face flashed quickly in turn.
"Gravl, Earthquake again."
Gravl raised one claw, but before it could smash it into the ground again, Regirock jumped toward it, smashing one arm into it. Gravl immediately fell limply and began rolling away due to its body shape. Brandon gave a cry of surprise and recalled it, producing another Poke Ball.
Jirachi's eyes glowed, but nothing happened, and I glanced at him confusedly. He glanced at me and smiled nervously. Then Kaden flew at Regirock, mouth spewing flames, as Brandon released Budd from its Poke Ball again.
Regirock turned to Kaden as it was engulfed in flames. Halting in front of the rock creature, Kaden hovered and continued to breathe fire at it. Then Regirock, not seeming to feel the heat at all, punched Kaden, sending him flying backward and skidding into the sand.
I cried out and moved toward him, but stopped when he rose and shook off the sand. He said into my mind, "I'm alright." Then his eyes glowed for a second, before they stopped and he glanced at the rocky creature with a confused expression.
"Giga Drain!"
Budd shot vines from its flowers at Regirock, and they latched on, wrapping around the creature of rock. They began to glow for several moments, until Regirock jerked backward, ripping the vines and causing Budd to gasp and cringe in pain. The vines were quickly withdrawn, and Regirock seemed no worse for wear.
Regirock moved toward Budd more quickly than it would seem possible. Once it was right next to Brandon's Pokemon, it spun around, and one of the spikes on its back suddenly elongated, spearing toward Budd. Budd moved aside, dodging it, and Regirock turned back around.
I suddenly remembered what the other one had said. Visual match confirmed. Did that mean that it only needed to see me to stop the fighting? I decided to risk it.
I quickly floated in front of the rocky creature, facing it, as the others gave cries of dismay. Preparing myself to dodge if I wasn't right, I watched as Regirock froze in its tracks.
A moment later, its monotone voice said, "Visual match confirmed. Voice key required."
I hesitated for a moment, taking a breath to calm myself. "Avari."
"Voice key confirmed. Mission objective reached." A small stone fell from one of its arms, hitting the sand and causing a small cloud of dust to rise.
"Model Regirock mission completed. Self-destruct imminent."
I remembered this part and had just enough time to fly backward about a foot before Regirock exploded into miniscule bits of rock and sand, showering us for several moments. I closed my eyes and covered them to shield them.
When the barrage ended, I opened my eyes and looked around. There was no sign that Regirock had been there, aside from one small red stone.
The next moment, we were surrounded by light.