Chapter 76:

Regi or Not

With an upgraded Pokédex filled loaded with more data than ever before, it was time to head for the next leg of my journey; the Battle Zone.

It had been a while since I had been to Snowpoint City, but it hadn't warmed up a bit. Snow still littered the ground like I was walking on a crunchy cloud. I wasn't going to wait around though; I needed to get on the boat that would take me to the Battle Zone.

Finding the port, I told the Sailor about my request. However, he seemed insistent. Oh brother, what now?

"We can't go" he told me, pointing in the direction of where the boat's bow was pointing. Multiple floating glaciers blocked the boat's path. "They just appeared and are moving very slowly. Something needs to be done about it. Until then though, we can't set sail."


So, why does everything I plan on doing have to get delayed? It was frustrating, but eh. I had gotten used to it at that point. Plus there was a good reason behind it. But what was I supposed to do in this tundra of a town?

"Lucas!" Candice came running up to me, hugging me hard. "Oh, congratulations on becoming Champion! Candice is so proud of you!"

When she loosened her grip, I told her what was going on. She had heard about Barry, and she knew about the ice flows. I mean how could you not?

"Candice thinks it's a nuisance" she said. "No one can get to or from the Battle Zone. Candice can't move it." Suddenly, she clicked her fingers. Well, tried to. You try clicking your fingers in a cold environment and see how hard it is. "But Candice knows someone who might! Candice wants Lucas to follow her!"


Candice walked me to the Snowpoint Temple, standing tall as ever. There were 4 stone pillars holding it us. 3 had dotted patterns on them, whilst one was so worn away that I couldn't make out the pattern whatsoever. The temple seemed to have been worn down by the elements over the years; it looked like it was going to crumble down at any minute.

"Candice welcomes you to Snowpoint Temple! Snowpoint Temple was built many years ago when travelers from the Hoenn region discovered Sinnoh. Impressed, the early people of Sinnoh dedicated it to the titans of Hoenn."

"That is indeed correct." From behind me came a man with brown hair and a green outfit. It was a bulky coat and shorts, almost like camo gear. "Thank you, Candice, I can take it from here."

Candice nodded. "This is Brandon, the Pyramid King of the Battle Frontier in Hoenn. He's here to check out the Ruins, but also to catch the Legendary Pokémon that lives inside them."

"LEGENDARY POKEMON?!" I shouted. Not sure why I was so excited. I had seen more Legendary Pokémon on my journey than many people would see in their lives.

"Correct. Don't even bother with an introduction, your name is Lucas Pratt. You are the Champion of Sinnoh, I must congratulate you."

It was here that I told him about the ice flows.

"Well, yes I'll move them. However, I would like you to accompany me into Snowpoint Temple first. You have been on quite the journey, your puzzle solving skills should be pretty adequate."

That seemed fair. After all, it meant that I would get to see a Legendary.

"I will present to you the Pokémon I have brought along with me" Brandon said. He sent out three Pokémon. The first Pokémon was made of different coloured rocks and had dotted eyes that looked like a H.


Regirock

377

Rock Type

Rock Peak Pokémon

Region of origin: Hoenn

5'07" (1.7 m)

507.1 lbs (230 kg)

Its entire body is made of rock. If any part chips off in battle, it attached rocks to repair itself.

Legendary Pokémon


The next Pokémon was made of ice. Unlike the ice from the glaciers though, it was completely clear. Through its body you could see the buildings and trees, as if staring through a waterfall. Its eyes formed a cross.


Regice

278

Ice Type

Iceberg Pokémon

Region of origin: Hoenn

5'11" (1.8 m)

358.8 lbs (175 kg)

Its body is made from ice from the ice age. It controls frigid air of -328 degrees Fahrenheit.

Legendary Pokémon


The final Pokémon was large and metal. It was the roundest of the lot and was grey. Its eyes formed a circle with an eye in the middle.


Registeel

379

Steel Type

Iron Pokémon

Region of origin: Hoenn

6'03" (1.9 m)

451.9 lbs (205 kg)

Tempered by pressure underground for tens of hundreds of years, its body cannot be scratched.

Legendary Pokémon


I had a look at the pillars at the Temple entrance again; the patterns mimicked the patterns of the Regi's eyes!

"I am a descendant of the people who built this temple" Brandon told me. "In it, is the Pokémon with the pattern on the final pillar." Once again, it couldn't be identified. "Okay, we better get a move on."

"Aye aye sir!" I said as Brandon recalled his Pokémon, and the two of us went in.

"Candice wishes you luck!"


The temple was frozen from inside, well roughly. There were icicles in many places and parts of the floor was frozen, but most of the stone structures were still in place, albeit worn down. One of which was a mighty structure with multiple eyes with its arms crossed over its chest.

"Is that it?" I asked Brandon.

"A very rough interpretation" he replied. "The real deal is in the bottom of the Temple. We should continue."


I was expecting this to be a smooth journey. However, the second floor revealed that that would not be the case. At all. Remember when I said the floor was frozen a bit? Large chunks of it was frozen here.

Oh no. Not again. But it was the only way to continue.

I stepped on one of the icy platforms and zoomed off in one direction. "YAAH!" I yelled as I crashed into a rock at the end. My face was bright red from the impact. My face was already cold, so it made the pain much worse.

"Well, this is the main gimmick" Brandon said, sending out Regice. Climbing on its back, Regice skated across the ice like an Olympic skater. "Come on Lucas, you're the Champion. You should know how to do these types of things."


The next room had two paths. One where you needed Rock Smash as a shortcut and the long way round. Since I didn't have a Rock Smash user with me, yep. Long way time!

Not much challenge here. A few Golbat encounters, nothing that Empoleon couldn't take on.


Next room was my definition of hell. The whole thing was basically one big natural ice rink.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" I shouted, my voice echoing around the hollow room.

I had to use the rocks scattered about the room to stop my sliding and sort out my movements. Suffice to say, I was slip sliding about all over the place.

If any of you find this journal and are game designers, do NOT implement puzzles like this.


The next floor was just walking past some rocks with some wild encounters, and this brought the two of us to the final floor.

In the middle of the last room was a large white Pokémon with giant hands and yellow rings around its arms. It had several multicoloured eyes but stood completely still. It was so still that the Dex couldn't register it.

There was one more sliding puzzle, but Brandon had clearly had enough. He sent out Regice and let me get on it so we could slide our way to the centre. It stood tall, but once again, not even breathing could be seen.

"This is it?" I asked.

"It's the one" Brandon said. "Okay. I know how to summon it. Regirock, Registeel, I need your assistance!" Out came the other two titans, who stood alongside Regice.

The giant titan in the middle stood still, but not as still as before. I saw that its finger was moving ever so slightly and jaggedly. I pointed it out to Brandon.

"It's starting to awaken. Stand back!"

Slowly but surely, more and more body parts started to move. Its fingers, arms and legs all came into animation. Eventually it got to the point where it could stretch, like it had just woken from a deep slumber which, to be fair, it had.


Regigigas

486

Normal Type

Colossal Pokémon

Region of origin: Sinnoh

12'02" (3.7 m)

925.9 lbs (420 kg)

There is an enduring legend that states this Pokémon towed continents with ropes.

Legendary Pokémon


It was huge. It was scary. It was…

Only Level 1.

"Erm, what?" I asked. "This is what we came all the way down here for?"

"I didn't realize it would be this weak!" Brandon shouted. "Erm, okay. Registeel, Iron Head!" Registeel bashed its steel head into Regigigas, knocking it out.

Well, that went well.

"Unbelievable" Brandon said. "I had prepared for this, but not for Regigigas to be this weak. What to do now?"

This was a predicament. How were we to catch a level one Pokémon? We would need one that is very weak. No time to go to the Solacoen Breeding Centre. What could be weak enough?

Wait. There was one...

"I know! Brandon, wait here. I'll catch Regigigas then give it to you. But I need something from the PC."

I used an Escape Rope and bolted out to get my secret weapon.


After some more terrible sliding around, I returned to Brandon practically panting from sliding around.

"I've got it" I said, holding up my Ball. I then looked at Regigigas, who had just recovered from the defeat. "Regigigas, I challenge you!" I said. "This is the weakest Pokémon I have. I will capture you!"

Regigigas roared as another battle started.

"I choose Combee!" I yelled as I sent out the triple of yellow shapes. "Use Gust!" Combee made a gust of wind that took down Regigigas's health by a third. Regigigas came back with Knock Off; it didn't do much at all.

"Regigigas has the Ability Slow Start" Brandon told me. "It halves its HP and Attack for the first 5 turns of battle."

"Brandon why the heck do you want to catch this?" I asked.

Brandon honestly didn't know either.

"Combee, use another Gust!" Regigigas was almost down. It came back with another Knock Off, once again not doing much at all.

"Okay. Go Ultra Ball!" I shouted. Would I catch Regigigas with this stupid Bug Type?

I did!


"Here you go" I told Brandon, holding Regigigas's Ball out to him.

Brandon took it from me, then just stared at the red object. "That was very smart of you young man. Using brains over brawn against a Pokémon with little brawn. You're not Champion for nothing I tell you that. I feel that I don't deserve it. Slow Start won't be very helpful to me, and you're the one who caught it after all. You should be the honour of keeping Regigigas."

My jaw dropped. I got to keep a Legendary Pokémon!

And whilst I never would imagine saying it, it was all thanks to my male Combee.

"I believe I have my word to stick to" Brandon told me. "Let's move the ice flows."


The two of us walked back to the boat, where the Sailor was still eyeing the glaciers, more concerned than ever.

"Help has arrived!" I told him. I told Brandon to go to a point where his Pokémon could reach the flows.

"What are you doing?" the Sailor asked.

Brandon got everything ready. "Regirock, Regice, Registeel, I need your assistance!" Out came everyone.

"You to Regigigas!" I shouted, sending out the Legendary. "Okay. Move the ice flows."

Brandon's titans used Hammer Arm on the ice floe whilst Regigigas use Knock Off. All this combined power meant that the 4 Pokémon all pushed the ice flows slowly. It was so large that it needed more than a small ounce of their power.

"Empoleon, help out!" I said, as Empoleon jumped into the water. Empoleon slashed a huge chunk of ice off, and it crashed into the frigid sea. This made the ice flow a lot lighter and the 4 titans pushed it far off.

"Yeah!" the Sailor shouted. The path was clear, and, in the distance, we could see the faint outline of the Battle Zone.


"Thank you so much Brandon" I said.

"You're welcome" he replied. "Well, it looks like my work here is done. I'm heading back to the Hoenn region. I promised Scott I would get a new team member, but I'm sure he'll understand the situation. You know, you are going to take on Sinnoh's Battle Frontier right?"

You know, I hadn't actually thought about it much. So much has been going on. First, I need an endorsement.

"That can be sorted over there" Brandon told me. "Okay, I'm heading off. Thank you good sir."

With no time to waste, I got in the boat. "Let's head off!" I told the Sailor.

"Aye aye!" he said.

The boat's propellers whirred, which allowed the boat to zoom across the water.


After an hour on the ocean, the boat docked at a dockyard with red steel cranes and multiple steel crates of red and blue. Over the trees, I could see the large facility that was the Battle Frontier.

"Welcome to the Fight Area on the Battle Zone" the Sailor said. "Have fun Champion!"

I stepped off. A new adventure was waiting for me.