Chapter 134: Chasing to the Finish

"Urshifu, use Close Combat!"

Deep in a frozen cavern, Quillon and his Urshifu were in combat with a Regice, the golem blasting Urshifu with an Ice Beam. Urshifu was not deterred, pushing through the pulse of ice, pummeling Regice into a corner. Once Regice was weak enough, Quillon readied an Ultraball.

"I've got you now. Go, Pokeball!"

The ball flew through the air, striking Regice dead center and capturing him. After a few tense moments, the ball clicked, confirming its capture. Quillon breathed a sigh of relief before giving his partner an appreciative nod.

"Good work, Urshifu. Return."

Urshifu bowed respectfully before being returned. Once everything was secure, Quillon took out his Rotomphone and made a call.

"Regice is secure, it's time."

"Guys! My next trial mission from Project Mew is here."

Everyone quickly gathered around Goh as he looked at the choices.

"Cool! What is it?"

"I have a choice. Let's see: either follow three sets of virtuous footprints, or catch Regieleki or Regidrago?"

The second one confused everyone.

"Regieleki? Regidrago?"

"I've never heard of those Pokemon before," Lillie said.

"Could they be related to the Regis of Hoenn?" Chloe offered.

"Funny you should mention that," Professor Cerise said as he walked in, having overheard their conversation. "I was just reading up on an old legend the other day."

"An old legend?"

"We all know that Regigigas created Regice, Registeel, and Regirock to aid him. But rumor has it that he also created two other titans out of electricity and crystalized dragon energy as well. But while the other three are well documented, these two have been lost to legend."

"So Regidrago and Regieleki must be those two," Goh mused.

"Do they give you any idea on where to search?"
"All it gives is these coordinates."

"Let me see that."

Goh handed his phone over to the Professor, who examined it carefully.

"If my math is correct, those coordinates are in the Crown Tundra," he said after careful calculations. "Due to the coldness of the area, only a small portion of it has been settled and explored. If any new Pokemon were to be discovered, odds are it'd be there."

"Then that's where I'm going!" Goh said confidently.

"Alright, let's go!"

But Goh shook his head, and held Ash back.

"No way, you need to train for The Masters Eight. I'll be fine on my own."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive," Goh said. "If I'm going to be a Chaser for Project Mew, then I need to be able to handle things on my own."

Ash nodded in understanding.

"Alright then. We'll both be working towards our goals!"

"Right!"

"Goh, wait!"

Goh was just about to get up before Chloe held him back, giving him a deep kiss good luck.

"Be safe out there."

"I will, I promise."

It was a long and tedious journey for Goh. A long flight to Galar, a boat to the Crown Tundra, followed by an arduous hike through the snowy landscape, but at last he reached his destination, the Split-Decision Ruins. Oddly, it seemed to be some kind of temple, with a large door engraved with strange symbols.

"That's odd, there's no handle. How am I supposed to get in?"

"Goh?"

Goh turned around to see Green walking up the steps behind him.

"Oh, hey Green. I see you chose this mission too."

Green shrugged.

"Yeah, the other one seemed kind of vague, so I thought I'd check out this one. Heard some rumors about these Pokemon, wanted to see if they were true."

"They are, and they're not to be taken lightly."

Quillon appeared next, his face stoic as always.

"How do we get in? I don't see any handles or anything."

Quillon pointed to above the door, where strange writing was engraved.

"When the titans of Steel, Rock, and Ice are gathered, the pathway to the two shall be revealed."

"Rock, Steel, and Ice?" Green asked. "Do you mean Regirock, Registeel, and Regice?"

"Correct," Quillon replied, and took out three Ultra Balls, from which emerged the three titans. As soon as they appeared, both the markings on their faces and on the door began to glow before the door slowly opened, revealing a long, dark stairway.

"Your mission awaits, but be careful. No doubt these two will be strong. Your only allowed two Pokemon for this mission, so think wisely. Good luck."

"Right!"

With that, the two of them departed for their most daunting mission yet.

The staircase was long and dark, with the two of them clutching the handrail for support. As they walked, they began chatting to pass the time.

"I saw that you won the battle royale mission at Sea Mauville a while back. Man, I wish I could've been there to wipe that stupid smirk off of Sterling's face!"

Goh chuckled.

"Yeah, I just wish I could've beat Gary for real. How have things been going for you?"

Green sighed.

"Good, I guess."

"What's wrong?"

"It's just…I'm barely hanging on in the rankings right now. I'm number 7 at the moment, and even if I clear this mission there's no guarantee I'll make it on the team. I've failed at so many other things, I just…I really want to succeed here."

Goh smiled, and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, it's alright! All you can do right now is your best. And if Project Mew won't have you after this, then it's their loss. I'd let you be on my research project any time."

Green returned the smile, and nodded.

"Thanks, Goh."

At last, they reached the bottom of the stairs, where they found a large empty room. Across a wide gap stood two large statues. On the floor before them were strange steps, forming the symbol on the statue in front of them.

"Great, a dead end. Now what?"

Goh looked down at the floor momentarily, stroking his chin in thought.

"Maybe not. I wonder if…"

Carefully, he climbed down into the pit and approached the markings on the ground. Jumping onto it, it sunk into the ground and lit up, as did the corresponding light on the statue.

"I knew it! I need to match the symbols on the ground to the statue in front of me."

"And then what?"

"I don't know, but there's only one way to find out!"

Goh continued to press the buttons on the floor in sequence, each one lighting up the statue. But right before he was about to hit the last one…

"Thanks for making it easy for me!"

Suddenly, all of his hard work disappeared. Looking back, he saw Sterling on the path opposite him, with Lyla not far behind.

"I knew if we followed you, you'd do all the hard work for us! Now to claim my prize!"

"Not if I can help it!"

Before Sterling could go any farther, Goh hopped on another button, resetting Sterling's progress. This went on for a few minutes before the two of them collapsed to the ground, exhausted.

"Well, that's not going to work."

"Now what?"

Goh sighed. He didn't want to suggest it, but if they wanted to have any chance of clearing the mission, he'd need to say it.

"Look, clearly this is getting us nowhere. But maybe if we hit the buttons at the same time, it might work."

Sterling wanted to object, but he had to admit Goh had a point, so they both made their way back to the start..

"Alright, on three."

"Got it. One…"

"Two…"

"THREE!"

They both jumped, landing on the pads at the same time, and to their relief both lit up.

"Yes!"

"Alright, again! One, two, three!"

Again, their plan worked, and they continued on like this until their respective patterns were complete. At first, nothing happened, but then the ground began to shake.

"What's going on?"

"I don't know, but brace yourselves!"

Then, the statues began to shake violently before they exploded, revealing the two Pokemon they came to find. One was bright yellow with sparkling energy, while the other was Dark Purple.

"Is that…"

"Looks like it."

Sterling smirked, raising a Pokeball.

"You're mine. Go, Darmanitan!"

"Not if I catch him first! Go, Frosmoth!"

Sterling and Lyla took on Regidrago, leaving Goh to face Regieleki.

"Go, Cinderace! Use Mud shot!"

Before Regieleki could even move, Cinderace tossed several globs of mud at it, hitting it right in the eyes, blinding it.

"Alright, now use Pyro Ball!"

Regieleki fired off a Thunderbolt, but Cinderace remained unfazed, hitting it with his signature attack and sending it flying into a wall.

"Alright! Way to go, Cinderace!"

"Cinderace!"

Their success was short lived, however, as Cinderace was immediately trapped in a cage of electricity, shocking him anytime he got close to it.

"Cinderace!"

To make matters worse, Cinderace got hit by a Zap Cannon from Regieleki, causing him even more pain. Goh tried to return him, but the cage prevented it, leaving Cinderace unable to do much else but take it.

"Venusaur, use Vine Whip!

Before Regieleki could get another hit in, it was beset by a series of vines, distracting it long enough for the Thunder Cage to dispel, allowing a weak but still willing to fight Cinderace to relax. Goh looked back to see Green and her Venusaur ready to back him up.

"Thanks for the save."

"You'd have done the same for me, now what do you say we wrap this up?"

"Works for me. Cinderace, Scorching Sands!"

"Venusaur, use Seed Bomb!"

Regieleki tried to recover and fire another Zap Cannon, but Cinderace struck first, firing off shots of burning mud, which Venusaur followed up with a barrage of seeds from her bulb, both attacks landing the electric titan in the wall with a nasty burn.

"Now's your chance, Goh!"

"Right! Ultraball, go!"

The ball flew from Goh's hands and hit the electric type, absorbing it into itself as it hit the ground. Goh and Green watched with bated breath as it shook once…twice…

CLICK!

"Regieleki has been added to your Pokedex!" Goh's Rotomphone confirmed, allowing them both to breathe a sigh of relief.

"Alright, mission accomplished! Thanks Green, I couldn't have done it without you."

"What're friends for?"

The sound of the other battle drew their attention. Turning to the other side of the room, they found Sterling and Lyla tending to their defeated Pokemon.

"No way! We barely scratched it."

"Regidrago is on a whole other level."

With those two defeated, Regidrago turned its attention to the other two challengers.

"Cinderace, return! You did great, pal. Get some rest."

"Come on back, Venusaur! Thanks so much, we'll take it from here."

They then turned to each other.

"You ready for another round?"

"You know it! Go, Clefable! Use Moonblast!"

"Urshifu, I choose you! Use Sucker Punch!"

Clefable acted quickly, firing off a quick but powerful Moonblast, blinding and weakening the Dragon type and allowing Urshifu to pounce, striking it hard with his fists. Regidrago was quick to fight back though, sending Urshifu flying with a Dragon Pulse.

"Urshifu!"

Urshifu picked himself up with a grunt, struggling to get up as Regidrago charged up another Dragon Pulse aimed right at him.

"Clefable, protect Urshifu!"

Clefable jumped in the way at the last minute, taking the hit. Since she was a Fairy Type, she didn't take any damage, but Regidrago wasn't done yet, swooping in to hit her with a Hammer Arm.

"Urshifu, Focus Punch!"

Before it could connect, Urshifu leapt into the fray and punched it away, Clefable giving him an appreciative nod.

"Thanks for the save Goh, now let's finish this!"

"Couldn't agree more!"

"Clefable, Dazzling Gleam!

"Urshifu, Wicked Blow!"

Before Regidrago could recover, it was blinded by a dazzling light from Clefable. Lastly, Urshifu charged forward and pummeled him with his fists, knocking him down.

"Green, now's your chance!"

"Right! Pokeball, go!"

Green threw an empty Pokeball, hoping it would work. After a long, tense moment, the ball clicked, confirming the capture. The long battle over, Goh and Green collapsed to the ground, exhausted but triumphant.

"Great job, Green."

"You too, partner."

"Wow," Lyla said breathlessly. "They actually did it. Not bad!"

Sterling scoffed, but secretly he was impressed.

The four of them made their way back to the entrance, where they found Quillon waiting for them, along with another surprise member.

"Danika?"

"Hey, Goh!" Danika waved. "I just got back from the other mission and came to check on this one. How'd it go?"

Goh and Green smiled, and sent out their newly caught Pokemon. Quillon nodded approvingly.

"Excellent. You'll both receive three token for your success."

Just then, the other three Regis released themselves from their Pokeballs, and the five gathered golems began to glow. Suddenly, a large figure emerged in the distance, much to everyone's shock.

"No way…"

"Is that…?"

"Regigigas."

Indeed, a Dynamaxed Regigigas stood before them. Everyone went to draw their Pokeballs, but just as quickly as he appeared, the behemoth vanished. But no one had any time to process the event, though, as their Rotom Phones began going off.

Incoming call from Project Mew. Incoming call from Project Mew.

Taking out their phones, they noticed it was a call from Professor Willow.

"The final Trial Missions are over. Thank you to all of the challengers who have given it their all these past months. I hope that regardless of the outcome today, you continue your endeavors to understand Pokemon, and that we may one day work together again. But for now, here are the results of the Chaser selection."

His image was replaced with a photo of Gary, not that Goh was surprised.

"In first place with 24 tokes, Gary Oak."

To Goh's relief, his image showed up next.

"In second place with 21 tokens, Goh."

"Alright, I made it!"

"Congratulations, Goh."

"And in a shocking turn of events, we have a two way tie for third place, with 20 tokens each, Horace and Green!"

To Green's shock, her image showed up next, along with Horace's.

"In recognition of both their hard work, both challengers will be made Chasers! Congratulations to our top 4. We will contact you soon with more information on our expedition."

Green remained silent for a minute, before letting out an excited yell.

"YES! I did it!"

"Congrats, Green. I told you you could do it."

Quillon cleared his throat, catching their attention.

"Don't think you can slack off now. This is only the beginning, I expect nothing less than your best during the mission."

With that, he coldly walked away before they could respond, Danika just shaking her head.

"Don't pay him any mind, he's always like this. Congrats you two, I'm glad you made the team."

"Thanks, Danika."

With that, the four chasers went their separate ways, knowing that the next time they met it would be for the adventure of a lifetime.