Aboard the Pyramid Aircraft—
Brandon stared intently ahead.
Beside him, Maria pointed to an ancient temple not far in the distance. "There it is—the Snowpoint Temple. That's the place I've been overseeing all this time."
The temple, built deep into the mountainside, looked as though it had fused with the mountain itself.
Despite enduring the erosion of countless years, its majestic structure remained evident.
But now, the temple had been taken over by Hunter J and her band of poachers.
Officer Jenny and the local police had already been notified…
But reinforcements would still need time to arrive.
From aboard the Pyramid Aircraft, they suddenly spotted a large swarm of Skarmory and Golbat launching an attack!
It was clear—these Pokémon belonged to the poachers.
And curiously, they weren't attacking at random. Their targets were specific—the aircraft's spinning propellers!
BOOM! KA-BOOM!
The propellers were damaged!
The Pyramid Aircraft was forced into an emergency landing!
Brandon quickly entrusted the emergency landing procedures to his apprentice, Samuel, while he himself led the group aboard a smaller auxiliary craft—racing straight toward the entrance of the temple!
Dawn, Anabel, and Miss Maria stayed behind to intercept the rest of the poaching group outside.
Ash even had Pikachu remain with them as backup.
Deep in the center of the Snowpoint Temple, three ancient stone pillars stood tall.
The Rock Pillar, the Steel Pillar, and the Ice Pillar!
Each pillar was identical in appearance, forming a perfect triangle to safeguard the glowing orb in the center.
When Hunter J arrived and saw the three stone pillars along with the glowing orb they protected, she immediately knew she had found the right place.
This was Regigigas's slumbering chamber.
Destroy the three guardian pillars—and the slumbering Regigigas inside that orb would awaken!
"There you are! Salamence, go—Flamethrower!"
"ROAR!!"
Standing atop her Salamence, Hunter J commanded as it gathered intense Fire-type energy in its jaws and blasted the Steel Pillar.
CRASH!!
The Steel Pillar fell!
"Dragon Claw!"
Salamence's claws radiated with draconic energy, slashing into the Rock Pillar!
BOOM!
The Rock Pillar collapsed as well!
"Perfect. Two down. One more to go and Regigigas will awaken. Then the merchandise is mine!"
To Hunter J, every Pokémon—except her own—was nothing more than a product to be sold.
"Again! Flamethrower!"
"STOP!!"
A fierce voice cut through the chaos—Brandon had arrived!
But his heart sank when he saw the two fallen pillars. Only the Ice Pillar remained standing.
Fury surged through him.
"Floatzel, Ice Beam!"
"FLOO-HAAA!"
From the moment they had entered this place, Regigigas had been aware of everything.
Even while slumbering, it could sense what was happening. Once it awoke, it would know all that had transpired.
Which was why Ash acted faster than Brandon.
He knew the only way to gain Regigigas's favor was through respect and protection—not by force. A Legendary Pokémon of its caliber couldn't simply be captured through battle.
This was why Ash had always viewed Hunter J as an accidental ally—her aggression was the key to triggering the awakening.
"Damn it! He's here too! Retreat!"
Salamence narrowly dodged the Ice Beam.
Seeing Ash's arrival, Hunter J made a snap decision—retreat!
But even as she pulled back, she commanded Salamence to unleash one final Flamethrower—this time aimed directly at the orb in the center!
She hadn't had time to destroy the third pillar, so she aimed to disrupt the orb instead!
That was her new plan.
BUZZZ—ZZZZ—ZRRRRR!!
The orb, now struck by overwhelming energy, began trembling violently!
Brandon's expression darkened. As a scholar of ancient history, he understood exactly what was happening.
The ancient one—Regigigas—was about to awaken.
And it wouldn't be a calm awakening.
It was a rage-fueled resurrection, triggered by the disturbance of its sacred slumber!
This meant only one thing: Regigigas would likely rampage upon awakening, attacking anyone and anything in sight!
And sure enough, the trembling orb erupted—revealing a towering figure of immense power!
A body forged like steel. Eyes glowing directly from its chest, reminiscent of a mythical war deity.
"Re... REGIGI…"
Regigigas had awakened!
"Ash! We need to fall back immediately! It's in a rage right now—it'll see everyone, humans and Pokémon alike, as enemies!" Brandon warned grimly.
Ash nodded without hesitation.
Sure enough, the moment Regigigas awoke from its slumber, it launched into an all-out frenzy!
Its colossal body—like living steel—ignored all drawbacks. It attacked with no concern for limits!
It had six fingers—three on each hand.
And with the twitch of a single finger—ZAP!!
A beam of golden-purple energy blasted out!
That was Hyper Beam!
Each finger unleashed a torrent of devastating energy at random!
The entire Snowpoint Temple began crumbling under the onslaught!
Ash and Brandon, shielded by Floatzel, managed to escape to the outside of the temple just in time.
Moments later—
BOOOOM!!
The entire temple collapsed!
"Ash! Mr. Brandon! Floatzel! Are you all okay? What happened in there?"
Dawn and Piplup rushed over with anxious expressions.
Outside, thanks to the combined efforts of Anabel and Pikachu, about half of the poaching group had already been subdued.
Unfortunately, Hunter J had slipped away.
Miss Maria stared in disbelief at the ruins.
The Snowpoint Temple … had collapsed.
This sacred place her family had protected for generations—gone, just like that.
"Regigigas has awakened in rage from being disturbed… There's no time to explain everything. Our priority now is stopping both Regigigas and those poachers. Their goal is to capture Regigigas—we cannot let that happen! Ash, I need your help!"
Brandon was powerful—but the more powerful someone was, the more they understood the dangers of overestimating themselves.
This was Regigigas, the legend of legends—now standing before them in real life. Brandon knew he couldn't stop it alone.
"I'm in!" Ash agreed without hesitation.
Because he understood—Brandon wouldn't be able to capture Regigigas.
When the time came to tame the legend, he would be the one to do it.
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T/N:
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