"REGIROCK—!!"
The deafening roar sent flocks of birds scattering in panic.
The more attuned one was to aura, the more palpable the ancient titan's terrifying presence became.
Lucario gritted its teeth, suddenly thrusting a paw toward Ash.
"Ash! This time... you can't abandon Pikachu like Sir Aaron did!"
Ash gripped Lucario's paw firmly. "Never!"
The familiar aura made Lucario's lips curl into a rare, relieved smile.
Then—it whirled around with a battle cry.
"LUCA—RIO!!"
A single Aura Sphere blasted forward, exploding against Regirock's stony body in a cloud of dust.
Natsume exhaled, shoulders squaring under the weight of responsibility.
"James, Jessie—go with Ash. Now."
"But Executive—"
"That's an order."
"...Yes!"
James grabbed Jessie's wrist, sprinting after Ash and Lucario as they charged toward the Tree of Beginning's entrance.
Meanwhile, Natsume stared up at the monolithic Regirock, emotions churning.
Steven's eyes gleamed like he was admiring a masterpiece.
"REGIROCK!!"
Boulders rained down in a devastating Rock Slide, forcing Natsume to flinch.
Since when do wild Pokémon attack trainers directly?!
"Metagross!"
Steven's arm shot up. His white Metagross blasted forward like a silver fortress, shielding them.
"Psychic."
A blue net of energy caught every falling rock—then hurled them back with lethal precision.
BOOM!!
Meanwhile, on Natsume's side…
Natsume hurled six Poké Balls in one go.
Steven was momentarily stunned, but what followed was sheer awe.
In a battle of this magnitude…
Even Steven, commanding just his Metagross, would feel the strain.
Precisely because multitasking commands left openings—
This was why Trainers in the wild rarely released all their Pokémon at once.
But Natsume-sensei—
"Yawn, Toxic," Natsume ordered. "Guidance, support Metagross!"
Watching Natsume-sensei's command was a visual feast.
Shielding the Trainer, flanking strikes, bolstering allies—
Every angle was covered, pushing on-the-spot tactics to their limits.
Even if the strategy was a bit dirty… That was Natsume-sensei's style!
"Gengar!" Gengar flickered behind Regirock, Toxic seeping through the cracks in its rocky hide.
Sylveon let out an adorable Yawn, and Regirock staggered drowsily.
"Regirock…" Regirock blinked in confusion.
Steven tore his gaze away, glancing at the two supporters beside Metagross.
Trusting him completely in the heat of battle—
"I won't let you down!" Steven's eyes sharpened as his arm slashed downward. "Metagross, Meteor Mash!"
"Metagross!!!"
With Sirfetch'd's Guidance and Arcanine's support, the white Metagross erupted in blinding light.
Its indestructible fists blurred with comet-like afterimages, trailing crimson streaks.
"Regirock—" Regirock, half-asleep, barely managed to isolate the toxins within its rocky shell.
At the same time, Natsume barked, "Squirtle, Water Pulse!"
Confuse it, damn it—land the hit!!
"Squirtle!" Squirtle slammed its palms against the ground. The waterfall above Tree of Beginning's cliffs roared violently.
Torrent, activate!
The surrounding aura resonated with Squirtle as it tilted its head back, firing a massive water column. The deluge crashed down!
"Regirock…" Regirock gaped.
I just woke up to sunbathe, and now I'm getting double-teamed?!
Water Pulse and Meteor Mash struck simultaneously!
BOOM!!!
The entire Tree of Beginning trembled. A crystallized branch snapped off, plunging into the waterfall with a colossal splash.
Steven and Natsume exchanged glances.
Wiping sweat from his brow, Steven laughed nervously. "Got a little too carried away…"
Well, it's your XP System. Natsume nodded solemnly. "Understandable!"
Dust clouds billowed through the ravine.
Regirock's eyes flickered red again.
"It's still standing?!" Natsume's face paled.
Or is this Regirock running Sturdy as its hidden Ability?!
"Tree of Beginning continuously empowers its guardians," Steven muttered. "Without a Plate, meaningful communication is impossible."
"So how long do we keep fighting?"
"Don't know." Steven smiled wryly. "Maybe until Ash and the others make it out safely…"
Natsume's expression twisted.
As Regirock roared again, a thought flashed through Natsume's mind.
If only Meowth were here…
Back then, Steven had controlled the Three legendary titans using ancient Plates unearthed in Sinnoh.
The archaic script on the Plates could pacify and command the Three legendary titans.
With Meowth's bizarre gift for languages, it could've bridged the gap…
"Ancient Plates… communication…"
Natsume gritted his teeth—then froze.
Ancient Plates… Ancient Language…
Dammit, I have that skill!
Natsume pulled up his panel, spotting the glowing purple text:
[Ancient Language Lv4: Can decipher most Plates and inscriptions. Capable of recognizing, writing, and pronouncing short phrases. (You can even hold basic conversations with ancient Pokémon.)]
Natsume-sensei, your System isn't entirely useless after all!
Steven raised a hand as Metagross clashed with Regirock again.
Energy from Tree of Beginning flooded into Regirock, forcing even Steven's invincible white Metagross onto the back foot!
CRACK!
The ground split beneath them, fissures snaking across the terrain.
Steven frowned, reaching for his red tie's pin—
Natsume took a deep breath.
"Steven, cover me! I need to get closer to Regirock!"
"What're you planning?" Steven blinked but didn't question the order.
"I know Ancient Language too!" Natsume snapped.
Steven's eyes widened. Then, shaking his head, he chuckled helplessly.
Of course. I should've known better, Natsume-sensei…
His gaze hardened as he shouted, "Metagross, full-power Reflect!"
"Metagross!!" Metagross crossed its arms, a massive barrier materializing.
Regirock's Rock Slide hammered against Reflect as Metagross roared, shielding Natsume and Steven while advancing.
Once they were close enough—
Natsume's lips moved, his tongue and palate forming strange, guttural syllables: "■■■■■!!"
Steven and Regirock both froze.
Metagross' supercomputer-like brain spawned a question mark: Does not compute!
From Regirock's perspective—
A vaguely familiar human approached with a stranger.
Then the stranger opened his mouth and spoke in a weirdly accented version of its native tongue:
"Have you eaten?"
"Regirock???" Regirock stared blankly.
Then its rage reignited: "Regirock—!!"
You beat me up first, then ask if I've eaten?!
Steven wiped his brow. "Natsume-sensei, we can't hold much longer!"
"Wrong phrase?" Natsume's heart raced. That was how ancients greeted each other!
With time running out, Natsume shut his eyes, frantically searching—
Until Togepi patted his shoulder.
Inspiration struck. He yelled: [Don't attack—we're allies!]
Regirock hesitated.
After all, you don't hit someone who greets you.
And aside from the odd accent… this guy did seem like one of its own.
The man continued, "Ten minutes!"
Natsume held up crossed fingers.
"We'll just go in and out—quick!"
Steven watched Regirock halt its assault, then glanced at Natsume in disbelief.
His worldview felt shattered.
If controlling the Three legendary titans was this easy…
Why did I waste 33 sleepless nights back then?!
"Regirock—"
Regirock and Natsume reached an understanding.
It spun like a drill, burrowing back underground.
Silence returned, broken only by birdsong and distant streams.
Steven exhaled. "That's… it?"
"For now," Natsume said. "But we should hurry. There might be other legendary titans inside."
"Absolutely will be," Steven sighed. "Brandon's Three legendary titans attack intruders on sight."
"Thanks to you… But that Ancient Language earlier?" Steven pressed.
"Just basics I picked up in Alola."
Natsume shrugged. "Enough for a phrase or two."
Steven paused, recalling Natsume's earlier explanations, and nodded slowly.
No wonder… He understands legendaries and myths so well.
From another angle—
A scholar versed in Ancient Language, and a certain Champion who studied mythical legendaries…
"I see!" Steven's inner gossip-lover ignited.
"Let's catch up to Ash."
Natsume eyed Tree of Beginning's entrance—
Then looked up at the colossal ancient tree piercing the heavens.
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