No Choice—Then We Fight!

The volcano spewed black ash into the sky, swirling like a flock of crows descending from above. The biting cold winds mixed with waves of heat, creating an unsettling contrast of freezing chill and scorching warmth.

Johan stood with his eyes shut, brows furrowed, his outstretched hands glowing faintly with an azure light.

Cynthia and the others formed a protective stance around him.

They weren't just dealing with the immediate threat of Regigigas—countless Pokémon, startled by the seismic activity, were now fleeing wildly through the mountains.

But most importantly, they had to handle Regigigas itself.

Johan's Pokémon had all emerged on their own, standing loyally by his side.

"Goka…"

Charcadet gazed at the towering, mountainous figure ahead with a determined look.

Would the titan be willing to listen?

"Is it working?" Flint asked again, a hint of relief in his voice.

Lucian, too, eased up slightly, already impressed.

As expected of Johan—the renowned Pokémon psychologist. He could even calm an ancient titan like Regigigas…

"REGI—"

Regigigas leaned forward slightly, as if lowering its head to find the one speaking to it.

The sheer weight of its movements sent a wave of invisible pressure washing over them. Despite its seemingly slow motions, every step carried an undeniable sense of devastation—as if the mere flick of its hand could turn everything to dust.

The glowing signals on its body flickered rapidly, and amidst the ominous red lights, other colors finally began to emerge.

From Lucian's perspective, this seemed like a promising sign.

However—

Cynthia noticed Johan's hands lowering, and more importantly, the deep crease that remained on his brow.

"CHI—KA—SSSS!!"

Regigigas let out another earth-shaking roar, and the colors on its signal lights, which had briefly fluctuated, all turned blood-red once more.

At the same time, it pressed its hands together—then slowly spread them apart, raising them high above its head.

A powerful orange glow gathered between its palms, growing in intensity.

Johan's eyes flew open.

Without hesitation, he grabbed Cynthia's wrist and yelled—

"RUN!"

Shit! That's 'Crush Grip'!

Why the hell was everyone just standing there?!

MOVE!

Realizing the danger a second too late, Lucian and Flint finally reacted, stumbling backward.

Confusion was written all over their faces.

"Wait—wasn't it calming down?!" Lucian asked in disbelief.

Why did it seem even angrier now?!

Johan exhaled sharply.

The titan's rage wasn't just from waking up abruptly.

The eruption wasn't natural—it was man-made!

That was the real reason Regigigas was so furious.

For centuries, it had sealed away the volcano, allowing itself to finally rest.

Yet in the blink of an eye, these reckless mortals had triggered another eruption—and to make things worse, they had rudely woken it up halfway through its nap.

"The eruption was intentional?!"

Everyone was stunned.

It all made sense now.

The sudden instability of the volcano—it wasn't just nature taking its course. Someone had interfered.

But now, there was a bigger problem.

What do we do about an enraged Regigigas?

"We have no choice. We're going with Plan Three," Johan said, backing away.

"…Plan Three?" Flint blinked.

There were three plans?!

Since when?!

And more importantly—what the hell were Plans One and Two?

The first plan was simple: observe Regigigas and see where its attention was directed after waking up.

The second plan was for Johan to negotiate with Regigigas as an emissary of other legendary Pokémon.

And Plan Three?

The worst-case scenario.

A direct confrontation.

These discussions had happened earlier between Johan, Cynthia, and Lucian—but they had never bothered to explain them to Flint.

After all, he wouldn't have cared anyway.

"The snowfield," Lucian said, glancing at the landscape. "It's the best place. Fewer wild Pokémon, less collateral damage."

"The problem is…" Aaron frowned. "It's getting faster."

Johan cursed under his breath.

It really was.

Regigigas's legendary Slow Start ability was wearing off.

"We won't make it," Lucian muttered. "Not in time."

We have to fight it here.

Cynthia didn't hesitate.

She leaped from Garchomp's back mid-flight, her coat and golden hair billowing in the freezing wind.

"Garchomp, Dragon Rush!"

"GARRR!!"

Garchomp's eyes glowed red, and with a deafening roar, it cloaked itself in an aura of swirling blue and purple energy, becoming a raging dragon avatar.

A supersonic missile, hurtling toward Regigigas.

Its razor-sharp scythes carved a trail of sparks across Regigigas's body.

BOOM!!

"REGI!!"

The impact forced the giant to stumble back two steps.

It shifted its focus onto Garchomp.

This one… was strong.

But before it could retaliate, Garchomp swiftly turned and retreated into the sky.

On Dragonite's back, Johan held onto Cynthia, her hair whipping across his face.

He really wanted to sneeze.

"…Was that really necessary?" he grumbled.

Cynthia simply smiled and patted Dragonite's head.

"Damn, Cynthia's a beast!" Flint shouted.

Lucian gave him a side-eye.

Really? Now was the time for this?

He turned his head away.

He saw nothing. Heard nothing.

"Ohhh~~" Aaron suddenly understood.

With that single attack, Cynthia had bought them just enough time.

Regigigas paused, allowing the group to reach the snowfield.

"REGI!!"

Its roar shook the ground, sending tremors across the field.

The ancient titan stepped forward.

BOOM.

The ground trembled.

"CHI-KA-SSSS!!"

It raised both arms, its massive frame blotting out the sunlight.

The energy gathering between its palms carried the same raw power that once moved continents.

Cynthia exhaled, brushing loose strands of hair behind her ear.

"I don't even want to imagine how strong it was at full power."

Flint swallowed hard.

"…We're not seriously trying to beat this thing, are we?"

They didn't need to defeat it.

Even in its weakened state, it was too strong.

Instead, Johan had a different plan.

"Cynthia, Flint, Aaron—stall it."

Then, he looked at Lucian.

Lucian took a deep breath and nodded firmly.

"Bronzong, Trick!"

CLANG!

A mysterious, shimmering energy linked Bronzong and Regigigas.

Suddenly—

Regigigas winced.

It was poisoned.

"Again! Alakazam, Trick!"

A fiery red orb switched places—

Burned.

"Mr. Mime, one more time!"

A heavy iron ball took the place of the flame orb.

Flint watched, eyes wide.

"…Holy shit."

Toxic Orb. Flame Orb. Iron Ball.

Since standard debuffs wouldn't work, they used items instead.

This was pure strategy.

"I knew Johan was a genius," Flint muttered.

Now Regigigas was not only weakened—it was pissed off.

"CHI-KA-SSSS!!"

"Garchomp, Dragon Rush! Lucario, Aura Sphere! Milotic—"

"BURN, BABY, BURN!! INFERNAPE, FLARE BLITZ!!"

"Scizor, Giga Impact! Heracross, Close Combat!!"

They had to end this before Slow Start wore off.

Johan watched as their Pokémon clashed with the titan.

Then—an opening.

"Gengar! Ninetales! Now—Hypnosis!"

"Ka-kaah!!"

"Oowoo!!"

Johan channeled his Aura.

A triple-layered sleep effect.

Forced shutdown.

Regigigas froze mid-attack.

Its lights flickered.

It worked.

"…Oh, crap," Lucian suddenly muttered.

Johan turned.

Three figures emerged from the ruins.

Regice. Regirock. Registeel.

"…We forgot about them," Lucian whispered.

Regigigas's lights flashed red again.

"REGI——!!"

Johan sighed, rolling up his sleeves.

"…Guess we do this all over again."

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Powerstones?

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