Chapter 179: Regice and Registeel

Chapter 179: Chapter 179: Regice and Registeel

"Come out, Regirock."

Sora released Regirock from its Poké Ball, intending to check on its condition.

Although the cracks covering Regirock’s body looked severe, they weren’t actually a problem.

As long as the Legendary Titans entered a dormant state, they would slowly recover.

Even if their bodies were completely shattered, all they needed were rocks, metal, or ice to reconstruct themselves.

In terms of sheer vitality...

The Titans were frighteningly resilient.

Otherwise, there was no way a mere Level 69 Regirock could have survived Ogerpon’s brutal beating.

Had it been an ordinary flesh-and-blood Pokémon...

Ogerpon would’ve reduced it to a pile of minced meat.

"Ponii... Ponii."

Seeing Regirock again, Ogerpon nodded in satisfaction.

"You aren’t very strong... but you make an excellent punching bag."

As far as training dummies went...

She officially approved of Regirock.

"R-Rock..."

Regirock was clearly a little afraid of Ogerpon.

The terror of being utterly dominated moments ago...

Had shaken even the guardian directives engraved into its very core.

"Alright, Pon-Pon."

"Regirock is one of us now."

As he spoke, Sora activated his Aura and examined Regirock.

"...Hm?"

Gradually, his brows furrowed.

"What’s wrong, Sora?"

Seeing his expression, Calyrex immediately asked.

"It’s strange."

Withdrawing his Aura, Sora shared what he had sensed.

"Regirock’s emotions..."

"They’re... incredibly faint."

He didn’t mean cold-hearted or emotionless.

Rather...

Mechanical.

That wasn’t quite the perfect description.

But Regirock’s mind lacked vitality.

It felt rigid.

Almost lifeless.

"That’s perfectly normal."

Calyrex didn’t find it strange at all.

"The Titans have always been creatures like this."

"Long ago, the King of Giants created countless Titans to help shape the world."

"Once their work was complete..."

"They entered their eternal slumber."

The Titans sleeping inside these ruins weren’t creations of ancient humans.

They had existed long before.

The ancients merely transported them here...

Using them as guardians for the ruins.

"Receiving commands and guarding a designated place..."

"That is the Titans’ very nature."

Just looking at Regigigas’s Ability—

Slow Start—

Made that obvious.

Slow Start

For the first five turns after entering battle, the Pokémon’s Speed and physical attack power are halved.

Looking at that effect...

It was absurd.

Sora honestly couldn’t think of another Ability that consisted of nothing but drawbacks.

In his opinion...

Slow Start probably wasn’t an Ability at all.

Instead...

After Regigigas finished shaping the world...

It had entered a semi-dormant state.

The same was true for the other Titans.

They all existed in a state between wakefulness and sleep...

Unable to display their full strength.

"Now that you’ve defeated Regirock..."

"You’ve broken the ancient command that bound it."

"If you wish to properly command it..."

"You’ll need to replace that command with a new one."

The "command" Calyrex referred to wasn’t simply speaking an order.

Rather...

It meant assigning Regirock a territory to protect.

Only then...

Would the Titan display its true strength.

The Titans were guardians of the land.

Each existed to watch over a region...

And to fight in defense of the world.

"What a weird setting..."

Korrina couldn’t help commenting.

Holding Espurr in her arms, Emma nodded repeatedly.

"It really feels like a robot..."

"It doesn’t have the liveliness Pokémon usually do."

Ever since the battle ended...

Regirock had simply stood there blankly.

It had switched out of "attack intruders" mode...

And that was it.

Regirock had no hobbies.

It didn’t need food.

It didn’t even require energy replenishment.

It was...

Quite literally...

A rock with no desires.

"A Pokémon like this..."

After thinking for a while, Sora ultimately stuck to his original plan.

"I’ll let them live on the Nebel Plateau."

"They can protect that land while they sleep."

If Regice and Registeel turned out to be the same...

Then Sora honestly couldn’t think of a better arrangement.

As guardian deities of the Nebel Plateau...

The Titans could peacefully remain there for centuries.

Or even millennia.

"Forget it."

"Let’s capture the rest first."

Just as before—

Sleep was sleep, regardless of location.

These ruins had nothing left worth protecting.

Rather than guarding lifeless stone...

It was better for them to protect living Pokémon.

"Let’s head to the next ruin."

After that...

Sora successively challenged the Iceberg Ruins and the Iron Ruins, capturing Regice and Registeel as well.

"The three Titans..."

"They’re similar..."

"But each has its own differences."

Regirock was by far the dullest.

It was like an empty stump.

No matter how Sora tried communicating...

The responses were always the same.

"Command?"

"Please issue a command."

It would faithfully obey Sora’s instructions.

In battle...

Regirock could undoubtedly display power comparable to an Elite Four-level Pokémon.

But...

That was its limit.

Because its heart was incomplete...

It couldn’t form a bond with a Trainer.

And without bonds...

It would be almost impossible to reach higher realms.

As Sora had concluded before...

The bond between Trainer and Pokémon was what allowed Pokémon to grow rapidly...

Break through bottlenecks...

And reach miraculous heights.

Regirock...

Couldn’t do that.

Its stone head simply wouldn’t budge.

Worse...

Because it remained in a semi-dormant state...

It had no desire whatsoever to become stronger.

It wouldn’t even actively absorb power from the earth.

The situation had reached a dead end.

Sora could help Regirock grow stronger...

But Regirock showed no response.

It was capable of becoming stronger on its own...

Yet had no wish to recover its former power.

Accept commands.

Carry out orders.

Guard its assigned territory.

The three Titans...

Were practically robots.

The only exception...

Was Registeel.

It could actually hold normal conversations with Sora.

Compared to Regirock...

It was noticeably more intelligent.

Sora suspected this was because Registeel’s body functioned more like a computer.

As for the last Titan...

Regice.

"Di-li... Di-li..."

Despite appearing to have a heart frozen solid...

Regice was actually the only one of the three whose heart emitted noticeable emotional fluctuations.

Yes.

Emotional fluctuations.

In other words...

It was the only Titan willing to establish a true spiritual connection with Sora.

And because of that...

It was also the only one Sora believed had a real chance of breaking through to an even higher level in the near future.

—------------------------------

Pat reon Advance Chapters: patreon.com/YonkoSlayer