"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 beca.
Lucario gritted its teeth, suddenly thrusting a paw toward Ash.
"Ash! This ti... 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.
Natsu exhaled, shoulders squaring under the weight of responsibility.
"Jas, Jessie—go with Ash. Now."
"But Executive—"
"That's an order."
"...Yes!"
Jas grabbed Jessie's wrist, sprinting after Ash and Lucario as they charged toward the Tree of Beginning's entrance.
anwhile, Natsu stared up at the monolithic Regirock, emotions churning.
Steven's eyes glead like he was admiring a masterpiece.
"REGIROCK!!"
Boulders rained down in a devastating Rock Slide, forcing Natsu to flinch.
Since when do wild Pokémon attack trainers directly?!
"tagross!"
Steven's arm shot up. His white tagross 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!!
anwhile, on Natsu's side…
Natsu hurled six Poké Balls in one go.
Steven was montarily stunned, but what followed was sheer awe.
In a battle of this magnitude…
Even Steven, commanding just his tagross, 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 Natsu-sensei—
"Yawn, Toxic," Natsu ordered. "Guidance, support tagross!"
Watching Natsu-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 Natsu-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 tagross.
Trusting him completely in the heat of battle—
"I won't let you down!" Steven's eyes sharpened as his arm slashed downward. "tagross, teor Mash!"
"tagross!!!"
With Sirfetch'd's Guidance and Arcanine's support, the white tagross erupted in blinding light.
Its indestructible fists blurred with cot-like afterimages, trailing crimson streaks.
"Regirock—" Regirock, half-asleep, barely managed to isolate the toxins within its rocky shell.
At the sa ti, Natsu barked, "Squirtle, Water Pulse!"
Confuse it, damn it—land the hit!!
"Squirtle!" Squirtle slamd 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-tead?!
Water Pulse and teor 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 Natsu exchanged glances.
Wiping sweat from his brow, Steven laughed nervously. "Got a little too carried away…"
Well, it's your XP System. Natsu nodded solemnly. "Understandable!"
Dust clouds billowed through the ravine.
Regirock's eyes flickered red again.
"It's still standing?!" Natsu'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, aningful 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…"
Natsu's expression twisted.
As Regirock roared again, a thought flashed through Natsu's mind.
If only owth 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 owth's bizarre gift for languages, it could've bridged the gap…
"Ancient Plates… communication…"
Natsu gritted his teeth—then froze.
Ancient Plates… Ancient Language…
Dammit, I have that skill!
Natsu 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.)]
Natsu-sensei, your System isn't entirely useless after all!
Steven raised a hand as tagross clashed with Regirock again.
Energy from Tree of Beginning flooded into Regirock, forcing even Steven's invincible white tagross onto the back foot!
CRACK!
The ground split beneath them, fissures snaking across the terrain.
Steven frowned, reaching for his red tie's pin—
Natsu took a deep breath.
"Steven, cover ! I need to get closer to Regirock!"
"What're you planning?" Steven blinked but didn't question the order.
"I know Ancient Language too!" Natsu snapped.
Steven's eyes widened. Then, shaking his head, he chuckled helplessly.
Of course. I should've known better, Natsu-sensei…
His gaze hardened as he shouted, "tagross, full-power Reflect!"
"tagross!!" tagross crossed its arms, a massive barrier materializing.
Regirock's Rock Slide hamred against Reflect as tagross roared, shielding Natsu and Steven while advancing.
Once they were close enough—
Natsu's lips moved, his tongue and palate forming strange, guttural syllables: "■■■■■!!"
Steven and Regirock both froze.
tagross' 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 up first, then ask if I've eaten?!
Steven wiped his brow. "Natsu-sensei, we can't hold much longer!"
"Wrong phrase?" Natsu's heart raced. That was how ancients greeted each other!
With ti running out, Natsu 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 soone who greets you.
And aside from the odd accent… this guy did seem like one of its own.
The man continued, "Ten minutes!"
Natsu held up crossed fingers.
"We'll just go in and out—quick!"
Steven watched Regirock halt its assault, then glanced at Natsu 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 Natsu 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," Natsu 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."
Natsu shrugged. "Enough for a phrase or two."
Steven paused, recalling Natsu'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."
Natsu eyed Tree of Beginning's entrance—
Then looked up at the colossal ancient tree piercing the heavens.
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