Chapter 875: The Little Giant

Holy crap!

To seek revenge on Regieleki, you're willing to sell your body and soul!

All All Baimu was stunned by Regidrago's determination.

What an agonizing hatred!

Don't say it.

He was actually a little tempted.

But.

All All Baimu turned and asked, "You're sure it's just about giving Regieleki a good beating—the kind where it takes all the hits and doesn't fight back?"

Pokedex: "Naturally, it's a proper fight between both sides. I translated it this way to match the context—Regidrago sounds furious…"

You're fucking kidding!

Those two meanings are worlds apart!

All All Baimu suppressed the urge to smack its head, thinking that if it was just about getting into a brawl, it wasn't entirely impossible.

After all, given the depth of their hatred, even if they never worked together, a major clash was inevitable—no mediation could ever paper it over.

But there's one problem.

"Now?"

He looked at Regidrago before him.

Indeed, with Regidrago's strength, if Regieleki recovered even one of its steeds, it stood virtually no chance—its only shot at victory lay right now.

But how could Regieleki not know its own weakness!

Even if I agreed, that buck turning into a little rabbit wouldn't agree either!

If I pleaded with it using the pretext of a favor, there might be a slim chance—Regieleki seems terrible at refusing…

It'd weigh too heavily on my conscience.

All All Baimu knew he had never been the type of warlord who pursued grand goals while ignoring small details, especially when it came to Pokémon—he always showed unusual leniency.

This was obvious from how he'd treated enemy Pokémon back then.

So.

He eyed Regidrago suspiciously: "Regidrago… you're not making this request because you think it's weak and easy to pick on, are you?"

His words made the three Lei Jiaisi turn to face him, their facial panels flickering wildly—as if utterly shocked he could say something so cruel.

Regidrago naturally slipped into a red-hot rage—

Its dark red core surface began to emit acrid green smoke, rising upward as its split dragon heads closed together, unleashing a deafening roar.

"Rrrrrrr—leee!! Jii!! Doo!!"

"It's furious. It thinks you're mocking it."

The Pokedex translated rapidly.

The three Lei Jiaisi instinctively shielded him behind them.

Hooked!

No wonder—it's the most proud, most intolerant of provocation among Dragon-types!

Perfect!

All All Baimu revealed no emotion, looking up and shouting, "Then when do you want to fight it? I can arrange it!"

As long as it's not now, the poor king won't be beaten down by his former subordinate.

"Rrrrrrr—leee! Jii! Doo!"

Regidrago's core blazed like the sun, its vicious dragon head spewing a terrifying torrent of deep purple energy toward the sky!

Boom!!

The surrounding air trembled violently; everything All All Baimu saw shook fiercely, and a thunderous hum echoed in his ears.

Several seconds passed.

Only then did Regidrago end its outburst.

"Rrrrrrr—"

It voiced its message in dragon-head form to All All Baimu.

The Pokedex said: "It says it wants one fight—to vent its rage!"

"Fine!"

All All Baimu nodded without hesitation, deciding to find a way to reduce the difficulty of the Rider-Body fusion, so the Dragon Pillar wouldn't get beaten too badly.

Regidrago, having received a firm answer, landed on the ground and fell still.

He stepped forward and calmly extended his right hand. "To show mutual sincerity, let's truly exchange hearts and minds?"

Here it comes again.

Regieles and Registeel's panels flickered unnaturally.

In fact,

They didn't dislike the 【Divine Heart】 as much as they claimed—because it was never one-way. All All Baimu could see their memories; they could see his too.

Good or evil—it was instantly clear.

That's why the two Lei Jiaisi still guarded him and served him.

Their reluctance to use the 【Divine Heart】 again stemmed partly from still not understanding the full story of their sealing, feeling betrayed by humans, and subconsciously resisting such intimate acts with them.

And partly because they thought the method was too dangerous.

To the two Lei Jiaisi, All All Baimu exposing his mind so openly made him vulnerable—if he encountered a Pokémon with ill intent, its will could shatter him.

At best, he'd suffer severe trauma and amnesia; at worst, he'd become an idiot!

Earlier, seeing All All Baimu refrain from using the 【Divine Heart】 on Regieleki, they'd thought he'd finally listened.

Now, looking at this—

Just as they thought!

In the words of that weird Pokémon called Pokedex, he'd developed a path dependency.

Regiele and Registeel turned to Regirock, whose posture was slack. Of the three, he was the most skilled at persuasion.

"Jijiiji—"

"Dududu—"

"Wwwww~"

Thud! Thud!

The two heavy impacts snapped All All Baimu out of his trance as he returned to the golden mental space—he turned his head.

"Why are you two—"

He sighed, watching Regirock pinned to the ground again. "Stop bullying it. Show a little more tolerance, a little more love."

Better not say anything.

The moment he spoke, the two Lei Jiaisi grew angrier, pounding Regirock relentlessly—rocks cracked under their blows.

The Pokedex said: "You really know how to pour oil on the fire."

"Fine, my fault."

All All Baimu shook his head—he still didn't understand how three brothers with so many years of friendship could just start fighting like this.

Though they weren't trying to kill it, at least.

He refocused and used the 【Divine Heart】 on Regidrago again. Returning to the golden mental space, he noticed Regidrago seemed to have some…

'Envy'?

Following that emotion deeper, All All Baimu pieced together fragmented images and found the reason.

The Galar Lei Jiaisi had been created to patrol the land under Regichkas, but as the final "unfinished product," Regidrago had barely interacted with the others.

Regidrago was lonely.

Especially after seeing Pokémon and humans living in groups across the land.

After being defeated by the mounted Regieleki, it was sealed together with Regieleki.

That did make it furious—but strangely, a thread of joy crept in: finally, it had a chance to be with a "companion."

Surely the other felt the same?

Regidrago's hopes shattered completely after years of sealed interaction with Regieleki.

The other never felt lonely, never cared about companionship. Aside from shared hatred toward Regieleki for defeating and sealing them, the two had virtually nothing in common.

This shattered Regidrago.

In the long imprisonment,

Two Pokémon with utterly incompatible personalities sank into prolonged deep slumber.

"Poor child."

All All Baimu looked compassionately at Regidrago in the golden space, its outer silhouette glowing pale blue and crimson.

Solitary and gregarious behavior are two natural lifestyles among wild Pokémon.

According to Dr. Tawada's recent research, most Pokémon are gregarious, but a few prefer solitude.

Some don't care either way.

Giants clearly fall into that last category.

Regichkas was one too—why, after creating the solitary Regieleki, did it then create Regidrago, which was meant for gregariousness?

Don't tell me it was made in slow-start Balance Mode.

If you're not in your right mind, that's understandable.

All All Baimu spoke ill of Regigigas in the mental space, then told Regidrago that if it wished, it could try to get closer to Regirock.

Also, Lei Jiaisi and Registeel probably wouldn't refuse its goodwill.

The three divine pillars that once protected the ancient people of Hoenn were all very easygoing.

In the mental space.

The "naked" Regidrago behaved extremely well.

Through observing All All Baimu's mind, it gained many novel insights and experiences; its hatred toward humans dropped instantly to 【average】, and its fondness for All All Baimu rose to 【intimate (temporary)】.

Surely, once Regidrago fights Rayquaza, that parenthetical can be removed.

Little Dragon Pillar? Easy to handle.

All All Baimu withdrew, fully satisfied.

Registeel and Lei Jiaisi had just finished beating up Regirock and were now talking to it on either side; when they saw him looking, they immediately shoved Regirock forward.

"Hummmmm…"

Regirock's facial grid dimmed, appearing reluctant.

But under pressure from its companions, it stepped before All All Baimu and emitted a hum.

"Le! Ji! Lo!"

"Don't use your power on Regieleki anymore!"

"Le! Ji! Lo!"

"You'll get electrocuted into a moron!"

Regirock's warning surprised All All Baimu; he twisted his body to look at Registeel and Lei Jiaisi, only to find them turning their sides away from him.

He understood this was their warning.

Why not say it yourselves?

All All Baimu glanced at Regirock, then turned to look at Regidrago, and said thoughtfully: "Fine. I'll do as you say."

Regieleki is indeed more dangerous than Regidrago.

Just now, during his mental exchange with the Dragon Pillar, he discovered its temper was like Fire-type—explosive as hell.

Touching the Dragon Pillar might just burn your skin; touching the Electric Pillar could burn your hair, turn you African, and very likely carbonize you on the spot!

He looked at the Dragon Pillar, which seemed like a child compared to the three Divine Pillars, and decided to temporarily not recall it into its Poké Ball.

This guy is now 【safe】.

"Come! Your turn!"

All All Baimu stepped back behind the Ice and Steel Pillars, standing in the gap between them as he threw the ball forward.

Boom!

A flash of white light.

A yellow lightning bolt shot out, then vanished at a speed too fast for the eye to track.

Escaped?

All All Baimu felt something and swiftly turned behind Lei Jiaisi.

Boom—!!

A brilliant lightning bolt burst from the gap, like a skeletal, grotesque claw of electricity, hissing as it lashed toward him—but dissolved into nothing after striking his arm.

The Lava Armor not only resists extreme heat and cold, but also has basic electric shock resistance.

This level of current isn't enough to pierce the Lava Armor!

After all.

Most of this current hit Lei Jiaisi; the small portion that slipped through was negligible.

"Ji ji ji—Le! Ji! Ai!"

Lei Jiaisi took a direct hit of 【Thunderbolt】, then looked at Regieleki on either side, whose electric whiskers whipped wildly—and instantly understood its intent.

Then let's fight!

Who's afraid of whom?

Stunning cold air erupted from it; the ground instantly froze into dazzling ice crystals, and All All Baimu was seized by Registeel and pulled away.

It and Regirock, who had called Regidrago, retreated together to a distance.

Registeel: "Duu duu duu—Le! Ji! Si!"

"Regieleki is displeased with our constant help to you. It plans to eliminate us first, then you, then Rayquaza—"

The Pokémon, growing indignant, added: "Who's eliminating whom? I'm the one who beat your boss's lackey—how dare you be so arrogant!"

All All Baimu also said: "If it wants to fight, fine. Put me down. Let me command Lei Jiaisi—let it fight all it wants!"

Regieleki, at only level seventy, is far weaker than the Hoenn Three Divine Pillars. Lately, the Pokémon at home have begun defeating the Divine Pillars in internal battles—who cares about a mere Electric Pillar?

Registeel: "Hummmmm—"

"'Wait until Lei Jiaisi finishes fighting on its own—don't interfere.' Fine, fine! I'll notify the Young Lady right now!" The Pokémon immediately sent a message to the Gyarados's phone.

One rocket to the sky—and ten thousand troops arrive!

All All Baimu turned to look at Lei Jiaisi and saw it had turned the hundred-meter radius around it into a frozen wasteland.

Regieleki, apparently unprepared for Lei Jiaisi's freezing power, had its lower body stuck fast to a cluster of ice crystals.

No matter how fast, it's not true lightning speed.

It could still be caught by freezing air.

Lei Jiaisi raised its ice-column arms; terrifying blue-white light gathered.

"Ji ji ji—Le! Ji! Ai!"

But at the last moment,

Regieleki melted the ice crystals with its electric heat and dodged Lei Jiaisi's Ice Beam.

All All Baimu watched anxiously and shouted: "Hey! That's not how you fight! It's fast—use Ice Wind! Spin on one foot and release it!"

"Ji ji ji—"

Lei Jiaisi's facial grid flickered—it obeyed All All Baimu's command, spinning on one foot like a ballerina while releasing an ice current colder and more terrifying than freezing air!

The electric waves fired by Regieleki collided with it and exploded with a bang.

In an instant,

The ice current became a blizzard of mist that engulfed Lei Jiaisi, while Regieleki dashed swiftly beyond the mist's reach.

It circled Lei Jiaisi, trying to scatter the mist.

"Lock on!"

All All Baimu gave another order.

A red glow instantly appeared on Regieleki as it ran; a targeting marker floated before Lei Jiaisi's facial grid inside the mist.

"Bee bee bee—Le! Ji! Le!"

Regieleki sensed trouble and rushed to strike first.

It curled its electric arms and shot blinding lightning bolts downward, forming a cage around Lei Jiaisi.

【Thunder Cage】!

But Lei Jiaisi, under All All Baimu's command, moved just as fast.

"Turn! Blizzard!"

"Ji ji ji—Le! Ji! Ai!"

Whoosh!

Lei Jiaisi turned and unleashed a terrifying gale and countless snowflakes into empty air.

Its back took the full force of the Thunder Cage, but the released blizzard, as if guided by eyes, transformed into a roaring snow dragon that surged toward Regieleki!

Regieleki, trying to dodge, couldn't escape the snow dragon's massive area of effect—it was instantly swallowed!

Boom—!!

Lightning exploded, blizzard rained down!