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The second basement floor of the underground palace.
Chris stood at the entrance to the third floor, with nearly two hundred Primal Orbs floating before his eyes.
These were the Primal Orbs from the bodies of all the Regi golems on the first and second basement levels—all looted by Gardevoir.
They seemed numerous, but the largest one was only about the size of a fingernail.
All added together, the total was only about twice the size of the ones carried by the Regi golems on the upper five floors.
The combined total of Primal Orbs from two hundred ordinary Regi golems was only twice that of the five real Regi Pokémon.
Such a huge gap.
No wonder these golems weren't actual Pokémon.
Wait, that's odd—the five Regi Pokémon in the games don't carry items like Primal Orbs at all...
After collecting all the Primal Orbs, Chris walked toward the third basement floor.
The Diamond Clan led by Kamado and the Pearl Clan led by Cyllene were still slowly wandering around the first basement floor.
That meant he could explore the third floor first.
As expected, the third floor of Snowpoint Temple should be where the Colossal Pokémon Regigigas resided.
He stepped down to the third basement floor.
Pitch black and boundless.
"Whoosh~" A sound like wind blowing echoed.
In an instant, countless torches ignited, illuminating everything.
Before Chris's eyes, an enormous palace came into view!
This was a massive palace as vast as two football fields. Huge stone pillars stood throughout, supporting a ceiling so high it was difficult to see its edge.
In the deepest part of the palace, a gigantic white stone giant sat quietly on its throne, seemingly asleep.
Just as Chris had thought—the legendary Colossal Pokémon, the continental dragger, the creator of the Hisui continent—Regigigas!
Regigigas LV100.
The moment Chris saw Regigigas, it seemed to become aware of him as well.
The three pairs of dot-like gems in the middle of its torso that resembled eyes emitted light—one pair red, one pair blue, and one pair yellow!
In an instant, every hair on Chris's body stood on end, as if he were being watched by a king of beasts.
He hadn't felt this way in a long time.
The last time was when he'd encountered the corrupted Mewtwo.
"Boom, boom, boom."
A sound like a heartbeat, or like a locomotive starting up, caused the entire Snowpoint Temple to tremble.
At the entrance to the second basement floor, the Diamond Clan led by Kamado and the Pearl Clan led by Cyllene had converged.
Before they had time to discuss their findings, they heard this sound that felt like an earthquake.
"What happened?" Kamado and Cyllene said simultaneously.
After speaking, they looked at each other.
If it wasn't caused by either of them, then it must be... Chris!
Sabi and Lian in their respective groups remained silent, thinking quietly to themselves.
As expected of someone strong enough to command the sea guardian—Chris must have already reached the bottom of Snowpoint Temple by now.
If only we could have traveled with him.
We really want to know what's happening...
"Everyone, hurry up!" Kamado called out, immediately leading the Diamond Clan members to march toward the depths of the second basement floor.
Cyllene wasn't about to fall behind. "Team Pearl, let's speed up too!"
The third basement floor.
Chris slowly approached Regigigas. Regarding the vibrations around him that resembled a heartbeat, he guessed it was the effect of Regigigas's Ability, "Slow Start."
"It's been a very, very, very long time since anyone passed the trial and came before me."
An ancient voice sounded in Chris's mind.
Chris immediately recognized that this was Regigigas communicating with him telepathically.
Although Regigigas had never been shown speaking in the anime, it would be strange if a god who had existed since the world's creation couldn't communicate with other living beings.
"Trial?" Chris was somewhat surprised by the mention of a trial.
But then he remembered immediately.
The design of Snowpoint Temple was indeed like a trial.
One had to defeat the guardians on each of the five floors of Snowpoint Temple to obtain the keys they protected, with each floor's guardian being much more powerful than the previous one.
Finally, one would collect all six keys and open the door to the underground palace.
"You don't know?"
"It seems you humans have forgotten your covenant with me," Regigigas sighed.
"Please tell me—what kind of covenant do we humans have with you?" Chris couldn't help but ask.
Regigigas was silent for a long time, seemingly reminiscing.
"I cannot remember how long ago it was..."
"Your kind found me and sought my protection."
"I agreed to their request and made a covenant with them—to bless all humans who pass the trial and come before me."
"And you humans must take up the responsibility of protecting this continent and eliminating all threats that would destroy it!"
Hearing these words, Chris wasn't surprised.
In ancient times, when human technology hadn't yet developed and people called Pokémon with powers of nature "monsters," it was natural to fear, rely upon, and worship powerful Pokémon.
In the world Chris came from, some regions and cultures had legends about worshiping Pokémon like Gengar and Alakazam, and had established totems for them.
The Sinnoh Region—ancient Hisui—was the landmark location when Arceus created the world, so it likely had the most legendary Pokémon.
Seeking refuge with Regigigas wasn't surprising at all. As a deity who pursued order and protected the continent, it was perfectly natural for Regigigas to agree to humanity's request.
Chris also thought of Brandon from the anime. His ability to possess three Regi Pokémon was most likely related to being a guardian of Snowpoint Temple—perhaps he'd made a deal with Regigigas.
After thinking this through, Chris spoke loudly.
"Although we humans have forgotten the covenant we made with you, we still use our lives to fulfill it and protect this continent!"
"And now, I have passed the trial and come before you. May I receive your blessing as agreed?"
Two thousand years later, Hisui still existed, though it had been renamed Sinnoh—which proved that humans had protected this continent very well.
As for using his life to fulfill the promise and protect this continent...
Chris had played through the Diamond/Pearl versions countless times on his handheld before traveling through time. He couldn't count how many times he'd defeated Palkia and Dialga when they were controlled by Team Galactic's Cyrus!
How could that not be considered protecting this continent?!
Chris felt confident!
After hearing this, Regigigas carefully sensed the current state of the continent and, after a while, gave its answer.
"Very well."