Heavy fossil

Seeing that Regirock was about to launch another round of attacks, Shinji and Shugo quickly took a fossil each from Hariyama. As for the heaviest one, which weighed more than both of them combined, there was no way Pidgeot could carry it away in this situation.

"We'll have to throw it away... but two fossils are still good enough," Shinji consoled himself.

Who knew Regirock would appear?!

...

...

The orange circular dots on Regirock's head, forming an "H" pattern, began to flash. Regirock swung its two massive rocky arms, condensing countless fragments of stone into a colossal "Ancient Power" that pulsated with an intense earthy yellow hue, then hurled it forcefully in Terrance's direction.

Nearby, Terrance was also contemplating making an escape. At this point, it seemed like riding Altaria and fleeing was the only option.

As for facing Regirock head-on, perhaps he could use other Pokémon to stall it, allowing Altaria to perform Dragon Dance to its maximum and launch a powerful attack. But in the current situation, this doesn't seem very meaningful…

Even if there was a chance to capture Regirock, the associated risks weren't worth it for Terrance.

"Altaria, Dragon Pulse!"

A bluish-purple dragon-shaped energy beam rushed out, sweeping up the surrounding grains of sand as it charged at the incoming Ancient Power.

Boom!

With a loud explosion, the Ancient Power shattered, but the countless rocks still maintained their momentum, hurtling towards Terrance.

Terrance remained calm. Beautifly, already prepared, was just about to weave a protective web when, in the next moment, a flaming figure darted past. With incredible speed, it kicked away the incoming rocks, leaving none behind.

"Pid~geot!"

Pidgeot paused briefly beside Terrance, and Shinji quickly said, "This Regirock is too strong, we need to escape now! Can your Altaria manage it?"

Terrance was taken aback. Hadn't these two left yet? And they still had the leisure to care about him?

Even though he knew their goal was to sell Pokémon, the fact that they hadn't lost their basic humanity made Terrance see them in a better light.

"No problem, you two go ahead. Altaria and I can escape!" Terrance replied.

Seeing this, the two said nothing more. They had already done their best to warn Terrance, and staying any longer would only put them at risk. Without further delay, they recalled their Pokémon, nodded at Terrance, and quickly flew off on Pidgeot!

However, no one realized that Regirock's gaze had been locked on the two of them the whole time!

"Big guy... if we really were to fight seriously, it won't end well for either of us..." Terrance muttered to himself.

It had been a few months since the first encounter with Regirock, and Terrance had grown much stronger.

Even though he might still not be a match for Regirock, he also wasn't a pushover anymore that can be easily crushed!

"Regi~~rock—"

"Regi~~rock—"

However, it clearly wasn't paying much attention to Terrance, who was alone.

Moreover…

"You don't recognize me, not even Altaria…"

A memory like a fish—

That was the feeling Regirock gave Terrance. It seemed much less "intelligent" than when they first met, giving Terrance the feeling that it was dumb.

"What happened during this time? Even its attacks have become much slower…"

Terrance, Altaria, and Beautifly stared at Regirock. After a while, Terrance called out Castform.

To deal with Regirock, the combination of these two Pokémon was the best fit!

What surprised Terrance was that after one attack, Regirock didn't immediately launch another. Instead, with a "Regi~~rock——" cry, it quickly burrowed into the ground, and along with the massive Mirage Tower, sank into the earth. Terrance hurriedly mounted Altaria and took to the sky, fearing that Regirock might use "Dig" attack.

Three minutes later...

Terrance looked around in confusion. Other than the blowing sand, everything was silent.

"Did Regirock retreat?"

"And….Mirage Ruins has also disappeared along with it…."

Regirock's decision to burrow into the desert instead of continuing its attack left Terrance both shocked and puzzled. He couldn't figure out Regirock's intentions, but after waiting for ten more minutes with no sign of an attack, he gradually let his guard down. In the end, Terrance sighed and decided it was best to leave.

With Altaria's flight capabilities, it wouldn't take long to leave the desert. Knowing that Regirock was still in the desert, Terrance didn't feel like staying any longer, a chill running down his spine.

"Let's go, Altaria…"

Recalling Castform, Terrance took out a Poké Ball, ready to recall Beautifly as well. But to his surprise, Beautifly let out a few cries, trying to alert Terrance to something.

A thin, straight thread of silk was spat out by Beautifly, wrapping around a stone beneath them. As Altaria descended slowly, Terrance was slightly surprised: "Is this the thing Hariyama was holding? They didn't take it all?"

It was a fossil, about half the length of Terrance's arm, but it was surprisingly heavy. Beautifly had been pulling at it with String Shot for a while, but the fossil hadn't budged much.

Terrance tugged on the silk and estimated, 'This must weigh as much as a 'big guy'!'

It was incredible how such a small fossil could be so heavy!

"I remember that Hariyama seemed to be holding more than one fossil. Did they discard this one because it was too heavy?"

Terrance thought for a moment. Given Pidgeot's carrying capacity, carrying two people plus this stone would have made flying through the sandstorm region very difficult.

Shinji's decision was correct. If they had taken this fossil along and encountered even a small sandstorm, they might have been wiped out.

However, little did they know, just after they left, Regirock retreated on its own. If they knew, would they regret abandoning the fossil?

"Could it be from a Pokémon no one's ever seen before?"

Although the fossil was very heavy, without any external threats now, Terrance naturally wasn't about to leave it behind. The fossil resembled a curled-up Pokémon, but its exact shape was unclear due to severe weathering. However, it was most likely a Rock-type Pokémon. The fossil was irregular in shape, with two areas featuring diamond-shaped indentations for unknown reasons.

Carrying the fossil wouldn't be difficult for Altaria. Terrance landed for a moment, and Altaria began performing Dragon Dance. After two rounds of Dragon Dance, Altaria's strength and speed increased significantly. He struggled for a moment but eventually lifted the fossil and climbed back onto Altaria's back. Surprisingly, Altaria didn't seem strained at all and handled it with ease.

That's the benefit of stat-boosting moves... In the wild, you can do whatever you want without restrictions. If Pidgeot had Dragon Dance, Shinji and his companion wouldn't have had to abandon the fossil due to its weight.

"Let's go. Beautifly's training is complete, so there's no reason to stay in the desert."

"However, the Mirage Ruins and Regirock are still a mystery. I'll return and investigate further once I've gotten stronger."

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