Contrary to what Cain imagined.
Altaria walked as if she were casually strolling through her own garden.
As for the potential dangers, she completely ignored them.
Cain, on the other hand, was somewhat nervous—tense, even. Beside him, Slowking kept his psychic waves at maximum, ready to use Teleport at any moment to escape.
This duo, human and Pokémon, stood in stark contrast to Altaria's relaxed attitude.
Before long, the relatively short path came to an end. Cain could already vaguely make out the figure of Regirock.
At that moment, Regirock resembled more of a statue, motionless like a massive rock, with the seven glowing dots on its head unlit.
This was the state in which Regirock slept.
Cain stopped. One more step, and Regirock would awaken. At this distance, with Regirock's speed, Slowking should be able to teleport them in time.
If Altaria could briefly hold it off, things would be even safer.
Despite Cain's caution, Altaria didn't seem to sense anything unusual.
She looked at Cain as if wondering why he had stopped.
Cain thought for a moment and pulled the key Lucario had given him out of his storage space, gripping it tightly in his hand.
If Regirock awakened, Cain would immediately show the key, hoping it would have some effect.
"Let's hope this works," Cain thought as he took a tentative step forward.
Seeing that Regirock didn't react, Cain let out a small sigh of relief and stepped forward more confidently.
He was trying to figure out the range of Regirock's perception, ensuring Slowking had enough time to activate Teleport.
But Altaria looked at him as if he were an idiot.
Paying him no further mind, Altaria flew directly toward Regirock.
Cain tried to stop her, but to no avail.
What he saw next left him dumbfounded: Altaria flew up to the statue-like Regirock's head and began preening her feathers.
She didn't seem afraid at all.
Cain exchanged a look with Slowking, both feeling a bit out of place.
They had been so cautious because they had seen Regirock's true power earlier, yet now Altaria simply flew around nonchalantly, and nothing happened.
With more confidence, Cain and Slowking also began to approach Regirock.
When they arrived before it, Regirock still hadn't moved, leaving Cain even more perplexed.
He couldn't figure out what was going on.
Uncertain, he decided to ask.
"Altaria, what's going on here?" Cain asked through telepathy.
Altaria glanced at him sideways, recalling his earlier cautious behavior, and showed a faint mocking smile.
"Lucario gave you the key, right? If you have the key, you can enter the relic. Didn't you know that? Are you an idiot?" Altaria's voice had a magnetic tone, with a hint of teasing.
Cain cut off the telepathic connection before Altaria could say more.
They probably already thought he was an idiot.
If he had known this earlier, he should have asked Altaria about the key and its use.
Now Cain understood. Although it was called a "key," it was more like a form of identification. Only those who possessed this kind of wood could enter the relic without being attacked.
In ancient times, when Mew lived, it surely wasn't the only Pokémon in that place.
Mew enjoyed company, and the Pokémon living there likely needed this type of wood to enter without being attacked by Regirock.
It was essentially a "guest pass."
That's why Lucario had given it to Cain so easily—because in ancient times, it wasn't considered that important.
If one looked carefully, they might find more of these keys elsewhere. But Team Rocket was too busy gathering resources and exploring the island to spend time investigating such things.
Additionally, they lacked Cain's telepathy, so they wouldn't have treated the almost moldy piece of wood as something valuable.
After that, Altaria kept looking at Cain and Slowking in a rather peculiar way.
It was as if she saw them as fools.
Cain coughed to mask his embarrassment, while Slowking, with its thick skin, showed no reaction.
Cain extended his telepathy, attempting to connect with Regirock, but he couldn't find its mind, making communication impossible.
With no other options, Cain let it go and moved forward, delving deeper into the relic.
After a short distance, Cain encountered another member of the legendary titan trio: Registeel.
Pokémon: Registeel (Light Purple)
Basic Moves: Explosion, Stomp, Metal Claw, Charge Beam, Bulldoze, Curse, Ancient Power, Iron Defense, Amnesia, Iron Head, Flash Cannon, Hammer Arm, Lock-On, Zap Cannon, Superpower, Hyper Beam
Learned Moves: Stomping Tantrum, Shock Wave, Snore, Stealth Rock, Thunder Punch, Iron Head, Ice Punch, Magnet Rise, Gravity, Focus Punch
Registeel's strength seemed on par with Regirock's. With light purple potential, it was the highest-quality wild Pokémon Cain had seen so far.
Although they were legendary Pokémon, without divine roles, they were still ordinary Pokémon—not even at the level of minor gods.
However, for Cain, they were not something he could handle at the moment.
He could only hope that when Team Rocket arrived, they could face these Pokémon.
If they managed to defeat them and earn their respect, perhaps they could even capture them.
But what caught Cain's attention most was an odd detail: among the legendary titan trio, only two were present—Regirock and Registeel.
The ice titan, Regice, was nowhere to be found.
In theory, the three legendary titans always guarded a place together. Either there was one, or all three, but it was rare for one to be missing.
Cain pondered this for a moment but didn't dwell on it. Perhaps Mew had sent it elsewhere.
After passing the area guarded by Registeel, Cain finally reached the heart of the relic.
Before him appeared an ancient yet solid structure, modest in size, resembling an ordinary house. The main door had a hand-sized hole, seemingly designed for the key Lucario had given him.
Climbing the few steps, Cain placed the key into the hole.
There was no loud noise or tremor. The doors simply trembled slightly before opening completely.
They revealed the place where Mew had once lived.