Pilgrimage of the Pillars

The **Pilgrimage of the Pillars** is an event featured in *The Gardener of Gratitude*. It is a series of trials prospective rulers of La Ciudad Dorada must face in order to prove themselves worthy of taking the throne.

## Requirements

To qualify for embarking on the Pilgrimage, the prospective challenger generally must be linked by blood to La Ciudad Dorada's royal family, thus giving them a legitimate claim to the throne. This requirement is known to have been waived at least twice, first for Sutter Chiaki and his apprentice Jacob Alexison, and later for Matt Chiaki, Eleanor Laplace and Sheena Carnet. However, it should be noted that neither of these groups embarked on it to ascend to the throne, and the latter did not personally complete all of the trials.

Merely possessing royal blood is not enough to qualify for the Pilgrimage. Before embarking on the journey, one must allow Shaymin to peer into their inner character and deem them worthy of the great power bestowed upon the kingdom's leaders.

A relic known as the Pillar Cube is required to complete the Pilgrimage, as it guides its user to each stop along the way, and acts as a key for some of the puzzles the trialgoer must solve. The royal family also possesses three clues meant to guide each trialgoer, via posing riddles whose answers help identify the necessary destinations.

Braille is used heavily throughout the Pilgrimage, making the knowledge of how to read it mandatory for completing all of the trials.

The trialgoer must also be a skilled enough Pokémon trainer to defeat Regirock, Registeel and Regice, the titular Pillars. Collecting their Gaia inside the Pillar Cube after claiming victory over them is necessary to complete the final leg of the journey and awaken Regigigas.

## Trials

The trials laid out here are those depicted in *The Gardener of Gratitude* and are presented in chronological order.

### Trial of Rock

The Trial of Rock is located in a disused mine beneath an abadoned outpost in the desert beyond La Ciudad Dorada. The clue to this location reads **"Gifts of air and gifts of earth. Without one, the other cannot be obtained. Man presses on, searching for that which cannot be found on the surface. The riches of the earth rest where man allows himself to be swallowed up by it, possessing more than he had should he return.”**

This clue leads to the Rock Peak Ruins within the mine. Inside the ruins is a clue written in Braille, whose text translates to read, **“Whosoever shall wear the crown, here begins the road. Walk this path with resolve and face the three trials that await. Here lies the first of the three trials. The body of rock shall only awaken for one whose gratitude blooms before us. Beware, for if gratitude does not bloom, destruction shall be at hand.”** To progress beyond this point, the trialgoer must use a Gracidea flower.

Upon the presentation of the Gracidea flower, the ruins seal themselves and Regirock appears to challenge the trialgoer. The doors will not open again until Regirock is defeated or the trialgoer falls to it.

### Trial of Iron

The Trial of Iron is located at an abandoned fortress at a site near where La Ciudad Dorada's defensive wall stood until the civil war. The clue to this location reads, **"heart of the realm and heart of the king. Both reside within the protection of the strongest barrier. Cross not will those who seek to pierce the heart. The strongest barriers stand like a shield, an impenetrable shield to protect the realm."**

Inside the fort, the gateway to the Iron Ruins is sealed with the riddle, **"He who wears the crown shall unlock the future for all of the kingdom. He who shall wear the crown must unlock their own future. None who fail to open their own doors shall open the doors for the people. Here lies the second of the three trials. The body of steel shall awaken only awaken for one who uses the key held by the one who brings forth gratitude.”** This alludes to a sword held by a statue of The Wanderer in the fort's armory, which can be used like a key to unlock the path. After accessing the crystal cavern beneath the fort, Registeel appears and engages the trialgoer in battle.

Xatu's known moves are Psyshock, Sky Attack, Tailwind and Rain Dance, and her ability is Synchronize.

### Trial of Ice

The Trial of Ice takes place in the snowy mountains far from La Ciudad Dorada, a site where a Doradan tower once stood. Unlike the previous two clues, this trial's clue does not describe the location but instead alludes to a message hidden in the Iron Ruins. The message is a garbled text bearing a symbol based on the flower on Shaymin's body.

The flower symbol matches that on the cover of a book in Lingote Palace's archive that chronicles the history of La Ciudad Dorada's military. Inside this book is a page bearing the symbol and a Braille alphabet with the Braille character for 'D' marked as 'G'. This is a key for the cipher in the Iron Ruins, revealing that the message is written in Braille characters three letters ahead in the alphabet from the intended letters. When translated using the key, the cipher reads **“The king must face both the heat of the peoples’ eye and the cold burden of their position. Yes, having gone through the earth, whoever shall wear the crown must now travel to the end of the realm. The body of ice awaits in the land consumed by what dispels gratitude, at the site where king first turned on king.”** The site of the trial is where the first battle of the Doradan civil war was fought, and "what dispels gratitude" alludes to the snow and cold, which makes it difficult for Shaymin to remain in Sky Forme.

At the trial site, the clue to make Regice appear reads, **“The one who shall wear the crown, listen, you. Here is the end and the beginning. The body of ice shall only awaken when the one who most fears the cold braves it. Only the one who shall wear the crown can guide the way.”** Both this clue and the Iron Ruins cipher were created by Shaymin, who must transform into its Sky Forme despite the cold to make Regice appear.

Abomasnow's known moves are Ice Punch, Wood Hammer, Outrage and Role Play, and his ability is Snow Warning.