The All Mighty Earth - Pokemon SI Chapter 38

Asher's Team:

Lago - Rhydon

Sebastian - Nidoking

Selena - Nidoqueen

Seraph - Clefable

Death - Marowak

Colossus - Steelix

Clamps - Gligar

Ivor - Mamoswine

Jet - Flygon

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Both Asher and Colossus were shocked still by the unexpected appearance of a Garchomp, which just moments ago was a Gible, and he slowly stood up from over the unconscious scientist, trying to appear non-threatening.

The land shark stood tall, enough to cast a wide shadow under the full moon, and it's golden eyes glittered with emptiness, void of any emotion, with the only indication it wasn't a lifeless statue being the rhythmic sway of it's long and powerful tail.

Colossus huffed strongly, going into fight or flight at the sight of a powerful opponent, and budged towards his trainer protectively.

A dominating silence permeated through the night and Asher hated ever second of it. He knew how strong Garchomp really were, so he would avoid conflict if necessary.

Though, he wasn't really sure if it was seeking a fight-

The dragon's nostrils flared, it's once empty expression becoming clouded with vicious intent, and it snarled before lunging at him with it's mouth open wide for a feast.

Nevermind, he knew what wishful thinking got.

"Ivor, use Blizzard!" Asher's Mamoswine emerged from his pokeball, eager to defend Asher, and proceeded to whip up a massive snow storm that froze everything within dozens of meters in front of him.

Asher allowed himself to relax as the raging dragon faltered, a double weakness to ice causing it to roar out in agony, but he was left dumbfounded as Garchomp endured it and rushed forward anyway, slamming into Ivor with a destructive Take Down!

Asher didn't let up though, even if Garchomp's tenacity managed to impress him. "Ivor, get up and use Ice Shard!"

Ivor, though winded, followed the command with practiced ease as he released a volley of sharp icicles that dug into the Garchomp's skin, making it wince and grunt, though not let up as it jumped into a Dragon Rush.

"Meet it with Ice Fang, then use Earth Power!" Colossus was present behind him, ready to jump in if Ivor failed, though Asher had a feeling that wouldn't be necessary.

Ivor charged forward, his tusks expanding and sharpening into pure ice, and met the Dragon Rush with adequate enough force to stop Garchomp right in it's tracks.

The two pokemon battled for dominance, both intent to overpower the other, but the scales tipped when an Earth Power made the ground below Garchomp's feet literally explode, stunning the raging behemoth!

Ivor capitalised on the opportunity. He literally grabbed Garchomp between his two tusks and slammed it roughly within the deep earth, ice spreading and surrounding Ivor's opponent in an attempt to freeze them solid.

"Don't let up now, Ice Beam them solid!" Asher orders.

Mamoswine didn't acknowledge him, but executed his order and let rays of icy aura wash over the rampaging pokemon, and the screams of pain and defiance Garchomp let loose were proof it was having an effect.

Ice crept along the dragon's skin, slowly freezing it to the ground, but Garchomp roared and shattered it, proving tenacious enough to still try and escape.

Asher could see that something was obviously wrong with the Garchomp, since it's tenacity just wasn't healthy, and it was becoming increasingly obvious that it wasn't going to stop.

Unfortunately, his suspicions were proven correct, and even through it had endured multiple super effective attacks, the Garchomp still eventually managed to unleash a Dragon Claw, roaring like a wild animal as it forced Ivor off him.

Asher picked up a pokeball from his pocket, running towards them with the contraption in his palm. "Ivor, use Ice Shard, and don't stop!"

He could tell when a pokemon was reaching it's limits, and Garchomp just didn't seem to care about the fact it'd already done so after taking those previous attacks. Pokemon going into unconsciousness is a method of recovery, and fighting beyond that will just result in brutal injury.

The young Gym Leader felt Garchomp's eyes turn to him, anger and malice boiling out of it's eyes, but was forced to turn away when a barrage of icicles chipped and cracked his skin, scales chipping off as a result.

Asher felt his heartbeat quicken as he pulled his arm back and let the pokeball soar through the air, landing on Garchomp's head before sucking the dragon inside and closing like a capsule.

His two pokemon inched closer, ready to defend their trainer, but proved unnecessary since the pokeball's front pinged red, signalling it was captured.

Asher picked the pokeball up, examining it closely, and spoke to his partners with a distant tone. "Good job, but shit's really hit the fan now. This'll give the league a headache, that's for sure."

Sweat dripped down his forehead, the implications of what he just saw catching up with him as he pocketed the pokeball.

Asher didn't want to believe it, but it was practically confirmed now. Team Rocket were creating shadow pokemon!

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"Asher, why on earth did you call on an emergency meeting, we just-"

Asher promptly cut Blaine off, having no patience to deal with the older man. "Shut up, this is important. I raided a Team Rocket base, which I found when I investigated where those pokemon that attacked my city came from, and guess what I found."

Not letting them answer his rhetorical question, Asher pulled out a pokeball and gestured to it. "They were forcing pokemon to evolve, and one of their doctors even sicced a Garchomp on me."

Only five people were on call due to the time, Asher not included, but luckily Lance had answered. That saved him some trouble, since him and Lance weren't exactly on speaking terms.

Erika rubbed her eyes drowsily, letting out a yawn before asking. "What's a Garchomp? Also, what do you mean by forced evolution?"

"Garchomp is a pokemon from Sinnoh, dragon and ground-type, and I mean exactly what it sounds like. They were forcing pokemon to evolve, and I'm guessing that triggered some kind of aggression out of them, which made the pokemon go on a rampage."

His explanation made her sleepiness pass away, being replaced by disgust and anger. "That's horrible! To think that they could experiment on pokemon like that- it's revolting."

Lance nodded in agreement, him stating the obvious. "I agree, and these criminals need to be apprehended as soon as possible. Did you find anything of use, Asher?"

"There was a man I captured, doctor Namba, and he's being questioned at the Viridian City police station. The bastard made a Gible evolve all the way to it's final stage, but I managed to stop it and capture it." Asher felt grim as he mentioned another possibility. "But, if Team Rocket can actually make pokemon evolve to their final stage like that, then-"

"They'd have an army of powerful pokemon that they can replenish possibly endlessly, that would be troubling." Lance finished Asher's line of thought, with the Champion realising the ramifications if such a thing were possible.

Lance cautiously asked. "How powerful was this Garchomp?"

"Not as strong as my Mamoswine, but it was- well, insane." Asher huffed, recalling the ridiculous tenacity of his new pokemon. "It was relentless, even ice attacks weren't enough to make it quit, and it never stopped struggling. Lance, if Team Rocket had an army of those we're done for."

The dragon master sighed, pausing to collect his thoughts. "I see. Well, you shouldn't be worrying about that, Asher. We adults should be handling this, you have your own job in Sinnoh. Get your affairs in order, then you can leave."

"Are you sure you don't want me to stick around and help with Team Rocket?" Asher asked, uncertain whether it was really a good time to leave Viridian.

Lance tried to placate his worries. "Positive, you have an important job to do. Pathing the way for a whole region isn't a simple endeavour, just try and get your own mission done. You're due to leave anytime soon, worry about that instead."

Asher rubbed his face, wanting to go to bed, and conceded. "Alright boss, the Viridian police has all the details I already gave, you can get them from there. See the details yourself, since I'm too tired to care." 

He promptly hung up, getting home being more important to him than continuing with a meeting that nobody needed.