After passing through the devastated horde of Gastrodon, Sato reached the riverside and noticed there wasn't a single fish or shrimp in sight.
Not far ahead, a clearly visible dividing line split the entire river into two distinctly different sections.
Upstream, the water was lush with aquatic plants and full of life; downstream, almost nothing grew. Only a few scattered roots of green water grass remained.
At the same time, Mark followed behind, clutching the still-shivering Shellos, and cleverly dipped his hand into the water.
With the river water diluting it, Mark finally managed to shake Shellos off his hand. It immediately burrowed into the muddy bottom and disappeared.
"Why is it still sticky…? I can't wash it off at all!" Mark kept scrubbing his hand furiously while complaining.
In the end, Joseph came over and handed him a bottle of multi-purpose cleaning soap; that finally solved the problem.
"Did you notice anything strange?" Sato turned to ask Joseph, who had just walked over.
"These aquatic plants look weird. Was the right side polluted by something? But that can't be. The right side is clearly upstream, pollution shouldn't linger like this."
Joseph examined the area and quickly spotted the issue.
"Hmm, it's possible the Gastrodon ate all the plants, but they really wiped it clean. Also, even though Water-type Pokémon aren't especially common in Sinnoh, you'd still expect to see a few Magikarp or Bidoof. There's nothing."
While they were speaking, the previously defeated Gastrodon suddenly got back up one by one. They avoided Sato's group, whom they couldn't afford to provoke, and rushed straight back into the river.
Sato and the others didn't stop them. But after all the Gastrodon returned to the water, what they saw next made their scalps tingle.
The riverbed was now completely covered with dense masses of Gastrodon and Shellos. Using their soft feet, they connected into one massive unit and slowly crawled downstream.
Wherever they passed, only a thin layer of water grass roots remained.
Even those Gastrodon that had been injured recovered almost instantly once in the water, as if they had never fought at all.
"That's an incredible regeneration…" Sato muttered in awe, but his brows furrowed tightly.
With such a huge group of Gastrodon acting in unison, there was no space left for any other Water-type Pokémon to survive.
And judging by how desperately they had fought over food earlier, it was clear they were all in a state of extreme hunger.
Fast regeneration, massive appetite, terrifying numbers… this kind of Gastrodon swarm would be a disaster anywhere it went!
"I remember that Gastrodon usually only feed on plankton. They're lazy by nature and almost never move around much. Also, Shellos are covered in mucus, sure, but I've never heard of them sticking to people like that and refusing to come off."
Joseph raised these concerns from a Breeder's perspective.
After thinking it over, Sato took the map from Joseph's hands and pinpointed their location.
The map didn't show the small river next to them, but after comparing the elevation and nearby large rivers, Sato quickly determined that this tributary likely flowed into Lake Verity.
"I suggest we pick up the pace. Let's follow this river downstream and see what we can find."
Joseph clearly took the Gastrodon swarm's strange behavior very seriously. It was practically ecological destruction.
"Sure, we'll go with your plan." Since Joseph wanted to investigate, Sato had no objections and nodded in agreement.
"…Why doesn't anyone ask for my opinion…" Mark muttered resentfully from the side.
"So, you don't want to investigate?" Joseph glanced over with a side-eye.
"Ah! No no no! Investigate, of course we should! We absolutely have to get to the bottom of this, hmph!" Mark chickened out instantly and firmly stated his position.
"Then let's move quickly. That Gastrodon swarm isn't slow. If we're just walking, we probably won't keep up. Houndoom." As Sato spoke, he called over Houndoom and withdrew his other Pokémon.
Soon, Mark and Joseph also only kept out Togekiss and Gogoat, clearly switching to travel mode on rideable Pokémon.
Houndoom and Gogoat ran side by side, while Togekiss flew above them. Carrying Sato and the others, they followed the river downstream at full speed.
Before long, they had overtaken the Gastrodon swarm. Up ahead, the river showed lush growth of aquatic plants, just as expected.
A bit farther ahead, they began to spot signs of aquatic Pokémon like Magikarp and Bidoof.
However, Bidoof and Floatzel -Pokémon capable of coming ashore- had long since fled to the riverbanks, while Magikarp and Goldeen were frantically swimming downstream.
Clearly, these native Pokémon already knew that the Gastrodon swarm was coming, and had started fleeing early.
Or perhaps many of these Pokémon had already been fleeing from farther upstream.
Just as Sato and the others were realizing how serious the situation was, they reached a spot where the river merged with another tributary.
"Boss, that side's been hit too. The Gastrodon passed through already, there's nothing left," Mark called down from the sky, having spotted the other tributary first.
Sato and Joseph exchanged a look, both with a more terrifying suspicion in their eyes.
'Could these Gastrodon… be under human control?'
If that were true, this would be a huge deal. Even tiny tributaries weren't being spared… what about larger rivers?
Lake Verity was located in the remote southwest corner of Sinnoh, and under normal circumstances, very few people ever went there.
If all the Pokémon were being driven into Lake Verity, and this was man-made; then what exactly were they planning?
Also, who even bred such troublesome Gastrodon? Using them as a dispersal tool wouldn't draw much attention from ordinary people.
If Sato's group hadn't camped by the river, attracting a lone Shellos that got separated from the swarm, they might never have noticed anything.
After all, who goes around checking if river water has aquatic plants? Or if they're growing well?
With a thousand thoughts running through their minds, the three gave new orders to speed up their Pokémon. They no longer needed to follow the river, just head straight for Lake Verity.
This particular swarm of Gastrodon was no longer the priority. If this was a man-made scheme, then Lake Verity had to be the target.
Only by reaching it could they uncover the truth.
---
The three rushed ahead at full speed. Wherever they passed, chaos broke out. Many highly territorial wild Pokémon became furious and tried to attack them.
But Sato sent out Sharpedo and Zoroark, and Mark Lucario. These three Pokémon, using their formidable strength, tore a path through the blockade of wild Pokémon.
With three Ace Pokémon leading the way, even wild Ace Pokémon had no choice but to back off.
As for wild Elite Four Pokémon… Sato had never encountered one before. But even if he did, didn't he still have Mega Evolution and [Dark Energy: Energy Amplification] as backup?
So really, there was nothing to be afraid of.
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