Golem's Stone Edge.
The rocks were like blades, raining down with overwhelming density, shooting toward Tetsuya.
If not for Swinub, he would have died here today.
"Blizzard."
In an instant, icy wind and snow blasted outward. Swinub had already leapt from Tetsuya's arms, gave its body a shake, and the temperature in the entire tunnel plummeted. Moisture in the air condensed into ice droplets, forming a natural Hail.
The roaring Blizzard swept forward, combining with the sharp rocks as it surged toward Golem!
The grandeur of the scene left Golem stunned. It involuntarily took several steps back.
Golem had never expected that a so-called "toy" Pokémon, one held in its Trainer's arms, could possess such overwhelming power.
Of course, Golem wasn't one to go down without a fight. It immediately used Rapid Spin.
It had to be said… this move was effective.
All the rocks and ice shards were deflected. But the bone-chilling cold was inescapable.
When Golem stood again, its body was covered in snowflakes, trembling from the freezing assault.
As a part Ground-type Pokémon, Golem had low resistance to Ice-type moves. The falling hailrocks struck its body with sharp pah-pah sounds.
Swinub took a few steps forward. Golem, pressured, involuntarily backed up a pace.
At this moment, Golem was falling apart mentally. Even its own Stone Edge got blown back by Swinub and became a liability!
Let alone lesser moves like Rock Blast…
"Blizzard."
Tetsuya commanded Swinub to attack again. Now his only thought was to capture this Golem. He had to suppress it with absolute force, so that it would truly submit and be easier to "tame" in the future.
Under the natural "Hail", Blizzard's power intensified. The icy winds and snow surged again toward Golem, laced with brutal chill.
Golem let out a roar. Its eyes were glowing red. It had spent so much effort to find a safe place to shed its skin, and now these humans kept disturbing it. This time, no matter the cost… it would make them pay!
Heavy Slam.
Golem charged straight into the snowstorm. Its metallic silver armor shielded it from the icy shrapnel.
'Such grit…
Such tenacity!'
Tetsuya admired Golem even more now.
"Ice Beam."
This should end it. Golem trudged forward in the storm, its steps heavy and slow. Then a crystal-clear beam shot directly at it.
Golem could no longer endure such a fatal Ice Beam.
Ice began forming on its chest, then spread across its body. When Blizzard and Ice Beam ceased, what stood before Tetsuya was an icy mountain.
As expected of Swinub.
Now Golem had completely lost its ability to resist.
Tetsuya took out a Poké Ball and threw it at the "frozen mountain".
Catch!
He was finally about to have a powerful Pokémon of his own.
Golem, along with the ice block, was pulled into the Poké Ball.
The red light kept blinking.
Tetsuya stared intently at the wobbling Poké Ball on the ground.
Suddenly!
…Boooooom!
A deafening explosion. The Poké Ball shattered into pieces!
Fortunately, Tetsuya had kept some distance, or he would have been caught in the blast.
The explosive roar echoed through the tunnel.
Terrifying!
'Haaah… what a terrifying Golem… Even frozen inside an ice mountain, even sealed inside a Poké Ball, it still managed to use Explosion…' A move of pure destruction. If it hadn't been restrained by both the ice and the Poké Ball, it might have blown up the entire tunnel.
After breaking free, Golem panted heavily. Now its rocky body was completely cracked. It was on the brink of death.
'To still be able to stand after using Explosion…' This had to be the Sturdy Ability!
But even so, it had only a sliver of vitality left.
A direct approach was no longer an option. From the way Golem had "self-destructed" inside the Poké Ball, it was clear this was a Pokémon that had once been abandoned by a Trainer. Pokémon like this often harbored deep hatred for humans, seeking revenge, and resisting capture with everything they had.
The only chance now was to find a way to gain its trust. Even if he had to lie, it didn't matter. A "wild" Pokémon this powerful was a once-in-a-lifetime encounter. Pokémon of this caliber either lived deep in the mountains and forests, out of reach, or were surrounded by followers; getting close would be nearly impossible!
It was rare to find one alone like this. If he didn't catch it now, who knew how long before another chance would come? Besides, Pryce's Swinub would be returned soon.
"Swinub, use Icicle Crash to trap it."
Tetsuya gave the command. Right now, the priority was to immobilize Golem.
Swinub shook itself again, and an icicle dropped from the air. Golem instinctively rolled back. A row of icicles rained down in its direction.
Seven or eight icicles fell in succession, forcing Golem to the farthest end of the tunnel, right up against the wall.
'Now you have nowhere left to run. Maybe it's time to let my Seviper tongue do some work.'
Tetsuya urged Ditto, still in Rapidash form, to move closer to Golem.
But as he reached the corner of the tunnel… he suddenly saw Golem glowing white!
The shock nearly made Tetsuya fall off his mount.
"Return, Swinub! Ditto, run! Get out of the tunnel as fast as you can!"
Tetsuya recalled Swinub instantly and spurred Ditto to gallop toward the tunnel exit at top speed.
"Tch!" 'Just how deep was this Golem's hatred toward humans?'
As they reached the exit, a thunderous explosion pierced the air.
The foreman and five workers were already at the tunnel entrance, watching. When they saw Tetsuya emerge, they couldn't help but rush over.
"Tetsuya, my friend, you scared us to death! When we heard that explosion, I thought-" The foreman began.
Tetsuya shot him a glare. The foreman swallowed the rest of his sentence.
'What were those two huge explosions? What happened to that Golem?' That was the question on everyone's mind.
Tetsuya let out a long sigh. "...It's probably dead."
That Golem really had an unbreakable spirit. It would rather die than surrender. 'What a shame. Such a powerful Pokémon, lost just like that!'
Tetsuya felt a wave of regret.
He had been too fixated on capturing it. For Pokémon that had been abandoned, unless the person had an exceptionally strong character -like a certain idiot from Kanto- there was no way they would ever trust a human again.
Upon hearing that Golem was likely dead, the foreman became ecstatic. He quickly ordered the five workers to prepare, then led two Quagsire, two Rhydon, and two Onix into the tunnel.
Tetsuya adjusted his gear and followed them in.
Just as he stepped inside the tunnel, one of the workers came running out…