My Little Pokémon: Grander World

by Amarvax

A Held Back Garden

Equestria. Up in the sky above the seas. Despair Plant Garden. Nightfall.

What was once a garden that seemed harmless and acted harmless was actually a Despair Plant Garden that immediately took action once Rosa Maledicta forced it to. What made the garden so calm initially was unknown, but with the dark magic bursting out of it, that had come to pass.

From the Dark Magic, the Despair Plants that were resting and growing would reveal themselves. Relatively early too due to how new this garden was. However, they weren't as bombastic as they usually appear. They were much smaller in size. No longer being around the levels of houses but still being relatively bigger than everyone else, these Despair Plants burst out of the Dark Magic that Rosa generated.

Not only that, but with the garden finally taking action, the terrain would react, wobbling and rocking while changing itself.

"Woah! Woahoho!" Pinkie Pie yelled, slipping and bouncing on the rocking terrain. "It's like a bouncy castle, actually!" She immediately found enjoyment in this despite the voice of Rosa Maledicta being heard.

"The terrain's changing!" Twilight screeched while using her magic to pin herself to the ground, preventing any balancing issues. The same couldn't be said for everyone else who were struggling to keep themselves steady. Parts of the garden turned into slopes, causing some of them to slip and slide downwards, screaming along the way. They would be rescued by those who could keep themselves steady, grabbing onto the arms, hands and legs of those who fell. The first sign of them was a massive claw that resembled that of a mantis, bursting out of the Dark Magic.

"What is that?!" Ash gasped after witnessing the emergence of a claw and arachnid-like legs.

"Arise! Triantis! Arachnorchid!" Rosa Maledicta called for the two Despair Plants that were emerging. They would fully emerge from the magic, resembling their names perfectly.

Triantis was a Mantis Despair Plant, having the usual Mantis build but with a texture of grass. Rough grass, to be exact. It had 5 eyes on its face. The usual two on the side, two more in the centre and a final one above the middle ones as they all looked like bulbs. Along with its sharp claws that looked like the mouth of another creature, on its back was a blooming flower with thorns coming out of the side.

As for Arachnorchid, it was just like a spider which was already intimidating to many but with the additional features of an orchid. The orchid was its entire body with its legs being made out of what seemed to be bones. The centre of its orchid body possessed a sharp, horrid mouth with eight eyes next to the array of sharp teeth. Truly, these were fierce creatures despite being smaller than the previous Despair Plants.

"Are those...Despair Plants?!" And for Fluttershy and a few others, this was their first time witnessing Despair Plants in the same vicinity as them.

"Young but still deadly. They'll suffice in dealing with you while the rest of this garden grows to new heights. This one involves my magic so all of you including Galaxy Master shall perish here. Except for you, Fluttershy."

"Me?!" The pegasus pulled back as she was singled out.

"Perhaps you're the reason my garden was inactive when you all showed up. It must be the remaining vampire bat essence within you. I'll make sure you're kept around and if you perish with them....oh well."

Triantis and Arachnorchid would immediately spread out, targeting their prey. Both were rather swift Despair Plants due to the creatures they were based on. They targeted the group while they were still struggling to keep steady on this active terrain.

"Hey! Hey!" Applejack exclaimed, holding onto her hat while a Triantis came her way. The ground she stood on kept wobbling violently, preventing her from properly focusing. However, the wobbling ground somewhat helped in her favour. The moment Triantis came close with those sharp claws, Applejack would fall backwards, narrowly evading the slice. A piece of her mane had been clipped and cut off by the swing of Triantis' claws.

Her hat would fly off when falling over and accidentally evading Triantis' claws. Applejack grimaced before quickly grabbing her hat, placing it back on. Triantis would try another slash, only for Sceptile to come swinging in with his vines, intercepting the Despair Plant.

"Sceptile!" Sceptile had used Leaf Blade as two sharp blades of grass had interacted with each other, creating sparks in the process.

"Nice save, Sceptile! Oh...Woah!" But Applejack couldn't say much else as she kept moving back with the changing terrain, moving away from Sceptile.

"Tile?!" The Forest Pokemon quickly swivelled his head, witnessing his trainer tumble away. He took his eyes off Triantis for one second, nearly receiving a sharp slash from the Despair Plant. With another close call, Sceptile managed to block the incoming slash with one arm while using the other arm to create a vine. The vine quickly raced downwards, pursuing the tumbling Applejack before she could find herself in a rather painful position or predicament.

And with the vine wrapping around her hoof, Applejack was now dangling.

"Why is it still moving like this...? Triantis and Arachnorchid are acting like normal but the garden isn't. Why? Something is not right." And yet, Rosa Maledicta still noticed that something was amiss with the Despair Plant Garden. It wasn't as violent as she was hoping it would be. Almost as if the aggression of it was being held back by something. She still believed it was Fluttershy and yet, Fluttershy hasn't done anything that would make the Despair Plant Garden act this way but something was certainly affecting the garden in this way.

As for some of the Triantis and Arachnorchids they scattered, going for those who managed to split up, attempting to pick them off one by one. With how chaotic it was, the Despair Plants were doing their best to try and keep up with their prey. Arachnorchid had used webs like any spider would, shooting well-built and thick ones out. One of these managed to grab Sceptile, who was still facing off against Triantis.

"S-Sceptile!" Sceptile found himself in his own predicament. With one arm dealing with a Triantis and another one holding Applejack, he was struggling to keep it together. His one arm couldn't keep up with both of Traintis' claws and the web certainly didn't help, holding onto his arm.

"Hang in there, Sceptile! I sure am!" Applejack cried out as she was still dangling from Sceptile's vine. And from this position, her blood was definitely rushing to her head while she was trying to keep her hat on. Another web from the Arachnorchid would be unleashed, seeking to restrain Sceptile more, as if he wasn't struggling already.

"Leavanny, Use String Shot!"

"Leavan!" Coming to Sceptile's save was a string shot from one of Rarity's Leavanny. A strong stream of string would fly in, blocking the other web from reaching her. Rarity was currently being carried by some of her many Leavanny. 4 of them were currently out of their Poke Balls for this. WIth this numerical advantage, two of the Leavanny would jump in, using X-Scisscor to cut the web in half, freeing Sceptile.

"Scep!" Finally free, Sceptile could move once more. And on top of that, the Triantis would jump back from its fellow bugs. As for the 4th Leavanny, he was helping Rarity reach Applejack who was still dangling in a rather uncomfortable position. It didn't help that Sceptile's movements also affected the vine she hung from.

"Applejack! Are you alright?!" Rarity yelled while being brought down by the 4th Leavanny.

"Guhhh...!" Applejack groaned, feeling rather bewildered and dazed from her position. Sceptile would finally pull her up once the Triantis was outnumbered by three. However, it would soon be joined by the two Arachnorchids that went for Sceptile in the first place. With Sceptile pulling Applejack back up, he would hold the Earth Pony next to him, having his fellow Grass-Types to back him up.

"Where's everyone else?!" Because of this confusion, Rarity noticed how she and Applejack had been separated from the rest of her friends. The hyperactive terrain and abundance of Despair Plants are what caused this separation. Right now, most of them were in other locations in this ever-growing dark garden. But right now, they had these two Despair Plants to worry about.

---

With Ash, he was currently sliding on the ground with the rocking terrain, having Pikachu, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie holding onto him. Raboot was holding onto Audino who was also holding Bayleef as Audino was also sliding. Ash held onto his own hat while moving across the ground at relatively swift speeds.

"Ash! Keep steady!" Pinkie Pie bellowed as the wind was punishing her face, making her cheekbones wobble.

"Trying! But this feels slippery for some reason!" Ash was truly trying his best here to keep himself as steady as possible. But right now, that was a tall order with how the terrain was acting. It didn't help that there were some Arachnorchids pursuing him and his friends.

The Despair Plants would swing from tree to tree, using their webs to do so as they were gaining on Ash. With each momentum they achieved, they would shoot out an extra pair of webs that weren't focused on the trees but rather on Ash and his friends. These webs came in the shape of spheres, flying through the air before missing the group. But they were lucky they missed as these web balls would then explode once they hit one of the trees.

The group gasped after witnessing the combusting web. When it comes to DEspair Plants, they are far more violent and destructive than the creatures they resemble. More of them would fly over, attempting to hit Ash's group while they were sliding on the garden. It felt like they were being attacked by bombs that were raining down from above.

"Pikachu! Use Thunderbolt!"

"P-Pika...! Chuu!" Pikachu would find the time to use Thunderbolt, letting go of Ash. 100,000 Volts of electricity were burning within him, ready to be unleashed, but he certainly couldn't hit all of the Arachnorchids that were coming this way. As a solution, Pikachu would target his Thunderbolt on the ground instead of the Despair Plants.

The lightning would combust, sending a fierce flare of electricity which would not only block off the other web bombs but also hold back the Despair Plants. In return, the explosion would also push Ash and the others away with how strong it was, giving them a boost. If anything, it was helpful as it would keep them away from the Despair Plants.

"Gaaaah!" Ash and his friends screamed as they were flung through the air by Pikachu's Thunderbolt. They gained some impressive airtime because of it but landing safely was something else they had to consider. Up ahead, one of the shelters that the garden made when growing could be spotted, unphased and untouched by all of this rumbling and wobbling. "R-Right there!" ASh would point over at the shelter while moving through the air.

The only one who could properly recover was Fluttershy, using her wings to do so. The same couldn't be said for everyone else who were still falling, but on the bright side, the Arcachnorchids were far behind now.

"Mew! Transform into anyone!" Pinkie Pie yelled, needing Mew to pull off the most successful save possible.

"M-Mew...!" Mew would think quickly on his feet, flying out of Pinkie Pie's mane which he was safe within. Unfortunately, he could not think of a Pokemon in time that could save them, but he did have his own way of saving them without needing to Transform. Psychic. By using Psychic, Mew would telekinetically hold all of his friends apart from Fluttershy, freezing them in midair.

"Woah!" Ash would find himself coming to an abrupt halt because of this. All of them did without any blowback or recoil of the sort. They were thankful to have Mew around who was strong enough to hold all of them.

"You could've done that any time...But you enjoyed the sliding, didn't you?" Pinkie Pie made an exhausted giggle, looking up at Mew.

"Mew!" Mew grinned as he was guilty of it. He could've stopped their momentum with Psychic at any time but was too invested in the sliding to do so. Such a playful Pokemon. But right now, being playful wasn't the key. Quickly, Mew would bring them all to the shelter.

The Arachnorchids would continue swinging, searching for their prey after the flare of electricity subsided. The destruction Pikachu made was momentary but effective, especially since tracks of Ash's shoes sliding across the ground had come to an end thanks to Pikachu and Mew. And because of Mew, he managed to conceal them all within the shelter by moving them himself.

"Phew...Alright." Ash sighed once they all reached this shelter within the garden. "Things really took off all of a sudden, huh? Is everyone okay?"

"We're fine here." Pinkie Pie rested her head on a flower bed. "That really came out of nowhere. The Lich Queen's watching us too...That's pretty scary...At least we got away from those spider plants for a while. Not like we can do much to them."

"But she's got a point though..." Ash would immediately think back to Rosa Maledicta's words. "It didn't start acting like this until she showed up. And the garden knew we weren't vampires, didn't it?"

"I know," said Fluttershy. "But she even said it's not acting in the right way. She thinks it's either me or Twilight that's doing this. But I haven't done anything yet."

"Whatever it is, I'm glad it's around. That means we've got opportunities." Ash stood back up. "There's something up with this garden, not just because it's made by the Dread League. Plus, Galaxy Master's here, so I gotta see him as soon as I can."

"Maybe we can ask Daisy and Paradise. They can talk to plants after all." Fluttershy suggested. "It's how they spoke to the ones in this garden before."

"Yeah, if we can find them. Stay close, you guys." Ash would walk out of the shelter once the coast was clear. There wasn't anything happening around here just yet. It was off to find the rest of their friends while also searching for Galaxy Master. After all, he was going to be a ton of help in this instance because of how his power affected the magic of the Dread League.

---

Magehold.

Back at Magehold, over at Rosa Maledicta's Healing Chamber, the Lich Queen would close her eyes once more. She ceased any chatter with those over at the Despair Plant Garden, needing to recover before she can do anything else.

"This is rather agitating...I've already wasted enough magic making that garden grow in the sky...and now I've had to use it once more to make it attack." Rosa Maledicta growled as she has recently spent a lot of her magic these past minutes. And she had yet to fully recover as well.

Growing the garden certainly made her use a plethora of her magic due to what Galaxy Master did previously. And the interference of Ash and his friends didn't help at all, forcing her garden to take action with how peaceful it was. Rather odd for a creation of the Dread League. Rosa needed answers as much as she needed to recover. Why was it that her garden was so peaceful early on until she gave the command? And more importantly, why wasn't it as violent as Rosa Maledicta was hoping it to be? Truly, someone was behind this.

"It has to be Fluttershy...Or could it be Twilight Sparkle? Neither of them seemed like they believe it to be them. Which means it might be someone I have not taken into account. Ash? No...His Aura would've been recognized by now. It certainly isn't Galaxy Master."

Images of different individuals would pop up in her head, trying to figure out who was keeping her garden from reaching its full strength. Rainbow Dash was immediately dismissed along with Pinkie Pie and Applejack. The People of the Water did not last in Rosa's mind at all as she was struggling to find the answer.

The visage of the only two unfamiliar ponies would pass by. Daisy and Paradise. But even with those being up at the garden as well, Rosa Maledicta wasn't sure either.

"Curse it...I can't exactly figure it out. I won't get anything done with the condition I'm in. But I must sort this out at once with so many major players there. Fractured."

"You rang, your majesty?" Instantly, Fractured Note would appear, emerging from the shadows without even using the door.

"The garden...and that temple. They seem to be somewhere around the west judging by those seas. Since they are all within Equestria's seas, we can reach them easier as opposed to any other region. I must recover after the magic I've spent. I'm entrusting you to sort this out. And suss out the one who is holding back my precious garden from reaching its full potential."

"Hm. I understand, your majesty. Is Galaxy Master there as well?"

"Indeed. He's shown up...along with that potion-carrying pony sidekick of his. Those two will be a problem, just as much as Ash and his band if something is not done. Until I can recover enough magic, I am counting on you and whoever you send to deal with this. I shall rest until I am ready."

"Understood. leave it to me." He would once again disappear, walking back as the shadows concealed his appearance. It was all on Fractured Note. The loyal servant of the Lich Queen. Rosa Maledicta would rest, fully closing her eyes, allowing her mind to turn off for a bit. Never has she had to be held back this much.

As for Fractured Note, everything was his call. Whatever he said goes as he had the highest authority out of every vampire being the servant of the Lich Queen after all. And with this opportunity, a rather devious smile graced his face. When away from the Lich Queen's chambers, he would speak to himself casually with no one being near him at all. This was because of the shadows that enveloped him, making him rather solitary from everyone.

"I know just who to bring for this. If potions are involved, then someone else who specializes in them can help." Fractured note already had his decisions.

With his mind being made up and him taking charge of this whole operation, what shall become of the Despair Plant Garden, those on it and the Sea Temple blow? As the journey continues.

Chapter 70 End.

Comments

[ArcticAce01]

"I know just who to bring for this. If potions are involved, then someone else who specializes in them can help." Fractured note already had his decisions.

Oh no, I got a bad feeling about this

[Anaylze]

Why does this chapter feel like we will see a Peashooter or Melon Pult?