Pokémon: Sandstorm Sovereign

Chapter 70: Deep into the Dunes

Wearing a sand-proof hood and goggles, Basalt rode his docile Numel deeper into the desert. He had already traveled five or six kilometers without realizing it. Thankfully, while the signal was weaker out here, he could still connect to the network to check his map and get his bearings. Otherwise, he would have been completely lost.

He crested one dune only to find another, and then another after that. The endless rolling hills of sand felt even more hopeless than being lost at sea. If it weren't for the GPS on his Pokédex, he never would have had the courage to venture this far.

"Drilbur~!" (～￣▽￣)～

Drilbur trotted excitedly ahead of him, its head darting back and forth as it took in the novel surroundings with wide-eyed curiosity. Basalt followed about ten meters behind on his Numel. The scene felt like something out of an old adventure story, with the loyal scout leading the way for his master.

The deeper they went, the more invigorated Drilbur became. The natural Ground and Rock-type energy here was noticeably richer than back in the main park area. Combined with the unique dryness of the desert air, Drilbur felt completely at home. His home region, with its river-filled landscapes and high humidity, especially in coastal Seaside County, wasn't perfectly suited to Drilbur's nature.

"Dril!"

Suddenly, Drilbur froze. It closed its eyes, concentrating intently.

"Drilbur, what is it? Did you find something?" Basalt immediately pulled on the reins, bringing his Numel to a halt.

Although Numel was also a Ground-type, its natural talents hadn't been developed. When it came to sensing vibrations in the earth, Drilbur was the expert. This was precisely why Basalt had let Drilbur walk on its own instead of riding with him. He needed to use its ground-sensing ability like a radar.

"Drilbur~"

After a moment of concentration, Drilbur opened its eyes and pointed a claw towards a large rock in the distance. There was movement over there.

"Drilbur, get ready for battle. Let's move in!" Basalt was overjoyed.

He'd been trekking for kilometers. While he had spotted some Pokémon, they were mostly timid Sandshrew. Since Sandshrew's role on a team was too similar to Drilbur's—and it was generally weaker—Basalt hadn't pursued them. He already had his ace mole; he couldn't be greedy.

But judging by Drilbur's reaction this time, it wasn't a Sandshrew. It had to be a Pokémon it had never encountered before.

"Shhh!"

Basalt gave a hand signal to his Numel, guiding it on a wide, slow approach toward the large rock. He wanted to identify the Pokémon first without scaring it off or, worse, provoking something he couldn't handle. Dragon's Tooth Oasis was a tourist park, so there shouldn't be any overly powerful wild Pokémon, but the problem was... his Drilbur wasn't that strong yet either. It had only just reached Novice Rank.

Eighteen years old and still a rookie... he lamented internally.

Creeping cautiously closer, Basalt finally got a clear view of his target.

There were three cactus-like Pokémon. They had round, green bodies, powerful-looking arms, and a crown of yellow flowers on their heads. They were half-buried in the sand, with only the parts of their bodies above their mouths visible.

"Cacnea!" Basalt's face lit up with delight.

Cacnea, the Grass-type Pokémon. It thrived in arid regions and loved the desert. According to the Pokédex, the water stored in its body could sustain it for thirty days. The yellow flower on its head bloomed once a year, releasing a strong fragrance to lure prey before it attacked with the sharp needles covering its body.

Although Cacnea wasn't a Rock, Ground, or Steel-type, its most common ability was Sand Veil, which made it immune to sandstorm damage. It was a certified member of the sandstorm team archetype.

Grass-types that fit into a sandstorm team were few and far between. Besides Cacnea, the only others were Torterra, Ferroseed, Lileep, and Kartana. Lileep, a fossil Pokémon, and Kartana, an Ultra Beast, were the stuff of dreams—unrealistic for him to obtain now. Torterra was a starter, making it just as difficult to acquire. As for Ferroseed, while not overly rare, it wasn't native to this part of the world.

All things considered, even though Cacnea had lower base stats and wasn't the absolute best choice, it was the most suitable and realistic option for Basalt at this stage.

Of course, that was all dependent on whether these particular Cacnea had any training potential.

"Drilbur, sneak over and get ready to fight. Before they spot you, hit them with Screech to lower their defense!" Basalt began formulating a battle plan.

Even though it was a surprise attack, he was facing three opponents. Using a stat-lowering move first was a sound strategy.

"Dril!"

Drilbur nodded, raising its claws to its temples in a salute. Mission accepted!

It began to creep forward, its body low to the ground. Perhaps because they lacked the Ground typing and couldn't sense vibrations well, or perhaps because they had grown complacent from a life of peace, the Cacnea were completely oblivious. Drilbur managed to get within twenty meters before it was spotted.

"SKREEEEEE!"

A harsh, piercing noise suddenly filled the air. The Cacnea winced in pain, immediately trying to cover their ears. The problem was, their arms were like stubby clubs and couldn't cover anything. Caught completely off guard, all three were hit squarely by the Screech. A faint, dark light flashed over their bodies as their defense sharply dropped.

"Cac-NEA!" o(▼皿▼メ;)o

Enraged, the three little Pokémon fixed their crimson eyes on Drilbur.

Fwit! Fwit! Fwit!

They swung their arms, and with a flash of white light, the needles on their bodies shot out like a volley of rockets.

Pin Missile!

Faced with the massive barrage of needles, Drilbur's expression tensed. It had intended to use Rapid Spin to defend, but seeing the scale of the attack, it decided digging was a much better idea.

Fwoosh!

Drilbur transformed into its drill form and vanished beneath the sand.

The three Cacnea paused, stunned. They were just about to form a defensive circle when the ground beneath one of them erupted. A huge, sharp claw slammed into it from below, sending it flying.

So fast! The Cacnea were shocked. They never expected this Drilbur to be so quick.

Wait a second... why do we suddenly feel so comfortable?

The two remaining Cacnea were about to counterattack when a strange sensation washed over them. It was... their Sand Veil ability had been triggered!

What's going on?

The two Cacnea looked at each other, completely confused. The sun was shining brightly. There was no sandstorm. Why did their ability suddenly activate? It was bizarre.

Fully engaged in the battle, they failed to notice the faint cloud of fine sand swirling around Drilbur.

"Cacnea!"

With the enemy right in front of them, the remaining two Cacnea exchanged a look. Their arms began to glow with a fierce white light as they swung them down toward Drilbur.

Needle Arm!

But just as the attacks were about to land, the earthy brown aura around Drilbur changed. A brilliant white light flashed, and it seamlessly transitioned from its digging stance into a high-speed spin.

Thwack! Thwack!

The Needle Arms struck Drilbur. While the Rapid Spin deflected most of the force, the impact was still strong enough to send it flying backward, forcing it out of its drill form.

But even as it was knocked through the air, Drilbur retaliated. Several chunks of rock materialized beside it and shot towards the Cacnea with unstoppable force.

Rock Tomb!

BOOM!

The Cacnea had no time to dodge. The rocks slammed into them, kicking up a massive cloud of dust. When the dust settled, all three Cacnea were lying on the ground, groaning and unable to battle. Their defense was already low, and after being weakened by Screech, they couldn't withstand the powerful attack.

"Nice work, Drilbur!"

Like a true protagonist, Basalt made his grand entrance, lavishing praise on his partner. You do the fighting, I'll take the glory! Hmm... a very reasonable division of labor!

He walked over to examine the fainted Cacnea, but he quickly ran into a problem. Just like when he was choosing his starter, he had no way of knowing which of these Pokémon had the best potential. How was he supposed to choose?

Making things worse, Poké Balls were legally tied to a trainer's ID. Once a Pokémon was caught, it was officially registered to them. If he later discovered it had no talent for battling, he couldn't just release it and try again. As a Novice-Rank Trainer, he only had three open slots on his team. They were too precious to waste. He had to go for quality over quantity.

"Seems like having such strict laws isn't always a good thing," Basalt muttered, rubbing his chin.

In that moment, he felt a pang of envy for Paul from the anime. That guy would catch any Pokémon he wanted, and if he didn't like it or thought it was weak, he'd just release it on the spot without a second thought.

Must be nice, Basalt thought, a wave of jealousy washing over him.

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