Pokémon: Sandstorm Sovereign

Chapter 72: A Visitor from Beyond

Vwoom!

At a certain point within the swirling, sky-blotting sandstorm, the air itself began to vibrate. A vortex of white light suddenly materialized in mid-air.

Fwoosh!

With a flash of light, a round, bronze-colored figure shot out of the vortex. It tumbled onto a dune and rolled down the sandy slope. A moment later, the energy vortex vanished as if it had never been there. At the same time, the sandstorm began to slowly subside.

Clang!

The bronze figure finally collided with a rock, its momentum halted. It fell into the yellow sand and lay still.

It was a Pokémon that resembled an ancient bronze mirror. Its body was a dull bronze color, with six reddish orbs embedded around its edge. In its center were concentric circles, with two closed "eyes" on either side of the core. On its back was a pattern resembling a tree with five leaves.

If Basalt were here, he would have instantly recognized it: Bronzor, the Steel/Psychic-type Pokémon.

This Bronzor seemed to be unconscious, lying motionless in the sand. A long, deep gash marred its patterned back, a wound so severe it nearly cut the Pokémon in two. It was clear that this Bronzor was gravely injured.

"Numm~ Numel~"

Drawn by the commotion, the three wild Numel slowly approached. They observed the Bronzor for a moment before one of them leaned in and licked it with its long tongue.

"Bronn..."

Under the Numel's gentle prodding, the Bronzor slowly began to stir. It struggled to open its eyes, curiously taking in its new surroundings.

A desert? A sandstorm? Where am I? Bronzor was completely bewildered. Its homeland had no such terrain.

It tried to use its psychic power to levitate, but it was too injured. The effort was immense, and it could only manage to prop itself up shakily on its base.

"Bronz..."

Leaning weakly against the rock, Bronzor projected a wave of psychic energy towards the three Numel, expressing its gratitude. If they hadn't woken it, it might have remained unconscious until it perished. Its injuries were truly severe.

Bronzor's expression turned grim as it recalled the moments before it blacked out. It had been suddenly sucked into an energy vortex. Its desperate struggle against the pull had triggered a chaotic spatial storm, and it shuddered at the memory. If it hadn't fought back so pointlessly, perhaps it wouldn't have been so badly hurt.

Looking at the unfamiliar environment, a thousand thoughts raced through its mind. It remembered the recent strange disappearances of members from the Solrock and Aron clans. Bronzor realized it might have stumbled into something very, very serious.

"Numel..." The Numel finally responded after a long pause. You're welcome!

"Bronz... zor..." Bronzor's dwindling psychic energy pulsed out again, conveying a new thought. Friends, could you please lend me some of your stamina?

"Numel?" The Numel looked confused. Lend stamina? Is that even possible?

Before they could figure it out, Bronzor's two eyes began to glow with a golden light. The light washed over the Numel, and a pattern identical to the one on Bronzor's back appeared on their bodies. The Numel's eyelids grew heavy, and they soon slumped to the ground, fast asleep.

Then, a strange light emanated from Bronzor's eyes. Thin threads of energy began to rise from the sleeping Numel, flowing into Bronzor's body. As more and more energy threads were absorbed, Bronzor's condition rapidly improved. The Pokémon that could barely stand a moment ago was now floating steadily, able to move freely.

Hypnosis followed by Dream Eater—an excellent combination for restoring stamina.

After recovering a portion of its strength, Bronzor quickly broke the connection. The Numel's eyes were not swirling; their breathing was steady. They were simply in a deep, natural sleep. These Numel were its saviors, and it would not repay their kindness by draining them completely and leaving them helpless. Being defenseless in the wild was a death sentence.

"Bronz..." Thank you, my friends.

Bronzor sent out another wave of psychic energy to gently wake the Numel. After expressing its gratitude one last time, it floated away.

Its physical injuries were still severe, and its psychic energy was on the verge of depletion. It had to find more Pokémon to "borrow" stamina from as quickly as possible. The unknown environment filled Bronzor with a profound sense of crisis.

As it traveled, Bronzor used its Hypnosis and Dream Eater combo to borrow stamina from a Sandshrew and two Cacnea, its condition improving with each encounter. While its physical stamina was recovering, converting that stamina back into psychic energy was a slow and inefficient process. It would take a long time to return to its peak.

Fortunately, the Pokémon here didn't seem very strong. It had yet to encounter one powerful enough to resist its Hypnosis. But as it thought about the gash on its back, a wave of worry washed over it again. Its body had a unique composition. To heal such a severe wound, it would need to find high-quality special metals. The difficulty of that task... would be immense.

Floating onward, Bronzor sent out its psychic senses, probing the area within a thirty-meter radius. Damn it, it thought. If I weren't so drained, my psychic range would be at least three times this size.

Soon, it detected a peculiar psychic ripple coming from behind a massive rock not far away. Its "eyes" flashed. It decided to investigate, silently floating higher into the air.

Behind the rock, a Numel was kneeling on the sand. A strange-looking, mysterious creature was huddled behind it, using the Numel and the massive rock as a shield against the swirling sand.

What kind of Pokémon is that? I've never seen anything like it. Bronzor tilted its body, a mix of curiosity and caution in its mind. The unknown was always the most terrifying.

But when it saw the vibrant, healthy Numel, Bronzor was tempted. I could probably borrow a lot of stamina from that one. It was simply too weak right now; it desperately needed the energy.

Silently, it drew closer to the Numel and the mysterious creature. Suddenly, Bronzor sensed something else. The mysterious creature was carrying some kind of special metal—a metal that could help heal its wounds. It was in the creature's pocket.

Bronzor was ecstatic, overjoyed at its discovery.

But it failed to notice that dozens of meters away, a Pokémon with dark blue markings was watching it with shifty, mole-like eyes.

When the sandstorm had intensified, Basalt had been forced to take shelter, hoping it would die down before he continued. But in the middle of the storm, Drilbur was having the time of its life, its joy impossible to contain. Basalt let it play, but on one condition: it couldn't go too far and had to constantly monitor for ground vibrations and movements in the sand, just in case of an attack from a wild Pokémon.

After consuming the Smooth Rock, Drilbur had gained the ability to sense things through the sand. While this wasn't its own sandstorm, it could still borrow the power of the natural phenomenon to enhance its senses over a small area.

The moment Bronzor had appeared, Drilbur had spotted it. It hadn't acted immediately because it didn't know if the newcomer was friend or foe, and since it was floating so high, attacking would be difficult.

But now... Bronzor was stealthily approaching Basalt, its intentions clearly hostile. This was an enemy.

"Drilburr!" (▼ヘ▼#)

Drilbur instantly entered battle mode. It used Dig to move silently underground, its senses locked onto the Bronzor in the air.

"Bron...zor?" (◇)?

Bronzor was now within ten meters of Basalt, who was still completely oblivious. He was busy fiddling with his Pokédex, hoping it would regain its signal soon.

After another moment of observation, Bronzor decided it was time to strike. Its eyes began to glow with a golden light as it prepared to hit both the Numel and Basalt with Hypnosis.

But in that instant, everything changed.

Several watermelon-sized rocks erupted from the sand beneath it, hurtling towards Bronzor. Caught completely by surprise, it was hit dead-on.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The rocks struck Bronzor with a series of sharp, metallic sounds. The force of the Rock Tomb slammed it to the ground, and its round body rolled a great distance before coming to a stop.

"Huh? What was that?"

Hearing the noise, Basalt looked up, bewildered. He saw nothing but the swirling sand. He had no idea what had just happened.

☆☆☆

-> SUPPORT ME WITH POWER STONE

-> FOR EVERY 200 PS = BOUNS CHAPTER

☆☆☆

-> 20 Advanced chapters Now Available on Patreon!!

-> https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Inkshaper

(Just remove the hyphen (-) to access patreon normally)

If you like this novel please consider leaving a review that's help the story a lot Thank you