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Chapter 245: The Shiny Sandslash King
🕑 Added 2025-10-07 12:29:16 +0000 UTCChapter 245: The Shiny Sandslash King
"Dro-lisk!"
"Broonz~"
"Nee-nee~"
Without any command from Basalt, the three Pokémon, sensing the danger, automatically began their preparations.
Excadrill created a circular pit of quicksand to act as a barrier. If the Sandshrew swarm tried to cross it, the battle would begin, and his team would counter-attack without hesitation.
Basalt was hesitant to start a Sandstorm. Sandshrew's abilities were either Sand Rush or Sand Veil. Starting a sandstorm would buff his team, but it would also strengthen the opponent.
Bronzong was busy setting up a Reflect, while Lileep was establishing its root domain, preparing for the impending fight.
"Yuji~"
At this moment, even baby Larvitar had been released by Basalt. The little one was to act as his bodyguard, though it was unlikely to be of much use.
However, seeing so many Sandshrew, the inexperienced Larvitar, who didn't yet sense the danger, was just filled with curiosity.
This bunch of mice looks like fun!
"Shrew~ Shrew-shrew~"
A swarm of Sandshrew surrounded Basalt. But because of the quicksand barrier, they didn't cross the line, only staring at him from a distance.
But with the effect of the mob mentality, Basalt felt that the Sandshrew were no longer cute at all. On the contrary, with their hard skin and sharp claws, they were like a budget version of Excadrill. Their attack power and the danger they posed could not be underestimated.
And in their eyes, he could see they were eager for a fight.
"Gulp."
Basalt involuntarily swallowed, a growing sense of dread washing over him.
Because hidden among the Sandshrew, he had spotted several Sandslash.
If it were just Sandshrew, Basalt wouldn't have been scared at all. Even with their large numbers, he could have just flown away with Bronzong.
But the appearance of the Sandslash completely shattered his idea of chickening out and running.
Sandslash were stronger, had a richer move pool, and could launch formidable ranged attacks. If they all swarmed him at once, he could be shot out of the sky the moment he took off.
As the Sandslash appeared, some of the Sandshrew began to slowly step into the quicksand, moving through it as if swimming. As Ground-type Pokémon, the quicksand wasn't very effective against them.
The rest of the Sandshrew had already begun their attack.
A dense volley of dark purple needles, star-shaped energy shurikens, and even some sizable rock projectiles...
Individually, Basalt wouldn't have given any of these moves a second thought. But when they came at him in a massive, overwhelming wave, the sheer force was no joke.
Basalt felt like he was on a battlefield, with all the enemy's firepower concentrated on him, determined to blast him to pieces.
"Full counter-attack! Don't hold back!"
The veins on Basalt's forehead bulged, and his breathing became ragged.
Since the opponent had already attacked, there was nothing left to say.
Just one word: Fight!
BOOM!
A hard rock shield appeared, blocking the first wave of the group attack. But in the next second, cracks began to appear on the shield, and it quickly shattered completely. There were simply too many Sandshrew; Wide Guard couldn't hold for long.
As the shield broke, Bronzong immediately covered Basalt with its body, protecting him and Larvitar inside. Fortunately, Sandshrew and Sandslash were primarily physical attackers. Their barrage of moves was first weakened by the Reflect. On top of that, most of these Sandshrew were only at the Beginner-rank, and even the Sandslash were only Intermediate-rank.
So, with its boosted psychic defenses from Calm Mind, Bronzong didn't have too much trouble defending. Of course, that was assuming the attack didn't last too long. Otherwise, both the Reflect and Bronzong itself would be overwhelmed.
Fortunately, at this moment, his team's counter-attack finally began.
Rat-tat-tat! Rat-tat-tat!
Lileep, having established its root domain, first launched an amber-colored energy orb. After its stats were all boosted, it immediately began to fire countless energy bullets, its petals flashing like sparks of fire.
"Shrew~ Shrew~"
The Grass-type Bullet Seed was super-effective against the Ground-type Sandshrew. Combined with Lileep's own high power level and the energy boost it had just received, any Sandshrew hit head-on was instantly knocked out. It was death on a direct hit, and injury on a graze.
Of course, this method of attack consumed a huge amount of energy. Fortunately, with its root domain, Lileep could simply have its roots grab a few Sandshrew and use Giga Drain to replenish its health. With their strength, the Sandshrew had no hope of escaping the roots' grasp and were turned into nothing more than health potions.
On the other side, Bronzong was continuously deflecting the weakened attacks with its psychic power, while also reinforcing the Reflect, its most important line of defense.
As for Excadrill, it had already charged into the Sandshrew swarm like a god of war. It used Drill Run to carve out a path, Earthquake to sweep a large area, and occasionally swatted a few away with Metal Claw.
But Lileep, firing its Bullet Seed on one side while healing with its roots on the other, was the undisputed star of the show. Even Excadrill's brilliance couldn't outshine it. As an artillery cannon, it was truly outstanding. Its seemingly endless assault gave its opponents no hope of victory.
"Shrew~ Shrew~ Shrew~"
The battle had only lasted for a minute, but at least a hundred Sandshrew had already fallen. Their own attacks, however, had achieved almost nothing. They couldn't even break through the quicksand pit, let alone cause any real damage to Basalt.
And so, the Sandshrew swarm's morale began to plummet. Their attacks slowly sputtered to a halt. But they did not break their encirclement, as if it were just a mid-battle-halftime.
At the same time, their rhythmic calls gave Basalt a very bad feeling.
"Dro-lisk!"
Excadrill, who had returned to Basalt's side, suddenly looked up, as if it had discovered something.
"Excadrill says something is approaching," Bronzong reported as it slowly floated up, revealing Basalt, whose face was now grave.
"Don't tell me it's their king," Basalt thought, looking at the scene before him. Generally, when a Pokémon species grew to a certain size, a leader would emerge. It strengthened the group's cohesion and allowed them to fight more effectively, securing more territory and food.
"SAND-SHREW!"
Just as Basalt's mind was racing, a deep and powerful cry echoed out.
To the east, a large hole suddenly burst open in the ground.
From the hole, a massive Sandslash emerged. Its entire back was covered in red quills, its claws were powerful and strong, and it looked majestic.
In terms of size, it was half a head taller than Excadrill, reaching a shocking height of 1.5 meters, half a body taller than a normal Sandslash.
"A giant Sandslash?" Basalt sucked in a cold breath, his eyelids twitching uncontrollably. "And... it's a shiny one!"
A normal Sandslash's quills are brown, but this giant Sandslash's were a striking red, as if they had been dyed.
"Sand-shrew!"
Looking at the field littered with its fallen subjects, the shiny Sandslash King's expression was grim. These damn invaders had not only trespassed on their territory without warning but had also killed and injured so many of its clan. It was unforgivable.
He would tear them to pieces.
But when its gaze fell upon Excadrill, perhaps due to some kind of rivalry between their species, its eyes locked onto him, and it couldn't look away. Clearly, this shiny Sandslash King was interested in Excadrill.
"Dro-lisk!"
Excadrill glared back fiercely, its aura not giving an inch.
Although Basalt wanted to de-escalate, looking at the countless dead and injured Sandshrew, he knew that as long as the shiny Sandslash King wasn't an idiot, a peaceful resolution was impossible.
"SAND-SHREW!"
Sure enough, the shiny Sandslash King was enraged. It waved a claw, ordering the swarm to attack again. It then beckoned at Excadrill with its other claw, its intention clear.
"Excadrill, don't be impulsive. If you go out there for a one-on-one, you'll be at a disadvantage. We've trained for group battles. You, Bronzong, and Lileep working together is our greatest strength." Basalt quickly put a hand on Excadrill to stop it, afraid it would fall for the trap.
But besides that, Basalt had another worry: he was afraid Excadrill couldn't beat the shiny Sandslash King.
A giant, shiny king of its species... this Sandslash was obviously not a simple opponent. Of course, he couldn't say that out loud. With Excadrill's temper, that would just make it explode with anger and do the opposite of what he wanted.
"Dro-lisk~"
Excadrill looked deeply at the shiny Sandslash King, then shook its head.
"Excadrill says that Sandslash has a strange energy that's attracting it. It has to go check it out," Bronzong translated. "And if it doesn't block it out there, it could get close to you. I might not be able to protect you, and you'd be in great danger."
"This..."
Basalt was speechless. He knew Excadrill was telling the truth.
Even a normal Sandslash had formidable attack power, let alone this giant, shiny one. As the king of its clan, this Sandslash was definitely at the Advanced-rank. And with its size and strength, it was probably not far from the Pro-level.
"Then... alright."
Basalt clenched his fists, feeling powerless for the first time. He cursed his own recklessness. If he'd known, he wouldn't have gone looking for some damn secret realm. The danger was very real. One wrong move, and he could lose his life here.
"Dro-lisk~"
Excadrill flexed its claws, a slight smile on its face.
As long as I'm here, no one will be able to hurt you.
Then, a sandstorm suddenly erupted.
Excadrill transformed into its "drill" state and shot out like a beam of light, charging straight for the shiny Sandslash King.
