The light of evolution!
Ariel's heart skipped a beat, and his breath caught in his throat!
An unprecedented, immense power erupted from the deepest part of its body without any warning!
It's happening!
Ariel's breathing halted at that moment, his fists unconsciously clenching tight.
Piercing white light burst from the gaps between Sandile's scales, growing brighter and brighter until it completely engulfed its entire body, forming a massive cocoon of light.
Blinding white light enveloped Sandile completely, forming a huge cocoon of light that wrapped it entirely.
The surrounding air seemed to freeze, with only the crackling sounds of energy explosions and the creaking noises of stretching, growing bones audible from within the light!
Within the radiance, a massive black shadow was rapidly expanding and transforming!
Its body was being elongated, its originally somewhat stout limbs becoming more slender and powerful.
The contours of its mouth became more ferocious and elongated, with sharp teeth gleaming coldly.
Black stripes spread across its body like bolts of lightning in the dark night.
A fierce, savage aura erupted violently from the light cocoon!
Inkay, floating nearby, drifted onto Ariel's shoulder, its pair of flashy eyes wide open as it curiously observed the glowing sphere.
Sneasel also stopped being on guard, standing quietly to the side, watching its companion welcome its new life.
Ariel's gaze pierced through the light; he could clearly perceive Sandile's life essence undergoing a tremendous, earth-shaking leap.
Its bones were lengthening, muscles were restructuring, and its body was expanding at a visible rate.
More importantly, the smooth rock that had been absorbing energy within its body was now finally fully awakening!
"Bang!"
The light cocoon exploded violently, dissipating into a shower of light particles.
A brand new Pokémon appeared before everyone.
Its body was nearly twice the size of Sandile's, its main color still brown with a creamy white belly.
The most striking feature was the natural, sunglasses-like black markings around its eyes. Combined with its slightly parted mouth revealing sharp teeth, an unruly, delinquent aura hit you in the face.
Krokorok!
Evolution successful!
Ariel could feel that the Sandstorm-like power within the evolved Krokorok had accumulated to its peak, almost ready to burst forth.
Steadying his heart, suppressing his excitement, he gave a firm command: "Krokorok, now! Release all your power!"
Upon receiving the order, Krokorok seemed to have received permission to vent.
It raised its head, opened its mouth wide, and let out a roar that shook the entire underground space!
"Rooooar—!"
With this roar, a visible yellow sand current erupted from it as the center!
At first, it was just a whirlwind, stirring up dust and debris from the ground.
But just a second later, this whirlwind expanded dramatically. Countless grains of sand appeared out of thin air, converging into it, forming a madly spinning Sandstorm tornado!
"Hummm— Hummm—"
The Sandstorm didn't produce the sound of wind, but a deep, thunderous roar like countless massive stones grinding against each other.
The lights in the training ground began to flicker wildly, the powerful energy interference making the electrical circuits unstable.
The air filled with the dry smell of earth and choking dust. Visibility rapidly decreased. Soon, Ariel could only see a few meters around him, unable to make out the outlines of the distant walls.
Sneasel immediately shielded its eyes with its arm to protect against the assault of wind and sand.
Inkay directly used its Psychic abilities to control the flying debris heading its way.
Ariel, however, showed no intention of dodging. He extended his hand, letting the high-speed rotating sand grains strike the back of his hand, bringing waves of slight stinging pain.
His face was filled with irrepressible elation!
"This power... this range... it's confirmed!"
He could clearly sense that the diameter of this Sandstorm had reached ten meters!
Although it still couldn't compare to the terrifying weather that Elite-level Pokémon could unleash, covering entire arenas, this had firmly stepped into the realm of weather skills!
This was no longer the small-scale disturbance from Sandile's days, which could only stir up a bit of sand for some minor interference.
This was a true, powerful weather phenomenon that could change the battlefield environment, provide a huge advantage for its side, and continuously damage the enemy!
smooth rock!
This name flashed through Ariel's mind.
The treasure he had obtained back at the Ocean Science Museum, he had long since given it to Sandile to absorb.
He knew this rock had been constantly nourishing Sandile's body, increasing its affinity for Ground-type and Rock-type energy.
This power would combine with Krokorok's own potential at this moment of evolution, producing such an astonishing qualitative change!
This was no longer simply learning the Sandstorm move; it was engraving the Sandstorm weather into its very instincts!
The Sandstorm rampaged in the training ground for nearly half a minute before gradually subsiding under Krokorok's control.
When the yellow sand finally dispersed, the training ground was in complete disarray.
A thin layer of sand covered the ground, and fine dust still floated in the air.
Krokorok stood in the center of the arena. It slightly raised its front paw, using a claw tip to gently push up the sunglasses-like black markings around its eyes—an action strikingly similar to a human adjusting sunglasses. Paired with its arrogant expression, it was the epitome of cockiness.
Seeing this, Ariel couldn't help but laugh and scold, "You, this flashy look of yours is becoming more and more like Inkay."
Hearing Ariel's words, Krokorok grinned, revealing a smug smile, let out a low growl in its throat, and swaggered over to Ariel's side with an 'I-don't-know-you' gait.
Ariel patted its hard, rough head, feeling the distinctly different sense of power, and a surge of pride rose in his heart.
A powerful warrior who has mastered a true weather skill!
A top-tier assassin with increasingly refined speed and Ice-type abilities!
And a Psychic mage with extremely high tactical value and full functionality!
His team, after this special training, had undergone yet another transformation!
Ariel took out the map from his space ring.
This was what Ariel had obtained from Meteor Falls.
Looking at the words marking a lair on it, Ariel felt slightly reassured.
"Next stop, it's you."
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