Low and raspy, like a roar that had drunk its fill of desert gales, it erupted from Krookodile's wide-open maw.
It wasn't a simple Intimidate; it was a declaration.
The entire hard stone floor of the battlefield seemed to tremble slightly with that roar, kicking up fine dust.
Opposite it, Garchomp, the Pseudo-Legendary of the Sinnoh region and Cynthia's ace, looked somewhat comical at this moment.
Its crimson pupils were filled with confusion, and powerful dragon energy surged erratically over its body like a headless fly.
The Confused state—this was one of the most troublesome negative effects, one that even a Champion's pokémon could not be immune to.
Ariel's eyes didn't flicker in the slightest.
Opportunities are fleeting.
"Hone Claws."
He didn't even raise his voice; the command was as calm as stating an established fact.
Krookodile understood immediately. Its sunglass-clad head lowered slightly, and its two front claws, covered in hard carapace, suddenly crossed!
"Clang!"
A piercing sound of metal friction rang out, sending off a few fine sparks.
With every scrape, the sharpness of Krookodile's claws and its own momentum climbed a notch.
Attack power and accuracy were strengthened simultaneously. This was the calm before the storm, the charging of energy for a one-hit kill.
"Garchomp, wake up! Use Dragon Rush!"
Cynthia's voice was cool and urgent as she tried to forcibly wake her partner with a command.
Responding to her was Garchomp's even more violent torrent of energy.
A cluster of brilliant blue dragon flames gathered in its mouth, then suddenly turned direction—not toward Krookodile, but slamming hard into its own left shoulder blade!
"Bang!"
A dull thud of impact.
Garchomp let out a pained cry, its massive body stumbling as a scorched mark appeared on its hard scales.
In a Confused state, the more powerful the command, the more terrifying the self-inflicted backlash damage.
Cynthia's brow furrowed slightly but soon smoothed out.
Beside her, hoenn champion Steven stroked his chin with interest, an inquisitive light flashing in his eyes behind his lenses.
The moment Garchomp struggled to recover from the paralysis of its self-attack, its confusion finally ended.
At that exact moment, Krookodile stopped its Hone Claws movement.
A faint cold light flowed over its claws, and the pokémon's entire aura became extremely aggressive.
Preparations complete.
Ariel's gaze met Cynthia's in the air; no words were needed, only pure fighting spirit.
"Sandstorm."
Ariel commanded calmly.
Hearing this, Cynthia's heart actually settled.
Sandstorm weather?
For her, this wasn't a bad thing; in fact, it was a huge advantage.
Her Garchomp had the "Sand Veil" ability; in a Sandstorm, not only would it not take damage, but its evasion would also be significantly increased.
Had Ariel ultimately made an error based on empiricism?
Trying to use Sandstorm to counter Garchomp?
Too naive.
As a Pokémon of the desert, Garchomp's adaptability to Sandstorms was arguably no less than Tyranitar's!
She had even begun to conceptualize how to use the Sand Veil ability to counterattack.
However, the expected yellow sand flying everywhere did not appear.
Krookodile opened its mouth, and yellow sand gushed out, but it weirdly did not spread out in all directions.
Those sand grains seemed to be gripped by an invisible giant hand, converging, compressing, and spinning toward the center at an alarming speed and density!
A low "humming" sound came from the air, the resonance of sand grains rubbing together at high speed.
The energy that should have formed a weather field was now being forcibly constrained within a tiny area, condensing into a shape.
The composure on Cynthia's face vanished.
Steven also put away his playful expression, his body leaning forward slightly.
What was that?
Everyone saw it: in front of Krookodile, a bucket-thick, high-speed rotating sand tornado—no, it could no longer be called a tornado.
It was more like a giant drill made of sand and gravel, radiating a destructive aura!
"Go."
Ariel uttered a single word.
"Roar!"
The Sand Spear broke through the air!
There was no sound of wind, only a dull, air-tearing sense of pressure.
Garchomp's battle instincts made it react instantly; it didn't have time to dodge and could only cross its arms, using those scythe-like giant claws to shield itself.
The next second, the Sand Spear slammed hard into Garchomp's defense.
"Screech—"
That wasn't the sound of an impact, but the tooth-aching noise of a grinder cutting through a steel plate.
The high-speed rotating sand grains frantically scraped against the hard scales Garchomp was so proud of, sending up a series of dazzling sparks.
Garchomp let out a roar as the stone ground beneath its feet cracked inch by inch. The massive impact pushed it backward, plowing two deep furrows.
After sliding back a full seven or eight meters, the Sand Spear's energy finally exhausted itself, turning into a handful of powerless yellow sand scattered on the ground.
Garchomp lowered its arms. On its claws, the originally smooth blue scales had become mottled, covered in fine white scratches, and blood was even seeping out in a few places.
The whole place was silent.
This completely overturned their understanding of the move "Sandstorm."
Condensing an area-of-effect weather move into a single-target, high-burst attack?
What terrifying energy control!
Ariel gave no one time to think.
Garchomp's old strength had just faded and its new strength had yet to form; this was the moment its defense was weakest.
"Now, Earthquake!"
Krookodile stomped its feet down hard.
"Boom!"
With it as the center, a visible shockwave spread along the ground.
The entire battlefield shook violently, the hard stone floor undulating like waves, with cracks spreading like a spiderweb.
The just-stabilized Garchomp lost its footing, its massive body losing balance.
The chance!
"Crunch, charge!"
Krookodile's figure pulled a faint afterimage across the vibrating ground. Beneath its signature sunglasses, a flash of cold light appeared.
Its speed was startlingly fast, closing in on the wobbling Garchomp almost instantly.
In its wide-open maw, dark purple evil energy condensed intensely, forming a phantom set of sharp teeth.
"Crunch!"
This bite landed solidly on Garchomp's waist and abdomen.
"Awoo—!"
A shrill cry of pain echoed through the arena.
Garchomp had never suffered such a clear and heavy blow. The scales on its waist and abdomen shattered under the erosion of the Crunch energy, leaving a deep set of tooth marks, and blood instantly stained its blue skin red.
Cynthia's heart skipped a beat.
She looked at the majestic Krookodile on the field, her mind performing frantic calculations.
Was that technique of condensing the Sandstorm a special ability of this Krookodile, or an original tactic of the man before her?
If it was the latter... then his tactical creativity had reached an inconceivable height.
She couldn't help but put herself in Ariel's position.
If she were the one commanding this Krookodile against her own ace Garchomp, could she have achieved this much?
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