Pokémon: Sandstorm Sovereign

Chapter 74: Life in Danger

Seeing someone approach, Basalt's first feeling was relief, but that quickly shifted to caution. To avoid any complications, he immediately threw the Poké Ball at the fainted Bronzor. It was a rare Psychic-type Pokémon; who knew if it would attract unwanted attention?

The moment the Poké Ball opened, Bronzor was sucked inside in a flash of red light. The ball dropped to the sand and began to shake.

Wobble... wobble...

Click!

After three shakes, the light on the button blinked once and went out. The Poké Ball stopped moving.

Bronzor, caught!

Basalt let out a long sigh of relief. With that, the Bronzor was automatically registered under his name. No one could steal it now, and there would be no ownership disputes.

"Whoosh!"

The Skarmory landed with a rush of wind, its steel wings, shimmering with a metallic luster, kicking up a cloud of sand. From its back, the tall, burly man sized up Basalt and called out in a booming voice, "Hey! Are you Basalt?"

"And you are?" Basalt asked, completely bewildered. This person knew his name?

Seeing the boy clutching the Poké Ball tightly, his eyes filled with vigilance, the man couldn't help but chuckle. This kid thinks I'm a bad guy.

"I'm Shaw, from the Desert Rescue Team," the man explained quickly. "Your aunt said you were missing and called us. They're very worried about you."

"The Desert Rescue Team? My aunt?" Hearing this, Basalt's tension eased. He figured his cousin Faye must have panicked when he missed his scheduled check-in and the weather turned strange. She must have told his aunt and uncle, and they called for help.

"Skarr!" The Skarmory landed with a sharp cry, tilting its head to examine Basalt and Drilbur. Its eyes were bright but held a fierce, predatory gaze.

"Oh, hi. Yes, I'm Basalt," he said, scratching his head with an embarrassed smile.

"Alright, since we've found you, my rescue mission is complete. I'll just report back to headquarters," Shaw said, nodding. He took out a strange-looking device from his pocket and began operating it.

Seeing this, Basalt pulled out his Pokédex and saw that the signal had returned. He had several worried messages from Faye. He quickly called to let her know he was safe. By then, the sandstorm had almost completely died down, and the sun was reappearing.

"This weather really turns on a dime," Basalt remarked. Just half an hour ago, the sandstorm had been so intense his Numel couldn't even walk. Now, it was almost gone.

"By the way," Shaw said, hopping down from his Skarmory. He removed his goggles, revealing a weathered face with dark, rough skin. "I think I saw you catch a Pokémon just now. A Bronzor, was it?"

"Yeah, that's right. My newest partner," Basalt admitted honestly. There was no reason to hide it. The region was generally safe and peaceful, without any shady organizations like Team Rocket lurking about. Besides, Shaw was part of the official Desert Rescue Team, a trusted government position. It was highly unlikely he had any ill intentions. And since the Bronzor was already in his Poké Ball and registered to him, Basalt wasn't worried.

"You just caught it?" Shaw's eyes widened. As a member of the rescue team, he was intimately familiar with the deserts around Crimson City. In over a decade, he had never once encountered a Bronzor, let alone a wild one.

Good heavens, that's a rare Psychic-type! I've been patrolling these deserts for more than ten years and never found one, and this tourist just happens to stumble upon it and catch it?

Shaw felt a sharp pang of jealousy. It was a sourness more intense than eating ten lemons, seeping from every pore of his body.

"Yep!" Basalt, oblivious to the man's envy, nodded cheerfully. He even opened the Poké Ball to let Bronzor out.

The Bronzor reappeared, but its eyes were no longer swirling. Instead, they displayed a strange "X" symbol, and its body was completely motionless.

"What is...?" Shaw's expression instantly shifted from envy to grim seriousness. As an experienced trainer, he knew what that symbol meant. The Pokémon was in a critical, near-death state.

Basalt finally noticed the problem as well. He could feel that Bronzor's condition was extremely poor. He tried to wake it, but Shaw stopped him.

Shaw stepped forward and tried to lift the Bronzor. Despite his strength, he couldn't even budge it.

"There's something strange about this Bronzor," Shaw said, his face puzzled. "It's a full size larger than a normal one, and it weighs a lot more, too."

An average Bronzor was about 0.5 meters in diameter and weighed around 60 kg. But this one was at least 0.6 meters in diameter and felt like it weighed more than double, probably around 150 kg. If its size was 1.2 times the norm, its weight should have been around 1.7 times greater. But this one's weight was 2.5 times the norm. Did that mean its density was... unusual?

Giving up on lifting it, Shaw had his Skarmory help prop the Bronzor up. As soon as its back was visible, he saw the horrifying gash.

"This level of damage..." Shaw's brow furrowed, his expression changing. At first glance, he thought Basalt and Drilbur might have caused it. But he quickly realized that was impossible. As a Steel-type, Bronzor's defense was incredibly high. A Novice-Rank Drilbur couldn't possibly inflict such a wound. Even an Intermediate-Rank Pokémon would struggle. Only a high-level Pokémon could be responsible.

"Wait, that's not right!" Upon closer inspection, Shaw noticed another small detail. Along the deep gash on Bronzor's back were tiny, almost microscopic dots.

"This... this is damage from spatial energy!" Shaw's eyes widened in shock.

As a professional-grade trainer, Shaw had experience exploring secret realms and dimensional rifts. He knew that the gateways to these places were formed from pure spatial energy. Using a Pokémon's move within such a gateway would trigger a violent backlash. The telltale sign of that backlash was these tiny dots, also known as "space-holes," which were said to be able to annihilate any matter.

If that's the case, then that special magnetic field... could it be a spatial gateway? The thought hit him like a lightning bolt, and everything suddenly clicked into place.

Shaw desperately wanted to call his superiors, but seeing the state Bronzor was in, he put the thought aside. A Pokémon's life was paramount. Saving it was his top priority. It was the code of the Desert Rescue Team.

"Quick, recall the Bronzor to its Poké Ball! You're riding with me on Skarmory. We need to get to a Pokémon Center now! Any more delay, and it might not make it!" Shaw said, his face etched with urgency.

"Oh, okay!" Hearing this, a sharp pang of fear shot through Basalt's heart. Even though Shaw hadn't spelled it out, he knew Bronzor was in grave danger.

"Return, Drilbur."

Basalt recalled Drilbur, Bronzor, and the Numel he'd been riding, then climbed onto the Skarmory behind Shaw. Thankfully, Shaw's Skarmory was well-trained and large enough to carry both of them without issue.

"Skarr!"

Once Basalt was secure, the Skarmory leaped into the air. With a powerful flap of its wings, it soared into the sky.

It was Basalt's first time flying. The wind roared in his ears, but he was in no mood to enjoy the experience. All he could think about was getting to the Pokémon Center as fast as possible.

Bronzor, you have to be okay, he prayed, clutching the Poké Ball tightly in his hand.

☆☆☆

-> 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