Pokémon: Sandstorm Sovereign

Chapter 86: The Terrifying "Giant" Croc

On the battlefield, Basalt and Cael faced each other. In contrast to Basalt's calm demeanor, Cael was visibly excited.

To be fair, Basalt's three-KO winning streak was truly impressive, and his Drilbur was undeniably strong. If he were to give an honest assessment, Basalt was skilled enough to compete with the upper tier of Group B. Cael admitted to himself that he probably couldn't match him in a straight-up fight.

But, as luck would have it, his Totodile's specific moveset was the perfect counter to Basalt's Drilbur. With a type advantage on top of that, Cael felt confident he could take this one.

The others had backed down because they knew they were outmatched. But Cael, who believed he had the perfect counter, why should he back down? Besides, Basalt's arrogant attitude had been rubbing him the wrong way. This was the perfect chance to take him down a peg.

"Come on out, my partner!" Cael smiled, took a Poké Ball from his belt, and threw it.

A flash of red light revealed a small, blue, bipedal crocodile. It had a well-developed jaw with two sharp teeth on its upper jaw and a row of three teeth on either side of its lower jaw. It had a V-shaped yellow pattern on its belly that extended to its arms. Four red spines ran down its back, its hands had five claws, and its feet had three toes. Its pupils were red, with black markings around its eyes.

It was the Water-type starter from the Johto region, Totodile.

"Totodile! Dile!"

True to its lively nature, the Totodile immediately began to dance happily. But when it saw Drilbur, its dancing stopped abruptly. Its eyes sharpened, its expression turned fierce, and it lowered its body into a crouch. It was clear this Totodile was well-raised and highly trained. In just a moment, it had shifted into a perfect battle stance.

"Both trainers, ready! Battle, begin!"

As the referee waved his flags, the battle officially began.

"Totodile, Aqua Jet!" Cael commanded the instant the match started.

Whoosh!

In a flash, Totodile was enveloped in a torrent of water. Then, propelled by the jet stream, it launched itself forward like an arrow, closing the distance to Drilbur with lightning speed.

In the Group C section, Luna bit her lip, a flicker of worry in her eyes. As the princess of the Xylo Corporation, she had access to ample resources and was a strong trainer in her own right. If it hadn't been for the freak of nature that was Basalt, winning the Seaside County championship would have been a piece of cake for her. So even though she was the runner-up, her skill was on par with the champions of the other counties.

But in her challenge to break into Group B, she had lost. The one who had defeated her was Cael and his Totodile.

It wasn't that his Totodile was overwhelmingly strong in every aspect. But its Aqua Jet was the perfect counter for frail Pokémon like her Jynx, and for Pokémon with a type disadvantage, like Drilbur.

Basalt, you have to hold on!

"So fast!" Basalt was genuinely surprised.

While Aqua Jet was a priority move and naturally fast, as Pokémon grew stronger and their battle senses sharpened, the threat of standard priority moves tended to diminish. Only moves with even higher priority and stricter usage conditions, like Fake Out, remained consistently difficult to defend against.

Basalt had the secret scroll for Aqua Jet from Coach Miles, so he knew the move well. In fact, he had a deep understanding of it; he just didn't have a suitable Water-type to teach it to. But this Totodile's speed was clearly much faster than a standard Aqua Jet.

It seems this Totodile has also been trained with a special method. And their focus... is speed! Basalt's eyes narrowed as he pieced together Cael's strategy.

Different people had different battle styles, leading to vast differences in how they utilized the same move. Coach Miles and Cael's approaches to Aqua Jet were completely different. Cael focused on speed, while Miles focused on continuity and air time. If a Pokémon trained using Miles's method, it could practically fly through the air, allowing even a Pokémon like Sharpedo to battle effectively on a standard field. Neither was better or worse, just a different direction of development.

BAM!

The Aqua Jet hit with immense force, knocking Drilbur back several meters.

"Drilburr!" (`╬◣д◢´) Drilbur roared with fury. It hated priority moves that were impossible to defend against. All it could do was take the hit. Basalt had told it that it could learn Protect later, but for now, it just had to endure.

Fortunately, it only had to take it once. Then, it would be its turn to counterattack.

But to everyone's surprise, when the water dispersed, Totodile didn't retreat. Instead, it had latched its jaws onto Drilbur's claw.

"Toto! Dile!" Totodile mumbled, its face alight with excitement.

Totodile's jaws were famously large and powerful, said to be able to crush rocks. But Drilbur's claws were not to be underestimated either—they were large, thick, and hard. Even with its massive mouth, Totodile couldn't get a full grip to bite into Drilbur's flesh.

But as Totodile continued to apply pressure, Drilbur's brow furrowed. It could feel the pain radiating from its claw. How could its bite be this strong? It was actually damaging its claws!

"There it is! It's Totodile's Aqua Jet into Bite combo! Drilbur is caught!"

"They say a Totodile's bite force is incredible. And once it bites down, it never lets go until one of them is defeated."

"Drilburr!" Drilbur, possessing immense strength of its own, tried to shake Totodile off, but it clung on like a stubborn leech.

"Drilbur, Metal Claw!" Basalt commanded. If it couldn't be shaken off, then he'd just have to smash its head in. He'd see which was harder: the crocodile's head or Drilbur's claws.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

Drilbur repeatedly struck Totodile's head with Metal Claw. But either because the Steel-type move wasn't very effective or because this Totodile was exceptionally tough, it didn't let go, even as several gashes appeared on its head.

A smile appeared on Cael's face. A Totodile's hide was incredibly tough, and its tenacious nature meant it wouldn't be defeated by a few Metal Claws. The battle was proceeding exactly as he had planned.

"In that case, let's end this!" Cael's eyes narrowed. "Totodile, from Bite into Ice Fang!"

Ice Fang, the Ice-type move that uses chilled fangs to bite the opponent, with a chance to freeze or cause flinching. It was a super-effective move against Drilbur. And with Drilbur unable to shake Totodile off, the move was guaranteed to hit. First Aqua Jet, now Ice Fang—both super-effective. Even if Drilbur was made of iron, it couldn't possibly withstand this.

"Looks like Cael won."

"To be fair, Drilbur is strong. It was just bad luck to run into Cael's Totodile. His strategy completely counters it."

"Exactly. And Basalt, too. Cael was so obviously provoking him with that smile. Didn't he realize something was up?"

"He probably got used to dominating in Seaside County and developed an arrogant attitude. He doesn't realize that the county and city levels are completely different. You can't be that cocky."

"Yeah, Basalt was too impulsive."

"It's a real shame. If he had played it smart, Drilbur shouldn't have lost here."

Seeing the frost beginning to form around Totodile's mouth, the crowd felt a sense of pity for Basalt.

Sheffield, of course, was an exception.

"He's finally going to lose!" A smirk spread across his face. He couldn't even make it into Group B. This probably won't even reach the head supervisor's ears. Seeing the frown on Hoffman's face, Sheffield felt a surge of satisfaction.

Basalt, you have only yourself to blame for choosing the wrong opponent. Type and strategy matchups are an eternal part of Pokémon battling. There's no such thing as a perfect, flawless Pokémon.

"Drilburr!" Drilbur cried out in alarm. It felt a chilling cold spreading from its claw, making it shiver. The cold was intensifying with each passing moment.

Seeing this, Basalt's heart clenched. Is this... where it ends?

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