BOOM!
A deafening crash shook the field. Sandslash's claws sank into the ground as the move Metal Claw violently clashed against the move Rollout, generating intense sparks from the friction.
A second later, Sandslash was pushed backward, leaving a long trench in the ground with his claws. Even so, he managed to forcibly stop Sandshrew's Rollout.
"Sha sha sha!" panted Sandslash heavily, though a proud smile still lingered on his face.
"Sandshrew, use Rapid Spin!" shouted Ethan Black.
Before Sandslash could relax, he heard that command. Immediately, the Sandshrew under his claws began spinning violently on his own, which forced Sandslash to stagger back a step from the inertia.
"Sandshrew, use Sand Whirl!"
Before Sandslash could stabilize, a sudden gust of wind surged: the current generated by Rapid Spin lifted a sand whirlwind that completely engulfed Sandslash.
PA-PA-PA!
The sand whirlwind battered Sandslash's body with force. He looked like a boat trapped in the middle of the ocean—no matter how much he struggled, he couldn't break free from the storm.
"Now, Sand Whip!" ordered Ethan Black.
Seeing Sandslash trapped in the whirlwind, Ethan Black smiled and commanded the same attack that had worked before against Scyther: Sandshrew swung his body, transforming the whirlwind into a sand whip that struck the ground with force.
BOOM!
The impact was brutal. The sand whip hurled Sandslash into the air, wrapped in rocks and dust, before crashing violently in the distance. His eyes spun... he was completely knocked out.
Clap clap clap!
"A truly spectacular battle," said Professor Harris with a gleam of admiration in his eyes as he watched Sandshrew defeat his evolved form.
"It was because Sandslash got too overconfident. If he had received your commands, Professor, Sandshrew wouldn't have stood a chance," replied Ethan Black, shaking his head.
After all, if Professor Harris had chosen that Sandslash, it was obvious he had an outstanding level. What caused him to lose was his own overconfidence.
"That's how Pokémon battles are. Only when trainer and Pokémon work together can they reach their full potential," nodded Professor Harris, approaching his Sandslash to give him a healing potion.
"Sha..." Sandslash opened his eyes, clearly dejected. In his old group, he had always been the leader, and now he had been defeated by a mere Sandshrew.
"That is the wisdom of the trainer. We have training manuals and strategies that will help you grow stronger," said Professor Harris.
Sandslash looked at Professor Harris, then at Sandshrew, who was being praised by Ethan Black. Finally, he nodded in resignation, setting aside his pride.
Professor Harris also smiled in satisfaction. The purpose of the battle had been achieved.
Afterward, Professor Harris gave Sandslash more detailed treatment, carefully recording all of his data.
And so another day passed. Ethan Black took the opportunity to read the breeding manual of the Sandshrew evolutionary line, trying to create a training method suitable for his own Sandshrew.
Although the manual was very complete, Ethan Black felt that something was still missing...
...
The next morning, with Sandslash already recovered, the second phase of the "Sandstorm" project officially began.
In an open field, Sandshrew began demonstrating how to combine the move Rapid Spin with Sand Attack, forming the combined move: Sand Whirl.
Since Sandslash was already able to use both moves simultaneously, learning the combined move turned out to be simple. In no time, he mastered the combined move Sand Whirl fairly well.
But bringing that combined move up to the level of the move Sandstorm... was another story.
Even with the data from the original Sandshrew and the support of instruments, Sandslash couldn't synchronize the rhythm of his whirlwind with Sandshrew's.
"This combined move is way too hard! If it ever becomes an official move, I'm sure it'll be classified as one of the most complex," commented Alex Baxter, stunned.
To use the combined move Sand Whirl, the first step was to perfectly master both Rapid Spin and Sand Attack.
Then, one needed the ability to use both moves simultaneously, manipulating Normal-type energy and Ground-type energy at the same time. And that was no easy feat!
In fact, very few Pokémon in the world could pull it off.
And once the combined move was mastered, you still had to control factors like power, rotation speed, energy concentration... and even alter spatial laws!
Only with all of that combined could the true move—Sandstorm—be executed.
Thus, training for this move was on the level of legendary moves, like Teleport.
"Huff... There's no way. Could it be that this move can't be replicated?" Professor Harris's brow furrowed. This block in research visibly irritated him.
"Ethan, tell me again how exactly Sandshrew learned the move Sandstorm," suddenly asked Professor Harris.
Ethan Black once again recounted everything that had happened during the process.
"So Sandshrew learned it spontaneously while trying to protect you?" Professor Harris frowned deeper.
"Now that I think about it... when we fought in the Pokémon Island Adventure Club, he also executed the move Sandstorm without me ordering him to," added Ethan Black.
"Oh? That time too? Could it be triggered by intense emotions? Or maybe... Sandshrew possesses some kind of latent energy?" Professor Harris seemed to have caught onto something.
He quickly called Alex Baxter, and both began an intense debate.
Ethan Black leaned closer to listen. Among their whispers, he caught words like "airflow," "thermal gradient"... and in the end, he heard something that shocked him: "Psychic power."
"Psychic power...?" Ethan Black blinked, turning to look at his Sandshrew, who was happily drinking a nutrient juice.
There was no way that glutton had psychic powers, right? After all, the only Psychic-type move he could learn was... Rest.
(End of chapter)