Chapter 490: A Moment's Difference
Sigilyph are a common sight in the desert. Their appearance is rather abstract, like a piece of postmodern art. But as Psychic-type Pokémon, they are quite intelligent and tend to do well in various territories.
The Sigilyph flew over and exchanged some words with the Krookodile commander Arthur's team had... brought along. It then relayed some key information.
"The Chieftain isn't in the city? He just left today?" After confirming this, Arthur felt a strange sense of unease. "He's not heading for us, is he?"
The Krookodile commander was also confused. How did the news of my capture get back so fast? Don't I have a reputation to maintain?!
Fortunately, the Sigilyph also reported that the Chieftain had received news of their approach and was already on his way back. This reassured Arthur somewhat. As long as the Chieftain wasn't heading for Amani and the others, he wouldn't have to feel guilty if something happened.
"What do we do now?" Skarner asked.
"We wait," Arthur said with a shrug.
Just then, the Sandslash's ears twitched. It vaguely heard a sound coming from the ground nearby but couldn't be sure. "Slash, slash." It called out a few times, habitually trying to summon its Sandshrew. But this time, not a single one emerged from the back of the vehicle.
"???" Seeing its confusion, Arthur remembered to tell it, "The last of your little followers stayed behind at the oasis."
Come to think of it, this Sandslash had it pretty rough. After they had decided to enter the Krookodile's territory, another batch of its Sandshrew had left without a word. As Pokémon on the bottom of the food chain, they didn't dare to venture into the territory of a fierce predator. In the end, only three little Sandshrew had remained with the convoy.
However, after seeing the Flygon successfully charm their way into getting rations, those three had a collective epiphany: sticking with the humans seemed a lot more reliable than sticking with their boss. So, they had joined the ranks of the cute and cuddly, occasionally rolling over to show their bellies or offering small trinkets to the researchers. They had since embarked on the "dull" life of being pampered pets. And this time, they hadn't even followed their boss on his journey.
The news hit the Sandslash like a ton of bricks. It froze, its expression exactly like a screaming marmot. Skarner's Gliscor, watching from the air, found the whole thing hilarious.
After a long moment, the Sandslash managed to hold back its tears. The path of a chosen one is destined to be a lonely one...
Arthur could only pat its shoulder in comfort. You have to be strong.
After this brief interruption, the Sandslash completely forgot about the sound it had heard from underground and didn't think to mention it to Greninja. Some things are decided in a single, fleeting moment.
Arthur and Skarner waited for about an hour. Finally, in the distance, they saw a group of Krookodile approaching. "Is that your Chieftain?" Arthur's question was relayed to the captured commander by Greninja.
The sub-leader squinted, and after a moment, it let out a cry of excitement. Without needing a translation, Arthur knew the answer. "Looks like it. We're finally going to meet him."
But just then, a Talonflame suddenly dove from the sky, heading in their direction. At first, Arthur didn't pay it any mind. But the Talonflame's dive grew faster and faster, its speed clearly exceeding that of a casual flyby.
"What's with that Talonflame?" he muttered to himself, which caught Skarner's attention.
Skarner took one look and let out a sharp cry. "Get down!!"
"What?!" Arthur was pushed to the ground by Skarner, still confused.
"That bird has a grenade in its talons!"
"!!!"
Being from another world, Arthur wasn't as sensitive to modern weaponry as the old scout was. But the tactic of using a Flying-type Pokémon to drop explosives was an ancient one, and he quickly understood the situation. "Someone's controlling that Talonflame! The poaching ring?!"
That was his first thought. Who else would they run into out here? But before he could figure out their motives, an explosion went off in the distance. Fortunately, from the sound of it, the blast was some distance away. Unfortunately, the moment Arthur got up, he realized the situation was bad. The ones who had been hit were the returning Krookodile Chieftain and his party.
These intelligent Pokémon would undoubtedly recognize human explosives, and the most obvious human targets within a hundred-mile radius were Arthur and Skarner. This was bad.
"ROAR!!"
A furious roar echoed from the distance. The nearly ten-foot-tall desert tyrant was now charging toward them in a blind rage. "Damn it! We've been set up!"
The Talonflame that had dropped the bomb was now climbing back into the sky, and it was deliberately flying in their direction.
"What is this poaching ring trying to do?!" Skarner, who had gotten up a half-second after Arthur, exclaimed in a mixture of shock and anger.
They had already been framed by the poachers once. And now, someone was deliberately pinning the blame on them again. The key thing Skarner couldn't understand was—why?!
But the answer quickly revealed itself.
BOOM! This time, the explosion was much closer. The sand erupted. A giant Onix burst out of the ground, launching the Sandslash next to Arthur into the air. The Sandslash's vague feeling about a disturbance underground had been correct. This Onix had been lurking beneath the sand the whole time, slowly and silently moving into position.
The moment it appeared, it clamped its massive jaws around the Sandslash and began to burrow back underground.
Arthur finally understood: the poachers' target had always been this Sandslash. But this was Little Lapras's newfound friend.
"You think you can get away?! Specter, Mega Evolve!" Arthur reacted instantly. Specter immediately evolved and slammed its foot down on the Onix's shadow. Ability: Shadow Tag!
You're not going anywhere!
However, the enemy seemed to have anticipated that a single Onix might not be enough to secure the Sandslash. The next moment, their ambush was sprung. Two Diggersby and two Kabutops leaped out from the ground, all charging at Specter, who was pinning the Onix.
Shadow Tag could only pin one shadow at a time, and by connecting the shadows, Specter was also bound to its target. This was why the ability was so prized in stadium battles but less so in real-world combat. The enemy was clearly planning to use a brute-force attack to make Specter release its hold on the Onix.
But in that moment, an intense killing intent erupted from Arthur. "You're courting death!!"
This time, he was truly enraged.
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