"But..."
"What is Ethan trying to do?"
"Does he think he can challenge the entire Seviper horde with just those five Pokémon?"
The evaluators looked at the five Pokémon lined up on the field, unable to understand what Ethan was planning.
"Let's begin. Use Desert Terrain!"
On the field, the corner of Ethan's mouth curved into a cruel smile.
With his command, the five Pokémon moved simultaneously.
Sandslash began spinning violently, activating the move Sandstorm together with Rapid Spin; in an instant, a sandstorm climate descended upon the field.
Immediately after, Cacturne used Ingrain. With its hidden ability Water Absorb, the draining power of its roots multiplied several times; in an instant, all the water beneath the ground was completely absorbed.
The terrain, stripped of moisture, dried up instantly and began to turn into desert. Trees and grass withered and crumbled to ash. Where once stood a vibrant forest, now an arid desert emerged.
Hsssss—!
The Seviper in front began to grow restless upon seeing this scene. They quickly lunged toward Sandslash and Cacturne, trying to stop them.
Zzzz!
Intense poisons were spat nonstop, corroding the ground and filling the air with purple gas.
But Vibrava, acting as the defensive core of the team, flapped its wings and stirred up air currents. A tornado rose from the ground, wrapping around Sandslash, Cacturne, and Charmeleon, blocking all attacks while containing the violent sandstorm at the same time.
After stopping the attacks, Vibrava didn't pause. It used Gust with full strength, and leveraging the sandstorm, formed four massive sand tornados that swept across the field, forcing the Seviper back.
"Chaarmeell!"
Charmeleon cried gratefully toward Vibrava.
Then, as the key component of the Desert Terrain, Charmeleon activated its temperature control: waves of heat spread from its feet, the ground began to emit visible steam, and a suffocating heat expanded throughout the field, like a true scorching sandstorm.
The heat, combined with the sandstorm and the desertified terrain, turned the battlefield into an actual furnace. Meltan whimpered in discomfort and activated its magnetic field to lift itself, distancing from the scorching ground.
"Meltan, fall back."
Ethan's eyes flashed; there was still no way for Meltan to withstand such high temperatures.
Even so, even without Meltan as a cutting edge within the desert, Ethan believed the overwhelming power of the Desert Terrain was enough to eliminate the entire horde.
...
"What!?"
"A sandstorm?"
"But how can a sandstorm be this monstrous?"
"This is literally a desert descending upon the land!"
The evaluators nearly popped their eyes out from opening them so wide.
The sandstorm, the desert terrain, the scorching currents rising from the ground, the roaring sand tornados... that combination resembled a true natural calamity. It was terrifying.
Once this desert zone was deployed, the Seviper became completely incapacitated.
With the extreme heat, even ordinary sand became so hot that it further boosted the damage of the storm.
Under the incessant attacks of sand, many Seviper were swallowed by the dust clouds; the heat cooked them as if they were being stewed inside a giant snake pot. Their bodies suffered constant burns; shortly after, a smell of roasted meat began to drift through the air.
And the scorching sand tornados were even worse: any Seviper that touched one was injured instantly; whoever crashed into one, died. Under the dual impact of heat and sand, the horde was completely wiped out.
...
In the forest...
After repeatedly debating with herself, Laura Frost decided to return to try to warn Ethan. But upon arriving, she froze completely at the scene.
This had to be a sandstorm... but not like this. Sand covering the skies, dunes everywhere, sand tornados roaring, heat rising...
When the Desert Terrain swept across the field and erased the entire Seviper horde, Laura was still wearing a completely stunned expression. Her bright eyes reflected absolute shock.
Even now, she struggled to believe that a scene so similar to a natural disaster had been created by the Pokémon before her.
...
"Whew... we did it."
Seeing the storm begin to calm, Ethan smiled.
Under Slowking's protection, he slowly advanced toward the center of the newly formed desert.
Simply approaching made him feel a wave of heat. Even the ground was scorching; Ethan had no doubt that if he placed a piece of meat on the sand, it would cook instantly. The smell of meat in the air was proof of that.
Even though he had anticipated the power of the Desert Terrain, experiencing it firsthand left him momentarily dazed.
"Zzzt!"
Meltan stared at him with wide eyes, clearly overwhelmed by what it had just witnessed.
The combined strength of his four Pokémon had multiplied tremendously. After creating the Desert Terrain together, the storm, the oppressive heat, and the sweeping sand had reached an entirely new level.
"Of course... the cost is enormous."
Seeing Charmeleon collapse onto the ground, Ethan shook his head slightly. He would need to intensify its training: compared to the others, it was falling behind.
Sandslash didn't look good either, keeping its distance from the scorching-hot sand.
Only Cacturne was completely fine, focused on collecting the Seviper score plates.
Ethan couldn't help but praise it inwardly. Truly, that was a real cactus: with the Water Absorb ability, not even a real desert could affect it.
(End of chapter)