Because if you don't want to expose too much, it's best to show as little as possible.
At least before facing those true prodigies, Doublade would be the only Pokémon Natsuhiko is willing to display.
The effect of Continuous Slash combined with the "Sword of Universal Equality," plus Doublade's own "Defenseless" trait, quickly sweeping through teams with one strike, is the result Natsuhiko desires.
This way, when battling those real geniuses, he can leverage his information advantage to gain greater initiative, thereby securing a better ranking, attracting the league's attention, and obtaining a chance to become a Dojo Leader.
Just as Natsuhiko was methodically training Pokémon, Salazzle finally completed the task he assigned, delivering the area map of the tunnels that Salandit could explore, right in front of him.
It marks the distribution of all Wild Pokémon groups, as well as the locations of some rare materials and items.
For Salandit, who is skilled at little tricks, this task is familiar, so they produced results quickly.
Scanning over the map, Natsuhiko realized that without any marked map, this intricate underground tunnel is more of a labyrinth than a labyrinth itself.
However, he soon noticed that the area marked after Magcargo's territory turned into a grey-white.
That's an area Salandits are unwilling and afraid to approach because it's home to the terribly powerful Pokémon that have been spoken of through their generations.
Beyond that, almost everything is clearly drawn.
Looking at this map, Natsuhiko gained some confidence.
"Start by acquiring these resources, then set the first target on the Excadrill group," Natsuhiko said.
Upon hearing this, Salazzle immediately showed an expression of joy.
Going head-to-head with Excadrill, they're quite willing.
But Natsuhiko wasn't so optimistic.
Excadrill can't be dealt with the same way as Salandit, relying on the advantage of a confined space to secure victory.
Their tunneling ability is too strong, not something a cramped tunnel can limit.
Natsuhiko can utilize the tunnel space to face a small number of Salandits, but if he uses the same method against Excadrill, sorry, they would definitely let Natsuhiko know that being great at digging means you can do as you please.
So, confined spaces aren't suitable for dealing with Excadrill, and might even trap oneself.
The best approach is definitely to lure out and solve them one by one, first exhausting their living forces.
Natsuhiko felt like he was back in the days of tackling difficult levels in games.
Since he needs to use the strategy of luring, how to lure becomes crucial.
Thinking of this, Natsuhiko fixed his gaze on the nearby Salazzle.
Feeling Natsuhiko's gaze, Salazzle suddenly shivered, its spine tingling, and it looked up with a slightly stiff, awkward smile towards Natsuhiko.
Strategy confirmed.
If Natsuhiko were to face the huge Excadrill group alone, it would be very difficult and troublesome.
But fortunately, he first subdued the Salandit group, making things relatively simpler with their help.
After all, Salandits had been evenly matched with the Excadrill group from the start, and with his assistance, the only cost was having the Salandits, who had just barely recovered from injuries yesterday, take a bit more damage again.
After a day of fierce battles, with some "little" tactics, and utilizing the Salandits' "Corrosion" trait advantage, Natsuhiko successfully conquered the Excadrill group.
Unlike the Salandits, who had grown accustomed to Salazzle bossing over them, taking Salazzle meant taking the entire Salandit group; the Excadrill group's "subservience" wasn't as strong. After Natsuhiko captured the Excadrill Leader, those Excadrill that still had the ability to resist either went berserk and counterattacked or scattered and fled.
They wanted to dig away, and indeed, Natsuhiko couldn't stop them.
The end result was that half of the Excadrill group fled in an instant, and the remaining ones would probably escape when they woke up if not captured.
They'd find a new place, select a new leader, and continue developing the group.
But it didn't matter; Natsuhiko subdued the Excadrill Leader, as well as a few Elite Level Excadrills, along with the resources accumulated by the entire Excadrill group, some of which were quite valuable.
Thus.
The two major groups in these underground tunnels were either completely subdued or thoroughly scattered.
Natsuhiko also successfully learned from the Excadrill Leader how to leave this underground tunnel.
However, after knowing the method, Natsuhiko wasn't in a hurry to leave.
He was a bit curious about what exactly the Pokémon that both Salazzle and the Excadrill Leader were so wary of was.
And whether that guarded area contained any valuable treasures.
——————
Need to go out, will post and revise later