The crimson body, adorned with black stripes circling around, has a white belly and can stand upright with sharp claws and a sturdy tail. Its most powerful weapon is its strong-hinged jaws.
The defining feature of these Pokémon is their eyes. Apart from the pupils in the center, the surrounding area is black, with the center large and the sides small, resembling the eyes of Venom. At first glance, it seems as if they are wearing black sunglasses.
Krookodile, a Ground and Dark-type Pokémon, can move as freely in the desert as if swimming.
Krookodile has an impulsive and savage nature and is notorious among Pokémon for its penchant for stirring up trouble. Anything that moves in front of it, it wants to pounce on and shatter with its jaws.
Their habitat is this Quicksand Vortex, a place extremely dangerous to other Pokémon, but for them, it's the best playground. The flowing sand becomes both their training and amusement tool, while also helping to hunt unwary creatures that venture too close.
Natsuhiko and his group became the Krookodile's optimal attack target as they approached, causing the Krookodile to expand the quicksand area, attempting to swallow the Tyrantrum.
However, the immense size of Tyrantrum forced it to withdraw in time.
So, the Krookodile couldn't wait to launch an attack.
Yet, before they could touch Natsuhiko, they were swiftly defeated by the joint effort of Doublade and Beedrill.
This, in turn, attracted more Krookodiles.
However, due to the prior intimidation of Doublade and Beedrill, they crouched in the sand, emitting their unique low growling as they amassed strength.
"Go."
Without any hesitation, Natsuhiko signaled Tyrantrum to retreat.
Fighting Krookodile in the sand is like battling Water-type Pokémon underwater; the environment was unfavorable.
At the very least.
Leaving this Quicksand Vortex was necessary.
Seeing Natsuhiko's group retreat, the Krookodiles became agitated, unable to restrain their anger.
Finally.
Seeing Natsuhiko and the others about to exit the quicksand vortex, truly leaving, the Krookodiles erupted.
"Roar—"
It was unclear who gave the command, but the Krookodiles disappeared into the sand, swiftly approaching Tyrantrum.
Natsuhiko's expression subtly changed.
"Beedrill, Doublade!"
"Buzz!"
"Hiss!"
Both Pokémon understood, launching an assault from above.
The type combination of Ground and Dark in Krookodiles isn't optimal; while they don't have a glaring quadruple weakness, they do have six weaknesses: Fighting, Insect, Water, Grass, Ice, and Fairy.
Coincidentally, the Insect-type Beedrill, the Fighting-type technique Holy Sword from Doublade, and the Fairy-type Togetic all counter them.
Only Yujira is restricted because Dark-type Pokémon are immune to Psychic-type techniques.
As the Krookodiles approached from beneath the sand, staying on the sand's surface was certainly unfavorable. Natsuhiko recalled Tyrantrum, using psychic abilities with Yujira to levitate them into the air.
Meanwhile, Beedrill and Doublade charged toward the writhing sand.
Compared to Beedrill, Doublade was more agile in such environments; as a Steel Type, it could ignore the relentless sandstorm.
Continuous Slash combined with Holy Sword!
With frequent use, Doublade's success rate with this combined technique was slowly improving, now barely reaching a 30% success rate.
This was a significant improvement for it.
Swoosh—
A phantom shadow of a large light blue sword, accompanied by a turquoise halo, swept over a Krookodile emerging from the sand.
Continuous Slash is an Insect-type technique, while Holy Sword is a Fighting-type technique. Although Doublade wasn't yet skilled with it, a successful attempt could deal both Insect-type and Fighting-type damage to Krookodile.
With the added boost from Sword Dance, it could practically be called a 'Krookodile Nemesis.'
Nonetheless, Krookodile's Ground and Dark-type techniques could still inflict significant damage; but with the effective use of Shadow Assault and excellent physical defense, assisted by the newly elite-level Cherrim, there's little concern for its safety.
Simultaneously, although Beedrill can't escape the sandstorm's onslaught, as an Insect-type Pokémon, its Insect-type techniques naturally hold more power.
The effects of Deadly Needle Stab stacked up swiftly within moments.
High-speed Movement was repeatedly used to boost speed, and when the 'Sniper' trait was occasionally triggered, a successful hit always resulted in the downfall of a Krookodile.
Let's not forget.
Floating mid-air was the Togetic, whose tiny body would hardly attract attention unless it used the "Notice Me" technique.
Having awakened the Fairy-type, this was its first opportunity to use Fairy-type techniques without restraint.
Though it knows only one offensive technique.
Fairy Wind.
However, the Fairy-type also counters Krookodile, and a lucky activation of the additional effect from 'Sharp Fang' would naturally make a significant impact.
Togetic can also use Angel's Kiss to restrict troublesome targets for Doublade and Beedrill, or simply employ a wide-range Magic Leaf, casting a net with hopes of ensnaring a few unlucky ones.
Thus, with the coordinated efforts of Beedrill, Togetic, and Doublade, without even touching the sand, the Krookodiles lost their greatest advantage, and the fight surprisingly reached a stalemate.
However, the Krookodile group was quite large, making it challenging to determine a winner in a short time.
"Yongji."
Suddenly, as Natsuhiko stood alongside Yujira in the air, watching like a god, Yujira pointed toward a massive moving mound of sand rapidly approaching Beedrill and the others from within the Quicksand Vortex.
Wherever this sand ridge passed, the other Krookodiles would scatter.
"Watch out!" Natsuhiko shouted in time.
Hearing his warning, Beedrill and Doublade became alert, quickly disengaging from the Krookodiles around them and ascending into the air.
Rustle—
The sand burst open like fireworks, revealing a Krookodile significantly larger and more robust than its counterparts.
Its terrifying jaws cloaked in dark energy lunged toward Doublade—the greatest threat to its group.
"Doublade, use Shadow Assault, target locked on Beedrill."
In their haste, Doublade heard Natsuhiko's reminder and immediately transformed into a shadow, darting towards Beedrill's shadow and avoiding the attack.
"A Gym Leader-level Krookodile, a Leader Pokémon?"
With a notably distinct size from its peers, it was likely the Leader Pokémon.
It had been quite some time since encountering a Leader Pokémon.
Beedrill could absorb the Leader's Aura from other Pokémon, but it also hadn't replenished it in a long while.
With this in mind, Natsuhiko suddenly recalled the time back at Celestial Crown Mountain, encountering that Articuno. After seeing Beedrill, instead of attacking them, it commented something about Beedrill being "too weak" or "too early."
He shook his head.
This wasn't the time to ponder such things.
"Beedrill, Doublade, Togetic, let's go."
Before leaving, Natsuhiko inadvertently noticed the end of the Krookodile leader's tail, wrapped in a frayed piece of cloth, tied with a dead knot.
The cloth was small; the leader likely didn't even notice it.
But such fabric shouldn't appear in this Alternate Space, isolated for so long.
Unless... someone had perished in the Krookodile leader's maw.
In case of danger, couldn't they call upon the aid of the Three Kings for rescue?
Unable to figure it out, he didn't dwell on it.
Natsuhiko decisively departed.
The sudden encounter.
Natsuhiko disliked confrontations, preferring battles that were planned and calculated, incorporating all foreseeable factors into the strategy.
Thus, retreating first and devising a response before returning was the best choice.
The three Pokémon didn't linger; they flew skyward, enveloped in Yujira's psychic aura, and used Instant Movement to retreat to a place not too far from their current location.
However, this departure led Natsuhiko to encounter the first... person in this Alternate Space.