Intense Battle

Early morning:

I fed Sandile with the collected organ sacs and was ready for a huge battle. Sandile seemed very energetic and more chatty than usual. We ignored him and followed in the direction of Fletchinder as she showed the way towards Excadrill.

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An hour later:

We were in front of a huge hole that looks like it was drilled using the tools made by a human. This was the territory of an Excadrill, it lived alone and attacks anyone that trespasses. There were many similar holes around here and Fletchling was calling it out for a battle.

According to Fletchinder, this Excadrill was cruel and merciless towards its opponents. So, what I am expecting is a thrilling and intense battle. I don't know if Sandile can hold on to this battle but sandile needs this battle more than anyone.

"Sandile Dile Sandieeeele", sandile was peeking into the drilled holes and provoking the Excadrill to come out. Not gonna lie but I think Excadrill will be infuriated for sure because what he was shouting was along the lines of 'Get the fuck out and battle me you dildo headed drill.'

Unsurprisingly, the ground around us started vibrating. I could hear it drilling through the ground intensely, after five long seconds the drill pokemon presented itself.

What was in front of us was a mole-like Pokemon with a dark-brown body with diagonal, red splotches. Three markings are on its front, resembling scratch marks, with two under each arm, and two on its back. It has short legs with small, narrow feet, each containing three toes. Its small white face is long and thin, tipped by its pink nose.

The metal protrusions on its head and hands act as a three-part combination of a drill. Exacdrill folds itself and all three metal protrusions combine to form a drill that helps it dig easier.

I immediately appraised it,

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Excadrill(M)

Level: 34

Type: Ground/Steel

Height: 3' 4"

Ability: Sand Force

Characteristic: Adamant

Potential: Green(Mid Grade)

Moves: Fury Swipes, Metal claw, Sandstorm, Dig, Crush claw, Rock Slide.

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'Damn, this one will be almost unbeatable for Sandile.'

A sandstorm and Sand Force combination will be a big problem for us. Before I try to ask for a battle, Excadrill shouted crazily at Sandile.

"Drill Exca Excadrilll!!!!!"

"Sand Sandile"

I don't know what's going on but thankfully Electrike beside me translated it.

[Sir, Excadrill is angry about the way Sandile provoked him and then Sandile called Excadrill a stepping stone further infuriating him.]

'Ahhhh!!! ok'

"Sandile zip it!!!! and Excadrill, this is our official challenge, so without wasting any time let's start the battle." I said before this gets into a battle of words than a real battle.

"Drill Drill," he said in a provocative tone towards me.

"Fletchinder and Electrike you girls stay behind. No matter what, don't get involved until I ask you to." and then I turned towards Sandile, " Sandile, get ready."

[I am born ready, let's get this over with.]

"Don't get cocky," I warned him as Excadrill drilled underground for a Dig.

[Sandile, use hone claws. Keep using it and when Excadrill tries to attack use protect.]

'Three hone claws is Sandile's limit and its always good to get a boost early in the game.'

As Sandile polished its claws by rubbing them against each other, Excadrill popped out of nowhere and hit sandile head-on. Then, it went back into the hole the next second.

'What the hell, that was too fast.'

"Sandile, don't stand there dazed. You have to be quick, we are not battling a noob here. I know you learnt protect recently but you got to give your best."

"Sandile dile." He said in affirmation with his eyes focused towards the ground.

Professor Oak told me that dark types are tough to handle because of this. They don't take anything seriously until they realize the situation. They are very mischievous by nature and ignore the consequences, thankfully Sandile is also a ground type which makes his patient side not take it too far.

[The moment you hear the vibrations, use protect and immediately hit him with Crunch.] I said telepathically. It's a bit tough for the battling Pokemon to focus but I am training them to get used to the telepathy.

Excadrill popped out and came with the same attack as before, only to be stopped by an invisible barrier. Sandile finding the opportunity unleashed Crunch, white transparent jaws appeared in the air biting the Excadrill mid-air.

"Excaaaaadrill", he howled in pain while backing away. Sandile was silently watching him, unlike his usual chatty nature.

Excadrill realizing that the same trick won't work, he summoned a sandstorm. Sandile too converted the whole area on the surface into a mildly soft ground using Sandtomb.

This will be interesting as the battlefield turned advantageous to both of them. Sandiles usually prey on Trapinch in deserts which tells you how good they are in this environment. Trapinch is considered to be the trap setter of desert silently hunting their prey, unlike their dumb looks.

"Exca Excadrilllll", Excadrill launched himself for a head-on collision with a metal claw. I wanted to dodge but on the other side, I wanted to test Sandile's physical prowess.

[Sandile, clash him with Aqua tail. Use everything you have into the attack as his power is way stronger than yours.]

"Sanddddd...ileeee", he shouted and then surrounded his tail in water. He jumped up and did a 270-degree rotation to gain the momentum, Excadrill appeared in front and hit the huge tail with his Metal Claw.

'Booooommmmm!!!!!!'

A huge explosion sounded as two silhouettes flew back with a considerable velocity. Excadrill stood tall with his legs twitching and Sandile looked worse when compared. His boosted attack helped him a bit but even that wasn't enough to be on equal terms, there is only so much that his small body can take.

His tail looked in bad shape as I could see some blood on it. Exacdrill took some decent damage from it but not high enough to be in bad shape.

[Sandile, keep your focus up. I have a plan, so get ready to unleash your Sand Tomb with full power.]

"Excadrill Drillll", provoked the steel Pokemon towards Sandile.

Sandile ignoring the provocation got back to his position with his tail bleeding. Sandstorm around us got intense as I couldn't see much, Excadrill summoned rocks around Sandile while he used his drill to dig his way through.

[ Sandile, use protect to stop the Rockslide and wait till you feel the vibrations under you. When you hear something, turn the ground below you into quicksand by using Sand tomb.]

Although he did not understand my plan, he went through it without questioning. Excadrill turns his drill in fast speeds to dig the hard ground, so when he digs his way upward to hit Sandile, the soft sand will make his drill cut through it like butter, increasing his momentum which will make him fly through like a springboard.

Sandile did exactly what I asked and the Excadrill got startled by the sudden increase in his speed, he had no chance to slow his drill's speed as he flew out ten meters high above the ground

"Sandile, this is our chance. Use your scope lens to find his weak spot and hit him with an aqua tail. I know it hurts but this is the only chance we have to make an impact," I shouted with all I have got.

"Sandile Saaandileee," came a battle cry from the sandstorm inside. I don't know what was happening as I saw a huge glow inside the storm. I saw the glow increasing in size as Sandile jumped up, his tail turned big as if it was a vicious wave in a raging storm. Sandile's whole body started going through changes at a rapid pace as a huge force hit the Excadrill in mid-air pummeling him down with an unbelievable force.

I was shocked by the impact, sandstorm immediately stopped after what seemed like an eternity. My eyes got clearer and what I saw increased my adrenaline levels off the charts.

I saw a Pokemon with six thick, black stripes on its body: one at shoulder level, one around its midsection, one around its hips, and three on its tail. Each stripe is topped with a triangular spike on its back. It resembled an Earth's Crocodile standing on its feet, It was brown all over with black stripes around.

Krokorok stood there with his foot on the fainted Excadrill's face. He looked at me with his black membrane-covered eyes. His body shined with a transparent white light indicating a moxie trigger, he walked towards me at a casual pace while leaving heavy footprints on the ground without breaking the eye contact.

I will be honest here, the hair on my hands stood up screaming in fear. It was intimidating to make eye contact with the Pokemon that's emitting a huge battle aura. This is the first time I experienced how the ability moxie looked like, I immediately unleashed my psychic aura only to realize it did not affect the dark type pokemon.

Electrike and Fletchinder were stunned by what was happening as they were pinned to their places. Krokorok came closer and was now an inch away from my face, he slowly lifted his razor-sharp hands and said giving me a thumbs up,

[That was one heck of a plan Bro, I thought I was losing that match.]

'Wtf, I thought you were attacking me.'

I immediately kicked him on his abdomen and said with an irritated tone,

"Bastard, wtf was that. I thought you were about to kill me. Stop playing around, I thought you grew up mentally after evolution. You got even worse."

[Ahhh, what was that for. I just praised you and that's what I get? Why are you two girls standing there like dead bodies.] he said turning towards Electrike and Fletchinder.

Both looked at each other and then congratulated Krokorok in a daze. I quickly took out a Pokeball and caught the Excadrill, he will sell for a huge amount. His ability, characteristic and move pool are perfect, I would have trained him if he was still a Drilbur but now he won't be able to keep up with others. Not to say I already have a ground type, Krokorok is already a handful and this Excadrill will be even awful.

"Ok guys, we still have a lot of time. Let's go and try our luck on other peak-grade intermediate pokemon." I said in satisfaction.

All of them nodded enthusiastically as we went ahead in search for new prey.

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An hour before Sunset:

I came back to the base and was waiting for this to get over. We only battled two more pokemon as I did not want to put a high workload on the team. They have a big game ahead so there was no need for me to grind them intensely.

I thought it would be better to rest for today after the two battles, Fletchinder and Electrike practised together while Krokorok battled the other two peak-stage intermediate Pokemon. I did that to make him get used to his new playing style.

I healed them with potions and was sitting in my room that was given for rest. I appraised all my Pokemon one final time with contentment,

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Fletchinder(F)

Level:29

Type: Fire/Flying

Height: 2' 9"

Ability: Flame Body

Characteristic: Modest

Potential: Blue(Mid Grade)

Moves: Quick Attack, Roost, Tailwind, Flame Charge, Fire Spin, Acrobatics, Protect, Will-O-Wisp.

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Electrike(F) - Royal gene

Level: 30

Type: Electric

Height: 2' 6"

Ability: Lightning Rod

Characteristic: Modest

Potential: Blue(Mid Grade)

Moves: Quick Attack, Thunder wave, Howl, Thunderbolt, Snarl, Headbutt, Protect, Agility, Thunder Fang.

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Krokorok(M)

Lvl: 32

Type: Ground/Dark

Height: 4' 0"

Ability: Moxie

Characteristic: Jolly

Potential: Blue(Mid Grade)

Moves: Rock tomb, Aqua Tail, Dig, Rest, Hone Claws, Protect, Snarl, Crunch, Sandstorm, Swagger.

Description: Krokorok has specialized eyes that enable it to see in the dark. This ability lets Krokorok hunt in the dead of night without getting lost. They usually live in small groups ruled by a Female Krokodile.

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Fletchinder did not go through any changes but she got adjusted to her new body while Electrike improved a bit. Krokorok's move pool went through some changes as he learnt Sandstorm forgetting sand tomb. He also learnt Swagger forgetting Scary face, swagger will be too helpful against special attackers as it increases attack while confusing them.

I feel really good about my chances to win the final trial, although no Pokemon of mine broke through the advanced stage. It's getting tough to improve as they grow higher in level. Sandile with his blue potential improved 16 levels in a week at the start and only 7 levels this week.

I assume it gets even harder to level up after entering the advanced stage. If it's a low potential Pokemon then it will be near impossible or might take years with the right training.

As I was thinking about my plans, a loud alarm sounded bringing me back to reality. I think that's the end of the week, we will be rested for the day and teleported tomorrow to a different place.

These guys never stay on a single island for more than two weeks during the trial period. They don't want to be found out by the league as trials every year are what makes Team Rocket strong.

I got up and went out to see if I can meet Gregory....

----------x Chapter End x-----------

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