Under the blazing sun, a young man wearing a sun hat trudged forward through the desert. Beside him was a Pikachu, also wearing a tiny sun hat, sticking out its tongue to cool off, its face full of discomfort. Other than that, he had no companions in sight.
This young man was, of course, Sato.
At the moment, he was undergoing harsh training in the desert while also searching for the rumored Mirage Tower.
It had been three days since the support operation ended. The sandstorm had come quickly and left just as quickly—it only ravaged the oasis for a single night before moving on.
Over the past few days, the camp had been busy with reconstruction, and the expedition into the ruins had once again been delayed.
Not wanting to waste time, Sato decided to train in the desert for a while. Just yesterday, he had rescued someone on the verge of dying from dehydration. From that person, he learned about the Mirage Tower.
Unfortunately, after searching for half a day in the area marked on the map, all he could see was an endless sea of sand—not even a trace of the Mirage Tower.
Under the scorching sun, waves of heat rolled toward him with the wind, making every living creature in the desert feel the suffocating intensity of the environment.
Sato took out a water pouch from his spatial backpack. After taking a large gulp himself, he gave some to Pikachu, who was on the verge of heatstroke but stubbornly refused to return to its PokeBall.
Seeing that Pikachu was still sluggish, Sato removed the hat from its head and poured some water over it.
"Pika~…"
As the cool water touched its nearly overheated body, Pikachu let out a relieved sound, its energy quickly recovering.
"Half a day more. If I still can't find it, I'll have to head back. With so many Water-type Pokémon, this remaining water will only last another day."
Sato weighed the nearly empty water pouch in his hand, glanced at the vast empty desert around him, and sighed helplessly.
After all, when he saved that traveler, he had given away nearly half of his water. Now his supply was running low—if he didn't find another oasis soon, he would have to retreat tomorrow.
Although the desert appeared barren and lifeless under the blazing sun, it was actually full of hidden vitality—and equally full of deadly danger.
Sato moved slowly, each step steady and deliberate, leaving deep footprints in the sand.
Suddenly, he stopped.
One of his feet, which had just stepped onto the sand, was already sinking halfway into it.
In the next instant, his other leg pushed off the ground, and he leapt backward. At the same time, a Trapinch burst out from beneath the sand where his foot had been.
Because Sato reacted in time, the Trapinch's massive jaws snapped shut on nothing but air. Even so, the sheer force of its bite caused a faint distortion in the air.
The Trapinch didn't give up after its failed ambush. It quickly activated its ability, causing the sand within a ten-meter radius to collapse inward. In just a few seconds, a funnel-shaped sand pit formed.
Sato now stood within the trap, his feet sinking into the loose sand as his body slowly slid toward the Trapinch at the center.
Yet, there was no fear on his face—only curiosity as he watched the Trapinch fully commit to its hunting strategy.
Clearly displeased by its prey showing no panic, the Trapinch leapt out from the center before Sato could fully sink in and lunged toward his head.
A sinister aura gathered in its jaws—it used Crunch.
However, before it could land the attack, a rapid, high-speed stream of water suddenly shot out from Sato's chest, striking the Trapinch with pinpoint accuracy.
As a Ground-type Pokémon with weak special defense, Trapinch cried out in pain the moment it was hit. It collapsed instantly.
At the same time, a small, star-shaped Pokémon emerged from Sato's chest—it was Staryu, which had been hidden using Camouflage. The Water Gun that defeated Trapinch had been fired from the gem at its core.
Among Sato's Water-type Pokémon, aside from Blastoise—who could barely function in the desert—only Staryu could remain active for long periods by minimizing water loss through shrinking its body.
In the past few days of battles, Staryu had been Sato's main Pokémon. Through repeated combat, it had already reached level 41, just one level away from learning Psychic at level 42.
According to Sato's plan, once Staryu learned Psychic, he would use a high-quality Water Stone to evolve it into Starmie. At that point, he would gain another Psychic-type Pokémon.
"Come out, Swampert. Take a look—see if there's anything good in this sand pit."
After defeating the Trapinch, Sato released Swampert and spoke with a smile.
Danger and opportunity always coexist. Although Trapinch were dangerous predators in the desert, they were also among the few Pokémon capable of collecting valuable items beneath the sands.
With enough luck, travelers could sometimes find rare desert treasures inside the pits they created for hunting and living.
Swampert immediately thrust its arms into the spot where Trapinch had emerged. Soon, its eyes lit up as it began digging rapidly.
Before long, the ground was scattered with bones of unknown creatures and bits of debris. Finally, Swampert sifted out more than a dozen grains of sand glowing with a faint earthy yellow light.
These glowing grains were the hidden treasure within the Trapinch's pit—the raw material used to create the Ground-type boosting item, Soft Sand.
Of course, Swampert's ability to locate these treasures among endless grains of sand was due to its perfect aptitude and exceptional affinity for Ground-type energy.
Just as Swampert finished gathering the precious sand particles, Trapinch began to recover slightly and regained consciousness.
The moment it saw the treasure in Swampert's hands, its eyes turned bloodshot.
It let out a furious cry…. and suddenly, a dazzling white light erupted from its body.