The Sand Victreebel and Sand Vileplume were still just a little short of completely collapsing. Yet despite their heavily damaged bodies, these Pokémon made of sand remained just as ferocious as before and immediately launched another assault.
This time, the Sand Victreebel unleashed the powerful Grass-type move Leaf Storm, while the Sand Vileplume rapidly gathered sunlight before firing Solar Beam.
Under Sand Victreebel's full power, Leaf Storm transformed into a massive torrent of energy that swept toward Sato and the others with overwhelming force.
On top of that, Sand Vileplume's Solar Beam actually merged with the Leaf Storm, causing the already terrifying attack to surge dramatically in power.
Seeing the two sand Pokémon suddenly create such a massive fusion attack, Sato's expression changed instantly. He hurriedly grabbed Pikachu from the ground and used Teleport to vanish from the spot.
The moment Sato disappeared, the fused torrent of Leaf Storm and Solar Beam blasted through the place where he had just been standing, even piercing straight through the rock wall behind him.
However, whatever material the Mirage Tower had been built from was clearly extraordinary. The hole blasted through by the two sand Pokémon was quickly filled by flowing sand and rapidly repaired.
Not only was the wall restored, but the bodies of Sand Victreebel and Sand Vileplume—both previously on the verge of collapse—were also rapidly repaired by the sand beneath them.
Within mere seconds, their bodies had completely recovered, and their aura even seemed stronger than before.
At the same time, several more pillars of sand erupted from the ground. The pillars twisted together, forming a Sand Arbok.
Compared to Sand Victreebel and Sand Vileplume, Sand Arbok possessed a much fiercer temperament. The instant it appeared, it slithered forward in a bizarre serpentine motion, lunging directly at the Pikachu in Sato's arms.
Pikachu had already reached level 48. Back when he had still been weak, he had even dared to clash head-on with Kyogre itself. His pride rivaled even Swampert's.
Now, seeing that Sand Arbok had targeted him instead of Kecleon or Staryu, Pikachu immediately felt underestimated. His face turned cold as powerful electric currents erupted from his body.
Before Sand Arbok could even close the distance, Pikachu stimulated his body with electricity and transformed into a yellow blur as he charged forward.
Pikachu's speed was astonishing. He traced a sharp Z-shaped path across the sand before instantly appearing at Sand Arbok's side.
Sand Arbok reacted quickly. Although Pikachu vanished from its sight in a blur, it still twisted its body immediately and snapped its huge mouth—glowing with purple energy—toward Pikachu.
Unfortunately, all it bit into was an afterimage.
The real Pikachu had somehow already appeared behind it.
In the next instant, Pikachu transformed into a streak of lightning and slammed into Sand Arbok. A massive hole was blasted straight through the sand Pokémon's body before it collapsed back into an ordinary pile of sand.
Meanwhile, Kecleon and Staryu also launched a counterattack.
Under Sato's command, the two Pokémon coordinated against Sand Victreebel, ultimately defeating it together with simultaneous Ice Beam attacks.
After losing its partner, Sand Vileplume was soon overwhelmed as well, shattered by another combined Ice Beam from Kecleon and Staryu.
However, once the three sand Pokémon were defeated, the sand on the ground immediately began stirring again, clearly preparing to gather and form entirely new sand Pokémon.
"So these sand Pokémon are endless… And every time I send out a new Pokémon, their numbers increase as well. On top of that, the newly formed ones are created with typings that counter the moves Pikachu and the others just used."
Looking at the newly forming sand Pokémon and recalling the earlier battles, Sato finally began piecing together some of the rules behind them.
There was another important discovery as well: although these Pokémon were made of sand, they were not immune to Electric-type attacks. Pikachu's Volt Tackle had successfully defeated Sand Arbok earlier.
The newest sand Pokémon being formed were Rhydon, Poliwrath, and Weavile.
At this point, Sato fully understood that these sand Pokémon were the Mirage Tower's trial for intruders. He estimated that only by reaching the fourth floor while overcoming these sand Pokémon could one truly pass the test.
To verify his theory, Sato decided not to waste more time fighting endlessly regenerating enemies that only grew more troublesome. He immediately grabbed Pikachu and the others and turned to flee.
These sand Pokémon were sand puppets created by the Mirage Tower itself. Their sole purpose was to drive intruders away or kill them. The moment Sato ran, they immediately gave chase.
Unfortunately for them, their speed was nowhere near enough to match Sato's Teleport. Furthermore, they lacked intelligence—Weavile didn't even think to use Taunt to stop Sato from escaping.
As a result, Sato quickly located the staircase leading to the second floor.
But things rarely went smoothly.
Just as Sato stepped onto the stairs, the surroundings suddenly changed. Massive amounts of sand transformed into countless sharp sand spikes that shot toward him.
The sudden attack caught even Sato off guard.
Fortunately, Pikachu, Kecleon, and Staryu reacted fast enough to defend him.
The three Pokémon simultaneously used Protect, forming a massive emerald-green barrier around Sato.
Taking advantage of the temporary protection, Sato immediately used Teleport to escape.
At the same time, Sand Rhydon, Sand Poliwrath, and Sand Weavile finally arrived and surrounded Sato's group menacingly.
As if things weren't bad enough, the staircase leading to the second floor suddenly crumbled into useless sand right before Sato's eyes. Even the entrance itself became completely buried.
Left with no choice, Sato ordered his three Pokémon to prepare for battle.
After an intense struggle, they finally defeated the three sand Pokémon.
Yet what left Sato speechless was that new sand Pokémon immediately began forming again—though this time, the formation speed was noticeably slower than during the previous rounds.
Seeing this, Sato quickly ordered Pikachu and the others to bombard the buried entrance to the second floor, hoping to blast open a gap.
But no matter how fiercely they attacked, the entrance remained completely unharmed.
"You were clever, but you overthought things."
"Trying to exploit loopholes during the Mirage Tower trial is impossible. That staircase just now was merely a fake created by the Mirage Tower to deceive you."
"If you want the Mirage Tower to reveal the true passage, you must search for it after defeating the sand Pokémon, during the brief period before they fully reform."
Just as Sato was completely out of ideas and the next wave of sand Pokémon was about to fully form, a sweet female voice suddenly sounded nearby.
Hearing it, Sato immediately turned toward the source of the voice.
A blonde woman with an elegant and noble temperament appeared before his eyes.