The expedition members watching from behind the defensive line finally showed some relief when Sandslash was sent crashing into the snowy slope.
"Great! It worked!"
"Grant and Ryan actually got it!"
"Keep going! Don't give that bastard a chance to recover!"
The mood that had been sinking only moments earlier suddenly lifted. The Rivergate team, in particular, had already lost several people to Sandslash, and seeing Metagross finally land a clean hit gave them something to hold on to.
"Grant really does live up to his family's reputation in Crown City. He's stronger than most Gym-level Trainers."
"We're not letting that thing walk away after what it did."
"Damn right. We're finishing this and avenging the people we lost!"
Several members of the Sealine team shouted encouragement toward Grant and Ryan, while the Rivergate group watched the impact site with renewed hope.
Then the mountain exploded.
BOOM!
Snow and shattered ice burst outward as an ice-blue figure shot from the impact site.
Grant's expression changed instantly.
"Ryan—!"
Too late.
Sandslash had already appeared beside Exeggutor.
Ice-blue energy condensed around one fist.
Ice Punch!
BOOM!
"EXEGGUTOR!"
The punch landed before Ryan could issue a command. Exeggutor was launched across the snow and crashed heavily to the ground, unable to get back up.
Its Grass/Psychic typing made the attack especially brutal—both types were vulnerable to Ice.
Sandslash never stopped moving.
The icy glow gathered around its fist again as it turned toward Breloom.
"Breloom, watch out! Protect!"
"BRELOOM!"
Breloom reacted almost on instinct. A translucent barrier snapped into place just as Sandslash's fist came down.
BOOM!
Ice Punch slammed into Protect.
The shield trembled violently.
For a split second, everyone thought it had held.
Then cracks spread across the barrier.
Breloom's eyes widened.
CRACK!
The shield shattered into fragments of energy.
Sandslash's fist continued straight through and struck Breloom squarely in the body.
BOOM!
Breloom was hurled more than ten meters through the air before crashing into the snow. It lay there motionless, completely unable to battle.
Silence fell over the clearing.
Two of Ryan's Pokémon had been taken down in barely a few seconds.
Ryan stared at them in disbelief.
Vileplume.
Exeggutor.
Breloom.
Three of his Pokémon were already out.
The expedition members behind them could no longer hide their fear.
"How is that thing this strong?"
"Ryan's already lost three Pokémon..."
"This is bad. Really bad."
Someone suddenly looked around.
"What about Aaron?"
"He went farther into the grove with Greninja and Sceptile. He was still collecting Frostfruits."
"Could he stop this thing? His Charizard was incredible."
Another member of the group hesitated.
"I don't know. Sandslash is tearing through Grant and Ryan's Pokémon like they're nothing."
"Aaron's strong, but he's still only eighteen, right?"
No one had a reassuring answer.
They had all watched Charizard destroy the Blizzard tornado earlier, but this was different. The Alolan Sandslash had already demonstrated the strength of a Class Champion-level Pokémon, and it was dismantling Gym-level opponents before they could properly react.
Fear was spreading through the group.
If these had been untrained civilians, some of them might already have run.
But they weren't civilians.
Whatever else they felt, nobody broke ranks. They had entered this secret zone together, and abandoning the others now was not an option.
Ryan forced himself to look away from his fallen Pokémon.
"Grant."
His expression was grim.
"This is getting worse. What do we do?"
Grant watched Sandslash carefully.
Ryan's remaining team was in a terrible matchup. His Grass-types were vulnerable to Ice, and with Sandslash moving this quickly, they barely had time to defend themselves before another attack landed.
"Have the rest of your team focus on support," Grant said. "Restrict its movement and create openings for mine."
Ryan nodded.
"You'll handle the damage?"
"That's the plan."
Ryan looked back at Sandslash and felt another surge of frustration.
Why does this damn thing keep going after my Pokémon? Grant hasn't lost a single one yet.
Then the answer occurred to him, which only made his expression worse.
Great. Even wild Pokémon know how to pick off the easier targets first.
Grant focused on the battlefield.
"Skarmory, Rock Tomb—"
He never finished the command.
Sandslash disappeared.
Grant's eyes widened.
"Skarmory!"
A streak of blue shot upward.
Sandslash launched itself from the snow and appeared beside Skarmory in midair.
Pitch-black energy wrapped around its claws.
Night Slash!
"SKARMORY!"
There was no time to evade.
The attack tore across Skarmory and caught it cleanly at a vulnerable point.
Metallic feathers scattered through the air.
Skarmory spiraled downward and slammed into the snow with a heavy crash. It tried to push itself back up, but its legs gave way beneath it.
It was out.
Grant's expression hardened.
So much for not losing one.
"Slash..."
Sandslash landed atop a nearby ridge.
The wind swept snow around its icy armor as it looked down at the Trainers and Pokémon below.
There was unmistakable contempt in its expression.
It flexed its claws slowly, almost leisurely.
From where it stood above them, everyone below might as well have been ants.
The expedition had thrown everything it could at Sandslash and managed to land one solid blow.
In response, it had taken down three of Ryan's Pokémon and now one of Grant's.
And it still did not look remotely tired.
The brief surge of confidence that had spread through the expedition disappeared as quickly as it had come.
Things were getting worse by the second.