Underground, Yellow Hair followed Larvitar, scurrying along, and soon arrived at the deepest part of the cave.
Larvitar knew its mother was imprisoned there, and it wanted to rescue its captive mother.
But just as they were about to arrive, the ground suddenly shook violently, and its mother burst out of the earth, kicking up a cloud of dust.
“Cough, cough, cough.” Yellow Hair coughed incessantly, choked by the rising dust.
As the dust gradually settled, a newly dug hole appeared above them.
Yellow Hair gestured with his hand and said helplessly, “We can’t climb up this hole at all.”
“Larvitar!”
Larvitar was clearly more agile than Yellow Hair; it quickly pulled Yellow Hair towards the entrance of the hole.
If they couldn’t climb up, they could just take another path.
But after only two steps, Larvitar sensed that something was wrong; the surrounding darkness was unusual!
It extended its small claw and gently scraped a few stones, then used the “Rock Slide” skill. Under its control, those stones shot out in all directions.
At this moment, a click of the tongue came from the darkness:
“Tsk, this little fellow is much smarter than that idiot. Murkrow, Use Wind.”
As soon as the words fell, a pair of red eyes suddenly opened in the darkness; it was Murkrow, hidden in the shadows using “Night Shade.”
Murkrow let out a sharp and shrill cry, a sound that seemed to come from the eerie Nine Nether Hell, echoing continuously throughout the cave.
Immediately after, it vigorously flapped its large wings, each flap stirring up a strong current of air. The air currents surged towards the rocks, flinging them against the side of the cave wall.
Yellow Hair only then realized that the Murkrow in front of him was most likely the one who had ambushed and knocked him out in the early morning!
Yellow Hair naturally wouldn't let this treacherous person and his Murkrow off easily!
He quickly threw a Poké Ball and shouted, “Go, Dwebble! Use Rock Slide!”
Dwebble seemed to sense Yellow Hair’s anger; even before emerging from the Poké Ball, its two pincers were already raised high, as if gathering power from the depths of the rock layers.
Upon leaping out of the Poké Ball, a large amount of rock energy instantly gathered in front of its claws, and a massive rock appeared before it in the blink of an eye.
The enormous rock compressed and spun, emitting a deafening sound, flying towards Murkrow like a cannonball with powerful impact.
Lao Tian, hiding in the dark, hadn't expected Yellow Hair to act so decisively. He had previously thought Yellow Hair was just an idiot, so he quickly commanded, “Murkrow, quickly use Wing Attack to block it!”
Murkrow had just gathered a bit of Flying-type energy on its wings when the giant rock was already upon it. It tried to use its wings to block the impact of the giant rock, but it was completely futile.
The giant rock, with an unstoppable momentum, directly smashed Murkrow away, sending it crashing heavily against the cave wall.
Yellow Hair pressed the advantage: “Dwebble! Continue to use Rock Slide!”
Dwebble vigorously swung its two pincers, smashing them hard against the ground.
In an instant, the ground trembled violently, as if an invisible giant hand was stirring beneath the earth.
The stones that were lying on the ground, like awakened beasts, leaped up from the surface, and a sky-full of stone rain poured down on Murkrow like sharp arrows.
Flying-type Murkrow was already afraid of Rock-type skills, and if it took another hit like this, it might truly lose its ability to battle.
Lao Tian naturally wouldn't stand by and do nothing, so he quickly sent out his main battle Pokémon: “Sandslash! Use Fury Swipes!”
A brownish-yellow Pokémon instantly blocked Murkrow.
When the first and largest stone approached, Sandslash suddenly pounced forward, its claws raised high, like two sharp blades waving in the air, fiercely striking the stone.
Upon contact, its sharp claws deeply embedded themselves into the stone. With a “boom,” the stone was forcefully split into several pieces by Sandslash, and fragments scattered everywhere.
However, more stones came one after another like a tide, forming an impenetrable wall of stone.
Sandslash showed no fear; it moved nimbly through the stone rain, its claws moving like lightning.
Each swing of its claw generated a powerful air current, batting away the incoming stones.
Some stones were directly shattered by its sharp claws, turning into fine powder; others were sent flying far away, landing on the ground in the distance with dull thuds.
It continuously leaped and turned, its claws glinting coldly in the darkness, cutting apart every stone that threatened it, until the last stone was successfully blocked.
Yellow Hair couldn't help but swallow hard at the sight; even his mind realized that this Sandslash was far from as simple as he had imagined.
It was probably at least Elite Level (over Level 30), while his Dwebble was only Normal Class (over Level 20), and Geodude was only Newbie Class (now over Level 10).
He knew in his heart that he couldn’t battle above his level like Kai Ge.
Even if Murkrow was mostly out of commission, his two Pokémon fighting one against this Sandslash still seemed like they couldn't win!
“Larvitar!”
Larvitar seemed to sense Yellow Hair’s worry; it gently tugged on Yellow Hair’s sleeve, trying to encourage him.
Yellow Hair looked down at Larvitar, gritted his teeth, and slapped his own face hard:
Damn it, he was actually hesitating just because the opponent was a little stronger.
He roared angrily in his heart, a strong fighting spirit burning fiercely within him like a volcanic eruption. He shouted loudly:
“Dwebble! We’ve never been afraid of anyone! Right?!”
Dwebble raised its right claw high and responded firmly:
“Dwebble!” (Absolutely!)
Yellow Hair forcefully punched the air: “Good! Then next, we’ll fight together, no matter how difficult it gets, we’ll persevere! Never retreat!
Dwebble, use Fury Cutter!”
Yellow Hair knew that Rock-type moves weren't very effective against Ground-type Sandslash; he could only rely on Bug-type moves to contend with the opponent.
And “Fury Cutter,” which grew stronger with each consecutive hit, was his only chance now.
Lao Tian unhappily recalled Murkrow; he felt it was all this annoying Yellow Hair’s fault. He had only taken a piece of amber from him, and Yellow Hair had actually tracked him all the way here.
And it had caused him to be forcibly kept in the deepest part of the cave by the boss, unable to even meet clients. What if the boss or Smoker embezzled his share of the money?
Although he didn’t understand how Yellow Hair managed to escape and bring that Larvitar, this didn't stop Lao Tian from wanting to give Yellow Hair a good beating to vent his frustration.
“Sandslash, Stomp!”
Sandslash suddenly exerted force, stomping its feet hard on the ground.
The moment its paws touched the ground, a seemingly gentle but powerful energy surged from its body, traveling down its legs into the ground.
This energy rapidly spread underground, forming a powerful energy shockwave that rushed directly towards Dwebble.
Dwebble was hit hard by this impact, but it endured it and took the opportunity to get close to Sandslash, green light gathering on its claws as it slashed towards Sandslash’s body.
However, since this was only the first hit of Fury Cutter, its power was limited, and Sandslash did not suffer too much damage.
Seeing that both sides had entered close-range combat, Lao Tian switched to another move:
“Sandslash, Fury Swipes!”
Sandslash obeyed the command, and energy began to gather on its front claws, forming a layer of white, cold light.
Yellow Hair continued to command: “Dwebble, continue Fury Cutter!”
The green light on Dwebble’s claws became increasingly dazzling, and its swinging speed also became more rapid. Dwebble dared not take Sandslash’s attacks head-on with its body anymore; its claws fiercely swiped towards Sandslash’s claws.
The white light and the green light instantly collided, producing a deafening roar.