"Well, those are some Pokémon that really suit me. Cain, you’ve put in the effort," said Steven.
Cain waved his hand dismissively.
It would be great if Steven took his advice, but if he didn’t, it wasn’t Cain’s problem.
At the moment, Cain simply couldn’t afford to raise so many Pokémon at once. Otherwise, some of the Pokémon he’d mentioned would have interested him greatly.
But Cain wasn’t like Steven—he didn’t have the resources of a wealthy family. Even though he now owned a small mine, it was still insignificant compared to the mines owned by Steven’s family.
In the outer areas of the desert, the wild Pokémon were relatively weak. With Steven’s Anorith and Lileep, along with Cain’s Marshtomp and Poliwhirl, they had enough strength to defeat them.
It was unfortunate that Steven’s Anorith had the Battle Armor ability. If it had the hidden ability Swift Swim, its synergy with Cain’s Pokémon would have been even better.
However, using the move Rain Dance in the desert remained a challenge.
Occasionally, one or two Sandshrew appeared in the sand before Cain and Steven, but they didn’t attack.
Sandshrew were relatively docile Pokémon.
But, on the other hand, there were much more aggressive groups of Pokémon.
Like the one currently blocking Cain and Steven’s path: a pack of Sandile with black-ringed eyes, accompanied by a few upright and intimidating-looking Krokorok.
They had an air of "This road is ours, and so is this tree," as if demanding a "toll" from Cain and Steven.
For Cain and Steven, who had come to the desert partly to train their Pokémon, there was no way they were going to flee or miss the opportunity to battle.
Steven’s Anorith charged forward, leading the attack, while Poliwhirl, Marshtomp, and Lileep took positions behind, using Water- and Grass-type moves to deal significant damage to the Sandile and Krokorok.
This was one of the main reasons Cain had chosen Hoenn’s great desert: it was full of Ground- and Rock-type Pokémon, making it ideal for battles with Water-type Pokémon.
Although the arid environment made it difficult for Water-types to use their moves freely, Cain had plenty of Pokéblocks to help restore their stamina.
Additionally, Anorith and Lileep, being Rock-types, felt right at home in this environment.
Lileep, being Rock- and Grass-type, could also deal massive damage to the desert Pokémon.
However, it seemed that Sandile formed quite a large population in this area. After defeating one group, more emerged from the sand, along with additional Krokorok.
Marshtomp and the others couldn’t defeat the Pokémon fast enough to keep up with the new ones appearing.
"Wow! Did we wake up an entire colony of Krokorok or something? This endless flow of Pokémon... how long are we going to be fighting? We’ve barely entered the desert," said Steven, looking at the black-ringed eyes surrounding them, feeling slightly overwhelmed.
"Sandile are Pokémon that live in groups and support one another. We’ve defeated the younger ones, and now another group of youngsters has come out. We should just be thankful the bigger ones haven’t shown up," replied Cain.
"Hurry up, this is a rare training opportunity."
As he spoke, Cain continued directing Poliwhirl and Marshtomp to use moves at full speed.
Although Steven grumbled a bit, he knew that, despite being annoying, these Pokémon weren’t very strong.
With both of them being advanced-level trainers and each having a quasi-elite-level Pokémon, if their weaker Pokémon became exhausted, they could always bring out their stronger ones.
However, the Sandile seemed endless. Cain and Steven’s four Pokémon had been battling for half an hour, defeating more than a hundred Sandile.
Yet, instead of dwindling, their numbers kept growing, with the new Sandile being stronger and more Krokorok joining in.
Cain and Steven began to feel the pressure.
"I hope we haven’t attracted all the Sandile and Krokorok in Hoenn," Steven said again. The Pokémon were already exhausted, and while Cain fed them Pokéblocks, the Pokémon’s energy was wearing thin after such prolonged, intense combat.
But the Sandile that emerged were growing stronger.
"No, not all of them, but it looks like we’ve called out every Sandile in this part of the desert. Relax, it’s not a big deal. Hang in there! Poliwhirl, use all your strength to perform Rain Dance. Marshtomp, protect it!"
"Floette, use Grassy Terrain on Anorith and Lileep."
Cain finally brought out Floette to ensure his Pokémon could continue fighting longer and reap more benefits.
Using the move Rain Dance in the desert was extremely difficult for Poliwhirl, but that was exactly the challenge it needed to refine its control over Water-type energy.
Gradually, rain clouds began to form in the sky, and a light drizzle started falling, quickly absorbed by the sand without leaving a trace.
It was a minimal rain.
Still, being able to use Rain Dance in such an extreme location as the desert demonstrated how much Poliwhirl’s Water-type control had improved.
Once the rain began, even though it was light, the battlefield shifted in favor of Poliwhirl and Marshtomp.
After so many battles, despite missing Aron and Combusken, Poliwhirl and Marshtomp managed to execute a combined strategy.
Steven, who was resting, observed the increase in power of Poliwhirl and Marshtomp under the rain, and his eyes sparkled.
As expected of someone I’ve approved of!
"Anorith! Lileep! We can’t fall behind—let’s start the second round of battles!"
Steven directed his Anorith and Lileep to join Marshtomp and the others in the fight.
With the rain, Water-type moves were executed much faster and with greater power.
Even though the rain was light and Poliwhirl had to regularly concentrate to maintain it, the battlefield had shifted in their favor.
Perhaps due to the rain or because the Pokémon were reaching their limits, the number of Sandile emerging began to decrease, and some even retreated upon sensing the rain.
Finally, Cain and Steven managed to control the situation, defeating a large number of Sandile and Krokorok.
Fortunately, no Krookodile appeared, because if one had, Marshtomp and the others wouldn’t have been able to handle it.
In the end, the effort was worth it. After the battle, Cain noticed that Marshtomp had leveled up twice, reaching level 23, and Poliwhirl had leveled up once, reaching level 26.
Poliwhirl, still not fully recovered, was exhausted from maintaining Rain Dance.
Steven’s Anorith and Lileep also saw slight improvements in strength.