At seven o'clock the next day, Julian ate the breakfast made by Slowking while gazing at the sandstorm outside the Light Screen. pared to yesterday, the sandstorm today was even fiercer.
Under the dense sandstorm, visibility had dropped to less than five meters.
If it wasn’t for Metagross clearing the sand away from time to time, the Light Screen shelter Julian lived in would have been pletely buried overnight.
The Light Screen shelter also had great soundproofing, so Julian hadn’t heard the howling winds while he slept.
According to the forecast from Hara City’s meteorological station, today’s sandstorm was rated Level 6—a moderate intensity and the most mon level in the Hara Desert.
The strongest was a Level 10 sandstorm, which occurred only once every few decades. In the face of a Level 10 sandstorm, the entire city of Hara would evacuate, and the surrounding towns would be abandoned.
Because the force of a Level 10 sandstorm was beyond anything humans could handle. Under its fury, every tiny grain of sand struck like a small bullet. In such conditions, even Pokémon couldn’t last long, let alone humans.
Only those of the Rock-, Ground-, or Steel-types might fare better. But if they weren’t of these three types, even Elite-level Pokémon would have their strength reduced by at least half.
Right now, this was only a Level 6 sandstorm, but to an outsider like Julian, it already looked terrifying.
Moving around in this kind of weather was unwise.
Moreover, under these conditions, certain wild Pokémon became unusually active.
For example—
Julian glanced at the Sandshrew still scratching away at the Light Screen. He felt this guy had to be either dumb or just incredibly stubborn.
Having Metagross retract all the Light Screens, Julian mounted Dragonite while Metagross formed a psychic shield around them to protect against the sandstorm.
Traveling by a Flying-type Pokémon in this weather was hardly advisable. With such low visibility, even Dragonite’s superior eyesight could only see about a hundred meters ahead.
So walking would have been the best choice.
But walking was too slow, and Julian was racing against time.
Dragonite’s flying speed had dropped to less than a tenth of its normal pace. Julian could only hope the sandstorm would weaken soon. Otherwise, exploring the remaining areas would take even longer.
Yesterday, Julian had already scouted the core area and some more. Today, he planned to spiral outward from his rest point, gradually expanding the search until reaching the outer regions.
Five days later.
Inside the Light Screen shelter, Julian sat with a troubled expression on his face. He had finally finished exploring the entire Hara Desert.
But he still hadn’t found the Glossy Ganoderma.
Not even a single large red dot had appeared on the Dowsing Machine.
Unable to find the Glossy Ganoderma… If John couldn’t e up with another solution, then Evelyn might really die.
"Magee…"
Magearna sensed Julian’s heavy mood and carefully handed him a cup of coffee made by Slowking.
With Soul-Heart, Magearna possessed an ability similar to Lucario’s—a deep sensitivity to the emotions of all living beings.
"Magearna, I'm fine."
Taking the coffee, Julian gently patted Magearna’s head as it fumbled for words to fort him.
He knew his emotions had started affecting his Pokémon too.
These past few days, he’d been letting Arcanine out for some fresh air at night. In the past, the fiery dog would have bolted around wildly, but now it behaved obediently, aware that its trainer was in low spirits. If it caused any trouble now, it might lose its food privileges.
"Why is the sandstorm getting worse?"
Today, Hara City had issued a warning prohibiting entry into the Hara Desert, as the storm had now reached Level 8.
What did a Level 8 sandstorm mean? It meant that Pokémon below the pseudo-Elite level (except Rock, Ground, and Steel-types) wouldn’t survive long in it.
Every year, the Hara Desert experienced one or two Level 8 sandstorms.
Julian felt his luck was as terrible as ever—just one or two occurrences a year, and he had to run into one. His luck was truly unmatched—in the worst way.
---
Elsewhere in the desert, a Rhyperior was steadily pushing forward through the storm. The Level 8 sandstorm was almost meaningless against its massive, armored body.
Behind it followed three people, pletely wrapped in tightly secured gear. Even their eyes were hidden behind special goggles. They wore suits made from the hide of Sandile—an effective material for resisting the biting sand. Without it, even with Rhyperior shielding them, they wouldn’t have survived out here.
But even so, the trio was exhausted. Their stamina had long since reached its limit.
Then, the person at the back of the group suddenly collapsed. The two in front immediately stopped and turned back.
"Little sister!"
"Daughter!"
They rushed to lift the woman from the sand.
Seeing her cracked lips, dry from dehydration, the older man—Walter Graves—pulled out a canteen and poured every last drop of precious water into his daughter’s mouth.
As the water trickled in, her condition eased slightly. Slowly, her eyes fluttered open.
Her brother yanked the canteen from Walter’s hand and turned it upside down over his own mouth—but not a single drop came out.
"AHHH—!!"
Lucas let out a hoarse scream and flung the canteen into the sand.
Walter silently watched the whole scene.
"Brother…"
The just-awakened Lena called out weakly.
"Little sister… Dad…"
Lucas looked at his father and younger sister, his heart filled with regret and overwhelming guilt.
If it weren’t for him, they would have already left the Hara Desert before the Level 8 sandstorm hit—instead of being trapped like this now.
The terror of a Level 8 sandstorm wasn’t just the storm itself—it also created a powerful magnetic field.
In such strong magnetic fields, passes became useless. And with the terrain constantly shifting under the storm, it was impossible to navigate based on landmarks.
They could, in theory, use the stars or moon to find direction—but in this weather, the sky was pletely obscured.
Their only hope was to wait for the sun to rise. Its brightness could pierce through the sandstorm, giving them a reference point.
So why didn’t they just stop and wait for daylight? Rhyperior could have used Rock Slide to create a makeshift barrier. Even if it wasn’t as good as a Light Screen, it would still be better than their current situation.
The real reason was—they couldn’t stop.
Because their scent had already been picked up by a vicious, Elite-level Gliscor. If they stopped, Gliscor would attack immediately.
But as long as they kept moving, Gliscor would hold back and trail them from behind.
It was toying with them—treating them like mice.
Just like how a cat doesn’t eat the mouse right away after catching it. Instead, it lets it go, chases it down again when it runs, and repeats the game.
And when it’s bored of playing—then snap. A quick, merciless kill.
That’s what Gliscor was doing—torturing the three of them. And once it was done playing, it would kill them.
*****
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