With Rhydon recalled, he had no more Elite Class Pokémon left, so he sent out a mid-stage Entry Class Sandslash to continue the battle.
Evolving Sandshrew into Sandslash was not difficult. It could generally evolve once it reached Entry Class, but Sandslash had considerably less potential. Breaking through to Elite Class, Gym Leader Class, or even Elite Four Class afterward was no easy task. It required a long, painstaking effort, and the Pokémon needed sufficient potential and perseverance.
Still, Sandslash's base stats were quite respectable. Although they were heavily skewed, much like Rhydon's, it was considerably faster and adept at burrowing underground. Its survivability and mobility were several notches higher.
Unfortunately, it was a little too weak. If this Sandslash had reached Elite Class rather than Rhydon, Xiao Ran and Veranica would probably have had a much harder time in the previous round.
But developing Sandslash was harder than developing Rhydon. By the time it finally reached Elite Class, its Trainer would probably already be an Elite Class Pokémon Trainer too.
"Sandslash, Dig!" Against a group of Elite Class Pokémon, Sandslash's strength was clearly inadequate, so its Trainer ordered it underground the moment he sent it out.
Meanwhile, Ampharos on the other side began its offensive.
"Ampharos, Shock Wave!" its Trainer shouted. Ampharos released a blindingly fast bolt of lightning, sending it straight at the Delphox blocking its path.
"Delphox, dodge!" Delphox was extremely fast, and Veranica had confidence in it, but Xiao Ran's expression changed sharply.
"It can't dodge that! Shock Wave tracks its target—it never misses!" Xiao Ran said quickly.
Before he finished speaking, Shock Wave had already chased Delphox down, jolting its entire body numb.
But that was not the end. Another Shock Wave came flying toward it. Still suffering from paralysis, Delphox was struck again, its