Digging was in Excadrill's nature. Both the name and the typing made it clear that this Pokémon loved being underground. As for why Squirtle loved digging too... well, habits became second nature.
The Pokémon had disappeared, but the battle hadn't stopped. Since they were following Wild Fighting rules, the Trainers could also settle the match through human means.
Neither Xin Mu nor his opponent chose to attack the other Trainer, though.
For one thing, this wasn't a real Wild Fighting match. There was no need to take it that far.
Besides, Wild Fighting had another principle: if you had faith in your Pokémon and believed they could defeat the enemy's Pokémon, don't do anything unnecessary. Just get as far away as possible.
Even a Pokémon at the limits of its stamina was far more powerful than an ordinary human.
Both Pokémon had vanished from view using Dig. If the Trainers didn't move, one might come burrowing up beneath their feet at any moment.
"Squirtle."
And that was exactly what happened. Less than a minute into the match, Squirtle appeared in front of the opposing Trainer and soaked him through with a nearly powerless Water Gun.
In the height of summer, a little water was no big deal, but it also meant the battle was over. After all, victory in Wild Fighting wasn't determined by whether the Pokémon could still stand, but by the Trainer.
If Squirtle could wash his face with Water Gun, Squirtle could use a more lethal move on him too. That meant the battle was already over.
Then Squirtle turned around and ducked back into the hole, hauling out Excadrill, whose eyes had already turned into spirals. Excadrill was drenched from head to toe, clearly having suffered a fierce attack underground.
"Wh... what happened? How did Squirtle