Chapter 3: Desert Blues

Three days later

"Hey are you kids ready up there, the caravan is ready to go" the old Marowak yelled from outside.

After grabbing their backpacks and supplies, they were greeted outside by Marowak and two bipedal chameleons with strange accents. One Kecleon was green with red markings and the other was purple with yellow markings. They bowed humbly as Marowak introduced them "This here is Ghamidi and Javed, they're brothers, merchants and some of my most trusted friends. I've been doing business with them for over thirty years now and I told them you would get their caravan across the desert safely." His tone became very grave "I've never lied to them before and I don't intend to start now."

"You can count on us." Torrent replied, "But I have to ask aren't sandstorms dangerous for Pokémon of our type?'

"Well yes it is" Javed answered in his thick accent," but luckily for you I have these" He pulled out three pairs of sturdy looking goggles and handed them to the trio.

Static was the first to but her on "Wow these are so cool" she turned to her teammates "so how do I look?"

"Like an imbecile." Blaze cracked.

"Jealousy" the Pikachu fake coughed.

The five Pokémon made their way to the caravan which consisted of a large tent like wagon pulled by six colossal and sturdy looking Camerupt. "Don't worry their a lot friendlier than they look, they're trained for locomotion not battle the volcanoes on their humps are plugged so they don't erupt." Ghamidi assured them.

An hour later they were making their way to the desert, Torrent and Static sweating profusely in the arid heat. Blaze being a fire type wasn't really bothered by the sun but actually seemed more vibrant and vigorous.

Static still wondered what it was these merchants needed to be protected from so she whispered to Torrent. "Wait why do we have to go out into Furnace Desert?"

"We need to escort a caravan full of precious cargo through the desert, and keep it safe." Torrent explained.

"Safe from what? Sandstorms? " Static whispered back.

Little did they know Javed had overheard their conversation, "Not sandstorms, Sand Bandits."

"Sand Bandit? What the hell is a Sand Bandit?" Blazed butted in.

Ghamidi then began to explain "The Sand Bandits are a band of marauding Sandshrew that rob people blind in the desert. Their special ability Sand Veil allows them to blend in with the sand so they can stalk people for days before they actually strike. They wait like vultures until we're weak and fatigued from dehydration. They're led by a ruthless Sandslash named Razor whose cruelty knows no bounds." The two brothers looked frightened just at the mention of his name.

Torrent was furious but kept a calm demeanor "This would've been nice to know beforehand, we could've then made the right preparations to face this sort of enemy." Torrent wiggled his ears to get the sand out, "If this is true, then these guys have home field advantage and given their ability to blend into the sand and move freely underground, we may be in over our heads this time."

"Thanks for the most depressing pep talk in history" Static added in "Have you ever thought about being a motivational speaker? You definitely have a future in it. I think I just died a little inside"

Blaze however was not deterred; he laughed arrogantly "This sounds like my kind of trip. If this Razor's got Marowak stirred up then he must be pretty badass. And in that case I'm definitely anticipating a good fight."

Static looked at Blaze as if he just kicked a puppy "Blaze did your mother love you enough as a child? Cause you seriously have issues"

"Hey ratface how 'bout I use you as a training dummy." Blaze retorted.

Torrent was losing his patience, "Guys this fighting will get us nowhere, let's stay focused." He looked at Javed "How long will it take us to get across the Desert?"

" Hmm at this pace maybe five or six days, a week if the sandstorms get really bad."

"You're kidding right" Static sparked. The chameleon looked at her blankly, "No little mouse, I don't kid."

"Well then we might as well relax until some bandits show up and throw our rotting corpses in a ditch."

The further they traveled in the scorching desert, the more the hours seemed to mesh together. Javed and Team Bang were each mounted on a Camerupt, while Ghamidi was steering the camper pulled by the other two. The air was so hot Torrent could see the heat rise from the sand. Even in his weariness he maintained a state of vigilance, in case there was danger afoot. It was then Torrent came to appreciate his goggles not only did they keep sand out his eyes but the sun as well. He looked up and saw several menacing looking Mandibuzz flying in circles far above their heads waiting patiently. The pink headed vulture like Pokémon eyed the travelers with hungry looks. "There's no way I'm dying out here" Torrent thought to himself angrily "I wouldn't give scavengers the satisfaction."

He looked at Blaze who was still just as healthy as when the trip began, and smiled. He knew that as long as Blaze remained healthy they were safe. Mandibuzz were scavengers not fighters and wouldn't risk going toe to toe with a powerful Charmeleon over a meal. Static was in pretty bad shape, but the two Kecleon who were native to this region seemed unfazed by the heat but looked very shifty and anxious about something else. Torrent watched them closely as their bulbous eyes shifted quickly in every direction as if they sensed something terrible was about to happen.

Suddenly the ground around the caravan began to cave as nets shot up holding the Camerupt in place. Blaze saw movement in the sand beneath their feet. "Everyone watch-"his warning was cut short as a set of claws pulled him under the sandy abyss.