#028: Sandslash
Sandslash are solitary pokemon, who wander the deserts alone when they're not looking for a mate. They survive off cacti – their scaly skin is immune to prickles and their claws can easily puncture the plants' tough skin to get at the moisture inside. If you're lost in the desert and dying of thirst, Kantonians often say, follow a Sandslash. Quite how, in your weakened state, you're supposed to persuade that Sandslash to surrender its supper is never explained.
Sandslash are slow to trust. Historically they've been targeted by poachers due to a mistaken belief that their hides makes decent armour or their scales have medicinal properties. They become fiercely loyal once their friendship is earned, however, and will lay down their lives to protect a worthy trainer from harm.
Skilled battlers under the right tutelage, in the wild this pokemon mostly avoids confrontation, instead relying on being difficult to eat. To discourage predators, Sandslash will sometimes leave chinks in their armour which they can close up suddenly, severing a Persian's claw or an Arbok's tongue.