Chapter 249: The Annihilating Spiral Drill Run
Besides the hardening of its fur, Excadrill's strength had also increased significantly. It could now easily lift a rock weighing several hundred pounds, like a true powerhouse.
As for its size, there was no noticeable change in the short term. But Basalt estimated that Excadrill's height would likely continue to increase, eventually reaching a size similar to the shiny Sandslash King.
"Excadrill, let's try out your Ground-type moves!"
Basalt rubbed his hands together, his eyes full of anticipation.
More than the improvements to its physique, Basalt was focused on the enhancement of Excadrill's elemental energy, as that was the true foundation of a Pokémon's strength. At the end of the day, a Pokémon's destructive power came primarily from its energy.
"Dro-lisk!"
Excadrill flexed its claws, also eager to try.
"In that case, let's start with Sand Tomb!" Basalt said with a loud laugh.
RUMBLE!
In an instant, as Excadrill plunged its claws into the ground, the earth in front of Basalt suddenly collapsed, forming a pit of quicksand with a radius of over ten meters. The sand churned towards the center, looking like a vortex from a distance.
"The range of Sand Tomb has increased by fifty percent!"
Basalt's eyes went wide with shock. Had just refining a portion of the energy from the red scale been enough to achieve this?
"No wonder a single small scale could be passed down through the Sandslash clan for generations. Legendary Pokémon truly are beings beyond imagination," Basalt marveled.
This tiny fragment of scale was like a drop in the ocean for the colossal Groudon. And yet, this insignificant piece was enough to elevate an Advanced-rank Excadrill by half a level. The gap in power was simply indescribable.
Fortunately, this treasure was now in his hands.
Next, Excadrill tested its Bulldoze and Earthquake moves. The power of both had increased significantly. Excadrill's Bulldoze was now as powerful as its previous Earthquake. And with the increase in power, the concussive force on an enemy's legs was even greater, making its speed-lowering effect more pronounced.
As for Earthquake, its range had also expanded again and again. The effective radius of its shockwave had reached a terrifying thirty meters, a truly god-tier group attack move.
But what surprised Basalt the most was Excadrill's breakthrough with the move Drill Run.
VMMMM!
When Excadrill transformed into its drill state and began to spin at high speed, the noise it made became quieter, but a faint, spiral pattern formed at the very tip of its "drill."
Basalt knew this was the result of its Ground-type energy being compressed again and again, with all its power focused into a single point.
Using a point to break a surface!
Pfft!
Excadrill slammed into a huge boulder. But instead of shattering it, the drill simply pierced cleanly through, like a chopstick through tofu. Everything was perfectly calm.
But as a trainer, Basalt knew exactly what that meant.
"I can't believe it even mastered the energy spiraling technique it's been struggling with. This is just..."
Basalt shook his head, sighing in amazement.
Excadrill had been researching this development for its move for four or five months without success. He never thought that with just an increase in its mastery of Ground-type energy, it would grasp it instantly. It had all come so naturally.
"Dro-lisk!"
Excadrill's face was also filled with excitement. This breakthrough with Drill Run had more than doubled its ability to break through tough defenses. It was a complete qualitative change.
At this moment, even if it were to face a Pro-level Pokémon, Excadrill wouldn't be afraid of a head-on clash.
More importantly, due to its body shape and natural talents, this new Drill Run could be directly applied to its other moves like Dig and Plow.
In other words, a qualitative improvement in Drill Run also meant an improvement in Dig and Plow.
"Excadrill, Dig!" Basalt commanded impatiently.
Pfft!
Excadrill, in its drill form, slightly adjusted its angle and bored a large hole in the ground. A moment later, it reappeared a hundred meters away, its speed unbelievably fast.
"Is that digging speed even faster than a Diglett's?" Basalt's mouth twitched.
Previously, when the Pokédex had stated that an Excadrill's top digging speed could reach 150 km/h, he had been a little skeptical.
But now, he was a believer. And from the looks of it, Excadrill's current digging speed was even faster than 150 km/h. Once it had fully absorbed the Groudon scale, 200 km/h probably wouldn't be out of the question.
"You can dig faster than I can drive on the highway? You're almost as fast as a high-speed train!" Basalt clicked his tongue in wonder, his heart filled with joy.
This was all a symbol of its strength.
After testing Dig, Excadrill demonstrated the Plow move.
Pfft!
The drill skimmed across the ground, and the soil parted as if it were flesh, leaving a large trench.
Although Excadrill's size hadn't changed, its mastery of Ground-type energy had undergone a qualitative change, so the depth to which it could turn the soil had greatly increased. Its plowing efficiency had skyrocketed.
And as the soil was turned, the elemental energy from deep within the earth continuously seeped out. In a few breaths, seven or eight large furrows had been plowed. The fresh earth was turned over, and the air was filled with a rich, earthy scent, tinged with the unique fragrance of the Grass type.
"The effect of this Plow should be on par with Rhyperior's now, right?" Basalt's eyebrow shot up, overjoyed.
"Nee-nee~"
Just as Basalt was celebrating, Lileep, who was beside him, began to sway its tentacles, looking incredibly excited.
"Lileep, what's wrong?" Basalt asked, confused.
"Nee-nee~"
Lileep wobbled its head, waving its tentacles, the roots at its base becoming more and more active.
"Lileep says that the Grass-type energy released from the plowed earth is making the energy inside its body stir. It has a strange feeling, like it has to let something out," Bronzong blinked, relaying Lileep's message.
Damn it, Bronzong thought, it feels like Excadrill and Lileep are about to start with the PDA again.
"Could it be learning a new move?" Basalt was overjoyed. "Energy Ball? Seed Bomb?" he thought hopefully.
Pop! Pop! Pop!
While Basalt was waiting in anticipation, tiny grass shoots, about the size of a fingernail, suddenly sprouted from the plowed earth.
But after the shoots broke through the soil, as Lileep continued to pour its energy into them, they began to grow at a visible rate, as if being inflated like a balloon.
Before long, the area within a five-meter radius of Lileep, which had been barren land, was transformed into a field of lush green grass, emitting a faint, fresh scent.
"Holy crap! It's Grassy Terrain!" Basalt was so shocked he cursed out loud.
Grassy Terrain! This was an extremely rare and difficult-to-master field move.
Of course, its effect was also incredibly powerful. Within the area covered by Grassy Terrain, all Pokémon on the ground would slowly recover their health, and the power of Grass-type moves would be significantly boosted. Besides that, it had several other secondary effects.
But to sum it all up in one word: awesome!
"Although the area is a bit small, that's definitely Grassy Terrain." Basalt's mouth twitched, but his heart was filled with more joy than anything else.
A rising tide lifts all boats. Excadrill's power-up had ended up giving Lileep a boost as well. He was ecstatic.
Grassy Terrain was a move he had planned to teach Lileep after it had evolved and reached the Pro-level. He never thought it would learn it just after reaching the Advanced-rank.
The only unfortunate part was that Lileep's body was still a little too weak. It couldn't handle the four simultaneous boosts from Storm Drain, Ancient Power, Plow, and Grassy Terrain. Its current limit was only two. It was such a waste.
Otherwise, if it could withstand all four boosts, Lileep would go god-mode. Even an ordinary Pro-level Pokémon would be no match for it.
"Looks like the next step is to find a way to get Lileep to evolve as soon as possible," Basalt thought, rubbing his chin as he planned the next phase of training. "Of course, I can't neglect the improvement of its life energy either."
His eyes shining, Basalt thought of Sylvie and her Milotic. That was another Pokémon whose life energy was in no way inferior to Lileep's.
"Looks like I'll have to find some time to... build a better relationship with Sylvie," Basalt thought, clenching his fists.
For the sake of my Pokémon, what is my pride worth?
After the skill tests were over, Basalt turned his attention back to the shiny Sandslash King. The latter's expression changed, and it couldn't help but shiver.
"I can let you go free now. But you have to do me one more favor. Use Rollout with all your strength and clash with Excadrill one more time."
Basalt walked over and patted the shiny Sandslash King's head, saying with a smile, "Do this, and I'll let you go immediately. I won't go back on my word."
"Sand-shrew! Sand-shrew!" The shiny Sandslash King nodded eagerly.
At Basalt's command, Lileep retracted its roots, freeing the shiny Sandslash King. After it had recovered a bit of its stamina, Basalt gave a look to Excadrill, who immediately began to spin, transforming into a spiral of energy and charging forward.
Even though it was still in mid-air, the spiral of air pressure it generated carved a shallow trench in the ground from a distance.
"Sand-shrew!"
Facing the imposing Excadrill, the shiny Sandslash King showed no fear. It curled up, accelerated, and used Defense Curl to boost its defense as it rolled forward to meet the attack.
BOOM!
The two great "rats" collided heavily.
In terms of raw power, the shiny Sandslash King still had the upper hand. But unfortunately for it, its power was evenly distributed across its body; it was too scattered. Unlike Excadrill, whose power was concentrated into a single point.
So, while Excadrill still lost the power struggle, the shiny Sandslash King was clearly more injured after the collision.
Basalt's sharp eyes even saw several of the shiny Sandslash King's thick red quills break off and fall to the ground.
"Sand-shrew..."
The shiny Sandslash King was completely shocked.
After absorbing and refining the energy just once, Excadrill had reached this level? The gap between them was just too big.
It felt its spirit break.
With the experiment over, Basalt kept his promise and let the shiny Sandslash King go.
Watching its retreating figure, Basalt sighed. "If its ability was Sand Veil, I would have caught it. But unfortunately, it's Sand Rush, which is redundant with Excadrill."
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