Chapter 250: My Mole Has a Lot of Stamina
Larvitar's birth brought a wave of joy to Basalt's life.
But soon, that joy faded.
In the days that followed, Basalt not only had to re-experience the grueling life of a college student but also had to take on the role of a "super dad."
The double whammy of studying and parenting pushed him to his absolute limit.
We won't go into the temper of the "little tyrant" Larvitar; the key was that the courses at Centralis University were no joke.
Mornings were filled with Elemental Energy Studies and Move Studies, while afternoons were dedicated to Pokémon Physiology and Pokéblock Studies. These were all general foundation courses. But as a top-tier university, the content was intense. The amount of material Basalt had to memorize was enough to give him a headache, not to mention the homework.
Fortunately, after a week, the day Basalt had been looking forward to—the club recruitment fair—finally arrived.
By now, this day held an extra layer of meaning for him. Besides letting Lileep get some battle experience, the now-twisted Basalt was also eager to vent his long-suppressed stress by "beating people up."
...
Although he was now an Advanced-rank Trainer, Basalt didn't let it go to his head.
He had originally planned to lie low and train hard for a while, solidifying Excadrill and Lileep's strength, before heading to the Takla Desert.
Unfortunately, fate had other plans.
The next day, when his class advisor, Mr. Burton, learned that Basalt had successfully been promoted, he spread the news.
And by the third day, the entire university knew.
Because that guy Burton had actually told the Department Head, who had then "thoughtfully" had someone push a news article about it on the official Centralis University public feed. It was good for publicity and a political achievement for them.
"I just wanted to keep a low profile for a while. Why is that so hard?"
Basalt looked at the news feed on his phone. His eye twitched when he saw the dazzling headline: "This Year's First Freshman to be Promoted to the Advanced-Rank."
Making it bold and oversized wasn't enough? You had to make it red, too?
That's just too much.
How many people is this going to piss off?
Sure enough, a few days later when he went to the school team's training session, the other freshmen in the reserve, especially the other Rookie Kings, were looking at him differently.
And the one who couldn't swallow his pride the most was Roman, the Rookie King from Ganford Province. He had also just passed the Advanced Trainer exam, only two days after Basalt.
But those two days made all the difference. Everyone's attention is automatically focused on first place; no one cares about second.
"Basalt, congratulations on your promotion. As it happens, I also passed the exam a couple of days ago. How about we have a little spar?"
Roman raised an eyebrow. Although his tone was calm, the challenge on his face was practically overflowing.
"It's been over a month. These Rookie Kings are finally getting restless."
"Basalt and Roman, one is the Rookie King of Centralis Province, the other from Ganford. And both just got promoted. This is going to be a great match!"
Seeing Roman challenge Basalt, the other reserve members who had been training all stopped what they were doing, their ears perked up, ready to grab some popcorn and watch the drama unfold.
The school team reserve didn't just consist of freshmen; there were also ten members each from the sophomore and junior years, all the strongest of their grade.
As for the official team members, only one was present. The main team was usually busy, so they took turns on a rotating schedule, with each member spending a month at the university to train.
The official team member in charge of the reserves this month was Blaze, a veteran Pro-level trainer specializing in Fire-types. He was a youth with a lot of personality and dreadlocks.
He looked at the stunned Basalt. Never one to let a good drama go to waste, he was about to stoke the fire if Basalt hesitated.
Fortunately, Basalt did not disappoint.
He simply replied with two words: "Alright."
"Since we're both Advanced-rank trainers, how about a 3v3? No objections, right?"
"Whatever you want."
With that, Basalt turned and walked onto the battlefield, an expression of calm and nonchalance on his face, as if he couldn't care less about the whole thing.
"I've figured it out. This Basalt guy is a genius in the art of showing off. Look at that 'I don't give a damn' expression. Even though you know it's an act, it still pisses you off," Shane muttered as he sidled up next to Sylvie and Vivi, trying to start a conversation.
Unfortunately for him, neither of the girls paid him any attention.
"I agree with that. Just look at Roman's face. It's as dark as thunder," Dante, the Rookie King from Anwell, chimed in. He squinted his eyes. "Who do you guys think will win?"
"As much as I dislike Basalt, I have a feeling he's got a better chance of winning. If he didn't have real strength to back it up, he wouldn't act like this in front of another Rookie King. How embarrassing would it be if he lost?"
"We'll know soon enough, won't we?" Blaze said with a loud laugh. He walked over to the freshmen, his eyes full of anticipation.
He had been getting annoyed with these Rookie Kings like Basalt and Roman. It had been over a month and none of them had challenged each other. Weren't they a little too well-behaved? Not like him. Back in his day, he was constantly picking fights, even with Bella Bai. He didn't back down, even though he got beaten up badly in the end. He didn't care.
Wasn't his current strength forged by constantly alternating between dishing out beatings and taking them? It was good for young people to fight more.
At that moment, the two Rookie Kings on the battlefield had each released their first Pokémon.
"Dro-lisk!"
"Ab-sol!"
Excadrill appeared, facing off against Roman's Absol, neither giving an inch. Their eyes met, and the air was thick with tension.
"Both trainers, take your positions! Battle, begin!"
With a nod from Blaze, one of the other reserve members stepped up to act as referee.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
Without any command from Basalt, the moment the referee signaled the start, the abundant Rock-type energy in Excadrill's body surged, and several large, pointed rocks immediately formed at its side.
At the same time, a black light flashed over Absol's body, but in the end, nothing happened.
"A Sucker Punch?" Basalt's eyebrow shot up, and he shook his head. "Too bad. Your prediction was wrong."
Sucker Punch, a Dark-type move, could strike before the opponent, but only if the opponent was also preparing to use an attacking move. Otherwise, it would fail.
"Damn it! It wasn't Rock Tomb!" Roman cursed under his breath. He had been watching Excadrill's movements closely, but he had still made a mistake. He should have used Taunt.
"But the size and number of these Stealth Rocks... isn't that a bit much?"
Looking at the massive, pointed rocks now floating silently around the edge of the battlefield, Roman felt his scalp tingle.
How is this Excadrill's Rock-type energy so pure? Even a naturally gifted Rock-type Pokémon probably couldn't set up a Stealth Rock of this caliber. This is insane.
"Heh heh, my Excadrill has been nourished by a Smooth Rock Crystal. A Stealth Rock of this level is perfectly reasonable, isn't it?" Basalt thought, rubbing his nose. Excadrill had actually learned Stealth Rock before he even started university; he just hadn't had a chance to show it off. Now that he finally had, it had stunned everyone.
But Roman was no pushover. A small setback didn't faze him.
"Air Slash!"
The curved horn on Absol's head flashed, and a massive blade of wind formed, locking onto Excadrill from a distance. Dust and debris were kicked up across the field.
"Pierce through it!" Basalt commanded, his eyes narrowing.
VMMMM!
With a sudden spin, Excadrill transformed into its drill state and charged straight at the blade of wind.
But in terms of attack power, the Excadrill that had broken through after absorbing the Groudon scale's energy was simply too strong. In an instant, the Air Slash was shattered to pieces.
Facing the incoming blur that was Excadrill, Absol showed no fear. Its eyes gleamed, and it gracefully sidestepped, dodging the Drill Run.
Fighting-type move, Detect!
"Spinning Earthquake!"
Just as it was about to land, the Ground-type energy in Excadrill's body erupted, causing the ground to shake and the soil to churn as if it were boiling.
"Whoa! An Earthquake of that power... If you told me that Excadrill was a Pro-level Pokémon, I'd believe you!"
Seeing Excadrill's Earthquake, even Blaze's face showed his surprise. The power was just too immense. It was inescapable, unavoidable.
Having no other choice, a transparent barrier of light appeared around Absol, blocking the shockwave.
The god-tier defensive move, Protect!
"As expected of a Rookie King. He's not easy to take down," Basalt mused.
He had to admit, Absol's move pool was quite rich; it could learn a little of everything. He remembered seeing it use Water Pulse, Incinerate, and Shock Wave, as well as status moves like Swords Dance, Feint, Foul Play, and Magic Coat when it fought Dante. It had a lot of tricks up its sleeve.
"But unfortunately for you, you're facing me and my Excadrill today." Basalt's lips curled up, confident of his victory. "My mole has a lot of stamina."
"A lot of stamina? Damn it, Basalt's talking nonsense again," Shane seized the opportunity to mock him, but he was also a little confused. He didn't understand why Basalt was bringing up stamina.
Until... Absol's white energy shield slowly faded, and the Earthquake was still going.
His eyes went wide as he finally understood.
"Ab-sol!"
The Protect barrier vanished, but the shockwave from the Earthquake was still rolling. Absol took a direct hit. Its body wavered, and its legs began to feel weak.
After absorbing the Groudon scale, the power of Excadrill's Ground-type moves was immense.
Basalt seized the opportunity. While Absol was still reeling from the aftershock, he shouted, "Now, Drill Run!"
VREEEEE!
A grinding sound filled the air as Excadrill shot forward like a bolt of lightning, swift and unstoppable.
BOOM!
An explosion rocked the battlefield, kicking up a huge cloud of dust.
When the dust settled, Absol was lying on the ground, its eyes spinning. It had fainted.
"Absol is unable to battle!" the student referee immediately waved his flag and made the call. "Will the challenger, Roman, please send out his next Pokémon."
But the crowd was still stunned by Excadrill's "stamina."
Isn't that... a little too much stamina?
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