Chapter 255: A Challenge from a Jangmo-o?
"Whoa! It's a pseudo-legendary cub, a Larvitar!"
"How long has it been since a pseudo-legendary cub appeared on the Battle Tower's Beginner floor? And even when they do, it's usually a Dratini. Larvitar are incredibly rare! I have to send a challenge request, quick."
"A 100% win rate? Who is this big shot from out of town?"
"Bro, who cares where he's from, just send the challenge! This is a Larvitar! It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Who knows if this trainer is even going to be staying in Saffron City?"
"Good point, good point! My request is in. I hope he accepts."
...
Although Larvitar wasn't seriously tired after three consecutive battles, Basalt still paused the matches.
The moment he returned to the rest area, his Pokédex began to buzz nonstop.
He opened it to see a dozen battle invitations already piled up, and the number was still climbing, quickly surpassing thirty.
"Heh, Larvitar still has a lot of clout."
Basalt smiled slightly and began to go through the challenge requests one by one.
By tapping on their avatars, he could see the challengers' points and win rates. To entice him to accept, they had also listed the Pokémon they planned to use, allowing him to pick and choose.
"A Nidorino with only a 63% win rate? Too low."
Basalt pursed his lips and immediately passed on the first request. He was in a position of power here. His criteria were simple: either the trainer had an extremely high win rate, or they had a Pokémon that interested him. If they had both, he would accept the challenge instantly.
"Yuji~"
Larvitar, its face full of eagerness, also came over to look, seemingly wanting to help choose its next opponent.
"A Kadabra with a 65% win rate? That's pretty lame."
"A Machop, 78% win rate? Pass."
"A Gligar, 82%? Now this one is acceptable."
...
In the rest area, Basalt went through more than fifty challenge requests but only accepted five. His acceptance rate was a paltry ten percent. It was clear he was being very strict in his selection.
These few Pokémon should all be quite strong, with win rates above 80%. They were qualified to be Larvitar's opponents.
Battle #4: Larvitar's opponent was the Flying/Ground-type Pokémon, Gligar.
Facing the Gligar, Larvitar started with a Scary Face. After successfully debuffing its opponent, it launched a Rock Slide.
"It already knows Rock Slide at the Beginner-rank? Even for a pseudo-legendary cub, isn't that a bit much?" Basalt clearly remembered the shocked expression on his opponent's face.
He used the barrage of rocks to knock the Gligar out of the air, then seized the opportunity to rush in with Bite. But against the physically defensive Gligar, it wasn't enough to defeat it.
On the contrary, although one of its pincers was caught in Larvitar's mouth, the Gligar could still use its other pincer for Rock Smash. Its mouth lit up with Fire Fang, and its tail lashed out with Poison Jab. The three-pronged assault was ferocious.
Faced with such a fierce attack, Larvitar took a heavy hit and was finally forced to let go.
"The trio is a little off, but it has completely mastered the duet," Basalt mused, impressed by the Gligar's strength. Compared to the Gligar that Felix had a year ago, this one was clearly stronger and more ferocious.
But in terms of stamina, the Larvitar that had been nourished by the Smooth Rock Crystal was clearly superior. Its Rock-type moves were incredibly powerful.
With another round of Rock Slide, the Gligar finally fell.
"Hey, look! The real-time leaderboard just refreshed. The Larvitar's record changed to 4/4, and that Gligar trainer just got a loss."
A sharp-eyed trainer was able to deduce the battle's outcome just by watching the leaderboard, even though Basalt hadn't chosen to publicly broadcast his matches.
And so, more and more people began to stare at Larvitar's battle record.
"Look, look! The Larvitar won again! Did anyone see who just lost a match?"
"Holy crap! I think it was Yang from Saffron University Affiliated No. 1 High School. I follow him. The system shows his Roselia just lost a match."
"Yang? Isn't he one of the top 3 students at that school? I remember his Roselia. It has a powerful talent for the Grass type, and its Ingrain is super strong. It's not even afraid of Pokémon that use Dig."
"But it still lost. As expected, pseudo-legendaries are the strongest."
"Pseudo-legendaries are strong, sure, but their pre-evolutions aren't usually that dominant. Five wins in a row... it just means this Larvitar's trainer is also no simple character."
"Bro, are you talking nonsense? Could the trainer of a Larvitar ever be simple?"
...
Although they hadn't managed to get a battle with the Larvitar, the trainers on the Beginner floor were paying close attention to its progress. As a pseudo-legendary, it had earned that right.
The next few opponents Basalt selected were quite strong, and it was no longer possible for Larvitar to win without taking any damage. So, after each battle, Basalt would take a ten to thirty-minute break to let Larvitar rest.
Fortunately, Larvitar's recovery was amazing, so it wasn't a big deal.
"Look, Larvitar's record is 6/6 now! Still a 100% win rate."
"Its opponent seems to have been a Psychic/Fighting Meditite. Anyone recognize that avatar?"
"Huh? I think that's a freshman from our Saffron University. I remember him."
"Even a top student from Saffron University couldn't stop it? I'm speechless."
...
Under the watchful eyes of countless trainers, Larvitar continued its triumphant advance, scoring its seventh and eighth consecutive victories, its win rate holding steady at 100%.
Its opponents had included those with type advantages, like a Water-type Poliwhirl and the Grass-type Roselia. But little Larvitar had defended the honor of pseudo-legendaries through sheer strength.
However, the further it went, the longer the rest periods Larvitar needed became. This news spread, attracting even more people to the Beginner floor to watch the spectacle, including many Advanced and Pro-level trainers.
A pseudo-legendary was a pseudo-legendary. They were extremely rare not just in Saffron City, but all over the world.
And so, even some of the talent scouts from Saffron's various pro clubs came flocking, hoping to find some clue about the trainer's identity. If they could sign this Larvitar's trainer, it would be a huge score.
A pseudo-legendary cub, as long as it was raised with decent resources, was almost guaranteed to evolve. And a fully-evolved pseudo-legendary was practically a synonym for "power" at the Pro-level. If a club had a pseudo-legendary, it not only meant they had a powerful battler, but it also greatly boosted their reputation.
After all, this was a pseudo-legendary.
"Nine wins in a row. Let's call it a day."
On the battlefield, Basalt and Larvitar had secured their ninth victory, and he was satisfied.
From the start of his first battle until now, over two hours had passed. Although the challenge requests were still flooding in, already at 99+, Basalt was ready to ignore them for now.
Ping!
But just as he was about to put his Pokédex away, a special notification popped up. He happened to glance at it and caught three words.
"Jangmo-o?"
Basalt froze, his eyes going wide.
Jangmo-o. This was the pre-evolution of the pseudo-legendary Kommo-o, an existence in no way inferior to his own Larvitar.
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