Chapter 259: A Clean Sweep to Start?
"Basalt? I've heard that name. He was last year's Rookie King for Centralis Province!"
On the Saffron U side, one of the freshmen who knew of Basalt explained, "His starter is an Excadrill that specializes in Sandstorm. It's really strong. We'll need to be careful this afternoon."
"Careful? Why?" another Saffron U student, a dark-faced, sturdy youth, said dismissively. "He's just a Rookie King, like it's something special. Besides, there are levels to being a Rookie King."
The scorn in the youth's voice was practically overflowing. No one could tell if that was just his personality or if he was intentionally trying to provoke them.
But it had to be said, his taunt was effective.
The atmosphere between the two teams, which had been relatively reserved, instantly tensed up. The Centralis U side wasn't about to back down. The two groups started trading insults, the words growing more and more heated, until even the ultimate insult of a "clean sweep" was thrown out.
Both sides were red in the face, on the verge of coming to blows.
"Alright, everyone."
In the end, it was Basalt who stepped forward. "The match is this afternoon," he said loudly. "There's no point in arguing now. We'll let our skills do the talking on the battlefield."
"Also, I agree with what my dark-faced friend here said. There are indeed levels to being a Rookie King."
Basalt held back Roman and Dante, then tilted his head and sized up the dark-faced youth with a smile. "I'll be going first in this afternoon's match. I wonder if you'd be interested in a battle, my friend?"
This... was a blatant provocation.
"You think I'm afraid of you?" the dark-faced youth sneered. "And for the record, my name is Reggie."
"So he's Reggie. I know him. He's the Rookie King from Terran Province, specializes in Ground-types. His starter was a Swinub, but it must have evolved into a Mamoswine by now."
Lana was the most well-informed person on the Centralis team. She had clearly heard of Reggie's name.
"Specializes in Ground-types?" Hearing this, Basalt's eyebrow shot up, a wide grin spreading across his face.
Ground-types happened to be his own specialty. This would be a perfect opportunity to test his skills. And if he could defeat an opponent in their own area of expertise, the feeling would be incredibly satisfying.
...
In the training hall's security room, Bella Bai and Konrad stood side-by-side, silently watching the argument unfold on the security cameras, a look of dissatisfaction on their faces.
That Basalt was too much of a busybody. A little roughhousing was needed to set the mood, but he had to go and stop it. And while Basalt was a bit arrogant, he wasn't arrogant enough. He hadn't lived up to Bella's expectations at all.
With the argument quelled, Bella and Konrad reappeared at just the right time. They took everyone to lunch, followed by a break—a chance to rest and gather their strength before the battle.
But before the break, Bella pulled Basalt aside. "You know the format for this afternoon," she said, giving him his instructions. "It's a 3v3 relay battle. You've already arranged to fight Reggie first, and I have no objections. But I have one condition: you have to win the first battle, and you have to win it beautifully. No problem, right?"
"Don't worry, Captain. I understand." Basalt nodded knowingly. The first battle was all about setting the tone; he understood the principle.
"Perform well. I'm counting on you." Bella patted Basalt's shoulder, her big-sister aura on full display. She then added, "And if you can, I want you to be a little more... arrogant this afternoon."
"Ar... arrogant?" Basalt's mouth twitched. That didn't sound like something a good person would say.
But... it was a request he couldn't refuse.
Time flew by, and soon it was 2 PM.
In the Saffron U team's training hall, the students from both universities had taken their places, silently waiting for the match to begin. Besides the team members, there were two reporters, one from each university, both with cameras. One could imagine that whichever side won, their reporter would go back and publish a massive story, bringing glory to the victorious freshmen. As for the losers... that would be a tough pill to swallow.
"Go get 'em, Basalt!"
As the match was about to start, Dante and Sylvie were cheering him on. Reggie was receiving similar encouragement from his side.
The format was a 3v3 relay battle. Each of the five trainers had a team of three Pokémon. Once a trainer's team was fully defeated, the next trainer would step up, until one entire side was eliminated. Unlike the Rookie Tournament's relay format, this was more flexible. Besides the first matchup, the subsequent team compositions could be adjusted on the fly. This raised the difficulty and put a greater emphasis on the strategic planning of the two team captains.
"Will the first trainers from each team please step onto the field and select your Pokémon."
A professional referee in shorts and a short-sleeved shirt waved his flag, signaling for Basalt and Reggie to get ready.
"Go, Mamoswine!"
"Come on out, Excadrill!"
Almost simultaneously, both trainers threw their Pokéballs. The Pokémon they sent out were, coincidentally, their respective starters.
Mamoswine is a Ground/Ice dual-type. It's an enormous creature covered in brown fur, with white hooves and a pink, pig-like snout. It has long, curved tusks.
Normally, the now-larger Excadrill, having gone through its second growth spurt, would have shocked the crowd with its size. But in front of Mamoswine's massive 2.8-meter frame, Excadrill looked positively tiny, creating the visual of a giant and a dwarf.
"I remember that although Excadrill is a Ground-type, it's also weak to Ground, right? Don't let my Mamoswine take you out with one Earthquake. That would be no fun," Reggie said with a wicked smile, having already decided to open with that move. With Mamoswine's size amplifying the attack, it would be more than enough to give Excadrill a hard time. And with Excadrill's frail defenses, if he was lucky, he might even get a one-hit KO. That would be even better.
One-shotting the Rookie King? And his ace starter, at that? I could brag about that for the rest of my life.
"Both trainers, take your positions! Battle, begin!" the referee commanded.
"Mamoswine, full-power... Earthquake!" Reggie's eyes narrowed, a cruel smile on his face.
"Excadrill, use Earthquake too." Basalt waved his hand, choosing to meet the attack head-on.
Seeing this, the Saffron U freshmen exchanged strange looks, all of them marveling at Basalt's ignorance. Although both Pokémon were Ground-types, Reggie was a trainer from Terran Province, where the provincial gym also specialized in Ground-types. The implication was clear.
Even among Rookie Kings, each had their own area of expertise. And Reggie's just happened to be the development of Ground-type moves.
Basalt had just walked right into his line of fire.
RUMBLE! RUMBLE!
Under the influence of the two powerful Pokémon, the ground instantly began to heave and roll, forming two concentric circles of shockwaves that collided and then dissipated.
But unexpectedly, in terms of the sheer magnitude of the tremors, it was Excadrill that held the absolute advantage.
After three or five seconds, Mamoswine began to tire, the amplitude of its shockwaves growing smaller and smaller.
Excadrill, on the other hand, wasn't even breathing hard. Its stamina was immense.
And so, Mamoswine was overwhelmed. Its face twisted in pain, and its legs began to tremble.
"What's going on? Mamoswine lost an Earthquake battle? Am I seeing things?"
"Seriously! That doesn't make any sense! Mamoswine is huge, and Excadrill is so small. How could it lose?"
"And Reggie is a trainer from Terran! His family has a long history of training Ground-types! He's not just some random nobody!"
...
While the Saffron U freshmen were in shock, unable to accept what they were seeing, the students from Centralis U exchanged knowing smiles.
Challenging this Excadrill to a battle of Ground-type moves? That's just asking for it.
According to Blaze's assessment, Excadrill's Earthquake had power on par with a Pro-level Pokémon.
Your Mamoswine might be a little bigger, but at most, it's just an Advanced-rank Pokémon. How can you even compare? This was a complete stomp based on rank alone.
"Drill Run!"
Ignoring the struggling Mamoswine, Basalt gave his second command.
Kick 'em while they're down.
VREEEEE!
A grinding sound filled the air as Excadrill began to spin, shooting forward like a bolt of light. Although it hadn't started a sandstorm, it could still coat its body in sand, partially activating its Sand Rush ability. Combined with its light body, its speed was still considerable.
BOOM!
Drill Run hit its mark. The powerful impact on Mamoswine's forehead actually sent the massive creature sliding back several meters, its four hooves carving deep trenches in the ground.
"Dro-lisk!"
After the Drill Run, Excadrill did a backflip and landed.
As for Mamoswine, its legs had already given out, and it collapsed to the ground, its eyes spinning.
"Nicely done." Bella Bai's lips curled up slightly. She silently gave Basalt a thumbs-up, now having a direct understanding of Excadrill's attack power.
Taking out a Mamoswine, a Pokémon known for its incredible stamina, with just the aftershock of an Earthquake and one Drill Run... that was a very impressive feat. As for a one-hit KO, that was almost never seen between trainers of the same level, unless it was a surprise attack.
The students from Centralis U had expected this result, so they weren't surprised.
But for the Saffron U side, this was just infuriating.
"It sent a Mamoswine sliding back several meters? Is that really an Excadrill? It's probably a Garchomp wearing an Excadrill skin!"
"Excadrill? More like the mole-headed Land Shark!"
"That level of control over Ground-type energy is terrifying."
...
"Return, Mamoswine."
Reggie recalled his Pokémon. Although his eye was twitching and he had a bad feeling, he quickly threw out his second Pokéball.
You can lose the battle, but not your composure. Even if I'm scared, I can't let you see it. That's the bottom line.
"Swamp-ert!"
With a low cry, Reggie's second Pokémon appeared. It was the aquatic powerhouse—Swampert!
"Swampert, Waterfall!"
After the battle started, Reggie once again launched the first attack.
RUMBLE!
A huge pillar of water shot into the air, enveloping Swampert as it charged straight for Excadrill like a bolt of light, its power immense.
But unfortunately for it, the Waterfall never hit its mark.
Just as it was about to hit Excadrill, the latter's body flickered, and it instantly split into a dozen shadows. Swampert had only hit an afterimage.
Then, the crowd saw Excadrill weave left and right, rapidly closing in on the water-wreathed Swampert. A vivid green orb of energy suddenly formed in the center of its steel claw, and it gently pushed it forward.
BOOM!
A small mushroom cloud rose up. A large crater was blasted into the spot where Swampert had been, and water splashed down, forming a small rainbow.
As for the Swampert, with its 4x weakness to Grass, it had fainted instantly. It lay in the crater, its limbs twitching slightly.
"Gasp~"
The entire crowd sucked in a cold breath.
A one-hit KO?
Was this the new standard for Rookie Kings, one-shotting each other's Pokémon?
At that moment, it wasn't just the freshmen from both universities. Even Bella Bai and Konrad's faces finally showed their shock.
What was that energy orb just now?
An Excadrill mastering Grass-type energy was rare, but not incomprehensible. But that level of power, that degree of energy concentration... was that really something a non-Grass-type Pokémon could achieve?
At the same time, the freshmen remembered what Basalt had said that morning.
"I agree with what my dark-faced friend here said. There are indeed levels to being a Rookie King."
This was a battle between Rookie Kings. Whoever was weaker was the one who would be embarrassed. There was no way to spin it.
In an instant, the atmosphere became subtle.
Especially for Reggie. His hands were already starting to tremble.
"Don't tell me... I'm going to get swept?"
Reggie was completely stunned, starting to question his life.
His specialty, the Ground type, was completely worthless in front of Basalt?
Have I gone crazy? Or has the world gone crazy?
In a daze, Reggie absentmindedly released his third Pokémon.
It looked similar to an Onix, with a gray body and red, vicious eyes. Its tail was like a spike. It was the Ground/Steel dual-type Pokémon—Steelix.
The battle began again.
And the Steelix... lost again.
"Clean sweep complete. The Captain should be satisfied now, right?"
Basalt had a smile on his face as he said, very arrogantly, "Could the next Saffron U student please come up? Hurry it up..."
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