Chapter 272: Wood Style
"Let me see what new moves you've learned!"
Basalt's face was full of excitement as he pulled out his Pokédex and aimed it at his newly evolved partner.
Beep!
Scan complete. Her basic data immediately appeared.
Cradily
Type: Rock / Grass
Ability: Storm Drain
As for its move list, it was a dense block of text several lines long. It had mastered five new moves.
Protect: A Normal-type move. Forms a solid energy shield to completely block an opponent's attack. Successive uses are prone to failure.
Pain Split: A Normal-type move. Uses a mysterious power to link its own HP with the opponent's, then evenly distributes the total.
Recover: A Normal-type move. Consumes stored energy to stimulate cellular activity, thereby restoring its own HP.
Power Whip: A Grass-type move. Violently swings its vines or tentacles to slam the opponent, with astonishing destructive power.
Life Dew: A Water-type move. Sprinkles magical water droplets filled with powerful life force, which can restore the HP of itself and its allies on the field.
"How did it even learn Life Dew? That doesn't seem scientifically possible."
The first four moves were fine, but when Basalt saw the fifth, his eyes went wide with shock.
Life Dew... that was a god-tier group healing move!
After training with the Mega Venusaur, Cradily could already share its internal energy, but the process was very slow and had no practical value in a group battle; the enemy would never let you just sit there and heal.
But now, with Life Dew, the situation was completely different. Even a single drop was enough to restore a significant amount of a Pokémon's health, and as a proper move, its execution would be much faster, making it incredibly practical.
"Could this be the effect of the Fountain of Life? It really is amazing."
Basalt scratched his head, completely unaware that this was all thanks to Celebi's help. He could only attribute it to the Fountain.
"Cradily, try using Life Dew. You destroyed all the grass around here just now; you need to find a way to restore it."
Basalt looked around. Seeing no sign of the legendary ruler Pokémon, he breathed a sigh of relief. But he still had to make amends; after all, they were still on someone else's turf.
"Dily-da~"
Cradily nodded. The life energy in its body began to gather, and in an instant, it formed a single, azure-blue droplet of water, which it sprinkled onto the ground.
Soon, a rich life force spread out.
The soil that had been turning to sand slowly returned to its original state. Small blades of grass quickly sprouted and grew at a visible rate. Before long, the area around the spring was once again a lush green.
"Exegg-utor..."
Seeing this, the Exeggutor's opinion of Basalt and Cradily improved slightly.
Next, Basalt had Cradily test out Protect, which proved to have excellent defensive power. Unfortunately, it couldn't test Recover or Pain Split at the moment.
"Alright, that just leaves the last move. Cradily, Power Whip!" Basalt waved his hand.
Power Whip was an absolute top-tier Grass-type move. In the games, it had a base power of 120, second only to Leaf Storm, Solar Blade, and Frenzy Plant. But in terms of practicality, Basalt felt that Power Whip was superior.
Leaf Storm lowered the user's Special Attack, Frenzy Plant caused a temporary paralysis, and Solar Blade, like Solar Beam, required a charging turn. They all had their drawbacks.
Only Power Whip had immense power with no downsides. It was perfect.
"Dily-da!"
Cradily let out a strange cry. The Grass-type energy in its body surged, and from beneath the ground, four or five massive roots, each half a meter in diameter, shot out. They were covered in sharp, thorn-like barbs and slammed down violently.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The vines whipped through the air with a piercing whistle. The move's power was immense. Wherever they struck the ground, they left a "whip mark" half a meter deep.
"That power... is insane!" Basalt was overjoyed.
From the looks of it, Cradily probably wasn't far from the Pro-level. And just like Excadrill, in certain areas, its abilities might even be superior to an average Pro-level Pokémon's—for example, its recovery.
It had Ingrain, Photosynthesis, and Giga Drain, and now it had Life Dew and Recover. Its recovery options were just too numerous, and their applications were so broad it was in no danger of running out of options.
If I run out of soil, I'll drain a Pokémon. If I can't drain a Pokémon, I'll absorb the sun. If I can't absorb the sun, I'll use my own stored nutrient reserves...
"Cele-bi~"
Watching the excited Basalt and the newly evolved Cradily testing out its moves, Celebi felt a wave of boredom. It couldn't help but yawn, tears of sleepiness gathering in its eyes.
This Cradily was still too weak. It was boring. It would be better to go back to its tree hollow and continue digesting the energy from the Fountain of Life, to gather enough power to open a time passage.
Just as Celebi was about to leave, Basalt's words caught its attention again.
"Cradily, with your current strength, I imagine using Wood Style shouldn't be a problem, right?"
Basalt's lips curled up, his eyes full of anticipation.
"Cele-bi?"
Celebi froze.
Wood Style? What's that? A new move? But why have I, who have traveled the river of time, never heard of it?
"Dily-da~"
Cradily nodded, looking eager to try. According to Basalt's description, "Wood Style" seemed to be a system of techniques that was perfectly suited for it and had incredible potential. Before it evolved, its strength and control over Grass-type energy had been too weak to achieve the effects Basalt envisioned.
But now, Cradily felt that it could do it.
"Then let's start with this one! Wood Style: Great Wall!"
Basalt waved his hand, feeling as if he had returned to his old days as a corporate drone watching Naruto. The memories were vivid. But overall, he felt that this world suited him better. As much as he liked Naruto, he liked Pokémon more.
"Dily-da!"
Cradily let out a strange cry. Its Storm Drain ability and its Grass-type energy activated simultaneously.
According to Basalt's experience, water could significantly boost the power of Grass-type moves; the two had a synergistic effect. And now that it had mastered Life Dew, the water it absorbed into its body seemed to have undergone a qualitative change, making its boosting effect on another level entirely.
RUMBLE!
The roots from underground shot out again. They quickly intertwined, compressing themselves tighter and tighter, finally forming a massive shield of vines.
Compared to before its evolution, this vine shield was at least twice as thick, and its defensive power had increased by at least three times. The roots were woven so densely that there were almost no gaps between them.
"If only Excadrill were here. We could see whose spear is stronger, and whose shield is stronger." Basalt thought with a bit of regret, since he couldn't test the shield's defensive power right now.
"Cele-bi..." (_)
Celebi, who had been full of anticipation, shook its head in disappointment when it saw the final result.
That's it? That's just a special application of Ingrain. Although the energy efficiency seems pretty high, it's nothing special.
After testing the defensive application of its roots, Cradily demonstrated the "Binding Jutsu" and "Tree Burial," which corresponded to the binding and attacking effects of its roots.
Although it wasn't as impressive as the First Hokage's version, it was still a thrill to watch. A real blast from the past.
And Basalt had a feeling that as Cradily's strength grew to the Pro, Gym Leader, or even Master level, a scene comparable to the First Hokage's jutsu might not be impossible.
"Cele-bi~"
Its anticipation turning to disappointment, Celebi clapped a hand over its mouth. It was just so sleepy.
It told the Exeggutor not to give Basalt and Cradily a hard time, then turned and flew away. Although it was interested in Basalt, that would have to wait until it had recovered its strength. Besides, it had just given Cradily a personally-created Life Dew. The little one now carried its aura tag, so it wouldn't have to worry about not being able to find them later.
Although Celebi wasn't impressed, Basalt himself was quite satisfied. To be frank, Cradily's current strength was probably no weaker than Excadrill's.
"All objectives successfully completed. Nice!"
With all the tests finished, Basalt clapped his hands, feeling a sense of accomplishment.
"Exegg-utor..."
The Exeggutor gave a slight smile, thinking, Now that you're done, get the hell out.
But Basalt clearly wasn't going to grant its wish. He looked at the now-massive Cradily, then at the abundant water in the Fountain of Life, a thoughtful look in his eyes.
"Exegg-utor..."
Suddenly, a bad premonition rose in the Exeggutor's heart.
"Cradily, Director Sheldon never said how long we could stay in the secret realm, and there are no other Pokémon here to bother us. Why don't we... just train the Curse secret technique right here?"
Basalt rubbed his nose and said with a grin, "According to the secret manual, when training Curse, you have to prepare a lot of restorative supplements to prevent your body from being depleted. But supplements... what could be better than the Fountain of Life?"
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