Chapter 277: The Mudkip Who Saw Through Everything
This was a large, simulated swamp area. It featured lush green grass and mugwort-like vegetation, with wet ground revealing dark black mud underneath.
Countless Pokémon lived freely in the swamp: goofy Wooper, Barboach that leaped from the mud only to disappear again, Corphish brandishing their powerful claws, and adorable Mudkip...
Basalt's sharp eyes even spotted a pale blue, frog-like Pokémon crouching in a corner of the swamp. It had large yellow eyes with pupils that were sometimes oval, sometimes narrowed into slits. A dark blue stripe ran across its head, and the areas around its hands and where its arms met its body were white, like gloves. Its back and neck were covered in foam resembling a bundle.
"They even have a Froakie?" Basalt was slightly surprised. This was a starter Pokémon from a foreign league, almost never seen within the Alliance. Seeing this Pokémon reminded him of Ash-Greninja. What a throwback!
Unfortunately, Froakie wouldn't fit into his sandstorm team, even if its ability turned out to be Protean.
Shifting his gaze away from the Froakie, Basalt focused on the Wooper, Barboach, Tympole, and Mudkip—Pokémon that could potentially fit into his team.
After looking them over, he asked curiously, "Dean Warner, which one is the special Pokémon you and President Mogan mentioned?"
"That one probably isn't out yet. Wait a moment, I'll call it out."
Dean Warner gave Wendy a look. She opened a gate and walked over to a row of food bowls lined up by the swamp's edge. She filled each one with Pokémon food, then rang a nearby bell.
At the pleasant chime, the numerous Pokémon in the swamp immediately reacted, rushing towards the bowls, jostling for position. The bell was the signal for mealtime.
"Kip!"
Just then, a large blue fin poked out from the edge of the swamp. Its eyes fixed on the food bowls, and it immediately leaped out, bulldozing through the Pokémon in its path and pushing them aside. It found its own bowl and began to wolf down the food.
"See? That's the one eating with the most gusto!"
Dean Warner and Wendy seemed completely unfazed by this behavior. He pointed to the Pokémon with slick blue skin, a small and agile body, prominent orange gills on its cheeks, and a huge tail fin.
"A Mudkip?" Basalt's eyebrow shot up, a surge of delight in his heart.
Mudkip fit his tastes and aesthetic perfectly. What he had feared most was that Dean Warner would point to a Wooper or a Barboach and say, "See? This is the Pokémon prepared for you!" That would have been terrible.
A Mudkip, he could definitely accept. A Piplup or Tympole, he could accept about 90%. Wooper or Barboach... 60% at most, maybe less.
Compared to the other Mudkip, this one just seemed to eat faster. He couldn't see anything else particularly outstanding about it. Mudkip were naturally small but possessed great strength, capable of easily crushing rocks. So, pushing aside other Pokémon to get to food probably didn't count as a special "merit," did it?
"Dean Warner, do you know what moves this Mudkip inherited?" Basalt asked, rubbing his hands together. If its appearance wasn't special, the difference must lie in its moveset.
"This Mudkip's mother is the honorary vice-president's ace, a Master-level Swampert. Its father is said to be a Walrein, rank unknown. The move it inherited is Ice Ball."
"Master-level offspring?" Basalt was thrilled at first, then stunned. He scratched his head. "Dean Warner, are you sure? A Master-level offspring... and it only inherited Ice Ball?"
Ice Ball, an Ice-type move. Its power increases with each consecutive hit, and its power is greatly boosted if used after Defense Curl. But the condition was hitting the opponent consecutively; otherwise, its power would reset to its base (30 in the games). And hitting consecutively was very difficult, as the opponent could dodge, counter-attack, or even use defensive moves.
"That's right, just Ice Ball."
"This..." Basalt was stumped.
As far as he knew, Mudkip had a very rich pool of potential egg moves. Status moves included Curse, Refresh, Mirror Coat, Counter, and Wide Guard. Offensive moves included Ancient Power and Double-Edge.
But this Mudkip... had only inherited Ice Ball?
Basalt really couldn't see what was so special about it.
Seeming to sense Basalt's confusion, Dean Warner didn't bother explaining. He saw that the Mudkip had finally finished its own bowl and was now eyeing its neighbors' food maliciously.
"Kip!"
Selecting a target, the Mudkip leaped forward, slapped a Poliwag aside with one flipper, snatched its bowl, and continued to enjoy the delicious meal.
"Poli..."
The robbed Poliwag had tears welling up in its eyes, but after looking at the Mudkip, it ultimately decided to back down.
"Eating someone else's food so they have none?" Basalt's mouth twitched. What kind of character is this?
Before long, the Mudkip finished the second bowl and then casually slapped aside a Corphish.
But unlike the meek Poliwag, the Corphish had a fiery temper. It was the type to fight first and ask questions later. Usually, it was the one bullying others; no one dared to bully it.
Enraged, the Corphish raised its pincers, and a thick stream of bubbles shot out, heading straight for the Mudkip.
"Kip!"
Facing the attack, the Mudkip, which had been focused on eating, suddenly looked up.
Basalt wasn't sure if it was his imagination, but he thought he saw a flash of wisdom glint in Mudkip's eyes.
Then, he saw the Mudkip leap into the air, curl into a ball holding its large tail, and suddenly emit an intense cold aura, freezing itself into a large "Ice Ball." It then crashed unstoppably through the Corphish's Bubble Beam.
CRUNCH!
The Ice Ball slammed into the Corphish. The terrifying force not only sent it stumbling back four or five steps, but also coated its body in a thin layer of frost. The cold seeped into its limbs, making it stiff and difficult to move.
As for the Mudkip within the Ice Ball, the cold aura continued to spread, causing the Ice Ball's size to instantly swell, before it slammed into the Corphish again.
"Cor!"
The Corphish tried to dodge, but no matter how it weaved left or right, the Ice Ball, like a heat-seeking missile, remained locked onto it.
BOOM!
The second Ice Ball hit with significantly increased power, sending the Corphish flying. It landed in the swamp with its eyes spinning and fainted.
"Kip!"
With the battle over, the Mudkip dispersed the icy aura, returning to its normal state. But that glint of wisdom flashed in its eyes again.
"That was... Foresight!" Basalt's body trembled slightly.
Foresight, a Normal-type move. It allows moves that would normally miss due to evasion or type immunity to hit their target.
This Mudkip, to ensure its Ice Ball would hit, had used Foresight before attacking, essentially achieving a lock-on effect.
The most crucial part was that it hadn't just created an Ice Ball; it had turned itself into the Ice Ball.
This technique made Basalt's eyes light up. It meant that Mudkip's Ice Ball had an effect similar to Rollout—it could be used not only for attack but also, to some extent, for movement and evasion. It had many potential uses.
"That's right, it's Foresight," Dean Warner said with a slight smile. "Mudkip used Foresight first, then curled into a ball and released cold air to form the Ice Ball move. With that combo, it even defeated a Palpitoad a few days ago, stunning the entire nursery. Otherwise, we wouldn't have even known its strength."
Dean Warner stroked his beard. "You wouldn't believe it, this little guy usually just likes to train in the mud, keeping to itself. Besides its large appetite, even I hadn't noticed anything different about it."
"Foresight plus Ice Ball... that combo is absolutely brilliant!" Basalt was completely captivated. This was far more potent than any spinning rock projectile combo, maybe even better than Meteor Crash.
He knew that the maximum potential power of Ice Ball after five consecutive hits was a terrifying 480 base power. And with this Mudkip's talent for Foresight, hitting five times in a row wasn't impossible. If he could also teach it Defense Curl...
This kind of offensive potential far surpassed even Excadrill's "one drill breaks all defenses."
"So? Are you interested?" Dean Warner asked with a grin. He knew the answer just by looking at Basalt's expression.
However, many trainers had tried to catch this Mudkip over the past few days, including high-ranking reserve members and elite members of the Battle Club. But the Mudkip seemed to enjoy its life of eating here and had shown no interest in being caught.
"Yes! I have to catch it."
Basalt nodded, but he didn't rush forward. Instead, he watched from the sidelines as the Mudkip ate its third, fourth, and fifth bowls of Pokéblocks. Only when it finally patted its belly in satisfaction did he walk over.
Suddenly finding itself in shadow, the Mudkip looked up unhappily, only to see a human standing there.
"Kip." (￣^￣)
The Mudkip, its eyes flashing with wisdom, smirked. It knew what Basalt wanted without him even having to speak.
Another one trying to catch me! Foolish human! I, Mudkip, have already seen through everything.
However, Mudkip was quite satisfied with its environment here at the nursery and had no intention of being caught and seeing the outside world just yet.
"Kip," Mudkip mused to itself. How should I refuse this time? Last time it was Water Gun, the time before was Mud-Slap. Maybe Ice Ball this time? Its eyes lit up; that sounded like a good idea.
But before it could act, Basalt took out a small vial from his bag and gently uncorked it.
In an instant, a rich life energy filled the air, containing incredibly pure Water-type energy.
The water from the Fountain of Life!
But before the scent could spread too far, Basalt quickly stoppered the vial again. He said with a grin, "Come with me, and you can have some of this. Guaranteed delicious!"
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