Chapter 279: Water Pledge
"Lady?"
Diana thought she had misheard.
Did Basalt just call her... Lady?
"Sorry, Lady. I'm really not interested."
Just as Diana was wondering if she'd imagined it, Basalt repeated it loud and clear.
Although the medium-grade Sea Incense held some appeal for him, Basalt wasn't in the habit of betting his own Pokémon. Besides, he didn't know this person's rank or identity. He wasn't about to rush into a battle recklessly. Basalt was very good at playing it safe.
With that, Basalt shrugged, pushed past Diana, who gritted her teeth but could do nothing. He hadn't taken the bait at all.
But Diana wasn't ready to just let him walk away like that.
Just as she was about to chase after him again, Basalt called out, "Lady, I'm really not interested in you. Please stop following me."
This time, Diana froze, her face flushing red, then pale. His words had attracted the attention of several people nearby. Especially when they saw the contrast between the dark-skinned, rough-looking Diana and the bright, handsome Basalt. Anyone who didn't know better would think she was harassing him.
...
Shaking off Diana, Basalt returned to his training room with a spring in his step.
"Deer-deer~"
Seeing him return, Deerling and Cradily quickly came over to greet him.
Since Deerling couldn't go into a Pokéball, it was inconvenient to take it everywhere. Before going to the nursery, Basalt had left it in the training room with Cradily for company. After clearing up the misunderstanding, Cradily and Deerling were getting along quite well.
Although Deerling had already met Sylvie, it didn't want to make a decision immediately. It wanted to observe her a bit more, so for the time being, it would stay with Basalt.
"Come on out, everyone!"
After comforting Deerling and Cradily, Basalt threw out all his Pokéballs.
"Kip."
Faced with so many unfamiliar Pokémon, Mudkip just swept its wise gaze over them and stood silently. If there had been a swamp nearby, it would have definitely hidden in the mud.
"Everyone, let me introduce you. This is Mudkip. Let's all get along from now on!" Basalt gently pulled Mudkip forward and enthusiastically made the introduction.
Among the group, Larvitar was the happiest to see the newcomer. After being the youngest for so long, stuck in the "can't beat anyone" position, someone was finally going to take its place. It was thrilled.
"Yuji!"
Larvitar hurried forward and excitedly patted Mudkip in welcome.
Little bro, Big Bro Larvitar will protect you from now on!
"Kip?"
Mudkip narrowed its eyes, reached out a flipper, and clamped down on Larvitar's arm. No matter how hard Larvitar struggled, its arm wouldn't budge an inch.
In terms of size and weight, Mudkip was far smaller than Larvitar. But in terms of strength, Mudkip was in a league of its own. It possessed the power to easily crush rocks.
"Yuji!" o(▼皿▼メ;)o
In an instant, Larvitar's expression darkened. Clearly, this new little brother didn't know its place. Wasn't it asking for a lesson?
Scary Face, activate!
Facing the attack, Mudkip naturally wouldn't back down. Its previously listless eyes suddenly flashed with light, locking onto Larvitar. Then, it shot a thick stream of water from its mouth.
Water Gun, fire!
Mudkip's Water Gun was quite powerful, the stream thick and fast. And since it was a close-range attack, it was very difficult for Larvitar to dodge. Not to mention, before firing, the all-seeing Mudkip had already locked onto Larvitar with Foresight.
Seeing this, Basalt's expression changed. "Bronzong!" he shouted. This fight had broken out too suddenly; he had been caught completely off guard.
Fighting the moment they meet? Have they no respect for me, their trainer?
Vmmm!
Immense psychic power flared. Mudkip's Water Gun was frozen in mid-air. At the same time, the surging Rock-type energy within Larvitar was forcibly calmed.
"Hey, you two! Is fighting really that interesting?" Basalt scolded, putting on a stern face. "If you want to compete, compete in training. See who can complete their tasks better, who can get stronger faster."
"Yuji!" (｀ω´)
"Kip!" o(｀ω*)o
Unfortunately, stopping the fight was just a temporary fix. Both Larvitar and Mudkip looked indignant, refusing to even look at each other. Sooner or later, when Basalt wasn't around, these two would have it out.
Excadrill and Bronzong, however, exchanged an unconscious glance. Memories of their own early days surfaced, and they sighed inwardly.
"Deer-deer~"
Among the six Pokémon, Excadrill, Super Bell, Cradily, and Larvitar had been together longer and naturally had a closer bond.
Deerling, being the other newcomer, naturally gravitated towards Mudkip. Although Mudkip was a bit introverted and didn't like interacting much, it surprisingly got along well with Deerling, as if they had something in common.
Once everyone had gotten slightly acquainted, Basalt set them to their daily training routines, then called Mudkip over.
He took out the vial of Fountain of Life water. "This is the Fountain water I promised you," he said with a smile. "Try absorbing one drop first and see how it feels."
Using a dropper, he carefully extracted a single drop and let it fall onto Mudkip.
Vmmm!
In an instant, Mudkip was enveloped in a hazy light.
"Kip!"
An expression of pure bliss appeared on its face. A powerful life energy began to flow into its body, nourishing its limbs and strengthening its physique. At the same time, Mudkip felt that the Water-type energy in the air, which had previously been faint, had become clearly visible and much easier to control.
"Kip."
With its eyes slightly closed, Mudkip quietly enjoyed the nourishment from the Fountain of Life.
But, and maybe it was just his imagination, even with its eyes closed, after absorbing the water, Mudkip seemed to be able to vaguely sense the position and distance of the other Pokémon in the training room, like a radar scan.
The fin on Mudkip's head was a highly sensitive radar that could perceive its surroundings through the flow of air or water, without needing its eyes. Its Damp ability also allowed it to sense opponents through the moisture in the air. It was thanks to this natural talent and ability that Mudkip had been able to integrate them into the move Foresight, developing its own unique lock-on effect.
And this new sensing ability enhanced its perception from yet another angle. As its perception improved, the effectiveness of its Foresight naturally grew stronger as well.
"Deer-deer~"
"Dily-da~"
In the training room, when Mudkip employed its special sensing method, Deerling and Cradily both felt it and turned their gazes towards it.
This was a method of sensing life energy.
After absorbing just one drop from the Fountain of Life, Mudkip had gone from a complete novice with no talent in the "life domain" to having taken the first step.
But this was the Fountain of Life, a treasure beyond price. It seemed only natural that it would have such an effect.
Before long, the light from the Fountain water slowly faded.
"Kip!"
At that moment, Mudkip's eyes snapped open. A light flashed within them, and then it slammed its front flipper onto the ground. It felt an energy building up inside it that it just had to release.
Splash! Splash! Splash!
Not far away, thick pillars of water suddenly erupted from the ground, one after another, eventually forming a circle. Then, all their power combined and exploded upwards, a massive column of water shooting towards the ceiling.
"Is that... Water Pledge?!"
Basalt was stunned for a moment, not recognizing the move at first, but then it clicked.
Having watched over a thousand episodes of the anime, Basalt had never seen Water Pledge, but he had seen Ash's Pignite use Fire Pledge. The visual effects were quite similar, so he immediately remembered.
Just to be sure, he scanned Mudkip with his Pokédex again. Sure enough, a new move had appeared on its list: Water Pledge.
Water Pledge, a Water-type move that attacks with pillars of water. Its effects were astounding. Not only that, but Water Pledge could be combined with Grass Pledge and Fire Pledge to produce special effects.
"Maybe I should get a Turtwig to train later on?" Basalt blinked, considering the possibility. As far as he knew, only starter Pokémon could learn the Pledge moves. And among the starters that could fit into a sandstorm team, besides Mudkip, only Turtwig came to mind. If he wanted to create the combination effect, getting a Turtwig was his only option.
"Kip!"
Its physique strengthened, its control over Water-type energy improved, and having learned a new move, Mudkip couldn't have been happier. Following Basalt had definitely been the right choice. Compared to the Fountain of Life, that Sea Incense was nothing.
Basalt, however, didn't seem satisfied yet. He took out his Pokédex again and called Mudkip over. "While the effects of the Fountain water are still lingering in your body, let's strike while the iron is hot and try to learn Aqua Jet too!"
Aqua Jet was a priority move, very effective in battle.
"Kip!"
Mudkip's eyes flashed, and it nodded seriously.
Since I've left the swamp, I have to get stronger quickly. Otherwise, if I, the swamp boss, get bullied by that Larvitar, it'll be really embarrassing.
After settling all the Pokémon, Basalt quietly left the training room.
He still needed to make a trip to the President's office. After bringing such glory to Centralis University, President Mogan had to give him a few secret techniques as a reward, right?
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