Chapter 280: The Player Cradily
After a "deep discussion" with President Mogan, Basalt not only successfully obtained his secret technique rewards but also received permission to go to the Takla Desert.
The trip was scheduled for a month later.
According to Basalt's plan, this month was primarily for settling the Deerling situation. Whether Sylvie was suitable or not, he needed a definitive answer.
Additionally, Basalt, well-versed in the art of playing it safe, knew that merely possessing Advanced-rank strength was the absolute bare minimum requirement for the Takla Desert. So, he wanted to use this time to consolidate and improve his Pokémon's strength, hoping to gain some degree of autonomy in the desert.
Of course, this mainly applied to Excadrill, Bronzong, and Cradily. No matter how much he trained Larvitar and Mudkip, they couldn't possibly meet the demands of the Takla Desert within a month.
Excadrill had the Groudon scale, so that wasn't a problem.
Bronzong had already decided to return to the mining realm. Its Speed Swap move had hit a bottleneck and urgently needed a breakthrough. If possible, it would also learn another clan secret technique—Cradily was putting a lot of pressure on it. If it didn't work harder, its position as the second-in-command might not be secure.
As for Cradily, Basalt planned to leave it in the Cinnabar Sanctuary to continue learning from the Mega Venusaur, focusing mainly on "poison" techniques. Venusaur was a Poison-type Pokémon. Although the old master didn't usually show off its poison skills, Basalt knew with his eyes closed that it couldn't have neglected its Poison-type development. Even if the Mega Venusaur's Grass-type mastery was higher, as a powerful mentor, just a few pointers on poison techniques would be enough to keep Cradily busy. Basalt was confident about that.
"Alright, the main three are all set. Now I need to focus my energy on the two little ones."
Basalt walked out of the Centralis University library, his eyes shining.
His next goal was the Pro-level.
His Pokédex now contained two new secret techniques: Defense Curl and Work Up.
Defense Curl was obviously for Mudkip, to enhance its Ice Ball combo. Work Up was a very versatile move that both Larvitar and Mudkip could learn. However, Dragon Dance was clearly a better fit for Larvitar. Unfortunately, the advanced secret technique for Dragon Dance was not something Basalt could easily obtain. But since Larvitar was still young, it wasn't a problem for now.
...
Returning to his training room and setting up his Pokémon, Basalt took Deerling and knocked on Sylvie's door.
"Huh? You want to leave the Deerling with me for a few days?"
Inside her training room, Sylvie looked puzzled. The request seemed unreasonable. She wasn't a Pokémon Breeder; how could she take care of someone else's Pokémon?
"That's right." Basalt scratched his head with a smile. "This Deerling belongs to an elder in my family. Since it hasn't been caught yet, it can't go into a Pokéball. I have to go to the Savanna Province for a couple of days, and it's really inconvenient to bring it along."
"So... could I trouble you to look after it for a few days?" Basalt pressed his hands together in a pleading gesture.
"Don't worry, this Deerling is very well-behaved," Basalt added, nudging the Deerling with his elbow and giving it a meaningful look. "Right, Deerling?"
"Deer-deer~"
The little one nodded cooperatively, looking very polite.
Since entering Sylvie's training room and seeing her Milotic and Servine, the Deerling had sensed a faint life energy, giving it the illusion of being back in the Veridian Forest. Clearly, Sylvie's team was highly compatible with it. Plus, the Deerling had a good impression of Sylvie herself—gentle and polite. She seemed like a good choice.
"Well... alright."
Sylvie, who had trouble refusing acquaintances, finally nodded. But she still had a nagging feeling that Basalt was up to something.
"Thanks so much!" Basalt grinned, then said to the Deerling, "You be good now, and get along with Sylvie, okay?"
With his official business done, it was time for personal matters. He released Cradily.
"Your Lileep... it evolved?" Sylvie's face was full of surprise. The nearly two-meter-tall super-plant before her exerted immense pressure, similar to what she had felt from Excadrill before. Now, there was Cradily too.
"Mii-luu~"
Seeing the transformed Cradily, its old friend Milotic, after its initial shock, quickly leaped out of its pool to offer congratulations.
"Dily-da~"
Its voice had changed, but Cradily's desire for... connection... hadn't. And so, the two Pokémon naturally began their energy exchange again.
"Mii-luu~"
Soon, a look of pleasure appeared on Milotic's face.
Cradily, however, looked disappointed. After absorbing the energy from the Fountain of Life and Celebi's Life Dew, its own Water-type energy level had greatly increased, undergoing a qualitative leap. So, the Milotic energy that had once been delicious now tasted rather bland, almost like chicken bones.
Milotic, on the other hand, found Cradily's evolved Grass-type energy even more delicious than before.
"Dily-da."
Finding the taste lacking, Cradily took the opportunity to break off the energy exchange after only a short time.
"Mii-luu~ Mii-luu~"
The usually elegant Milotic, its face showing a hint of addiction, surprisingly began to act cute and cling to Cradily. But it was ultimately rejected, leaving Milotic looking rather heartbroken.
Seeing this, Basalt was utterly stunned.
This was the "Pokémon version" of a player ditching someone after getting what they wanted. Look how upset Milotic was. Before, it had always been Cradily clinging to Milotic, and Milotic taking care of it. Now that the roles were reversed, Cradily looked completely impatient. What a player.
It wasn't just Basalt and Sylvie; even Servine and Deerling were completely baffled. They didn't understand what was happening, but they were deeply shocked nonetheless.
Waving goodbye to Sylvie, Deerling, and the resentful-looking Milotic, Basalt boarded a plane to the Savanna Province.
Using the Weather Bureau's special channels, Basalt had already obtained permission to enter the mining realm. And according to Director Morningstar, the development of the realm was proceeding smoothly. Many resources had been transported in, and the Alliance was trying to push the three Gym Leader-level rulers within the realm to the Master level.
Although there was only a fine line between the peak of Gym Leader-level and Master-level, the difference in strength was enormous—though Basalt had only heard about it and didn't know the specifics.
But this was definitely good news for him. If the Great Elder reached the Master level, he would have another powerful backer.
Basalt only stayed in the mining realm for a day. With the Great Elder overseeing Bronzong's training, there was nothing for him to do. So, according to his original plan, he arranged to come back and pick up Bronzong in a month.
He spent half a day visiting his aunt's family, then flew back to Centralis City and, with Agent Zhou's help, entered the Cinnabar Sanctuary.
"Venu-saur?"
When the Mega Venusaur saw Cradily again, its face showed utter shock.
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