Chapter 282: Sandstorm Team, Assemble!
Following the same method, Basalt planted the second Custap Berry seed. The vial of Fountain water was now noticeably lower, which pained him greatly. But thinking of the future, with trees laden with Custap Berries, filled his heart with joy.
"Now, I'll have to rely on you to look after them, Venusaur," Basalt said, pressing his hands together pleadingly.
"Venu-saur... Venu-saur..." the Mega Venusaur rumbled, nodding gently.
Taking care of two Custap saplings while nourishing the central garden was a trivial task for it.
Before long, Professor Saur's class had begun. Cradily listened attentively like a good student, leaving no room for Basalt to interject.
And so, Basalt took Larvitar and Mudkip into the forest to grind some levels. These two youngsters still lacked practical battle experience, and Basalt had to seize every opportunity for them to fight.
After spending a day in the Cinnabar Sanctuary and arranging for Cradily's training, Basalt returned to Centralis University.
Now, he needed to focus his main efforts on Larvitar and Mudkip.
Larvitar's training was relatively straightforward. As a young Pokémon, it just needed to train consistently to build its physique and accumulate energy. As its body grew stronger and capable of holding more energy, the Smooth Rock Crystal would continuously release pure energy, steadily increasing its strength.
Between the energy from the Smooth Rock Crystal and the occasional Carbink diamond snack, combined with scientifically-backed training, the little guy's strength had already improved significantly.
Mudkip, however, was a bit trickier to raise.
First, Basalt spent a fortune buying several Liechi Berries for it to consume, boosting its physical attack power and strength. Then, every few days, he gave it a drop of Fountain water to enhance its physique. After that came move tutoring.
Mudkip's current moveset was still too limited, so Basalt planned to teach it four or five new moves to broaden its coverage and increase its power.
Previously, when it was just Larvitar training alone, it worked hard, but there wasn't that desperate drive. Now, with Mudkip in the picture, the competition between the two youngsters was fierce. Both were pushing themselves to their absolute limits, gritting their teeth and enduring, looking for any chance to one-up the other.
This scene couldn't help but remind Basalt of Excadrill and Bronzong's early days, making his eye twitch. "Seriously, you two, can't you take it a little easier during training?"
But unexpectedly, both little ones just shot him defiant looks, completely ignoring his advice.
Having no other choice, Basalt could only increase their food rations, trying to meet their daily energy expenditure.
He was sneaky about it, though. He made them train, but never let them actually battle each other, so neither could get a true measure of the other's strength. Then he could play them off each other, occasionally praising one to put a little pressure on the other.
...
Time flew by, and a month passed in the blink of an eye.
Today was the agreed-upon day, the day the Sandstorm team would reassemble.
Using the Pokéball Transporter system, Cradily's and Bronzong's Pokéballs were sent over one after another.
Compared to a month ago, the strength of Basalt's "Five Tiger Generals" had increased considerably.
First was Excadrill. It had spent the month continuously absorbing and digesting the energy from the Groudon scale. Its mastery of the Ground type was soaring, leaving its Steel typing far behind. The power of its Spiral Drill Run had skyrocketed. Not content with just that, Excadrill seemed determined to push its "limit-breaking physical attack" even further, spending its rest time practicing the move Hone Claws, which it was becoming increasingly proficient with.
First, use Hone Claws to boost Attack and accuracy, then go for the kill with Spiral Drill Run.
Combined with its Sand Rush ability, Basalt could already imagine how terrifying Excadrill would be in a sandstorm—both a powerful attacker and an elusive assassin, not to be underestimated.
Next was Bronzong. It had spent the month training with the Great Elder and had definitely exceeded expectations. Not only had it achieved a breakthrough in developing its Speed Swap move and learned a third clan secret technique, Heal Block, but it had also learned a completely new move: Iron Roller!
Iron Roller, a Steel-type move. The user rolls its steel body violently, attacking the opponent while simultaneously destroying any active terrain effects. This was a powerful move capable of disrupting field strategies!
Basalt had also received another piece of good news: with the help of Alliance resources and secret techniques, the Great Elder had successfully broken through to the Master rank.
"Really? That's fantastic!" Basalt punched his fist into his palm, thrilled. Although both were powerful figures, the Great Elder could fly, meaning it could actually show up and back him up in a critical moment. Unlike the Mega Venusaur, who might be stronger but couldn't easily leave the sanctuary.
After Bronzong came Cradily.
With Basalt pointing it in the right direction, Cradily had focused entirely on developing its "Toxic" potential during this time, with significant results. Under the Mega Venusaur's guidance, the door to its Poison-type abilities had been thrown wide open. It had even learned an unexpected move: Sludge Bomb!
Sludge Bomb, a Poison-type move. Hurls sludge at the opponent, sometimes leaving them poisoned.
"Now the Poison Sandstorm is truly complete," Basalt's lips curled up.
Besides Sludge Bomb, Cradily's strength had increased significantly after evolving, so it had easily learned the move Sunny Day with minimal effort. It had also picked up Block, a move that created a barrier to prevent escape or switching.
After the main three, the two little ones had also made great strides.
Larvitar, nurtured by the Smooth Rock Crystal, had grown to 0.8 meters. The rocky armor on its body was thick and hard; ordinary attacks could barely scratch it anymore. In terms of moves, as its strength grew, it had naturally learned Stone Edge and Stealth Rock. To broaden its coverage, Basalt had also specially hired a university Move Tutor to teach it the Fighting-type move Rock Smash.
Rock Smash was a basic Fighting move, not very powerful, but with potential. As Larvitar grew stronger and its mastery of Fighting-type energy increased, it could eventually upgrade to Brick Break. But for now, that was a long way off.
Finally, there was Mudkip. Nurtured by Liechi Berries and Fountain water, its physique had improved markedly. Its strength was becoming terrifying; it could even shatter rocks bare-handed without using a move. In terms of moves, following Basalt's plan, it had learned Defense Curl, Icy Wind, Aqua Jet, and Rock Smash.
Aqua Jet was a STAB move, and with the Fountain water boost, Mudkip learned it quickly. Icy Wind was also no surprise, given its excellent Ice-type talent inherited from its Walrein father. Rock Smash was a piece of cake with its physique. Only Defense Curl was still a work in progress; it hadn't yet managed to integrate it into its Foresight + Ice Ball combo.
As for Work Up, it was a stat-boosting move. Mudkip wasn't a martial arts prodigy, so it couldn't master it in just a month. But it had grasped the basic principles; the rest was just practice.
"Sandstorm team, assembled!"
Looking proudly at his Five Tiger Generals, Basalt's lips curled up. "Alright then," he declared, his voice filled with heroic spirit, "Let's move out! Target: the Takla Desert!"
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