Chapter 103: The Weekend Arrives
"In this match, Basalt is the victor," Mr. Leo announced. "Next up, Forrest versus Finch."
Forrest and Finch exchanged a look, took their positions, and threw their Poké Balls.
"Awooo~" Finch's Houndour, the hound from the underworld, appeared, letting out a wolf-like howl.
Forrest's Poké Ball opened to reveal a giant, rhinoceros-beetle-like Pokémon. It was the Fighting/Bug-type, Heracross. It had a thick horn on its forehead, antennae on either side, a deep blue carapace, and a pair of wings on its back.
"Heracross" Heracross immediately flapped its wings and flew into the air, its gaze firm as it faced Houndour.
From a type perspective, the two were evenly matched. Houndour's Fire was super-effective against Heracross's Bug, but Heracross's Fighting was super-effective against Houndour's Dark. In terms of base stats, however, Heracross had a clear advantage.
As expected, the battle started with Heracross launching a preemptive Vacuum Wave that sent Houndour flying. Fortunately for Finch, Vacuum Wave was a special attack, and Heracross's special attack stat wasn't great. If it had been a Bullet Punch, Houndour would have been knocked out instantly.
After taking a hit from Houndour's Incinerate, Heracross managed to land a powerful Bulldoze that took Houndour out of the fight. Although Houndour's abilities were good and its movepool was diverse, its abysmal base 30 physical defense was a critical weakness. To use Counter, you had to be able to survive the initial hit. If you were one-shot, the move was useless.
"Alright, the matches are over," Mr. Leo said after the victor was decided. He called the four of them over. "Next Monday is the inter-group challenge. Forrest, Basalt, your task is to challenge Group A. It won't be easy. Don't rest too much this weekend; focus on preparing. Once you make it to Group A, you'll get more resources, and you can rest then."
He then turned to the two lower-tier trainers. "As for you two, Blossom and Finch, while you're both skilled, the upper tier of Group C is not to be underestimated. Don't get careless. If you lose to a Group C trainer, it will be a huge embarrassment..."
After a dose of motivational "chicken soup" from their instructor, the four of them dispersed.
Back in his private training room, Basalt and his two partners continued their training. His main task now was to study training knowledge and formulate strategies. The camp provided a video library with a wealth of information on Pokémon breeding, training, tactics, and move development, which the trainees could study at their own pace.
With the camp's top-notch equipment and intense atmosphere, his two Pokémon were making rapid progress. Drilbur had now almost completely adapted to fighting under 1.7x gravity. Its speed was still greatly reduced, down to about 50-60% of its peak, but Nosepass was even slower. Even at half speed, Drilbur still had the advantage.
As for Bronzor, its Gravity move had reached an intensity of 1.6x. While that didn't seem far from Nosepass's 1.8x, Basalt knew that the difficulty of increasing the intensity grew exponentially. Bronzor's rapid initial progress was due to the boost it had received from the medium-grade Psychic Gem. Now that that initial bonus was used up, further improvement would require a lot of hard work.
While its Gravity had hit a small bottleneck, Bronzor's progress with Bulldoze was advancing by leaps and bounds, thanks to the Ground Gem and its unique method of sensing energy.
The hours of training flew by, and soon it was 5:00 PM. It was Friday, and many of the trainees were heading home for the weekend. Yes, the camp had weekends. But Basalt chose to stay. His challenge for Group A was on Monday. He couldn't afford to waste a single moment. Fortunately, he wasn't the only one with that mindset.
"It must be nice to be rich," Basalt sighed, watching the luxury cars lining up outside the school to pick up the students. Most of the trainees came from well-off families. While they might not have the resources of the Group A members, many could match what the Group B members received from the camp. Providing their children with one attribute gem a month was a manageable expense for them. As for families like Luna's... it was better not to even think about it.
After leaving the camp, Basalt walked a little over a kilometer to the nearest commercial district and found a restaurant. After a week of intense training, he and his Pokémon were exhausted. When Drilbur requested some braised pork, he was happy to oblige.
He ordered a feast of six dishes and a soup. Bronzor didn't join them; as a Steel-type, its diet consisted of Pokémon food and precious metals and ores.
"Drilburr!" ψ(￣▽￣)ψ
Drilbur ate with gusto, its face covered in grease. It devoured most of the six dishes itself. Though small, its appetite was enormous.
After paying the bill, which came to over 300 Poké Dollars, Basalt barely flinched. After taking on a 400,000 debt, his sense of money had been completely warped. A few hundred here and there meant nothing to him.
I don't need a few hundred, he thought with a sigh as he paid with his Pokédex, seeing his dwindling balance. I need tens of thousands, just to get by.
I need to find a way to make some money.
But that was easier said than done. And small amounts wouldn't cut it.
As he was leaving the restaurant, a poster in the elevator caught his eye. It showed a battle arena, with two trainers commanding their Pokémon and a crowd of cheering spectators.
"Deep Sea Club Battle Challenge. Win ten matches in a row to receive a prize of 50,000 Poké Dollars?"
Basalt's eyes widened. He read on, his excitement growing. At the bottom of the poster, in large letters, it said: "Entry Fee: Only... 100 Poké Dollars!"
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