Chapter 219: A Gathering of Geniuses
"Whew. Good thing that Gabite's Outrage didn't get a third hit in, or I wouldn't have won so cleanly." Basalt put a hand on his chest, letting out a big sigh.
Hearing this, Shane's expression turned even darker.
He had originally thought that if his Gabite had managed a third hit, he would have won. But from the sound of it, Basalt was implying he was still far from victory.
"But as soon as Gabite evolves into Garchomp and becomes a fully-evolved pseudo-legendary, Excadrill will be no match for me!"
Shane wrinkled his nose, his heart full of confidence.
In his mind, he had only lost to Basalt because his Pokémon wasn't fully evolved.
Once it evolved, Basalt would be nothing!
He had no idea that Basalt also had an unhatched "pseudo-legendary" egg in his bag.
"Alright, the battle is over. What are your thoughts?" Bella Bai looked around at her team members and smiled.
"Basalt is very good! His Excadrill could definitely be a core tactic for our team battles. Pair him with a fully evolved Garchomp... that would be absolutely killer."
"Shane is also worth training. His Gabite is very well-raised. Scary Face plus two ultimate Dragon-type moves, on top of those high-level close-combat skills... he'll be a great ace in the future. It's just a shame his Druddigon lost so fast, we didn't get to see much."
"That just proves how strong that Bronzong is. Why don't we have Bronzong fight again later?"
"Hmm... That's not a bad idea."
...
The team members chattered, but they all clearly acknowledged the strength of both Shane and Basalt.
"Alright, that's it for the first match. Let's start the second." Bella waved her hand, then looked at the remaining eight. "Who wants to go next?"
"I will!"
Someone else raised their hand. This time, it was a tall, slender boy wearing a baseball cap.
"It's Roman, the Rookie King from Ganford Province." Bella seemed to know all the reserves well, recognizing him without even looking at her files.
After Bella nodded her approval, Roman strode onto the battlefield. "I wanted to fight Basalt too, but I was a step too late," he said, shaking his head.
Hearing this, Basalt's mouth twitched.
In Centralis Province, his popularity and fan base were definitely the strongest.
But the side effect was that his reputation was too big, which meant a lot of challengers. It seemed like everyone wanted to take a shot at him, which was just damn annoying.
Basalt could predict that this kind of thing would happen a lot in the future.
Roman scanned the remaining students. "A Rookie King is up. If you're not a Rookie King, don't bother wasting time."
He was arrogant, openly declaring that he wouldn't deign to fight anyone who wasn't a Rookie King.
Hearing this, the two remaining Rookie Kings in the crowd looked at each other, both wanting to go.
They had no choice but to... play rock-paper-scissors.
"Dante, from Anwell Province. I'll be your opponent."
Dante won with rock and strode onto the stage.
"Rookie King versus Rookie King. This one should be even more explosive! After all, whoever loses will be bringing shame to their home province."
"I looked at their files. This Dante is a master of poison. He'll be a nightmare to deal with, even for someone much stronger than him."
"Roman is no slouch either. Look at this Pokémon. That's not an easy opponent."
"This new generation of trainers... the new wave really does push the old. Each one is stronger than the last. I can tell you, I was not this driven when I was a freshman."
"You? You're just the quiet, brooding type."
"Shut up!"
...
While the team members were bantering, Roman and Dante released their first Pokémon.
Roman's starter was a white-furred Pokémon that resembled a panther. The parts of its body without thick fur were a grayish-blue. On the right side of its head was a sickle-shaped horn, making it look incredibly cool.
Dante's, on the other hand, was a centipede-like Pokémon. Its body was mostly magenta and black, with yellow pupils. It had purple, ring-like markings on its body, and its antennae were alternating purple and red. Its underbelly was grayish-black.
"Absol versus Scolipede? A little interesting."
Basalt raised an eyebrow, his interest piqued.
Both were Rookie Kings, and the Pokémon they sent out were both very impressive. This was bound to be a clash of titans.
"Scolipede, Poison Sting!"
At Dante's command, Scolipede's mouth shot out a dense, endless volley of blackish-purple needles.
As a Poison-type move, Poison Sting's base power wasn't high. But in the hands of this Scolipede, its power had been completely transformed.
Thousands upon thousands of needles rained down, covering the entire sky. How could you not be afraid of that?
This was the power to turn something basic into something magical.
"The toxin in that Poison Sting probably isn't simple, either," Basalt muttered, his brow furrowing.
Although his two main Pokémon both had the Steel typing and a huge advantage against Poison-types... if the opponent's poison was specially developed, ordinary steel might not be able to block it.
The immunity from type-matching only worked if the energy levels of both sides were similar.
If the gap was too large, it could still be effective.
"Oh, wait. My Excadrill's steel is the military-grade special 'Feathersteel,' and my Bronzong's steel is the natural 'super-heavy metal' Aegis Ore. ...Never mind, then!"
Remembering that his own Pokémon had special backgrounds, Basalt's brow quickly unfurrowed.
Faced with the overwhelming storm of poison needles, Absol's eyes narrowed. A light flashed, and it began to move quickly, weaving through the rain of needles as if it were taking a stroll in the park. It actually managed to dodge every single needle.
"Detect, huh?"
Dante saw Absol's move but wasn't surprised.
The sky-full of needles was just his opening move; he never expected it to hit.
His favorite tactic was to slowly corner his opponent, shrinking their room to move while also poisoning them, and then slowly torturing them.
This was just the beginning.
Puff! Puff! Puff!
The poison needles hit the ground. The moment they made contact, they shattered, turning into a thick, toxic fog that enveloped the entire battlefield.
"Absol, Air Slash!"
Swoosh! Swoosh!
Several wide, massive blades of air swept out from Absol's horn. With a whistling sound, they not only blew all the poison gas away but also continued on to slash at Scolipede.
"X-Scissor, intercept!"
On the field, Roman and Dante began a brutal clash.
Their strength was evenly matched, and their battle experience was incredibly rich. It was a tit-for-tat exchange, parrying and countering every move, and the fight was spectacular.
In terms of raw power, this battle wasn't something the school team members would find impressive.
But in terms of technical skill, it wasn't something an average person could pull off.
This wasn't just a contest of the Pokémon's strength; it was a battle of wits and command between the two trainers.
...
The matches continued, one after another. Basalt would sometimes put himself in the trainers' shoes, thinking about how he would handle such an opponent.
He had to admit, every one of these opponents was strong.
Even if he were the one fighting, he couldn't guarantee a 100% victory.
None of them were pushovers. One small mistake in battle, and they would seize the opportunity to hammer you, leading to an irreversible loss.
Soon, the four matches were over.
Now, only two girls were left: Sylvie and a counter-culture girl with multi-colored hair.
The two of them were a study in sharp contrast.
"My name is Sylvie. It's a pleasure to meet you." Sylvie's attitude was gentle, her smile sweet, like the kind girl-next-door.
The punk girl, on the other hand, was a woman of few words. "Vivi."
Based on appearances, Sylvie looked like she'd be easy to bully, not at all like a strong, decisive trainer.
But Vivi didn't look down on her. On the contrary, how could anyone who made it here be a slouch?
In her heart, Vivi was taking Sylvie very seriously.
"Come out, Meganium!"
Meganium is the final evolution of Chikorita, one of the Johto region starter Pokémon. It resembles a sauropod dinosaur, with two stamen-like antennae on its snout and a large pink flower with a yellow center pattern around its neck.
"Go, Servine."
Servine is the evolution of Snivy, one of the Unova region starter Pokémon. Its body is mostly green and cream-colored, with a yellow, collar-like structure on its upper body. It has two leaves on its back and short, powerful limbs. Its expression was extremely haughty, giving off a high-and-mighty coldness.
They both sent out their first Pokémon. Vivi had Meganium, and Sylvie had Servine.
Both were Grass-types, but Meganium was a final evolution, while Servine was a middle-stage.
In terms of evolutionary stage, Sylvie and Servine were at a great disadvantage.
"How are you going to handle this, 'most high-priority' student?"
Basalt's eyes narrowed as he watched Sylvie.
Although he hadn't seen her Milotic battle, he could guess with his eyes closed that it was incredibly strong, based on its water-control ability alone.
By extension, this Servine couldn't be simple, either.
"Meganium, Magical Leaf!"
Vivi attacked first, using Magical Leaf as a probe. A standard, by-the-book opening.
"Servine, Leaf Storm!"
Sylvie's voice was crisp and gentle, very pleasant to listen to.
"Hm?"
Basalt froze.
Another weirdo using their ultimate right at the start?
Or is she like Shane's Gabite, planning to break the opponent's spirit first and then switch to physical attacks?
Rumble!
In terms of size, the slender Servine was no match for Meganium.
But in terms of attack power, Magical Leaf was clearly no match for Leaf Storm.
Leaf Storm was the ultimate special-attack for Grass-types, with 130 base power in the games. Its side effect was that the user's Special Attack would be drastically lowered after use, similar to Draco Meteor.
"Mega~!"
Being sliced by the leaves of the Leaf Storm, Meganium's face twisted in pain.
But as a fellow Grass-type, and one known for being a tank, it couldn't be beaten by a single Leaf Storm.
Vzzt!
The Leaf Storm ended. A bright, not at all dim, light flashed over Servine's body.
At the same time, Servine's aura didn't decrease. Instead, it began to climb steadily.
"Damn! It's the Contrary Ability!"
Basalt's eyes went wide.
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