Chapter 208: Developing New Techniques
In the days that followed, Basalt developed a new routine. Every morning and every evening, he would take Bronzong to a secluded spot, open his spatial bag, and check on the Larvitar egg and the Smooth Rock Crystal. If the crystal had gotten smaller, he would be ecstatic. If it hadn't changed, a wave of disappointment would wash over him.
Unfortunately, after the initial, rapid absorption, the rate at which the egg was drawing energy from the crystal slowed to a crawl. But it was still shrinking, albeit slowly, which was enough to keep Basalt's hopes alive.
When he wasn't obsessing over the egg, Basalt was training. Lileep was still young and weak, and with the Mega Venusaur as its mentor, it didn't need much of his attention. Bronzong was preoccupied with mastering its Gravity and Reverse Gravity to compensate for its immense weight, another area where he couldn't be of much help. So, he focused all his energy on Excadrill, developing new applications for its moves and testing out some of his own theories.
"Drill Run!" he commanded.
"Excaaa!" With a cry, Excadrill spun its body, its claws and head-blade merging into a massive drill, and shot forward.
WHIRRR!
A massive shield of intertwined roots, summoned by the Mega Venusaur, stood in its path. Excadrill's drill slammed into it, but it only managed to snap a few of the roots before its momentum was completely halted.
"Excaaa," it grumbled, stopping its rotation. It looked up and saw that the broken roots were already growing back, as if nothing had happened.
"Still not focused enough," Basalt said, pacing back and forth. He gave the Mega Venusaur a "stop" signal, and the root shield immediately dissolved back into the ground. "Thank you, Venusaur," he said with a respectful bow, then led Excadrill aside to think.
After witnessing the battles between Masters, his own standards had been raised to a whole new level. And Excadrill's current abilities were simply not keeping up.
"Excadrill," he said, holding up a small, drill-shaped rock he had carved, "when you use Drill Run, I want you to try and focus all your energy onto the surface of the drill, compressing it, and shaping it into a drill of pure energy that conforms to your body. Like this." He mimicked the spinning motion. "As your body spins, the energy compresses, and then, you strike with a single, focused point."
"Excaaa," Excadrill scratched its head, a look of confusion on its face. The level of energy manipulation Basalt was describing was far beyond anything it had ever attempted before.
"Too difficult?" Basalt asked. "Okay, let's put Drill Run on the back burner for now. Let's practice the energy compression and manipulation with Hidden Power first."
Drill Run was a high-tier move that consumed a lot of stamina. It was better to experiment with a mid-tier move first. And he had an idea for Hidden Power. If it ran out of energy, it could just go and "borrow" some from Lileep.
"Exca?" Excadrill was still confused. The two moves were completely different.
"Just try it," Basalt said with a grin. "First, just form a normal Hidden Power energy ball."
"Excaaa," it grumbled, but it complied, a sphere of green energy materializing in front of it.
"Good," Basalt nodded. "Now, try to compress the energy in that sphere. Take your time. We're just experimenting."
"Excaaa." Excadrill focused, and the green sphere began to shrink. But as it did, the energy within began to spin faster and faster, becoming unstable.
"Excaaa!" it yelped, sensing that the sphere was about to explode. It quickly tossed it at a nearby rock.
BOOM!
The sphere exploded, and the rock was shattered into pieces.
"The power has definitely increased," Basalt said with a smile. The key was to stabilize the compressed energy. But that required a level of energy control that could only be achieved through years of training. So, Basalt had come up with a workaround.
With its incredible speed, especially in a Sandstorm, Excadrill could close the distance on an opponent in an instant. It could form the energy ball as it approached, then compress it at the last second. The unstable sphere would only need to hold together for a fraction of a second. By the time it exploded, Excadrill would be long gone.
"Lileep, send up a root, about waist-high," he said. A root, as thick as a child's wrist, emerged from the ground.
"Alright, Excadrill," Basalt said, beginning to demonstrate. "Imagine I'm you, and this root is your opponent. You use your speed to close in, and as you do, you form the energy ball." He ran towards the root, his hand outstretched. "Then, when you're right on top of it, you compress the energy, give it a little push, and get out of there. It's like you're just dropping off a little present."
"Excaaa." Excadrill seemed to understand. It didn't seem too difficult.
"Okay, give it a try," Basalt said. "Take it slow the first time."
WHOOSH!
Even at a reduced speed, Excadrill was a blur of motion. When it was about ten meters from the "dummy," it formed the sphere of green energy. As it reached its target, the sphere began to shrink rapidly, becoming incredibly unstable. Excadrill gave it a gentle push... and it immediately exploded.
BOOM!
A small, mushroom-cloud-like explosion of green energy erupted, leaving a five-meter-wide crater in the once-lush grass. Excadrill, who had been too close, was sent flying.
"The power... this could really work," Basalt said, his eyes wide with awe.
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