Chapter 227: Bring Me Ten More
"You're the Rookie King of Centralis Province?"
The chubby boy, "Hector," blinked his eyes.
Hector was from another province, so he wasn't familiar with Basalt's reputation.
"What? Realize your mistake now?" Basalt's lips curled into a smile.
But unexpectedly, Hector showed no fear or regret.
On the contrary, Basalt could see a look of eagerness on his face.
"Mistake my ass!"
Hector sneered. "You're the Rookie King, so you're definitely stronger than me. But fossil Pokémon have only been around for two or three months. You may have one, but how long have you been training it? A month? Two months?"
"So what if you're a training genius? So what if your Pokémon is exceptionally talented? I've been training my Feraligatr for a whole year. You think I'm scared of a Pokémon you've only had for a couple of months?" Hector laughed, a mocking look on his face.
Hearing this, many people on the sidelines couldn't help but nod, thinking Hector had a point.
A Pokémon's strength couldn't be built overnight; it required a long, gradual process of accumulation.
One of the Pokémon on the field had only been trained for a month or two, while the other had been trained for a full year. It was easy to see who had the advantage.
Furthermore, Feraligatr was a final evolution, while Lileep was still in its base form. The gap in their base stats was also huge.
After thinking about it calmly, they no longer favored Basalt.
Not only that, but they even started to think Basalt was being arrogant and getting ahead of himself.
Bringing a Pokémon you've only trained for a month to challenge a fellow freshman's main Pokémon? Who are you looking down on?
We may not be as good as you, but we got into Centralis University on our own merit. None of us are slouches!
"Damn! I'm suddenly so jealous of that chubby kid on stage. Even if the fight is a bit unfair, if he really beats the Rookie King, I could brag about that for the rest of my life!"
"For real! A win is a win, a loss is a loss, you can't deny it. Slapping down the Rookie King... that's so freakin' awesome."
"Suddenly I'm hoping Basalt doesn't lose, so I can be the first to challenge him next."
...
Hearing the chatter, Basalt was floored.
They're actually looking down on me?
He glanced at Lileep on the stage. It was wobbling its head and "nee-nee"-ing away. It did look pretty cutesy and harmless, especially compared to the ferocious Feraligatr across from it.
"But if you underestimate a predator from millions of years ago because of that, you're in for a rude awakening."
Basalt sneered, preparing to unleash the slaughter.
If Lileep didn't show its power now, people would really mistake it for a Hello Kitty.
"Both trainers, take your positions! Battle, begin!"
As the referee waved his flag, the fight finally began.
"Feraligatr, Aqua Jet!"
At Hector's command, Feraligatr roared. A torrent of water instantly swirled around its body, and it shot towards Lileep like an arrow.
As a priority move, this Aqua Jet was incredibly fast, too fast for Lileep to even react.
Of course, Lileep didn't need to react.
"A suicide attack?"
Basalt almost laughed out loud.
But it made sense. How long had Lileep been known to the public?
An ordinary person's knowledge of it would be minimal. It was normal not to know about its Storm Drain Ability.
Hector thought he could use a priority move to gain an early advantage.
But unfortunately for him, this would only hasten his defeat.
POW!
The powerful jet of water slammed into Lileep. Just as the crowd expected Lileep to be sent flying, something strange happened.
The water that had been enveloping Feraligatr, as if guided by a mysterious force, completely ignored Feraligatr's control and rushed into Lileep's body.
Lileep, like a glutton who refuses no food, instantly devoured all of Feraligatr's Water-type energy.
"Gatr?!"
Feraligatr was completely baffled.
Without the cushion of water, its head slammed unprotected into Lileep's rocky body. Stars exploded in its vision, and its jaw went crooked.
Although Feraligatr was an incredibly strong Pokémon, it was still made of flesh and blood. When it came to headbutting, it couldn't compare to a Rock or Steel-type.
Vzzt!
With a flash of light, Lileep's Storm Drain Ability activated, and its Special Attack began to rise.
As its power rose, so did its aura.
"Lileep, Bind!"
Basalt raised an eyebrow and gave the command.
"Nee-nee~"
Lileep nodded. The previously harmless-looking Pokémon bared its fangs for the first time.
Thwip! Thwip! Thwip!
From beneath the ground, a dozen roots as thick as a human arm shot out, instantly wrapping the dazed Feraligatr up like a mummy.
Lileep paid special attention to Feraligatr's powerful jaws.
At least three thick roots were coiled around Feraligatr's mouth, binding it shut.
"Feraligatr, break free!"
Hector yelled in a panic, but he was underestimating the strength of Lileep's roots.
Thanks to its abundant life energy, Lileep's roots were already extremely tough, not to mention it had been coached by a master.
So, while the move's tier wasn't high, Lileep's grasp of its fundamentals was incredibly solid, even better than Excadrill's.
"Gaaatr!"
Feraligatr began to struggle with all its might, but the more it struggled, the tighter Lileep's roots became.
Wrap. This was a move whose power grew stronger the more stamina the opponent had.
With Feraligatr at full health, it had served itself up on a silver platter. The power of Wrap instantly exploded to its peak.
Feraligatr began to howl, its voice filled with agony.
After taking the full force of Wrap, by the time Feraligatr was free, it was already on one knee, panting heavily.
"Gaaatr!"
But just then, Feraligatr roared again. Water swirled at its feet, and its aura surged, becoming even more ferocious.
"Torrent is active?"
Basalt's lips curled up. Feraligatr's current state was a classic sign of its Torrent ability kicking in.
But what was the point?
Feraligatr had clearly exhausted too much stamina; it was a spent force.
Besides, the one standing in front of it was an undersea predator from millions of years ago, a creature that specialized in hunting Water-type Pokémon.
Lileep versus Feraligatr... this was a case of predator versus prey.
"Lileep, finish it with Bullet Seed."
Basalt waved his hand casually, victory already in his grasp.
"Nee-nee~"
Lileep nodded. Its petals spread wide, and it shot countless energy bullets from its mouth.
Thwip-thwip-thwip-thwip!
Lileep's control over its energy was superb, and the bullets were incredibly fast. The heavily injured Feraligatr had no time to dodge.
BOOM!
A series of explosions rang out. Black smoke billowed from the battlefield, accompanied by Feraligatr's pained cries.
When the smoke cleared, Feraligatr was lying on the ground, its eyes spinning.
"Gasp~"
The entire crowd sucked in a cold breath.
That reversal came as fast as a tornado.
Even though the winner had been decided, the audience and the judges still felt a sense of unreality.
This was Feraligatr, the final evolution of a starter Pokémon. Even with a type disadvantage, it shouldn't have been taken down so quickly, right?
After who knows how long, the crowd finally snapped out of their stupor.
In an instant, the silence erupted into a roar of discussion. Everyone had to get it off their chests.
"What just happened? Why did Feraligatr's Aqua Jet have no effect on Lileep?"
"If I'm not mistaken, Lileep's Ability must be Storm Drain or Water Absorb. Not only do Water-type moves not hurt it, they actually help it."
No one who got into Centralis University was simple. Someone quickly figured it out.
Unfortunately, because of the flash of light, they couldn't tell if it was Water Absorb or Storm Drain. That was still up for debate.
"It must be Storm Drain. If Lileep hadn't gotten a Special Attack boost, there's no way a single Wrap could have taken Feraligatr down to half health. This is a Feraligatr, its defense isn't bad, and Wrap doesn't even have a type advantage."
"My man's got a point."
Hearing this analysis, everyone silently nodded. The possibility of it being Storm Drain was much higher than Water Absorb.
"Referee, you can make the call now!"
Basalt waved at the referee on the sidelines.
This referee seemed to be a student and was clearly a bit unprofessional. He had been so shocked that he'd zoned out.
"Feraligatr is unable to battle! The winner is... Basalt!"
With Basalt's reminder, the referee made a hasty call to make up for his mistake.
At the judges' table, the panel exchanged glances. "Even though this Lileep was pretty amazing, let's stick to the plan and have it fight a few more times," one of them whispered.
"Sounds good to me! I just got a snapshot of Lileep using Bullet Seed. I bet I can get a ton of new followers if I post it online."
Hearing this, the other judges' eyes lit up.
That was a great idea.
"The last battle ended too quickly. We couldn't get a full assessment of Lileep's abilities. Does anyone else want to challenge?"
The judge, Mr. Logan, stood up and looked at the crowd of freshmen.
At his words, the freshmen first instinctively recoiled, but then they eagerly shot their hands into the air.
"Me, me, me!"
"I want to challenge Basalt!"
"Don't even try to compete with me! Let me at him!"
"Judge, pick me, pick me, pick me..."
...
Seeing this, Basalt also smiled. This was exactly what he wanted.
"Today, I'll take on ten of you!"
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