Chapter 360: You Dare to Look Down on My Numel?
In just one morning, the qualification spots for Battle Class 1 were decided.
The four seeded players all successfully qualified. However, besides Sylvie, the other non-seeded qualifiers were merely a cut above the rest, with nothing particularly remarkable about them.
In Sylvie's hands, Basalt finally saw her evolved Deerling, Sawsbuck. It was strongly built, with two large antlers crowned with verdant green leaves, a clear representation of its Summer Form. This Sawsbuck, though somewhat goofy before, had clearly been trained well by Sylvie. With its amazing leaping ability, swift movements, and the move Horn Leech, it was a terrifying opponent.
"It even learned Horn Leech! What talent!" Basalt's mouth twitched slightly.
Horn Leech, a Grass-type move. It attacks the opponent by piercing them with horns and absorbs a portion of the opponent's vitality, restoring the user's health. This move was the Grass-type equivalent of Drain Punch, making it excellent for attrition battles.
Because the move was so overpowered, it was incredibly difficult to learn. Basalt hadn't expected Sawsbuck to have mastered it.
Like Basalt's Marshtomp, Sylvie had easily qualified for the next round with Sawsbuck alone.
However, when Sawsbuck saw Basalt, its eyes darted away, completely avoiding him. Clearly, the little guy still felt guilty about selling Basalt out to the wild Pokémon earlier.
"Alright, that's it for the morning's matches. We'll continue this afternoon. Keep up the good work!" Mr. Burton encouraged the group before leaving.
The afternoon consisted of inter-class matches, which were the main event. Mr. Burton's main concern was whether the class could produce the year's top student.
"Basalt, want to grab some lunch?"
With the class matches done, Sylvie walked up to Basalt with a sweet smile. "My treat!"
Basalt, who was still trying to secure a date, wouldn't refuse. "That sounds great!" It was better than eating alone.
...
After lunch and a short break, Basalt returned to the battle arena. Compared to the quiet morning, the arena was now packed. Students and teachers from all eight Battle Classes, along with many upperclassmen, had gathered, forming layers of onlookers.
"Captain, you're here too?" Although the crowd was massive, Basalt easily spotted the long-haired Bella Bai. She was seated among the evaluating professors, and her fair skin made her stand out.
"I'm the school team captain, after all. I have to be involved in these things." Bella smiled, sizing up Basalt. "You spent all that time in the desert. You must have made a lot of progress, right? Don't lose your title as the freshman top seed. That would be embarrassing."
Basalt had gained Bella a lot of face during the Saffron U exchange, even helping her extort a secret technique from them. They were quite close now, and Bella clearly had high expectations for him. It was just a shame she was graduating soon, and Basalt would need at least two more years to reach his full potential. They were destined never to fight side-by-side.
"Don't worry, Captain. I'm a beast," Basalt's lips curled up.
Forget everything else, with the Quicksand Domain alone, I can take on any Pro-level Pokémon. Bring them all on! But the Quicksand Domain was his trump card, and he didn't want to reveal it yet. Besides, beating his peers wasn't even a challenge.
"You really are as arrogant as ever." Bella chuckled.
After chatting with Bella, Basalt walked over to the competitors' area. The thirty-two participants were clearly split into two distinct groups: the seeded freshmen reserves and everyone else.
"Basalt, long time no see!"
Roman, Dante, Lana, and Shane rushed over.
"Indeed, long time no see. You all look like you're doing well." Basalt greeted them all.
"Basalt, I heard you have a new Marshtomp that's surprisingly strong. It swept the class easily." Dante chuckled. "How about you let us see it in action against us?"
The crowd laughed. Basalt's Marshtomp was good, but using it against the reserves was suicide. Although Basalt had been gone for half a year, and everyone thought his progress had stalled, they were still intimidated by his main team. If Basalt really sent out Marshtomp, it would make the battle interesting.
"I can certainly let you see it, but only after the exam. This battle is too important. Marshtomp's strength is... a little lacking." Basalt shook his head. Marshtomp is working so hard, and you guys are casually looking down on it. That's a shame. Basalt made a mental note: I need to speed up the development of the Swamp Domain.
"That's a shame," Shane said, his eyes burning with fighting spirit. "Basalt, I've made huge progress recently. Don't let me wipe the floor with you later."
Shane, who had only been average among the reserves, had excellent resources thanks to his mother, the Master Breeder. His strength was surging rapidly.
"We'll see who wipes the floor with who," Basalt countered with a smile. Shane was lazy and undisciplined. Basalt couldn't be bothered to argue with him. It was a simple matter of letting their strength do the talking.
Soon, the group divisions for the grade-wide tournament were posted. Eight groups in total. Basalt, Sylvie, and Shane were all seeded and wouldn't meet initially.
Before long, the matches began. Against non-reserve students, Marshtomp was sent out and proved unstoppable with its "Foresight +" tactic. No matter if the opponent was flying or digging, it was easily taken down.
Two wins and Basalt was already in the top eight.
"So, my next opponent is Dante." Basalt looked at the tournament bracket. His opponent for the quarterfinals was Dante, the Poison specialist.
On the battlefield, both trainers stood ready, each holding a Pokéball.
"Basalt, I won't lose to you again!" Dante's eyes narrowed, his fighting spirit blazing.
At the referee's signal, both threw their Pokéballs. Two Pokémon appeared, both with a crimson hue. Dante sent out Salazzle, the Poison/Fire dual-type Pokémon. Basalt, however, sent out Numel.
"Dooom~"
Numel appeared, looking bewildered by the massive crowd. This was its debut match. It had to perform well and not lose face for its trainer. It didn't know its rank in the university, so it was taking the threat seriously.
But soon, Numel sensed something was wrong. The crowd was silent, then erupted in loud chatter.
"A Numel? Am I seeing things? Basalt is using an unevolved Numel against Dante?"
"He's crazy! I could tolerate him using Marshtomp against an average opponent, but a Numel against the Rookie King of Ganford? Is he serious?"
Dante, facing Basalt, felt his mouth and eyes twitching simultaneously. Basalt hadn't sent out Marshtomp, but a mere Numel? Was Basalt truly that arrogant? Or did he really look down on Dante? This was too much!
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