Chapter 35: Trying to Show Off in Front of Me?
Three days later, the Seaside County Education Bureau finally issued the official document, confirming that the Seaside County High School Elite Selection Tournament would begin on the 1st of next month. It was already the middle of the current month, which meant there was only half a month left until the competition began.
According to the document, the top four contestants in the selection tournament would not only receive generous rewards but also be eligible to participate in the city-level training camp, with the best performers potentially joining the city team.
Once the news of the selection tournament broke, the number of members at the Meteor Club began to skyrocket, and ninety percent of the new members were third-year high school students. It was clear that the elite selection tournament was a hot topic. Countless third-year students dreamed of achieving a good ranking, making a name for themselves, and soaring to new heights.
Fortunately, as the star coach, Coach Miles had his own private training room, so Basalt didn't need to compete with the crowd outside for training equipment and space. Seriously, there were so many people in the club now that you had to queue up to use the training equipment that was once freely available.
Inside the private training room, Basalt was training with Drilbur. Since he had already taught most of what he needed to, Coach Miles no longer accompanied him for the entire session. He would only come by occasionally to check in or if Basalt needed help. Usually, Basalt would train his little mole by himself.
"Drilbur, Metal Claw!" Basalt waved his hand.
"Chari~"
Drilbur raised its right claw, which instantly turned a metallic color, like an iron claw. It swiped out fiercely, making the metal target clang loudly.
"Phew! It finally mastered Metal Claw."
Basalt let out a breath, a look of joy on his face. Ever since the battle with Lucas, where it used Metal Claw to defeat Swinub in a critical moment, Drilbur's understanding of the move seemed to have broken through some kind of shackle, and its progress had been explosive. Now, less than a week later, it had completely mastered Metal Claw and could basically guarantee a successful execution every time.
Not only that, but after being nourished by the Metal Coating for so long, its claws had become much sharper than before, even when not using a move. This had made its digging speed even faster. It now only took 2 seconds to dig a hole big enough to hide in.
Unfortunately, although 2 seconds was fast, it was still a little short of the requirement for the move "Dig." The key was that the small bag of Ground Gem fragments that Dr. Martin had given him had also been used up. So, although it seemed like Drilbur was just one step away from learning Dig, it would probably take a considerable amount of time.
Knock, knock, knock!
A low knock sounded at the door, followed by a rough voice from outside.
"Basalt, I know you're in there. Come on out!"
"Frank?"
Basalt frowned slightly. He didn't like being disturbed during his training, because training was also about being in the right state of mind. If you were on a roll and got interrupted, it would be very difficult to get back into that state.
However, from the sound of his voice, Basalt could sense Frank's urgency. Did he have something important to discuss?
"What's wrong?" Basalt opened the door to the training room, his face dark.
Over the past few weeks, thanks to Frank's attentiveness and flattery, their relationship had improved a lot on the surface. But deep down, Basalt always felt that Frank had ulterior motives, so he was still very wary.
Outside the door, Frank's Munchlax looked listless, with faint traces of black dust on its body, as if it had just been in a battle.
"Basalt, I was defeated by Ronan from First High. But that kid is too arrogant. He was just shouting on the battlefield that 'there's no one at Second High who can fight.' You have to step up and help us save face!" Frank's face was grim, and he gritted his teeth as he spoke, clearly furious. But alas, his strength did not permit him to do anything about it. Since that was the case, he could only call for backup.
"Someone from First High? That arrogant!" Basalt's gaze sharpened.
He himself could say that no one at Second High could fight, because that didn't include him. But if someone else said it, did that mean they were looking down on him?
Damn it! Trying to show off in front of the master?
This, I cannot tolerate!
"Exactly! So Basalt, you have to fight for our Second High's honor!" Frank looked at Basalt with hope in his eyes. In the current Second High, Basalt was already showing signs of becoming the "top dog," with even the class president, Leo, taking a backseat to him.
"What's his story? What Pokémon and tactics does he use?" Basalt didn't like fighting battles he wasn't sure about. If possible, he wanted to understand the opponent's situation first.
"His name is Ronan, a student from First High. His strength is said to be in the top thirty there…"
"Top thirty?" Basalt interrupted Frank.
A student in the top thirty of First High could defeat Frank? Were the students at First High all that strong? Basalt frowned slightly, the underestimation in his heart instantly vanishing. Frank's strength was at least at the top 3 level in Second High, yet he couldn't beat a top 30 from First High? The gap between First High and Second High was a bit too big, wasn't it?
"What's wrong with the top thirty?" Frank was baffled, thinking it was perfectly reasonable.
"Nothing. You were saying." Basalt waved his hand.
"His starter Pokémon is a Magby. Its Fire-type talent is outstanding, and the temperature of its flames is very high. It's good at using the move 'Smokescreen' to hide, 'Fire Spin' to trap the opponent, and then 'Ember' to finish them off…"
Speaking of Ronan's Magby, Frank couldn't help but grit his teeth. In their battle, he had his Munchlax use Rollout first, but the opponent used Smokescreen to obscure its vision, and his Munchlax completely lost track of the opponent's position. After that, it was impossible to fight. You couldn't see the opponent, but the opponent could see you. So, his Munchlax could only be whittled down by Fire Spin and Ember. It lost the match without even touching a single hair on its opponent.
A flawless victory for Ronan.
"Alright, I get it. Take me there," Basalt said, standing up straight. An aura of confidence erupted from him.
A move like Smokescreen that obscured vision was troublesome for ordinary Pokémon, but Drilbur could sense the subtle vibrations in the ground. As long as the opponent couldn't fly, it couldn't escape his little mole's senses. As for Magby's Fire Spin, if it went up against his mole's Sand Tomb, Basalt was confident he wouldn't lose. Besides, his mole was a Ground-type, facing a Fire-type Magby. He also had the type advantage.
Without exaggerating, he had a 90% chance of winning this battle.
"Alright!"
Frank was overjoyed. The sorrow on his face faded, replaced by excitement. Basalt was, after all, the man who had defeated him three times in a row. Frank had a lot of confidence in him.
On the public battlefield of the Meteor Club, a tall, slender, fair-skinned young man was commanding his Magby to defeat another opponent, a look of arrogance on his face. He saw Frank striding over with Basalt and sneered, "Well, well? You really went and found backup!"
When he was defeated, Frank had already made a threat to find someone to teach Ronan a lesson, so Ronan wasn't surprised.
"It's Basalt!"
In the Meteor Club, there were also a few students from Second High. They all gathered around, instantly feeling like they had a mainstay. Basalt was their source of confidence.
"Ronan from First High? Are you the one who said no one at Second High can fight?" Basalt tilted his head and glanced at Ronan.
Ronan pouted and said nonchalantly, "I did say that. Is there a problem?"
"If you take back those words right now, I can pretend nothing happened," Basalt said with a serious face.
Ronan was at an age where he was full of youthful vigor. How could he possibly show weakness? He said with disdain, "Take it back? On whose authority? Yours?"
"Then there's no other way." Basalt nodded and walked past the crowd onto the battlefield. He didn't actually expect the other party to back down; it was just a formality. In the end, it still had to be settled with fists.
"One match to decide the winner," Basalt's gaze sharpened, and he said coldly, "If you lose, you apologize in front of everyone and take back what you said."
"And if you lose, you admit in front of everyone here that no one at Second High can fight?" Ronan glared back, not to be outdone.
"It's a deal." Basalt nodded, his face impassive.
You really think everyone at Second High is a Hello Kitty? I'll give you a taste of my righteous iron fist.