Chapter 37: The Class President Seeks Guidance
It was Saturday. Basalt was in his yard with Drilbur, training the move "Dig."
Dig was an important move that Basalt had high hopes for. As a Ground-type Pokémon, once Drilbur mastered Dig, its strength would undergo a world-shaking transformation. This was because Dig was an incredibly broken move at the current stage of competition. Unless the opponent knew a move like Bulldoze, it was basically impossible to counter. And at this stage, how many Pokémon could have mastered Bulldoze? Besides Lucas's Swinub, Basalt hadn't seen a second one.
Unfortunately, as expected of an intermediate-to-advanced move with a power of 80, Dig was not easy to master. Especially now that the Ground Gem fragments were all gone, the development of Drilbur's Ground-type abilities had slowed down instantly.
Kaka-kaka!
Drilbur waved its claws, digging furiously at the soil. Its speed was undeniable, but it made a lot of noise, a far cry from the imagined stealth of the move Dig.
"Chari~" (ノ_<.)
After digging for a long time, Drilbur felt tired. It sat down on the ground, dejected and aggrieved. It wasn't that Drilbur wasn't working hard, but it was getting very frustrated that it still hadn't mastered Dig.
Isn't this my natural talent? Why is it so hard to master? Is there something wrong with me? Could it be… that my talent isn't good enough?
Drilbur fell into a spiral of self-doubt.
"Don't be anxious. Just treat it with a normal mindset. You're already very strong. You have to give others a chance to live, right?"
Basalt smiled and squatted down, gently rubbing the little mole's head and then flicking its little pink nose.
My silly, cute little mole!
Although Basalt was also a little anxious in his heart, he couldn't show it. Because he was the trainer. No matter what he was thinking, on the surface, he had to maintain the image of a profound "master." Otherwise, how could he make his Pokémon believe in him?
"Chari~" o(*￣3￣)o
Drilbur pouted, indicating it was feeling a little down.
Ring-ring-ring!
The phone rang. Basalt took out his Pokédex and saw that the call was from the class president.
"Brother Basalt, are you busy?"
Basalt answered the call, and the class president's carefree voice came from the other end.
"Brother Basalt" was now his call sign at school. After defeating Ronan and winning glory for Second High, everyone at school now respected him. The word "Brother" was a good reflection of his status in the school's social hierarchy.
"I'm alright, just training with Drilbur. What's up, Class President?" Basalt raised an eyebrow.
"If you're not busy, I was hoping to seek your guidance…" The class president chuckled and added, "Don't get the wrong idea. It's about Pokémon breeding."
Hearing this, Basalt's face darkened. I wouldn't have gotten the wrong idea if you hadn't said that last part. Now that you've added it, it's hard for me not to! I now have reason to suspect you're just playing hard to get.
He thought of the class president's long legs, and… her outward-pointing walking style.
Basalt quickly shook his head and said seriously, "Class President, isn't your dad a Pokémon Ranger? Do you really need a nobody like me to give you advice?"
As far as Basalt knew, Leo's father was a Senior-rank trainer, a public official of the League, a sacred Pokémon Ranger. In terms of strength, he was no worse than the ordinary coaches at the club or the teachers at school. Basalt had even seen a picture on her social media before, a photo of her with a Pidgeot. That Pidgeot seemed to be her Ranger father's ace Pokémon.
My dad's Pokémon is a Pidgeotto, but your dad's is a Pidgeot. Basalt felt his own seniority suddenly drop a level. He couldn't even speak with confidence anymore.
"Don't even mention it. It's true my dad is a Ranger, but he's too busy, and his work is far away. I only get to see him once a month…" The class president's voice was tinged with dissatisfaction.
So that's it. She has a Ranger for a dad, but her skills are still so mediocre. I've finally found the reason! Basalt thought to himself.
"In that case, come over to my place. I'll give you some pointers." After the class president rambled on for a while, Basalt knew he couldn't refuse.
…
Twenty minutes later, the class president arrived on her electric scooter.
"Pidgeo~"
Her Pidgey, which had been circling above her head, flapped its wings and landed on her shoulder, gently nuzzling her cheek in a very affectionate display.
This scene made Basalt incredibly envious. As a lifelong fan of Pokémon, he also really wanted his Drilbur to perch on his shoulder like Pikachu, but unfortunately… his little mole had no sense of romance and was unwilling. Another reason was that its claws were too big and too sharp, and unlike a cat's, they couldn't be retracted. If it were to climb onto his shoulder, his clothes would definitely be shredded into strips, and he would be scratched as well.
"Chari~" (o^ω^o)
Seeing Pidgey, Drilbur quickly got up to greet it with a smiling face. Drilbur always had a good attitude towards those it had defeated.
"Pidgeo~" ｜д)!!
Pidgey, on the other hand, shrank back, clearly still living in the fear of "Rock Tomb." Being one-shotted twice in a row had almost given the poor Pidgey a psychological complex. But besides fear, Pidgey also admired Drilbur. Because the little mole was so strong, so amazing. So manly!
"So, you've also decided to participate in this High School Elite Selection Tournament?" Basalt looked at Leo, asking a question to which he already knew the answer. Coming to him for guidance at this time, there could be no other reason.
"My dad is making me participate. I can't win against him," the class president pouted. But then she remembered that her dad had promised her a trip to Hainan if she got a good ranking, and her mood immediately improved. For a trip to Hainan, she felt she could give it a shot. This was the motivation for her shamelessly coming to Basalt for guidance.
"Alright. What moves does Pidgey know right now?" Asking for a baseline understanding before giving guidance was standard procedure.
"For moves, Pidgey has already mastered Peck, Gust, Sand Attack, and Quick Attack. It's also been training Double Team. It has basically mastered it, but it's still not very proficient."
"Double Team?" Basalt was slightly surprised. That was a divine move for evasion. Double Team, a Normal-type move, creates illusory copies by moving quickly, thereby confusing the opponent.
At this moment, Basalt felt it was absolutely necessary to have a good relationship with the class president. Her family had a Ranger, after all. Even a few scraps of information from him would be enough to benefit Basalt greatly at this stage. If he helped her out now, could she refuse to help him with Double Team later? With her sense of loyalty, no way!
Maybe I should just become sworn brothers with her? That would make our relationship even closer! A wild idea popped into Basalt's head as he looked at her.
No, no, I can't be hasty now, or I'll scare her away. Stay calm, stay calm!
While giving himself a pep talk, Basalt watched Pidgey use its moves. He found that Pidgey also seemed to have grown a lot recently. Its speed and agility, in particular, had improved significantly compared to before. As for Double Team, it could now form two afterimages, but they couldn't last long.
Still, Basalt estimated that Drilbur's Rock Tomb could probably still hit Pidgey. Because Rock Tomb had five projectiles, and Pidgey's afterimages plus its real body only totaled three. That was more than enough. So, if the class president were to face him, she would probably still be one-shotted.
Oh, then it's no problem.
"Class President, is the power of Pidgey's Sand Attack a bit too weak? Do you usually train it?" Basalt stroked his chin and asked curiously. Compared to its other moves, Pidgey's debuffing move felt like child's play to Basalt. The tiny cloud of dust it kicked up was even smaller than his mole's own sandstorm.
"Sand Attack? That move has no killing power. Is there any need to train it?" the class president blinked, looking baffled.
Although Leo was a girl, her personality was actually more boyish than most boys. She liked straightforward, hot-blooded, punch-for-punch battles. She had a natural aversion to dirty tactics like Sand Attack. To her, Sand Attack was like two people agreeing to a fair fight, and one of them resorting to a low-life move like throwing sand in the other's eyes. It was just so dirty.
After understanding her thoughts, Basalt was also stunned.
It's a move allowed by the rules, and you call it dirty? Are you thinking straight?
Basalt was heartbroken. The class president was still too young; she hadn't been beaten down by the real world yet. If you don't practice dirty tactics, but your opponents are secretly practicing them, how will you ever compete with them in the future? Do you still want to become a pillar of society?
Basalt felt it was his duty to correct the class president's erroneous views.
"So it's like this… and this…" Basalt began to instill his "theory of pragmatism" in her. It doesn't matter if a cat is black or white; as long as it catches mice, it's a good cat.
"So, when you battle in the future, you can first use Sand Attack to blind your opponent. After lowering their accuracy, you can then use Gust from the air to finish them off from a distance. Wouldn't that be easy and pleasant?"
"Listen to your big bro's advice: if you can avoid close combat, then avoid it. You must maintain a safe distance."
"If the opponent uses a long-range move to attack you, you use Double Team to dodge. At the same time, you can't slack off on training Pidgey's speed and agility…"
Watching Basalt talk on and on, the class president's expression changed several times, a hint of disgust in her eyes.
Getting dirty is healthier? Is that something a human would say?
She never thought that Basalt, who looked so clean and pure, would have such a dirty heart.
Seeing that she was still hesitating, Basalt glared and said, "The trip to Hainan, you don't want it anymore? The blue sea, the blue sky, the sun, the sand, the coconut trees…"
Faced with the "trip to Hainan" that she had been dreaming of for so long, the class president finally gave in.
Watching the class president, who had arrived in high spirits, leave with her soul shaken, Basalt lamented, "Young people are so easy to fool…"
Ping!
A notification sound. Basalt opened it and saw that it was a message from Frank: Brother Basalt, registration for the selection tournament is open. Get it while it's hot!
Attached to the message were two links.
"Has registration already started?" Basalt's eyebrows shot up.