Chapter 305: The Silvercrest Mountains
"That power... is just insane!" The crowd was stunned.
The rapid collapse caused by Water Pledge could trap even a Pro-level Golurk for several seconds?
Keep in mind, Basalt's Marshtomp was, at best, just barely at the Advanced-rank threshold. It was a full major rank below the Pro-level Golurk. And as everyone knew, the gap between Advanced and Pro was a qualitative leap, extremely difficult to cross.
The researchers present were thrilled, but the trainers all began to think.
A combination of Storm Drain and Water Pledge? That could totally be replicated!
But on second thought, they realized they were being too optimistic.
Water Pledge was one thing. It was hard to learn, but not impossible with enough effort. Pokémon with the Storm Drain ability weren't rare, but Cradily's level of water-drawing power wasn't something just any Pokémon could achieve. It seemed to be a unique talent. After all, the Pro-level Sand Shocker (Cacturne) couldn't hold a candle to Cradily's water control.
And Cradily's ability to draw, transport, and control the water was the key to this entire combo. Without Cradily's setup, the combo was impossible.
But Cradily was a fossil Pokémon. Even a university teacher like Teacher Alvin wasn't qualified to get one, let alone a bunch of students.
With test after test succeeding, Professor Rowan was so excited he wished he could skip sleeping and continue testing every hypothesis in his notebook. But unfortunately, after dark, the Takla Desert's sandstorms returned. Professor Rowan couldn't fight the heavens and had to return resentfully.
On the way back to the rock hill, Finn gave Basalt a thumbs-up. "Basalt, that application of Water Pledge... that's basically a secret technique. You're only Advanced-rank and you've already developed your own technique, a unique one that no one else can even learn..."
Finn's face was full of envy.
As a student of Centralis University, Finn had also been the "neighbor's perfect kid" his whole life, but compared to Basalt, he wasn't even in the same league. He was completely overshadowed.
Basalt's growth was just too fast, so fast it was frightening.
For an ordinary trainer, the Pro-level was a massive hurdle, but for Basalt, that hurdle didn't seem to exist.
Fortunately, Finn had a good mindset and wasn't the jealous type. On the contrary, he even offered advice. "Basalt, your Marshtomp's stats are high, but if you want to increase the power of that Water Pledge technique, you need to special-train its explosive power."
"Marshtomp's... explosive power?" Basalt's eyebrow shot up as he immediately understood.
With a fixed amount of water in the dune, the power of the collapse was mainly affected by the flow rate of the reverse seepage. The stronger Marshtomp's explosive power, the faster the reverse seepage's flow, and the greater the power of the dune's collapse. It was a causal relationship.
"Senior Finn, do you have any suggestions for that training?" Basalt put his hands together, his posture humble.
"Hmm..." Finn pondered for a moment, then offered his opinion. "To train Marshtomp's explosive control of Water-type energy, I think the move Waterfall would be excellent. Your Marshtomp is a physical attacker, and it doesn't seem to know that move yet. This way, it can learn a new move and get the special training effect at the same time. Two birds with one stone."
Waterfall, a Water-type move. The user charges the opponent with amazing force. It may also make the target flinch. One of the cores of Waterfall is to unleash all of one's power in a short burst; otherwise, it would be impossible to swim up a sheer cascade.
"Waterfall? That's a great idea!" Basalt was overjoyed, his path clear.
Waterfall had always been on his list of moves to learn, but limited by the dry environment of the Takla Desert, he hadn't had a chance to act on it. But now, for the sake of his new special technique, he knew he had to arrange it soon.
Seeing Basalt readily accept his suggestion, Finn looked around. Seeing no one else, he whispered, "Back at the university, I once saw Teacher Alvin's Drednaw use Waterfall. Don't be fooled by the fact that it's a turtle; its explosive power is terrifying, and its aura is astonishing. I heard it's a secret technique Teacher Alvin developed himself. You should ask him about it when you have time. He'd probably be happy to help you..."
Finn gave Basalt a "you know what I mean" look.
Ever since the team found out Basalt had both the pseudo-legendary cub Larvitar and the fossil Pokémon Cradily, his status had risen to be just below Professor Rowan and Teacher Alvin, placing him in a detached, superior position. Anyone with eyes could see that Basalt had powerful backing and a limitless future.
Only a lunatic like Diana, not knowing his background, would have offended him so badly right at the start. She was probably regretting it immensely now. As far as Finn knew, after Diana had left the outpost and learned of Basalt's full details, she had voluntarily withdrawn from the team.
The she-dragon had chickened out.
...
Following Finn's advice, Basalt sought out Teacher Alvin the next day. When he heard Basalt's request, Teacher Alvin readily agreed.
It was just one secret technique. If it meant getting on the good side of a future star, it was completely worth it.
So, after the initial experiments were complete, Teacher Alvin led Basalt away from the outpost.
In the sky, Basalt flew on Super Bell, while Teacher Alvin's flying Pokémon was a Lunatone.
Both had the Levitate ability. Although Lunatone didn't have Reverse Gravity or a propulsion cannon, it did have the move Rock Polish to boost its speed. Combined with its higher rank, at full speed, it was much faster than Super Bell.
"Teacher Alvin, where are we going?" Basalt asked curiously after flying for a long time.
"We're going to the Westward Province!" Teacher Alvin pointed south. "About two hundred kilometers from our outpost, on the border of the Aridia and Westward provinces, there is a great, snow-capped mountain that pierces the clouds. On clear days, some of the snow on the mountain melts, and the water flows down the cliffs, forming a massive ice waterfall."
"A massive ice waterfall?" Basalt's eyes lit up.
"That's right, a massive ice waterfall!" Teacher Alvin smiled. "Water-type Pokémon are often also skilled with Ice-type moves. Training both water and ice is the best choice. Besides being rich in Water-type energy, that waterfall is also abundant in Ice-type energy. It's the perfect place to special-train your Marshtomp!"
It was clear Teacher Alvin had put some thought into this. Basalt just wanted to learn Waterfall, but Teacher Alvin was thinking bigger.
"Teacher Alvin, thank you," Basalt said sincerely. Teacher Alvin just smiled, saying it was what a teacher should do.
Following his lead, Basalt arrived at their destination half an hour later.
It was a giant waterfall, about a hundred meters high. At its base was a large pool. The center of the pool was flowing ice-water, while the edges were thick ice. The banks were covered in deep snow.
To the sides of the main waterfall were several smaller ones, ranging from three or four meters to thirty meters high.
Both of them had already changed into thick winter gear, as the temperature here was -15 degrees Celsius.
Looking at the magnificent waterfall, Basalt couldn't help but marvel at the wonders of nature.
"This is just a small, nameless branch of the Silvercrest Mountains," Teacher Alvin said, looking south at the massive, snow-covered range that snaked across the land like a silver dragon, his face full of awe. "If you ever get the chance to enter the main Silvercrest Range, the sights there are a hundred times more spectacular."
The Silvercrest Mountains were a forbidden zone for humans. Even Gym Leader-level trainers didn't dare to enter casually.
It was a sacred place. The energy there was abundant but also incredibly violent. Weak Pokémon couldn't survive. The weakest Pokémon found in the main range were at the Pro-level, and they usually appeared in groups. The danger was too great.
Critically, the environment was also extremely harsh, with frequent blizzards and avalanches. Even if Pokémon could survive, trainers couldn't last long.
So, aside from a few "ascetics," the Silvercrest Mountains were almost completely devoid of human traces.
"The Silvercrest Mountains?" Basalt's eyes were wide. That name was far more famous than the Takla Desert.
"Teacher Alvin, I've heard people have seen Legendary Pokémon in the Silvercrest Mountains. Is that true?"
Basalt rubbed his hands together and blew on them for warmth. It was freezing.
"It should be true," Teacher Alvin said with conviction. "The year I first reached the Gym Leader-level, I also came to the Silvercrest Mountains to train. The local herders build temples to worship the Legendary Pokémon Articuno, and Articuno in turn helps travelers who are about to freeze to death in the mountains. I've even seen a photograph of it. It was blurry, but I believe it was real."
"Articuno?" Basalt felt his blood boil. "Legendary Pokémon really exist?"
Catching a Legendary Pokémon... that was every trainer's dream.
As if reading his mind, Teacher Alvin shook his head. "I've heard that Legendary Pokémon possess Master-level strength the moment they mature. And because of their exceptional natural talents, their power is far greater than even an average Master-level Pokémon's..."
"Master-level?" Basalt flinched and quickly dismissed the unrealistic thought.
He was only at the Advanced-rank. He was still a million miles away from that.
After the idle chatter, Teacher Alvin prepared to begin the lesson.
He took an Ultra Ball from his belt. "Now, I'll demonstrate Waterfall for you. Watch closely."
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