Chapter 107: A Different Kind of Generosity
"Another pro? Do you have any info on them?" Cael asked, stopping his training to wipe his face with a towel.
As one of the top talents being cultivated by the Deep Sea Club, Cael had free access to all the club's facilities and received personal instruction from the club's supervisor. In return, he had to help the club when needed. Sniping any potential ten-win-streak challengers was his main duty.
"We don't have any info yet. I heard he's a new face," the club supervisor, Mr. Huang, said, shaking his head. He had just received the news and hadn't had time to investigate, but he knew time was of the essence.
"Return, Totodile," Cael said, his brow furrowed. "What Pokémon is he using?"
As they walked out of the training room, Mr. Huang explained, "I heard it's a Bronzor. It's supposed to have strong psychic power and a lot of raw strength."
"A Bronzor?" Cael froze. There had been a new Bronzor at the training camp recently. And its trainer had been the one to defeat him and knock him from Group B to Group C.
It couldn't be him, could it? He's from Seaside County; he probably went home for the weekend, Cael thought, but a shadow of doubt crept into his mind. He had a very bad feeling about this.
Back on the tournament stage, Basalt had defeated two more challengers, bringing his winning streak to nine. Just one more win, and the 50,000 Poké Dollar prize would be his.
Bronzor was ecstatic. This is so easy! Battling here is a dream come true! It did a victory lap around the arena, basking in the cheers of the crowd.
"Congratulations to our challenger, Basalt, on his ninth consecutive victory!" the announcer said, walking back and forth, seemingly trying to hype up the crowd but actually just stalling for time. The eighth and ninth challengers hadn't lasted long against Bronzor's overwhelming power.
Where are they? the announcer thought, anxiously glancing at the entrance.
Finally, the door swung open, and Mr. Huang and Cael walked in. The announcer let out a sigh of relief. With the club's own trainer here, he could relax. He shot a cold smirk at the triumphant Basalt on the stage. The Deep Sea Club's prize money isn't that easy to win.
But what the announcer didn't know was that the moment Cael walked in and saw Basalt, he froze.
"Ba... Basalt!" Cael's eyes widened. Is the world really this small?
"What's wrong?" Mr. Huang noticed his reaction. "We need to hurry. If we wait too long, the crowd will get suspicious."
Although Cael was still bitter about his loss and desperately wanted to crush Basalt, he shook his head with a sigh. "I'm not fighting this one. Just send someone else up."
"Why?" Mr. Huang was stunned. You're the trainer we've invested so much in, and you're backing out now?
"The person who defeated me and knocked me down to Group C... is him," Cael said, taking a deep breath. "And he's now in the upper tier of Group B at the training camp."
"Ah..." Mr. Huang was speechless. It was clear that Cael was no match for Basalt, even after nine consecutive battles.
After a long silence, Mr. Huang clapped Cael on the shoulder. "In that case, you don't have to go up. After the match, introduce me. And explain the unwritten rules of the tournament to him. If we can get on his good side, we should."
"Okay," Cael nodded.
Mr. Huang then sent up a random challenger. A club as large as theirs didn't want the prize money to be won too often, but they weren't opposed to it happening occasionally. And against a trainer of Basalt's caliber, even Cael would be useless. Sniping him was out of the question. Besides, 50,000 was a small sum for the Deep Sea Club.
The tenth challenger went up, and Basalt easily secured his tenth victory.
"Congratulations to our challenger, Basalt, on completing a ten-win streak and winning the 50,000 Poké Dollar prize! Let's give him a round of applause!" the announcer, ever the professional, shouted.
A thunderous applause filled the arena. Though they didn't know him, Basalt and his Bronzor had won them over with their sheer strength.
"50,000! 50,000!" Basalt grinned as he collected his prize money. It was like rain in a drought; it would go a long way in easing his financial crisis. As for the 400,000 debt, that would have to wait.
"Basalt, congratulations on your ten-win streak."
"Huh? Aren't you... the Totodile trainer?" Basalt recognized Cael but couldn't remember his name.
Damn it! Cael cursed inwardly, but he forced a smile. "I'm Cael."
"Right, right, Cael!" Basalt said with a sheepish grin.
After a brief chat, Cael introduced Mr. Huang. "Basalt, according to club rules, after winning the ten-win-streak prize, you can no longer participate in this event. I hope you understand."
"Of course, I understand," Basalt chuckled. He couldn't just keep farming the club for prize money. They weren't stupid.
"Not only that," Mr. Huang added, "but we'll be reporting your information to the Metro City Club Association. You won't be able to participate in similar events at any other clubs in the city either."
"Ah..." Basalt's face fell. He had been planning to do a tour of all the clubs in the city.
"You seem to be in need of money, young man," Mr. Huang observed.
"Who isn't?" Basalt rolled his eyes.
"Haha... that's not what I meant," Mr. Huang said with a slight chuckle. His eyes twinkled. "It takes a certain amount of time for us to report your information to the association and have you added to the blacklist. If you're fast enough, you could probably get over to the Terra Club across the street and get another ten-win streak in before then."
The Terra Club was their old rival. Mr. Huang was more than happy to be generous at their expense, especially to get on the good side of a promising young trainer like Basalt.
"That's... great!" Basalt was overjoyed. "Thank you, Mr. Huang!" He knew this was a special favor.
After a pleasant chat, Basalt left the Deep Sea Club and, just as Mr. Huang had suggested, managed to sign up for the Terra Club's tournament before his name hit the blacklist. And, as expected, he won another ten-win streak, pocketing another 50,000. He even ran into another semi-familiar face: Donovan, a trainer from the upper tier of Group C, whose starter was a Machop.
Hilariously, the supervisor of the Terra Club had the same idea as Mr. Huang and enthusiastically recommended that he go try his luck at the Deep Sea Club.
What is this, a loop? Basalt thought with a wry smile.
After that, his name was officially blacklisted by the Metro City Club Association. He could still train at the clubs, but he could no longer participate in the high school level tournaments.
It was a shame, but with his unexpected windfall, he was in high spirits. He went to the Poké Mart and bought some special, high-grade metals for Bronzor to eat as a reward. They were said to boost its defense. They were also incredibly expensive. A tiny, 1cm x 1cm x 1cm cube cost 1,000 Poké Dollars. And for it to be effective, it had to be consumed regularly, a 30-day supply for one course of treatment.
Basalt's head spun. "This money disappears so fast. These aren't Pokémon; they're money-eating monsters!"
For the rest of the weekend, Basalt and his two Pokémon trained tirelessly at the camp. On Monday morning, the inter-group challenges began. At ten o'clock, when the upper-tier challengers from Group C arrived, Basalt saw Luna... smiling at him with a meaningful look in her eyes.
What's going on?
Basalt suddenly had a very bad feeling about this.
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