Chapter 125: Choosing a Tutor Manual
That afternoon, Basalt stood in the deputy supervisor's office. Supervisor Hoffman beamed as he looked the young trainer over, his satisfaction growing by the second.
Promotions to the A-Group were a big deal at the camp, and every change had to be approved by the management. Naturally, Hoffman had been the first to hear the news about Basalt.
While Supervisor Sheffield was likely stewing in regret, Hoffman couldn't have been happier. He had originally just hoped Basalt would show Sheffield up a little.
But Basalt hadn't just put Sheffield in his place; he had completely dismantled him.
Furthermore, Director Sterling was at a critical juncture in his own training journey and had to focus the vast majority of his energy on that. He had no time to meddle in the specific details of camp rewards.
"Basalt, I've called you in today mainly to distribute your rewards," Hoffman said, his tone warmer than ever before. "The Director specifically instructed me to let you take your time and choose your Tutor Manual carefully."
By now, everyone knew Basalt was the camp's new star. It paid to be on good terms with him.
"Don't worry, Supervisor Hoffman. I know what I'm looking for," Basalt replied with a nod and a smile.
The first wave of resources had finally arrived.
First, his weekly allotment of Type Gems had increased from one to three. One was a guaranteed Rock-type Gem, perfect for boosting Drilbur's Sandstorm. Basalt could choose the types for the other two based on his needs.
Second, he received another Move Voucher.
Third was a rare berry, provided once a week. Basalt chose a Liechi Berry, which could boost a Pokémon's Attack stat in a pinch.
And finally, the main event: the right to choose one Tutor Manual for a mid-tier or lower move to train his Pokémon in.
"What are my options?" Basalt asked, unable to hide his excitement.
The only Tutor Manuals he currently possessed were for Aqua Jet, which none of his Pokémon could learn, and Focus Energy, which was too difficult to master directly and was only being used as a reference to help Drilbur learn Hone Claws. Unfortunately, ever since he ran out of the special Metal Coat fluid, Drilbur's progress on Hone Claws had ground to a halt. Learning it now would be a matter of pure luck.
At this moment, Basalt desperately needed a new technique.
"See for yourself."
Supervisor Hoffman handed him a tablet displaying the camp's entire collection of Tutor Manuals. Unfortunately, they were all for low to mid-tier moves, and the development paths they offered were relatively basic.
Still, they were the most suitable for the trainees at their current level. If they were given high-level manuals, their rookie-level Pokémon wouldn't be able to learn them anyway. Truly advanced moves and deep training techniques required exceptional energy control and a massive energy reserve. A rookie Pokémon couldn't even meet the minimum requirements; trying to learn them would be a complete waste of time.
Basalt took the tablet. The moves were neatly organized by type, making them easy to browse. Unfortunately, there were only a few moves listed per type, and many of them were incompatible with Drilbur or Bronzor.
"Double Slap… development path focuses on disrupting the opponent's center of gravity to create an opening?"
"Quick Attack… development path is to normalize its use for a passive speed boost?"
Basalt's eyebrows shot up.
Under the Normal-type moves, he saw Quick Attack. The manual's goal was to integrate the move into a Pokémon's natural movements, granting a permanent increase in speed. It was an incredibly practical technique.
"Too bad," Basalt muttered, shaking his head. "Drilbur can't learn Quick Attack."
If it could, mastering this manual would have been another solid step on its path to becoming an unstoppable speed demon. The Normal-type moves were incredibly versatile and had some great options.
Scrolling down, he saw a Tutor Manual for Double Team. Its development path focused on increasing the number of clones one could create.
"Double Team… Drilbur can learn this. And even though Bronzor already knows the move, it could still use this manual's method to create a couple of extra clones. That would definitely boost its evasion rate."
Basalt mentally bookmarked Double Team as a potential candidate.
He continued scrolling past the Ground, Rock, Psychic, and Steel-type pages before finally stopping on the Steel-type section.
"Metal Claw… development path is to increase the probability of triggering its Attack-boosting effect?"
Basalt tapped on the Metal Claw entry. As he read the description, his heart began to pound. According to the manual, a Pokémon that followed its training regimen could increase the move's secondary effect activation rate to one-in-five.
That meant, on average, every fifth attack would trigger the Attack boost.
"A standard Metal Claw only has a ten percent chance to trigger the boost. This manual effectively doubles it!"
For a Drilbur that currently lacked any stat-boosting moves, this Tutor Manual was a godsend. Better yet, Metal Claw was already one of Drilbur's primary attacks, a move it used in almost every single battle.
And in the future, if Drilbur evolved into Excadrill, Metal Claw would become a Same-Type-Attack-Bonus move. This wasn't just a short-term gain; it was an investment in the future.
"Getting stronger just by attacking? The more you attack, the stronger you get?"
A wide grin spread across Basalt's face. My little guy is going to love this.
"Have you decided?" Supervisor Hoffman asked, noticing his smile.
"I have," Basalt said, handing the tablet back. "I'll take Metal Claw."
"Metal Claw? An excellent choice for Drilbur," Hoffman noted with a nod, finding no fault in the decision.
After selecting the manual, Basalt confirmed the types for his other two gems: one Electric-type and one Steel-type.
The Steel Gem was to aid Drilbur in mastering the advanced Metal Claw technique. At its core, a Tutor Manual's training was about the deeper application of energy. Without some supplements to help, the training wouldn't be nearly as effective. It was time to give Drilbur a boost.
The Electric Gem was for Bronzor to help it learn Charge Beam. He needed to expand Bronzor's offensive coverage as soon as possible.
With all his rewards secured, Basalt left Hoffman's office, feeling completely satisfied.
Although he was thrilled to have reached the upper echelons of A-Group, the guidance from Mr. Shane had sobered him. Basalt buckled down and started from the very beginning, dedicating himself to intense training to master the fundamentals of energy control.
Drilbur's new moves—both the advanced Metal Claw and the potential Crush Claw—demanded a high level of proficiency with its energy. This grueling training was a necessary investment.
For three straight days, Basalt and Drilbur did nothing but train. It was exhausting, but they saw results. In that short time, Drilbur's control over its energy had noticeably improved. It was still a long way from learning Crush Claw, but even this slight improvement had an impact. Basalt could feel that Drilbur's standard attacks were hitting just a little bit harder.
More importantly, it was wasting far less energy with each move. This meant Drilbur's stamina and ability to sustain an assault had also increased. That was the advantage of high-level energy control: moves became stronger while consuming less energy. It was the best of both worlds.
Afterward, Drilbur consumed the Liechi Berry. Its power surged, and the fierce, scrappy aura around it grew even more intense.
As for Bronzor, it was still deep in Meditation.
"If it doesn't wake up by Friday, I'll have to go find a teacher," Basalt thought worriedly.
After his morning classes, he made his routine stop at his private training room to check on Bronzor. There was still no sign of it waking up. This was the fourth day, and he was genuinely afraid something was wrong.
"Dooo…"
Just as Basalt sighed and began to quietly close the door, a low, resonant hum echoed through the room.
Whoosh!
A powerful wave of psychic energy erupted from Bronzor, sweeping through the enclosed training hall. Loose items began to float, stirred by an invisible wind. Basalt shielded his eyes, which were stinging from the sudden gust.
"What's going on?!"
Confused, he looked up at Bronzor, hovering in mid-air. A strange, shimmering light, similar to the波動 of a Psybeam, pulsed around its body.
"Did something really go wrong?" Basalt thought in a panic.
It was obvious that something was very wrong. Bronzor seemed to be at some kind of critical point, its concentration so absolute that its psychic power was leaking out, uncontrolled.
But his worry didn't last long. The chaotic psychic energy quickly subsided. At the same time, the strange light enveloping Bronzor gradually receded until it vanished completely.
Everything returned to a state of calm.
"Dooo…"
With another low hum, Bronzor slowly opened its eyes.
At that moment, Basalt was so consumed by worry that he failed to notice the look of pleasant surprise and excitement in Bronzor's gaze.
"Bronzor, are… are you okay?" Basalt asked tentatively as he cautiously approached.
"I'm fine. Actually, I'm great!"
Hearing that, Basalt finally let out the breath he'd been holding. "Thank goodness," he sighed. "You're okay, you're okay. You really scared me for a second there, you little—"
His voice cut off abruptly.
His eyes went wide, and his mouth fell open. He stared as if he'd just seen a ghost, his face a mask of utter disbelief.
That voice… where did that come from?
Did Bronzor just… speak?
That's… that's not possible, is it?
Though he had never heard Bronzor speak before, for some inexplicable reason, Basalt knew that voice had come from it.
"What's wrong with you?"
Seeing Basalt's shocked expression, Bronzor floated closer, its expression becoming more and more human-like.
This time, Basalt was certain.
The voice hadn't echoed in the training room. The voice… was inside his head.
Only he could hear it. And it was, without a doubt, coming from Bronzor.
"Wh-what's happening?" Basalt stammered, completely bewildered.
"Why are you so tense?" Bronzor's voice echoed in his mind again, its tone matter-of-fact. "It's just Telepathy. It's simply an advanced application of psychic power."
"This is Telepathy?"
With the explanation, Basalt clutched his racing heart and let out a huge sigh of relief. He knew that many powerful Psychic-type Pokémon could achieve such a feat.
My Bronzor's psychic abilities were never weak to begin with, he thought. So it mastering this skill is… pretty reasonable… right?
Even as he tried to rationalize it, the corner of his mouth couldn't help but twitch.
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