Chapter 154: Thinking Too Small
"Excadrill, this is your first battle. Make it a good one!" Basalt said, sending out his newly evolved partner.
"Excaaa!" The Sandstorm Sovereign flexed its new metal claws, its eyes blazing with battle spirit. It swaggered onto the field with an air of absolute confidence.
"Go, my warrior!" Jin-woo Cho said, feeling a bit more at ease after seeing the Excadrill. It must have just evolved, so it couldn't be that strong. His own Pokémon, on the other hand, had evolved some time ago and was at the peak of its power.
"Scizor!"
A crimson, armored Pokémon with two pairs of translucent wings appeared. Its pincers had eye-like patterns on them, giving it the appearance of having three heads to intimidate its foes. It was Scizor.
Basalt's eyes narrowed. He had expected the Steelix, but it was a Scizor instead. Still, judging by its aura, this Scizor was even stronger than the Steelix. It was not to be underestimated.
Scizor, the evolution of Scyther, was a dual Bug/Steel-type with incredible attack power. It was said that its steel-hard pincers could crush anything, no matter how tough. It also had excellent resistances, with its only weakness being a four-times vulnerability to Fire. A weakness that Excadrill couldn't exploit. Jin-woo Cho had clearly calculated this and sent out his Scizor with confidence.
"But I remember," Basalt thought, recalling the Pokédex data, "Scizor's body is as heavy as steel, and it's lost the ability to fly. It has to use its wings to regulate its body temperature to prevent its metal body from overheating in battle, which means it can't fight for long periods." With that knowledge, he began to formulate a plan.
"Bullet Punch!"
The moment the battle began, Scizor launched a surprise attack.
"Damn it! A cheap shot!" Mason yelled in anger. But this was an unofficial battle with no referee. Even if they argued, it would be pointless.
However, Basalt and Excadrill seemed to have been prepared.
RUMBLE!
Excadrill plunged its claws into the ground, and a shield of rock instantly materialized around it, completely enclosing it.
Wide Guard!
In the games, Wide Guard only protected against wide-ranging attacks, but in the real world, it could block almost anything. The trade-off was its high energy cost, preventing it from being used consecutively. But with the power of the Smooth Rock Crystal inside it, Excadrill's Rock-type energy was abundant.
CRACK!
Scizor's Bullet Punch slammed into the rock shield, leaving a deep crater but failing to break through. At the same instant, the dust and sand in the area began to swirl, and a massive Sandstorm kicked up, engulfing the battlefield.
"Sandstorm," Master Bond noted, raising an eyebrow, but that was all. A Pokémon of Excadrill's caliber using a weather move was impressive, but not shocking. But as the Sandstorm grew in size and intensity, his expression finally changed to one of surprise. The power of this Sandstorm was approaching that of a professional-level Pokémon.
"This..." Even Agent Zhou and Master Martel were taken aback. This Sandstorm was on another level.
Scizor, unaffected by the sand, continued to hammer away at the rock shield with Metal Claw, trying to break through. But Excadrill's mastery over Rock-type energy was too great.
WHIRRR!
With that grating, high-pitched sound, Excadrill finally launched its counterattack. The rock shield opened up, and a Drill Run shot out, catching the Scizor off guard and sending it flying back several meters.
"How is that possible?" Jin-woo Cho stared in disbelief. His Scizor had been trained specifically for attack power, and with its Technician ability, its control over that power was exceptional. And yet, it had been pushed back by Excadrill. Just how strong was this thing?
But his surprise at its power was quickly replaced by shock at its speed. Excadrill moved like a phantom, a blur within the raging Sandstorm. Even as a Scyther, his Pokémon wouldn't have been able to keep up.
"If I don't win the championship with this, it'll be a crime," Basalt thought, just as shocked as his opponent. He knew evolution would be a big power-up, but he had underestimated just how big. In terms of pure speed, a Ninjask probably couldn't even keep up. That so-called psychic queen had better be ready to get wrecked when I get back.
Excadrill zipped around the battlefield, a ghost in the storm. Scizor tried to close the distance, but it was impossible. A wide-ranging Rock Slide rained down, and though it didn't do much damage, it pinned Scizor in place.
"Earthquake!" Basalt commanded.
RUMBLE!
The ground shook violently, and Scizor, still dodging the falling rocks, was hit full-on by the tremor. But its defenses were too high. A single Earthquake wasn't enough to take it down.
"Scizor, Iron Defense!" Jin-woo Cho countered, but a high-pitched Screech from Excadrill immediately negated the defensive boost.
Scizor was a powerful Pokémon, with high attack, high defense, and great resistances. But Excadrill was simply better. Its power was just as great, but its speed was more than double. Combined with its superior energy control, it was a complete mismatch.
Scizor was utterly dominated, unable to land a single hit as Excadrill beat it down relentlessly. Three minutes later, after taking a beating, it finally fell to a final Drill Run.
"Yeah, Basalt! Nice one!" the home team cheered. The Unovans, on the other hand, looked grim.
"Hmph. Useless," Master Bond muttered, cursing his allies under his breath.
"Mr. Cho," Basalt said with a grin, "it seems you'll have to pay for your actions today. My fee for emotional distress is very high. Let's say... ten million. You're not leaving until I get it."
"Ten million?" Jin-woo Cho, who had been looking sullen, suddenly relaxed. "Ten million it is. I'll have my people arrange the payment immediately. Goodbye."
Ten million? That's pocket change. He had been expecting a number with at least two more zeros. Right now, all he wanted was to get away from this place and these people as fast as possible.
"You're agreeing that quickly?" Basalt blinked, then added, "Just to be clear, Mr. Cho, I'm not talking about your local currency."
"I know. You're talking about your currency," Jin-woo Cho said with a dismissive sniff.
"Huh?" Basalt was stunned again. Did he just... look down on me? Am I... thinking too small? These corporate heirs really were on another level.
A muscle in Basalt's jaw twitched. "No," he said, a predatory glint in his eye. "I'm talking about Unovan Dollars. Ten million Unovan Dollars. Not a cent less."
"You..." Jin-woo Cho froze. He glanced at Master Martel, then back at Basalt. He gritted his teeth and nodded. If he kept arguing, he was afraid he wouldn't leave here alive.
Ten million Unovan Dollars was a huge sum of money to most people in the world. But to a corporate heir like him? It was just a number. It stung, but compared to his own safety, it was nothing.
Watching Jin-woo Cho and his entourage hurry away, Basalt scratched his head and muttered, "That ten million... was I still thinking too small?"
Seeing his dejected look, as if he'd just been cheated out of a billion, Master Martel couldn't help but laugh. He clapped him on the shoulder. "It's not that you're thinking too small. It's that to people like him, money is just a number. Ten million is not a small amount."
"As long as it's not a small amount," Basalt said, breathing a sigh of relief. He was afraid Martel was going to tell him he could have asked for a hundred million.
Then, he hesitated. "What should I do with the money?" he asked quietly. "Should I... donate it to the country?" He knew he never would have gotten this windfall without Master Martel and the military backing him up.
"Donate it? You could, but there's no need to donate all of it. You earned a part of it yourself," Master Martel said. After a brief discussion with Agent Zhou and Colonel Tiger, they came to a decision.
The money would be split. Half would go to the military outpost here as an "operational fund." The soldiers were, after all, his backing here, and it was important to maintain a good relationship with them. The other half—five million Unovan Dollars—would belong to Basalt.
"Deal!" Basalt was overjoyed. "But what if he doesn't pay?"
"Doesn't pay?" Master Martel scoffed, then said with a proud grin, "If he dares, we'll just inform our government to seize his family's assets back home. We have the video evidence. We're one of the five most powerful nations in the Pokémon world. Anyone who messes with us gets put in their place. There's no one they can complain to."
"I understand." A swell of pride filled Basalt's chest.
Though Excadrill had evolved, the semi-finals were still five days away. Basalt wasn't in a hurry to go back. This was the best Steel-type training ground in the world, and he was going to take full advantage of it. Not just for Excadrill, either. To maximize his gains, he had Lucas teleport his Bronzor over as well. He would squeeze every last drop of training out of this place for as long as he could. Every second was a second gained.
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