Chapter 205: Choosing the Larvitar
The Claydol landed, and Master Axel leaped down. "Let's go, quickly!" he urged. Basalt and the Director followed suit, dismounting from the Tropius.
The Tyranitar's lair was a massive stone cavern, a prominent landmark in the sandy dunes. The entrance was a grand, ten-meter-high archway. "A fitting home for the Desert Tyrant," Basalt thought, awestruck.
They hurried through the long tunnel, finally arriving in a spacious chamber. In the center was a large, bed-like stone platform. And in the very middle of the platform, in a nest woven from dry grass and sprinkled with golden sand, lay two gray-green, rock-textured Pokémon eggs.
"Basalt, these are the Larvitar eggs," Master Axel said.
"The Larvitar eggs," Basalt breathed, his heart pounding. He had prepared for this moment, but now that he was here, a wave of nervousness washed over him. The eggs of a pseudo-legendary, the future core of his Sandstorm team.
"That's right. Now, pick one, and let's get out of here," Axel said, sending his Claydol to stand guard at the entrance. The female Tyranitar was down, but as a Master-level pseudo-legendary, its recovery time was incredibly fast.
Now, Basalt was in a bind. His original plan had been to use his Smooth Rock Crystal to test the two eggs' reactions, just as he had with Drilbur. But with the Director and Master Axel watching, he had no privacy.
"Can you two just... leave for a minute?" he thought, exasperated. He needed to stall for time.
"Let me just... take a look," he said with a sheepish grin, and began to examine the two eggs. They were identical in size and shape. There was no way to tell them apart.
"Hurry up," Axel urged.
"Don't rush me. I need to test their Life Energy first," Basalt said, pulling out a Poké Ball. "Come on out, Lileep."
"Liii~"
"Lileep, I need you to sense the Life Energy of these two eggs."
"Liii~" Lileep nodded and closed its eyes, its tentacles swaying as it focused.
"A Lileep? Am I dreaming?" Axel's jaw dropped. The revival of Fossil Pokémon was a top-secret project. Even a Master-level Gym Leader like him was not privy to that information.
"Director, what is this...?" he stammered.
"Don't be so surprised, Axel," the Director said with a smile. "You know about the Fossil Revival Project, I'm sure. Well, we've had a breakthrough. The Lileep you see before you is the first revived Fossil Pokémon in the world. And, at present, the only one."
"The only one in the world... and its trainer is Basalt?" Axel was even more stunned. "Shouldn't a Pokémon of such importance be entrusted to one of our top trainers?"
"The Lileep was revived with Basalt's participation, and the fossil was his," the Director explained.
Axel's gaze on Basalt shifted, a new respect in his eyes. What this young man had done was an event that could change the fate of their nation.
"Alright. Take your time. I'll stand guard at the entrance," he said, and walked out of the cave. "As long as I'm standing, I won't let those Tyranitar disturb you."
"Liii~" Just then, Lileep opened its eyes and pointed a tentacle at the egg on the right.
"The one on the right?" Basalt was overjoyed.
"ROAR!" Suddenly, the female Tyranitar's furious roar echoed from outside the cave, followed by the sound of battle.
"Basalt, make your choice and let's go!" the Director urged.
"Director," Basalt said, a desperate plan forming in his mind, "could you... go and help Master Axel? I just need a little more time."
"Make it quick, then," the Director said, but he stayed put, his duty to protect Basalt his top priority.
Damn it, Basalt thought.
The sounds of battle outside grew more intense.
"It sounds like Axel is in trouble," the Director said, his face grim. "I have to go and help. Basalt, you brat, hurry up and get out of here!" With that, he and his Pokémon flew out of the cave.
Finally, Basalt was alone.
"Bronzong, block the entrance with your psychic power," he commanded, then pulled out the golden, fully crystallized Smooth Rock Crystal. He had learned his lesson from the Rhyperior incident. He couldn't risk the Tyranitar sensing its power.
He slowly brought the crystal closer to the two eggs. Instantly, both began to glow with a faint, soft light. But Basalt noticed that the egg on the right had been the first to react.
"It's you," he said, his decision made.
He put the crystal and the egg in his bag. The moment he did, the light from the other egg faded. But the egg in his bag, now in close proximity to the crystal, began to glow even brighter, as if the two were drawn to each other.
"It must be fate," he grinned, zipping up his bag. "Bronzong, let's go!"
"ROOOOAR!"
Just as they were about to leave, a new roar, even more powerful and terrifying than before, echoed from outside. It was the male Tyranitar.
"Basalt, you son of a gun, get out here now! We're all going to die!" the Director's voice, filled with a terror Basalt had never heard before, screamed through the tunnel.
A cold dread washed over him. "Damn it. Did the Bronzong's shield fail? Did the male Tyranitar sense the crystal?"
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