Chapter 292: Beyond Endurance
"Oh? What problem did you find?" Finn looked surprised.
"I just recalled a piece of information about Hippowdon," Basalt's mouth curved slightly upward, and he said loudly: "As far as I know, Hippowdon carefully protects Dwebble, allowing Dwebble that can't find a suitably sized rock to live in its holes. Dwebble, in turn, helps remove stones that get stuck in Hippowdon's body pores. To some extent, they are a symbiotic species."
Finn's eyebrow twitched, and he understood. "Are you saying a stone is stuck in one of Hippowdon's body pores?"
"I can't guarantee it one hundred percent, but I'd say there's a seventy or eighty percent chance. If I'm not mistaken, the problem is most likely in the pore on its left flank," Basalt said, pointing toward Hippowdon's rear.
Then, an astonishing thing happened.
The Hippowdon seemed to understand Basalt's words. Its restless behavior miraculously subsided, and it slowly walked closer to Basalt, turning its left flank toward him.
"This..." Finn's mouth hung open. Clearly, Basalt's suspicion was correct.
"Good boy. Wait a moment. I'll check the pore for you." Basalt stepped forward and gently touched Hippowdon's massive body. The Pokémon didn't resist but stood quietly, awaiting Basalt's care.
Finn had been around Hippowdon for a long time and had never seen it act so docile.
Leaning close to the opening, Basalt pulled a flashlight from his backpack and shone it inside. Sure enough, he saw a long, human-head-sized rock jammed inside the pore.
The stone was lodged in a tricky, dark inner section of the hole. If not for the flashlight and careful observation, it would have been impossible to see. Furthermore, because the rock was long and its narrow side didn't completely block the pore, Hippowdon could still expel sand normally, meaning the external symptoms weren't obvious. This was why Hippowdon had been suffering for days without anyone figuring out the problem, simply concluding that its temper had worsened.
"It's deep, and it's jammed in tight. It looks like we'll have to find some Dwebble to help," Basalt informed Finn of his findings.
"Dwebble? That's easy!" Finn clapped his hands excitedly. "I know a place where a small Dwebble colony lives. I'll go catch a couple."
Putting his words into action, Finn released Golurk, mounted it, and immediately took to the sky.
"Senior is certainly decisive," Basalt thought with a smile, then took out a Ground-type Gem from his backpack. He could receive one of these every week from the university, so they weren't too precious to him anymore. Giving a few to Hippowdon was fine, and it was a good way to build a relationship. Hippowdon's Sand Stream ability was irreplaceable for the research team. Without it, many experiments could not proceed. Since that was the case, Basalt definitely wanted to get on its good side.
"Sand-heck~~"
Slipping the Ground-type Gem into Hippowdon's mouth, the Pokémon immediately showed an expression of enjoyment, chewing slowly with half-closed eyes, looking like it couldn't bear to swallow.
"Don't worry. I'll be taking care of you from now on. If you behave, I have a few more Gems I can save for you," Basalt said with a slight smile, letting his 'persuasion skills' begin to work.
A short while later, Finn returned. Golurk was holding two Dwebble, one in each hand.
Dwebble are Pokémon similar to hermit crabs. Their bodies are orange, and they carry a large rock on their backs as a protective shell, like a portable shelter.
"Dwee-buh~ Dwee-buh~~"
The Dwebble were tossed onto the ground, shivering all over. The Golurk before them was too powerful. It had flown straight into their colony and seized them, and even their leader, Crustle, couldn't stop it.
"Sand-heck~~"
Seeing the Dwebble, Hippowdon gave a gentle call. The Dwebble paused, then quickly calmed down, having found a powerful backer.
"Dwee-buh~ Dwee-buh~"
Then, Basalt and Finn watched as the two Dwebble quickly crawled out of their stones, revealing their true bodies. The Dwebble's bodies looked insectoid, with pointed tails, and without their stones, they looked much smaller than usual.
They scurried into the pores on Hippowdon's back. Hippowdon snorted, engaging in 'friendly communication' with them. Then, the two humans heard the sound of rock being corroded and ground down.
"Sand-heck~~"
Moments later, Hippowdon's eyes snapped open, shining brightly as if its energy channels had been unblocked.
Basalt leaned closer to the pore and saw that the jammed rock was indeed gone.
"Sand-heck~"
Not only had Basalt solved its physical ailment, but he had also given it an elemental Gem. At that moment, Hippowdon's approval rating for Basalt skyrocketed several levels, instantly making him the favorite person on the research team.
"Basalt, you've really earned your credit this time. I'll inform Professor Rowan right away," Finn said, overjoyed, looking at the now docile Hippowdon. Hippowdon's restlessness had been delaying experiments and causing the team a major headache. Now, Basalt had solved the problem.
"Thank you, Senior," Basalt nodded. He knew Finn was intentionally trying to help him reverse Professor Rowan's impression of him.
Bidding farewell to Hippowdon, the sky was slowly darkening. A north wind picked up, and the sand began to swirl again.
"This godforsaken place is like this. The sky starts getting dark around 4 PM, a full two time zones different from the southeast coast. And almost every night, there's a sandstorm. You can't stay outside," Finn complained as he led Basalt back to the rock hill.
It was time for dinner. Each team member could collect a meal box containing a heated, ready-to-eat meal.
Basalt and Finn were the last to arrive due to the Hippowdon incident, and most people had already started eating. However, when Basalt and Finn went to collect their meals, they found only one box left.
Finn frowned in displeasure. "Who prepared dinner today? Why is there one missing?"
"It was my turn today." Diana stood up from the crowd, clapped her hand to her head, and said with a look of mock "apology": "Oh, I'm so sorry. I forgot the new colleague, so one dinner was missed. But... I have to go out right after eating to deal with some important matters, so I'll trouble the new colleague to make his own meal. After all, you can't do anything else anyway."
The sarcasm in her voice was blatant.
"Diana, that's enough!" Finn's face darkened. This targeting was too obvious. It was utterly reckless!
"Senior Finn, you say that's enough? What exactly did I do?" Diana glared back, holding Finn's gaze without backing down. "I genuinely have important work assigned by Professor Rowan right after this."
"Furthermore, this new colleague is a trainer. He can't do research, and his battle skills are too weak to be useful. All his Pokémon combined probably aren't a match for Nidoqueen, are they? Do you dare deny either of those two points?"
"I..." Finn was speechless. He couldn't deny those two points. But his sharp mind detected the flaw in her argument. Diana's failure to prepare enough dinner had nothing to do with Basalt's abilities.
Just as Finn was about to retort, Basalt's voice abruptly cut in.
"Lady, you really think all my Pokémon combined aren't a match for Nidoqueen? Aren't you afraid of biting off your own tongue?" Basalt's eyes were dark and intense as he stared at Diana.
First, she had stirred up trouble with Professor Rowan. Then, she assigned him the dangerous task of caring for Hippowdon. Now, she was blatantly making things difficult for him and mocking his strength? Basalt had endured the first three things, not wanting a destructive fight. But saying all his Pokémon couldn't beat Nidoqueen? Basalt absolutely refused to accept that.
Since that was the case, there was no need to hold back anymore!
Upon hearing this, everyone present—except for Professor Rowan and Teacher Alvin, who weren't there—stopped eating or talking and turned their attention to Basalt. From Quentin, they knew Basalt was a freshman at the Advanced-level. But the step between Advanced-level and Pro-level was a huge chasm, with a massive difference in strength that was incredibly difficult to cross.
For someone like Diana to become a Pro-level trainer in her third year was considered outstanding, even at a top university like Centralis. But how long had Basalt been Advanced-level? In everyone's eyes, it was far more likely that Basalt was the one who had just "bitten off his own tongue."
Diana was stunned for a moment, then laughed mockingly. "What's wrong? Offended? If you have the guts, let's go practice. We'll settle this hand-to-hand! Don't tell me you're all talk and don't dare to actually fight?"
"I'm definitely offended!" Basalt nodded, his voice cold. "Even though you're two years older than me, Lady, I don't think your Nidoqueen is all that great. Let's see what you've got. I'll wait for you outside!"
With that, Basalt turned and walked out of the rock hill, leaving only a confident silhouette for the stunned crowd.
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