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Chapter 243: Learning the Move Plow
🕑 Added 2025-10-06 12:07:25 +0000 UTCChapter 243: Learning the Move Plow
"Dr. Martin, long time no see!"
At the Metro City Research Institute, Basalt finally saw Dr. Martin again after a long absence.
"You brat, you finally decided to come see me."
Dr. Martin was pleasantly surprised to see Basalt. He rubbed his hands together. "Quick, quick, let me see your Lileep! A living, breathing fossil Pokémon... I've never seen one before!"
"Err..."
Basalt scratched his head, a bit embarrassed. It was annoying that his Pokémon were still more famous than he was.
But since it was Dr. Martin's request, he couldn't refuse. He opened Lileep's Pokéball.
"Nee-nee~"
Lileep appeared, its body tinged a dark purple, swaying back and forth as if it were drunk.
"Basalt, why is your Lileep poisoned? And why haven't you cured it?" Dr. Martin said, suddenly angry.
This was a precious fossil Pokémon! Was this how Basalt was treating it?
"Dr. Martin, please, let me explain."
Basalt gave a wry smile. After calming the doctor down, he said, "My Lileep is currently absorbing the energy from a Poison Gem to try and master the move Toxic. It's using this continuous state of being poisoned to slowly build up its poison resistance. It'll be fine, you don't need to worry."
"Oh, is that so?"
Dr. Martin's anger vanished, and his expression returned to normal. With his sharp eyes, he could indeed see a dark purple gem held in place by the petals on Lileep's head. It was undoubtedly a Poison Gem.
The only unfortunate part was that Lileep wasn't in a normal state and couldn't be touched. So, Dr. Martin had to give up for now, deciding to observe it more closely another time.
"Come on, I'll take you to the training ground. I'll have my Rhyperior personally teach your Excadrill how to use Plow."
Dr. Martin glanced at Basalt. Even though Basalt hadn't stated his purpose, how could Dr. Martin not see it?
"You know me best, Dr. Martin," Basalt said with an awkward laugh.
In the institute's training grounds, Basalt saw the magnificent Rhyperior.
"Dr. Martin, this Rhyperior... it didn't evolve from that Rhydon from last year, did it?"
Basalt looked closely at the Rhyperior. He noticed that when the massive rock rhino looked at him, its eyes kept darting away.
"That... is correct." Dr. Martin threw up his hands. "Basalt, I hope you won't hold what happened that day against it. Rhyperior is very kind-hearted by nature and never bullies the weak. I have no idea what got into it that day."
Dr. Martin still hadn't found a reason for the Rhydon's out-of-character behavior. It had become a thorn in his side.
"It's fine, it's fine! I'd already forgotten about it."
Basalt laughed awkwardly, his eye twitching. He felt pretty bad for letting Rhyperior take the blame for so long.
After a bit of small talk, Basalt released Excadrill, and the lesson officially began.
"Rhyperior, use the move Plow."
At Dr. Martin's command, Rhyperior first used its hands to dig a large hole in the ground. Then, the drill on its nose began to spin rapidly, tilling and turning the soil.
Before long, the flat ground had been turned into neat rows, and a large amount of soil had been turned over. At the same time, the rich elemental energy hidden within the soil was released, and the concentration of elemental energy in the area increased by about 50%.
Of course, it was primarily Grass-type energy. It was no wonder that Grass-type Pokémon's Attack and Special Attack would be greatly boosted in such an environment.
"The move Plow is a Ground-type move because tilling the earth requires immense Ground-type energy. But to truly master the move, control over Grass-type energy is also essential."
Watching the diligently working Rhyperior, Dr. Martin explained to Basalt and Excadrill, "Turning the soil is just the very basic part. The key is to connect with and control the Grass-type energy within the soil during the tilling process, allowing it to be released."
Basalt's eyebrow shot up. "So, the Pokémon using Plow must be able to master Grass-type energy."
Dr. Martin had told him this before. And coincidentally, Excadrill, just like Rhyperior, was one of those special Pokémon that could master Grass-type energy.
"That's right, that's the principle." Dr. Martin nodded, his face serious as he warned, "But it's easier said than done. For your Excadrill to truly grasp the essence of Plow, it will need to study, practice, and reflect a lot. Come on, let Excadrill give it a try now. Let me see its talent."
"Excadrill, are you ready?"
Basalt nodded and looked at Excadrill with anticipation.
Truth be told, the drill on Rhyperior's nose was only so big. Excadrill, on the other hand, could turn its entire body into a drill.
So, Basalt had a feeling that in terms of natural talent, Excadrill was actually better suited for the move Plow than Rhyperior.
"Dro-lisk!"
Excadrill flexed its claws. I'm always ready!
"In that case, let's begin."
At Basalt's signal, Excadrill's claws began to fly, tilling the ground.
Since it was still inexperienced, Excadrill didn't enter its "drill" state. Instead, it bent over and dug at the soil like a farmer, which looked a little comical.
"Rhy-per!"
Just then, the teaching-assistant Rhyperior's eyes suddenly went wide with shock.
Because as Excadrill began to till the soil, the elemental energy hidden underground was rapidly released.
The amplification effect had already reached a terrifying 20%.
In other words, once Excadrill finished using Plow, it could probably raise a Grass-type Pokémon's offenses by about 20%.
When Rhyperior came to this conclusion, it was stunned.
It was a Pro-level Pokémon, and it had practiced the move Plow for years to get its boost up to 50%.
But Excadrill... wasn't this its first time trying the move?
This just wasn't scientific!
"Rhyperior, what's wrong? You don't look well."
Dr. Martin noticed Rhyperior's strange behavior.
"Rhy! Rhy-per! Rhy!"
Rhyperior flailed its arms and legs, trying to explain.
"Are you serious?" Dr. Martin's eyes widened. After a moment's thought, he mused, "It must be that this Excadrill's talent for the Grass-type is exceptional—far better than yours. That's why it's having this effect."
As he said this, Dr. Martin's own mouth began to twitch.
But why would a Steel/Ground dual-type Pokémon like Excadrill have such a strong talent for the Grass type?
Just being able to sense and control Grass-type energy already made it a one-in-a-million prodigy.
To have a mastery this strong... it was probably no worse than a pure Grass-type Pokémon, right?
"Basalt, this Excadrill of yours is something else!"
Dr. Martin gave him a thumbs-up and relayed what Rhyperior had told him.
Hearing this, Basalt just smiled and didn't say much.
The Grass-type energy inside Excadrill all came from Lileep, and its purity was extremely high. After being nurtured for so long, Excadrill's own mastery of Grass-type energy had naturally risen with it.
So, what was a huge shock to Dr. Martin was perfectly normal in Basalt's eyes.
"Rhy! Rhy-per! Rhy!"
In the dirt field, Excadrill continued to practice. Rhyperior, as its instructor, would occasionally point out small mistakes.
But overall, thanks to its immense control over Grass-type energy, Excadrill learned very quickly.
By 4 PM, it had more or less mastered the move.
Not only that, but once it became proficient, Excadrill could enter its "drill" state, and its plowing speed increased exponentially, making Rhyperior green with envy.
Excadrill was a natural-born "Plowing Mole."
"Learning my secret technique in half a day... this is just..."
Dr. Martin paused for a long time, unable to find the right words to describe it.
But the general meaning was... incredible!
"It's also because you explained the theory so well, Dr. Martin, and Rhyperior was a very thorough instructor."
Basalt smiled, took a Ground Gem from his dimensional backpack, and pressed it into Rhyperior's hand.
"Rhy?"
Rhyperior's eyes widened. A Type Gem? This was a treat it rarely got to enjoy.
"Hey! Basalt, you kid, why are you giving something so important to Rhyperior?"
Dr. Martin was about to take the gem back and return it to Basalt, but the wily old Rhyperior was faster. It quickly popped it into its mouth, and with a few crunches, swallowed it down.
"It's just a gem I got as a reward from the university. Excadrill can't eat them all, so it's nothing to give one to Rhyperior," Basalt said with a smile.
He wasn't lying. He did receive regular, high-quality gems as a monthly stipend from the university. It was just that now that he had money, he tried to buy medium-grade gems whenever possible. Their energy was purer, and the effect was better.
After all, he could skimp on himself, but never on his Pokémon.
"Alright, then. I forgot you were our Centralis Province's Rookie King." Dr. Martin patted his head, filled with emotion.
Basalt was no longer the high school student who had come to him for a starter Pokémon last year.
Now, he was the Rookie King of Centralis Province, a genius being cultivated by Centralis University, and the owner of a fossil Pokémon.
That last part, especially, had very deep implications.
But as an elder, if Basalt didn't bring it up, Dr. Martin certainly wouldn't ask.
...
After saying goodbye to Dr. Martin, Basalt returned home.
The next day at noon, the Toxic Orb arrived.
It was a dark purple sphere, looking like a marble, but slightly larger.
A Toxic Orb was a magical item that could release a potent toxin. A Pokémon holding it would become badly poisoned.
In the games, this item was a staple for Pokémon with the Abilities Poison Heal or Guts.
But in the real world, trainers rarely had their Pokémon hold this item unless absolutely necessary.
Even though Pokémon with those abilities wouldn't lose health from the poison, the feeling of being constantly ravaged by toxins was very uncomfortable and could lower their affection over time.
In addition, a Toxic Orb could also absorb toxins, acting as a temporary storage vessel.
For example, when Lileep had killed the Skuntank in the secret realm, the poison was too strong for it to absorb all at once. At that point, a Toxic Orb could have been used to absorb all the toxins from the Skuntank's body and store them. Then, when Lileep needed them, it could control the orb to release the toxins slowly.
"But the poison from a Toxic Orb is too potent. Lileep will have to at least master the move Toxic before it can handle it. For now, it should just focus on absorbing the energy from the Poison Gem."
Basalt blinked, setting his course.
With all his business concluded, for the next few days, besides supervising his Pokémon's training, Basalt spent his time with his parents, even though they were only in their early forties.
Time flew by.
Three days later, Lileep finally finished absorbing all the energy from the Poison Gem.
As for the move "Toxic," it learned it as a matter of course.
At the same time, it was time for Basalt to return to the university.
