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Chapter 230: Challenging the Judge
🕑 Added 2025-09-29 09:50:11 +0000 UTCChapter 230: Challenging the Judge
"Oh my god, the terrain changed!"
"You're right! The battlefield turned into a desert!"
"What the hell? How monstrous is this Lileep's Ingrain? It's only been a few minutes, and it's already sucked a field of several hundred square meters completely dry. That's terrifying!"
...
The sudden change in the terrain was a massive visual shock to the spectators.
Now, when they looked at Lileep, the previous disdain was gone, replaced by a deep sense of caution.
Unfortunately for them, this was just the beginning.
"Nee-nee~"
After the soil turned to sand, Lileep itself paused for a moment.
It suddenly felt like it had a much stronger control over the sand, as if it could command the grains with a single thought.
The feeling was strange, a little unfamiliar, but it also felt as if it were an innate part of it.
"Nee-nee~"
Out of curiosity, Lileep focused its mind and began to try and control the sand on the ground.
Sshhhh...
Under Lileep's control, a portion of the sand on the ground suddenly began to float, moving on its own as if guided by an invisible hand.
"Nee-nee~"
Success! Lileep grew even more excited and increased the intensity of its control.
Before long, the small swirl of sand grew larger and stronger, naturally enveloping the entire field and forming a sandstorm of considerable scale and intensity.
"A Sandstorm?"
Basalt's eyes went wide, finding it hard to believe.
Bronzong had struggled for so long and still hadn't mastered Sandstorm, yet Lileep had learned it just by figuring it out on its own?
How is my Super Bell, the supposed "martial arts prodigy," supposed to feel about this?
But after a moment's thought, Basalt relaxed.
After all, Lileep was a Rock-type Pokémon, so it had a natural affinity for Rock-type energy. That was something Bronzong couldn't make up for, no matter how much sand it ate.
Secondly, Lileep frequently exchanged energy with Excadrill, siphoning off a good amount of the pure, top-tier energy from the Smooth Rock Crystal. That was another significant boost.
And on top of that, with its Storm Drain Ability, Lileep could easily drain the moisture from the soil, causing it to turn to sand and drastically lowering the difficulty of starting a Sandstorm.
With all three factors combined, Basalt felt that it was actually perfectly reasonable for it to learn the move.
But while Basalt thought it was "perfectly reasonable," everyone else present thought it was completely unreasonable!
This was the weather-changing move Sandstorm, capable of altering the climate in a small area. It wasn't some ordinary move; the difficulty of learning it was extremely high.
In some ways, it was even harder to learn than Swords Dance or Dragon Dance, as it required an immense amount of natural talent.
If a Pokémon didn't have extremely pure elemental energy within its body, no amount of learning ability would help.
The "martial arts prodigy" Super Bell was a perfect example of this.
As the sandstorm enveloped the field, Froslass frowned, feeling an instinctual discomfort.
As an Ice-type Pokémon with the Snow Cloak Ability, Froslass only liked snowy weather.
But this was no longer a matter of "slight discomfort." As the sandstorm raged, the sand pelted its body, and it could feel its stamina being drained away.
Lileep, on the other hand, was energized. A faint light even began to glow around its body.
In a sandstorm, its Special Defense was boosted.
This was the gift that a sandstorm gave to all Rock-type Pokémon.
Seeing this, the Froslass's trainer, the tall, chubby boy, had a face darker than the bottom of a pot.
Damn it, you can't play like this!
Before I got on stage, Lileep was acting all wilted. The second I'm up here, not only is most of its stamina back, but it also whips up a sandstorm! How am I supposed to fight this?
I'm reporting you! Basalt is baiting people into challenging him!
But unfortunately, he was already here. It was too late for regrets.
And so, the battle continued.
Under the cover of the sandstorm, one side's abilities were boosted while the other's were weakened. The contrast was stark, and there was almost no suspense left in the battle.
A continuous barrage from Bullet Seed, with explosive firepower.
A Rock Tomb that was super effective.
Coupled with the stamina drain from the Sandstorm, Froslass was soon swaying on its feet before it collapsed. It was a total cakewalk.
The whole process was like a joke.
Of course, it wasn't that the Froslass was too weak, but that Lileep had become even stronger in the sandstorm.
Five consecutive wins, and now with a sandstorm at its command, no one dared to challenge Basalt anymore.
So, the challengers changed from being called by number to volunteering.
After another three consecutive victories, no one in Area 5 dared to step up, even when Lileep frequently put on a "weak" expression.
"Sigh, I've only fought eight and no one else is brave enough? This year's freshmen at Centralis University are a bit lacking."
Basalt crossed his arms, sighing to himself.
At this rate, his lofty goal to "fight ten" would be impossible to achieve.
"How boring."
Basalt was greatly disappointed.
When his gaze swept across the crowd, the freshmen all lowered their heads, not daring to meet his eyes. He couldn't just go and provoke them, could he?
"Besides, the skill level of these freshmen really is a bit lacking."
Unconsciously, Basalt's gaze shifted to the judges. His eyes lit up as an excellent idea came to him.
Being sized up by Basalt, the five judges, including Mr. Logan, suddenly had a bad feeling.
"This kid... he's not thinking of challenging us, is he?"
Mr. Logan raised an eyebrow, but it seemed unlikely.
Unfortunately, his feeling was wrong.
Because in the next second, Basalt really did issue a challenge.
"Excuse me, judges. My Lileep says it hasn't had enough fun yet. I was wondering if any of you would be interested in coming down to give it some pointers?"
Basalt looked up at Mr. Logan and the others, his eyes shining.
Why challenge sophomores when I can challenge the judges directly? Now that's satisfying.
"Basalt, are you serious?"
Hearing this, Mr. Logan's mouth twitched, and he laughed out of sheer indignation.
The five judges sitting here were all fourth-year students and officers of the Battle Club. They were genuine Pro-level trainers.
Although Basalt's Lileep was strong, at best, it had only just crossed the threshold into the Advanced-rank. How could it fight them?
Forget Lileep, even Basalt's starter, Excadrill, would be no match for them.
"Whoa! Am I seeing things? Did Basalt just challenge the judges?"
"Is this guy crazy? He's showing off to the judges now!"
"Actually, I think this is great. Let the judges teach him a lesson. Watching that would make me feel a lot better."
...
Seeing Basalt's arrogant display, many people were starting to feel annoyed.
If Basalt could be taught a lesson, they would love to see it.
"I am serious."
Basalt first nodded seriously, then said with a cheeky grin, "But my Lileep has only been trained for a few months. I'm sure you judges wouldn't use your main ace to bully it, right? Otherwise, I might as well just surrender now and save us all some time."
"This kid..."
Hearing this, the five judges also smiled.
That kind of flattery was nice to hear, but its side effect was that it drew a line in the sand for them.
Sending out their Pro-level main Pokémon was definitely inappropriate; it would look like they were bullying a junior.
Sending out a newly-trained Pokémon below the Advanced-rank was also inappropriate, as it would most likely lose to Lileep. After all, Lileep had already demonstrated its all-around capabilities. Besides its speed, it had almost no weaknesses. It was a classic pentagon-stat fighter.
So, the only option left was their Advanced-rank Pokémon.
Pokémon that the judges had been training for a while, but that weren't yet fully battle-hardened. They were perfect opponents for Lileep.
Ideally, they would be a little stronger than Lileep, enough to put pressure on it, but not so strong that it would be a complete stomp.
"This kid is as sly as a fox. Which of us is the most suitable?"
Mr. Logan and the other four judges looked at each other and began to discuss in low voices.
"I have an Advanced-rank Shiftry that would be perfect, but I didn't expect this situation, so I didn't bring it today."
"I have an Advanced-rank Quagsire. It's decent, but it's completely countered by Lileep. If I go out there, I'll probably just get embarrassed. So I'll pass."
"I don't think I have any suitable Pokémon on me either."
"I have an Advanced-rank Magneton, but the type advantage is too great. It wouldn't feel right to win like that."
"In that case, I'll go. My Venomoth has a mixed type matchup against Lileep, and I should be able to win without much trouble."
...
After a bit of discussion, they finally decided that Mr. Logan would be the one to battle.
Under the watchful eyes of the freshmen and Basalt, Mr. Logan slowly walked onto the battlefield and threw a Pokéball. "Come on out, Venomoth!"
Venomoth is a moth-like Pokémon. It has a light purple body, a white, furry abdomen, and bubble-like eyes with black pupils. It has two sharp fangs, three long protrusions on its head, and two huge wings covered in purple, poisonous powder.
"An Advanced-rank Venomoth, huh? This is finally getting interesting."
Basalt raised an eyebrow, looking at the large moth flapping its wings in the air. Its wings seemed a little more vibrant than a normal Venomoth's.
According to the Pokédex, the powder on Venomoth's wings can have different effects depending on its color: dark colors are poisonous, light colors cause sleep, and unusually colored powder can cause paralysis.
When it attacks, it violently flaps its huge wings, scattering different powders, making it impossible to defend against.
If you accidentally get the powder from its wings on you, not only is it hard to remove, but the poison will also seep in, causing your body to feel strange and making it impossible to stand up straight.
"Looks like I need to be careful of that powder," Basalt thought, his eyes narrowing.
