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Chapter 228: Something's Not Right With This Lileep
🕑 Added 2025-09-28 14:06:19 +0000 UTCChapter 228: Something's Not Right With This Lileep
"In order, will challenger number 557 please come to the field."
Mr. Logan looked at the list of new students and made the final call.
"Alright!"
Hearing this, a well-built young man was overjoyed and quickly ran onto the battlefield.
As for the others, a wave of groans went through the crowd, their faces filled with disappointment.
"Come on out, Magmar!"
The well-built youth threw his Pokéball.
"Mag-mar!"
With a low roar, a Pokémon appeared. It had flames on its head like hair, a fire symbol on its belly, and a body that seemed to be made of fire. It was the Fire-type Pokémon, Magmar.
Magmar's mouth resembled a duck's bill. It's said that its body temperature can reach 1,200 degrees Celsius, and it becomes more energetic in hotter places. When it enters battle, it will spew scorching flames from its body to intimidate its opponent.
"A Magmar, huh? This is a good opponent."
Basalt raised an eyebrow.
Among Fire-type Pokémon, Magmar was quite famous. This was a creature that bathed in magma as if it were a hot spring. The flames it produced were naturally super-heated, which meant the chance of inflicting a burn was also very high.
As far as Basalt knew, Magmar's standard Ability was Flame Body, which also had a high chance of causing a burn on contact.
So, unless it was absolutely necessary, it was best to avoid close combat with a Magmar, even though its weakness was its physical defense. In a way, its Ability helped to mitigate that weakness; the two complemented each other perfectly.
The well-built youth looked at Lileep, then at Basalt, and his lips began to curl into a smirk.
Today might be the day I make a name for myself!
He had already figured it out. Basalt's Lileep was strong, but it wasn't ridiculously overpowered.
The Feraligatr from the last match had lost entirely because it was tricked by Lileep's Ability, which handed its opponent a massive advantage and led to a total collapse.
His Magmar, however, had nothing to worry about.
"Both trainers, take your positions! Battle, begin!"
With the referee's command, Lileep's second battle was underway.
"Ingrain!"
Basalt's eyes narrowed.
Thwip! Thwip! Thwip!
From Lileep's base, countless roots shot out, burrowing deep into the ground and spreading out in all directions.
"Magmar, Flamethrower!"
At the youth's command, a massive pillar of fire erupted from Magmar's mouth. The heat radiating from it was so intense that the faces of the spectators began to feel hot.
Feeling the scorching heatwave, the youth smiled.
Lileep had the Rock-type, which resisted Fire, but it also had the Grass-type, which was weak to it. Overall, its resistance to Fire was neutral.
However, the youth was extremely confident in his Magmar's flames. Forget a Pokémon with neutral resistance; he was confident he could inflict a burn even on a Water-type.
This Magmar was his starter Pokémon. He had poured countless hours and resources into raising it. Of course, it had its specialties.
BOOM!
The flames engulfed Lileep. It was instantly swallowed by the blaze, and the radiating heat made it almost impossible to keep one's eyes open.
"This Magmar's fire is freakin' hot!"
"Yeah! Looks like this Lileep is in trouble."
The watching freshmen shook their heads, not optimistic about Basalt's chances.
A short while later, Magmar's Flamethrower ended, and the scorching flames finally died down.
But when the crowd looked at Lileep again, all they saw was a giant cocoon—a cocoon woven from countless roots.
The once-vibrant green roots were now covered in black scorch marks. Some parts had even been completely reduced to ash, scattering in the wind.
"Are those... the roots from Ingrain?"
At the judges' table, Mr. Logan blinked, a little unsure.
Why was he unsure? Because Ingrain was a Grass-type move, and as everyone knew, Grass was weak to Fire.
A normal Ingrain could never have withstood such a blistering assault.
Unless... there was more to it!
"I've got it! It's the Storm Drain Ability!"
A judge next to Mr. Logan slammed his fist into his palm. "This Lileep's Ability is 100% Storm Drain. That Ingrain just now... besides the usual function, it was also using the roots to absorb water from the ground."
Hearing this, Mr. Logan looked at the battlefield again and sure enough, he could see a faint water vapor rising from around Lileep—proof that water had been evaporated.
He had a sudden realization. "So Lileep used its Storm Drain Ability to fill its roots with water, and that's how it blocked Magmar's scorching flames!"
"Nee-nee~"
Just as Mr. Logan finished speaking, the great root cocoon around Lileep burst open, revealing the little one wobbling its head, its petals aimed at the Magmar across from it.
As for Lileep's body, it was completely unharmed.
"Rock Tomb!"
Basalt waved his hand, giving the order to counter-attack.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
Massive boulders shot out, whistling through the air as they hurtled towards Magmar with immense force.
As a Fire-type Pokémon, Magmar was extremely weak to Rock-type moves.
Coupled with its fragile physical defense, if it got hit by Rock Tomb, it would be left with critical health, if not knocked out completely.
Fortunately, this Magmar was no slouch. It had its own way of dealing with this.
With a flash of white light, Magmar suddenly split into seven or eight figures, each one looking incredibly solid, making it impossible to tell which was real.
Lileep's attack missed completely.
The well-built youth clenched his fist and shouted, "Magmar, now! Rush in and use Dynamic Punch!"
Dynamic Punch, a Fighting-type move. The user throws a punch with all its might, and if it hits, it will leave the opponent confused.
Besides Fire-type moves, this Magmar was also skilled in Fighting-type moves, which happened to be super-effective against Lileep.
Critically, while Magmar didn't look too bright, its movement speed was actually very fast.
Lileep, on the other hand, was slow as molasses, and it was currently rooted to the spot.
It was a sitting duck!
"Mag-mar!"
Magmar clenched its fist, gathering Fighting-type energy. It weaved left and right, rapidly closing the distance to Lileep, its eyes cold and menacing.
"That speed... it's almost on par with Excadrill's normal speed," Basalt noted, his eyes darting back and forth, but his face was calm.
You want a close-quarters fight?
You'll have to ask me and my Lileep for permission first.
Sure enough, as Magmar came within ten meters of Lileep, without any command from Basalt, the ground suddenly began to shake.
Ground-type move, Bulldoze!
Although Lileep's Bulldoze was nowhere near as powerful as Excadrill's or Bronzong's, against a Magmar weak to Ground, it was more than enough.
"Mag-mar!"
In an instant, Magmar's rapid advance came to a halt, and a pained expression appeared on its face.
Thwip! Thwip! Thwip!
At the same time, three thick roots shot out from the ground, binding Magmar's hands and waist and holding it fast.
Tssss~
The moment the roots touched Magmar's body, a large cloud of white steam hissed into the air.
But fortunately, the roots were tough and didn't break.
"Mag-mar!"
Magmar was shocked. After struggling for a moment and finding it couldn't break free, it was about to spew fire from its mouth, but it was too late.
An incredibly brilliant, amber-colored energy orb was already right in front of its face.
Rock-type move, Ancient Power!
BOOM!
An explosion roared, and black smoke billowed across the battlefield.
When the smoke cleared, Magmar was on one knee, panting heavily, on the verge of collapsing.
At the same time, a series of lights suddenly flashed over Lileep's body, stunning everyone watching.
"It triggered the all-stat boost from Ancient Power on the first try? You can't make this luck up!"
Mr. Logan's mouth twitched violently. He felt like Basalt was blessed by the RNG gods.
With that, there was no more suspense. The battle was decided.
"Lileep, finish it with Bullet Seed!"
With Basalt's command, just as Mr. Logan had predicted, Magmar was taken out. As it fainted, little flames still sputtered from its mouth, as if in defiance.
"Who's next?"
Mr. Logan stood up and looked down at the crowd. "Who else wants to challenge?"
But unexpectedly, in stark contrast to the last time, not a single person dared to step forward.
You could say Lileep's win against Feraligatr was a dirty trick.
But this time, the crowd had nothing to say.
Lileep's use of Ingrain was just too monstrous. It could be used to absorb nutrients and recover stamina, to absorb water with its ability, and for both defense and trapping the enemy. Wasn't that a bit too versatile?
That level of energy control alone was enough to scare off most people.
"Huh? I've only fought two, and no one else dares to step up? So I'm not going to fight ten after all?"
Basalt frowned, then let out a soft, almost inaudible cough.
Signal sent. Actor, take your position.
"Nee-nee~"
In an instant, the excited look on Lileep's face vanished, replaced by a wilted, droopy expression, as if it had used up a massive amount of stamina.
"Hey, look! Why is Lileep's head hanging down like that?"
"Huh? Could it be that the back-to-back battles used up too much of its stamina?"
"Or maybe the power-up, while making it stronger, also caused its stamina consumption to skyrocket, and now it can't keep up?"
...
Hearing this, the mood of the watching freshmen shifted, and their desire to battle was once again ignited.
Only Mr. Logan frowned, muttering to himself, "Exhausted? I don't think so..."
With his veteran experience, he felt that something was very wrong with this Lileep.
