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Chapter 213: The Legend of Azure Lake
🕑 Added 2025-09-21 13:24:02 +0000 UTCChapter 213: The Legend of Azure Lake
Centralis University.
In the student cafeteria, Basalt was wolfing down his food, shoveling it into his mouth non-stop.
Opposite him, Leon said smugly, "The food in our school cafeteria is actually pretty amazing. It's famous throughout the entire Centralis City university circle. Who knows how many students from other schools sneak in here to freeload every day."
As the best university in Centralis Province and one of the top institutions in the Alliance, Centralis University's facilities were far ahead of other schools in the city. That was undeniable.
"Mhm, mhm!" Basalt mumbled in agreement, continuing to eat.
He wasn't sure if it was just because it was his first time, but the food really suited his tastes. Especially this "garlic-chive tofu"—it totally hit the spot.
So good, so good!
"Slow down. You've got four years here, plenty of time to eat," Leon laughed. When he first arrived, he also thought the cafeteria food was delicious, but after eating it for a while, it just felt average. The novelty had worn off.
"Basalt, which Battle Department class are you in?"
"Class 1. Why?" Basalt said, his mouth full.
"Class 1? You totally lucked out!" Leon's eyes lit up. "From what I've heard, there's a girl in your class named 'Sylvie.' She's described as having skin like cream and the face of an angel. Even though she just registered this morning, the news has already spread through the whole school. She's already been pre-listed as a new Campus Belle, tsk tsk!"
Leon patted Basalt's shoulder, giving him a look that all guys understood.
"How's her strength?"
Basalt paused his chopsticks, raising an eyebrow.
Firmly adhering to the gospel of Master Martel, Basalt's will was resolute.
Women will only slow down his journey to become stronger.
And as a general rule, any girl who could be named a Campus Belle usually had an impressive background.
As far as Basalt knew, the other girl at Centralis University with the "Campus Belle" title was Bella Bai, a senpai. She was the daughter of the Centralis Province Gym Leader, Drake Bai.
Basalt had actually seen this "favored daughter of heaven" last year.
At that time, Bella was a junior. Although she had Pro-level strength, her Dragonair hadn't evolved yet, so she wasn't a main player on the school team.
But just before the start of this school year, Bella's Dragonair finally evolved into a Dragonite, and her strength took a massive leap.
So now, the captain of the Centralis University team was none other than Bella Bai.
Not only that, but because Bella was both strong and beautiful, she had high commercial value. After her Dragonair evolved, she immediately registered for the Alliance Professional League and was fought over by all the top-tier clubs in the Alliance.
In the end, Bella was signed by "The Celestials" for a one-hundred-million-dollar signing bonus and an annual salary of thirty million. She became the new star rookie and the public face of the club.
This news had also briefly hit the headlines about a month ago, a major story second only to the news of the fossil revivals.
"That... I don't know. To be honest, I haven't even seen her. It's all just rumors." Leon first threw up his hands, then looked around, leaned closer to Basalt's ear, and whispered, "But... I heard that Sylvie might be connected to the legend of Azure Lake. She's also a special-intake student recruited by the president and is the most high-priority person to be trained."
Basalt was stunned. He blinked. "The most high-priority person... isn't that me?"
"You?" Leon glanced at him and chuckled. "You're the Rookie King of our Centralis Province, so your strength and potential are naturally extremely high. You're a priority target. But our Alliance has over thirty provinces, which means in theory, there are over thirty Rookie Kings."
"So, you're just one of thirty-something, not the only one! As far as I know, besides you, Centralis University's new student class this year also includes the Rookie Kings from Ganford Province, Anwell Province, and Qiong Island. So even at this school, you're just 'one of the top.' You might not be qualified to be that 'most high-priority' person."
"What? That's a thing?"
Basalt was floored. Suddenly, the food didn't taste so good.
So after all that, he wasn't irreplaceable?
"This Sylvie, which province is she the Rookie King of?" Basalt put down his chopsticks, crossed his arms, and fell into thought.
A classmate?
In that case, I'll definitely have to battle her when I get the chance.
Basalt wouldn't go easy on her just because she was a girl.
Girl, I just have one question for you: can you take a hit?
"You mean Sylvie? She's from our Centralis Province!"
"Centralis Province?" Basalt froze again, confused. "Was there someone like that in the provincial tournament? How come I have no impression of her at all?"
Didn't Leon just say she was a Campus Belle-level beauty? Basalt was sure he would have remembered.
Hearing this, Leon glanced around again and motioned for Basalt to come sit next to him.
Basalt didn't know what was going on, but he did as he was told.
Leon said mysteriously, "This is the main point I was getting to. But this is all just hearsay, okay? I'm not responsible for the accuracy. Just listen."
"Go on," Basalt nodded, listening intently.
"I heard that Sylvie comes from the 'water town' of Aqualea. Her strength was very weak before, and she wasn't even qualified to participate in the provincial tournament, so it's normal you've never seen her."
"Then how did she qualify for Centralis University?" Basalt protested. Her strength was weak? And now she's the 'most high-priority' student?
"Let me finish!" Leon whispered in Basalt's ear. "You know Feebas, right? The Water-type Pokémon. In terms of presence, it's right down there with Magikarp. You can find them in all the rivers and lakes in Centralis Province. It's super weak before it evolves, but really strong after... it's just that evolving it is extremely difficult."
At this, an image of Feebas automatically popped into Basalt's mind. It had blue fins, a body of mottled tan and blue, a pitted and scarred appearance, and a dull, vacant expression. It was known as the ugliest Pokémon.
"Are you saying... this Sylvie had a Feebas, it evolved, and then she just skyrocketed past me?" Basalt raised an eyebrow, still unconvinced.
Feebas's evolution, Milotic, was said to be the most beautiful Pokémon. It possesses the power to calm anger and hatred and stop conflict. It generally lives at the bottom of large lakes or in the ocean, and when its body glows with a brilliant pink light, it releases a wave of energy that soothes turbulent hearts.
A Milotic was definitely strong, but Basalt refused to believe that was enough to put her above him.
"That's the gist of it, yes!" Leon nodded and continued, "Sylvie's Feebas evolved at Azure Lake. When it evolved, it supposedly triggered a massive natural phenomenon. A dense fog that the wind couldn't disperse covered the entire lake—an area of dozens of square kilometers. It lasted for three whole days and nights before finally clearing."
"They say it might be related to the thousand-year-old legend of Azure Lake. This is the real reason she was specially recruited by the president."
The more Basalt listened, the more confused he got. "A natural phenomenon? The legend of Azure Lake?"
What the heck? This isn't a pure Pokémon world, is it? Why are we mixing in fantasy elements?
"You've probably never been to Azure Lake, have you? Anyone who's visited the scenic area has pretty much heard the legend." Leon explained, "According to the legend, a beautiful white serpent lives at the bottom of Azure Lake, which scientists speculate was most likely a Milotic. The legend says that when this Milotic was still a Feebas, it was saved by a young boy. Later, the boy became a powerful trainer, and the Feebas also completed its evolution, becoming Milotic."
"Then one day, the powerful trainer and the Milotic met again at Azure Lake. To repay his kindness, the Milotic willingly submitted to the trainer and helped him reach an extremely high level of power. It became a celebrated story."
A look of envy appeared in Leon's eyes. When he heard this legend while visiting Azure Lake, he actually spent a thousand bucks to buy a Feebas and release it!
"A Pokémon version of 'The White Serpent's Legend'?" Basalt's mouth twitched. This was really throwing him for a loop.
"Leon, don't tell me the trainer's name was... Xander?"
"That was a long, long time ago. The trainer's name has been lost to history. How would I know?" Leon shrugged.
"So, the university suspects that Sylvie's Feebas evolution is related to the legendary Milotic from Azure Lake? Couldn't it just be a coincidence?"
Basalt still felt the reasoning was a bit thin.
Legends... weren't they just stories that a bunch of crusty old men made up, with later generations constantly adding fuel to the fire and embellishing the details? As far as Basalt was concerned, 99.99% of legends were fabricated and completely untrustworthy.
"A coincidence? A lot of people say that." Leon nodded, understanding. "I know it sounds crazy, but if you assume the school officials and the university president are all idiots, the greater possibility is that you're the one who looks like a clown. Like I said, it's just a rumor, don't take it too seriously. Let's eat, let's eat!"
Leon motioned for Basalt to eat, but Basalt had already lost his appetite.
Although Leon had rambled on, there was one thing Basalt completely agreed with.
The school officials and the university president were not idiots.
The fact that it sounded crazy to him was probably just because his own strength was too low, and his standing wasn't high enough. The Pokémon world was, by nature, full of mysterious and strange powers.
The legend of Azure Lake might not be false after all.
"The class orientation is this afternoon. I guess I'll get to see this great beauty Sylvie for myself."
Basalt's gaze sharpened, and he rested his chin on his hand, thinking.
But in his heart, Basalt had developed an intense interest in this beautiful classmate.
If possible, a battle with her Milotic would be even better.
Let's see the truth in battle. Nothing else needs to be said.
...
After lunch, Basalt said goodbye to Leon, went back to his dorm for a short nap, and then headed to the classroom right on time.
