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Chapter 168: Lileep's Abilities
🕑 Added 2025-08-29 15:15:39 +0000 UTCChapter 168: Lileep's Abilities
"Excaaa!"
"Brooonz!"
"Liii~"
Three flashes of red light, and the team was assembled: the mighty and domineering Excadrill, the calm and steady Bronzor, and the adorable new addition, Lileep.
"Liii~ Liii~" The moment it saw Excadrill, Lileep happily toddled over to its side. Excadrill, acting very much like a big brother, reached out a claw and gently patted Lileep's head in greeting.
"Where are we?" Bronzor's telepathic voice filled Basalt's mind. "The Grass-type energy here is so rich, and the sunlight is perfect. It's just as good as Professor Nina's laboratory." It had been disappointed about leaving the lab, but it seemed Basalt had already found it a new training paradise. This Basalt is a pretty great trainer.
"Is the environment here really that good?" Basalt asked, a little surprised himself. He knew Hidden Lands were generally better than the outside world, but he hadn't realized the difference was this significant.
"You can thank Lileep for this," Basalt explained with a smile. "We're in the Cinnabar Sanctuary. It's always a 'Sunny Day' here, and the Grass-type energy is incredibly potent. It's perfect for you too, Bronzor."
"Excadrill, for now, you should focus on sensing the Grass-type energy. See if you can master Hidden Power," Basalt said, patting its head.
With their instructions given, Excadrill and Bronzor each found a spot and began their training. Basalt, meanwhile, took Lileep aside to get a baseline reading of its abilities.
"Lileep, Ingrain!"
"Liii~" The newly revived Pokémon was very obedient. At Basalt's command, seven or eight roots immediately sprouted from its suction-cup-like base and burrowed deep into the earth.
"Lileep, show me the range of your roots," Basalt said. The strength of Ingrain was measured by three factors: range, thickness, and density.
"Liii~" Lileep nodded, and the roots underground shot up, breaking the surface. They were only about as thick as a finger, but there were countless of them, densely covering a five-meter radius around Lileep. The sight made Basalt's skin crawl.
"Tsk, tsk. To have this level of mastery at the rookie stage... that's terrifying," he mused. But then he remembered Lileep's exceptional talent, its abundant Life Energy, and the master-grade Miracle Seed. With all that, this level of skill was... actually pretty reasonable.
"Maintain Ingrain and use Mega Drain," Basalt commanded.
"Liii~" Instantly, tiny green motes of light appeared on the roots, flowing like a river towards the central Lileep. A look of pure bliss spread across its face.
"It's a shame it doesn't know Photosynthesis," Basalt thought with a smile. "With this kind of stamina, no Pokémon at its level would stand a chance."
Lileep continued to absorb nutrients from the ground, converting them into energy to make its roots grow even thicker and spread even wider. But soon, Basalt noticed something strange. The damp rainforest floor around Lileep was rapidly drying out, and the speed of its root growth had increased.
"Can it already actively trigger its Storm Drain ability?" Basalt's eyes lit up.
A Pokémon's ability could be either passive or active. As a Pokémon grew stronger, some passive abilities could become controllable. Lileep wasn't at that level yet, but it seemed it could actively draw water from its surroundings to accelerate the growth of its roots for Ingrain. Its Special Attack didn't seem to be increasing, or at least not by an amount Basalt could perceive.
"Lileep, Ancient Power!" Basalt commanded, pointing to a large tree nearby.
VWOOM!
The tentacles on Lileep's head stood up straight, gathering power. A moment later, a fist-sized orb of shimmering, amber-colored energy appeared, radiating a primeval aura, and shot towards the tree.
BOOM!
The orb slammed into the trunk, blasting a deep hole in it and sending leaves fluttering to the ground. At the same time, five waves of light washed over Lileep's body, and its aura surged.
"Is it an RNG god? It triggered the secondary effect on the very first try!" Basalt was stunned. The "sometimes" in Ancient Power's description was a 10% chance in the games. In the real world, it depended on the Pokémon's proficiency, but the probability was generally very low.
Next, Basalt had Lileep demonstrate its other moves: Bullet Seed, Confuse Ray, Brine, and Stockpile. To his satisfaction, every move was impressively powerful. If he didn't know Lileep had only been "born" a few days ago, he would have sworn it was an intermediate-tier Pokémon. And after using ten moves in a row, Lileep wasn't even out of breath.
"That stamina is a huge win," Basalt nodded, completely satisfied. The risk he had taken to revive Lileep was paying off spectacularly. In terms of raw talent, Lileep was undoubtedly number one on his team.
With this knowledge, Basalt had already formulated a training plan for Lileep. Its role would be a stationary turret. With its incredible durability and stamina-recovering moves, combined with its low speed, it was the perfect fit. The strategy would be to use Stockpile to boost its defenses, Ingrain and Mega Drain to sustain itself, and fish for an all-stat boost with Ancient Power before unleashing its attacks.
"I need to get it Photosynthesis," he thought, jotting down notes. "And Sandstorm. That will boost its Special Defense while chipping away at the opponent's health."
Lost in thought, Basalt didn't notice that Lileep had continued to use Ingrain and Mega Drain, relentlessly sucking the energy from its surroundings. When he finally closed his notebook, he realized the damp soil at his feet had become dry and brittle, crumbling into sand when he stepped on it.
He looked around in shock. In the area covered by Lileep's roots, the smaller plants and shrubs had all withered. Only the massive, ancient trees still clung to life. Lileep's aura had grown even stronger, the patterns on its body glowing with a faint light.
"This..." Basalt was stunned. He quickly ordered Lileep to stop.
"Liii~ Liii~" Lileep obediently ceased its absorption, and its roots retracted back into its body.
Looking at the new, desolate patch of land in the middle of the once-lush jungle, Basalt couldn't help but gulp. "This little guy's destructive power is on another level," he muttered, wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead. Lileep was truly a predator from a hundred million years ago. He couldn't be fooled by its cute exterior.
"Lileep, next time you absorb energy, you need to control yourself," he said sternly, stomping on the desiccated ground. "Only take about thirty or forty percent of the nutrients from one spot, then move on. We can't have this happen again, understand?" It was all about sustainable development.
"Liii~" Lileep seemed to understand that it had done something wrong, and it looked ashamed.
Seeing its remorse, Basalt softened and patted its head. He knew this ability would be a massive asset in battle. Excadrill needed to use Earthquake several times to create enough sand, but Lileep? It could just sit there, absorbing energy and turning the ground to desert, and it was far more efficient.
"Unfortunately, the range of its roots is still too small," Basalt thought. "It needs to be able to cover an entire standard battlefield."
"Liii~" Just then, Lileep's swaying tentacles seemed to sense something. It turned its gaze towards the deep forest and began to move in that direction.
"Lileep, what is it?"
"Liii~" It pointed a tentacle into the trees, indicating that it wanted to go and see what was there.
"Into the deep forest?" Basalt hesitated. The old saying, "never stray from the path," came to mind. But then he remembered Agent Zhou's words that the Pokémon here were peaceful.
"You want to go? Alright, I'll go with you," he said, crouching down and patting its head. He called over to Excadrill and Bronzor, and together, the four of them ventured into the depths of the forest.
