Eroking
patreon
Chapter 164: Lileep Arrives!
🕑 Added 2025-08-27 15:45:22 +0000 UTCChapter 164: Lileep Arrives!
"Excadrill, use Sand—" Basalt yelled, throwing out a Poké Ball to try and smother the fire with sand.
But Agent Zhou was faster. The moment the machine exploded, he had already thrown his own Poké Ball. "Golduck, use Water Gun to put out the fire!"
"Gol!" A blue, duck-like Pokémon appeared. It was Golduck, a masterful swimmer with a red gem on its forehead and powerful, webbed limbs.
FWOOSH!
A thick stream of water shot from Golduck's beak, dousing the machine. In an instant, the flames were extinguished, leaving only the faint crackle of arcing electricity as evidence of the accident.
"Quick, Excadrill, get in there and see if Lileep is still alive!" Basalt's heart was in his throat. The explosion hadn't been massive, but for a newly revived Pokémon, it could easily have been fatal.
"Excaaa!" Excadrill nodded and immediately began tearing at the wreckage with its claws, trying to get inside.
Dr. Martin, meanwhile, had rushed over to check on his Musharna, completely ignoring the Lileep. As important as proving his theory was, his longtime partner was more important.
CRACK! CRUNCH!
Excadrill's claws were like steel knives, slicing through the mangled metal of the machine.
Zzzt... zzzt...
Just then, Basalt heard a strange sound. He looked down and saw that the water on the floor was flowing backwards, converging on the center of the explosion as if time were reversing.
"Excadrill, be careful!" he warned.
SPLASH!
The moment he spoke, a jet of blue water shot out from the wreckage, aimed directly at Excadrill.
"Excaaa!" Excadrill reacted instantly, crossing its steel claws to form a shield and blocking the attack.
"Brine?" Zhou exclaimed in shock, recognizing the move. He had been standing too far back to hear Dr. Martin announce the detection of vital signs and had assumed the experiment had failed. You mean... Basalt was telling the truth? Fossil revival is real?
"Have I gone crazy, or has the world gone crazy?" he thought, his eyes wide with disbelief. He tried to see what had launched the attack, but the thick, black smoke obscured his view.
"Liii~ Liii~" A soft, gentle cry came from within the wreckage.
"That's Lileep's cry!" Having seen the anime and played the games, Basalt recognized it instantly. "Excadrill, don't move!" he quickly commanded, stopping his partner from retaliating. Excadrill didn't know its own strength; he was afraid it would hurt the little guy.
Just then, Dr. Martin came over, supporting his weakened Musharna.
"Liii~ Liii~"
All eyes were now fixed on the gaping hole in the center of the machine. A moment later, a Lileep, mustering its courage, slowly emerged, its tentacles swaying as it moved on its suction-cup-like base. It looked just like a sea lily, with a purple base, pink tentacles, and a black top.
"It's a Lileep! It looks exactly like the scientific reconstructions," Dr. Martin said, his excitement mounting. He started to move closer, but Basalt stopped him.
"Dr. Martin, we had a deal. This Lileep is mine," Basalt said, his eyes filled with a warning.
Agent Zhou, though still in a state of shock, remembered his duty and moved to stand beside Basalt, his Charizard and Golduck at the ready. At this point, he was ready to deify Basalt. The kid had not only thought of this crazy plan, but he had actually pulled it off. A living, breathing Pokémon from a hundred million years ago was standing right in front of him. It was incredible. And, he had to admit, it was kind of cute.
"Basalt, don't misunderstand. I have no intention of taking it. Just let me observe it after you've caught it," Dr. Martin said, raising his hands in a gesture of surrender.
"Then please step back, Dr. Martin, and recall your Musharna," Basalt insisted.
With a warning glance from Basalt, Dr. Martin reluctantly complied. After signaling to Agent Zhou to stay on guard, Basalt finally turned his full attention to the Lileep.
It was clearly injured from the explosion. But in the few moments that Basalt had been dealing with Dr. Martin, tiny roots had already grown from its base, snaking through the cracks in the iron floor and into the ground below. Faint green lights began to pulse from its body, flowing up from the roots.
"Liii~ Liii~" it chirped happily, clearly enjoying the sensation. The wounds on its body began to heal, and soon, it was as if it had never been injured at all.
"Ingrain and Mega Drain," Zhou noted with surprise. "But the recovery speed is incredible." As a Gym Leader-level trainer, he could tell that this Lileep was only at the rookie level. But the healing power of its moves was far beyond what was normal for its level.
"It's because of Golduck's Water Gun," Basalt said, his eyes shining. "Its ability must be Storm Drain. When it's hit by a Water-type move, its Special Attack is raised." This was exactly what he had been hoping for when he'd chosen the thick-stemmed fossil.
"It's not just the Storm Drain ability," Dr. Martin interjected. "I've studied Life Energy to some extent. I can tell that this Lileep's Life Energy is exceptionally vibrant, far exceeding that of other Pokémon at its level."
"Exceptionally vibrant Life Energy?" Basalt thought, his excitement growing. That meant it would grow and develop much faster than a normal Pokémon.
With its wounds fully healed, Lileep detached itself from the ground and looked timidly at Basalt.
"Hello, Lileep," Basalt said, smiling as gently as he could, a Poké Ball ready in his hand.
"Liii~ Liii~" The small eyes on top of its head looked at him, and its tentacles swayed back and forth, as if it were sensing something. Then, to everyone's surprise, it slowly moved past Basalt and towards Excadrill. It reached out its tentacles and wrapped them around Excadrill's leg.
"That's Bind," Zhou commented.
Excadrill's eye twitched in annoyance as the little creature clung to it.
"Excadrill, easy now, don't get angry," Basalt quickly said.
"Excaaa," Excadrill grumbled, but Lileep was stuck to it like glue. A faint, gray light began to flow from Excadrill into Lileep.
"Liii~ Liii~" Lileep chirped even more happily.
"Is it... absorbing Excadrill's Rock-type energy?" Dr. Martin asked, pushing his glasses up his nose. "The quality of your Excadrill's Rock-type energy must be very high."
"It's the Smooth Rock Crystal," Basalt realized. It's attracting the Lileep. He felt a pang of regret. He had been planning to save that last crystal for the "Desert Tyrant."
Fortunately, Lileep's appetite wasn't large. After a few minutes, it stopped. It then began to wave its tentacles at Excadrill like an adoring fan, seeking its approval.
"Excaaa," Excadrill grumbled, looking down at the little creature. Its look of annoyance softened, and it reached out a claw to gently pat one of Lileep's tentacles.
"Liii~ Liii~" Lileep's tentacles waved happily.
"Lileep, you seem to really like Excadrill, don't you?" Basalt said, releasing Bronzor before crouching down. "How would you like to play with Excadrill all the time?"
Bronzor, the old translator, relayed Basalt's message telepathically.
"Liii~" Lileep wiggled its body and nodded.
"Then be my Pokémon," Basalt said, holding out a Poké Ball. "That way, you can be with Excadrill forever."
After a moment's hesitation, Lileep happily used one of its tentacles to press the button on the Poké Ball. A red light enveloped it, and it was sucked inside. The ball shook once, then fell still.
"Lileep, caught!" Basalt couldn't hide his joy. The first revived Fossil Pokémon in the world, and he had caught it. In terms of sheer coolness, that had to be even better than a pseudo-legendary.
