Pokémon: Sandstorm Sovereign

Chapter 95: Go With the Flow

"Caused trouble? No, no, not at all," the middle-aged move tutor said, shaking his head.

"Then what is it?" Basalt was completely lost. If Drilbur didn't cause trouble, why are you so worked up? You scared the daylights out of me; I was about to turn and run.

"Don't misunderstand. I'm excited because your Drilbur has already learned Smack Down," the tutor finally explained.

"What? It already learned it?" Basalt was stunned. It had been barely over an hour. It had mastered a brand new move it had never seen before in just an hour?

Basalt scratched his head. "Is learning moves this easy now?"

"What's your name, young man?"

"Uh... I'm Basalt." Basalt was exasperated. He was sure he had introduced himself that morning. Clearly, the man hadn't been paying attention.

"Basalt, I believe your Drilbur has an extraordinary talent for the Rock type. I only explained the principle of Smack Down to it once, and it succeeded on its very first try. Even a naturally gifted Rock-type Pokémon couldn't do that, yet your Ground-type did."

The tutor rubbed his hands together excitedly, a wide grin on his face. "I suspect your Drilbur is a genius at learning moves. So, I was hoping you could ask it for me... does it have some kind of secret to learning so quickly?"

"A secret?" Basalt was baffled. Who's the move tutor here? You're a professional who teaches moves, and you're asking a Pokémon for its secret? Have you no shame?

What Basalt didn't know was that move tutors also had ranks. If this tutor could discover the method behind Drilbur's rapid mastery, he could write a paper on it, which might qualify him for a promotion.

"How about this," the tutor said, making an offer. "If you tell me Drilbur's secret, I'll teach it Rock Slide and Stone Edge for free."

"Rock Slide and Stone Edge, for free?" Basalt's eyes lit up. Rock Slide was a mid-to-high-tier move, but Stone Edge was a bona fide high-tier move. Learning Rock Slide from a tutor would normally cost tens of thousands, and Stone Edge would be well into the six figures. But now... for free? That was a massive saving.

"Are you serious?" Basalt asked, his eyes wide with disbelief.

Mr. Wallace's eyes bulged. "Of course I'm serious! I'm Wallace, a senior move tutor in Metro City. You can ask around; I'm a man of my word."

"Then I'll go ask!" Basalt was overjoyed.

"Go, go! Ask it now!" Wallace urged, practically pushing him into the training room.

The room was a large, thirty-by-thirty-meter space, about half the size of a standard battlefield. Inside, Drilbur was the only Pokémon. A metal target hung from the ceiling.

"Drilburr..." Drilbur was training so intently it hadn't noticed Basalt's arrival. It crouched low, its hands held open, and two head-sized rocks quickly formed in its palms. They looked similar to the rocks from Rock Tomb, but they were smaller and a dark, heavy black instead of gray. Basalt could sense a special gravitational pull from them; they weren't just for dealing damage.

Fwit! Fwit!

The two rocks shot through the air and slammed into the metal target, making it creak loudly.

"I knew it! This kid has a secret! He absolutely has a secret. How long has it been, and it can already fire them in succession?" Wallace's eyes widened in disbelief, as if he'd seen a ghost.

"I'll go ask. Please wait here," Basalt said with a nervous smile, walking over to his partner.

"Drilbur, you're amazing! I heard you already mastered Smack Down."

"Drilburr!" ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ Seeing Basalt, Drilbur was ecstatic, especially at the praise. Of course! I am the great Emperor Drilbur! Learning a new move is child's play!

"Do you have a secret to learning so fast?" Basalt asked, pulling it aside and whispering.

"Drilburr?" [`ヘ´?] Drilbur was confused. A secret? What secret? I just did what the tutor said, focused my energy, and it just... happened. If I had to say there's a secret, I guess it's... go with the flow! Yeah, that's it! Go with the flow! It nodded seriously.

"Ah... this..." Basalt was stunned, feeling a sudden urge to cry. After eating the Smooth Rock, my Drilbur's affinity for the Rock type became god-tier, so it can just 'go with the flow' and learn a new move in an hour. That's... perfectly reasonable, right?

He scratched his head. He couldn't possibly tell him about the Smooth Rock. But if he just said "go with the flow"... Wallace would probably beat the crap out of him. It sounded like a total cop-out.

Does that mean... my free Rock Slide and Stone Edge... are gone? Basalt felt a wave of disappointment.

And sure enough, when Basalt relayed the "go with the flow" secret, Wallace's mustache bristled with rage. "You little brat! If you don't want to tell me, fine, but don't mock me! Get out!" He kicked both Basalt and Drilbur out of the training room.

"What are you so angry about?" Basalt grumbled as he walked back to his dorm. "With my Drilbur's talent, it would have learned Rock Slide and Stone Edge eventually, even without a tutor."

Back in his room, Bronzor was still floating with its eyes closed, trying to sense Ground-type energy.

Tap, tap, tap! Basalt knocked on its side, producing a clear, metallic sound.

"Bronz..." Bronzor reluctantly opened its eyes. The red blood vessels had spread from the whites of its eyes to cover the entire surface, making it look terrifying.

Basalt was shocked. "Bronzor, stop! You need to rest!" he commanded. He was afraid it was becoming obsessed.

"Bronz..." Bronzor shook its "head" stubbornly. No! I've finally understood the secret technique. Now is the time for a breakthrough! I can't stop!

Seeing that it wouldn't listen, Basalt had no choice but to use force and recall it to its Poké Ball.

"Bronz!" Bronzor defiantly broke free, but Basalt immediately recalled it again, this time locking the Poké Ball.

"Bronz... Bronz?" Inside the ball, Bronzor was confused. It had always thought a Poké Ball was just a place to live. It never knew it could also be a prison.

Thump, thump, thump! It tried to ram the inner walls, but the ball was too strong.

"Bronzor, you need to calm down. Once you've recovered, I'll let you out immediately," Basalt apologized to the ball. He then shrank it and clipped it to his belt.

Maybe once it's calmed down, I'll give it the Ground Gem, he thought with a sigh. If it can't learn on its own, I'll just have to pay for it.

After that, Basalt took Drilbur to their private training room. The room was exclusively his, and the privacy was excellent. It was also fully equipped with all the standard training equipment.

"Alright, Drilbur, let's start your daily training. First, let's work on your moves," Basalt said, patting its head. "You just learned two new ones. You need to practice them and get familiar with them."

"Drilburr!" Drilbur waved its claws, full of energy. Training is my favorite thing! No problem! It immediately got to work, not needing any supervision.

Basalt found a corner to sit down and began to think, planning out a battle strategy and moveset for Bronzor.

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