Chapter 9: Training Begins
Basalt's home was in a suburban town. A few hundred meters to the west were several small, rolling hills where his parents managed their berry orchard. Because of the remote location, his house had a large open space next to it and was adjacent to the hills. With green waters and lush mountains right at his doorstep, it was a very pleasant place to live.
Basalt took out the Poké Ball and pressed the switch.
"Chari~"
Drilbur appeared, full of energy.
"Drilbur, you did an excellent job in the battle this morning…"
Basalt started with a round of praise, which the little mole thoroughly enjoyed. It felt as though all its hard work had finally paid off.
"But…"
Basalt then changed his tone, drawing out the word. He was clearly a master of the "praise first, critique later" method.
"Chari?"
Drilbur tilted its head and scratched it with a claw, looking confused.
Was there something I didn't do well?
As if seeing Drilbur's confusion, Basalt quickly explained, "But, Drilbur, you can't get arrogant. That Munchlax this morning was very strong. It just lacked effective training and hadn't mastered its moves properly."
"If our opponent goes home and does targeted training to master Rollout, won't it be able to beat you in minutes next time?"
Hearing this, Drilbur lowered its head. It still had a vivid memory of Munchlax's Rollout. It was fast, powerful, and its attack strength was certainly not weak. If it had been hit, the consequences would have been dire.
"So, we also need to work hard and get stronger as soon as possible! That way, we can beat him again next time…" Basalt encouraged from the side.
"Chari~" (^o^)/
Drilbur was deeply inspired, raising its claws in excitement. Beating others up was its favorite thing to do! A diligent mole is not afraid of hard work!
"Chari~ Chari~"
I want to train right now! Get on with it!
Seeing Drilbur's eagerness, a smile appeared on Basalt's face.
This little mole is very receptive. A few words were all it took to fire it up.
Basalt had a lot of other motivational speeches prepared, but now he didn't even have a chance to use them.
"In that case, let's start with the most basic thing: running. We'll start by running laps around this open space. Let's aim for ten laps…"
With a wave of his hand, Basalt began running laps with Drilbur.
Running had many benefits: it stimulated blood flow, strengthened the body, increased stamina, improved coordination, and, if done consistently over the long term, could also build willpower.
Since Drilbur had only just been born and Basalt currently lacked a scientific training method for Pokémon, he decided after much thought to start with the basics and train the little mole gradually. As for targeted training for specific elements, he would have to wait until Ms. Anya covered it in class. He didn't dare to train blindly.
He could sense that Pokémon were actually very similar to athletes back on Earth. If you didn't know what you were doing, you shouldn't train it, or you could very well do more harm than good. Blind training could truly ruin a Pokémon; you had to get the balance right.
Running was a relatively gentle exercise. If Drilbur couldn't keep up, Basalt could stop the training in time.
"Chari~"
But unexpectedly, a Pokémon's constitution was truly strong. Although Drilbur was small and had short legs, its running speed was not slow at all. The key was that its stamina was ridiculously good. After ten laps, it only had a light sweat on its forehead.
Basalt, on the other hand… was sweating buckets and panting like an ox. Ten laps, just over a kilometer, and he almost didn't make it…
"Sigh! This body's fitness level is just too poor, isn't it?" Basalt started to shift the blame. My poor performance is all Basalt's fault. It has nothing to do with me, "Basalt"!
"Drilbur, you also did a great job with the running." Basalt gave a thumbs-up, deciding that he might adopt "thumbs-up education" in the future. The little mole responded very well to praise; the effect was fantastic.
"Alright, let's take a five-minute break. After that, we'll start digging training." Basalt's eyes gleamed as if he was contemplating something.
Like Sandshrew, Drilbur's natural talent was digging. It was widely recognized as one of the Pokémon most likely to learn the move "Dig," second only to the innately gifted Diglett. Dig was a fantastic move that could be used for both offense and defense. If Drilbur could learn it, Basalt imagined his little mole could basically dominate at the current stage.
At this level, it was almost impossible for any Pokémon to have learned moves like Bulldoze, Earthquake, or Earth Power to counter Dig.
However, as an intermediate-to-advanced Ground-type move, Dig wasn't easy to master. To master it, a Pokémon needed to be able to dig a hole large enough to hide in within a single second. After digging, the Pokémon had to travel quickly underground, sense the opponent's location, and then unleash its power in an explosive strike to deal damage.
Although Drilbur was good at digging, its speed was clearly not up to the standard required for the move Dig. So… more practice was needed!
However, Dr. Martin had said that Drilbur's Ground-type affinity was very high, and with the help of the Ground Gem fragments, Basalt was confident that his little mole could master "Dig."
After a short break, Drilbur began to dig. Its long, large, and hard white claws were its best tools. With a single swipe of both claws, it easily broke through the soil without any effort. Soon, a fresh, deep pit appeared, nearly half a meter deep.
"5 seconds?" Basalt pressed his watch to stop the timer.
Honestly, digging a half-meter deep pit in five seconds was a speed that could rival a small excavator. Construction workers would weep at the sight. But compared to the requirement for the move "Dig," it was still far off.
"Drilbur, keep digging, but this time, dig forward!"
Under Basalt's command, Drilbur swung its claws and moved forward. In less than three minutes, it had dug a small trench about ten meters long. However, Drilbur was still just a baby Pokémon, and its stamina was limited. This was its limit.
"Chari~ Chari~ Chariri~"
Drilbur lay half-paralyzed in the ditch, panting heavily.
So tired! I need a boost! That gem fragment from last time would be great!
Drilbur gestured with its claws, clearly still thinking about the Ground Gem fragment. But Basalt was not going to let it have its way.
Spoiled kids can't be indulged.
"No gem fragments, but there is an Oran Berry. Take it or leave it!" Basalt took a bluish berry from his pocket. As a basic berry, Oran Berries weren't rare, so they weren't expensive, costing only a few Pokédollars each. Not like those berries with special effects, whose prices could be frighteningly high.
"Chari~" o(￣へ￣)o
The little mole was clearly not happy, but it still ate the Oran Berry with a few chomps, recovering a small amount of stamina.
After three sets of digging training, Basalt had Drilbur practice its moves.
For Mud-Slap, the main goal was to train its throwing distance and accuracy. Perhaps because it was a same-type move, Drilbur was already very proficient with it, basically guaranteeing a hundred percent accuracy within ten meters. Little Mole's Mud Shot, Never Misses!
For Scratch, they trained the speed of execution and its power.
As for Rapid Spin, Basalt didn't know until they started practicing, but once they did, he was shocked. It seemed Drilbur had the same problem as Munchlax: once it entered the high-speed spin, it couldn't control its direction and would easily veer off course. In other words, the move was fine for stationary defense, but using it for both offense and defense… was difficult.
Basalt quickly took out a notebook, wrote down "Rapid Spin," and drew a big "?" next to it. Although he had identified the problem, he had no idea how to solve it. He planned to ask his teacher about it in class tomorrow.
After training for over an hour, Basalt's mom had already returned and made dinner. Seeing Drilbur's condition declining, Basalt stopped the training.
Youngsters need to know moderation!
…
After a hearty meal, Basalt used wood and nails to make a 60cm by 50cm box. He filled it with a layer of clean, dry sand, every grain of which had been blown with a hairdryer on hot.
This was the sand bed, which Basalt had specially prepared for Drilbur.
"Chari~"
After eating and being wiped clean, Drilbur lay happily on the sand bed, its four limbs digging into the fine sand. It felt as if every pore on its body was opening up. So blissful! The towel-blanket was warm, but how could it compare to the comfort of sand?
By the time Basalt finished his own shower and came down to check, the little mole was already snoring like thunder. It seemed the little guy was truly exhausted today.
Tiptoeing, Basalt turned off the light and returned to his room.
No one noticed that on the sand bed where Drilbur lay, the sand was slowly… flowing…