Chapter 19: Improving Rock Tomb
After some coaxing from Basalt, Pidgeotto left the orchard and flew to their usual training ground. With his mom and her Poliwag there during the day, there usually weren't any problems. Besides, rangers patrolled the border between the human residential areas and the wild, so it was basically impossible for large or high-level Pokémon to cross over. It was only small pests like Rattata, which were not very dangerous and numerous, that the rangers couldn't completely prevent, often turning a blind eye.
"Pidgeotto, I didn't ask you here today for any other reason. My Drilbur is young and weak, and it might need you to help it with its homework when you have time."
"As its uncle, you can't refuse to help, can you…?"
Pidgeotto landed on a tree branch in the open space. Basalt rubbed his hands together and said with a cheeky grin.
Of course, while his words were pleasant, he was really just recruiting Pidgeotto as a free sparring partner and a bird-shaped target for Drilbur to practice Rock Tomb. By the same token, Poliwag was also just a tool.
The problem remained the same: Drilbur had no issue hitting a stationary target, but hitting a moving one would require a lot of practice. After all, sharpshooters are made with countless bullets.
"Pidgeo~"
Pidgeotto had a peaceful temperament and was relatively easy to talk to. It nodded and didn't refuse. Besides, Basalt had a point. It, Pidgeotto, was his dad's Pokémon, and Drilbur was Basalt's Pokémon. Rounding up the family tree, Drilbur was indeed its grand-nephew. Since its grand-nephew needed help, it wouldn't be right for it, as the grand-uncle, to refuse.
Alright then, I'll play with the little mole!
"Chari?" (((;ꏿ_ꏿ;)))
Drilbur was completely baffled. Training is fine, but why did I suddenly get an uncle out of nowhere? Does this mean my status in the family has dropped by one again? Am I the only one who's not a senior member of this family?
Drilbur: (_)
Whoosh!
With everything settled, Pidgeotto flapped its wings and instantly shot into the sky like an arrow released from a bow. Its sharp eyes looked down at the little mole, its face full of ease.
Come on, show me your best move. Let your Uncle Pidgeo grade your work!
"Drilbur, use Rock Tomb!"
Basalt waved his hand and gave the command.
"Chari~"
Drilbur nodded. The Rock-type energy in its body began to gather, and in the blink of an eye, five or six head-sized gray rocks materialized around it, shimmering with a faint, stony luster.
Swish! Swish! Swish!…
Under Drilbur's mental control, the rocks began to move, whistling through the air as they hurtled towards the Pidgeotto in the sky like cannonballs, moving at great speed.
"Pidgeo~" !!!∑(Дノ)ノ
At first, Pidgeotto hadn't paid it much mind. After all, it had only been a month since Drilbur was born. How much power could it have? But as the rocks formed and rapidly approached, the heavy force they emitted made Pidgeotto's body tremble slightly. It could sense that the power hidden within these rocks was naturally super-effective against it. If it got hit, it would be half-dead, if not worse.
"Pidgeo~ Pidgeotto?"
Seriously? Have you no manners? You're opening with your ultimate move? Are you trying to murder your own uncle?
Pidgeotto was so angry it wanted to curse.
But Pidgeotto was, after all, a Junior-level Pokémon, and speed was its strong suit. With a flap of its wings, its body traced an afterimage in the air, instantly moving three meters away.
CRASH!
The Rock Tomb missed, hitting the trunk of a tree and causing the large plant to shudder violently, shedding a large number of leaves.
"Chari~" (ノ_<.)
Drilbur was a little disappointed that it had missed. At the same time, using Rock Tomb seemed to have consumed a lot of its energy. It was already starting to pant.
"It seems Drilbur's strength is still too low, and it doesn't have much energy. It's already panting after just one Rock Tomb with a power of 60." Basalt frowned slightly.
Rock Tomb was powerful (at the current stage), and it was a long-range move, making it very practical. It occupied a very important position in the tactical system Basalt was planning for Drilbur. The problem was, with its current stamina, Drilbur could probably only use Rock Tomb three times at most. After that, it would collapse from exhaustion on its own, without the opponent even needing to do anything.
"Drilbur, when you use Rock Tomb, is there a way to reduce the amount of energy you put into the move to decrease the size of the rocks?" Basalt proposed an idea.
Drilbur's stamina could be considered constant in the short term. So, to increase the number of times it could use Rock Tomb, couldn't they just reduce the energy used for each cast? Although this would inevitably reduce the power of the move, right now, Basalt wanted more uses. Drilbur needed enough repetitions to practice its energy control and improve the move's accuracy.
In Basalt's view, only a move that hits is a good move. If a move can't hit its target, what's the use of having high power? It was better to ensure a basic level of accuracy first, and then talk about power later.
"Chari~" ヾ(⇀ω↼‶)ﾉ
Drilbur nodded. Alright, I'll try?
Taking a deep breath, Drilbur once again cupped its claws. The Rock-type energy gathered, and the dimly glowing rocks slowly appeared, their size gradually increasing from the size of a marble to the size of a papaya in the blink of an eye.
"Stop! That's big enough!" Basalt quickly shouted.
The current rocks were nearly half the size of the previous ones.
"Chari~"
Drilbur had a solemn look on its face, as if it was trying its best to control the input of energy from its body. The little mole felt that forming these rocks was like peeing. Letting it all out normally was the most comfortable. Urinating more was asking too much, and urinating less… well, it could be done, but… holding it in was so damn uncomfortable!
But, brave mole fears no difficulty!
I can do it!
I got this!
Nothing can stop me!
Drilbur gave itself a pep talk. After several seconds, it finally held it in. Its body trembled, and the size of the rocks still grew a little bit from papaya-sized, but they were much smaller than the normal version. Seeing this, Drilbur breathed a sigh of relief.
Damn, I shivered just now and almost couldn't hold it in!
"Go!"
At Basalt's command, Drilbur once again controlled the Rock Tomb to hurl at Pidgeotto. But Pidgeotto was already prepared. With a flash of its body, it easily dodged. The Rock Tomb once again hit the tree trunk. Its power was indeed much less than the last time.
But at the same time, Basalt also discovered a small surprise…
He felt that the speed at which the Rock Tomb whistled through the air seemed to have increased slightly!
"Could it be that after reducing the energy intensity, it's easier for Drilbur to control? Or is it that when the sphere's volume decreases, the air resistance also decreases?" Basalt speculated silently. But no one could give him the answer to this; he could only verify it himself.
Afterward, Basalt had Drilbur continuously use the small-scale Rock Tomb. As its proficiency increased, the speed at which the little mole could cast the move also became much faster. In addition, with the reduction in energy, the attack speed also increased. So, apart from the decrease in power, the move Rock Tomb had been completely transformed.
So clever! Basalt thought smugly, giving himself a thumbs-up for his flash of inspiration.
"I really want to find a Pidgey or a Spearow to test this on…"
Watching Drilbur chase Pidgeotto with its rocks but fail to even touch a single feather, Basalt smacked his lips.
His hands were itching for a real fight!
Uncle Pidgeo was, after all, Uncle Pidgeo. It was one thing to practice with you, but asking it to be your punching bag was probably not appropriate.
"Eh? Maybe I should ask the class president to test the waters?"
Basalt's eyes lit up. He remembered that the class president, Leo's, Pokémon was a Flying-type Pidgey. But on second thought, he felt it was inappropriate. Rock Tomb was Drilbur's trump card, his secret weapon to get a good ranking in the class combat tournament in two weeks. How could he let his opponent know about it beforehand? If they were prepared for it, this trump card would be useless.
"Forget it, I'll just stick to honest training."
Basalt shook his head and refocused on the training.