Chapter 267: A Pleasant Surprise
After the exchange match concluded, the trainers from both sides left the field. However, at President Ashton's effusive invitation, Basalt and Bella Bai found themselves "unable to refuse" and had to "suffer through" another trip to Saffron U's Secret Technique Room.
The room was located on the top floor of the Saffron University library and housed all the secret techniques the university had collected or created over the past century.
Since President Ashton had to entertain Director Sheldon after the match, the task of escorting them naturally fell to Konrad.
Led by him, Basalt and Bella passed through three heavily guarded iron doors and finally arrived at the innermost chamber.
It was a small room, about twenty square meters, with a small table in the center. On the eastern wall was a bookshelf holding seven or eight old, paper-bound books. Konrad took one down and placed it on the table. On its cover were the two words: "Curse."
"Are all of Saffron U's secret techniques this old-fashioned?" Basalt scratched his head, feeling like he'd traveled back in time. The "Curse Secret Technique" had the feel of an ancient martial arts manual from a hidden temple library.
"Don't be surprised," Bella glanced at him and explained. "The more ancient the method of preservation, the more important it is. This is a top-tier enhancement technique. If it were digitized, the risk of it being leaked would increase a thousandfold. Keeping it here, while reducing its accessibility, also reduces the risk of it being stolen."
For a nation, or even a university, their true foundation was their collection of training manuals and secret techniques. In terms of true value, this information was far more precious than any single Pokémon. Pokémon were a renewable resource; even if a species went extinct locally, one could always find a way to get them from abroad. But if this kind of knowledge was lost, the damage would be immense. The truly top-tier secret techniques were often the culmination of wisdom from dozens of generations, refined over countless years.
"Alright."
Basalt nodded and sat down on the bench next to Bella Bai, opening the book.
Although the scent of his senior's perfume was alluring, Basalt paid it no mind, focusing all his energy on the book.
Bella, naturally, did the same.
Compared to a secret technique, what was a senior (or junior) worth?
After two or three hours, they finally finished reading. Basalt had jotted down some of the key points, but the truly confidential parts couldn't be written down; he could only commit them to memory. Fortunately, the core secrets weren't extensive—often just a few key sentences that shifted one's entire way of thinking. But those few sentences, less than a hundred words in total, were the heart of the entire technique, the final, enlightening touch.
"Alright, that's enough for today. If you forget anything, you can always come back to Saffron U to read it again, but you'll have to apply in advance."
Seeing that they were more or less finished, Konrad closed the book and returned it to the shelf.
"Okay," Bella said with a smile.
While they were talking, Basalt stood on his tiptoes, trying to see the other titles on the shelf, but unfortunately, he couldn't make them out.
Led by Konrad, they returned to the Saffron U guest hotel. With his mission complete, Konrad took his leave.
In the elevator, Bella looked at Basalt's reflection in the mirror and said frankly, "Although Curse is also very suitable for your Lileep, I was the one who chose it, because my Turtonator really needs this technique. Basalt, you can pick one of my family's Dragon-type secret techniques as compensation from me."
"Huh? I get another secret technique?"
Basalt was stunned.
While he was still processing, Bella handed him her Pokédex. On the screen were five secret techniques: Dragon Breath, Dragon Rage, Dragon Tail, Dragon Claw, and Dragon Pulse.
"No Dragon Dance or Outrage?" Basalt thought, a little disappointed. But on second thought, it made sense. Even if the Bai family had the secrets to those moves, they would be treated as family heirlooms. How could they be casually given to an outsider? Bella was only doing this out of a sense of apology, giving him a small compensation. Asking for Dragon Dance or Outrage would be too much. Besides, he had gotten the secret to Curse; he hadn't lost out on the deal.
"I'll choose... Dragon Tail."
After only a moment's hesitation, Basalt made his choice.
Dragon Tail, a Dragon-type move. The user attacks with a powerful tail and forces the opponent to switch out with a reserve Pokémon.
Of the five options, Dragon Tail was the most suitable for him. Paired with Excadrill's "Super Stealth Rock," it would be an incredible combination. The only pity was that none of his current Pokémon could learn the move, unless... Larvitar evolved into Tyranitar.
"Alright, then. I'll send you the data for the Dragon Tail technique. Just don't share it with anyone else," Bella nodded and sent the file from her Pokédex.
"Don't worry, Captain. I know what's at stake," Basalt said with a serious nod.
...
Receiving two secret techniques in one day, Basalt's trip to Saffron City had been incredibly fruitful.
But this was no time to relax.
Not long after he returned to the hotel, Director Sheldon called him away to discuss Lileep's evolution.
"Get a good night's rest tonight. Tomorrow morning, I will personally take you to the Veridian Forest," Director Sheldon said, his expression serious. "But I must warn you, although the Veridian Forest is nominally under the jurisdiction of my Life Energy Bureau, in reality, even I cannot enter it freely. I can only take you to the entrance. The rest of the journey, you must walk on your own."
"What? Even you can't enter freely, Director?" Basalt's brow furrowed in shock.
"That's right." Director Sheldon nodded, his eyes sharp. "The ruler of the Veridian Forest is a unique Pokémon. It does not like to be disturbed by outsiders, and the Alliance respects its wishes. Therefore, you can only bring Lileep with you tomorrow. You must find the Fountain of Life alone."
"If that ruler doesn't like you or your Lileep, it may not let you near the Fountain. If that happens, you'll just have to find a random spot in the forest to evolve. But the Veridian Forest is rich in elemental energy. Even without the Fountain's help, it's still a much better place than most."
Hearing this, Basalt was stunned.
So, after all that, whether he could even enter the Fountain of Life was still up in the air?
At the same time, listening to the Director's explanation, his interest in this special guardian Pokémon of the secret realm grew even stronger.
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