Chapter 300: First Glimpse into the Domain
"Come on out, everyone!"
Hearing that the practical part was starting, Basalt immediately released all his Pokémon.
"Hippowdon, activate the Quicksand Domain slowly once." To allow Basalt's Pokémon to fully grasp the feeling of breaking the viscosity between the sand particles, Professor Rowan specifically asked Hippowdon to slow down.
"Sand-heck~"
Hippowdon opened its huge mouth, and the Ground-type energy within its body instantly surged out.
RUMBLE!
A subtle tremor, far weaker than Excadrill's Earthquake, radiated outwards from Hippowdon. But strangely, within the tremor's range, Basalt saw the sand appear to boil, hopping up and down.
"Resonance. This is the true core to breaking the sand's viscosity." Professor Rowan's eyes shone.
He explained that all objects in nature, including sand particles, possess a unique natural frequency. If an external force is applied at a frequency that matches the sand's natural frequency, the vibration between the sand particles will be amplified dozens of times. When the sand's amplitude exceeds the limits of its adhesive force, the particles naturally separate, becoming independent grains.
Applied to soil, the soil rapidly turns to sand, becoming a dune. Applied to quicksand, it reduces the viscosity between the sand particles to almost zero, drastically reducing the difficulty of making the sand flow.
In other words, this simple operation reduced the effort required for Hippowdon to control the sand using its Sand Stream ability by an immense amount. And because the control difficulty for each grain of sand decreased, the total area it could influence increased sharply.
Basalt watched as the sand dune quickly began to spin. Several massive, truck-sized rocks within the affected area quickly vanished into the Quicksand Domain, demonstrating the power of its consumption.
"Amazing!" Basalt was still astonished, even though he had seen the Quicksand Domain before.
"So, the first step for Larvitar to master the Quicksand Domain is to grasp the sand's natural frequency, then continuously adjust its vibration until it achieves resonance," Professor Rowan said, looking at Larvitar with anticipation.
His research results were falling into the hands of a pseudo-legendary cub—it was not a waste. If Basalt's Larvitar evolved into Tyranitar and also mastered his findings, it would surely be no weaker than the Tyranitar in the Asian Cup. If Basalt could bring glory to the Alliance, Professor Rowan felt his hard work would be worth it.
"Of course, there are many little tricks involved—things I've summarized during my experiments—which I will teach you as well."
The theoretical explanation and practical demonstration took Professor Rowan a full two hours. By the time they finished, the sun was scorching, and the temperature had reached nearly forty degrees.
"Alright, that's enough instruction for today. Now, you should practice. If you discover anything new, be sure to let me know." Professor Rowan patted Basalt's shoulder. Sweating heavily, he walked away. He was getting old, and the desert sun was brutal.
Sending off Professor Rowan, Basalt's eyes were alight with excitement. He looked at his five Pokémon. "Did everyone understand the explanation? If you did, go find a spot and practice. I'll give a hefty reward to the first one who can achieve resonance with the sand!"
Hearing this, the five little ones instantly became energized and eagerly began their attempts.
"Marsh-tomp~"
Marshtomp's eyes flashed with intelligence. It knew the game. This cunning trainer wanted them to compete internally. What a shallow trick.
But even though it knew Basalt wanted it to compete, what was this damn competitive urge? Its mindset had always been "peaceful" before.
"Marsh-tomp~"
Looking at its enthusiastic friends, Marshtomp sighed inwardly and resignedly joined the practice.
"Sand-heck~"
As the five Pokémon began their practice, Hippowdon, the elder, occasionally offered guidance. However, compared to the others, Hippowdon focused mainly on Larvitar. Larvitar had the same ability as him, making it feel like a kindred spirit.
"Yuji~" ︿(￣︶￣)︿ Larvitar's face showed a smug satisfaction. I am indeed the chosen one. I'm popular everywhere I go. Even if I'm not welcomed, I at least cause a major shock.
I'm awesome. One word, and I'll only say it once.
Unfortunately, this "resonance" technique, though simple in theory, was extremely difficult to achieve in practice. Even after practicing from morning until sunset, none of the five Pokémon succeeded. They hadn't even scratched the surface.
"Hippowdon, how long did it take you to master resonance?" Basalt couldn't help but ask for a rough estimate.
"Sand-heck~ Sand-sand-heck~" Hippowdon opened its huge mouth, narrating its journey via telepathy. With Bronzong absent, Basalt had to rely on his own interpretation.
"Three months?" Basalt's eyes widened, his mouth twitching violently. He had thought it would take a week or two at most. That was a tenfold difference!
Hippowdon was a Pro-level Pokémon, and clearly not a weak one. If it took it three months, Basalt estimated it would take his team half a year.
"Forget it. I'm not leaving the Takla Desert until I reach the Pro-level anyway. Even if it takes half a year, mastering it will be an absolute windfall," Basalt thought, gritting his teeth. Professor Rowan's research was a secret known only in this corner of the world. Basalt had gotten genuine, first-hand data! He could laugh in his sleep.
...
In the following days, Professor Rowan led his team in daily experiments, trying to quickly determine the factors influencing "Sticky Sand" and how to apply it in practice.
As for Basalt's Pokémon, they immersed themselves in the arduous study of "resonance."
Time flew by, and three months passed in the blink of an eye.
One day, Basalt was in his usual shady spot, contemplating his Pokémon's move sets and team strategy.
"Yuji~ Yuji~" (o▽)o Suddenly, Larvitar's excited cries interrupted his thoughts.
He looked up and saw Larvitar charging towards him. He quickly made a hand gesture to stop it. "Stop!"
Larvitar, thanks to the Smooth Rock Crystal and various supplements, had only grown ten centimeters taller, but its weight had exceeded two hundred pounds. If that thing slammed into him, Basalt would be crushed.
"Yuji~" (￣へ￣) Larvitar looked wronged. He called me his little darling when I was born, and now he won't even let me hug him.
But remembering the important matter, Larvitar's excitement returned. It quickly grabbed Basalt and pulled him toward its practice area.
The previously flat sand dune was now a large, spiraling, sunken pit, about thirty meters in diameter, covering nearly a thousand square meters.
"Larvitar, you mastered resonance?" Basalt was overjoyed. There was no other explanation for this phenomenon.
"Yuji~" (▼ヘ▼) Since evolving, Excadrill rarely made its signature pose, but Larvitar had seen Excadrill's old tournament videos and secretly copied it. Basalt had joked that it was the passing of the "King of Swagger's spirit." Larvitar practically had "Praise Me" written all over its face.
"You have the Sand Stream ability, and Hippowdon is teaching you in real-time. You're the second one to master resonance. What's there to be so smug about?" Basalt glanced at Larvitar, feigning displeasure. Larvitar was talented but prone to arrogance. Basalt had to keep him in check. He mostly praised him but occasionally delivered a small reprimand.
"Yuji~" (´ω) Larvitar looked even more indignant. Excadrill was its big brother. It was only natural that the first one to master it had the Groudon scale.
Yes, Larvitar was not the first. Excadrill had mastered resonance first. However, resonance was only one step in the Quicksand Domain, a clever application of Ground-type energy. So, even though Excadrill had mastered it, it couldn't execute the full Quicksand Domain. But now that Larvitar had mastered resonance, it meant its Quicksand Domain was beginning to take shape.
"I know, I know. You'll get every piece of your diamond snack." Basalt sighed internally.
Larvitar's digestion had grown rapidly with its development. It now consumed a diamond every three or four days, having previously only needed one every couple of weeks. Coupled with the costs of training his other Pokémon, his funds were depleting rapidly. Basalt's balance was down to the millions. He would be bankrupt in a month. However, based on the input-output ratio, his investment had yielded rich results. The strength of all five Pokémon had surged, especially Excadrill and Larvitar.
"Let's go, Larvitar. Let's test the effect of your Quicksand Domain." Basalt's eyes flashed with anticipation.
"Yuji~"
Larvitar was thrilled. Test the effect of my Quicksand Domain? That's just a pretext for a real battle!
A real battle! That's the best! (´ω)
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