Chapter 304: A Unique Tactic
"What's your idea?" Professor Rowan looked at Basalt, his eyes filled with unconcealed anticipation. Since joining the team, this young man had repeatedly delivered results. Professor Rowan's attitude toward him had completely changed; he no longer dared to underestimate him.
"To increase the flow rate, besides the Storm Drain ability, I think there's a move that might also meet your requirements."
Professor Rowan quickly pressed, "A move? What move?"
"Water Pledge." Basalt's eyebrow twitched. "The way Water Pledge manifests is by shooting a strong pillar of water up from the ground to attack the enemy. That should also count as reverse seepage, right? And in terms of flow rate, because it's a concentrated burst of energy, it's definitely much more intense than the Storm Drain ability."
"A brilliant idea!" Professor Rowan's face lit up. He immediately looked at the other trainers. "Which of your Pokémon knows Water Pledge? We need to test this now!"
"Err..." Finn and the others exchanged glances and shook their heads. The Pledge moves were generally exclusive to starter Pokémon. None of them had a Water-type starter.
Seeing this, Basalt awkwardly scratched his face and sheepishly raised his hand. "Professor Rowan, I have a Marshtomp that happens to know Water Pledge."
"Well, what are you waiting for? Send it out and let's see the effect." Although Professor Rowan was old, he was still decisive and efficient. If you can do it, do it. Don't just stand there.
"Marshtomp, Water Pledge!" Basalt quickly released his Pokémon.
"Marsh-tomp!"
Marshtomp gathered its power slightly, its mind connecting with the Water-type energy. Several pillars of water instantly erupted from the dune, forming a circle.
However, compared to its normal state, the Water-type energy in the Takla Desert was so thin that the power of its Water Pledge was severely nerfed. Basalt estimated it was at only 30% of its full power.
But even so, the moment the water pillars erupted, the sand dune within the move's range collapsed, immediately turning into rolling quicksand that began to spread.
"It worked!" Professor Rowan was overjoyed. "Quentin's theory was correct, and Dr. Zander's prediction was also correct!"
No matter how weakened, Water Pledge was still a concentrated burst of power. The resulting collapse and its intensity were far greater than what Cradily's "Storm Drain" had produced, perfectly matching their theoretical predictions.
"The first hypothesis is confirmed!" Professor Rowan rubbed his hands together, excited. He had just discovered this theory, and the experiment was already going surprisingly smoothly.
He decided to press on and immediately test the second hypothesis. "If we add water to the sand and increase the moisture content, it should not only weaken the sand's load-bearing capacity but also amplify the power of Water Pledge. It's a win-win."
With that, he glanced at the nearby reservoir. This was the team's daily water supply, holding over a dozen cubic meters of water, enough for several days. But in the face of this experiment, the water was expendable. After all, with Cradily around, water was no longer a limiting factor.
Professor Rowan gave Finn a look. Finn immediately released his Golurk and shouted, "Golurk, use Shadow Ball on the reservoir!"
The towering Golurk appeared, its massive fist glowing with a dark light as it punched the ice-lined pool.
BOOM!
The ice layer at the bottom of the pool shattered, and the water inside immediately began to seep into the sand below.
With its mission complete, Golurk prepared to leave. But just then, Professor Rowan called out, "Finn, have Golurk stand right there. It'll be a good test for the quicksand's power."
Then, he looked at Basalt and shouted, "Basalt, what are you waiting for? Get on with the experiment!"
"Right!" Basalt and Marshtomp understood. Water Pledge activated again.
As the moisture content in the dune increased, the power of Marshtomp's Water Pledge grew significantly. The pillars of water became thicker, reaching about 50% of their full power.
But strangely, the power of the collapse and the quicksand didn't seem to increase.
Even so, the moment the dune collapsed, Golurk was instantly swallowed by the vortex, leaving only its head exposed. Even a Pro-level Golurk couldn't react in time to avoid it!
"Go-lurk!"
With a loud roar, Golurk activated its jets and quickly broke free from the quicksand.
"It failed?" The team was disappointed. Although the reverse seepage effect was impressive, increasing the water content didn't seem to be the deciding factor for the quicksand's power.
"No, wait!" Just then, one of the researchers spoke up. "Professor Rowan, the reverse seepage water is pushing up through the sand. But when the reservoir broke, the water flowed down, in the opposite direction. In this experiment, both the water volume and the direction of seepage were changed. It doesn't follow the principle of a single variable..."
And so, the experiment continued.
But if they needed to increase the dune's moisture content while keeping the water flow moving upward, Cradily was the only one who could do it.
After a brief discussion, and after Cradily had drawn in a good amount of water, they began the test again. The reservoir was broken, and the water flowed down. But as Cradily activated Storm Drain, the water flow reversed, seeping up through the soil, and the sand's load-bearing capacity plummeted.
As the reverse seepage flow rate increased, the dune's stability finally hit a critical point. At that exact moment, Marshtomp, seeing its opportunity, used Water Pledge again.
RUMBLE!
This time, the power of the Water Pledge reached 70% of its full strength. As the water pillars erupted, the sand dune collapsed again.
This time, the three-meter-tall Golurk was completely swallowed by the quicksand, vanishing without a trace. Not only that, but the speed of the collapse had also effectively increased. Even though Golurk was prepared, it was still trapped.
"Go-lurk!"
Trapped underground, Golurk powered up again, but this time it was buried much deeper. Even at full power, it took a much longer time to break free.
"Success!" Professor Rowan was ecstatic. The second hypothesis was also validated.
More importantly, the effects of reverse seepage and resonance were completely different, but they were complementary.
The Quicksand Domain created by resonance had a large area of effect but was weaker overall, making it ideal for group attacks.
The quicksand created by reverse seepage was smaller but far more intense and powerful. Even a Pro-level Pokémon could be trapped and would need to expend great effort to escape. It was a perfect single-target attack.
The two could be used together.
Seeing this, an idea suddenly sparked in Basalt's mind. "In a group battle, I can use Bronzong as the core for telepathic commands. Excadrill can use resonance for rapid desertification, and Larvitar's Sand Stream can create the Quicksand Domain to break the opponent's balance. Then, Cradily's roots can transport water to a specific area for 'reverse seepage,' and finally, Marshtomp's 'Water Pledge' can detonate a super-quicksand trap to bury and trap a specific target!"
"Once they're trapped and forced underground... if Excadrill uses Earthquake at that moment, the damage would be doubled..."
At this thought, Basalt had to give himself credit for his genius. In theory, this entire tactical system was perfectly feasible.
"If I can successfully implement this tactical system, I should be able to reach the Pro-level trainer rank!"
Basalt's eyes shone.
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