Chapter 310: Control of the Sand
Watching Alim bowing and scraping before him, Basalt was completely baffled.
The reversal had happened so fast, he was caught completely off guard.
One second you're treating me like dirt, the next you're trying to kiss up to me? What do you take me for?
But Alim's ability to switch faces like that... it was a special talent, alright.
"This kid is really something," Basalt mused.
"Desert Tyrant? Who has a Desert Tyrant?"
Alim's low cry had attracted the attention of several people nearby.
Because the annual Tribal Gathering and its selection tournament were approaching, many of the outstanding youths from the various small tribes had gathered at the Central Oasis, along with many of the tribal chiefs.
In an instant, all eyes were on Basalt.
"What... what's going on?"
Basalt was lost. He looked to Amuyar for help.
Being stared at by a whole crowd, all of whom were locals while he was the only outsider... you can imagine the pressure.
"Uh... isn't Tyranitar known as the Desert Tyrant, the strongest of all Sandstorm Pokémon?" Amuyar rubbed his nose, explaining awkwardly. "But our tribe's totem is Hippowdon, so in the hearts of the Roba people, Hippowdon is the strongest. So, you get it... they'll probably want to challenge you."
"Challenge me? A Pokémon battle?"
Hearing this, Basalt's panic vanished.
He wasn't afraid of a challenge. In fact, he loved Pokémon battles. Since his debut, had he ever backed down from anyone?
"If I win, they won't get mad, will they?" Basalt was a little worried, this being the Roba Tribe's turf.
"Of course not!" Amuyar shook his head. "If you win, they won't be mad at all. They'll respect you even more."
"Well, that's alright then." Basalt puffed out his chest, his nerves settled.
"Hey, wait a minute!" Basalt suddenly realized. "I don't have a Tyranitar! I just have a baby Larvitar! It's not even a year old!"
"Outsider, I challenge you! Do you dare accept?"
The first to issue a challenge was, predictably, a burly, middle-aged man with a full beard. His muscles bulged, and just looking at him made Basalt flinch.
"Sir, I don't have a Tyranitar. I just have a baby Larvitar." Basalt swallowed, patiently explaining. "And I'm only nineteen..."
A stampede of Tauros ran through Basalt's mind.
This old geezer has to be at least forty, and he's challenging me? Have the Roba people no shame?
Hearing this, the bearded man looked a little embarrassed, shook his head, and retreated into the crowd.
"A Larvitar?"
It was Alim who spoke, his face full of doubt. "As far as I know, Larvitar can't have the Sand Stream ability, can it?"
Unfortunately, Alim didn't have time to question it.
After the bearded man backed down, a youth who looked about 60% like him stepped forward. He announced loudly, "I, Akbar of the Arlan Oasis, challenge you!"
"I accept your challenge!" Basalt waved his hand, stepping up to the fight.
If it was someone his own age, he wasn't scared at all.
Led by the bearded man, the crowd moved to a large, flat area that looked like a parade ground.
After Akbar and Basalt took their positions, he asked, "A 3v3 battle. You good with that?"
"No problem." Basalt smiled. When in Roba...
They locked eyes, each preparing their first Pokémon, and threw their Pokéballs.
"Go, Hippowdon!"
Akbar's first Pokémon was, in fact, the large-bodied, big-headed, big-nosed Hippowdon.
"Yuji!" (▼ヘ▼#)
On Basalt's side, he sent out Larvitar. They wanted to challenge his Larvitar, so he'd give them what they wanted.
"It's already fully evolved? Not bad," Basalt muttered, looking at the Hippowdon. But then, nothing happened.
"He saw I'm using a Rock-type, so he's not activating Sand Stream? Cautious." Basalt was slightly impressed. This looked to be a decent opponent.
"Both trainers, take your positions! Battle, begin!"
The bearded man acted as the referee and gave the signal to start.
"Hippowdon, Sandstorm!"
Akbar launched the first attack.
"Huh? It's not Sand Stream?"
Basalt was stunned for a second, then he understood. The Sand Stream ability was, after all, extremely rare. Even if the Roba were a desert tribe, it wasn't like everyone had one. Otherwise, Amuyar wouldn't have had to spend two months searching for one.
"If it's not Sand Stream, then its ability must be Sand Force."
Basalt's eyebrow shot up.
Sand Force: in a sandstorm, the power of Rock, Ground, and Steel-type moves is boosted. It was an ability that was perfectly suited for a sandstorm.
"But if you want to start a sandstorm, did you ask for my little master's permission?" Basalt's lips curled up.
On the battlefield, Hippowdon opened its massive mouth, and Ground-type energy surged. Sand shot out from its nose and the pores on its back.
But strangely, after the sand floated in the air for a moment, it failed to form a sandstorm. It just swirled around uselessly before falling back to the ground, unmoving.
"What's going on?"
"Sand-heck?"
Akbar and his Hippowdon were completely baffled.
Why did nothing happen?
The surrounding crowd was also staring, not understanding what was going on. The Sandstorm move was the Roba Tribe's signature. If you didn't have Sand Stream, you at least had Sandstorm.
"It's the Larvitar!"
Just then, the bearded man shouted, "That Larvitar's control over the sand is too strong! It's suppressing the Hippowdon and has seized control of the sand!"
Hearing this, all the Roba tribespeople were shocked.
To completely seize control like that... that could only happen when there was a massive disparity in their control abilities.
But how could a Pokémon raised by the Roba Tribe be weak at sand control? What's more, this was an evolved Hippowdon, a species with a high natural talent for it.
The only possible conclusion was that this Larvitar's sand-control ability was... terrifyingly strong!
"Yuji!" (▼ヘ▼#)
A wicked grin on its face, Larvitar's Ground-type energy suddenly erupted.
Resonance, activate!
The vibration was not strong. Besides Hippowdon, the other Roba people couldn't even feel it.
But it didn't hide the fact that the viscosity of the sand beneath Larvitar's feet had just plummeted.
"Quicksand Domain!"
Basalt began his counter-attack.
On the battlefield, a terrifying Quicksand Domain instantly enveloped the Hippowdon.
"Am I seeing things? Why is the range of this Sand Tomb... so... huge?"
The watching Roba tribespeople's eyes were all wide, as if they'd seen a ghost.
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