Chapter 428: Disciple of the Koga Clan
Excluding Explosion and Fissure, Fire Blast was within Basalt's expectations.
Scary Face was similar; Basalt's little Oscar winner, Camerupt, had started learning this move from Pupitar long ago, but it just hadn't grasped the basics until now.
However, the two moves Rest and Sleep Talk were a pleasant surprise for Basalt. With these, Camerupt now had recovery moves, which was the foundation for fighting protracted battles. And the Sleep Talk skill ensured that Camerupt wouldn't lose its resistance even while asleep.
After reviewing the data, Basalt released Camerupt again.
The lava on Camerupt's body had disappeared. Basalt stroked its smooth fur and sighed with emotion, "You kid, finally evolved!"
"Donk~ Roar~"
Hearing this, Camerupt also let out a soft cry.
Unfortunately, after evolving, its voice became extremely deep, comparable to Excadrill's. It was no longer the little cutie of before; it had grown up completely.
However, Camerupt's "sneaky" and "cowardly" little eyes made Basalt understand that Camerupt was still the same Camerupt. The exterior had changed, but the interior remained the same. Just transformed from a little Oscar winner to a big Oscar winner!
"Prince Alka, how about... we spar for another round?"
Basalt looked at Alka.
Camerupt had completed its evolution, and its strength had leaped. Shouldn't he find someone to beat up again to test how much its strength had improved?
"Still want to spar?"
Alka's mouth twitched slightly, and he waved his hands hurriedly to refuse, "Forget it! Your Camerupt swept me 1v3 before evolving. Now that it's evolved, how can I stand a chance? I won't ask for abuse!"
"Alright then!"
Basalt was slightly disappointed.
But to be fair, Prince Alka's level was indeed a bit weak. Fighting him wasn't very exciting; even for sparring, it was lacking.
"Basalt, you've come from afar; you must be hungry, right? I've had people prepare special Saudi cuisine to entertain you. Come, I'll take you to taste it."
Alka quickly changed the subject and led Basalt out of the battlefield.
Inside the magnificent hotel, the decorations were extremely characteristic. Both sides of the corridor were filled with exquisite paintings, evidently by famous artists.
Although Prince Alka's strength was average, his eloquence was indeed very good. He introduced things to Basalt as they walked, giving Basalt a certain understanding of Saudi history and origins.
Clack! Clack! Clack!
Just then, a very discordant stepping sound rang out.
Basalt looked up and saw two young men walking from the corner. One wore Saudi attire similar to Alka's, while the other wore a black hakama and wooden clogs on his feet. The "clack clack clack" stepping sound obviously came from him.
"Someone from the Japanese Alliance?"
Basalt's gaze focused.
He was all too familiar with this attire. It was the traditional dress of the Japanese Alliance across the sea; he wouldn't mistake it.
When Basalt exclaimed in surprise, the man in the black hakama immediately focused his gaze on Basalt. Although he couldn't understand Chinese, he could recognize it as the Chinese language.
Four eyes met, and the atmosphere became somewhat subtle.
"Aliyang!"
Alka raised his gaze and looked at the other Saudi youth, his eyes filled with unconcealed disgust.
Basalt was curious: "Who is this?"
"His name is Aliyang. Like me, he is a prince without inheritance rights. His backer is another prince with inheritance rights who is competing with Uncle Abdullah. And the country where that prince studied is the Japanese Alliance..."
With Alka's explanation, Basalt understood.
As a third-rate alliance with lots of money but weak strength, Saudi Arabia had always pursued a policy of aligning with major powers in national diplomacy.
In the early days, the world pattern was one superpower and many great powers, so they firmly aligned with the US Alliance.
But in recent years, the US Alliance's strength had been gradually declining, which was a global consensus. So for their own safety, they began to hedge their bets. Besides Abdullah studying in China, princes were also sent to study in the US, Russia, UK, France, Germany, Japan, and other alliances.
The central idea was simple: build good relationships with all potential major powers in advance.
Of course, they valued the Chinese, US, and Russian Alliances the most.
"Alka, what are you doing here? And this is..."
Aliyang glanced at Basalt. He had learned that Abdullah returned to the country, so Basalt should be Abdullah's guest. However, wasn't Basalt a bit too young?
"This is Basalt, from the Huaxia Alliance!"
Alka only gave a simple introduction, not wanting to reveal too much about Basalt, then asked back, "And the one beside you?"
"This is Mr. Koga Kurojo from the Japanese Alliance."
"Koga? Could it be the Koga of the Koga Ninja Clan?" Alka was slightly shocked.
The Japanese Alliance had two major characteristic inheritances: Ninjas and Samurai!
Among ninjas, the most famous was the Koga Clan, and their signature Pokémon was Greninja. In terms of Greninja cultivation, the Koga Clan ranked first in the world. This could actually be seen from the name.
Not only that, the current patriarch of the Koga Clan was once the Champion of the Japanese Alliance. He only stepped down later due to age, becoming the head of the Elite Four again, and was also the Executive Elder of the Council of Elders, wielding monstrous power.
So the Koga Clan had become one of the world's prestigious families.
"Naturally!"
Aliyang's face showed pride as he said, "Mr. Koga Kurojo is a descendant of the famous Koga Clan in the Japanese Alliance. He is a guest of Prince Abdul, and I am responsible for receiving and taking care of him now."
After speaking, Aliyang chuckled, "Actually, not only Mr. Koga Kurojo, but the heir of the Koga Clan, the newly promoted Pokémon Master Koga Hayato, has also come this time. I wonder which Master China has sent this time?"
Hearing this, Alka's momentum was instantly suppressed.
Because he knew that the only guest Abdullah invited this time was Basalt; no Chinese Pokémon Master accompanied him.
In comparison, Abdullah was instantly outshone. Because both were studying abroad and making friends, but you brought a Master to visit, while I only brought back a Pro-level nobody. The weight was completely different.
Crucially, looking at Basalt's age, whether he was even a Pro-level trainer was a question mark! After all, he was really too young!
Seeing this, Basalt stepped forward smilingly and chuckled, "Sorry, I'm the only one from China this time. But we meant well, knowing your King isn't in good health. After all, if a Chinese Pokémon Master came, it would require a state-level reception, and the King would have to personally accompany him. That would be too tiring for him. Prince Aliyang, don't you agree?"
"This..."
Prince Aliyang was rendered speechless.
As one of the five major alliances, China's international status was indeed much higher than that of the Japanese Alliance. And even among Masters, the bigger the alliance, the higher the "gold content" or prestige.
In this world, the Master title had two sources: one was international certification, and the other was domestic conferment. International certification was definitely the fairest and had the highest gold content. Domestic conferment would more or less contain "moisture" (inflation), and the smaller the alliance, the greater the moisture.
Unlike the five major alliances, although they also had domestically conferred Master titles, the difficulty of domestic conferment was higher than international certification. So, Masters from the five major alliances generally wouldn't take the domestic self-conferment route.
Speaking of moisture in smaller alliances, although every alliance had a Champion and Elite Four, in reality, in some smaller alliances, the strength of the Champion leader might only correspond to the International Master level.
The Japanese Alliance was strong, but their domestic titles were still often seen as slightly less prestigious than the absolute top tier of the Big Five. If their Champion leader were placed in China, in terms of pure strength ranking, they might equate to an Elite Four member, automatically dropping a rank.
"Kid, you dare insult my Koga Clan?"
Koga Kurojo was furious and shouted, "You! Apologize!"
Although the four spoke different languages, they all wore translators, so everyone could understand each other.
Basalt's words clearly angered Koga Kurojo. Although he didn't mention the word "Koga" throughout, he implied that domestic titles from smaller alliances held less weight.
"Brother, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want!"
Basalt met his gaze without backing down, snorting coldly, "When did I insult your Koga Clan? I just stated some facts recognized internationally regarding the ranking of Alliances!"
"You!"
Koga Kurojo was furious but couldn't refute. He trembled with anger, a sharp glint shooting from his eyes, and said solemnly, "Chinese trainer, I, Koga Kurojo, challenge you. Do you dare accept?"
"Why wouldn't I dare?"
Basalt smiled.
I was waiting for this sentence!
When a trainer from the Huaxia Alliance meets one from a rival alliance, it's unjustifiable not to have a fight.
Seeing this, Aliyang had absolutely no intention of stopping them. Instead, he fanned the flames: "You want to battle? There's a battlefield in the hotel; I'll take you there!"
Because in Aliyang's view, the prestige of various trainer ranks in China was indeed a bit higher. But Basalt was really too young. Conversely, Koga Kurojo was at least a year or two older than Basalt. And the Koga Clan was one of the world's prestigious families; their requirements for family disciples were not inferior to the five major alliances.
So overall, Koga Kurojo's chances of winning were clearly greater.
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