The birth of Larvitar kept Basalt in high spirits every day.
But soon, he had nothing to be happy about.
In the following days, Basalt not only had to re-experience the life of a college student but also had to take on the role of a "super dad."
The double whammy of studying and parenting pushed him to his absolute limit.
We won't even get into the temper of the "little tyrant" Larvitar. The courses at Centralis University were no joke either.
In the mornings, he had Elental Energy Studies and Move Studies. In the afternoons, it was Pokémon Physiology and Pokéblock Studies. These were all general foundation courses.
But as a top-tier university, the content taught by the professors was far from easy. The amount of material Basalt had to morize was enough to give him a headache, not to ntion the howork they assigned.
Fortunately, after a week of this, the day Basalt had been looking forward to—the club recruitnt fair—finally arrived.
By now, this day held an extra layer of aning for Basalt.
Besides letting Lileep get so practical battle experience, the now-twisted Basalt was also looking forward to venting his long-suppressed stress by "beating people up."
...
On the plaza in front of the Centralis University library, countless clubs had set up tables and chairs under sun umbrellas. They had put out all sorts of flashy posters, toys, and other trinkets to attract the attention of the new students and pull them into their clubs.
As he walked through, the most morable sight for Basalt was the Martial Arts Club, where a group of muscular guys stood next to Pokémon like Machamp, Priape, and Hitmonchan. They were flailing their arms and legs around, as if performing so kind of martial art.
"Huh? They even have a Lucario. Impressive!"
Basalt had sharp eyes. He spotted a senior mber sitting in a chair at the Martial Arts Club booth. Standing beside him was a big blue dog-like Pokémon, ditating with its eyes closed. Basalt couldn't help but feel a pang of envy.
A Pokémon like Lucario was no less rare than a pseudo-legendary. It was also incredibly strong, looked cool, and had a wide range of uses for its Aura abilities. It was a very, very sought-after Pokémon.
An ordinary person would never get the chance to raise one.
Speaking of Lucario, Basalt couldn't help but think of Mason Martel. His Riolu had probably evolved by now, right?
"A pity I won't get a chance to fight him."
Basalt shook his head with a bit of regret.
As far as he knew, Mason had gone to Capital University, the sa place as Iris.
Damn simp.
Continuing on, Basalt saw that many of the club booths were already surrounded by people asking about the club's details, benefits, and obligations.
But Basalt wasn't interested in any of them. His goal was clear: the Pokémon Battle Club.
The Pokémon Battle Club was a ga-club at Centralis University. In terms of size, it was second only to the Student Council; in terms of influence, it was just below the official School Team.
Just as sharpshooters are made from countless bullets, powerful trainers are forged in the crucible of battle.
How could one beco a strong warrior without enough fighting?
And the Pokémon Battle Club perfectly t that need.
The club organized a small-scale battle tournant every week, a dium-sized one every month, and a large-scale one every six months.
The semi-annual large-scale tournant would even invite talented trainers from other universities. Its scale and influence were in no way inferior to so official city-level tournants.
In addition, the elite senior mbers of the Battle Club would also take the ti to coach the new mbers. The benefits were excellent.
You could see that just from the number of freshn lined up to join. The line was already snaking around several corners.
After waiting for about half an hour, it was finally Basalt's turn.
"Na, major, class."
The senior in charge of registration spoke chanically, as if he'd gone numb.
"Basalt, Pokémon Battle Major, Battle Class 1."
After he gave his information, the senior didn't seem to notice anything unusual. He entered the info into an iPad, gave Basalt a number tag, and told him to proceed to the battle area.
So of the other freshn around Basalt, however, seed to recognize him.
They whispered among themselves, "Holy crap! Isn't that this year's Rookie King? He's already on the school team's reserve. Does he really need to co to the Battle Club to fight us for resources?"
"I bet he's not here for resources. He probably just likes beating people up."
"Damn it! A max-level player coming to the newbie zone to flex on us?"
...
The looks they gave Basalt slowly changed from admiration to disgust.
Basalt was the Rookie King. He was undeniably at the top among the freshn.
For him to show up at the Battle Club recruitnt felt a lot like he was just there to flex or stomp on newbies.
The worst part was, Basalt couldn't even argue with them.
He didn't have that intention before, but now... he definitely did.
But Basalt couldn't be bothered with them.
In this life, I, Basalt, do as I please. Why should I explain myself to others?
"Senpai, please, let explain. My starter Pokémon is pretty good, sure, but my newly raised Pokémon need a ton of practical battle experience too!"
At the entrance to the battle area, Basalt put his hands together, pleading with the female senior in charge of recruitnt. "Besides, getting special treatnt will just lead to gossip."
The senior in front of him had recognized him and said he didn't need to do the practical assessnt; he could just join directly.
How could Basalt agree to that?
I ca here specifically to battle. If you don't let battle, what's the point of joining?
After all, no matter how good the top mbers of the Battle Club were, they couldn't possibly be stronger than the mbers of the official School Team.
"Well... alright, then."
The senior seed to understand what Basalt was thinking and nodded in agreent.
And so, Basalt was finally able to participate in the Battle Club's practical assessnt.
The assessnt was very simple: one-on-one battles, where the club mbers would evaluate the new students' Pokémon.
If you passed the evaluation, you were in. If not, you were out. Simple and brutal.
However, the evaluation wasn't based on winning or losing, but on overall skill.
If it was just two scrubs fighting, the winner wouldn't get into the Battle Club either.
While it was true that there were no weaklings at Centralis University, the Battle Club's standards were also very high.
If you weren't outstanding, they absolutely would not let you join.
Entering the battle area, Basalt looked around and saw that it was divided into ten smaller fields. Each field was surrounded by people, and intense battles were already underway.
"I'm in Area 5. Over there."
Basalt's number was 555, assigning him to the 5th field.
When Basalt got to Area 5, an evenly matched battle was in progress.
A Hitmonchan versus a Piloswine.
The two Pokémon were decent, having just barely crossed into the Interdiate-rank, so their battle looked the part.
In terms of typing, the Fighting-type Hitmonchan had a huge advantage.
But in a real battle, Basalt wasn't the only master of reverse-type matchups.
Basalt watched as the Piloswine first used Bulldoze to lower Hitmonchan's speed, then followed up with a Take Down to send it flying, and finally finished it with an Ice Fang.
The Piloswine's three-step tactic was silky smooth. It was clear it had trained a lot. It could be called "excellent."
"Hitmonchan is unable to battle."
After the referee made the call, the upperclassn from the Battle Club sitting on the sidelines conferred for a mont and then gave their verdict.
The Piloswine's trainer passed. The Hitmonchan's trainer failed.
Even though he failed, the Hitmonchan's trainer could still challenge again, provided he had other decent Pokémon.
The assessnt moved quickly. As soon as one battle ended, the next was arranged.
"Will numbers 555 and 556 please enter the field."
Before long, it was Basalt's turn.
"Huh? This number 555... he looks familiar. I feel like I've seen him sowhere."
"Hey, you're right. I feel the sa way. But I can't quite place him."
The judges looked at Basalt. He seed familiar, but they couldn't rember from where. They scratched their heads, confused.
The pace was fast, and the battle was about to begin.
"Will both trainers please release your Pokémon and take your positions."
The referee signaled with his flag.
"You unlucky brat. You really drew the short straw today, running into ."
Basalt's opponent was a chubby boy who clearly didn't recognize him. He actually trash-talked Basalt: "I hope you can last three moves."
Hearing this, many of the freshn on the sidelines who did recognize Basalt began to silently mourn for the chubby kid.
This fatty is talking smack to the Rookie King. Does he not know how to spell the word "dead"?
But when the chubby kid released his Pokémon, many people were surprised.
His Pokémon was a powerfully built creature with a huge jaw and sharp fangs. The armor on its lower jaw and belly was beige, while the jagged red plates on its head, back, and tail stood out against its blue scales. Its limbs were thick and strong.
"A Feraligatr, huh? A little interesting."
Basalt smiled slightly.
Although Feraligatr had the lowest evolution level of the Johto starters in the gas, raising a Totodile to a Feraligatr in just one year was not sothing an ordinary person could do.
"It's a Feraligatr. Looks like a talented kid."
The mont the Feraligatr appeared, the judges' eyes lit up, and they quickly forgot about Basalt.
With a slight press, Basalt also activated his Pokéball.
"Nee-nee~"
A flash of red light, and the wobbling Lileep appeared.
And then, the previously noisy Area 5 fell completely silent.
Everyone's eyes went wide, their mouths hanging open, as if they had just seen sothing terrifying.
"Heh heh."
Basalt smiled, very satisfied with their reaction.
Now that's a normal reaction.
The fact that Bella Bai wasn't surprised just proves she's not normal.
"Is that... a Lileep? A living Lileep?"
After a long mont, soone finally spoke, their eyes still full of disbelief.
As the first fossil Pokémon to be revealed to the world, everyone knew a little about Lileep.
Recognizing it wasn't hard. The hard part was accepting it.
"This guy actually has a Lileep? Who is he?"
"I rember now! His na is Basalt! He's the Centralis Province Rookie King!"
"The Rookie King? Shouldn't a Rookie King be in the school team's reserve? What's he doing at our Battle Club? Our humble club can't possibly accommodate such a big shot, can it?"
"He's probably here for battle experience. It's not the first ti a reserve freshman has joined the Battle Club, using our mbers as XP fodder."
"So what do we do? Let him pass automatically? Or just tell him to leave?"
"Hold on! Don't you guys want to see a Lileep battle? This is a Lileep! Countless people have never even seen one, but we can watch it fight in person and get first-hand data!"
"Good point, good point! We'll have sothing to talk about at the bar later! If we can, let's have it fight a few more tis so we can get a good look."
...
"Was it you who just said you hoped I could last three of your moves?"
On the battlefield, Basalt raised an eyebrow and smiled at the chubby kid across from him. "You're quite the big shot, aren't you?"
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