Pokémon: Sandstorm Sovereign

Chapter 80: Arriving at the Metro City Training Camp

The Metro City training camp was located in an industrial park on the outskirts of the city. An old factory, bankrupted and repossessed by the government, had been temporarily repurposed for the camp.

Basalt took a taxi to the entrance. He found the main gate shut tight, with a sturdy, imposing man standing guard, as straight as a spear. At the gatehouse stood a large, blue mastiff-like Pokémon. It walked on four legs, had a mane of yellow fur on its head and back, and piercing red eyes.

As Basalt approached, the blue mastiff inevitably spotted him.

"A Manectric!" Basalt was slightly taken aback.

Manectric, the Electric-type Pokémon, evolved from Electrike. As a canine Pokémon, it had an excellent sense of smell and hearing. It was agile and not only a formidable battler but also a perfect guard dog.

Metro City really is on another level, Basalt thought. Even the guard at a training camp has a Pokémon like Manectric.

"Hello, can I help you?" the guard asked, jogging over as Basalt got closer. Behind him, the Manectric slowly advanced, its nose twitching as it committed Basalt's scent to memory.

"Hi, I'm one of the trainees. I was delayed for a week for personal reasons, so I'm just reporting in now."

"Please state your name and place of origin. I'll need to verify it with the camp supervisor before I can let you in," the guard said, his face expressionless, his manner all business. Basalt got the distinct feeling that the man was former military.

"My name is Basalt, from Seaside County."

After Basalt gave his information, the guard motioned for him to wait and went into the guardhouse to make a call. Basalt wanted to get a closer look at the camp, but the Manectric was baring its teeth at him, a clear warning not to move.

"Easy, easy, I'm not going anywhere," Basalt said with a nervous laugh, trying to calm the Pokémon down.

Watching the anime, he never got a real sense of scale for some of the less popular Pokémon. But in real life, when a fierce dog over 1.5 meters tall, its head level with his own, was snarling at you, the pressure was no joke. If he didn't know it was a trained Pokémon that wouldn't attack without reason, he might have wet his pants.

After confirming Basalt's identity, the guard opened the gate. Inside, another guard, equally tall and formidable, was already waiting. Behind this one stood a large, bipedal purple Pokémon with a massive horn on its head and prominent ears.

It was a Nidoking, the Poison/Ground-type.

Seeing the Nidoking, Basalt couldn't help but think, A Manectric for smell, a Nidoking for hearing... I bet there's a Flying-type with Keen Eye patrolling the skies, too. He glanced up and, sure enough, saw a Pidgeotto and a Fearow circling above. A wild Fearow would never allow a Pidgeotto in its territory. Clearly, they were also trained.

"Wow, security here is no joke," Basalt muttered.

"Welcome, Basalt," the second guard said with a nod. "Please follow me. I'll take you to see Supervisor Sheffield."

After a three-minute walk, they arrived at an office building. The guard stopped in front of a door. "Supervisor, I've brought Basalt. If there's nothing else, I'll resume my patrol." He knocked, led Basalt inside, saluted, and then left, closing the door behind him.

"So you're Basalt from Seaside County? You certainly took your time getting here," the supervisor said. His name was Sheffield. He was tall, but had a somewhat soft, pale look to him and a noticeable paunch, the clear signs of a comfortable lifestyle.

From his very first words, Supervisor Sheffield made his displeasure about Basalt's leave of absence clear. His tone was sharp and slightly cutting. Basalt knew he was in the wrong, so he simply took the scolding.

"I'm very sorry, sir. Something came up that delayed me," he said with a sheepish smile.

"Something so important?" Sheffield shot him a look, his dissatisfaction obvious. "This is the training camp for the Metro City representative team. You dared to show up late, and a whole week late at that? Do you have any idea how precious a spot in this camp is? Do you know how many people would kill for the opportunity you're squandering?"

"And another thing," he continued, "you may be the champion of Seaside County, but I need to remind you that the county level and the city level are two completely different worlds. You have no reason to be arrogant here. You need to work hard in the upcoming training, do you understand?"

At first glance, it might have seemed like Sheffield was giving him a stern but well-intentioned lecture. But listening closely, Basalt could taste the sarcasm and disdain in his words.

"Yes, sir," Basalt said, lowering his head. When you're under someone else's roof, you have to bow your head. He had been the one to take leave, so he would just endure the mockery. It wouldn't kill him. Having been a corporate drone in his previous life, Basalt had seen it all. Sheffield's passive-aggressive comments were child's play. He had heard things a hundred times worse back on Earth. Though, I did lose my job that one time I couldn't hold it in...

Compared to the "master of passive-aggression" he had punched back on Earth, this "junior" Sheffield was still lacking. Basalt just decided to chalk it up to the supervisor having a bad day.

After about ten minutes of being berated, Sheffield seemed to tire himself out. He took a sip of tea from his desk and said, "On the first day of camp, we held a placement tournament. We divided the trainees into four groups based on the results: A, B, C, and D."

"Since you missed the tournament, you'll have to start in Group D. However, every week, trainees will have an opportunity to challenge someone from a higher group. If you win, you can move up. If you have the skill, you should be able to get back to a group that matches your level by next week."

Basalt muttered under his breath, "A, B, C, and D groups? Is this a Pokémon-themed reality show?"

Though he had many questions, given Sheffield's hostile attitude, he didn't bother to ask. He figured he could just ask the other members of his group later.

Sheffield then called a young staff member to take Basalt to handle his registration, which included filling out paperwork, getting a meal card, and being assigned a dorm.

As Basalt left, Sheffield's expression grew even darker. He had seen Basalt's absence as an opportunity to kick him out and sneak his own nephew, who had just missed the cut, into the camp. He had already boasted to his brother about it. But then, to his frustration, the higher-ups had denied his request. Seeing Basalt in person now only fueled his resentment.

Training Camp, Dormitory.

When Basalt saw that he had a private room, a smile spread across his face. He was a light sleeper and had trouble sharing a room. A single room was perfect. It was well-equipped with air conditioning, a computer, a washing machine, and a private bathroom. All he had to do now was focus on getting stronger.

After he had settled in, the staff member led him to the Group D classroom. There were about a dozen other trainees inside. As luck would have it, one of them was an acquaintance: Luke, another of the top four from Seaside County.

"Basalt, over here!"

After Basalt introduced himself and officially joined Group D, he went and sat next to Luke. In Seaside County, they had been fierce rivals. But here in Metro City, they were comrades from the same hometown, naturally drawn together. Luke had a deep respect for Basalt's strength; there was no jealousy, only admiration.

At the front of the room, a middle-aged teacher was explaining several common battle tactics. Basalt listened with great interest. He could tell the teacher was at least as skilled as Ms. Anya, and he was a much more experienced lecturer. He not only cited classic examples but also applied them to the students in the room, analyzing their specific situations to inspire their thinking. Basalt was learning a lot.

However, he had arrived just before noon, so after only a few minutes, the bell rang for lunch.

"Come on, I'll take you to the cafeteria," Luke said. "I'll text Luna and Felix and have them join us."

"Sounds good."

After they got their food, Felix and Luna arrived with their own trays. The cafeteria food was pretty good—four dishes and a soup, with a good balance of meat and vegetables. Most importantly, it tasted much better than the food at his old high school. The four of them chatted happily as they ate. They asked why he had been on leave, and Basalt told them the truth.

A short while later, the lovely Luna spoke up. "Basalt, when's your group challenge battle?"

"Group challenge battle?" Basalt blinked innocently. "I missed it because of my leave, so Supervisor Sheffield put me in Group D. But he said I can challenge someone next week to move up."

"What? He put you directly in Group D?" Luna stared at him, her face a mask of disbelief.

"Is there a problem with that? I mean, I did miss the placement tournament," Basalt said, scratching his cheek, confused by her strong reaction.

Luna frowned, choosing her words carefully. "Basalt, I think... you might be getting targeted."

"We have another trainee in our group who was also late because of a leave of absence. But the supervisor didn't just dump him in Group D. He gave him a chance to challenge someone for a spot. So now, he's in Group C, just like me."

"What did you say?" Basalt's expression changed drastically.

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