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Seeing that Onix was no longer in pain, Liam finally relaxed, standing quietly by Onix's side and silently waiting for his evolution to complete.
The dazzling white light continued to blaze intensely. Onix's entire body was now completely enveloped by it. As time passed, metallic hues began to intermingle within the white glow. Onix's figure slowly started to change—his once long, sharp horn atop his head disappeared, his head expanded in size, and his body grew slightly longer. Three symmetrical pairs of cylindrical structures also emerged from his body.
"Roar!!"
After what felt like an eternity, the white light surrounding Onix suddenly dispersed. In its place stood a Steelix, his massive body gleaming with a bright metallic sheen, his gaze now even more ferocious.
Inside the tunnel, he opened his now nearly double-sized mouth and unleashed a thunderous roar filled with the joy and exhilaration of evolution.
"Steelix! Haha! It's so great that you successfully evolved without any problems! You really scared me just now!"
Seeing that Steelix had evolved smoothly and showed no signs of abnormalities, Liam let out a long breath of relief, speaking with heartfelt gratitude.
"Grrr..!"
Hearing Liam's words, Steelix's fierce expression immediately softened into a smiling squint. He twisted his giant, steel-like body into a circle, quickly coiling around Liam—though he never touched him—and placed his enormous head gently beside Liam, affectionately nuzzling him with closed eyes... and then...
Then Liam found himself clinging to Steelix's head as it shook side to side, his feet lifting off the ground, swinging helplessly with it...
"Hey, hey, hey! I'm getting dizzy!"
Liam grabbed tightly onto Steelix's head, shouting loudly.
"Grrrr.."
Hearing Liam's cries, Steelix quickly stopped shaking and steadily placed Liam back on the ground. Then, raising his giant head high, he once again let out a roar of extreme excitement, thrilled by the strength he now possessed after evolution.
"Owoo~"
Seeing that both Liam and Steelix were unharmed, Arcanine finally let go of its worries. It quickly ran up to the newly evolved companion, tilting its head and roaring as if asking a question.
"Roar.."
Steelix heard Arcanine's roar, lowered his massive head again, and with a flash of confusion in his big eyes, shook his head to indicate that he didn't really know what had happened either.
Liam stepped on Steelix's body and jumped out of the coiled circle, turning back immediately to cast Scan on Steelix.
...
[Ding!]
Pokemon: Steelix
Type: Steel/Ground
Species: Iron Snake Pokémon.
Ability: Rock Head
Nature: Serious
Gender: Male
Base Stats Total: 510/510
HP: 75
Attack: 85
Defense: 200
Sp. Attack: 55
Sp. Defense: 65
Speed: 30
Moves:Mud-Slap, Tackle, Harden, Bind, Rock Throw, Rock Tomb, Stealth Rock, Smack Down, Autotomize, Screech, Sand Tomb, Dig, Dragon Breath, Stone Edge, Thunder Fang, Fire Fang, Double-Edge.
Egg Move:Heavy Slam
Evaluation: Excellent! Exceptional defensive strength and power, nearly indestructible body, now boasting even greater strength and potential. Highly recommended for training.
...
After reading through Steelix's data, Liam frowned slightly—not because there was anything wrong with the information. On the contrary, everything was perfectly normal. No signs of post-evolution aftereffects. That left Liam puzzled as to why Steelix had shown such intense pain earlier.
Liam pondered for a moment, then his gaze shifted toward the pile of rubble blocking the way. He quickly walked over, squatted down, and picked up a piece of rubble that shimmered with a faint metallic sheen, casting another Scan.
[Ding!]
[Item Discovered: Ordinary Stone. Contains traces of Magnetic Iron Sand. Rock- or Ground-type Pokémon can evolve by ingesting Magnetic Iron Sand. The success rate is very low, the process extremely painful, and failure results in prolonged weakness. Not recommended for direct use.]
"So that's it! Now I remember—there are indeed wild Steelix living in Mt. Silver. I always wondered how they evolved... Turns out, it was thanks to these things."
"So, Steelix must have accidentally eaten a lot of these Magnetic Iron Sand-infused rocks, triggering his evolution. Really, eating random stuff is never a good idea."
"There must be some kind of energy in the Magnetic Iron Sand—a special type of energy that stimulates evolution in Rock- and Ground-types. Since it's not particularly pure, that's why the evolution process was so painful. The energy is probably similar to what's inside a Metal Coat, which explains why Pokémon can evolve painlessly with a Metal Coat's help. This world is truly fascinating... How many more secrets are there waiting to be uncovered? I'm really looking forward to finding out."
"But... this isn't the time to daydream. We've already wasted too much time. If this goes on, that bastard Black Ape might really escape! Steelix! No more eating—this time just smash those rocks blocking the way!"
After deducing the cause and effect of Steelix's evolution, Liam tucked the metallic rubble into his backpack—might be useful for research later. He stood up, a flash of cold light in his eyes, pointed at the mostly-cleared rubble ahead, and turned to Steelix.
"Roar!!"
With Liam's command, Steelix's massive body surged forward. The steel spike at his tail began to spin rapidly, like a giant drill, and stabbed hard into the rubble. It was like piercing tofu—no resistance at all.
He quickly punched several huge holes through the rock pile, then lowered his head like a bulldozer and slammed into it with full force. The rubble, already shattered into pieces, exploded apart, turning into a rain of stones across the tunnel.
"Arcanine! Keep tracking!"
"Woof!"
Seeing the path finally clear, Liam immediately turned and called out. Arcanine responded with a quick bark and leapt over the remaining stones, chasing rapidly into the depths of the tunnel.
"Steelix! Return for now!"
Liam pulled out a PokeBall, recalled the newly evolved and now slower Steelix, and sprinted after Arcanine.
As Liam pursued, a beeping sound came from the Vortex mask on his face—apparently a communication from Takeshi. Liam quickly opened the line, continuing to run while asking,
"Hey! Takeshi? What's up? How's it going on your end?"
Right after he spoke, Takeshi's slightly excited voice came through the earpiece.
"Haha! Everything's taken care of on my side! I found the hunting team's hideout at the end of this tunnel. They didn't even notice us coming—we totally caught them off guard! We've already taken them all down! Hahaha! Vortex, your Nidoking is amazing! One Surf and one Thunderbolt, and an entire squad was wiped out! I'm seriously jealous, man!"
Instead of being happy after hearing Takeshi's report, Liam's expression only grew heavier.
"Black Ape... What exactly are you trying to do?"
Liam gazed into the endless darkness of the tunnel ahead, muttering quietly.