Chapter 194: Absorbing the Sacred Ore
The moment the Great Elder gave the command, all the Bronzor who were ready to evolve formed a line and began to float towards the east. Basalt, Summer, and Barry, as their trainers, were granted special permission to enter the Sacred Ore Cavern to observe and accompany their Pokémon through their evolution.
The Great Elder and the other Bronzong remained behind. They began to perform a mysterious, ceremonial dance, their bodies bumping against one another to create a chorus of chiming sounds. On the platform, a massive black rock had appeared, and on top of it, a simple stone mirror, which was reflecting the light of the rising sun, as if absorbing its energy.
Basalt shrugged it off and, at Bronzor's urging, followed the procession towards the Sacred Ore Cavern. This was the place where the sacred "Aegis Ore" was found. As the legend went, the ancestors of the Bronzong clan had discovered this cavern and benefited from its power, and so they had built their home on Mount Veridian and grown strong.
The entrance to the cavern was small and unassuming. But inside, it was another world. A massive, thousand-square-meter chamber opened up before them. In the center was a deep, pool-like pit, filled with a viscous, blue-green liquid that shimmered like molten metal.
"The liquid in this pool is the Aegis Ore, melted by my psychic power to make it easier for you to absorb," the Great Elder's voice echoed in their minds. "You may now enter the pool. Use your psychic power to draw the liquid into your bodies and refine it. This will greatly increase your defenses and forge your 'shield of the body'."
"However," the elder's voice grew serious, "the density of this liquid is extremely high. A piece the size of an orange weighs over a hundred kilograms. You must be careful. When you feel you are becoming too heavy to fly, you must stop absorbing. This is the wisdom our clan has accumulated over thousands of years. If you absorb too much, you may find that you are too heavy to move or fly even after you evolve."
With that, the elder's presence vanished. One by one, the Bronzor descended into the pool, their eyes glowing as they began to draw the liquid metal into their bodies.
"I'll be back in a bit," Basalt's Bronzor said to him before joining the others.
The moment it touched the liquid, a cool, refreshing sensation washed over it. It extended its psychic power, and a stream of the liquid began to flow into its body. It could feel its own weight increasing.
"This feels... great," it thought, a thrill of excitement running through it. It had never forgotten the feeling of being overpowered by the heavier Metang. Now, it had a chance to increase its own weight, and with it, its defenses. The Aegis Ore was a super-hard, super-heavy metal. And it seemed to be incredibly rare.
"If I don't take this opportunity to absorb as much as I can, I'll be letting myself down," it thought, a cunning plan forming in its mind.
Too heavy to fly? It wasn't worried. It had mastered Reverse Gravity. It could just use that to lighten its load. A normal Bronzor might only be able to handle a hundred kilograms or so before being grounded. But it... it was confident it could handle at least five or six hundred pounds without any problem.
After about half an hour, the first Bronzor, having reached its limit, wobbled out of the pool. Soon, others followed.
"Those must be the weaker ones," Summer commented. She had scouted almost every Bronzor on the mountain before choosing hers. "Their capacity is limited."
"So the longer they stay in, the stronger they are," Basalt and Barry realized.
After another ten minutes, only five Bronzor remained in the pool. Among them, were the partners of Basalt, Summer, and Barry.
After another ten minutes, only those three were left. It was clear that the three trainers had chosen the most talented of the clan.
But now, even Summer and Barry's Bronzor were reaching their limits. They were bobbing up and down, struggling to stay afloat.
Basalt's Bronzor, on the other hand, was as steady as a rock.
After another five minutes, the other two finally gave up and left the pool, panting with exertion.
"Well, Basalt, we're heading out," Barry and Summer said.
"Okay. I'll be along shortly," he replied.
He watched as a steady stream of the liquid metal continued to flow into his Bronzor. He didn't dare to disturb it. After another half an hour, he was beginning to get worried. Bronzor's psychic power was much stronger than the others, and its absorption rate was incredibly high. Had it been in there for too long?
"Bronzor, how much longer?" he asked quietly.
"I don't know," it replied, its voice a little strained. "I feel like I can still take a little more."
Basalt didn't know that Bronzor was simultaneously using a 0.3x Reverse Gravity field on itself, the maximum it could sustain, to reduce its own weight by thirty percent. Even after absorbing over three or four hundred kilograms, it felt like it could still handle more.
"You're that much of a beast?" Basalt thought, stunned.
He chuckled to himself. "Good thing the Great Elder is footing the bill for this. I could never afford this much Aegis Ore." The thought of how much it would cost to raise such a talented Pokémon sometimes gave him a headache, even with his millions.
As he was lost in thought, another half hour passed. When he looked up, Bronzor was almost completely submerged in the liquid, only the very top of its body still visible.
"Bronzor!" he called out, a hint of worry in his voice.
"Don't worry," it replied calmly. "My psychic power is much stronger than the others. My evolution will be a much greater leap. Even if I can't fly after this, I'll be able to once I evolve. My psychic power will skyrocket. It's no problem."
Basalt's eye twitched, but he had to admit, it had a point.
"Alright, but... be careful."
"Okay, okay. Just another hundred kilograms, to round it out to an even eight hundred," it said. After another ten minutes, it was finally satisfied. It cut off its psychic connection to the liquid... and found that it couldn't fly at all.
"Don't worry. I can't fly, but I can roll," it said with a sheepish laugh. It then began to roll smoothly out of the pool and over to Basalt.
As it rolled, Basalt noticed that the stone floor was cracking under its immense weight.
Seeing his stare, Bronzor felt a little embarrassed. "Ahem. Let's get going. The Evolution Festival is probably about to start," it said, quickly changing the subject. "I'll roll on ahead. You try and keep up." And with that, it rolled out of the cave.
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