Auron Vale couldn't help laughing as he listened to his dad swap stories about the two Pokémon living at Dax Jonas's place.
"This just proves Uncle Dax keeps them well fed. Otherwise, why would neither of them want to leave?"
Ashen Vale chuckled. "True enough. The way he treats his Pokémon is about the same as we do."
He pulled out his phone. "Should I call him, or do you want to?"
"You tell him. Just say to bring the Onix along and come over."
"Alright."
Ashen stepped out to ring Dax, while Auron headed to his little workshop to grab the tools they'd need. Halfway down the path, he slapped his forehead.
"Hiss—didn't he take all the Metal Coats last time?"
He suddenly wanted to have Dad remind Dax to bring one, but after two hurried steps he stopped. How was he supposed to explain why he needed a Metal Coat?
A thought struck. He took out his phone. "Hey, Jace."
"Mmm~?"
"Do you have a Metal Coat? Bring one over to my family's breeding house."
"Uh… huh?"
Auron hung up before Jace could finish. He knew Jace would be here soon enough. For now, he needed Lucario's help to move the spare link trade terminal next to the one in the warehouse.
Over at Jace's place, Jace was still groggy—who didn't sleep in on a weekend? He dragged himself up, wandered into his family's storage room like a sleepwalker, fished out a Metal Coat that his dad kept there, splashed his face with water, and headed out.
As for his own Metal Coat, he'd had one in the Pokémon Secret Realm last time, but sold it as soon as he came out.
Under Auron's direction, Lucario and Kommo-o set the equipment in place. Auron exhaled long and slow. Now, all they had to do was wait for Dax Jonas to arrive with Onix.
Jace soon showed up with the Metal Coat. He tossed it onto the couch, flopped down himself, grabbed an apple, took a bite, and mumbled, "What do you need a Metal Coat for? I was sleeping just fine and you dragged me over."
Auron smiled mysteriously. "I'll show you a Pokémon you've never seen before."
Jace snorted. "Tch. I aced the complete Pokédex course in middle school. What Pokémon haven't I seen?"
"Don't tell me—a Legendary!"
Suddenly bright-eyed, he sprang up and stared at Auron.
Auron went deadpan. "I'd love that too. If only we had one."
"Tch. Big talk for nothing."
Jace shot Auron a look and lounged back onto the couch. "I'm taking a power nap. Wake me when it's time."
"Sure."
Auron agreed and turned to the workbench in his little room, jotting down his hypothesis on Poliwag's evolution into Politoed. He could only run that King's Rock experiment after he quietly got the Metal Coat onto Onix and successfully evolved it into Steelix.
Auron scribbled and diagrammed; Jace snored on the sofa. Time slid by.
By noon, Dax Jonas had flown in. After lunch together, the experiment began.
"Uncle Dax, could you let Onix out for a moment?"
Dax briskly pulled the red-and-white ball from his belt and released Onix.
[Pokémon] Onix
[Gender] Male
[Type] Rock/Ground
[Ability] Weak Armor (When hit by an attack, its Speed rises; each strike of a multi-hit move can trigger it. Hitting itself in confusion does not trigger the effect.)
[Aptitude] Orange
[Moves — Known] Harden, Tackle, Bind, Rock Throw, Knock Off, Rock Polish, Dragon Breath, Curse (latest notes jokingly call it "Jujutsu"), Rock Slide, Sand Tomb, Stealth Rock, Slam, Iron Tail, Stone Edge, Double-Edge…
[Egg Moves] Wide Guard, Head Smash, Rollout, Block
Auron circled Onix, pretending to inspect while, when Dad and Dax weren't looking, he clipped a compact harness with the Metal Coat onto the tip of Onix's tail.
Onix lifted its tail curiously, examined the device, felt no discomfort, and ignored it.
"Okay, Uncle Dax, you can return him."
Dax turned his head. "Hm? That's it?"
"Not done. There's another step. For now, please recall Onix."
"Alright."
Dax returned Onix to the Poké Ball and, instead of chatting with Ashen, waited for Auron's next cue.
Auron walked over to the two link trade terminals, side by side.
"Uncle Dax, put the ball here, and send it through to this receiver."
Dax didn't really get it, but he came over and placed the Poké Ball in the recessed cradle.
"This close together—what's the point?"
Auron finished a few final settings and gave a secretive smile. "No idea. I just have a feeling this might give you a surprise."
Dax stared at Auron for a second, then nodded. "Alright. I'll trust you this once."
The machine hummed to life. In short order, the Poké Ball shimmered out of the sending pad and blinked into the receiving pad.
Dax picked it up, puzzled. "Doesn't look any different."
"Try letting Onix out?"
Auron pitched his voice as if unsure.
Dax didn't hesitate. He tossed the red-and-white ball.
In the crimson flash, Onix's silhouette took shape.
"See? Nothing—whoa, what the—!"
He hadn't finished the sentence when a milky-white glow engulfed Onix's whole body—the light of evolution bursting outward.
"I've never heard that Onix had another evolution!"
Dax gaped, stunned.
Ashen Vale was just as surprised. He looked from the evolving Onix to Auron's grin.
It didn't take long for the evolution to complete.
[Pokémon] Steelix
[Gender] Male
[Type] Steel/Ground
[Ability] Sheer Force (In battle, the power of moves with additional effects is increased by 30%, but their additional effects no longer occur.)
[Aptitude] Orange
[Moves — Known] Harden, Tackle, Bind, Fire Fang, Thunder Fang, Ice Fang, Autotomize, Rock Throw, Knock Off, Rock Polish, Dragon Breath, Curse, Rock Slide, Sand Tomb, Stealth Rock, Slam, Iron Tail, Stone Edge, Double-Edge, Magnet Rise…
[Egg Moves] Wide Guard, Head Smash, Rollout, Block
Dax ran both hands along Steelix's iron body, his face glowing with giddy delight—he looked, frankly, like a total maniac.
Auron left him to his bliss and walked over to Jace. "Get it all on video?"
"Got it."
Auron had told Jace beforehand: as soon as he put the Poké Ball into the machine, start recording.
"Nice work." Auron took the camcorder and slipped it into his backpack. This would be crucial supporting evidence for one of his doctoral theses—he needed to keep it safe.
"Hey, Auron! Is this a Steel-type?"
"Don't yell. I'm not sure yet—we'll have to run tests. But judging by the body structure, it's very likely Steel-type."
Auron dug a finger in his ear and answered Dax, who was practically vibrating.
"Hahaha, this is fantastic! Next time that scoundrel Marcelo Bielsa brags about his Copperajah, I'll slam this on the table and crush him with it—ha!"
You had to admit: the master of a Secret Realm really was different. The Steelix entry put average length around nine meters, but Dax's Steelix—while they hadn't measured precisely—was definitely over twelve.
From Auron's vantage point, Steelix's head was nearly brushing the warehouse's fifteen-meter ceiling.
(End of Chapter)
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