After receiving the Knuckle Badge, Steven brought Aron and Skarmory to the Pokémon Center, entrusting them to Nurse Joy for treatment.
While his Pokémon were being healed, Steven used the center's videophone to call his father, Joseph.
He updated Joseph on his recent activities and his newly acquired Knuckle Badge.
"Alright, let me know if you need anything. I have a meeting coming up, so I'll talk to you later."
After the call ended, Steven's initially cheerful expression slowly faded.
He gazed at the Knuckle Badge in his hand and quietly placed it back into his badge case.
Steven retrieved Skarmory and Aron once they were fully healed, then headed to the port to purchase a ferry ticket to Slateport City.
Afterward, he returned to the area near Granite Cave to continue training.
"Aron, Skarmory, you both fought exceptionally well today." Steven smiled, placing his hands on both Pokémon's heads.
Due to Aron's short stature, Skarmory had to lower its head so Steven could reach it.
"We won't be doing physical training today," Steven announced as he began searching through his backpack.
"Aron!" Aron watched Steven's movements with visible anticipation.
Don't forget the promise from before this morning's battle!
"Of course I haven't forgotten," Steven chuckled, pulling out a high-quality piece of magnetic ore from his backpack and setting it before Aron.
"Aron!"
Aron eagerly opened its mouth wide and bit directly into the magnetic ore.
Taking that hit from the opponent was completely worth it!
"Skarmory, this is a Metal Coat. Want to try it?"
Steven retrieved a cylindrical container with a metallic casing from his bag and opened it, revealing a translucent dark gray film inside.
Theoretically, Skarmory should be able to consume this item as well—its composition consisted of special minerals containing concentrated Steel-type energy.
"Skarm?" Skarmory tilted its head, cautiously extending its beak into the Metal Coat container.
It tore off a small portion of the Metal Coat, tested it in its mouth, then swallowed.
"Skarm!"
Skarmory immediately sensed its body breaking down the Metal Coat, and the released energy coursed through its entire form.
It quickly consumed most of the Metal Coat, then closed its eyes to digest the sudden influx of Steel-type energy.
"Aron?" Aron, still chewing on its magnetic ore, glanced at Skarmory's reaction and made a muffled sound.
Does that stuff taste good?
I really want to try some... but I haven't finished my magnetic ore yet.
Steven noticed Aron's longing gaze and smiled. "Don't worry, I'll save you some."
"Aronnn!"
Rattle—
The Poké Ball at Steven's waist began shaking—it was Metang's Poké Ball.
Seeing this, Steven opened Metang's Poké Ball and released the Pokémon.
As soon as Metang emerged, it shook its body, dislodging the piece of magnetic ore resting on its head.
"How many times have I told you? I didn't lock the Poké Ball—you can come out whenever you want." Steven affectionately patted Metang's metallic surface.
Honestly, the reason Metang hadn't grown more over the past year wasn't due to lack of potential.
It was simply because of its species' inherent limitation—lower intelligence that required more time to comprehend new concepts.
Otherwise, Steven could have invested resources to bring Metang to Elite-level strength or beyond.
Most late-blooming Pokémon need to accumulate massive amounts of energy before evolving, resulting in particularly long development periods.
Metang was an exception to this rule, but after its final evolution into Metagross, its intelligence would increase dramatically, and nothing would hold it back anymore.
Metang rarely absorbed items like Metal Coats or steel gems that contained concentrated Steel-type energy—understanding how to absorb them was challenging, and additionally, it couldn't consume them directly.
"Meta..." Metang scratched at its head, looking somewhat embarrassed.
Then it anxiously tried to communicate something to Steven, tapping its arm with one claw.
"You mean your strength isn't improving much anymore?" Steven roughly interpreted Metang's meaning.
After all, Metang had been attempting to break through to the next level for several days now.
It wasn't really that improvement was impossible—rather, the rate of growth had slowed so dramatically that progress felt nonexistent.
This was a bottleneck.
At times like these, a little external assistance was often needed. For instance, a major breakthrough during battle might suddenly shatter this so-called bottleneck.
Or evolution.
After evolving, a massive surge of energy would erupt over a very short period, after which one's strength would become unstable. Without properly consolidating that strength, a Pokémon might even regress to pre-evolution levels.
Though it sounded similar to cultivation novels, the underlying principle was comparable.
Thinking about it carefully, Pokémon could use their internal energy to unleash energy-based attacks and other moves, so perhaps he shouldn't view things through the realistic lens of his previous life.
"Meta!" Metang nodded.
Even though this situation had occurred before, it could still sense slight cumulative increases in strength, but this time the progress was unbearably slow.
So slow it couldn't even detect it anymore.
"It's alright, this is completely normal."
Steven released his two Beldum—his plan had been leading to this very moment all along.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have paid such a high price for that Rare Candy.
"Now is your time to evolve, Metang!"
The two Beldum didn't fully understand this statement, but Metang knew exactly what it meant—after all, it had become what it was now by "merging" with another Beldum.
"Beldum, do you want to become one with Metang?" Steven first asked for the two Beldum's consent, fully explaining what evolution would mean for them.
If they disagreed, Steven would return them and find other Beldum to ask instead.
Every Pokémon had the right to choose its own path.
When Steven had initially selected these two Beldum, he'd already asked them once, but at a critical moment like this, it was safer to confirm again.
"Dum!"
Both Beldum readily agreed, and the eyes on their bodies curved into crescent shapes.
"Thank you," Steven said with a gentle smile, placing his hands on both Beldum.
"Metang, let's do this!"
"Meta!"
The two Beldum positioned themselves against Metang's two arms, awaiting Steven's command.
"Carefully sense the connection between yourselves, and channel the energy within your bodies toward each other until you merge."
Metang and the Beldum closed their eyes tightly, beginning to attune themselves to one another.
After approximately half an hour, Metang and the Beldum's bodies simultaneously began emitting brilliant white light that shone brightly even under the afternoon sun.
"It's working!" Steven, who had remained by their side for the entire half hour without moving, felt a surge of excitement.
"Even after witnessing it once before, I still can't help but feel thrilled..."
The dazzling white light caught Aron's attention as it finished its meal, and Skarmory, who had been absorbing excess energy with closed eyes, also opened them because of the brilliant glow.
The white light surrounding Metang and the Beldum grew increasingly intense, and their forms began gradually transforming.
"Aronnn?"
"Skarm?"
Is this... evolution?!