As the last Vigoroth fell, Aron let out a cry, and in the next moment, a bright white light enveloped it.
"It's evolving."
Seeing this, Julian clenched his fist lightly and murmured to himself, feeling that the day had not been wasted.
He had spent over 3,000 points just on those bananas, but Aron's evolution made it all worthwhile.
When the light faded, there stood Lairon, now towering even taller than an average Aggron.
Standing before it, Julian felt like an ordinary person next to Shaquille O'Neal.
If it evolved into an Aggron next, its size would probably be beyond massive—a true prehistoric beast.
"Meltan!~"
Meltan was ecstatic, even more thrilled than Julian. It shot forward in a flash, aiming for Aron's shed armor.
For Meltan, who loved eating metal, Aron's old armor was the ultimate delicacy, and now it was finally his to savor.
But before it could take a bite, Lairon nudged Meltan away and began eating its own shed armor bit by bit.
"Meltan!~"
Bast***d! No way!
Meltan looked outraged and tried to lunge back at the armor, only to be picked up by Julian as it struggled.
"Here."
Julian handed a piece of rare metal from the system shop to Meltan.
"Eat this. the armor is for Lairon."
With its trainer's instruction, Meltan reluctantly accepted, though it looked disappointed.
Aron's armor contained concentrated metal nutrients it had consumed in its previous form. Eating it now would allow Lairon to reabsorb those nutrients.
Giving it to Meltan would have been wasteful.
After finishing its armor, Lairon stomped heavily to Julian's side.
"Well done."
Julian used to be able to pat Aron on the head, but now he could only pat Lairon on the side.
"Lairon~"
After evolving, Lairon's personality had become much more composed, no longer as lively as when it was an Aron.
Pokémon often experience personality changes after evolution, and in extreme cases, it can feel like they have a completely new character.
Pokémon: Lairon (Steel/Rock)
Level: 32
Potential: Blue
Ability: Heavy Metal
Item: Metal Coat
Gender: Male
Moves: Roar, Tackle, Harden, Headbutt, Protect, Rock Tomb, Metal Claw, Earth Power, Iron Head
Disc Moves: Earthquake, Sandstorm, Dig, Shock Wave, Rock Slide, Rock Smash, Water Pulse
Genetic Moves: Stomp, Heavy Slam, Endeavor, Dragon Rush
--
With Lairon's evolution complete, Julian's attention shifted to Meltan, who was happily munching on metal. Not long ago, it had been picky about the metal, but now it was eating it with obvious enjoyment.
Sensing Julian's gaze, Meltan paused, looking at him curiously.
"Meltan, do you want to evolve?" Julian asked.
He had already collected the 400 Meltan candies needed for its evolution.
The reason he hadn't evolved Meltan yet was partly because Melmetal's presence would be too conspicuous. Melmetal was a Steel-type mythical Pokémon exclusive to secret realm of Wyvernia, and having it appear in Drakoria could cause international issues.
The other reason was that little Meltan's size was just too cute.
"Meltan!~"
Meltan nodded eagerly.
It had long wanted to evolve! It had watched as Beldum evolved into Metagross, Riolu into Lucario, Dratini into Dragonite, and now even Aron had evolved into Lairon.
Evolution was so exciting—how could it not want to join in?
But then Meltan looked at Julian, puzzled. It seemed unsure of how to evolve.
It couldn't evolve like Aron did with a sudden burst of light; it seemed to need something specific.
"I have a way."
Julian gently poked Meltan's soft cheek with his finger, then took out 400 Meltan candies from his system space, surrounding it with the candies.
Before Meltan could react, the familiar bright light enveloped it, even brighter than Lairon's evolution moments ago.
The other Pokémon instinctively shut their eyes from the intense glow.
Deep in a lake within the secret realm, a sleeping Elite-level Gyarados suddenly opened its eyes, sensing the surge.
In other areas, several Elite-tier Pokémon felt a powerful life force ascending to a higher level.
The white light lasted a full three minutes before finally fading.
When it cleared, a towering Melmetal stood before Julian and his Pokémon.
Melmetal's body was adorned with nine dark gray hexagonal bolts embedded or attached across its form. Golden hexagonal bolts circled its neck, with a smaller bolt serving as its head.
"Melmetal~"
Melmetal looked down, fascinated by its evolved form, and casually swung a fist, stirring up a gust of wind.
Pokémon: Melmetal (Steel)
Level: 61
Potential: Purple
Ability: Iron Fist
Held Item: None
Gender: Genderless
Moves: Harden, Thunder Shock, Headbutt, Charge Beam, Giga Impact, Thunder Punch, Acid Armor, Flash Cannon, Thunder Wave, Dynamic Punch, Protect
Disc Moves: None
Genetic Moves: None
--
Melmetal was Julian's third Pokémon, raised alongside Riolu from the time they were both still in eggs.
Although it had never been shown publicly, its spot on the team has never fallen.
When it came to resources, Metagross had the most invested in it, with Meltan coming in a close second.
As a mythical Pokémon, Julian was dedicated to training it well.
During its time as Meltan, it had a high level but couldn't learn many moves. Because of this, Julian hadn't prioritized TM moves for it.
Now, with its evolution into Melmetal, it not only knew a variety of moves, but also had the potential to learn TMs.
With its 'Iron Fist' ability, Melmetal could increase the power of its punch-based moves by 20%.
Looking at its massive fists, Julian figured that even a Blastoise's shell might crack under one of its strikes.
Melmetal sized itself up beside Lairon, holding out a fist to compare heights—though Lairon was still slightly taller, standing at 2.7 meters to Melmetal's 2.4 meters.
Of course, both were dwarfed by Steelix, the true giant of the team, with even Dragonite's nearly 3-meter height, they were unable to take even second place.
Julian pocketed his phone after recording Melmetal's evolution. He had a feeling this footage would come in handy in the future.
*****
Upto 30 chapters ahead on patreon :-
patreon.com/ReduxMagister