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The deeper you go, the fewer Onix you see, and the more frequently Steelix appear.
And the Steelix seem to be getting progressively larger.
Eventually, I came across a body of water... a small pool.
It was a pond, about three meters in diameter, filled with a thick, khaki-colored liquid—almost the consistency of coffee...?
Chris doubted this was water from the underground river.
Onix lowered its head and began drinking the "coffee."
Suddenly, a Poké Ball on Chris's waist opened, and Aron jumped out eagerly, his short limbs moving quickly as he rushed over to join Onix, drinking the mysterious liquid.
Chris's mind raced with confusion. What just happened?
Was Aron just thirsty too?
It couldn't be that simple. Aron normally disliked the "Greninja" bath water back at home and always preferred cold water, just like Chris. How could he be drinking this dirty liquid here?
Aron and Onix... What they had in common was their Rock type and strong defenses. If Onix evolved into Steelix, they would both share the Steel type as well.
Suddenly, a bright white light interrupted Chris's thoughts—it was coming from Aron.
Chris recognized it immediately—it was the light of evolution.
"Evolution just from drinking some water?" Chris recalled that Aron's level wasn't high, only 30. He had been using an Exp. Share to train it, and it was still two levels away from evolving into Lairon.
Could Aron have a strong will to get stronger, like Greninja? Or was it just raw talent?
Moments later, the light faded, and Aron had evolved into Lairon.
**[Lairon (Steel, Rock)](Shiny)**
**[Level: 32]**
**[Ability: Heavy Metal (doubles body weight)]**
**[Individual Values: HP (31), Attack (31), Special Attack (27), Defense (31), Special Defense (31), Speed (26)]**
**[Moves: Tackle, Harden, Metal Claw, Rock Tomb, Roar, Headbutt, Protect, Rock Slide, Iron Head]**
**[Held Item: Hard Stone]**
The stats were normal, but the level wasn't! When did Lairon jump from level 30 to level 32?
Chris glanced at the khaki liquid in the pond.
"Could it have something to do with this?" he wondered, rubbing his chin.
After evolving, Lairon continued drinking the liquid. Soon, Chris noticed from the stats screen that its level had increased again—now to 33.
It really was the liquid!
"It can raise a Pokémon's level... Is this like some kind of Rare Candy effect?" Chris was in disbelief.
But now the mystery of how Onix reached level 40 without facing strong opponents made sense. It had been leveling up by drinking this liquid.
After hitting level 33, Lairon stopped drinking, curled its tail, and let out a soft growl in Chris's direction.
"Lairon~~ (turn off the lights, thank you)"
It had started Rest.
"Now's really not the time for a nap..." Chris tried to wake Lairon, but it ignored him. On the other side, Onix had also laid down and joined Lairon in Rest.
Their Rest wasn't like the kind you see in Contest battles where it's a negative condition; it was more like they had drained all their stamina and needed to recover through genuine Rest.
"Drinking this liquid increases their level, but it also seems to drain their physical strength, requiring them to Rest afterward?" Chris speculated.
He wasn't sure if his guess was entirely accurate, but one thing was clear: this strange khaki liquid was valuable!
Chris waited for a while, but as dinner approached, neither Lairon nor Onix woke up.
Since he didn't know how long they would sleep, Chris decided to return them to their Poké Balls and had Gabite fly him back to the surface.
The next day, when Chris returned, Lairon and Onix were still sound asleep in their Poké Balls. Even after visiting the Pokémon Center and having Nurse Joy check on them, they remained in Rest. Still, as long as they were okay, Chris wasn't too worried. Today's focus wasn't on them anyway.
Chris had come prepared this time—with a water pump in hand.
No way he was leaving behind this "magic sugar water" for Rock-type Pokémon! He was going to take every last drop.
He had set up hundreds of one-meter-high plastic buckets in his secret base beforehand. After getting back to the surface, he asked Gardevoir to open the entrance to the base.
Chris began pumping all the khaki liquid into the plastic buckets, ensuring none of it was wasted. Greninja helped by managing the pump, using its water abilities to keep everything in order, making sure not a single drop spilled.
With Gabite and Gardevoir by his side, Chris ventured off to explore the area further.
He wanted to figure out just how large this Onix graveyard was and how many Onix and Steelix had passed away here.
As they walked, Chris's attention was caught by a shiny stone on the ground.
Reaching down, he picked it up—it was a Hard Stone. Chris instantly knew this was something valuable.
His handheld device confirmed it:
**Hard Stone: Increases the power of Rock-type moves by 28% when held.**
"Nice! This one's high quality!" Chris said, pocketing the stone.
"The number of Onix and Steelix that died here must be in the thousands—there's going to be no shortage of valuable items like Hard Stones!" Chris's eyes sparkled at the thought. He then pulled out another device from his handheld—the treasure detector, also known as Treasure Detector 2.2.
"Does this thing actually work in real life?" Its game function was to find hidden treasures, but in reality, Chris wasn't sure what it could detect. Maybe it could find undiscovered Trainer treasures.
The device, shaped like two metal rods, didn't look too impressive. However, as soon as Chris activated it, both rods locked onto a specific direction at the same time.
"No way, it actually works?" Chris's eyes lit up in excitement. He quickly motioned for Gabite and Gardevoir to follow as he raced in the direction the Treasure Machine had indicated.
After walking about 30 meters, Chris stopped in front of the massive skull of a Steelix. Embedded in the skull was a translucent marble, its surface crisscrossed by a gray and blue swirl.
"This… This is a Mega Evolution Stone!"