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Ecological Zone #6.
The environment here wasn't much different from Zone #5.
Low rocky hills, dense forests, streams, and sandy mounds were all part of the basic setup.
The lanky guide still carried the same "catalog," but this time it was noticeably thicker than the one for Zone #5.
He explained, "Miss Su, the young Pokémon here are just as excellent as those in Zone #5 and should definitely meet the young man's needs."
Su Yiliu nodded and turned to Li Xiang. "Take your time, Xiao Xiang. No rush. If we can't find one today, we can come back tomorrow."
Listen to her! How considerate!
If today doesn't work out, they'd return tomorrow!
Li Xiang nodded in agreement while silently marveling at her thoughtfulness.
Still, he felt it was best to choose today. Dragging this out over two days would make him feel a bit awkward.
The search for the right Pokémon resumed.
"Do you have a preferred type, young man?" the lanky guide asked warmly as they strolled deeper into Zone #6.
As they walked, Li Xiang noticed several individuals in uniform nearby, likely the staff of the breeding facility.
Each had one or two Pokémon accompanying them, with a dark communication device clipped to their belts.
"...I'd like to start with Steel-types," Li Xiang replied after some thought.
Surprisingly, he didn't go for the standard Water, Fire, or Grass starter types but chose Steel instead.
He reasoned that there was no harm in taking his time. He'd find a Pokémon that truly resonated with him before making his final decision.
The lanky guide flipped through the catalog, quickly locating the section for Steel-types. He crouched down to bring the pages to Li Xiang's eye level.
"I'll show you the options here. If you see one you like, we can go take a look in person."
Li Xiang nodded and thanked him. The guide's patience and care were undoubtedly due to Su Yiliu's influence, and Li Xiang felt it necessary to show proper manners.
As expected, the guide's smile became more genuine after Li Xiang's thanks. He opened a page and held it out for Li Xiang, waiting for his signal to turn to the next one.
Steel-types.
Out of the eighteen known types, Steel had the most resistances—eleven in total.
If one included the now-defunct resistances to Dark and Ghost types from earlier generations, the count would have been thirteen, cementing Steel's status as the "King of Resistances."
Of course, in this world, the type matchups followed the sixth-generation adjustments, so it was back to eleven resistances—still highly impressive.
The Steel-type roster boasted many powerful Pokémon.
For instance:
- Metagross, often called the "Fairy Killer" post-Mega Evolution in Generation VII.
- Mawile, whose Mega Evolution turned it from an underdog to a powerhouse.
- Lucario, the iconic Pokémon made famous by its movie appearances.
Other notable Steel-types included:
- Aegislash, whose stats could soar to 720 when used skillfully.
- Heatran, capable of explosive damage in sunny conditions.
- Skarmory and Corviknight, both revered for their Flying/Steel defensive synergy.
- Excadrill, nicknamed the "drill-headed Garchomp."
- Durant, which shone brightly in Generation VIII thanks to Dynamax.
- Scizor, the sleek and stylish technician, and Steelix—while often overlooked, it remained formidable when used correctly.
The list of powerful Steel-types seemed endless, even without considering Ultra Beasts or Legendary Pokémon.
Among all the types, Steel was Li Xiang's personal favorite in the Pokémon series.
What could be more appealing than a Pokémon that was tough to knock down and nearly impervious to attacks?
However, not all these Pokémon would appear in the catalog. Some weren't Steel-types in their first stage, while others were so rare that Qingcheng might not even have them. If they did, they would've been snatched up immediately.
And then there were the Legendary Pokémon that most people might never encounter in their lifetime.
Li Xiang focused on the available options.
For instance, Beldum.
There were about three or four of them living in a single area within Zone #6.
As the guide turned the pages, Li Xiang primarily examined the breeder's seals in the top-right corner and the evaluations below each Pokémon.
Humans had always enjoyed assigning ratings to things, and Pokémon were no exception.
Here, Pokémon were graded into five tiers: Superior, High, Medium, Low, and Inferior, with detailed explanations for each rating.
This grading system wasn't unique to breeding facilities.
Magazines and various Pokémon-related publications often featured similar evaluations.
As Li Xiang flipped through the catalog, he couldn't shake the feeling that he was like an ancient emperor choosing concubines.
No need to overthink it.
He decided on a Beldum with one Superior rating and two High ratings.
Regardless of whether it would be his final choice, it was worth taking a closer look.
The lanky guide stood up, put away the catalog, and spoke into his radio before leading them further into the zone.
As they walked, he continued explaining the layout of the ecological zone, the distribution of young Pokémon, and which species were most popular or highly rated by feedback.
He also shared an analysis of the pros and cons of choosing a Beldum as a starter Pokémon.
For example, one notable drawback was that Beldum couldn't consume regular food. This made it challenging to build a bond through feeding.
Li Xiang listened attentively, occasionally turning to ask Su Yiliu for her opinion.
Unfortunately, Su Yiliu wasn't very familiar with Steel-types. Her area of expertise during her studies had been Fairy-types, with Steel only as a secondary focus to fulfill credit requirements.
Her knowledge paled compared to the guide's detailed insights, as his expertise came from hands-on experience.
Still, Su Yiliu's input was important to Li Xiang. After all, even when shopping for groceries, one would compare options. It wouldn't do to rely solely on the guide's words.
Determining which information was accurate and useful was ultimately up to him.
A "novice" like Su Yiliu might not be entirely wrong, and an "expert" like the guide wasn't infallible either.
Before long, the group reached a bare rocky hill.
There was no sign of any Beldum, but they did spot a staff member sitting on an unusual boulder.
Upon seeing the group, the staff member quickly stood up and gestured toward a specific direction. "This way, please. The Beldum are just inside."
Li Xiang glanced at the "boulder" and suddenly realized it wasn't a rock at all—it was a peculiar blue-gray Pokémon.
Its head sported a red, button-like protrusion resembling a stone hat, while its front featured a massive red, nose-like structure. Below that hung a tuft of black "nose hair."
It was a Probopass, a Rock/Steel-type Pokemon.
'Is it using the Magnet Pull ability to prevent the Beldum from escaping?'
Li Xiang averted his gaze and followed the staff member into a cave at the side of the rocky mountain.
The cave wasn't deep, and with switchable lights illuminating the interior, Li Xiang quickly spotted the "bottoms" stuck in the rock walls—Beldum, dozing quietly.
Beldum, a Steel/Psychic Pokémon, was grayish-blue in color, lighter than Probopass. It had an irregularly round head, bright red eyes, and a hammer-like body.
At its base were three silver claws that shone faintly, easily embedding themselves into the rock wall to stabilize the body.
At this stage, it had no mouth, relying on the absorption of minerals and magnetic forces to sustain itself.
It possessed the ability to emit magnetism to counteract the planet's magnetic field, allowing it to float in midair.
The staff member pointed to a significantly larger-than-average Beldum and said, "This is F135."
This was the exact one Li Xiang had selected earlier.
The staff member walked over, gently rubbing the Beldum's head. The Pokémon opened its eyes, revealing a dazed look.
"Shall we step outside for a bit?" he asked softly, carefully "plucking" the Beldum from the wall.
The Beldum didn't resist and hovered quietly beside the staff member, incredibly obedient.
Clearly, after spending over a month with its caretaker, it had grown accustomed to their presence.
The group left the cave.
Since selecting a Pokémon required observing its abilities, just relying on written descriptions or verbal assurances wasn't enough—it needed a proper demonstration.
"This Beldum has the ability Clear Body, which prevents its stats from being lowered by opposing moves or abilities. Its current level is seven, and it knows Take Down, Iron Defense, and Iron Head," the staff member explained.
Li Xiang nodded. Beldum was the only pseudo-legendary Pokémon that didn't have any egg moves. This was because it lacked a gender and, in the games, could only breed with Ditto.
In this world, Beldum reproduced through self-replication, a process referred to as "splitting."
The Pokédex entries for its evolutions described Metang as a fusion of two Beldum, while Metagross was described as a combination of two Metang.
Many Pokémon enthusiasts believed this meant Beldum needed multiple individuals to combine and evolve, drawing comparisons to the Slowpoke and Shellder symbiosis for Slowbro and Slowking.
While that might be true in other worlds, here, Beldum could evolve independently, much like Magnemite evolving into Magneton—no fusion required.
In the Advanced Generation anime, a Trainer named Morrison even had a Beldum evolve mid-battle without requiring another to merge.
...
Back to the present.
The "test dummy" for Beldum's demonstration was none other than the Probopass.
The test included three moves, which took less than three minutes in total.
Well… it was impressive, as the ratings suggested.
However, Li Xiang realized he had overestimated the destructive power of low-level Pokémon and underestimated the physical resilience of humans in this world.
To demonstrate Beldum's obedience and friendliness, the staff member brought out two thick leg shields, letting the Beldum strike them while he stood firm. After taking a few hits, he invited Li Xiang to try.
With Probopass overseeing them and Su Yiliu staying silent, Li Xiang found his courage bolstered.
Under the staff member's guidance, Li Xiang let Beldum hit him three times. Once with full force, once restrained, and once lightly.
The first strike was quite powerful—it felt akin to being punched hard on the shoulder by a colleague in his past life.
But since he was only eleven, his physical fitness lagged behind adults and even peers, with baby fat still softening his face.
As expected, it hurt.
Next, the staff member had Li Xiang issue commands directly. To his surprise, the Beldum followed his orders precisely.
This interaction gave Li Xiang a clearer understanding of the baseline human resilience in this world.
And it made sense.
After all, the humans here were native to this world. Even if their species relied on technology to thrive, they couldn't have been vastly weaker than Pokémon in the early days—otherwise, they'd have been wiped out long before establishing civilizations and kingdoms.
The idea of a Rattata biting off an arm, a Pidgey pecking through a skull, or a Beedrill stabbing someone fatally in one hit? Those scenarios didn't seem very "realistic" anymore.
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