The stones at the edge were pried up.
What was revealed underneath still shone with a silvery-white luster.
Himeko froze, a clear look of shock flashing across her face.
Then she immediately kept going, prying away even more stones along the perimeter.
But what was exposed beneath was still that same silvery-white, membrane-like material.
A minute later, the section of ground Himeko had laboriously dug open had already grown to the size of an entire table.
Underneath it all was Metal Coat.
A piece this huge made her instinctively clap a hand over her mouth in disbelief.
How… how could there be something this big!?
And it looked like they still hadn't reached the end of it.
No one could even tell how large it really was.
"Move to the side!"
Shiko's voice rang out in Himeko's mind.
Himeko nodded and quickly pressed herself against the cliff face.
Shiko lifted his foot—
and stomped down hard.
Boom!!
After the massive muffled explosion, the entire passage trembled violently.
Loose stones clattered down from above.
In an instant, cracks webbed across the ground like a spider's net, spreading outward.
Shattered rock littered the floor.
Through the fissures, they could clearly see the faint silvery-white glow seeping up from below.
Once the shaking finally stopped, Gardevoir began to exert her power again.
Pink psychic energy surged out around her, sweeping and pouring into the space as it rapidly spread.
Gardevoir handled it with practiced ease, using Confusion to lift the broken stones off the ground—
then piling them neatly to one side.
And only then did everyone finally get a clear look at what lay beneath.
This sheet of Metal Coat was terrifyingly large.
As far as the eye could see, it covered the entire passage beneath their feet, over two meters wide.
Its length was easily more than ten meters—laid out across the ground like a carpet.
Under the illumination of Flash, it gleamed with a sharp, metallic, silvery-white sheen.
"Th-this…!?"
Himeko was stammering.
A sheet of Metal Coat this huge—
it was the first time she'd ever seen anything like it.
If you cut an area this big into the common palm-sized pieces…
how many pieces would you get?
Shiko's eyes were burning too.
Sure, the Steel-type energy contained in Metal Coat was less than what you'd get from a Steel Gem—
but the problem was, this sheet was enormous.
He estimated that a Metal Coat of this size
should be worth at least the effect of ten Steel Gems.
At minimum, it could provide one percent of the Steel Attribute Law.
Good luck.
They'd only just gotten in, and they'd already hit a major haul.
Shiko's face brightened with a grin, pure delight on display.
He looked it over carefully from start to finish again.
But the more he looked—
the more his expression stiffened.
His brows furrowed as he stared again, and again.
Wait.
This whole sheet of Metal Coat…
the outline looked more and more like a snake.
No—hold on.
It was snake-shaped.
Which meant—
this silvery membrane-like material wasn't just Metal Coat…
it was a shed skin.
A giant shed skin.
The moment he realized that, Shiko immediately started searching his memory for any Pokémon that matched.
A snake-like Pokémon.
A shed skin like a metallic membrane.
A gigantic body.
Steel-type.
All of it combined—
and in Shiko's mind, a single figure snapped into place.
Steelix.
That's right.
This shed skin was absolutely left behind by a Steelix.
"This cave should be a Steelix's nest."
Shiko's voice sounded again in Himeko's mind.
With that reminder, Himeko blinked—
and sure enough, it was snake-shaped.
And the surface texture was rougher than ordinary Metal Coat, with an obvious scale-like grid pattern.
"It really is Steelix…"
Himeko murmured in surprise.
Because Steelix was different.
It absolutely counted as rare and precious.
Wild ones were extremely scarce—
rare enough to rival those pseudo-legendary Pokémon beneath the legendaries.
A few years ago, after the research world ran a series of experiments and investigations and finally confirmed that Steelix truly was Onix's evolved form,
a "catch Onix" craze swept through the League.
After all, Steelix ranked second overall among Pokémon in physical defense.
Combined with excellent HP, it made an outstanding physical wall.
And that silver metallic body, like it had been forged from refined steel…
it was just too cool, too eye-catching.
But unfortunately—
even though the evolutionary relationship between Onix and Steelix was confirmed,
to this day, experts still hadn't figured out the conditions required for Onix to evolve into Steelix.
Steelix remained a precious Pokémon, rare and hard to find.
And now…
the Steelix that had left behind this shed skin in this passage
made Himeko feel a chill crawl up her spine.
Judging from the shed skin,
this Steelix was already thirteen meters long.
That was a full half again longer than the typical nine-meter Steelix.
Snake-like Pokémon having physiques far beyond their peers could mean two things.
First—
it meant they had lived far longer than others of the same species.
Second—
it meant they possessed formidable strength and an impressive level.
"If my judgment's right, this should be a high-tier Elite Four-level Steelix!"
"No—after shedding this skin, it should be Elite Four peak!"
Himeko analyzed for a while before speaking.
Even as she said it, she sucked in a cold breath.
They'd just entered, and they were already dealing with a wild Elite Four-peak Pokémon.
This luck…
If Shiko weren't here,
she would have turned around and left immediately.
"Elite Four-level, huh…"
Shiko murmured, holding his breath.
Then he began sensing carefully.
Generally speaking,
a wild Elite Four-level Pokémon was a true apex overlord.
Pokémon like that naturally nurtured an aura of dominance.
They could intimidate and threaten other Pokémon.
As someone also at Elite Four-level,
Shiko should have been able to clearly sense that aura.
He tried for a long time,
doing everything he could to detect the presence deeper within the passage.
But there was nothing.
The depths were silent—so quiet that he could barely catch even the faintest trace.
That was strange.
Shiko's brows knit tighter.
It shouldn't be like this.
After he told Himeko what he'd found,
Himeko looked equally surprised.
"Could it be hibernating?"
Himeko thought of a snake's habits and guessed instinctively.
"No, no—summer's almost here."
The moment she finished speaking, she shook her head and rejected the idea herself.
After thinking for a while longer,
Himeko finally landed on another possibility.
She lifted her head and looked at Shiko.
The instant their eyes met,
she understood Shiko had likely reached the same conclusion.
Maybe the Steelix in this cave…
was already dead.
This might be the place where it was buried.
(End of Chapter)
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