Deep within the mine, a faint blue glow shimmered on the rock walls, as if narrating the ancient tales of this mysterious region.
Miraidon, excited like a wild horse unbridled, sped through the mine at a furious pace, its wheels grinding against the ground, spraying blue-purple electric Sparks. It was completely immersed in the joy of finding the legendary seasoning, leaving everything else behind.
Suddenly, a loud "bang!" echoed from ahead, followed by a harsh metallic clang, which sounded particularly chilling in the silent mine.
Miraidon, at an astonishing speed, crashed head-on into an "iron wall"—which turned out to be the body of a Steelix coiled in the tunnel!
Miraidon was dizzy from the impact. It shook its head vigorously, taking a while to recover before looking up. Before it, the massive creature slowly turned its head, its golden-yellow eyes in the darkness resembling two signal lights emitting danger.
"Uh..." Miraidon quickly executed a graceful turn and scurried back towards Chen Kai.
Chen Kai, chasing behind, was out of breath. Even with his excellent physical condition, how could he outrun Miraidon?
Just as he was about to stop and rest, the entire mine suddenly began to shake violently the next second.
Accompanied by the loud metallic clash, a purple, lightning-fast figure turned back, almost knocking Chen Kai over.
"Xiao Kai, help!"
"You only remember me now?" Chen Kai finally steadied himself and said irritably, "You should have waited for us earlier."
Miraidon also realized its eagerness and quickly apologized: "Sorry..."
Chen Kai shook his head helplessly, bringing the conversation back on track: "Alright, what's the situation now?"
Just as Chen Kai finished speaking, the rock wall in front of them suddenly exploded as if struck by lightning.
Debris flew like bullets, and a giant, shimmering silver snake raised its massive head, its steel-like body scraping against the cave walls, sending Sparks flying.
"Xiao Mei, prepare for battle!" Chen Kai quickly retreated, and Xiao Mei, like an arrow released from a bow, leaped forward, electric arcs crackling around its body, like a fearless warrior facing danger.
Steelix let out a sharp hiss, like metal grinding, and its thick tail swept across like a giant iron bar.
Xiao Mei, agile, leaped high and easily dodged, while the rock wall, under the powerful impact of Iron Tail, instantly collapsed in a large section, sending debris raining down.
"Dazzling Gleam!"
A dazzling pink light burst from Ampharos's entire body like fireworks, accurately hitting Steelix's body—however, this powerful attack was like a stone thrown into the sea, leaving only a faint scorch mark on Steelix.
Steel-type Steelix has strong resistance to Fairy-type moves, and Thunderbolt, Xiao Mei's most proficient move, was completely ineffective against Steelix, which also has a Ground-type attribute.
Chen Kai felt it was a bit tricky.
Steelix opened its gaping maw, sharp steel teeth glinting with a cold light, viciously preparing to attack Xiao Mei.
Seeing this, Chen Kai quickly tried to change the move: "Power Gem!"
The gem on Xiao Mei's forehead rapidly gathered energy, instantly condensing a large number of glowing energy stones, which shot towards Steelix like a rapid downpour.
A large number of stones hit Steelix's face, but only left shallow marks on its hard metallic scales, the effect even less than Dazzling Gleam.
Seeing the unfavorable situation, Chen Kai could only instruct Xiao Mei to quickly retreat, while he himself swiftly got on Miraidon's back and retreated.
Taking advantage of this interval, Chen Kai quickly took out his Pokedex to check Steelix's information:
Name: Steelix
Type: Steel, Ground
Level: Professional (50-59)
Ability: Sturdy
Chen Kai estimated that this Steelix's level was likely already at 58-59, a significant level gap from Xiao Mei, coupled with the unfavorable type matchup, making this battle quite difficult.
However, Xiao Mei did not give up, and subsequently unleashed a Dragon Pulse, but the effect was still minimal.
At this point, Xiao Mei was already panting just from dodging, retreating, and attacking simultaneously.
Just then, Steelix suddenly twisted its body and burrowed underground, and the entire cave began to tremble violently.
Chen Kai's heart tightened. He knew this was a prelude to Steelix using a Dig attack, but Xiao Mei had just used a move and it was too late to dodge.
The ground exploded as if a bomb had detonated, and the giant steel snake burst out of the earth, slamming Xiao Mei violently into the rock wall with overwhelming force.
"Xiao Mei!" Chen Kai watched heartbroken as his partner slid weakly down the rock wall.
He no longer hesitated; a red light flashed from the Poké Ball, and Xiao Mei was swiftly recalled.
Chen Kai hastily took out the invisibility cloak from the orange gem, put it on, and donned his mask. He took a deep breath and slowly pulled out the several Poké Balls from his waist.
Iron Bundle never listened to his battle commands, and he wasn't particularly familiar with Iron Thorns. After a moment of thought, he called out: "I'm counting on you, Iron Hands!"
A dazzling white light flashed, and the tall humanoid Pokemon landed with a thud.
Its mechanical yellow eyes scanned the area like searchlights, instantly locking onto Steelix. Without waiting for Chen Kai's command, it charged out like a tiger descending from a mountain.
"Wait! Use Fake Out—"
Iron Hands had already leaped high, its steel-like right palm descending with a sharp whooshing sound.
Steelix looked up hastily, hit squarely in the face by this sudden blow, letting out a painful Roar.
Chen Kai hadn't even seen when it used the move, but based on experience, he could tell this should be Brick Break.
Steelix was enraged. Its thick tail, like a giant steel whip, swung violently with a whistling sound.
Iron Hands, however, did not dodge. It crossed its palms in front of itself, taking the full force of the attack head-on. Sparks from the steel collision instantly illuminated the entire dim cave.
And it only retreated half a step before delivering a precise Drain Punch to Steelix's tail joint.
Iron Hands's battles were completely autonomous, but every move was precise and ruthless, as if calculated with precision. Previously, Iron Bundle couldn't even defeat it!
Steelix cried out in pain and tried to use Stone Edge, causing sharp stone pillars to instantly protrude from the ground. However, Iron Hands was agile and easily dodged the attack with a leap.
Those crooked, protruding stone pillars had a pitifully low hit rate.
"Use Dynamic Punch," Chen Kai tried to command.
But Iron Hands paid no attention, because it didn't even know Dynamic Punch.
Sure enough, as Iron Bundle said, when it comes to battle, never listen to Chen Kai's commands. Chen Kai doesn't even know what moves these Paradox Pokemon know...
And Chen Kai also had something to say: when he asked them normally, they didn't make a sound, so how was he supposed to know...
Then Iron Hands unleashed another combo of Drain Punches, hitting Steelix's vital spot like a sudden storm.
Finally, with Close Combat, Iron Hands delivered a powerful uppercut that sent the giant snake's head flying high before it crashed heavily onto the ground.
Steelix struggled a few times, then finally stopped moving, having fainted.
This battle ended unusually quickly, but Chen Kai knew that if Iron Hands hadn't been weakened by Iron Leaves before, it probably could have knocked out this Steelix with a single slap.
"Well fought..." Chen Kai said tentatively, reaching out to pat Iron Hands.
Iron Hands, however, did not move, its yellow electronic eyes giving him a helpless glance: "Chen Kai, my lord, next time I battle, perhaps you shouldn't speak..."
Chen Kai awkwardly withdrew his hand and scratched his head.
Xiao Mei and Big Boss are still the best...
Chen Kai composed himself and turned to Miraidon, saying, "The Pokemon here are clearly much stronger than those outside. I'll activate my invisibility. Do you want to return to your Poké Ball to guide the direction?"
The recent encounter with Steelix had left Miraidon with lingering fear, and it knew it had been reckless.
Miraidon understood, nodding: "Mm! Let's be more cautious."
Chen Kai smiled. Such an uncharacteristic Miraidon was rare, but after searching for the legendary seasoning for so long, its state of mind was understandable: "Alright! We'll take our time, no rush."