After Meltan’s voice faded, Li Shuwen waited for a long time before carefully digging out a piece of iron ore and putting it into his mouth.
While chewing, he observed his surroundings to see if any Meltan would emerge from the corners.
He would eat a piece, then pause.
He cautiously ate all the iron ore on this side of the wall.
Li Shuwen initially wanted to return to his nest, but after some thought, he bravely decided to go back and check on Steelix’s situation.
Perhaps he could scavenge like a hyena or a vulture.
Upon arriving at Steelix’s nest, he only saw a long, snake-like gray skeleton.
The outer layer of metal had been completely eaten by Meltan.
Li Shuwen was about to leave when he suddenly thought that Steelix’s bones might be edible.
He lowered his head and bit into a gray bone, discovering that its metal content was even higher than the iron ore he had just eaten.
If the bones were so nutritious, he couldn’t imagine how nourishing Steelix’s outer metal layer must have been.
Meltan had suffered from a lack of knowledge, unaware that Steelix’s bones also contained a significant amount of metal.
It left Li Shuwen with a feast.
Since Meltan had just eaten Steelix here, it definitely wouldn’t return anytime soon.
Li Shuwen decided he could safely stay here.
Li Shuwen dared not eat too much, as it would affect his combat ability.
Most importantly, it would hinder his escape.
He only ate half of Steelix’s bones and, at the same time, used the sand on the ground to wipe off the moisture that had gotten on his body.
Duraludon’s body would rust if not wiped dry, which was very troublesome.
Li Shuwen also used Stone Edge to create rocks and block all the entrances and exits of Steelix’s nest.
Rocks couldn’t stop Pokémon, but if the rocks were pushed over, they could give Duraludon a warning, preventing a Sucker Punch.
After blocking the entrance, Duraludon found a dry corner and closed his eyes to digest the gains from this adventure.
His level increased from Lv38 to Lv39, the development of his Light Metal ability increased from 0.3 to 0.32, and the power of his Stone Edge move also increased by 1 point.
Thanks to the Light Metal ability, otherwise he wouldn’t have been able to escape Meltan’s Iron Fist.
Perhaps three or four hours passed, and the ore and bones in his stomach were almost digested. Li Shuwen was just about to eat the remaining half of the bones.
The rocks he used to block the entrance were pushed over.
From the footsteps, it was clear that the one who entered was not Meltan.
That’s good; he could try to hunt this invading Pokémon.
Li Shuwen cautiously hid behind the rocks, gathering elemental energy.
The moment the invading Pokémon showed its head, Outrage burst from Duraludon’s mouth.
Unexpectedly, the opponent flexibly twisted and dodged the Outrage.
Then, it rushed in front of Duraludon and delivered a close-range Iron Head, hitting Duraludon…
Hmm?
It didn’t hurt!
Li Shuwen immediately realized that they were evenly matched, a contest between two equally skilled opponents.
He couldn’t hit Mawile, and Mawile couldn’t break his defense.
The commotion just now might have been heard by Meltan. Since things had come to this, they would share the remaining Steelix bones, one half each.
“Half of the bones for each of us.”
Mawile nodded, “Let’s divide them like that.”
Duraludon stepped forward, split the bones in half at the joint, and chewed and swallowed them in large mouthfuls.
He turned his head and saw that Mawile was eating even faster than him.
The large mouth on her back quickly chewed, devouring Steelix’s bones at a visible speed until nothing was left.
Then she turned and ran away.
Li Shuwen also sped up his eating, and after finishing the bones, he chased in the direction Mawile had left.
“Why are you following me?”
Mawile heard the movement behind her, turned and stopped, opening the large mouth on the back of her head, glaring menacingly at Duraludon.
“We can cooperate. When we catch prey, I’ll only eat the steel; the rest is yours. Our food needs are different, so I think we can cooperate?”
Mawile’s eyes shifted, and she thought Duraludon’s idea was indeed good.
Compared to tasteless steel, she definitely preferred flesh and blood.
Of course, tree fruit and honey were Mawile’s favorites.
“Okay, I know a Lairon living nearby. Let’s go get him.”
Li Shuwen followed Mawile into an underground tunnel, arriving at a new underground space. Looking at the claw marks visible everywhere on the rock walls, this Lairon must have lived in this area for a long time.
Mawile, who was walking in front, suddenly stopped after turning a corner.
Li Shuwen caught up and saw a huge Aggron lying on the ground, chewing something that looked like a Lairon.
Upon seeing Mawile, Aggron roared and lunged.
Mawile dodged to the side, stepped on the rock wall, and swung her large mouth, hitting Aggron’s head with Iron Head.
Li Shuwen was not to be outdone and also used Take Down in response.
Then he was knocked flying.
Li Shuwen felt as if he had been hit by a speeding truck, smashing into the rock wall behind him and directly embedding himself, feeling as if his body was falling apart.
Mawile’s Iron Head couldn’t even hurt Duraludon, let alone this Aggron.
“Run!”
Li Shuwen fell from the rock wall, struggled to turn around, and fled.
He looked back and saw that Mawile, being very loyal, was using Iron Head to contend with Aggron.
Li Shuwen gritted his teeth. Since Mawile was so loyal, he couldn’t just run away like that.
Gathering energy, Duraludon opened his mouth and unleashed an Outrage, temporarily repelling Aggron.
“I told you to run, why did you turn back! I can escape on my own.”
Since Mawile said so, Li Shuwen could only turn and run.
“I’ll wait for you where we ate just now.”
Returning to Steelix’s nest, Li Shuwen waited for a long time but Mawile never returned.
The first underground level had Meltan, and the second underground level had Aggron. Both were great demon kings who ate Pokémon and only spat out bones, fully proving that the underground space was not suitable for growth.
Li Shuwen decided to return to his nest, exit the cave, and see what the surface world was like.
He cautiously returned from Steelix’s nest to Duraludon’s nest.
Li Shuwen did not go out immediately but tried his best to familiarize himself with Duraludon’s body. The opportunity to become a Pokémon was rare, and he used Dragon-type moves through Duraludon’s body.
By familiarizing himself with Dragon Claw, Dragon Tail, and Dragon Pulse, Li Shuwen would be able to pass on the experience he gained to Jangmo-o when he returned.
He reduced the energy input and focused on the skill techniques.
The moves created very little noise, so Li Shuwen could train safely in his nest.
There were also Hone Claws and Iron Defense, which increased Duraludon’s attack and defense.
After one meal as a Pokémon, Li Shuwen maintained low-intensity training for a full three days before he felt some hunger.
This prompted Li Shuwen to push away the rocks blocking the entrance and go outside.
Bright sunshine, gentle spring breeze, and green vegetation all over the mountains.
Being in such an environment made him feel good.
However, after circling the forest for a long time, he only found a few Oran Berries, which were not enough to fill his stomach.
A Skarmory was also constantly circling in the sky, seemingly preparing to attack him.
So, was the problem with the surface world that there was no food?
Li Shuwen sighed, intending to return to the underground world to continue mining.
Just as Li Shuwen returned to the cave entrance, a dark figure suddenly leaped down from the mountain, striking Duraludon’s head heavily with a hammer.
The immense power immediately caused Duraludon to fall unconscious.
When he opened his eyes again, Li Shuwen found himself back in his room.
“The host has been killed by Tinkaton. Simulation ended.”
“This simulation’s rating is B. The rating grades are S, A, B, C, four levels. Please continue to work hard, host.”
Indeed, the simulator couldn’t put him in any good place.
The scarcity of food outside was because Tinkaton had eaten it all.
As for killing Duraludon, it was to collect metal to make bigger and better hammers.
“Calculating rewards…”