Upon hearing Cain's words, Lairon showed a look of relief.
Suddenly, a white light surged from its body.
The metallic shine of its original form made this light appear even more dazzling.
"Kekeke~~!"
At that moment, Gengar emerged from the ground.
He had heard the sound of battle and came right away; fortunately, Cain wasn't hurt.
Meanwhile, Lairon had begun to evolve.
"Gengar, cover us a bit. Don't let anyone see," Cain instructed.
Gengar nodded and released a dense black fog that enveloped both Cain and the evolving Lairon.
The light of evolution at night was quite visible. Though it had just started and wasn't drawing too much attention yet, at a critical moment, it could attract people or wild Pokémon, which would be a problem.
Seeing that Gengar had covered Lairon, Cain nodded with satisfaction and approached.
He took out the quality-enhancing potion he had already prepared, along with a large number of diamonds and minerals.
Lairon drank the quality-enhancing potion in one gulp.
Since he had worked on the enhancement potion for Blaziken, Cain had made improvements: the side effects after evolution had become much shorter, and if enough energy was supplied during evolution, those effects would be reduced even further.
After drinking the potion, Lairon began to voraciously devour the diamonds and minerals Cain had placed on the ground.
Even as the light of evolution enveloped its body, it didn't stop eating.
Little by little, Lairon's body began to change.
Its hind legs became more robust, and the front ones more agile.
The body, previously low to the ground, began to lift. The tail grew longer, becoming thick and strong, and three sharp metallic horns emerged on its head.
Craaaack!
Craaaack!
Craaaack!
With the crisp sound of breaking rocks, Lairon's body completed its transformation.
With all the energy absorbed from the diamonds and minerals, its body swelled like a balloon.
In both height and width, it kept growing without pause.
According to Aggron standards, its normal height should be around 2.1 meters, but the evolving Lairon before Cain's eyes had already surpassed that.
"GRRRAAAAAAH——!"
An excited roar echoed from within the white glow.
The light dispersed, revealing the Pokémon with an imposing presence.
Aggron!
It stood 3 meters tall, and every part of its body looked incredibly solid.
The most striking feature was the diamond-like sheen in the silver metal of its back and head, and the gray metal of its chest and legs.
It was clear that its toughness was simply monstrous.
A true giant metal beast!
Hic~~
After the roar, Aggron let out a burp, patted its belly, and showed a satisfied expression.
There's nothing better than winning a battle easily, evolving successfully, and enjoying a good meal.
Cain approached Aggron.
Standing at 1.78 meters tall, he barely reached its chest.
He patted the dark gray metal plates on Aggron's chest, and feeling the pain from the recoil in his hand, smiled with satisfaction.
"Congratulations, Aggron. We've fulfilled half of our pact," said Cain.
"Graaah~!"
At that moment, Aggron looked like a massive beast...
But after Cain's pats, it showed a friendly grin.
Pokémon: Aggron (Purple)
Gender: Male
Level: 44
Type: Steel + Rock
Ability: Rock Head
Held Item: None
Egg Moves: Dragon Rush, Head Smash, Stealth Rock, Screech, Body Slam
Basic Moves: Tackle, Harden, Mud-Slap, Headbutt, Metal Claw, Rock Tomb, Protect, Roar, Rock Slide, Take Down, Metal Sound, Iron Defense
Learned Moves: Iron Head, Earth Power, Iron Tail, Snore, Magnet Rise
TM Moves: Dragon Claw, Earthquake, Brick Break, Shadow Claw, Stone Edge
The level didn't just go up by one; thanks to the evolution, the long suppression period, and the great intake of minerals and diamonds, the level rose directly to 44.
In addition, its quality successfully advanced to Purple-grade.
A purple-quality Pokémon isn't something seen every day; Cain had only seen a few, and they were all signature Pokémon of champion-level trainers—or those destined to become one.
Like Steven's Metagross, Cynthia's Garchomp, Diantha's Gardevoir, or Lance's Dragonite. All of them were purple-grade Pokémon.
From a potential standpoint, Aggron had nothing to envy from those Pokémon.
Additionally, with the moves Cain had acquired at the auction and those obtained through Giovanni via Team Rocket, Aggron learned several highly useful moves in its current form: Stone Edge, Earthquake, and Dragon Claw.
These three moves were ideal for him now. Moves like Brick Break and Shadow Claw also expanded his offensive coverage.
And most importantly: the first Mega Stone Cain obtained that was compatible with one of his Pokémon was precisely Aggron's.
Aggron's power after Mega Evolution wasn't limited to a minor boost.
However, due to the side effects of the quality-enhancing potion, Cain didn't want to use Mega Evolution until he was sure of the environment.
For now, the important thing was to be prepared.
"How are you feeling? Want to return to your Poké Ball to rest?" Cain asked, giving Aggron a pat on the arm.
"Grahhh!"
Aggron shook its head and flexed its arm in a muscle pose.
After evolving, its weight had tripled or more.
It was a true tonnage beast!
With 180 base physical defense and 110 in physical attack, it was the perfect counter to melee combat Pokémon.
Since Aggron didn't want to rest in its Poké Ball, Cain didn't force him.
Battle and movement would help it adjust more quickly to its new body and also help it overcome the side effects of the potion.
"Then, let's start exploring this island."
Cain had Gengar clear away the mist.
Gengar merged into Cain's shadow and wouldn't come out again unless there was danger or he was called.
He had already explored the area and knew that although the wild Pokémon weren't low level, there was no need for him to intervene.
After a moment of thought, Cain threw another Poké Ball.
He also summoned Blaziken.
"Blaazk~" Blaziken exclaimed upon emerging.
And saw next to Cain an unfamiliar, tall, burly Pokémon.
He was surprised for a moment.
Then, recognizing it as an evolved Lairon, he quickly stepped forward to congratulate him.
Standing at 1.90 meters, even Blaziken looked small next to Aggron.
(End of chapter)