Dress to Impress

With our vacation ending on a happy note, we returned to Kalos and proceeded back to our daily schedule but with some changes as for one my mother temporarily stepped down from the Elite four position as by the rule of the league. They thought about it from a logical standpoint as my mother won't be able to fly around the around on top of her Noivern Echo with a Bump on her belly, she was adamant that she was okay with it as when she was pregnant with me she used to still fly around with Echo which was a bit of a concerning fact to know. However, even with my mother's demands the league did not allow it and stated that she can have her position back a year after giving birth as the former Elite four Elena already accepted to be her replacement.

It's been four months since our vacation and all my Pokémon have already gotten close to each other and Onix was able to easily adapt to his new surrounding even if the lake is not as clear as the one in his cave. Onix was a very welcome addition to the team although we needed to get help from two noble clans to understand what kind of variant Onix is which includes hoping to know its type and even abilities. The clans we asked help from are the Cliff family of our very own Kalos and the Stone family from Hoenn. At first, we only contacted the Cliff family as we thought they are enough to help us understand Onix however after they studied Onix they discovered that it's primarily Steel-type and only has Rock-type as a secondary typing. They were able to prove their claim by using a Magnemite that had the Magnet pull ability which prevented me from returning Onix to his Pokeball.

The discovery baffled them even offering to buy the Crystal Onix to be able to research it further but we kindly declined, the Cliff family was still happy enough to help by giving us information on Onix such as the fact that Onix size is proportionate to its age and cannot be affected by any external factors. They also told us that only those that are over one hundred years old are able to reach the size of greater than ten meters and could naturally evolve into Steelix. Onix has already surpassed ten meters even closing in into eleven meters which clearly means that Onix should be ready to evolve as it's already way pasts the age however it does beg the question of why Onix has not yet evolved.

On the topic of Onix's food though the Cliff clan told us to better contact the Stone family from Hoenn about the diet of my Onix as they have more knowledge on Steel and Rock dual types. We were able to buy a high-class Pokémon food recipe for steel and rock types from the Stone family in exchange for letting them study Onix which was okay for the most part as they only sent a researcher to scan and study Onix's behavior for a month before happily leaving.

Onix even though old only has very little battle experience due to being isolated however he does have several sets of moves which include Rock throw and Rockslide which he used in our battle but he also knows Screech, Bind, Dig, and surprisingly Gyro Ball and Stealth Rock. It seems that our battle ended too quickly even before the big guy was even able to show what he got. Onix's attacks were all great however Onix's Rock-type attacks were especially interesting as instead of generating normal rocks or using the rocks in his surroundings, he instead creates crystals in the air which he uses to attack.

Training continued as before but Onix needed some attention at the start although it quickly became evident that he truly is an Ace level Pokémon bordering Elite in terms of strength that came with his age but what's missing was battle experience and overall battle strategies as Onix is much like my mothers Pokémon who are natural brutes that power through everything. I've watched most of my mother's recorded battles and unlike what I'm used to, her battles end fast not even lasting a few seconds at most where the longest one I've seen was only three minutes and that was against a champion.

Teaching Onix strategies and tactics was a great boon in his battle capabilities, we even used Gyro ball as a makeshift Counter shield where Onix uses his whole body's momentum to cancel out attacks while being able to use it as an attack at the same time and Onix being steel type even made the move a Stab which helped in dealing more damage.

However in battles is where Onix really shined, he was a real tough nut to crack according to the challengers as a Crystal Onix goes against what they typically know. I have lost count of how many people still tried to douse Onix with water during battle while already seeing that half of Onix's body is underwater which made it clear that some people just can't get a hint even if it's in front of them. Battling in one of the land arenas however made Onix's other weaknesses evident as Ground-types and Fighting-types really deal quite a lot of damage to Onix which is even more than his fire weakness. I have yet thought of a possible coverage for his Fighting-type weakness but I already have a plan for his Ground-type weakness and it came with the move Magnet rise. I'm certain that Onix can learn the move because he already has Steel as his primary typing and having a magnet in his head makes it a big possibility.

After a few months in training, Onix was able to learn Iron tail with the help of Milotic and was also making a bit of stride in learning the move Magnet rise as he is already able to float his body a few centimeters off the ground in a few seconds before falling. Learning Magnet rise opens a whole lot of possibilities for Onix as he's a bit on the slow side in speed due to his size however if he masters this move he may one day propel himself with magnetism like that of the Metagross line.

(I do wonder if I'm destined to have a team of floating Pokémon)

While in the process of training the move Rock Throw Onix was able to learn a stronger move called Stone edge which manifested after Crystals that were supposed to be launched compressed and started orbiting Onix after Onix tried giving it more energy. These crystals can be launched at will and seem to be a faster and stronger version of Rock throw however Stone edge is a strange move as it can be used in another way by launching spiked rocks to sprout out of the ground towards the target and in the case of Onix, its large crystals reminisce of that found in his cave in the orange islands.

Deino has also improved a lot as he was now even able to win against a couple of Ace-level Pokémon. Training Deino may be a challenge at times due to him easily being distracted either by the smell of new people or Pokémon that wanted to stay in the penthouse. We continued mastering his moves especially with Draco meteor which he was able to increase the total to six, an increase of two meteors may not be much but it's an improvement non the less.

I thought that I reached the limit of Deino's potential in learning new moves until his evolution but I was wrong, Deino was able to learn Roar in one of our battles and was immediately followed by Hyper voice a week after while we were training. The way Deino learned Roar was quite amusing as he had observed both Milotic and Onix training with the tactic of using their sound base attacks to stop charging foes as Milotic had already mastered this strategy and was only helping me teach it to Onix, and Deino must have tried to do something similar in his battle and resulted on performing Roar.

However, the Counter shield training for Deino was a bust as we can't figure out how Deino could build up the momentum needed to perform it which was a similar problem we had with Milotic so I decided to shelf it for now until Deino evolves and hopefully learns Dragon dance.

Although in the first month after returning from our vacation, Deino started showing signs of irritation causing him to be a bit ill-tempered and Deino was not shy in showing his frustration in battles as more often than not the battle ends with the opponent badly injured or with Deino knocked out. I had an idea about the situation but I still asked my mother's opinion about the topic and as I thought the crankiness is a normal side effect of the Everstone on a Pokémon that's naturally ready to evolve. My mother further explained that it's an odd thing to happen to Deino as he is only about one and a half years old, It was normal for most dragon types to take somewhere between one to two years to evolve in their second stage however Deino's line is different as it is well known in Unova that Deino's line takes triple that time before being able to evolve.

I was able to satiate some of Deino's frustration by increasing the amount of his food and luckily he became a bit more manageable when I added five more Poffins making his daily Poffin intake into ten. The solution was obviously a short-term one but it's better than allowing Deino to evolve so early as Deino still has a lot of potential as his improvement is yet to show any signs of slowing down.

However, the overall improvement that Milotic gets from training and battles very much slowed down as it seems that she is in a roadblock where she needs better challenges and gain full mastery of her moves to reach the top Elite level. The amount of battles that Milotic does did not decrease even with the addition of new team members as more and more people still wanted to face the famous Pokémon of the penthouse. Although we were lucky as Milotic was able to learn a new move in the form of Safeguard after seeing it used against her by a Lilligant but even with the type advantage, she was still able to win with the use of Ice beam that broke through Safeguard although it was a weird sight to see Ice beam unable to create ice upon impact and just deal damage.

Learning Safeguard just made Milotic way more of a defensive beast as she now has another line of defense if Counter shield is ever broken as while keeping its effects from the game aside from affecting the whole team, it also acts as a 360-degree version of the move Protect that has a certain damage threshold before collapsing however Milotic is unable to use any other moves while using Safeguard.

We accomplished a lot in terms of training in the last four months but it's evident that Onix has no more to improve in terms of stats as an Onix and learning new moves and gaining battle experience is the only thing left for him.

"Onix, what's your take on evolution"

'ROooOo'

"You would like to huh, then give me a bit of time and I will see what I can do because as far as I know, you're already way pasts being ready to evolve"

After getting Onix's opinion on the matter I decided to ask Joseph to procure a couple of Metal Coats and while at it I asked for other evolution items and damage boosting items that I know of because even if I don't have a use for them now it might be needed in the future and they could just be used as a display in my Scale museum in the meantime as the guests seem to really like the mini-exhibit.

We continued to take breaks every two days of training as I see it not only as a way for us to rest but it's also a good chance to get closer to each other and get to know them more aside from how they battle. One fun fact I learned is that all my Pokémon like to sing, well Deino and Onix are not a diva like Milotic it still makes a nice moment hearing them try to harmonize with one another. I also tried riding Onix but the whole thing is more of me standing on his head and holding on to his horn like a giant Joystick. In one of our breaks, I realize I'm missing something that almost all trainers have.

(I don't have a good drip)

A cool set of clothes is something I've seen almost all trainers have, even if some have rips and dirt it somehow still looks cool on them. To be honest most trainers don't even look like travelers going on a journey but instead, they remind me of people going to a rave, and I want in. I don't want to admit it but even my parents have a better fashion sense than me as my mother's clothes and accessories look like those of gender-swapped Crocodile Dundee and my father is styling like a fat James bond that just got out of a salon but sadly here I am off to Walmart. I can only blame myself for the situation as I only ever asked for casual house clothes in the likes of simple shirts and shorts however I do have a few suits but they are not really the style best for those below ten.

"Joseph, please ready the car I would like to get some trainer appropriate clothing from the mall"

"No need for that young master, your parents already prepared a couple of sets made a few years ago for when you finally came to your sens ..... I mean age, when you come of age young master."

"Wait, they did? no a few years ago? .....How did they even predict my size?"

"Master Alden and Lady Drasna decided that it's for the best that they chose for you as they don't seem to trust your ... 'Artistic view'. The clothes they ordered to be made come in all varying sizes for those of age seven up to the age of fifteen"

"I'm happy for the free clothes and all but what made them not trust me so much"

"I apologize young master but you didn't really have a good track record as for example you had described Feebas as the pinnacle of beauty and the clothes you asked for in the past years were all .... for the lack of a better word 'shabby' thus even I would not trust you for fashion advice"

"...."

"...."

"Joseph you have hurt me today, but I forgive you. So where are the clothes in question?"

"Follow me, Young master"

After following Joseph to a large wardrobe inside one of the unused rooms in the mansion, I was faced with an assortment of outfits with each set of clothing having its own personality which can be understood with one look.

"Woah"

"Master Alden hired a famous designer to make these clothes, the designer described his creations as the trend of the next generation brought out early. There's even a rumor that she has a Gothitelle that can see the future"

"Well aside from the seeing the future stuff these clothes are really well designed. I'll take my time here to choose a couple sets for now."

"Then I'll take my leave young master."

"Thank you, Joseph"

(What to choose, Ohh my .... never in my life have I needed something so much and never known until I received it)

I gazed upon an outfit consisting of a purple T-shirt, Dark blue Cargo pants, and a black jacket with a rune design of gold and red reminiscing that of Rayquaza. The set really took my interest due to the color theme of purple, red, and gold which reminds me of my starter Milotic. Upon picking my main outfit I decided to take a couple more clothes that took my fancy as I don't plan to were the same thing every day.

(Now I look the part but I also need to play it, maybe add a bit of theatrics on the battles I have on the penthouse)

In order to make things interesting, I plan to be first in the arena so when there's someone who wishes to challenge me for a Pin all they will see is my back followed by a cringe line or a show of dominance as Milotic or Onix will already be stationed underwater in waiting to burst out of the water for increased dramatic effect.

After an hour's worth of practice, I decided that its time to put it on the test with my first challenger. When I heard the motor of the opponent's platform getting closer to the arena I immediately started playing the final boss role and started monologuing out loud with the best line I know.

"Ohh? you're approaching me, instead of staying in your room, you're coming right to me. Even though you know you will be banished from this land upon your defeat, you still want to face me.

"Umm, Yes! I'm here to get the Lakeside Pin!"

(That voice sounds kind of familiar but never mind that it's time for the finisher)

'Turns around'

"Then let the games begin!"

'Whosssssh' 'water surface breaking'

'ROooOOoo!'

"Ahhh ..."

""Its gonna be a two on two batt ..... Hmm?"

As I said my final line, Onix bursts out under the water and roared towards the opponent giving an Intimidating display that will not be forgotten but when I started explaining the rules of the battle I saw a face I thought I will not see again for at least a few more years.

"..... Albert?"

"......"

"......"

"Hey Diantha, long time no see"

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Diantha POV.

(Lumiose Pokémon Center)

After starting my journey nine months ago after passing my mentor's standards I could say that I had a couple of hard experiences such as rough road, harsh weather, and some dangerous wild Pokémon but with all that I'm confident to say that nothing can compare to the lack of a soft bed and a warm shower. I never regretted my decision of being a trainer as I was able to make new friends, see new places, and especially get a taste for the local desserts. Just the last reason would have got me going however traveling in the wilderness for days on end leaves little to no help for maintaining good hygiene.

I was lucky that the fifth gym was located in Lumiose city which is connected to all the major cities in the Kalos region through rail and not only that I've also used to dorm in a trainer school located here to I know some of the best spots to visit. After arriving in the city I immediately went to the Lumiose Gym to get my fifth badge so I could enjoy the city fully afterward and take a bit of a break with my team. The gym battle was tough for the most part as the current gym leader has a team mainly composed of electric types and steel types which were the typing's my team has a hard team dealing with.

At the start, I did not even plan to get the Kalos badges as even if I collect all eight my odds at winning the league tournament was low as only elites that have been on their journey for three to four years are mostly the ones who ever get to reach top four and some times a rookie's like me would get lucky but will still ultimately lose. However, my mentor told me that I would have a hard time being accepted as a successor by Gurkinn if I'm not able to prove my self and I thought at the time that getting a couple of the badges may be a good way to prove my worth as Gurkinn is currently the gym leader of the Shalour Gym which is ranked seventh but is comparable to the Snowbelle Gym which is the recognized as the eight regional gyms and winning a battle against him may prove my worth. To be honest I'm not even sure what the successor thing is all about but it sounds very important from how my mentor reacted so I agreed to be a candidate.

After the gym battle, I went to the Pokémon center to get my team healed up while and try to book a room for a few days as the first thing I learned a week in my travels is that don't take for granted the comfort that a Pokémon center bed can provide.

(Finally no more putting up tents and napping on sleeping bags!)

I entered the Pokémon center and approached the counter where Nurse joy was stationed

"Hello Nurse Joy I would like to get my Pokémon healed up"

"That's no problem, just put them on the tray and will get them all in tip-top shape. It may take an hour so better wait in the lounge for the time being"

"Thank you Nurse joy but I would also like to book a room"

"Ohh, I'm sorry but were currently full so we are unable to accommodate you"

"What!? please say it ain't so!"

"I'm sorry but we really are full but I do have an alternative for you"

"What is it!?"

"Don't get too excited, Its called the Lakeside battle house. They will allow you to stay in their big Penthouse and use the facilities in the lake if you can defeat a tenant and take their spot"

"Take their spot?"

"Yes, you will replace them and as long as you accept one challenge a day from a new guest and maybe a sudden challenge from the owner and not lose then you will be able to stay for a week for free"

(It's still better than the hotels as a two-day stay in those will eat up all my travel expenses)

"I'm in, where do I sign up?"

"You could get all the information you need on that poster aside from that all I could do is wish you luck"

"Thank you, Nurse Joy"

After reviewing the poster I learned that the Penthouse is owned by the Dragon-type Elite four Drasna and that the location of the place was in the city's outer limits which is a bit of a long walk but are worth it for free space. After Nurse Joy healed up my Pokémon I quickly made my way to the area specified and there I was faced with a large estate and In the front gate was an Alakazam seeming to be the one in charge of welcoming applicants at the specified time.

"Umm Hello, I would like to apply for a room"

"Alakazam"

'Bzzz bzz bzzz' 'Teleports next to Diantha'

'Bzzz bzz bzzz' 'Teleports to the lake'

"Alakazam"

'Bzzz bzz bzzz' 'Teleport away'

"What in the Ducklett's ruffled feathers just happened"

The Alakazam quickly teleported me in front of a beautiful lake after hearing my purpose and left as fast as we arrived. There were several trainers already staying in the Penthouse who explained to me what's up with the place that was not clearly explained in the poster and from what I can understand it's similar to the Battle Chateau but without the fancy stuff however they provide free accommodation to those than can beat a tenant for their place and they also give away a special Pin to those that can defeat the Lakeside Landlord who seems to be the son of Drasna who is also a Dragon-type trainer.

I put up a challenge from one of the tenants and was lucky enough to win however the trainer was a bit angry as he also just won the room a day prior only to lose it so soon. The battle was watched by the Alakazam who showed up after being informed of the battle by the small bell inside the penthouse and after the match, the Alakazam quickly teleported the trainer that lost and his belongings out of the estate.

After getting a room I went back to the city to enjoy some sightseeing as I'm not required to battle anyone until tomorrow. The guest in the penthouse can request assistance from the Alakazam earlier to be teleported out of the estate by ringing the same bell inside the penthouse however as I already have my Gardevoir it was unneeded.

I took my time enjoying the city in the following days but made sure to first battle a challenger for my spot every evening before going however within my brief stay in the penthouse I've repeatedly heard the importance of battling the Lakeside landlord once as a way to thank the person for letting us stay but it's obvious that they just wanted the Pin and so do I which is why I scheduled a fight the Lakeside landlord today before I leave. I have yet seen the person since my stay here but I have heard a lot about him such as his name is Al who is considered to be at an Elite level even with just three Pokémon.

When I arrived near the banks of the lake at the appointed time I was able to see a figure standing on one of the motorized platforms who I assume to be the lakeside landlord. I've already learned how to use the floating platform as I had used in my first battle to get a room, and I see it only fitting that I'm using one again on my departure.

Using the motorized platform I went to the arena where I got a closer look at the renowned person and I was surprised to see that he seemed to be my age and for some odd reason he is not looking at me, to be precise he has his back turned but seems to be anticipating my arrival.

As I got close enough he started to do an intimidation move but too bad for him I've already seen such things from the Gym leaders but one thing that gave me a fright was his Pokémon suddenly bursting out of the water, I would not be surprised if it was a Clawitzer or something but what came out was a massive Onix seemingly made of something akin to glass.

(Hmm? where have I seen ......)

"...... Albert?"

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Albert POV.

(Lake Arena)

(Well, this is awkward but it's kinda my fault .... I think. So I need to at least start up the conversation again or something.)

"Hey, Diantha long time no see"

"That's all you have to say after all that show"

"Haha, what do you mean?"

"What do I mean? that whole gym leader routine you just did"

"Hmm? I don't remember doing anything of the like"

"........"

"........"

"Never mind. I'm here for a battle and even if I don't want to believe it, but it seems that you're the Lakeside Landlord"

"Please just call me Al or Albert that Lakeside Landlord thing is something I wanted to get rid of for years but for some reason, it stuck with the community of trainers and now I have to live with it"

"Uhuh, then aside from that where did you even get that Pokémon"

"You mean Onix? I caught him in another region"

"Caught? you already have a Trainer ID too?"

"Not yet as all my Pokémon are registered to my mom"

"And here I thought I could finally have the promised rematch with you"

"Aren't we gonna battle now?"

"This does not count as even if I win, it will seem that I was bullying a rookie who has yet even gotten a license"

"You're underestimating me too much, you do know that off the record I'm treated as an Elite around here and as far as I remember you have not won a single match against me"

"It all in the past and my Gardevoir is wanting payback for a long time now"

"Ohh boy your Torchic of a psychic type got some confidence now huh too bad as she is gonna lose it again after this match"

"Let's just battle since your starting with your weird Onix I'll choose something different, Go Hawlucha"

'Hawlucha!'

(A Flying-fighting type, this will be interesting but that is the weirdest bird Pokémon I've ever seen and not just its body structure but even with its demeanor as while standing on the wooden platform it's still doing a variety of strange muscle poses)

"Hawlucha use Hone claws"

'Hawluuucha'

"Onix, Stealth Rock"

'ROooOo!'

After seeing Hawlucha use a boosting move I thought of doing my own preparation as this is a two on two battle. In hearing my command Onix generated a couple of small crystals that scattered around the arena and sunk down underwater"

"Hawlucha use Flying Press and then follow up by Cross chop"

'Hawlucha!'

'Swooosh'

"Onix stop it on its tract with Screech"

'ROooOOoOOoooOOo"

'Hawlu? Chaaaaaa!'

"What was that?!"

"Its Screech"

"That's not how that move is used"

"And who decided that?"

"Tch, Hawlucha use Taunt!"

'Hawlucha, cha cha cha'

(Smart, she know Hawlucha can't get close if Onix keeps using screech but that Hawlucha's taunt for some reason irritates me more than Onix)

"Nice work Hawlucha now charge in and use Cross Chop!"

'Hawlucha!'

"Onix, show them how you Rock and Roll"

'ROoOOooo'

Onix created several condensed Crystals with Stone edge and used Gyro ball to spin itself and the crystals very fast creating a rock version of a Counter shield. As half of Onix's body is underwater, the momentum created a whirlpool with Onix at the center. The spinning momentum also caused the water and air caught in the swirl to bombard everything close causing the visibility in Onix's vicinity to be lowered for those that try to get close.

'Hawlucha!?'

'Wham!' 'Impact'

'Wham!' 'Impact'

'Wham!' 'Impact'

"Hawlucha, Nooo!"

'Spshhh' 'crashes in the water'

Hawlucha's charge was stopped by a barrage of crystals orbiting Onix and impacted Hawlucha without it even being to deflect a single one with its Cross chop due to wind and splashes of water blinding it.

"Onix use Bind and drag it down to the depths until it faints"

'ROoOOo'

'Swoosh'

"Hawlucha don't allow it, Use brick break!"

'Hawlucha!'

'Wham!' 'Impact'

'ROoOo'

(Fighting-type attacks really is the bane of my Onix's existence but that's what strategies are for)

"Looks like your Hawlucha is still not out of the fight then Onix let's show them something nice, use Rockslide"

'ROOoOoo'

"Hawlucha dodge it!'

'Hawlucha!'

'Boom!'

'Boom!'

'Boom!'

"Nice dodge Hawlucha! Wait, where's Onix?"

"Onix end this with Rising screwdriver!"

'ROOooOOOooo!'

We used Rockslide as a distraction for Onix to dive down and camouflage itself in the water inorder to get close to Hawlucha and use a combination of Iron tail while spinning its whole body with Gyro ball and then launching itself towards Hawlucha from underneath.

"It's under the water! Hawlucha get out of there"

'Hawlucha!'

'Wham!'

'Swoosh' 'Blast off'

'Boom! Whosssssh'

Hawlucha was tossed into the air by the impact and crashed into the water. When Hawlucha floated up it was clearly out for the count, fainted.

"Hawlucha return, you did well. Come out Gardevoir"

'Gardevoir'

'Swoosssssh'

Swoosssssh'

Swoosssssh'

Swoosssssh'

'Boom!'

(Onix Stealth Rock is an amazing sight every time I see it and in this case, the crystals just suddenly popped out of the water to hit the poor Pokémon)

"Onix return"

"Why did you call back your Onix?"

"Well, you did say that Gardevoir would like a rematch against my starter right? so I'll make it a bit more fair for your Gardevoir as it seems just coming out already put it at a disadvantage, Come out Milotic!"

'Milotic!'

(It seems that Diantha expected to see a Feebas but too bad it's a Milotic!)

"Wow ........ No wait! I thought your gonna use your starter Feebas?"

"This is my starter as Feebas evolved into Milotic"

While conversing with Diantha, I noticed Gardevoir change from having a confident look to one that of terror as Milotic gazed upon her with an all to familiar look that brought back past traumas

'Gardevoir Gar Gardevoir!'

"See, Gardevoir remembers Milotic"

"Gardevoir, don't get intimidated by it as you're much stronger than before"

'Gardevoir'

"Good now let's show them what we got use Shadow ball"

'Gardevooooooiir'

'Swooosh' 'flight'

'Swooosh' 'flight'

'Swooosh' 'flight'

(Well I commend them for at least trying but sadly that Gardevoir is not even at Cofo's level)

"Milotic Counter shield"

'Milotiiic!'

'Pak!' 'Deflect'

'Pak!' 'Deflect'

'Pak!' 'Deflect'

Milotic was able to deflect the shadow balls and also boost her speed in the process after using the Dragon dance counter shield combination. It was clear that Diantha's Gardevoir was an Ace-level Pokémon but that also means she will have a hard time fighting an Elite-level Pokémon such as Milotic.

"Milotic, use Raindance followed up with a full power Hydro Pump!"

'Miiiiiiiiiiilotic!'

'Swooosh'

"Gardevoir Teleport!"

'Bzzz bz bzzz'

'Boom!'

(Yep psychic types and teleport spamming would never change but we already know how to fix that)

"Milotic show them something they can't dodge, use Surf!"

'Milotiic!'

'Swooosh'

"Teleport behind the wave"

'Bzzz bz bzzz'

"Now use Confu.... where's Milotic?! not this again, Gardevoir teleport away quickly!"

"Too late, Binding Surf!"

'Milotic!'

"Gardevoir get away!!!"

'Whosssssh' 'dragged in the water'

'Boom!'

Milotic wrapped itself around Gardevoir and dragged it underwater while using surf after which Milotic threw Gardevoir crashing towards the wooden platform"

"Milotic incapacitate Gardevoir using Ice beam"

'Milotiiiiiiiic!'

Gardevoir was frozen inside of a block of ice and as she has no way of escape it gave us a good opportunity to end the battle.

"Milotic finish this with Iron tail"

'Miilotic!'

'Crack! Boom!'

'Gardevoiir'

"Ahhh ......."

"........"

Gardevoir unable to handle the hit of the Iron tail, fainted from the impact and it seems that Diantha has not yet processed what just happened.

(Better wake her up from her bewilderment)

"That was a nice battle Diantha"

"........."

"........."

" ...... Gardevoir return, Huh. Albert can you tell me how were you able to progress so much?"

"Umm, what do you mean?"

"How are your Pokémon so strong?"

"Ahh, well its a combination of training, battles, and dru ... good food"

"Well in our next battle those won't be enough as we will be the ones to finally win"

"Sure?"

After my battle with Diantha, we caught up on the things that happened after each of us left trainer school. It seemed that Diantha was able to successfully finish her mentorship from an Elite four and has already started her journey even being able to get five badges in a few months' time. After a few hours of catching up, she simply said her goodbye and left the estate. I told her that she is free to stay for a couple of days but it seems she had already been staying here for a few days without me knowing.

(I really need to manage this place better or even just make a logbook or something)

Meeting an old acquaintance was a nice change of pace but it was a short interaction which was something normal for traveling trainers. We did have an agreement to once again have a battle one year after I start my journey which is something Milotic seems to really look forward to.

A month after battling Diantha my long-awaited package finally arrived which contains the Metal coats along with a couple of other evolution items and attack boosting items. I lay down the items on the floor to sort all of them and when done I gathered the three Metal coats and called out Onix.

"Onix we finally have the item that may help you evolve"

'ROooOOo!'

"Your ecstatic huh, then no need to wait any longer"

'ROoOOo'

"........"

I presented Onix with one of the Metal coats, upon touching the Metal coat Onix started shining, my expectations were rising as my Onix is about to evolve but the bright light quickly stopped, and strangely enough Onix was unchanged in the entire process.

"Hmm?"

'ROoOo?'

"It did not work?"

(Onix must have a different evolution method as a variant or does a Crystal Onix even have an evolution, to begin with? This is quite a complication as even if Onix can evolve it will be hard to figure out what trigger is required for it to occur.)

'ROoOo'

"Onix? Don't eat that it's not a crystal! well, it kinda is but it's not food!"

As I was contemplating the situation Onix suddenly came forward towards the other items after noticing a crystal-like material and after smelling the stuff Onix gobble it up to my dismay as what he just ate was a Nevermelt Ice an Item that boost ice type attacks which were one of the items I planned to give Milotic along with a vial of mystic water and a Quick claw. Even in this world, a Pokémon is only allowed to hold one Item in battles. It's because only one item seems to work if multiple items are held at the same time.

(Onix must have missed the crystals from his cave that he regularly ate even though his current food is much better though, I guess everyone gets homesick once in a while but still eating such stuff as a Never melt Ice must not be good for him so better contact the Cliff family about this latter just to be sure.)

"What am I gonna do with you, well I just hope you don't get a stomach ache from eatin ...... what the"

While I was worried about the possible side effect from eating a piece of Nevermelt Ice could have on Onix but seeing him as relaxed as ever I started to think that I might be worried for nothing however to my surprise Onix suddenly started shinning once more but this time it did not stop.

Onix's body started expanding and a pair of sharp spikes started to sprout out of some of its segments in an alternating pattern which ends in a single sharp spike in the last segment of his tail. Onix's face also started to change into a wider curved shape like that of a thick shovel however when the bright light faded the Pokémon that I saw was similar yet different to what I had expected. Its body is not covered in steel but still of crystal however it's different from the kind he had when he was an Onix as his crystalline body now gives a very chilling aura in its surroundings akin to ice and even freezing the ground he is standing on.

'Steeeeelix!'

"Ahh ........ Onix you evolved!?"

(How did this happen? Is it the Metal coat having a delayed effect or something, no he is clearly different for one his not covered in steel or is it steel-like crystals again, well does not matter he evolved!)

After calming my excitement I realized that Onix must have evolved into a Steelix variant due to the contact with the Nevermelt Ice as after a bit more observation I can be certain that the material covering him is clearly a type of Ice but it also reminds me of the crystal that comes out of Mega Steelix. The material covering Steelix has a shade of white and blue making it no longer clear like what he had as an Onix but now has a mirror-like sheen. Steelix body structure was also a bit different from what I know as its head has ridges on the front akin to the ones also found on Mega Steelix's head but it has a more triangular curve imitating a combination between a Snowplow and an Ice breaker.

(Wow, Steelix really got much longer after his evolution as of now I think he's almost thirteen meters long, and from what I remember Steelix can grow more further after evolution unlike Onix but he would need a lot of mineral rich food though)

'Steeeeelix'

"Congrats for evolving Steelix but don't randomly eat my items without permission next time okay?"

'Steelix'

"Good, now I think it's for the best if we still contact the Cliff family about this just to learn more about your new form but for now let's see what you can do"

'Steelix!'

I had planned to evolve Onix but this was not how I expected it to go however I can't argue with results besides I can't imagine how long it would have taken if we weren't so lucky to find an evolution trigger for him now.

................