Both the giants and the rocks are basically made of the same material, so when all three giants fell together, the ground shook for quite a while before settling down. Each giant had a big hole in its chest, with the insides completely gone, replaced by a mud-like substance leaking out.
This dark brown mud was thick and murky, and as it touched the black shock rocks, it immediately started hissing and sizzling. In just moments, it corroded a pit right into the rock, sending up wisps of white smoke.
Seeing how aggressively it ate away at the rock, everyone realized this mud must be highly corrosive. Ging raised his eyebrows and said thoughtfully, "Is this like... gastric juice?"
To him, the mud seemed similar to the digestive fluids inside a human stomach, designed to break down minerals. If he wasn't mistaken, this creature probably eats stones, though it might consume other things as well.
The reason they didn't think this mud was the giant's blood was simple: the giant's body was clearly made of the same black rock as the ground beneath them, and since this mud could easily eat through the rock on the ground, it would make sense that it could also corrode the giant's body. Plus, during the fight, the giants had many injuries, but no liquid oozed out, so it was unlikely to be blood.
It was more probable that the giant had an organ similar to a stomach that contained this corrosive mud, which functioned to digest its "food." Just then, a chime sounded: "Ding!", "Pokemon has leveled up!"
As everyone watched the fallen Stone Giant, a clear and pleasant prompt sound echoed in Larry's mind. A faint smile appeared on his face as he focused his thoughts inward.
He wasn't surprised by the towering Stone Giant, but when he caught sight of the fresh Pokemon nearby, his pupils suddenly shrank in shock. It was a Steelix, a Pokemon people often joked should be removed from the Pokédex.
However, this was no ordinary Steelix. Its entire body shone with a golden luster, and tiny specks of starlight twinkled around it.
This was a shiny Steelix! Shiny Pokemon are incredibly rare in the Pokemon world, and their colors differ from their usual forms.
Some shiny Pokemon have more attractive colors, while others look a bit off. For example, Dragonite's normal warm orange turns into a strange green when shiny, which many find mismatched.
But Steelix is definitely one of the better-looking shinies. Its normal silver-gray color is already impressive, but the shiny version looks even cooler, its whole serpentine body appears to be made of gleaming gold, shining brilliantly like something from a wealthy collector's treasure.
Steelix's eyes are primarily red, and its tail resembles a massive nail. It's essentially a snake made of rock and steel, with an unusually large forehead and a skeletal-like body composed of huge steel and stone segments, complete with sharp stone spikes jutting out.
Steelix evolves from Onix, the Rock Snake, but its appearance changes significantly upon evolution. The texture shifts from pure rock to a blend of steel and stone, boosting its defense to a whole new level.
Its head flattens into a shape similar to a shovel, a design detail said to be one of Steelix's prototypes. Its incredibly tough teeth can bite through all kinds of metal and serve as sharp tools for digging.
Steelix uses its powerful jaws to gnaw through rocks as it moves forward, sometimes digging tunnels as deep as a kilometer underground. It lives much deeper beneath the surface than Onix, and the intense heat and pressure it endures down there harden its body into something tougher than any metal.
It's said that when Onix reaches over 100 years old, its body composition becomes diamond-like. Steelix's steel particles cover its entire body, tightly fused together to form a surface that's extremely hard and reflective, sparkling with flashes of light.
People often say that Steelix's body changes due to the buildup of iron from swallowing soil as it digs toward the Earth's core. Its eyes can see clearly even in the pitch-black underground.
Overall, Steelix is a pretty typical Pokemon, but what makes this one special is that it's Larry's first shiny Pokemon, and it looks really striking! Beyond that, having a shiny Steelix is handy, especially for digging tunnels and other tasks.
At first, Larry didn't expect the shiny to be a Steelix; he thought it would be a rock-type Pokemon instead. But after thinking it over, he had a sudden realization about why the shiny Steelix appeared, it might be connected to the Stone Giant!
Usually, breeding rules have two main factors, often both playing a role but sometimes leaning more toward one. The first is the terrain, which is the most important.
The type of Pokemon you breed depends largely on the environment you're in, so that's pretty
straightforward. The second factor involves the local creatures or unique regional features.
For instance, on Flame Stone Island, the two Pokemon he bred were fossil Pokemon, fitting since the area is rich in fossils. Another example is the desert on the Dark Continent, where he bred Garchomp, a Pokemon linked to the desert and the land sharks found there.
Based on this, Larry guessed that the appearance of the shiny Steelix is related to the Stone Giant. This makes sense given the information from the illustrated ability.
The Stone Giant comes in three levels, Rock Giant, Silver Giant, and Gold Giant, whose colors are similar to Onix, Steelix, and shiny Steelix, respectively. Plus, like the Stone Giant, Steelix's body is made of rock and metal, and it has a habit of eating ores.
There might be other connections, but Larry couldn't think of any right away, maybe he lacked some info. He frowned for a moment, then relaxed.
Honestly, he wasn't short on strong attackers. Unless it's a legendary Pokemon, it's pretty much the same to him.
Still, it's nice to have such a shiny Pokemon around for special occasions. Larry had always known that Steelix could float using electromagnetic forces, making it a handy alternative mount he could summon whenever needed.
But his perspective shifted dramatically when he came across detailed information in an illustrated book. After invoking the game's constraints and oath, as usual, he began to delve into Steelix's specifics.
The entry read: Name: Steelix Flash/Boss. Features: Force.
Attributes: Steel, Ground. Strength: S-.
Skills included electromagnetic levitation, a lightweight body, rockfall, earthquake, and an astonishing 100,000 horsepower. The "Boss" version was described as having greater initial strength than typical Pokemon and a significantly larger body size.
The "Shiny" variant, rare and unique among thousands of Pokemon, boasted a different coloration and special abilities. For instance, the Shiny Steelix could boost its power by consuming various ores, even gaining entirely new abilities in the process.