As Larry's eyes traced these lines, his breath caught, and a wave of unease washed over him. Accepting this reality was harder than he expected.
Larry wondered if his Steelix was more than just a Shiny Pokemon, could it actually be a Boss Pokemon? In the Washi region, Boss Pokemon are special, they tend to be bigger and much stronger than usual.
This thought made Larry realize that the Shiny Steelix he imagined wasn't quite right. Even though it looked smaller in his mind, it was clearly much larger than any Steelix he had bred before.
At first, he didn't think much of it, after all, Steelix is naturally big, so who would have guessed it was a Boss Pokemon? But now, not only did he have his first Shiny Pokemon, he also had his very first Boss Pokemon.
The word "Boss" caught Larry's attention immediately, but what really intrigued him was the Pokemon's "Strength" rating. As expected, it was impressive.
Steelix's base stats total 510, which usually means it would be at an A-level strength after applying limits and restrictions. But this Steelix was rated S-level!
That meant it had been an A-class Pokemon from the start, and being a leader pushed it even higher. On top of that, Steelix had a unique hidden ability called Force.
Force boosts the power of attack moves that have extra effects by 30%, but those extra effects won't activate anymore. For example, Rock Slide normally has a chance to make the opponent flinch, but with Force, Steelix's Rock Slide won't cause flinching, though its damage will be stronger.
Many trainers use a combination of Life Orb and Force to maximize damage, like Nidoking or Darmanitan. As Larry was processing this, he glanced down and saw some crucial information.
He was very familiar with leader Pokemon abilities, but what caught him off guard was a note in the flash column. It suggested that Steelix had an even higher potential limit.
Just like the stone giants, Steelix could gain extra powers and boost its strength by consuming ores. That gave Larry an idea.
He looked over at the Stone Giant lying on the field and the three cores Meowth One was holding. What would happen if Steelix ate those?
Without hesitation, Larry decided to find out. Suddenly, a bright light appeared next to him, the rich white glow quickly faded and was replaced by a dazzling golden light!
This was something Larry had never seen before when any Pokemon appeared. It was a unique effect that only Shiny Pokemon had.
The sudden flash caught the attention of Beyond and the others, who turned to stare at the golden light with wide eyes. The golden light was filled with bright, sparkling stars that twirled and danced gracefully.
Suddenly, the light rapidly expanded, stretching and pulling in all directions, left and right, up and down, almost like dough being stretched. Everyone around instinctively looked up, their necks craning higher and higher to follow the glowing spectacle.
The quiet atmosphere was punctuated only by the loud sound of swallowing, as tension etched deep onto every face. This golden light, brimming with shining stars, was growing larger and larger, quickly surpassing the size of the three giants nearby!
Steelix, the leader, was enormous to begin with, but now this light was even bigger. After a moment, the golden glow reached a critical point and began to shimmer and fade, eventually vanishing completely, leaving behind just a few golden fragments that slowly dissolved into the air.
With a mighty roar, the radiant Steelix lifted its head and exhaled a powerful breath, its massive body exuding an undeniable sense of strength and intimidation. Its gleaming golden form was not only striking but also represented S-level power, a perfect blend of beauty and might.
Larry nodded in approval and then ordered Steelix to consume all the cores and giants around them. The ground shook as Steelix's colossal body rolled and rubbed against it with booming thuds.
Everyone stood frozen, staring in awe at this enormous nen best that resembled a golden snake. What kind of nen best could be this huge?
Ging focused intently on Steelix, realizing that its size forced everyone else to look up at it. Larry had summoned many nen beast before, but one this massive was a rare sight.
Watching Steelix, Ging suddenly had an insight about what it might be planning. Despite its massive weight, Steelix moved surprisingly quickly, suddenly appearing beside Meowth No. 1 in the blink of an eye.
Clearly, the core was its main target. Seeing this, Meowth No. 1 relaxed its claws slightly, making it easier for Steelix to grab the core.
Then, a flash of deep red gleamed in Steelix's eyes as its fierce, steel-like jaws snapped open and swallowed the core whole. Bang!
Bang! Bang!
The heavy thuds echoed as Steelix devoured its prize. After three consecutive clashes of metal, Steelix swallowed the cores of the stone giants.
Hidden from view, the dark brown rock cores were rapidly being digested inside Steelix's body. As this digestion process went on, Steelix's experience points grew quickly.
Although it gained a significant amount of experience, it still wasn't enough to evolve to the next stage. Slowly, Steelix turned its head and body like a real snake, its red eyes locked onto the three-headed giant before it, like a predator eyeing its prey.
Its movements were as smooth and swift as a swimming dragon, and it charged forward, clearly intent on feeding again. With its powerful teeth, Steelix had no trouble breaking down its foes.
After a series of metallic clashes, the giant's body was fully digested, and Steelix's strength surged, finally upgrading to S-class. But what excited Larry the most wasn't just the upgrade, it was that Steelix had gained the Blackquake Rock effect.
This meant any enemy attacking it up close would take damage from recoil. It was similar to Steelix carrying a convex helmet item.
While this might seem minor, the real significance lay deeper: Steelix now had the ability to keep hunting and absorbing traits from the ores it consumed, much like the Stone Giant. This reminded Larry of someone he'd seen long ago, Gluttony from the Seven Deadly Sins, whose power allowed him to gain the properties of anything he ate.
This kind of ability opened up endless possibilities. Larry could already imagine the terrifying power of an Mega Shiny Steelix after devouring countless ores from the Dark Continent.
Later, Larry reflected on the huge cave and the little diamond race they had encountered. The three stone giants they fought along the way were just a small episode, but they gave Larry and his team valuable insights.