"Alright, I know."
"I can help you face this Steelix, but after we defeat it, you have to let me leave this place." Ethan Black took a deep breath and looked very seriously at Meltan as he spoke.
Seeing this, Meltan quickly nodded, shaking the nut on its head, with its eye curved like a crescent moon.
"This time, Shellder and Cacnea will be on the offense!"
"Golem, Donphan, and Magneton, you three take care of the defense."
Ethan Black glanced at the distant Steelix and quickly organized the battle strategy.
The Pokémon nodded; energy of the Water type began to condense in Shellder's mouth, and the move Water Gun shot out accompanied by a whirlwind of leaves from Cacnea, both rushing at full speed toward Steelix.
Meanwhile, Golem, Donphan, and Magneton surrounded Ethan Black, Shellder, and Cacnea to protect them.
There was no other choice: the melee in the center of the field was too fierce, and Donphan and the others didn't have enough physical endurance to match them; approaching was practically giving themselves away.
Boom!
Steelix kept all its attention on Golem and Aggron.
"ROOOAAARR!"
When it was suddenly struck by the combined attacks of Water Gun and Magical Leaf, it let out a roar.
Perhaps because it lived in deep caves and had never been in contact with water, the damage caused by the Water attack was surprisingly great, making it tremble.
"Good job, keep going with Water Gun!"
Ethan Black's eyes lit up and he once again ordered Shellder to attack. At the same time, Aggron and Golem lunged at the enemy.
"Roooaaar!"
Struck again by the Water-type move, Steelix turned its head, fixing its gaze on Shellder.
Then, with the move Iron Tail, it forced Golem and Aggron back, and quickly lunged toward where Ethan Black was.
But Golem and Donphan, who were already prepared, blocked its path, while Magneton fired a rain of bombs with the move Magnet Bomb at Steelix.
Boom!
The three Pokémon clashed violently.
Taking advantage of its size and strength, Steelix sent Golem and Donphan flying as if they were nothing.
Luckily, in the instant its body stopped, Aggron and Golem returned to grab its tail and held on tightly.
"Roooaaar!"
Steelix roared furiously and opened its mouth, firing the move Flash Cannon.
Ethan Black had already realized its intention the moment it opened its mouth, and ran to the side, avoiding the direct impact.
Even so, the beam struck the rocky wall and the shockwave hurled him violently.
Just as his head was about to crash to the ground, a silver figure suddenly appeared: Meltan. Its liquid and flexible body spread like a net, catching Ethan Black and preventing a disastrous scene.
"Thanks, Meltan."
Ethan Black panted on the ground, looking with relief at his savior.
Boom!
At that moment, Aggron and Golem, working together, threw Steelix against a wall.
"This Steelix is too terrifying!"
"With so many Pokémon here and we still can't do anything to it!"
Ethan Black looked at the colossus, which was slowly standing up without a single visible wound, and frowned.
"Zzzt zzzt zzzt!"
Confirming that Ethan Black was fine, Meltan turned its focus back to Steelix and fired its own Flash Cannon.
"Is everyone alright?"
After checking the condition of his Pokémon, Ethan Black pulled out Shuckle's Poké Ball and released it to boost Shellder, making the Water Gun attack even stronger.
But even so, they still couldn't hold Steelix back. Worse yet, as time passed, several common Onix emerged from all directions, and Ethan Black's expression darkened.
"Zzzt zzzt zzzt!"
At that moment, Meltan began calling him urgently, pointing to Ethan Black's backpack.
"This..."
"Alright, I get it!"
Ethan Black opened the backpack, pulled out several Poké Balls, and threw them toward the Onix.
A white flash revealed two Klang and several Klink, all visibly wounded.
"Zzzt zzzt zzzt."
Seeing them, Meltan's eye spun inside its nut and it said a few words.
The Klang and Klink looked at Ethan Black, then at Meltan, and immediately rushed at the newly arrived Onix, attacking with the move Gear Grind.
Seeing this, Ethan Black was relieved and began to also release his Klink, joining the fight against the Onix.
He then released several Aron to help Aggron against Steelix.
However, releasing Aggron caused a problem: the spiteful Pokémon lunged directly at Ethan Black with hostile intentions.
Fortunately, Ethan Black had already anticipated it and returned it to its Poké Ball with just a press of the button.
"Zzzt zzzt zzzt."
Meltan looked at him curiously, fascinated by how he released so many Pokémon, its eye spinning inside the nut.
With so many reinforcements, balance briefly returned to the battlefield. The noise of large and small battles filled the entire cave.
But the advantage didn't last long. Steelix struck Golem with the move Iron Tail, taking advantage of its type advantage, and sent it flying. Golem didn't get up immediately.
Aggron was left alone in front of the colossus and was unable to stop it, retreating again and again.
"Shellder, Water Gun at full power!"
With a tense face, Ethan Black gave the order.
Boom!
Shellder, sensing the urgency, quickly gathered Water-type energy. With such concentration, the attack became thicker and more powerful... it had accidentally used the move Hydro Pump!
Boom!
The move Hydro Pump was several times stronger than Water Gun, and upon being hit, Steelix was launched to the side.
Aggron didn't let the opportunity slip and struck with the move Heavy Slam, hurling Steelix against the wall.
(End of Chapter)