"Alright, we've already greeted them. Now go find an Aron you like," Steven said, waving a hand toward Aggron.
It turns out capturing an Aron involves several steps.
Cain followed Steven as they walked through the mining area.
There was no denying that the Stone family was incredibly wealthy.
Using his system to assess the quality of the Pokémon, Cain noticed that not a single Aron had a quality rating below light green.
If all the Pokémon in this mining zone were , it was truly impressive.
If they were to sell them all, it would probably add another substantial asset to the Devon Corporation.
No wonder people say the Devon Corporation is just one of the Stone family's many industries.
Compared to the Miltank farm in Goldenrod City, Johto, the Stone family could probably outclass dozens of those farms.
After all, while Miltank farms have many Pokémon, their quality isn't as remarkable.
Moreover, Miltank isn't particularly suited for battle, whereas the Pokémon in this mining zone are different—they can really hold their own in a fight.
It's no surprise the Stone family has stationed so many guards here.
If poachers were to take even a portion of this mine, the losses would be unimaginable.
However, if any poachers did come across an Aggron like the one they'd just seen, they'd likely be wiped out.
It's a double-layered safety net.
With that in mind, Cain felt at ease searching through all the Arons.
Having the system gave Cain an innate advantage in selecting Pokémon.
Once Aron evolves into Aggron, Cain believed the most useful ability would be Rock Head.
However, the Sturdy ability wasn't bad either.
So when choosing, Cain didn't fixate too much on the ability.
The main priority was quality, followed by inherited and taught moves.
Thanks to the system, he could see detailed information about Aron's development and physical growth.
Eventually, Cain focused his attention on an Aron quietly eating rocks among a pile of minerals.
It seemed a bit out of place, as even while eating, the other Arons were usually accompanied by companions, chatting as they munched.
But this Aron had been silently eating ever since Cain arrived, something he'd noticed right away.
It hadn't stopped eating for a moment!
It was as if it wasn't eating out of hunger but out of sheer determination.
"Steven, what about this Aron?" Cain asked, pointing to the Pokémon.
"You like that one?" Steven's expression turned peculiar.
"Why?" Cain was curious; Steven's reaction was odd.
"Oh, nothing. It's just that this Aron has a complicated past, and because of that, it's not very sociable. The other Arons don't usually play with it because, aside from eating, it spends all its time fighting frantically."
"When it doesn't have anyone to fight, it goes deeper into the mine to battle Pokémon from other groups and always comes back exhausted," Steven explained.
Hearing this, Cain's eyes lit up. "Why?"
Steven's expression grew even stranger. "Because its goal is to defeat the Aggron you saw earlier."
The Aggron from before?
A Pokémon of elite-level strength!
Steven continued, "This Aron, strictly speaking, is the grandson of that Aggron. But... its parents died in battle, and it wants to leave to avenge them. However, Aggron stopped it, and it seems they made some kind of promise. I don't know all the details, but it's something like that."
"Its parents died in battle?"
"You know, the Arons here don't mind becoming a trainer's Pokémon and going off to fight. In battles, accidents can always happen. Its parents died fighting against another faction, and it's been wanting to take on that underground organization to get revenge."
"But at its current level, it's far from capable, so it's always been held back. Instead, it spends its time eating and fighting, trying to grow as quickly as possible."
"Perfect! It'll be him!" Cain's eyes sparkled with excitement.
A love for fighting was ideal!
So this Aron was the grandson of the elite-level Aggron. No wonder it was so talented.
Pokémon: Aron (Dark Blue)
Egg Moves: Dragon Rush, Head Smash, Stealth Rock, Screech, Body Slam
Basic Moves: Tackle, Harden, Mud-Slap, Headbutt, Metal Claw, Rock Tomb, Protect
Learned Moves: Iron Head, Earth Power, Iron Tail, Snore
Examining Aggron's abilities revealed traces of dragon-like traits, which explained how it could learn so many powerful Dragon-type moves.
And this Aron was one of the few in the mine to inherit Dragon Rush.
Its quality was exceptional.
Even in a mine filled with Pokémon of remarkable quality, Cain hadn't seen any with a blue quality rating.
It seemed dark green was the limit.
However, even with the Stone family's wealth, they wouldn't leave a blue-quality Pokémon in the mine for just anyone to pick.
At most, someone like Steven would have access to such Pokémon.
After all, Steven's Metang was only of dark blue quality.
Although Cain suspected Steven now had two Metang, one of which might be of even higher quality.
"Are you sure?" Steven asked, still wearing that odd expression.
"I'm sure," Cain replied without hesitation. Having such an outstanding Pokémon was an opportunity he couldn't pass up.
Clearly, Steven didn't know the exact details about Aron; he could only guess that it had notable talent. But the important thing was that this Aron was Aggron's grandson.
The reason it hadn't been allowed to leave wasn't because it wasn't valued, but to protect it.
"Wait here," Steven said before heading off to find Aggron.
Meanwhile, Cain approached the Aron, which continued munching on rocks without pause.
Cain crouched down and said, "Just eating these things won't help you grow any faster, no matter how much you eat."
But Aron didn't pay him any attention, continuing its meal.
Even the hardest rocks and metals seemed like simple biscuits in its mouth, and it ate with gusto.
Cain wasn't bothered, smiling as he pulled out a Pokéblock prepared for Steven's Metang and placed it in front of Aron.
Finally, Aron stopped eating and fixed its large blue eyes on the Pokéblock in Cain's hand.
As a Steel-type Pokémon, it could sense the energy contained within.