"Cubone, stack Curses."
"Cubone~"
Cubone understood Haruki's meaning. It nodded solemnly, then quietly began reinforcing itself.
Once… twice…
Cubone stack Curses on itself three times in a row, . A red aura shimmered faintly around its body; that was the current limit it could handle. Any more and its body wouldn't hold up.
'If only it knew a Fighting-type move…'
Haruki thought to himself, but for now, he could only rely on Cubone's strongest current move.
Bonemerang!
Thrown!
The darkness of the tunnel made for perfect cover. The heavy bone spun through the air and struck Loudred right on the forehead, instantly raising a huge bump.
Loudred was jolted fully awake. Before it could even get angry, the bone whacked the back of its skull again, slamming it facedown on the ground.
"Stack Bulldozes. Strike while it's down!"
Cubone didn't hesitate for a second. It charged in and began stomping on Loudred with full force.
Ground-type energy surged through Loudred's body, and the added slowing effect prevented it from resisting. It couldn't even fully open its mouth.
Only when Loudred stopped moving entirely did Cubone stagger back, shocked and breathless.
'Was… was that… really me?'
"Whew~"
Even Haruki hadn't expected Cubone's combo to be so devastating.
Thinking back, the turning point must've been the second Bonemerang strike to the back of the head, that's what left Loudred too dazed to fight back.
He explained this to Cubone, and its little eyes immediately lit up.
Cubone looked at its bone, then at the unconscious Loudred, and clearly started thinking about something not-so-wholesome.
Although Loudred wasn't worth much, Haruki still tossed a Poké Ball to catch it, just to prevent any future trouble.
"Take a break. Eat something before we move on."
Haruki passed over a Pokéblock, then gnawed on a piece of dry bread himself to recover energy.
The buffs faded, and Cubone felt a wave of fatigue. The Pokéblock helped replenish its strength just in time.
---
Trainer and Pokémon ate quietly in the dim cave, the sound of chewing unusually loud in the silence.
After a short rest, Haruki and Cubone moved on again.
A cool breeze brushed across their faces, lifting Haruki's mood a little.
The light had begun to return, and even Cubone couldn't hide its excitement.
They rounded another curve, and then, a silver flash darted past in front of them.
"What was that?"
Haruki froze, hyper-alert.
Cubone gripped its bone tightly, ready to throw at any moment.
But after a long pause, nothing else moved.
"Move slow. Be ready to act."
"Cubone~"
Now that they were this close to light, Haruki had no intention of turning back.
Trainer and Pokémon crept forward until they reached the curve where the silver blur had vanished.
Just then, a fierce wind howled through. Haruki and Cubone instinctively leapt back.
A silver blur burst out like a missile, circled around the cave wall, then shot straight back toward them.
And in that moment, as Haruki finally saw it clearly, his fear turned to elation.
Its whole body looked like a steel claw, with a round head and a giant black-red eye in the center.
Three golden claws jutted out like rocket boosters from its rear, giving it the appearance of a living jet engine.
That color…
That shape…
That look in its eye…
Shiny Beldum!
Years later, the same one that ran wild through Rock Mountain, defeated countless Trainers who tried to capture it, temperamental and feared by all. Metagross.
Haruki had a gut feeling. It was almost certainly this guy's evolved form!
As for a single Rock Mountain containing both a Shiny Beldum and a Shiny Metagross. That probability… impossible.
After all this time since arriving in this world, Haruki had finally, finally… seen a glimmer of hope to profit from foreknowledge of the canon storyline.
And it started right now, with this Shiny Beldum…
"Cubone, Bonemerang!"
Haruki didn't hesitate. The goldmine was right in front of him, no way he was letting it escape.
And Beldum, with no arms or legs, was all about charging headfirst. It met the attack without fear.
Take Down vs. Bonemerang!
Clang!
The heavy bone was knocked flying, but Beldum didn't slow at all and continued charging straight for Cubone like it hadn't been hit.
"Curse! Screech!"
Curse activated, defense boosted, Cubone's eyes sharpened with focus. It was determined to stop Beldum here and now.
The moment they clashed, Cubone ducked and scraped its skull mask against Beldum's steel body, letting out a grating Screech attack.
At the same time, Bonemerang flew back and slammed into Beldum's back.
Boom!
The impact kicked up a cloud of dust as Beldum's Take Down struck hard.
Haruki cover his mouth and nose, stepping back a bit. When the dust cleared, the two Pokémon were still locked in battle.
Cubone was gripping Beldum's round metal head tightly with both arms.
Beldum, like a jet engine, continued pressing forward. But its force was sputtering.
The second Bonemerang hit had clearly done real damage.
"Cubone, don't let up, use Bulldoze!"
"Cubone~!"
Clinging to Beldum, Cubone let out a shout, then stomped hard on the ground. Ground-type energy erupted in waves, battering Beldum and breaking its momentum.
Beldum was thrown back… and Haruki saw his chance.
He immediately threw a Poké Ball.
The red light wrapped around Beldum, drawing it in.
But before the Poké Ball could even hit the ground…
It burst open again.
"Stubborn head! Cubone, Bone Club!"
Cubone cried out and charged at Beldum with its bone raised high.
Even badly wounded, Beldum didn't hesitate to charge with another Take Down. It was dead set on a head-on clash.
Crash!
Bone and steel collided again.
This time, Beldum was knocked back by the force of the blow. And in midair, another Poké Ball struck it.
The Poké Ball shook violently but didn't burst open like before.
Haruki and Cubone stared intently at it, ready to throw another.
And then…ding- a chime rang out. The Poké Ball stopped moving.
Haruki froze for a moment, until Cubone joyfully picked up the Poké Ball and handed it to him.
Only then did he fully accept it.
He had actually caught the Shiny Beldum!
He released it again right away. Looking into its still-angry eye, Haruki chuckled and pulled out a box of Beginner Steel-type Pokéblocks.
"You're hurt, right? Eat this, it'll help you recover faster."
"..."