Back in the cave, Beldum was thrilled; bumping around here and nudging over there.
At one point, it even greeted a Nosepass along the way with friendly enthusiasm, leaving Haruki feeling too embarrassed to even consider trying to catch it.
After thinking for a moment, Haruki decided to shift tactics.
"Beldum, is there a Pokémon you really don't like in this cave? Let's go teach it a lesson!"
Now that Beldum was his, of course he had to take its side… Haruki righteously -and shamelessly- convinced himself.
Beldum blinked its red eye as if recalling something, then shot excitedly deeper into the cave.
"Cubone, let's follow it!"
"Cubone!"
With Beldum leading the way, Haruki wasn't too worried about upsetting the other Pokémon in the cave.
But after taking a few turns, Haruki noticed the markings he'd left behind on his last trip. The path ahead felt increasingly familiar.
"Beldum, are we going to-"
Before he could finish the question, Haruki froze.
Where the flashlight beam landed, dozens of sleeping Aron were beginning to stir. Their sky-blue eyes shifted from dazed to furious as they locked onto the intruders.
'This is the Pokémon you hate?'
Haruki didn't even get the words out… Beldum had already answered for him.
Take Down!
CLANG!
Dust flew as Beldum launched an Aron into the crowd, sending them into an uproar.
Haruki covered his nose and mouth, completely numb inside.
'Reckless… way too reckless…'
But the now-enraged Aron swarm wasn't going to wait for explanations. They all charged at Haruki's group.
"Cubone, spam Bulldoze! Beldum, fall back!"
Haruki barked out commands while backing away himself.
Cubone looked at the charging Arons in a panic, but its feet moved fast, launching a full-powered Bulldoze.
Boom Boom Boom!
Wave after wave of Ground-type energy rippled outward, and with a quadruple weakness to Ground, the Rock/Steel-type Arons dropped en masse.
In an instant, chaos consumed the cave.
Haruki stopped running…
Beldum looked at Cubone…
Cubone stared down at its own little feet…
'That was… me?'
In the very next moment, Cubone's aura surged… it had successfully broken through to the Skilled tier.
"You grew!"
Haruki was overjoyed. Cubone had been on the cusp of breaking through last time, and this ambush from the Aron swarm had finally pushed it past the threshold.
The remaining Arons paused. None dared attack again.
Beldum floated behind Cubone. Its single red eye even managed to convey smug condescension.
Though honestly, its positioning gave off major "bluffing behind the boss" energy.
Thud~ Thud~ Thud~
Heavy footsteps echoed from deep within the Aron swarm. Haruki tensed, fearing their leader had arrived.
He glanced up at the cave ceiling, and exhaled in relief. 'With this height, there was no way an Aggron would fit.'
Sure enough, the Arons parted, and out stepped a four-legged steel beast, armor plates jutting from its back with brutal elegance.
Lairon!
The evolved form of Aron. Its sharp metallic shell made it far more intimidating than its pre-evolution.
Lairon's appearance instantly bolstered the entire Aron group's morale, and they all resumed glaring angrily at Haruki and the others.
Cubone didn't like the look of it. It stepped forward with its club, and the Aron swarm instantly backed up two steps.
Cubone: …
The scene turned awkward. Even the "composed" Lairon nearly broke face trying to keep from laughing.
The upper hand was his. It was time to negotiate!
Haruki stepped forward boldly, but all he got in return were a few angry stares. He clearly wasn't as effective as Cubone.
"Lairon, Aron… you remember Beldum, right? It says there was a bit of a conflict before, so I brought it here to make peace."
Beldum turned to glance at Haruki. 'It wasn't exactly a conflict,' it thought. 'More like I provoked them and got jumped.'
The Arons were much more reactive. They wanted to shout back, but didn't dare… Lairon's glance alone stopped them cold.
Haruki ignored all of this and continued, "You're all Pokémon. If there's an issue, settle it with strength. Any grudge that can't be solved with a fight isn't a real grudge. So today… 1v1, fair match.
If we lose, I'll take Beldum and leave. We won't bother you again. If we win, you teach Beldum and Cubone how to use Iron Head. After that, we leave either way; Lairon, what do you say?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Haruki locked eyes with Lairon.
The challenge wasn't exactly fair, but under the looming threat of Cubone's Bulldoze, Lairon thought for a moment… and agreed.
But it had one condition.
"Lairon"
After a round of gestures, Haruki finally understood: Lairon insisted Cubone couldn't use Bulldoze.
"No problem."
Haruki agreed right away. Bulldoze wasn't even Cubone's specialty, Bone Club was far better in one-on-one battles!
Soon, the Arons cleared back. Haruki and Beldum also stepped aside.
Lairon and Cubone squared off, eyeing each other. Their size difference was dramatic, but the small Cubone was visibly fired up.
There was no referee, but both sides charged forward at the same moment, perfectly in sync.
Lairon's head shimmered with silver light, clearly Iron Head.
Cubone's gaze didn't flinch. It tightened its grip on the Club and smashed it down on Lairon's head.
Iron Head vs. Bone Club.
CLANG!
A heavy metallic clang echoed. They clashed for only two seconds before Cubone -smaller in size- was sent flying.
But Cubone flipped mid-air and landed cleanly on its feet.
Lairon, on the other hand, looked dazed. It wobbled and staggered, it had clearly been knocked loopy!
"Cubone, do it again!"
Cubone responded immediately, charging forward with short but powerful strides. Its Thick Club whipped through the air with incredible force.
Lairon shook its head and finally snapped out of its daze… only to see Cubone charging again.
This time, Lairon got smart.
It stomped down and massive boulders erupted from the ground, blocking Cubone's path entirely.
Move: Rock Tomb.
Cubone didn't slow. It swung its club and shattered the rocks.
Ground beats Rock. No matter how hard the stones were, they couldn't withstand a Ground-type-boosted Bone Club.
One by one, the rocks crumbled.
But the charge lost momentum.
"ROOOON!"
With a roar, more rocks suddenly rained down from above.
With Rock Tomb below and Rock Slide above, Lairon clearly intended to bury Cubone completely!
"Cubone, Bonemerang!"
At that critical moment, Haruki didn't let Cubone hold back, he shouted the command with full force.