Outclassed

The massive, serpentine figure of the Onix slithered through the ground, its crystalline body shimmering with an ethereal glow. This wasn't the dull, rocky form of an ordinary Onix—this was a Shiny, its polished surface reflecting the light like a rare jewel.

It was no myth. No rumor. This was no scene from his Gameboy, this was real.

"Makuhita, Fake Out!" John shouted, his voice filled with excitement.

Makuhita bounded forward, round belly shaking as it charged. But the colossal Onix barely spared a glance before flicking its head dismissively, displacing the ground with a bone-rattling thud.

Just then, the earth began to tremble beneath them.

Boom… boom…

Before John could react, Onix burrowed into the earth with a thunderous rumble, disappearing into a swirling vortex of dirt. Makuhita staggered backward, knocked off balance as the tunnel filled with dust.

John was already on his feet, ready to follow, but then the ground gave one last shudder as the newly-formed tunnel collapsed. The dust settled, and he stood there, debating.

Did he really want to chase it down? He glanced at the caved-in tunnel and grimaced. "Even if it hadn't collapsed, there's no way I'd crawl in there. Who knows when the walls might cave again?"

But then he thought about what he'd just seen—a Shiny Onix.

"Don't chase it?" he muttered, glancing down at the dust-covered path. "But… it's a Shiny Onix!"

He couldn't help imagining it as part of his team. Onix evolved into Steelix, and a Steelix could Mega Evolve. The thought was beyond tempting. "If I could raise that Onix, it'd be incredible." he thought, feeling the lure of adventure pull at him.

He pulled out his Gameboy, thinking fast. If he could track it, he might still have a chance. "I need to find it." he mumbled, sending out his two in-game Onix to help.

"Go find another Onix that looks like you—but shinier!" he instructed, and within minutes, the two virtual Onix began digging their way through the tunnels of the mine. Not long after, one of their tunnels caved in, then another, disturbed by an unexpected Diglett scurrying through the area and causing instability.

"Lucky I didn't go in first." John thought, relieved. "If I'd tried to chase it myself, Kirlia wouldn't have been able to teleport me out in time." He glanced at the narrow, dust-filled path. "That tunnel is way too risky."

Ten minutes passed, and John checked his Gameboy, hoping for an update. Then, both Onix icons blinked out. A message flashed across his screen:

[Your Pokemon Onix has been defeated by Onix.]

"Great." he muttered. "If it knocked out two level-13 Onix that fast, this Shiny Onix has to be way above my level." He calculated quickly, guessing it had to be around level 30—if not higher. "Onix has high physical defense, so if this one's leveling up that fast, it probably has a massive attack stat, too."

He considered his options, but he knew the strength gap was just too wide. "Even with a good type matchup, I'm still outclassed," he admitted to himself. The idea of chasing it right now was a non-starter.

But then there was the matter of how he'd catch it if he even got the chance. Onix was notoriously tough to catch, and a Shiny Onix of this caliber? Forget it.

"Just running after it isn't going to work," he sighed, scanning his current team. "I could train up a faster Pokemon to help me catch it, but my team's nowhere near strong enough for that yet. Maybe in a few months…"

He glanced down at his Pokemon roster. They were all around LV 21, strong but not nearly enough for a hunt like this. Training one of his Onix up to LV 35 alone would take over two months, let alone leveling his whole team. He frowned, wondering if he could afford to wait that long.

"Is it even worth it?" he thought, but quickly dismissed the doubt. "Most people would say yes, but for me?"

He knew there had to be another way to get a Shiny Onix. He could probably find one in Granite Cave if he gave it enough time, but waiting two months just for one? That was a hard pill to swallow.

"Maybe it'd be smarter to focus on training a better Rock or Ground-type," he considered. In his game, Aron, Geodude, Onix, and Nosepass were common, reliable Pokemon. But he knew those options weren't ideal for a trainer on the move. He didn't want to rely on Aggron—it was too slow—and none of the others really stood out as the perfect fit.

"Maybe I could catch something that knows Earthquake." he mused, but quickly shut down the thought. Using Earthquake here would be a disaster waiting to happen. The mine could collapse, and worse, the whole mountain might destabilize, triggering landslides that could affect the villages below. And who knows what kind of Pokemon might burst out of the ground if he went that route?

After releasing his Onix back into the game, John decided to call it a day. It was an adventure to remember, and he'd learned more than he'd expected.

But as he walked back through the quiet forest and headed home, he couldn't shake the thought of that gleaming Shiny Onix and the dream of what it could become.