In this chapter, the bad guys will carry out their plan. Uh-oh!

Our heroes will stop them...but for now, they'll be battling Jasmine for the Mineral Badge. After that, they'll be going off to Mahogany Town.

They call Jasmine the Steel-Clad Defense Girl. And yes, her Steelix has high defense. Fighting Pokemon may be super effective against him but for some strange reason a lot of them don't seem to use special attacks. When you're up against Steelix, that's kind of a problem.

Lance is also going to make an appearance in this chapter. Seems that he's come to investigate the Lake of Rage.

Chapter 29: Nerves Of Steelix

"Are the preparations complete?" asked Violet. It looked as if the machine was ready to test out.

Larry nodded. It seemed at long last they had found a way to evolve Pokemon. No longer would they have to train them to get desired Pokemon. Now all they had to do was play a signal and their work would be done.

"Good." answered the admin. Hopefully their boss would be pleased with the results.

Despite Larry being full of himself, he answered to both Violet and his boss Horace. Violet was higher-ranked than he was.

He activated the machine.

Sure enough, a strange sound began to play.

Sarah wondered what was going on.

Totodile began to look around.

"Totodile?" questioned the crocodile Pokemon. That sound was really peculiar.

Was this the scheme the other Team Shadow Grunts were talking about? She seemed to recall them wanting to make money off of selling Pokemon. Magikarp weren't exactly best-sellers, but their evolution was a whole different story.

The fishers began to hear the noise as well.

"Where is it coming from?" asked one of the fishers.

Suddenly, the Magikarp that were swimming in the lake began to evolve.

They seemed surprised by the occurrence. Normally Magikarp did not evolve this quickly.

However, this sudden occurrence made them feel aggressive.

As soon as she heard the strange noise, Sarah's Magikarp started thrashing wildly.

She gasped and dropped her Magikarp into the water.

She too was beginning to evolve.

Sarah wondered what was going on.

Togepi recoiled into her egg.

She got the feeling that things were going to start getting scary.

It wasn't normal for Magikarp to evolve this quickly.

Already, her Magikarp was now a Gyarados.

Realizing that there were a significant amount of Gyarados in the Lake Of Rage, people began to evacuate.

Sarah attempted to do so.

But as usual, she tripped.

"Oof!" shouted Sarah.

"Togepi!" exclaimed Sarah's Togepi. She was worried about her Pokemon trainer.

The Gyarados she had caught as a Magikarp roared.

And yet, for some strange reason, the girl that had fallen to the ground looked familiar.

Gyarados struggled to remember.

When you were a Gyarados, you didn't tend to remember being a Magikarp. Magikarps had memories they weren't too fond of, like being attacked by bird Pokemon.

However, she seemed to recall Sarah looking after it, and catching it with a Pokeball.

Perhaps she shouldn't attack her trainer.

She decided to hold fire.

"Magikarp? Is that you?" asked Sarah.

"Togepi?" asked Sarah's Togepi. Since when was Magikarp so big and scary?

To be honest, it was kind of hard to recognize her.

Meanwhile...

"Thank goodness that Ampharos is feeling well again." noted Ned. The sailors were starting to get worried.

But it looked as if their lives at the sea would go back to normal.

Chris nodded.

Despite her friendship with Amphy, it seemed that Jasmine chose to use steel-type Pokemon.

Apparently she was a stronger Pokemon trainer than Brock was because she used Onix's evolved form.

However, Steelixes were surprisingly slower than Onixes were.

Perhaps the metal weighed them down?

They were still stronger than Onixes were.

Chris wondered if she should try evolving her Onix into a Steelix.

Having a steel type would have its perks.

She would need to watch out for fire types though. And fighting types. And ground types.

Steel types had plenty of resistances though.

Sure enough, Jasmine had decided to resume her duties as Gym Leader. People were hoping to get their Mineral Badges so she might as well start Pokemon battling again.

She considered becoming an electric-type Gym Leader due to her friendship with Amphy, but she preferred Pokemon that had high defense instead of speed.

Chris entered the gym.

"Um, hello?" asked Jasmine.

"Hey." said Chris.

Chris decided to fight Jasmine first. Although...she seemed to have more in common with Ned than she did with her.

Perhaps they were simply two different girls.

They were definitely both talented at Pokemon battling though.

Jigglypuff decided to cheer her trainer on. She wouldn't be participating in the fight but she decided she would watch anyways.

However, perhaps it would be best if she didn't perform a song. That might make the audience fall asleep...and she actually didn't want that.

Jasmine sent out Magnemite.

"Magnemite!" exclaimed Magnemite, crackling with electricity.

To be honest, Chris was expecting a stronger Pokemon. Was Magnemite not able to find two other Magnemite so that it could merge together with them?

Oh well.

She sent out Onix.

"Onix!" shouted the rock Pokemon.

Fortunately, she had a type advantage. Magnemite was both an electric AND a steel type. That meant ground type attacks would be ultra effective.

Although...it wasn't diagnosed as a steel type until after a Pokemon League was established in the Johto League. Before it was simply an electric type, nothing more.

It was kind of confusing.

Then again, there were lots of things people were still learning about Pokemon. They had learned about the existence of baby Pokemon, for example. Apparently, they evolved when they were feeling particularly happy.

After that, they became Pokemon people were more familiar with.

Perhaps there were more baby Pokemon that were waiting to be discovered.

She had Onix use Earthquake. Magnemite would resist rock attacks, but theoretically it would crumble underneath ground-type attacks.

It worked about as well as she expected.

Magnemite fainted almost instantly.

"Magnemite..." murmured the electric Pokemon, its sole eye swirling around.

Having a dual type disadvantage could really stink, depending on what type of Pokemon they were up against.

However, it was also possible to have a dual type resistance.

Since Magnemite was down, Jasmine sent out Skarmory.

"Skarmory!" exclaimed the eagle Pokemon.

Chris scanned Skarmory with her Pokedex. Perhaps by studying it she could find the bird's weaknesses. Typically, flying Pokemon were weak against rock, electric, and ice...but they always seemed to have another Pokemon typing.

"Skarmory, the Armor Bird Pokemon. While it may be clad in steel, it is capable of moving speeds of 180 mph!" exclaimed Chris's Pokedex.

And yet, it seemed that defense was Skarmory's dominant stat, not speed. It definitely wasn't a slow Pokemon though.

Based on Skarmory's wings, ground attacks were a no-go. It was a shame, since they would be super effective otherwise.

Fire attacks would still work though.

For now, she had Onix use Rock Throw. It wouldn't do super effective damage, but since Skarmory was part flying type, it wouldn't be ineffective either.

Unfortunately, her opponent's Skarmory was faster than Onix was. He was having a hard time keeping up.

And to make matters worse, steel Pokemon were super effective against rock types.

However, Onix decided to play defensively and wait for an opportunity to strike.

Skarmory hit Onix with Steel Wing.

"Onix!" bellowed Onix as he was buffeted by Skarmory's powerful wings.

"Skarr!" shouted Skarmory.

However, he retaliated with Rock Slide.

Seems waiting had paid off.

The rocks fell on Skarmory.

She fainted.

"Skarmory..." murmured the bird Pokemon. It looked as if she had finally met her match when it came to sheer defense.

However, Jasmine still had one Pokemon left.

That Pokemon happened to be Steelix.

Onix gasped in shock.

It seemed that there were Pokemon that were even bigger than he was. Perhaps he wasn't the biggest Pokemon around after all.

It wasn't a drastic size difference, but still.

"We might be in trouble..." noted Chris.

Steelix used Earthquake.

Onix fainted on the spot.

"Onix..." murmured the rock snake Pokemon. Maybe he would have stood a better chance if he became a Steelix himself.

It seemed that the giant Pokemon had been defeated by an even bigger giant.

Wasn't there an item that would allow him to do that?

"Wow..." said the girl.

Well, she might as well choose another Pokemon.

But which one?

Shrugging, she decided to use Shellder. Seems like she hadn't used her in a while.

"Shellder!" shouted the water Pokemon.

She used Water Pulse on Steelix.

"Steelix!" shouted the steel Pokemon as he was splashed by the cold water.

Unfortunately, being a steel type did not protect him from water type attacks, which was kind of unfortunate considering she was also part ground type.

On the lighter side of things, she wasn't confused by the attack.

She retaliated by biting into Shellder.

"Shellder!" shouted the water Pokemon.

Fortunately, her hard shell helped protect her from the bite attack.

She then hit Steelix with another Water Pulse.

Steelix recoiled.

However, he then hit Shellder with Iron Head.

Shellder was sent flying.

She too fainted.

"Shellder..." murmured the water Pokemon. Even her strong shell had its limits.

Well, now it was time to use her last Pokemon. Hopefully it would be enough.

She sent out Nidoking.

"Nidoking!" shouted the poison Pokemon, swinging his powerful tail.

The Gym Guide questioned Chris's decision.

"You do realize that poison types don't affect steel types, right?" inquired the Gym Guide. That was one of the advantages a steel-type Pokemon had. They didn't have to worry about dangerous Pokemon techniques such as Toxic.

"Oh, that. Nidoking's also a ground type..." said Chris.

The gym guide shrugged. Perhaps it wasn't such a bad choice after all.

Nidoking used Earthquake, slamming into the ground using his powerful tail.

"Jigglypuff!" exclaimed Chris's Jigglypuff. Sometimes it was good to be so very light, even if she wasn't actually the target.

Steelix was knocked off-balance.

He then followed by using Flamethrower.

"Steelix!" exclaimed the steel Pokemon. That was really hot.

Unfortunately, her weakness to fire attacks was being exploited. It seemed that every once in a while Chris would use a technical machine to teach her Pokemon new techniques.

Steelix fainted because of it. Steel Pokemon were resistant to many attacks, but fire attacks were not one of them.

"Congratulations." said Jasmine.

"I don't see why you're not as confident as I am. You're a strong Pokemon trainer." noted Chris.

"Really?" asked the girl.

Chris nodded.

Next up was Ned.

"Hello." said Jasmine.

For his first Pokemon Ned sent out Eevee.

However, this might have been a mistake. Steel Pokemon resisted normal attacks.

Jasmine sent out Magnemite.

"Magnemite." said Magnemite.

Ned instructed Eevee to use Dig.

Magnemite wondered where Eevee had gone.

Eevee resurfaced and attacked Magnemite.

"Magnemite!" exclaimed Magnemite.

It was sent flying out the window.

"Whoops?" asked Ned.

However, Magnemite came back with two other Magnemite.

"Huh?" asked Ned.

Due to their magnetism, the Magnemite fused together and Magnemite became Magneton.

"Magneton!" shouted the three Magnemite. Fusing together made them feel much more powerful.

"Uh-oh..." said Ned. He was facing a drastically stronger Pokemon now.

Magneton followed with a nasty Thunderbolt.

Eevee fainted.

"Eevee..." murmured the Pokemon. At least he wasn't a Vaporeon or that attack would have been even more devastating.

Sometimes he wondered if he should become a Jolteon.

Ned noted that he might have been better off choosing a Pokemon that had a type advantage. Although to be fair, he didn't know Magnemite was going to evolve into a Magneton.

Well, he was going to use Golem this time.

"Golem!" exclaimed Ned's Golem.

Golem opened up by hitting Magneton with Earthquake.

Mangeton fainted.

"Magneton..." murmured the three Magnemite. Their combined strength just wasn't enough at the time.

Strangely enough, they heard that Digletts had come up with a similar tactic, banding together to evolve and become stronger.

However, Jasmine was about to send out a Pokemon that was immune to ground attacks.

That Pokemon happened to be Skarmory.

Skarmory screeched.

Meanwhile, Chris received a present from the Gym Guide. Apparently, he wanted to congratulate her for defeating the Gym Leader. Hopefully it wouldn't be long until she had all eight badges she needed for the Pokemon League.

It was a Metal Coat.

"Huh. I wonder what happens if I give it to my Onix..." noted Chris.

She decided to do just that.

Suddenly, Onix evolved into Steelix.

"Steelix!" shouted the Pokemon that was now part steel type.

"Would you look at that..." noted the girl.

She decided to scan Steelix with her Pokedex. Maybe she could have done that when she was facing Steelix...though to be honest, perhaps Steelix wasn't so different from its preevolution.

"Steelix, the Iron Snake Pokemon! Due to its body being compressed underground, its body is harder than diamonds!" exclaimed Chris's Pokedex.

Strangely enough, now that Onix had evolved, he seemed...slower.

Oh, that was right. Onixes lost speed upon evolution.

Still, it looked as if he was stronger now. Perhaps losing speed was worth it.

Perhaps she would use him in the next Gym Battle.

At this point, there were only two left to go.

However, reaching the Gym Leader in Mahogany Town might be a bit complicated.

Unfortunately, it seemed that Skarmory was too strong for Golem.

She hit Golem with Steel Wing.

Golem recoiled.

Skarmory then followed with another Steel Wing.

The rock Pokemon fainted.

Unfortunately, Ned had only one Pokemon left he could use.

He decided to use Raichu, since his opponent happened to be a flying type.

"Raichu!" shouted the electric Pokemon.

He hit Skarmory with Thunderbolt.

Skarmory screeched.

She hit Raichu with Steel Wing, but it didn't hurt Raichu much.

Raichu then followed with another Thunderbolt.

Skarmory fainted.

"Not bad." noted Jasmine.

However, her last Pokemon happened to be Steelix, which was ground type.

"Uh-oh..." said Ned.

Ned tried to have Raichu use Mega Punch, but it did nothing.

The same happened when Raichu used Mega Kick.

"Oh no..." thought the boy.

Steelix hit Raichu with Earthquake.

"Raichhhhuuuuu!" shouted Raichu as he was shaken by the earthquake.

Raichu fainted. That attack was of a magnitude that he could not handle.

"Aw man..." said Ned. It looked as if he had lost the Gym Battle.

It seemed that he had made mistakes during the fight.

He withdrew his fainted mouse Pokemon.

"If it makes you feel any better, part of me was worried I would lose." noted Jasmine.

Ned shrugged.

Well, at least Jasmine wasn't upset about the outcome of the fight.

She didn't seem terribly confident.

Still, it looked as if he was going to have to come up with a different strategy to beat the Gym Leader.

But what Pokemon should he use next time?

He gave this some thought.

Meanwhile...

Monitoring the progress of the machine, Violet noticed something unusual.

"For some strange reason it seems that some of the Gyarados are looking rather...shiny." noted Violet.

Perhaps being forcibly evolved had that sort of side effect on Pokemon.

Well, it didn't matter. Despite the side effect, it looked as if this operation was a big success. They would proceed to capture the Gyarados shortly.

However, their employer seemed concerned about how much noise the machine was making.

Violet wasn't concerned though. She was focused on how much money they could make off of evolving Pokemon. It wouldn't work on Pokemon like Ditto or Farfetch'd of course, but for the most part it seemed brilliant.

But unbeknownst to them, Lance had overheard what was going on the news.

Currently, he was the Pokemon Champion. Red had gone to Mt. Silver to await the strongest Pokemon trainers to challenge his might.

He suspected foul play. It wasn't normal that all of these Magikarp were evolving at once.

Not only that, but reports had said some of the Gyarados were red.

Additionally, the fishermen seemed to recall hearing a strange sound prior to the Magikarps evolving. They weren't sure where it was coming from, but it didn't seem to be coming from the lake itself.

He couldn't help but shake the feeling that the two events were somehow connected.

"I smell a Rattata." thought Lance.

Lance decided he would pay the Lake Of Rage a visit. All these Magikarp evolving at once just couldn't be a coincidence.

Besides, having so many Gyarados living in the lake could be potentially dangerous to the fishermen that liked to go for Magikarp.

Something told him that the local criminal organization of Johto were up to something big.

It would be in his best interest to stop them.

If they had a bunch of Gyarados on their side, who knew what they could do.

Besides, the Lake of Rage just might be the beginning.

Meanwhile...

"Clefairy..." murmured Lucy's Clefairy. It looked as if there was unrest at Mahogany Town. Specifically, the Pokemon residing there. Seemed that they were feeling rather agitated.

"It seems that something is going on at the Lake Of Rage..." questioned Lucy.

"Yeah...since when you do you see a Red Gyarados?" asked Jake.

After they obtained their Mineral Badges, perhaps they would check it out.

Perhaps they should bring a Pokemon that could surf as well.

Why was the Gyarados so red anyway?

Something funny was going on.

Additionally, Team Shadow Grunts had been spotted in the area.

Something told Jake that they were up to no good.

Perhaps it would be best if they investigated Mahogany Town.

Don't worry, Sarah isn't going to be hospitalized because of a rampaging Gyarados. She didn't do what Jerry did.

And yes, I brought back Chris's Nidoking. Seems like she hadn't used him in a while. I also brought Shellder. Maybe I'll evolve her like I had Onix evolve. Chris had Onix for a while so I figured now was a good time. Besides, you've seen the title of this chapter, right?

For some strange reason Gym Battles never end well for the hero when the Pokemon they're fighting suddenly evolves. Just look at Sabrina.

Rest assured it's not going to happen again. Jasmine's Pokemon are all fully evolved. Well, unless you were to fight her in the Sinnoh region.