July 27.
Jubilife Pokémon Theme Park.
Steel Exhibition Hall.
On the afternoon of opening day,
a scent mingling metallic dust and damp stone greeted visitors as they entered this special exhibition hall.
It was hardly a pleasant smell, but it was familiar to Steven.
Steven took a deep breath, a comfortable smile spreading across his face as though he had come home.
This was the Steel Venue, designed to simulate underground ore veins and caverns.
Like Rock-type Pokémon, most Steel-type Pokémon lived in caves and underground ore veins.
Crystals embedded overhead cast soft white and blue light, while jagged rock walls gleaming gray surrounded them.
The enormous mine entrance resembled a dragon's maw, deep and mysterious.
Li Wei had specifically commissioned this dragon's maw, with the entire rocky mine serving as the dragon's body.
Metagross followed beside Steven, its silver metal shell gleaming coldly beneath the mineral lamps.
This was a kingdom of steel behemoths.
At the heart of the exhibition hall lay an enormous cavern containing rich iron ore veins.
Jubilife City truly lived up to its reputation as a city built over ore veins.
The underground mineral resources were so abundant that practically any digging would uncover some.
Before construction had begun in earnest,
Li Wei had hired a professional team to scan the entire Wild Area.
There were plenty of ore veins, but unfortunately, no underground hot springs.
Back in the enormous cavern, this was the Aggron population's territory.
As massive as small hills and clad in thick alloy armor, the Aggron resembled mobile steel fortresses.
Their sharp teeth crushed hard rock with crisp crunching sounds.
Several Lairon busied themselves in the shallower mineral layers,
using their sturdy heads and claws to dig through rubble in search of ore.
A group of round little Aron looked like