#(im still on the mend healthwise but getting back to things!! sloooooowly)

[coiledqueen]

POKEMON DOSSIER: SLEDGE

SPECIES: Steelix (M) ABILITY: Sturdy POKEGO SIZE: L OT: ??? MET: Acquired through an underground Rocket trading network

Sledge has a careful nature and enjoys eating iron or other scrap metals. He takes plenty of siestas. Lucy's most reclusive Pokemon by far, this behemoth ground snake slumbers beneath the Battle Pyramid and will very rarely participate in battles, lest his humongous frame damage the Pike's arena. Sledge serves as Lucy's primary mode of land transport whenever the Pike Queen wants to make a grand entrance atop his back, such as: whenever they visit Orre together. (Sledge loves the climate there.)

Lucy acquired Sledge in a trade with Team Rocket. Not much is known about the Onix's origins--only that he was utilized in Kanto's Mt. Moon to help facilitate Rocket digging operations in the area. When those operations were abandoned, Sledge was effectively fostered by the team until Lucy--tipped off by an underground connection--came along as a suitable trade partner for him. The Pike Queen had desired owning an Onix for a while (with the species being unavailable in Hoenn) and this just happened to be another lucky coincidence. In exchange for a generous amount of cash, Rocket's negotiators even threw in a Metal Coat, prompting Sledge's evolution into a Steelix.

Upon his introduction to the Frontier, Lucy had to convince Scott and the other Brains that Sledge wouldn't completely tear up the man-made battling paradise. Her argument was won almost immediately when Sledge burrowed deep under the Battle Pyramid and promptly...fell asleep there for days. (She'd work out an arrangement for 'lodgings' with Brandon later...)

Decades of hard work under Rocket have only toughened Sledge's resilience. When he is deployed for battle, it's almost impossible to leave a scratch on him. However, he is one of Lucy's gentlest Pokemon and will often just win by doing nothing, his opponent wearing themselves out all on their own.

Sledge can often be found comfortably lurking within Brandon's Battle Pyramid, usually alongside Lucy's Dunsparce. These two have a symbiotic relationship: Dunsparce burrows deep to find good mineral snacks for them, and Sledge...tolerates Dunsparce's destructive habits. Lucy will frequently visit to drop off rare or unusual materials for Sledge to munch on. (He's quite the foodie, you see...)

With the success of this trade with Rocket, Lucy is already focusing on her next target: an Ekans. God! She wants an Ekans or Arbok so badly...