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After Aiden gave Lance and Clair a brief introduction to the dragon Pokémon nearby, both of their expressions became quite complex.
Especially Lance, who subconsciously took out a Poké Ball but held it in his hand, staring at the Applin hiding in the treetop above, hesitant to throw it.
Although everyone joked that he was the "Flying-type Elite Four," most of the "dragon" Pokémon in his team weren't actually true dragons.
But if he caught "dragon Pokémon" like Applin and Tatsugiri, he felt the way other trainers teased him would have to change completely.
"Senior Lance, your newly caught dragon Pokémon is so cute!"
If his juniors in the International Police said this to him, Lance felt he'd rather be called "Flying-type Elite" forever!
"There are actually dragon Pokémon that look so unlike dragons..."
"Pokémon really are amazing!"
Compared to the more composed Lance, Clair's eyes were already spinning in circles. Her worldview had clearly suffered a massive shock, causing her brain to crash and lose thinking ability.
Of course, in Aiden's opinion...
Wasn't Dragonite also very cute? Don't just randomly impose the "powerful and cold" stereotype on dragon Pokémon!
Isn't Goodra adorable?
...Actually, maybe not.
Then you should 'Primal Reversion' first and become a noble Steel/Dragon before talking about being adorable!
Showing these two siblings from Kanto—the "country bumpkins" who had never seen the world—what real dragons were like was just a small interlude.
As Lance and Clair recovered, the group quickly got down to business.
Since they had come to Casseroya Lake, it was good to take a walk around the area.
"The northwest side of Casseroya Lake connects to the vast ocean surrounding Paldea, and there's a special rock formation nearby called 'Gracia Stones.'"
Aiden pointed to the gap in the northwest corner, then quickly looked to the other side.
"As for the east side of Casseroya Lake, it connects to Paldea's highest peak, Glaseado Mountain. The melted snow water flows down the mountain and enters Casseroya Lake from the east, forming the Casseroya Falls at the lake's mouth."
"The name 'Casseroya Lake' is also somewhat related to this waterfall."
"In summer, when the snow melts and the waterfall's flow increases dramatically, the violent water hitting the lake surface creates large amounts of steam, giving the illusion that the lake water is boiling."
Aiden the Paldea tour guide spoke while leading the two toward the waterfall below.
As one of Paldea's ten scenic spots, the Casseroya Falls was indeed very spectacular.
Additionally, since it was the connection point between Glaseado Mountain and Casseroya Lake, sometimes surprises could be found there.
At this moment, Lance keenly noticed a Pokémon in the water flowing down from above—a seemingly clueless, terrified-looking creature being rapidly carried down by the current.
"Teacher Azure, that Pokémon is..."
For some reason, Lance suddenly had a bad premonition.
Only after Lance spoke did Aiden notice the anomaly in the water, quickly smiling.
"It seems we're quite lucky—this child is a dragon Pokémon currently only found in Paldea, and like Dratini, it's also called a 'late-blooming Pokémon.'"
"It's called Frigibax, with Dragon/Ice typing."
This kind of surprise was exactly what Pokémon like Tatsugiri represented.
It was springtime, when the first snow was melting, and the thawing water sometimes brought a group of mountain Pokémon from Glaseado Mountain that had been hibernating or resting.
Besides Frigibax, Cubchoo, Cetoddle, and Glalie were also frequent visitors to the area.
Of course, it couldn't be ruled out that these little guys were simply adventurous and had actively floated down to Casseroya Lake.
"Frigibax...Dragon/Ice type???"
Lance froze for a moment, then quickly understood.
No wonder he had felt something strange earlier—this little guy was also an internal conflict god!
Dragon Pokémon had very few weaknesses—besides Fairy-type which they could almost never handle, Ice-type was what troubled them most.
On this point, Clair, who had been swept through in the Master Tournament, clearly had more to say.
"Teacher Azure... its evolved form wouldn't happen to be Mr. Hassel's Baxcalibur, would it?"
Clair's expression was complex as she looked at Aiden.
"You're right."
Aiden nodded.
Judging by typing alone, Baxcalibur didn't seem particularly impressive.
But Ice-type number monsters had a unique advantage—Ice-type moves had excellent piercing ability.
Combined with the fact that most dragon Pokémon could learn the extremely noble Dragon Dance, once Baxcalibur got going, its combat power would become extremely exaggerated.
Besides the Baxcalibur family, the only other Pokémon with this type combination was Kyurem of the Tao trio.
"..."
Recalling the bad memories from the Dragon-type Master Tournament, Clair couldn't help but shake her head.
Although this was the "most dragon-like" dragon Pokémon they had seen so far, for both her and her cousin Lance, raising a Baxcalibur didn't seem particularly useful.
So they might as well leave it to fate.
Casseroya Lake was so large—who knew where this Frigibax had been swept to now...
Clair's gaze turned to the calm surface of Casseroya Lake.
Besides the many Dratini and Dragonair, the number of Pokémon in the lake water wasn't actually that high.
The ones she was more familiar with were Gulpin, Slowpoke, and Marill. They were all distributed on the ground near the lake, basking leisurely in the sun.
As for beneath the lake surface...
Several extremely fast shadows seemed to flash by—instantly disappearing. Even with Clair's dynamic vision, she completely failed to see them clearly.
"There are quite a few fish in Casseroya Lake, but most of them are a Pokémon called Veluza. They have a habit of actively attacking people."
Aiden explained appropriately, his tone carrying a hint of teeth-grinding frustration.
The number one assassin of Casseroya Lake—this was exactly what Veluza was!
If not for Paldea's emphasis on ecology and the lack of fishermen, they would have been netted long ago!
It was also because of this sea-roaming Veluza that many Pokémon in Casseroya Lake preferred to stay on land.
For example, not far from them on a rock, a group of leisurely Tatsugiri were lying there.
"A dragon that looks like food—I'm seeing this for the first time..."
Staring at the "dragon herd" before him, Lance's expression was stunned as he couldn't help but sigh.
Generally speaking, a major factor influencing a Pokémon's appearance was its strength.
If strong enough to swagger confidently anywhere, there was no need for camouflage or protective coloring—the larger the size, the more dignified it would look.
For weaker Pokémon, disguising as part of nature was very important to effectively avoid predator attacks.
So from Tatsugiri's "sushi camouflage," its combat power probably wasn't very strong.
However...
Why would it disguise as sushi in Casseroya Lake?
Only humans could recognize the shape of sushi, right? Or was the fish meat shape highly attractive to other Pokémon?
Lance couldn't figure it out no matter how hard he thought.
"Although it looks weak, Tatsugiri can actually be said to be the true overlord of the entire Casseroya Lake..."
Aiden's gaze turned to them as he explained appropriately.
"Tatsugiri's body is indeed quite weak, but their intelligence level ranks among the top even among dragon Pokémon."
The Pokémon world wasn't just about fighting—it was more about Pokémon relationships and worldly wisdom!
Weak Pokémon could survive in Casseroya Lake precisely because they had their own unique methods.
"There's a Pokémon in Casseroya Lake called Dodonzo. They're very strong and are extremely famous for their huge appetites."
"However, due to their low intelligence, they even struggle with basic hunting, so they cooperate with Tatsugiri to catch prey."
"When in hunting mode, Dodonzo hides nearby Tatsugiri in its mouth, letting it give commands from inside its body, greatly improving hunting efficiency."
Biologically speaking, the relationship between these two Pokémon was mutualistic symbiosis.
Through Tatsugiri's commands, Dodonzo's huge stomach was satisfied, while Tatsugiri gained protection—just the food scraps leaking from Dodonzo's mouth were enough to feed many Tatsugiri.
This cooperation between the two Pokémon had continued for who knows how long, to the point that Tatsugiri had gradually engrained this behavior pattern into its DNA.
Even in the Pokédex, one of Tatsugiri's abilities had become the exclusive "Commanding," which only worked in double battles when paired with Dodonzo.
"So in Dodonzo's eyes, Tatsugiri is equivalent to their leader, holding a very high status."
"And Dodonzo is the undisputed big brother underwater in Casseroya Lake, so their leader Tatsugiri naturally becomes the overlord of the nearby area."
As Aiden spoke, he subconsciously looked around left and right.
Logically speaking, there should be quite a few Dodonzo in Casseroya Lake too, but so far they hadn't seen any.
Especially that special Titan Pokémon—it hadn't even shown a shadow.
Just as Aiden was looking around, trying to spot a Dodonzo, his pupils suddenly widened.
Beneath the calm water surface, a huge shadow was faintly visible.
Judging by size alone, it was definitely a giant.
Moreover, Aiden could vaguely sense its aura was extremely shocking.
Even though the Pokémon near Casseroya Lake weren't weak, the current situation was clearly abnormal.
Combined with the Titan not having appeared, Aiden quickly had a bold guess—
Could it be that the real Titan Tatsugiri had discovered them from the beginning, so it had hidden inside Dodonzo's mouth early on, planning to wait until they left?
Otherwise, with Dodonzo's brainless personality, it shouldn't be capable of holding its breath for so long...
This also indirectly proved Tatsugiri's intelligence was indeed very high.
However, since he had discovered it...
Secret seasoning, come to me!
"Lance, Clair, be careful."
As Aiden smiled, he had already taken out a Poké Ball from his hand.
"In a moment... a big one might come up!"
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