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Miraidon's appearance truly shocked Lance and Clair.
Who could have imagined that this little fellow who seemed like it was just guarding Teacher Azure's gym was actually a noble dragon Pokémon?
And Teacher Azure probably wouldn't lie—if he said so, it likely meant Miraidon was indeed a unique individual...
Although it completely lacked any sense of dignity—looking more like a big dog than a dragon—upon reflection, many Dragonite had similarly friendly personalities and were quite close to humans, right?
That made sense.
Thinking this, Lance seemed to understand what Aiden meant earlier about "dragons that can surprise you."
At first it had indeed been somewhat unbelievable, but it wasn't enough to truly shock him.
Lance quickly nodded, no longer dwelling on the Miraidon before him.
His gaze swept around Sunshine Gym before quickly locking onto Mewtwo, who was training with Pokémon not far away.
Seeing the scene over there, Lance momentarily felt a bit dizzy.
From the records discovered later in the underground laboratory at Viridian Gym, it was known that this Pokémon was artificially created by Giovanni for his own selfish desires, merging human and Mew genes.
Due to his experience at Viridian Gym, when he first met it, Mewtwo clearly harbored distrust toward humans—even hostility wouldn't be an exaggeration.
At first, Lance had been quite troubled about how to handle such a Pokémon that could potentially turn evil at any moment.
Seeing that it seemed to get along quite well with Aiden, Lance had ultimately decided to entrust this Pokémon to Aiden for cultivation.
As both an Elite Four member and Chief Investigator, he had that authority.
Currently, it seemed to be working out well.
Moreover, it appeared Mewtwo had even developed an interest in becoming a trainer?
For it and the cloned Pokémon, this was probably the best outcome...
As expected of Teacher Azure—truly thoughtful.
Thinking this, Lance couldn't help but smile.
Whether it was Bagon or this group of cloned Pokémon who had been hurt by Team Rocket and only experienced humanity's evil—entrusting them to Aiden was indeed the most correct choice.
Just then, Clair's voice suddenly came from behind.
"By the way, isn't there something hanging around this Bagon's neck?"
Completely powerless against this honest, cute Bagon, Clair was playing with it along with Dragonite.
When Dragonite lifted it high, tossed it into the air, and caught it again, she quickly noticed the necklace hanging around Bagon's neck.
And a very conspicuous round gemstone.
If I remember correctly... this should be a Mega Stone from the Hoenn region, right?
Lance had also noticed this Mega Stone.
Salamence, Bagon's evolution, was indeed one of the Pokémon confirmed to have Mega Evolution. The game had already updated data for these Pokémon.
Already known for its ferocity, its combat power saw a qualitative leap after Mega Evolution, and its ability also changed to the more fitting Aerilate for its title as "Tyrant of the Sky."
Compared to another pseudo-legendary from the Sinnoh region, it was indeed quite fortunate.
However, at least they still had evolution potential—while Dragonite had received no news whatsoever.
Could only hope that the joint research between Devon Corporation and Professor Sycamore from Kalos region would yield new results, and that among the newly discovered fossils there would happen to be a Mega Stone matching Dragonite...
The possibility wasn't high, but at least there was still some hope, right?
Lance sighed.
If only Dragonite could Mega Evolve too...
Compared to using the Terastalization Aiden recommended, Mega Evolution felt more handsome and better matched the power of dragons.
Dragonite's Mega Evolution would surely become even stronger and look more dignified, right?
(T/N: Hehe)
...
"I'll leave the gym to you for now, Mewtwo!"
After resting and chatting with the two guests who had traveled from afar, Aiden prepared to head to Casseroya Lake.
With Mewtwo joining the gym, Aiden no longer needed to close the gym and ask for leave when going out. He could simply let this gym apprentice take charge, using the rental Pokémon to test the newcomers.
Anyway, the Pokémon in the gym all had very clear tactical awareness, making the challenging newcomers grind their teeth in frustration.
So even though Mewtwo was still a bit inexperienced, it could rely on their own abilities to handle challengers.
At this point, Aiden's original vision of an automated gym had already been largely realized without him noticing. He just needed to wait for Mewtwo to gradually grow into a qualified trainer, and it seemed he as gym leader could become a hands-off manager, directly handing the gym over to the Pokémon.
It sounded absurd, but it actually seemed somewhat feasible...
Entrusted by Aiden, Mewtwo still sat before the battle field, nodding slightly at the departing Aiden.
Actually, it was quite puzzled—
It had only been at Sunshine Gym for a few days, yet Aiden was already trusting it to guard the gym alone?
However, Mewtwo didn't dislike this trust.
At Sunshine Gym, all the emotions it received were things it had never experienced at Viridian Gym. Gradually, it understood what Mew had said before.
Although initially skeptical, Aiden really did seem like a good person.
Mewtwo thought to itself, watching as Aiden returned his Pokémon to their balls, then mounted another Dragonite, quickly disappearing into the sky.
...
Casseroya Lake was located west of Glaseado Mountain, geographically in northern Paldea. Therefore, traveling there from Cabo Poco was quite a long journey.
They would even need to pass through the Asado Desert that Aiden and Steven had visited together last time.
If using Miraidon as transportation, it probably wouldn't make a round trip without at least a box of sandwiches.
Fortunately, Lance had raised two Dragonite, so this time there was no need for the fuel-guzzling Miraidon to make an appearance.
Perhaps for this reason, when Miraidon was returned to its ball, it quickly made a pitiful cat face, staring at him with resentful little eyes.
As if saying:
I'm just a bit of an eater—why am I being excluded!
You have side ho–, I mean transportation outside now?
Miraidon's bad mood probably couldn't be cured without dozens of sandwiches filled with special ingredients...
However, this trip to Casseroya Lake also aimed to find the final condiment. Aiden had already planned to bring his Pokémon for a picnic anyway.
All in a day's work.
Riding on Dragonite, Aiden looked down at Paldea from the sky, his mood improving significantly.
The color differences between Paldea's regions were extremely obvious.
The center was a hollow black void. The southern region, centered around Mesagoza, was mostly human settlements, primarily plains and rivers.
After passing Mesagoza and the Area Zero void, the scenery suddenly changed dramatically into scorching deserts and dark mining areas.
Looking further forward to the northern end, the not-too-high Glaseado Mountain still seemed some distance away.
Their destination was at the foot of Glaseado Mountain.
Even at Dragonite's speed, it took about half an hour to reach Casseroya Lake.
"Indeed, just as Teacher Azure said—Paldea's natural ecology is almost too good..."
After landing, Clair gazed at the vast lake before her, unable to help but sigh in admiration.
Why were Dratini so rare in the Kanto region?
Actually, the main reason was the lack of sufficiently large, clean lakes that could provide them with living space.
Dratini and Dragonair preferred aquatic habitats—it was said the first human to discover them actually caught a Dratini while fishing.
Even after evolving into Dragonite, due to their species' characteristics, they still tended to stay near lakes.
It was precisely after discovering this living habit of the Dratini family that the Dragon Tamer clan eventually gained their friendship, establishing their habitat around the massive underground lake in the Dragon's Den. Over long ages, they mastered the techniques of dragon riding.
This place was simply the perfect habitat for Dratini—Dratini, who were extremely picky about water sources, couldn't possibly miss this treasure called "Casseroya Lake."
She suddenly understood why Aiden had joked earlier that "there are more Dratini in Casseroya Lake than stray dogs on the roadside."
Moreover, it seemed this lake connected to several rivers—perhaps Dratini could even follow the currents downstream, spreading throughout Paldea's rivers...
Just thinking about it made one envious!
"..."
After landing, Lance also quickly fell silent.
The reason was simple—his excellent vision had just spotted a Dragonair flipping in the lake, followed by several Dratini.
He hadn't expected that Dratini, so rare in the Kanto and Johto regions—almost only seen by their Dragon Tamer clan—wouldn't be rare at all in Paldea?
Lance clicked his tongue inwardly while quickly thinking—
If even Dratini, who were so picky about their living environment, could survive in Casseroya Lake, what about other dragon Pokémon?
With this curiosity, Lance quickly looked toward Aiden.
However, Aiden's attention wasn't on the lake below. Instead, he was staring up at a crooked tree not far away.
"Teacher Azure, what are you looking at?"
In a very good mood, Clair actively approached to chat, making Aiden retract his gaze and look at her with a strange expression.
"There's a dragon Pokémon pretending to be a Leppa berry on that tree."
After saying this mysterious sentence, Clair and Lance's curiosity was instantly piqued.
Dragon Pokémon? Pretending to be a Leppa berry?
What kind of weird joke was this?
Lance and Clair looked at each other, seemingly unable to understand Aiden's meaning.
However, Aiden seemed prepared for this, pointing to the motionless "Leppa berry" deep in the tree canopy.
"It's right there—if you don't believe me, I'll take a picture with the Pokédex to show you."
As he spoke, Aiden had already taken out the special Pokédex gifted by Professor Oak, aiming it at the Pokémon in the tree canopy.
Special Pokédex?
Lance and Clair were clearly familiar with it. As a special item only given to newcomers recognized by Professor Oak, the special Pokédex held extremely important significance in many trainers' hearts.
One could say that holding it meant receiving Professor Oak's recognition.
However...
Given that Aiden had taught lessons to newcomers worldwide, passing Professor Oak's test and obtaining the special Pokédex didn't seem strange at all.
So Lance didn't pay much attention to this point.
Soon, the Pokédex in Aiden's hand beeped.
[Applin, the Apple Core Pokémon, Grass/Dragon type]
[It appears to be an ordinary apple, but its exposed eyes and tail reveal its true identity.]
[Note: Although it looks completely like a bug, it indeed has the Dragon type. Its evolution method is closely related to the type of apple it inhabits!
—Recorded by Dr. Magnolia]
"..."
After hearing the Rotom inside the Pokédex announce this, Lance's eyes instantly became somewhat confused.
This... this is a dragon?
Shouldn't dragon Pokémon all be extremely proud and incredibly powerful beings?
What was this little worm doing here!
Even a Druddigon would be better—a green worm that hollowed out an apple for camouflage and lived inside was actually a dragon?
Impossible—how could dragons look so casual!
Lance's facial expression instantly became complex, even showing a sense of peaceful collapse.
Just at this moment, Aiden appropriately spoke:
"Mr. Lance, stereotypes aren't good~"
"Frankly speaking, what Dragon Pokémon actually look like isn't defined by humans."
"So, besides dragons that look like bugs, even dragons that look like slimes, or turtles that don't look like dragons at all, can possibly have the Dragon type, right?"
Aiden thought for a moment, continuing under Lance's shocked gaze.
"I heard that Alolan Exeggutor has its own unique regional form. Due to strong sunlight awakening their primitive power, they also gained powerful Dragon-type power~"
(Exeggutor—also Grass/Dragon!)
???
Exeggutor? Dragon?
Am I crazy or is this world crazy?
After receiving such shockingly powerful information, Lance's brain briefly crashed.
Until Aiden took out his phone and showed him a video on Pokémon TV...
In the video, the Exeggutor had much longer necks than he remembered, and their bodies seemed to have turned dark brown from sunlight.
Facing intruders in their territory, they didn't hesitate to collectively use the Dragon Pulse move Lance was all too familiar with, successfully driving away the enemies.
"..."
It took Lance quite some time to recover before he finally sighed.
One Pokémon might be an exception, but judging by Aiden's meaning, there seemed to be many such individuals—even he was starting to lose count?
"Perhaps... our Dragon Tamer clan's understanding of dragon Pokémon is indeed too one-sided."
Lance's expression was complex as he turned to look at the Casseroya Lake below.
"Teacher Azure, you don't mean all the Pokémon in this Casseroya Lake are Dragon-type, do you?"
He felt like Aiden was hinting at this...
"Not exactly."
Aiden smiled, pointing to several Pokémon by the lakeside below.
"However, there really are quite a few. For example, that Pokémon that looks like sushi is Tatsugiri, a Dragon/Water type."
"The group of jelly-like Pokémon by the lake shore are the Goomy family, first discovered in Kalos region, having pure Dragon typing."
"By the way, they're also late-blooming Pokémon like Dragonite and Salamence."
"As for those occasionally poking their heads out of the water that look a bit like Horsea—they feed mainly on rotten seaweed and are Poison+Dragon type Dragalge."
Aiden listed them like reciting a menu, going through all the main dragon Pokémon inhabiting Casseroya Lake. Lance's expression became even more complex.
He had guessed correctly—Teacher Azure was definitely doing this on purpose...
In this Casseroya Lake, aside from Dragonite, there wasn't a single proper dragon, was there!
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