Speaking of this, Adaman turned his head and asked, "Where is Gaeric now?"
Irida pouted but still pointed towards the depths of the Alabaster Icelands.
"Probably at the back of the central area."
"There is a particularly large block of ice there, and Master trains there every day. If we go now, we should be able to find him."
After saying that, Irida went out first.
"Let's go, I'll lead the way for you."
Adaman quickly followed, and Ash and Cynthia headed towards the depths of the Alabaster Icelands with Pikachu.
Along the way, Irida and Adaman specifically reminded the two to avoid provoking the wild Pokemon living in the Alabaster Icelands.
Since Avalugg is not rampaging now, the wild Pokemon here are not affected on a large scale as they were in the Coronet Highlands before, and they can generally remain in a normal state.
But normal or not, if you actively provoke them, they will retaliate without hesitation.
And the Alabaster Icelands are one of the harshest environments in Hisui, and the Pokemon that can live there long-term are generally quite powerful, with some strong individuals even comparable to the Kings in other regions.
Moreover, the surroundings are full of snow and ice mountains. If the commotion from a battle is too loud, it could directly trigger an avalanche.
So unless it's necessary, it's best to avoid battles.
Ash and Cynthia had already heard about these things from Team Galactic before they came, so they just nodded seriously when Adaman and Irida reminded them again.
On the way, Irida enthusiastically asked about what happened when they quelled the nobles earlier.
After all, although she had seen the battle with Arcanine with her own eyes, most of the other battles were only heard about afterwards, and she didn't know much about the specific processes.
Ash initially wanted to say a few words to gloss over it, but Irida was clearly not so easily satisfied, and kept asking about what exactly happened in those battles.
So the experiences, which could have been summarized in a few words, were soon elaborated in detail.
As these events were recounted one by one, Irida's face showed more and more regret.
"Darn it, if I'd known so many things would happen at Moonview Arena, I should have gone over to take a look!"
Adaman looked at her with some exasperation.
"Did you forget that the point was to quell the nobles, not for you to go and watch the excitement?"
"What does it matter? It was resolved in the end anyway!"
The two started bickering after just a few sentences again, and Ash and Cynthia, already used to it, just followed behind, continuing their journey.
The size of the Alabaster Icelands was even larger than they had imagined, and Gaeric's usual training spot was at the back of the central area.
The four of them walked for a long time, stopping and starting, taking most of the day to finally approach their destination.
Before they saw Gaeric himself, Ash and Cynthia first noticed the incredibly massive block of ice in the distance.
"Is that the place you mentioned?"
Ash tilted his head back, letting his gaze follow the ice block upwards.
This thing before them was more like a small mountain made entirely of ice than just a block.
Its overall height was quite astonishing, yet the top was very flat, and its surfaces, after being frozen for a long time, were extremely smooth, almost devoid of places to grip or stand on.
"Yeah, it's right here."
Irida pointed over.
"Master often uses this for training."
Cynthia observed for a while, and obvious surprise appeared in her eyes.
Although regular cliffs are steep, they at least have plenty of indentations and protrusions for leverage.
This massive ice block, however, was entirely different.
Its surface was so smooth that, forget ordinary people, just standing steady on it would be difficult, let alone climbing it bare-handed.
To climb such a place, each push from arms and legs would be several times more difficult than on regular cliffs.
Ash now somewhat believed Irida's earlier words.
If someone trains in such a place every day, Gaeric's physique certainly wouldn't be ordinary.
The four continued forward for a short distance and soon discovered a cross-legged figure beside the giant ice.
When Ash and Cynthia saw the figure clearly, they fell silent almost simultaneously.
No wonder Irida dared to dress like that and run around in the snow.
The problem lay here!
The man sitting cross-legged beside the ice looked to be in his twenties or thirties, his face very young and quite handsome.
His hair was a striking blue, with a matching blue beard around his chin and cheeks.
Yet, the most attention-grabbing part wasn't this.
Gaeric's upper body had no clothing whatsoever, with his clothes tied around his waist, wearing only thick woolen pants and long boots.
The muscles on his exposed upper body were extremely defined, and his abs were perfectly aligned, clearly the result of years of intensive training.
The snow outside continued to fall.
Yet he sat there, bare to the elements, beside the icy ground, his face showing little sign of being affected by the cold.
Ash looked at Gaeric, then back at Irida in her shorts and shoulder-baring outfit.
These two are really something else!
"Master!"
When Irida saw Gaeric, her face immediately broke into a joyful smile, and she quickly ran over.
"Master, I've come to see you!"
Sitting cross-legged, Gaeric slowly opened his eyes, and upon seeing Irida running towards him, a gentle smile quickly spread across his previously calm face.
"Little girl, what brings you here today?"
"Hehe, I missed you, Master!"
Irida grinned as she moved to Gaeric's side.
"But...actually, there is something I wanted to talk to you about."
Upon hearing this, a knowing expression immediately appeared on Gaeric's face.
"I knew it, no one visits the Three Treasures Palace without a reason."
"And these people behind you, are the guests you've brought?"
Gaeric stood up and first nodded towards Adaman.
As an important warden of the Pearl Clan and the leader of the Diamond Clan, it's only natural they would know each other.
His attention then turned to Ash and Cynthia.
These two faces were much more unfamiliar to Gaeric.
Cynthia was the first to speak, introducing herself, "Hello, Warden Gaeric, I am Cynthia, and this is my younger brother, Ash."
"Cynthia, Ash..."
Gaeric repeated the names, and quickly realized.
"Oh, it's you."
Though he spent most of his time training in the Alabaster Icelands and rarely visited other regions, it didn't mean he was entirely cut off from news.
While Hisui lacked modern phones and communication devices, the various clans consistently used Flying Pokemon to relay messages.
In recent times, news of Ash and Cynthia quelling several nobles had spread widely across Hisui, and Gaeric had, of course, heard of them.
"You've come here to quell Avalugg, right?"
Ash and Cynthia nodded simultaneously.
The smile on Gaeric's face quickly retracted significantly, folding his arms across his chest, he asked, "Then let me ask you a question first."
"Why are you quelling Avalugg?"
"Is it because of a task given to you by Team Galactic?"
"Of course it's not just for the task!"
Ash immediately stepped forward.
"We are doing it for the peace of the Hisui Region!"
"If it's for peace, then why do you need to quell Avalugg who hasn't done anything wrong?"
Gaeric unhesitatingly countered, "Firstly, he hasn't harmed anyone."
Ash paused for a moment, stumped by the question.
Cynthia gently patted his shoulder, signaling that she should handle the explanation.
At times like this, instead of Ash arguing directly, it was more appropriate for her to clarify the situation.
"Because Avalugg is now like a ticking time bomb that could become a problem at any moment."
Cynthia didn't beat around the bush, addressing her judgment with her first sentence.
"The previous nobles influenced by the Golden Thunderbolt all ultimately experienced spiritual turmoil without exception."
"You haven't seen those nobles while they rampaged, so I can simply tell you the consequences."
"Total devastation."