"Even though you have a Pokémon, your Snom is too weak. It can't provide any real combat power for now. If you run into a stronger wild Pokémon, you won't be able to handle it," Gary said.
Snom's combat strength was only slightly better than a Caterpie's. If it were active in a beginner's area, a Snom might still be able to hold its own, but the wild Pokémon around Glaseado Mountain were all high-leveled. The harsher the environment, the more it stimulated the potential of the creatures living there.
It could be said that any rookie Trainer born in Frost Village was basically starting on hell difficulty the moment they stepped outside. The Pokémon right outside their door were all level 20 or 30. How were you supposed to compete with that?
"No, my Snom is really strong," Luna said, unconvinced.
Judging by her attitude, she clearly wanted to become a Trainer someday.
"Either way, I can't take you with me," Gary said.
"Why not?"
"Because you're still a child. If you want to go out into the wild, you need your parents' permission," Gary said.
"My parents would say yes. I go up Glaseado Mountain all the time," Luna said.
"That's not my problem. If I take you out there and something happens, I'm not taking responsibility," Gary said.
"Then I won't tell you where the Cetoddle are!" Luna said angrily.
"That's fine. I can search for them on my own. Goodbye." Gary left it at that and turned to walk away.
"Don't go!" Luna tried to chase after him, but Gary was faster, and she couldn't keep up at all.
"Finally shook her off."
How could Gary not know what Luna was after? It was nothing more than her seeing his Articuno and latching onto him because of it. And Gary didn't believe a word of what the kid had said.
Although Cetoddle were very friendly toward humans, they lived up in the mountains, feeding on minerals along with ice and snow. What parents would actually let their child go up the mountain alone? Even if the Cetoddle wouldn't hurt a child, there was no guarantee the other wild Pokémon wouldn't.
Glalie and Beartic both lived on Glaseado Mountain, and they would attack humans when hungry.
After that little episode, Gary arrived at the Pokémon Center, handed Articuno over to Nurse Joy for treatment, and then began preparing lunch for his Pokémon.
Gary also asked Joy about the situation on Glaseado Mountain and confirmed that there were indeed Cetoddle living there—quite a few of them, in fact—so they would be easy to find.
Having confirmed the Cetoddle's presence on the mountain, Gary rested until 2 p.m. before setting out to search, riding Articuno in circles around Glaseado Mountain.
"There are quite a lot of Pokémon out here."
There were plenty of non-Ice-type Pokémon around Glaseado Mountain as well, all of them species that had adapted to survive in the cold. But none of them were Gary's target.
Before long, Gary spotted the Pokémon he'd come for.
"Found them!"
Down below, five Cetoddle were foraging together in a group. Their feeding method was very simple—they scooped up handfuls of snow and tossed them into their mouths, absorbing the minerals and ice energy contained within.
The way Cetoddle fed was similar to how blue whales filtered microorganisms, which was why they were so gentle. But if they were genuinely provoked, they would strike back without mercy.
"Articuno, drop lower. Let me get a look at these Cetoddle," Gary said.
Articuno descended, and Gary examined the potential of the five Cetoddle.
[LV27 Cetoddle ♂ / Elite]
[LV25 Cetoddle ♀ / Normal]
[LV24 Cetoddle ♀ / Elite]
[LV26 Cetoddle ♀ / Elite]
[LV22 Cetoddle ♂ / Gym]
Looking over the group, none of them exceeded Elite-level potential, which clearly didn't meet his standards.
The Cetoddle Gary wanted to capture had to have Champion potential.
That was because the system had rewarded him with a Top-grade Ice Stone. When used on a Pokémon below Champion potential, it would raise its potential by one tier—and it was just as effective on Pokémon that already had Champion potential.
If he used the Top-grade Ice Stone to evolve a Cetoddle with Champion potential, its potential would be raised to the Quasi-Legendary tier.
"Articuno, let's go. We'll look somewhere else," Gary said.
"Kree."
Articuno flew off toward another area, gradually approaching the mountain's summit. Before long, they found another group of Cetoddle—though there were only three of them this time, following behind an enormous Cetitan. The huge Cetitan was their mother.
[LV51 Cetitan ♀ / Elite]
[LV5 Cetoddle ♂ / Gym]
[LV7 Cetoddle ♀ / Quasi-Elite]
[LV10 Cetoddle ♂ / Champion]
"Found it!"
Seeing the three Cetoddle, Gary's eyes lit up. One of them actually had Champion potential.
Gary didn't hesitate and immediately had Articuno land.
The Cetitan watching over her children noticed Articuno right away and instantly took up a wary stance.
The three Cetoddle stared at Gary and Articuno like curious babies, completely unafraid of humans. The Cetitan, however, remained on high alert. Such was the strength of a mother.
Although Cetitan were also friendly toward humans, when caring for their young, a Cetitan—like most female Pokémon—would not allow strangers or unfamiliar Pokémon anywhere near her children.
"Wooo!!"
The Cetitan let out a deep, rumbling growl, warning Gary not to come any closer.
"Easy, Cetitan. I don't mean you any harm. I just want to discuss something with you," Gary said.
The Cetitan had encountered humans before. Although she was the reigning queen of this area, she had nothing on hand that could interest a human. The only thing that might catch one's eye was her own natural craftsmanship.
"Here, you're out foraging, right? Have something to eat."
Gary pulled a box of blue energy cubes from his backpack and opened it, releasing a scent of pure ice energy into the air.
These energy cubes were made using Attribute energy—something Gary had developed back during his time as a Pokémon breeder. The manufacturing process was fairly complex, requiring Pokémon to help manipulate elemental energy during production.
Gary called these ice-blue cubes Ice Energy Cubes. Pokémon that ate them regularly could improve their control over Ice-type energy, and nutritionally, they were in no way inferior to ordinary energy cubes.
"Ceto!"
"Ceto!"
"Ceto!"
The three Cetoddle caught the scent of the energy cubes and ran straight over, completely ignoring their mother's attempts to stop them.
The Cetitan could only watch from where she stood. If Gary made any move to hurt her children, she would risk her life to make sure he learned exactly what her horn tasted like.
"Here, give these a try."
Gary took out a few energy cubes and tossed them into the Cetoddle's mouths.
Cetoddle were fairly big, and with each of them taking a share, a whole box of energy cubes would be gone in no time.
"Ceto!"
"Ceto!"
"Ceto!"
The three Cetoddle were instantly won over by the taste of the Ice Energy Cubes and made it clear they wanted more.