He knows Pokémon better than me.

"Ice attribute?"

Upon hearing this, Hep actually lowered his head and began to ponder.

His older brother's main lineup does include an Ice-Treading Puppet, which uses telekinesis in its left hand and freeze-drying in its right, making it both flashy and powerful in battle.

However, neither Icewalker nor Mr. Mime are common Pokémon, right?

Hop's gaze involuntarily fell on Ash's side.

Hmm. A Mr. Mime dressed in a tuxedo is even rarer—

After completely resolving the incident at the Ice and Snow Aquarium, Ash broke the previous contract and officially captured Mr. Mime by throwing a ball.

But like Pikachu, it didn't like staying in the ball, so Ash just let it follow him around.

"An Ice-type Pokémon!"

Hop pulled out his Pokédex and flipped through it. Galar's Pokédex system was much more complete than those of other regions, marking which wild Pokémon were distributed along nearby wilderness roads.

There's even a chance it might happen!

For example, in the nearby Battle Bay, there's a 1% chance of encountering a wild Lapras.

It is estimated that during the ocean migration, the dragon that got separated from the group and lost its way accidentally drifted to Zhanjing Bay.

In the northern snow mountain region, there are also rare Pokémon such as 2% Elysium, 2% Galar-style Mr. Mime, and 2% Edelweiss.

Of course, the probability of snow worms being distributed is much higher.

However, it is extremely difficult for this little insect to evolve into a snow moth.

Hep was torn between taming a Galarian-like Darmo baboon or a tundra bear, which were not rare and had decent fighting power.

But that would be somewhat redundant with his Snorlax and Raptor, both of which are heavy tank warriors.

Just then, a suggestion suddenly came from beside me:
"How about we tame an ice goose?"

"Ice Goose is indeed a good choice, but how easy is it to encounter such a Pokémon in the wild?"

Hep belatedly looked up, his expression blank.

That's not Ash's voice. When did a third person come here?
Looking up, I saw Mr. Mime smiling at me, holding up a Rotom phone and making a live audio feed.

Hep: "."

A Mr. Mime typing on a phone seems smarter than its older brother's!
"Mr. Mime, do you know where Ice Goose is?!"

Xiao Zhi couldn't help but become curious as well.

His completion rate for this battle in Zhanjing Town can be said to be 95%; he's just short of seeing the Ice Goose.

Of course, the knock-off version like Prince Bo doesn't count!
"Bari~!"

The Mr. Mime nodded. These past few days, when it was discussing the renovation of the aquarium with Xunshi and Meirong, the latter specifically told them about a secluded spot on the snow-capped mountain north of the town where wild ice geese lived.

Hop quickly accepted the Mr. Mime's intelligence and was overjoyed.

"Ice-clad goose, huh? That looks pretty good!!"

Don't be fooled by the thick ice blocks on Goose's head, which make it look like a completely harmless Pokémon, purely there for comedic effect.
In reality, the Ice Goose is quite useful in battles.

"Let's not delay, let's go!"

Ash, on the other hand, urged them to hurry up and see Goose before leaving Battlegrounds.

"please!"

Hep nodded gratefully; what a wonderful piece of unexpected information!

"Bari~!"

Mr. Mime grinned smugly, gesturing for the two to follow. Hop quickly recalled all the Pokémon around him, and the three of them, taking advantage of the early hour, headed deeper into the snow-capped mountains!

The secluded location Mei Rong mentioned is located in the northwest corner of the snow-capped mountain.

We still need to go around a mountain, which is in the opposite direction from the Ice Pool Waterfall where Ash trained before.

It's said to be the back mountain of Battlegrounds, but it's actually almost Route 10. If you walk for another half a day, you'll see Miyamon City, where the League Conference and the World Championship are held.

However, the types of Pokémon that inhabit this area have gradually changed.

In a cedar forest, the two even spotted a wild Mr. Mime, touching a tree trunk and peeking out with half its head out, looking around curiously.

"Bari?"

Why are there other people of the same kind wearing clothes?
The Mr. Mime continued to lead the way, too lazy to communicate with its Muggle counterparts. After walking for about half an hour, it suddenly stopped in front of a snow rock.

Seeing Mr. Mime raise his hand in greeting, Ash and Hop had an idea and quickly crept up to him.

Peeking out from beside the snow-covered rocks, you can see a secluded hillside ahead, with thick snow covering the path.

"Icework~" "Icework~"

Several penguins, each wearing a giant ice cube on their head, were gliding happily down the snow slope belly to belly, finally tumbling into an icy pool at the bottom.

The ice layer wasn't thick, but it smashed a 2x2 meter hole, revealing the still unfrozen lake water below.

Pfft!
After sliding down to the ground, the ice goose fell into the water, seemingly having a great time.

"There are quite a few!"

Ash squinted and scanned the area; there were probably six or seven Ice Goose.

Besides skiing on the snow slopes, there are other ice caves in the ice pool below, and some ice sculptures of geese are floating aimlessly on the water.

On the front of the block of thick ice, you can see the sunken eyes and the protruding beak of the bird. From a distance, it looks like it is sunbathing or doing a face mask.

Some of the ice-covered geese lay on the edge of the ice cave, with a single black feather protruding from the ice above their heads and dangling into the water.
Fishing?

"This is the real ice-clad goose!"

Xiao Zhi raised the corners of his mouth and muttered softly.

With a black and white body, he can live a normal life even with an ice mask on, completely different from Prince Bo.

Hep's eyes shone brightly as he looked around, searching for a suitable target to subdue.

"Hey, look over there."

Xiao Zhi pointed to the innermost ice cave, where a block of ice was floating on the water. The body of the ice goose was below the water surface, and from the shore, it looked like an ordinary piece of floating ice.

However, this square of ice is noticeably larger than the other ice-built geese around it.

Hep nodded, making his decision instantly.

"That's the one we're after!"

Without delay, Hop strode into the icy pit and threw a Poké Ball in the backhand.

"Chase the dog!"

The electric dog appeared and immediately pounced on the ice goose as if it had smelled its prey, ignoring the other ice geese around it and heading straight for the largest one on the inside.

Ash followed a few steps behind. He hadn't seen it at the aquarium, but today he and Mr. Mime were there as spectators to watch the Ice Goose.

However, these ice geese are clearly not very alert, or perhaps they are just naturally laid-back and leisurely like Slowpoke.

Seeing two strange humans suddenly appear, they didn't panic and run away. Instead, they just stood there, staring blankly at the ice.

Uh, speaking of which, with ice blocks on their heads, how can these Pokémon even see where they're going? (End of Chapter)