Pokémon: I picked up a reborn Eevee at the start of the game

He felt that if he could master more of Deoxys's moves, his fighting ability could reach an even higher level.

Of course, the best way to increase the success rate is to help Gulerton recover his strength as soon as possible.

Millerton can come and go as he pleases.

With two against one, Xia Chen felt that at least they could manage to take down the thing that carried the power of origin.

Therefore, before seeking revenge against Millerton, the most important thing is to find the secret seasoning.

Anyway, Little Dragon just evolved into Dragonite, and there's still some time before its next evolution, so there's no rush for its sister to reincarnate.

The search for the secret seasoning came full circle, and Xia Chen naturally thought of Papa, whom he hadn't seen for a while.

I wonder if he has any new leads now...

People really can't stand being nagged. One day he was thinking about Piper, and the next day he actually saw Piper at the Pokémon Center in Big Pot City.

After more than ten days apart, Pipa has reverted to his wild man state, seemingly determined to do everything in his power to find the secret seasoning.

Pipa was also quite surprised to run into Xia Chen in Daguo City. His first words to Xia Chen were...

"You're here too, looking for the Pseudo-Dragon Treasure Master?"

Xia Chen immediately became interested. According to Pai Pa, there was a treasure master near Da Guo Lake.

Xia Chen quickly sent the Galactic Team's Pokémon to Cynthia, who was far away in the Sinnoh region, and then took Piper back to his rented place for a detailed discussion.

…………

"Why do you always make yourself look so disheveled? Do you have a grudge against modern life?"

Looking at Pipa, who had taken a shower, shaved off his scruffy beard, and become a modern man again, Xia Chen teased.

"None of these are as important as finding the right seasonings..."

After a brief explanation, Papa excitedly said, "After making inquiries from various sources and based on my reasonable deductions, the pseudo-dragon treasure master recorded in the Book of Crimson and Purple is most likely located at Daguo Lake!"

Xia Chen, resting his chin on his hand, asked, "So, do you know what kind of spirit this pseudo-dragon's master is, and which body of water it lives in?"

Pipa's excited tone faltered, and she stammered, "I don't know..."

Xia Chen cautioned, "The area of ​​Daguo Lake is over two thousand square kilometers. Finding a Pokémon here, even one that is nearly ten times the size of a normal Pokémon, is as difficult as climbing to the sky."

Piper scratched his head in frustration. "What can we do? We can't just give up, can we?"

"Xianbu is in a hurry, let's clarify a few issues first."

Xia Chen tapped his fingers lightly on the table and said, "Seasonings must grow in soil, not on plants like aquatic plants, right?"

Piper nodded and said, "Yes, that's for sure."

"Hmm, then this treasure owner must live near an island, at least narrowing down the possibilities to the hundreds of islands in Daguo Lake..."

Xia Chen continued his analysis, "The name of the last Steel-type Pokémon is closely related to Worm, a Steel-type Pokémon that is good at diving into the ground. So, could this Pseudo-Dragon Pokémon be a Pokémon that looks like a dragon but isn't a Dragon-type, like Gyarados or Milotic?"

"Very likely!"

Pipa nodded repeatedly, excitedly saying, "Then our goal is to find Pokémon like Gyarados and Milotic that live near the island?"

Xia Chen calmly said, "Let's be more lenient. This is just speculation, not fact."

After thinking for a moment, he added, "But prioritizing this search is fine, after all, there are hundreds of islands in Daguo Lake...who knows where the secret seasoning is."

Even if he possessed the power of waveguides, sweeping across island after island would still be a time-consuming and laborious undertaking.

"Hmm... a relatively dangerous location should also be a factor, otherwise the news would have spread long ago."

The two chatted back and forth, sketching out the image of a fake dragon treasure master.

Finally, Xia Chen passed all these conditions on to Rotom, "Rotom, help us find out which elves in Lake Daguo meet these conditions."

…………

Rotom, with its internet-connected mobile phones, soon provided the answer.

"A suitable Elf map has been generated!"

Xia Chen picked up his phone and looked at it. The map was covered with red dots, which, if nothing unexpected happened, represented the selected habitats of the Pokémon.

Daguo Lake is so vast that even with multiple rounds of screening, there are still hundreds of places that meet the criteria.

Xia Chen had a headache from looking at it all, so he decided to be a shameless freeloader and said, "Xiao Luo, please introduce them to me in order of priority."

Fortunately, Rotom didn't mind this kind of thing. After beeping, it started broadcasting.

"First, there's the Gyarados group located north of Lake Daguo..."

"The Vicious Devouring Turtle population located in the eastern part of Daguo Lake..."

"..."

"Since ancient times, a giant black shadow has been said to lie beneath the surface of the lake in the northern part of Daguo Lake—the legend of the Daguo Lake Monster..."

Xia Chen suddenly interrupted, "Wait, tell me more about this legend."

"Okay, Loto!"

Rotom readily explained, "That's the place with the fewest Pokémon in the entire Lake Daguo. Legend has it that on a clear day, you can see a huge black figure underwater, about the size of a small island. Some say it's a Wailord that a trainer released into Lake Daguo, but the truth is unknown."

"Because that place is close to the fast-flowing Daguo Lake Waterfall, there are almost no human settlements there, so this legend is not widely circulated."

Xia Chen nodded thoughtfully. "I understand. Thank you, Xiao Luo."

Pipa, who was standing nearby, overheard this and wondered, "Whale King usually only lives in the sea... Could this be a false dragon master?"

Xia Chen shrugged noncommittally, "Maybe, I think it's possible. Anyway, the Gyarados clan is also in the north, so we might as well explore together along the way."

Pipa readily agreed.

Having made up their minds, the two decided to set off that afternoon.

Xia Chen hadn't originally planned to rush things; he wanted to let Papa, who had been wandering outside for several days, get a good night's sleep and rest before making any decisions.

However, Papa was much more anxious than him and couldn't wait to leave. As a compromise, the departure time was set after lunch.

…………

In the afternoon, under the blazing sun, Xia Chen, who had just disembarked from the yacht the night before, stood on the deck again.

It's the same Milon as yesterday, but the purpose of this voyage is different from yesterday's.

With its destination set—the Gyarados clan in the northern part of Lake Daguo—the Milion set sail leisurely.

This voyage was a bit longer than yesterday's, but for Xia Chen, who was in a deep meditative state, it was still just a blink of an eye.

Around 4 PM, the Milion arrived at Gyarados Island.

As its name suggests, the island is named after the many Gyarados that live in the waters around it.

Ordinary fishermen, and even trainers, wouldn't dare to sail their boats this way, because no one can guarantee that Gyarados won't attack your boat if it gets upset.

The reason might simply be that the splashing water from passing boats disturbed its sleep.

Gyarados is such an easily angered Pokémon.

However, with Milotic leading the way, the flammable and explosive Gyarados were unusually docile, with several even licking Milotic's lips and fawning over it.

Xia Chen didn't miss this opportunity either. He also asked Milotic to ask the Gyarados for clues about the Pokémon's owner.

These Gyarados weren't just cooperating; they were practically vying to answer the questions.

However, most of the information was redundant and useless. The only useful clue was that further north, in the water, lived a "monster" that had existed for an unknown period of time, a forbidden zone for all elves.

Undoubtedly, this is the same thing as the legend Rotom mentioned.

All the clues pointed to the mysterious elf, so Xia Chen decided to rest here for one night and set off tomorrow.

Sleeping in the cabin on the ship is definitely more comfortable than setting up a tent on the island, so Xia Chen and Pai Pa didn't go ashore and rested on the ship for the night.

The Gyarados that were there during the day just kept watch in the water around the yacht, so there was basically no danger.

Early the next morning, Xia Chen bid farewell to the Gyarados and headed north, continuing his journey deeper into Lake Daguo.

…………

The further north they drove, the more Xia Chen understood what Gyarados meant by "forbidden zone of life" yesterday.

The sprites that used to be visible on the water's surface have almost all disappeared.

When Xia Chen could see the Daguo Lake Waterfall, which resembled a white ribbon connecting the water and the sky, from afar, the entire body of water was completely silent.

Xia Chen knew in his heart that this fake Dragon Treasure Master was probably no good person.

The Steelix is ​​a worm that can survive by eating soil, rocks, or metal and will not cause any harm to the Pokémon around its habitat.

This pseudo-dragon is primarily a carnivore... just by looking at its size, you can tell its appetite is absolutely astonishing.

No wonder there are hardly any spirits around the waters.

Perhaps because it is near the Great Pot Lake Waterfall, the water here is more turbulent than elsewhere, and there are few islands on the lake. The [Mililong] did not dock and drifted around on the lake.

Pipa gazed at the boundless expanse of water, somewhat troubled. "This body of water isn't small either. How are we going to find that Treasure Spirit?"

Xia Chen replied, "That's not a problem. Milotic will stay in the water for a while, and I reckon that Pokémon will come over because it smells the scent."

"Instead of worrying about that, let's think about how to get it in the water to the point where it'll eat the secret seasoning."

Fighting on land and fighting in water are two completely different things. Pokémon like Sylveon and Zoroark, which can neither fly nor swim, are almost unable to exert their fighting power in such an environment.

If the Pokémon in question is willing to fight, then it's fine. Therefore, Leedon, Milotic, Gardevoir, and Dragapult all have the ability to fight it.

But if it dives into the water when it can't win a fight, then Xia Chen really has no way to deal with it.

Just like in the episode of Journey to the West where Sun Wukong subdued Sha Wujing, even though he had extraordinary abilities outside, he was no match for the Curtain-Raising General once he entered the water.

Xia Chen felt that Gu Leton's swimming ability couldn't be very good, otherwise Xia Chen wouldn't have been the one to pull it out of the sea twice.

Therefore, if a chase were to actually occur in the water, Xia Chen's only truly reliable Pokémon would be Milotic, which is below the Gym Leader level.

Conservatively speaking, this Pokémon's strength is no weaker than Worm, which is equivalent to a strong Gym Leader. Milotic's strength might not be enough in comparison.

There are only two options left: first, make sure the fake dragon master can't escape; second, kill it instantly in the first round of the battle.

Xia Chen tapped his fingers lightly on the railing of the deck, conceiving a plan in his mind.

…………

The Daguo Lake Waterfall is even more magnificent than the Longyue Waterfall that Xia Chen saw in Lianli Town last year.