"Gary! It's you! You actually did find the Cetoddle!" Luna was also surprised when she spotted Gary.
"Articuno?!"
Grusha was equally shocked to see Articuno. He hadn't expected what his sister told him to be true.
Earlier at noon, Luna had run up the mountain to tell Grusha that she'd seen a Trainer who had captured Articuno.
Articuno was a Pokémon that migrated all over the world, so it would naturally pass through the Glaseado Mountain in the Paldea Region from time to time. Because of that, local legends about Articuno had always existed here.
Grusha hadn't believed his sister at first. But now, seeing it with his own eyes, he had no choice but to accept it.
Gary also looked over at Grusha, his gaze drifting briefly toward Grusha's right leg.
This Grusha had once been a professional snowboarder. During one of his competitions, a Cetitan had suddenly wandered onto the course. To avoid harming the Cetitan, Grusha had dodged carelessly and ended up breaking his right leg, forcing him into retirement.
Although his right leg had recovered enough for normal movement and light exercise, returning to professional-level competition was no longer possible. It could only be said that Grusha had been extremely unlucky.
"Brother, look! I told you someone captured Articuno, but you didn't believe me!" Luna didn't overthink things and simply pointed at Articuno to prove she hadn't been lying.
"Alright, alright, my fault. I shouldn't have doubted you. Please forgive me," Grusha said, his tone unusually gentle.
Seeing this softer side of Grusha felt oddly out of place to Gary. Normally, this guy came across as cold and detached. He only showed genuine emotion during intense Pokémon battles.
"Um... is there something you need?" Gary asked.
Although he didn't know why the two of them had appeared here, Gary didn't think Luna had really dragged Grusha up the mountain just to prove she'd seen Articuno.
"It's nothing important. My sister said she wanted to catch a Cetoddle, so I brought her up here to look around. I didn't expect to run into you," Grusha said.
Hearing that, Gary realized he'd misunderstood the situation. Luna hadn't come here to interfere with him capturing Cetoddle at all—she had genuinely wanted to catch one herself and had probably used the excuse of witnessing Articuno as extra motivation to bring her brother along.
Grusha's ace Pokémon was Cetitan, and as the Gym Leader of Glaseado Mountain, he was extremely familiar with the habitats of Pokémon in this area. Naturally, he also knew exactly where different herds of Cetoddle could be found.
Since it was his sister who wanted to catch a Cetoddle, Grusha would definitely not lead her to a group with poor potential. That was why they had ended up here.
Realizing this, Gary suddenly understood everything.
Luna seemed to notice that Gary had figured out her scheme and didn't dare look him in the eye. Instead, she boldly walked over to Gary's Cetoddle and greeted it.
"Cetoddle, long time no see. Did Gary catch you?" Luna asked.
From her tone, it was obvious Luna already knew this Cetoddle—and even the Cetitan herself. No wonder the Cetoddle hadn't been afraid of her earlier. It turned out they had already been in contact with Grusha's family before.
"Cet!" Gary's Cetoddle nodded, confirming that it had been caught by Gary.
"If you want a Cetoddle, go find one of the other two. This one is mine now," Gary reminded her.
After all, Luna was only about six or seven years old. Gary wasn't seriously worried that she would throw a tantrum over his Cetoddle, but he still wanted to make things clear.
"Don't worry, I'm not that kind of spoiled child."
After that, Luna walked in front of the Cetitan and asked, "Cetitan, I want to catch a Cetoddle too. Would you be willing to let me take one of your children?"
Cetitan looked at Luna, then glanced over at Grusha.
"Ceti."
Cetitan nodded, agreeing to let Luna take a Cetoddle away.
Seeing how readily Cetitan agreed, Gary began to suspect that Cetitan didn't have particularly strong maternal instincts. Its duty seemed to consist mostly of watching over its young while they were vulnerable, not raising them for life.
At this moment, Cetitan was probably thinking: What a good day today is. I've already sent two burdens away. If one more human could adopt the last Cetoddle, that would be perfect.
Seeing Cetitan agree, Luna happily ran over to Grusha and dragged him by the sleeve.
"Brother, Cetitan agreed! Which one should I pick?" Luna asked eagerly.
It seemed Luna really was serious about catching a Cetoddle. As for whether she'd ever run into Gary during the process—well, that had just been luck.
Grusha observed the two remaining Cetoddle carefully and finally pointed to the one with Quasi-Elite potential.
As someone who had raised a Cetitan for many years, Grusha had a sharp eye for identifying high-potential Ice-type Pokémon.
"Alright, then it's your turn," Grusha said, handing Luna a Poké Ball.
Luna excitedly threw the Poké Ball and successfully captured the Quasi-Elite potential Cetoddle.
That left only one Cetoddle behind. Its siblings had all been chosen, and now it was alone.
"Brother, this Cetoddle looks so lonely. How about you catch it too?" Luna asked.
Grusha had a mild headache over this. He already had a Cetitan and now a Cetoddle of his own. Adding another Cetoddle would be a bit redundant. Then again, keeping it at the Gym wouldn't really be a problem. Cetoddle mostly ate snow, so it wouldn't cost much to feed anyway.
"Alright. Cetitan, I'll take your last child as well. Is that okay?" Grusha asked.
"Ceti!" Cetitan smiled and nodded, its eyes squeezing shut with contentment.
Wonderful. All three burdens have been sent away. Now I can finally head off and enjoy myself.
"Ceti."
Cetitan watched as its three children followed their new Trainers, then waved once, turned, and glided across the snow. It quickly slid off into the distance, leaving Gary and the others momentarily speechless.
Grusha and Luna both looked stunned.
Gary shook his head helplessly, silently sighing at how little maternal attachment Cetitan seemed to have.
"Cetoddle, return."
Looking at the last innocent Cetoddle, Gary quickly recalled it into its Poké Ball, hoping to spare it the realization that its mother didn't seem overly attached.
"Luna, let's catch this one too," Grusha said, taking out a Poké Ball and handing another to his sister.
The two siblings captured the two remaining Cetoddle between them.
After successfully capturing hers, Luna was extremely happy.
"Now that I have a Cetoddle, I'll be able to ski too!"
Because Cetitan could travel across snow with ease, once Luna's Cetoddle was properly trained, she'd be able to move freely across the snowy terrain—she could even slide down mountains directly on its back.
"Gary, we're heading back now."
With the Cetoddle captured, Grusha prepared to take his sister home.
"Wait a moment," Gary called out to Grusha.
"Is there something?" Grusha asked.
Luna also looked puzzled, unsure why Gary was stopping them.
"I know you're the Gym Leader of Glaseado Gym, Mr. Grusha. I'd like to have a Gym battle with you," Gary said.
"What?! You want to challenge my brother?! Yes! Yes!" Before Grusha could even respond, Luna eagerly nodded on his behalf.