Unlike when it had attacked without hesitation in the Iceberg Ruins, Regice's hostility now was faint.
Though it rarely showed emotion and was hard to read—like a stiff robot—Lucas's gut told him Regice wasn't hostile, only curious what he'd do next.
Because Regice had just altered the environment, a thin sheet of ice covered the ground.
It was fragile; each of Lucas's steps cracked it with a crisp snap, which made Glastrier itch to charge.
Each crack was like a step on Paul's heart. Even he realized Regice wasn't obeying Lucas's commands yet.
Regice must've only recently been captured; they probably hadn't even communicated properly.
Standing before the still Regice and seeing no signs of attack, Lucas relaxed a bit and greeted it.
"Hello, Regice."
"Re… gi?"
Regice tilted its head slightly, as if tackling the hard question of whether "Regice" was its name.
From Lucas's point of view, it merely swayed a little. Taking that as a response, Lucas smiled and reached out for a closer touch.
He aimed for its fingers.
For Pokémon, a handshake, a nuzzle, even entwined tails can all signal friendliness. Regice should understand his goodwill.
But when Lucas extended a finger toward one of Regice's three crystal fingers, Regice froze for a beat, then quickly tucked its hand behind its back, even shifting as if to move away.
Calyrex's eyes narrowed, ready to intervene if Regice suddenly attacked.
Lucas noticed that as the ice layer cracked with a crisp snap, Regice, hiding its right hand, brushed the exposed soil.
There were minute fissures in the dirt; low weeds grew from them and brushed Regice's finger for a split second.
In that instant, the weeds froze with rime and turned into lifelike ice sculptures.
Lucas's eyes were sharp—he caught it.
"So… you pulled your hand back so you wouldn't hurt me?"
With that observation, Regice's movements now looked flustered.
Regice paused; the yellow dots flickered again, reflecting its unsettled heart.
Then, as if mustering courage, it crossed both hands in front, touched finger to finger, and nodded lightly.
"Regi… ice."
Seeing it admit his guess, Lucas couldn't help but find this big guy adorably earnest.
He let his smile show. "You don't dislike me, do you?"
Regice nodded again—larger this time—so even Paul and Calyrex could see.
Calyrex let its gathered aura dissipate and chuckled to its steed. "Too clumsy, ice river giant."
It seemed he wouldn't need to step in.
Good. Rather than altering what Regice wished to guard, letting it willingly stay here was best.
Paul's expression cracked. It was hard to believe this careful, gentle Regice was related to Brandon's mighty Regirock.
…
A little later—
Once Lucas confirmed Regice wasn't hostile and seemed sensitive, communication got easier.
He explained where they were and that the Iceberg Ruins were empty—there was nothing left to guard.
Then, seeing Regice's eyes settle, Lucas reached out his hand. "Would you like to stay and live here as our companion?"
"Doo… doo…"
Regice seemed to ponder, uttering the same sounds.
In its mind flickered Ceruledge fighting fearlessly under Lucas's command, Mimikyu protecting him, and Dragonite and Swampert protecting Penny and Saguaro.
In their eyes, Regice saw a 100% trust in Lucas, which sparked curiosity—and a feeling it couldn't quite name.
Before long, Regice extended its hand, meeting Lucas's in a hover-hand shake.
"Regi… ice."
Paul watched Lucas successfully and cleanly win Regice over.
Lucas must have overpowered Regice in battle first and captured it—the fresh injuries didn't lie.
On that foundation, he still connected with Regice and built rapport in under ten minutes.
Compared with his current synergy with Grotle, it was comparable—an unsettling blow to Paul.
But it confirmed he was right to come to Paldea first rather than travel Kanto immediately.
He would learn precious knowledge and experience from Lucas. By accumulating them, he was sure he'd one day defeat the Pyramid King Brandon!
"As for where to live—how about the ice cellar?"
"It's spacious, and the temperature's similar to Crown Tundra. Just be mindful of the Alolan Sandslash couple in the corner igloo—they're expecting, very wary. Don't startle them."
Hearing about new life, Regice's yellow dots grew brighter—it was clearly looking forward to it.
Knowing Regice would move into the ice cellar, Glastrier snorted unhappily.
How was it supposed to live like this!?
Day one, it was already avoiding those two weak Pokémon—and now it had to share its precious turf with Regice!?
Calyrex stroked its frozen mane to soothe it.
"The ice cellar is big enough, the pasture's area is plenty for running, and there's always the wilds."
"The ice carrot field will be prepared in a day or two—no tantrums."
"Snrrr—"
At the mention of ice carrots, Glastrier's ears twitched, though it feigned indifference and generously agreed to suffer a little.
Once Regice was settled, Lucas asked Calyrex and Glastrier to show it the ice cellar. Then he turned to Paul, who had been waiting quietly, and smiled apologetically.
"Sorry to keep you."
Paul shook his head seriously. "You have your responsibilities. My visit wasn't on your schedule. Waiting was proper."
Lucas blinked. Paul really did respect his seniors.
In the anime, he scowled at everyone—except when facing elders like Cynthia and Brandon, where he was almost excessively polite.
Under Lucas's influence, Reggie hadn't been crushed by Brandon, and Paul's fighting spirit was stoked.
Rather than going extreme like his original path—militaristic harsh training, casually releasing weak Pokémon, good-for-nothing on his lips, and an icy scowl—this Paul was courteous, driven to grow, and still loved Pokémon.
Lucas didn't know how diverging from fate would change him.
But if he was to teach, he was willing to teach this polite, determined, Pokémon-loving Paul.
But before that…
"You want to get stronger and receive my guidance, right?"
Paul's triangular eyes—often looking fierce—hardened. "Yes! That's why I came to Naranja Academy!"
"Before you handle my tempo, there's something important." Lucas lifted an eyebrow. "I have four priority students."
"One is a prodigy—barely over half a year as a Trainer, already strong enough to clear all eight gyms. Pity Paldea has no League Conference, or she'd place quite well."
"The other three, in my view, are at least more impressive than what you've shown me so far. You get my meaning, right?"
Paul froze, but his razor-sharp mind extracted the key points.
"…A battle, then?" he asked.
A bad idea flashed across Lucas's face. His gaze roamed over Paul. "You've been at the Academy for seven days, so you know Dendra teaches the battle classes, right?"
Paul recalled that ball of energy and twitched a lip. "She's very spirited, but her methods skew toward total beginners. I don't feel I'm learning useful things."
"I see—so that's why you rushed to find me?"
Stroking his chin, Lucas was pleasantly surprised. Dendra was sort of his subordinate; when he returned, he could call her into his office to talk about teaching quality.
"Yes." Paul took out a red-and-white ball he'd polished to a shine and requested again. "Please battle me. I'll prove I'm worthy of being chosen."
"You asked for it. No regrets later." Lucas's gaze fell to the ball. "Send out your Pokémon."
"Yes."
Paul pressed the button.
A beam of red light spilled out and formed a land tortoise about a meter tall.
Lucas's eyes widened slightly. Turtwig had evolved—Grotle now.
The evolved Grotle wore a yellow shell with small tree clumps on its back; the trees bore brown acorn-like nuts, flanked by three long brown ridges.
Its limbs were short and thick, yellow at the base. Compared to Turtwig, it wasn't built for darting around anymore.
Seeing Grotle, Lucas perked up.
He told Paul and Grotle to wait, then cut across the field into the farmland and the salt house, returning with the strongest of the three Naclstack siblings—the one who knew the most moves.
Paul studied Naclstack. He hadn't wasted the week—he'd reviewed common Paldean species and knew the basics.
This was the Rock-type Naclstack, often found on farms and ranches, producing precious rock salt. Trainers rarely used them for battles…
And type-wise, Grotle had an overwhelming advantage. Once it evolved into Torterra, most Rock-types would be no match.
He'd beat Regirock with Torterra!
Reading Paul's face, Lucas smiled meaningfully. "Thinking the enemy before you is trivial and planning too far ahead—worst mistake in battle."
Paul jolted. By the time he came back to himself, Lucas was already across from him with Naclstack, waving. "You go first!"
Paul took a deep breath, decided to probe Naclstack, and commanded, "Trailblaze!"
One of the few new moves he'd learned from Dendra's class.
Grotle lowered its body; verdant light wrapped its heavy legs. It burst forward with speed surprising for its size, trailing green light as it charged Naclstack.
Lucas could tell Paul was still clinging to Turtwig's style—just like Ash in Sinnoh, he was still figuring out how to use Grotle, trying not to let it become a fodder turtle.
But for this match, not setting Grassy Terrain to boost Trailblaze's priority and choosing to rush a Naclstack—that was a misstep from the start.
He locked onto Grotle as it entered range and said decisively, "Salt Cure!"