Alola Region, Azure Sea.
Ash and the others rode on Lapras, following Yellow toward deeper waters to fish.
This was an outdoor class for the Pokémon School.
Li Wei followed alongside them in a speedboat.
He had brought only Milotic's Poké Ball.
Then Li Wei sent Milotic out as well.
"Enjoy your swim!"
Besides letting Milotic out, Li Wei looked at the Lapras raised by the Pokémon School.
He also asked a question.
"How much do you all know about Lapras?"
Lana raised her hand. "I know! They're Ice- and Water-type Pokémon, and Elite Four member Lorelei's ace!"
Mallow smiled. "You really know your Water-type Pokémon, Lana!"
Lana nodded vigorously.
"Yes, because I love the ocean!"
"Everything Lana just said was right, but I don't want to talk about their basic information."
Li Wei watched the Lapras singing happily. "I want to talk to you about Lapras conservation."
Lapras had once been an endangered Pokémon.
In the Kanto Region, that is.
Later, the Kanto Region introduced a protection law.
It outright banned fishing for Lapras.
It was heavy-handed, but effective. Many people would release any Lapras they caught.
After Lapras were introduced to the Alola Region, they settled here and reproduced-in huge numbers, to be precise.
In short, because the Lapras population in the Alola Region grew rapidly, Lapras were no longer endangered.
They had even started becoming overabundant...
When traveling through the Alola Region's waters, the most likely accident was a collision with a pod of Lapras...
The large-scale breeding of Lapras also led to rapid growth in the local Pokémon-based sea transport industry.
Li Wei told this story about Lapras to Ash, Lillie, and the others.
"So that's what happened!"
"I had no idea we almost lost Lapras!"
Yellow nodded firmly.
"That's right. If we don't properly protect