"The rules of the first match are to use Ice-type moves to freeze the water shooting out of the geyser. Whoever freezes it fastest wins!"
As he spoke, Danny had already taken the lead in sending out his Pokémon.
As the Poké Ball opened, a Nidoqueen appeared on the mountaintop.
After releasing his Pokémon, Danny slowly put away the empty Poké Ball while eyeing the Great Ball in Xia You's hand, continually guessing what Pokémon he would send out to handle this situation.
Beside him, Xia You also glanced at Nidoqueen.
Like the Nidoking he had seen before, Nidoqueen was a large, bipedal Pokémon. However, her skin was blue, and her species was exclusively female, making her a counterpart to the purple-skinned male Nidoking.
Nidoqueen were said to care deeply for their young and would become extremely fierce to protect them.
However, since the task was to freeze a geyser, the Pokémon sent out would ideally be able to use an Ice-type move without difficulty.
But as a Poison- and Ground-type Pokémon, Nidoqueen could not originally learn Ice-type moves on her own. Presumably, Danny had used some other method to teach this Nidoqueen an Ice-type move for this event.
But... in the Orange Islands, with their many stretches of sea large and small, he could clearly have taught Ice-type moves to common Water-type Pokémon such as Seel, Dewgong, Cloyster, or Lapras, combining them with their own Water typing to strengthen both. Why had Danny insisted on choosing a Ground-type Nidoqueen instead?
I really don't understand what he's getting at...
Though puzzled, Xia You did not want to waste much thought on it. Whatever Danny's considerations or aims, they would not cause so much as a ripple before this Pokémon of his!
"Come out, Articuno!"
At Xia You's call, Danny initially