Pokémon: Trainers Start as Bounty Hunters.

In reality, we are not much different from the ordinary elves that you humans know, except for some differences in our abilities.

It's extremely rare for three rescued Pokémon to become our companions.

Suicune was very patient and even explained it to me.

Tetsuya felt fortunate to have met Suicune; if it had been any of the other two, whether he could even meet them would be another matter, let alone talk to them.

"Lei Gong and Yan Di are not as irritable as you see them. In your human terms, they are intolerant of even a grain of sand in their eyes. They are quite 'righteously opposed to evil'."

Sui-kun clearly guessed Tetsuya's thoughts and offered a brief explanation on behalf of his friends from the other two clans.

"Wow, they can even use idioms!" Tetsuya remarked unconsciously.

"I'd also like to ask, after reaching Champion level, how will the Pokémon's abilities change if you get stronger?

Or, to put it another way, how can a common Pokémon become as strong as you?

After chatting about gossip, Tetsuya quickly turned to the things that a trainer should care about most.

Suijun pondered for a moment.

To be honest, the division of strength among elves is not the same as that among humans. They have their own understanding, which might even sound strange if expressed in human language.

However, as a Pokémon that has lived for so long, Suicune has a fairly clear understanding of the champion strength that Tetsuya mentioned.

In its long life experience, it has at least encountered several so-called "champions" among human groups.

"Regarding this question, I can only say that I cannot answer you with 100% accuracy because there are errors in our understanding."

"It is Suijun," Suijun said slowly.

"To put it simply, compared to the champion you mentioned, my strength lies only in my ability to draw upon more natural forces."

Shui Jun didn't see anything wrong with this.

As it said before, it did not feel that its race was any different from other elf races, and that if it was so strong, other elves could be just as strong.

It did not have the so-called "divine beast burden" that Tetsuya had imagined.

Tetsuya seemed to be deep in thought. Although the answer was good, it clearly did not satisfy him.

"So, how does your strength compare to that of a divine beast?"

He asked a question that would be considered somewhat impolite by human standards.

This is like pointing at someone you've just met and asking them how much money they earn in a month.

"It's just average, you could even say it's pretty bad."

However, Pokémon and humans have significantly different thought processes, so Suicune didn't find this strange at all.

Tetsuya realized this during their brief time together; otherwise, he wouldn't have gone out of his way to seek death.

Who knows what Suicune might do to me when she gets angry? Tetsuya doesn't want to gamble.

He frowned and thought for a moment.

Suiki's half-hearted words only made him more confused.

After all, Suijun cannot fully translate what it wants to express into language that humans can understand.

Tetsuya thinks Team Rocket's Meowth is a real genius, and he really wants a Pokémon like Meowth to help with translation.

Suddenly, his eyes lit up.

"Um... to be honest, I don't quite understand what you mean. I wonder if my partner could help me convey it?"

That's right, there's no Meow Meow, but that doesn't mean Zhe doesn't have any Pokémon that can deliver messages.

The meaning conveyed by one's own partner and the mythical beast one has just met is definitely more accurate when translated.

"can."

Suijun nodded slightly; it was also having a bit of a headache about how to explain.

"Alright, come out, Blaziken."

After obtaining Suikun's consent, Tetsuya threw out the Luxury Ball.

Oh my!

An exhilarating voice rang out, and a fiery red Blaziken made its dazzling entrance.

Its eyes sparkled.

Blaziken inside its Poké Ball can sense what's happening outside; the Poké Ball is essentially a one-way mirror. It has long been filled with curiosity about the incredibly powerful Suicune.

"Then, please translate 'Blazing Chicken'."

Tetsuya said with a smile.

The Blaziken raised its right claw, indicating that it understood.

It is very interested in its path to becoming stronger in the future.

Suicune quickly began communicating with Blaziken in the language of Pokémon. The communication between the two Pokémon was much easier than when Suicune was explaining things to Tetsuya.

Even Sui-kun visibly breathed a sigh of relief.

Tetsuya felt a little itchy inside, very curious.

Humans can indeed understand what elves say in a simple way, but only if they combine it with the elves' external actions and emotional expressions. Simply stating things plainly is not enough to make them understand.

To put it bluntly, it's all guessing.

This is why many Pokémon use exaggerated facial expressions when communicating; otherwise, their trainers simply cannot understand.

The elf school even has a course that specifically teaches elves what their outward appearance and expressions mean, which is incredibly complex.

Not long after, Blaziken and Suicune finished their conversation.

Next, Blaziken used Aura and Tetsuya to explain, and Suicune showed considerable patience, taking elegant steps on the lake surface of the island.

Wherever it passed, the lake surface became as clear as a mirror.

With the description from the Blaziken, Tetsuya roughly understood.

Before understanding the differences beyond champion, it's essential to first understand the distinctions between a king, a near-champion, and a champion.

In the simplest and most fantastical way, the King controls his own energy through bonds, the Champion awakens natural energy through bonds, and the Champion manipulates natural energy through bonds.

It's easy to understand; even elves cannot contend with the almost limitless power of nature.

The bond here has a broad meaning for elves, mainly referring to those they cherish.

The bond with a trainer is one kind, the bond with a group is another, and there are countless other kinds.

According to Tetsuya's understanding, it seems more like idealism.

It's unscientific, but it's very clever.

In the Elite Four level and below, the improvement of a Pokémon's own strength is more reflected in its abilities such as HP, Attack, Defense, and Speed, while the control of energy is limited to the mastery of moves.

This is not actually a true mastery of energy.

This is why many Pokémon and trainers are unable to improve their skills, because their own abilities do not allow them to do so.

The most obvious characteristic of Elite-level Pokémon is that their skill usage is often unconventional and comes in a variety of forms.

Pokémon at the near-Elite rank tend to exhibit this characteristic to some extent.

Then there's the ranking of power above the champion level. To be honest, he personally felt that it wasn't much different from how Pokémon fans categorized legendary Pokémon in his previous life.

Simply put, there are three levels of gods, from strongest to weakest.

The difference between a Tier 3 Legendary Pokémon, such as Suicune, and a Champion Pokémon is indeed as it says: the only difference lies in the amount of natural energy it manipulates, albeit by a factor of several.

According to Blaziken's "translation," even the weakest Legendary Pokémon can wield more than five times the energy of the strongest Champion Pokémon.

As for the second-level gods and even the first-level gods, in human terms, these elves wield the power of nature rather than the energy of nature.

Take Ho-Oh as an example; it possesses powers related to fire, whether it's burning or resurrection.

It's just like the so-called laws in the fantasy novels Tetsuya read in his previous life, but elves themselves are also a kind of fantasy - fantasy creatures.

Therefore, Tetsuya was quite accepting of this statement.

Regarding how to reach beyond the champion level, Suijun said that reaching level three godhood is achievable through hard work, but level two godhood is not guaranteed, and level one godhood is impossible.

The specific reason wasn't mentioned by Shui Jun, but it's not hard to guess.

Tetsuya's thinking was simple: he wouldn't give it to the alpaca, since the alpaca was a real creator of the elf world, not a fictional one.

As the rule-maker, it sets the rules, which humans and elves can only obey and cannot change.

"Finished talking?"

The next moment, Suicune appeared in front of Blaziken and Tetsuya.

For some reason, Tetsuya had a feeling that Suikun hadn't spoken to him or chatted with him in a long time.

"Hmm, thank you, I think I understand."

Putting those feelings aside, Zhe also sincerely thanked him.

Leaving aside the fact that he broke through to the Elite Four level, he didn't really understand the power levels after the semi-championship began. Learning these things from Suicune was very meaningful for him.

In addition, Tetsuya also learned a concept from Sui-kun that overturned his previous understanding.

Chapter 308 Mysterious Water Drop

It's not really a subversion, but rather a supplement.

Simply put, current research generally agrees that champion potential is not the end of Pokémon potential; there must be even stronger potentials beyond that, they just haven't been discovered yet.

Tetsuya also thought so, otherwise the existence of divine beasts would be hard to explain.

However, according to Suicune, a Pokémon possessing Champion potential is already the limit of its species' talent, and this limit is restricted by the rules and cannot be broken.

Even Ho-Oh couldn't do that; at most, Ho-Oh could only push its opponent to their limit.

"When an elf's talents in all aspects reach their peak within its species, then the decisive factor in the end can only be its hard work after birth."

The translation of "Blazing Chicken" is roughly like this.

In other words, whether you can break through to the so-called level three god strength after becoming the champion depends entirely on the efforts of the trainer and the Pokémon, if you put in the right effort.

Although it's still a long way off for him, this news is pretty good for Tetsuya.

This, at least from another perspective, once again confirms the importance of trainers.

Two people working together is at least more efficient than one person working alone.

As for the claim that most of the mythical beasts humans have encountered are ridiculously powerful, Suicune's reasoning is quite simple.

"If there are more individuals in the group, the weaker little guys are not allowed to run away. For example, our Suicune group usually has a boundary line that is about the level of a Champion in human terms, but there are exceptions."

Those few adults, or those who exist as single individuals, are truly blessed by the world. Leaving aside how much time has passed since the world's birth, even the speed at which newborns develop their strength is beyond our comprehension.

When it came to the second point, even Suicune couldn't help but show a hint of envy.

The world is kind to us. Tetsuya seemed to be deep in thought. The sleeping Arceus is indeed omnipresent.

(In an unknown region where darkness and light intertwined, a white spirit resembling a horse or a qilin, with a golden cross-shaped wheel at its waist, trembled slightly.)

Of course, Tetsuya's understanding of the latter is more inclined to believe that it is normal to make rapid progress with one-on-one tutoring from a Pokémon.

Putting everything else aside, if Ho-Oh were to teach Blaziken right now, the latter would probably break through to the third-tier legendary level in a short time, a realm that humans could never reach.

You can't exactly fight Ho-Oh with your bare body, can you? You'd be burned by Ho-Oh's sneeze. But no, you might not even get close before you die from the heat.

Furthermore, according to Suicune, Pokémon with naturally long lifespans have a significant advantage, such as Ghost-type, Psychic-type, or more specifically, Blastoise or Ninetales.

However, after careful consideration, Tetsuya realized that there was no need to worry too much.

Although the average lifespan of humans in the Elf World is much longer than in their previous life, it still pales in comparison to that of elves.

Even the Bug-type Pokémon, which is generally considered to have the shortest lifespan, can accompany their trainers for a lifetime with minimal injuries.

The main reason why most elves live shorter than humans is that they die from the accumulated injuries from constant battles.

Fortunately, that's the case; otherwise, humanity wouldn't have any living space left in this world.

Based on the question of potential, and combined with the previous classification of divine beast strength, Tetsuya has some bolder guesses.

The so-called powers of legendary Pokémon can actually be understood as a bond to certain things, which can be intangible or tangible—such as Ho-Oh's bond to fire, Dialga's bond to time, Palkia's bond to space, and Giratina's bond to the Distortion World.