Pokémon: Trainers Start as Bounty Hunters.

"Keio"

The Ice Vulpix sighed and had no choice but to scramble up Tetsuya's arm and onto his head.

As Tetsuya pondered how to use the Flame Orb, he suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.

It feels like burying your head in an ice bucket in the summer—it's exciting and a little intoxicating.

Tetsuya raised his hand and lifted the Ice Six-Tails by the back of its neck, bringing it to his front.

Vulpix stared at its trainer with its innocent-looking big eyes.

Tetsuya sighed: "If you don't put it on my shoulders, I'll get sick."

He's physically fit, but he's not a superman; in this kind of weather, with temperatures consistently below freezing, it could be deadly.

As he spoke, he placed the Ice Vulpix on his left shoulder.

Although it's still very cold, it's at least much better than being on the top of my head.

The Ice Vulpix wiggled its body on Tetsuya's shoulder, realizing it wasn't a good place to sleep, so it used its paws to tug at Tetsuya's collar and look around at the scenery.

"Keio"

Its little paws pointed forward, signaling the trainer to hurry up and set off.

......

evening.

Inside the Pokémon Ninja Academy.

Ah Xing placed several cups of brewed tea on the table.

The Ice Vulpix curiously stuck out its tongue and licked it, but immediately rolled its eyes at the bitterness and hurriedly ran back behind Tetsuya to hide.

Across the table, an elderly man with snow-white hair, dressed in a ninja outfit, laughed heartily: "Hahahaha, is that so? I'm so sorry, our students have been a bit too nervous lately."

Tetsuya scratched his head sheepishly: "I also have a problem. I should have explained my identity to them first, and now look what happened."

In short, he accidentally wandered into the ninja academy's assessment area, was treated as an enemy, and then beat up all the students.

"No, no, no." The old park director shook his head. "The situation in the wild is always changing in an instant. It can only be said that they have not yet truly grasped the essence of ninjas."

If ninjas in ancient times had all carried out missions like they did, they would certainly have perished.

Ah Xing agreed, saying, "I even think this whole batch of trainees deserves an unsatisfactory rating. Judging from their performance today, they are still a long way from becoming true ninjas."

"Keio"

Ice Vulpix nodded in agreement.

Zhe patted its head irritably, "What are you pointing at? It's like it's your achievement."

After some conversation, the principal and A-Xing learned the purpose of Tetsuya's visit.

"No wonder that person said they wanted to come and give our trainees some guidance. I thought it was because our report had finally been approved," the principal exclaimed.

Zhe was also curious: "I don't know which senior is coming yet. Could you tell me, Principal?"

The headmaster didn't keep them in suspense: "It's Master Chen, the head combat instructor of the Alliance. He and Mr. Adek are said to have a very good relationship."

"Huh?" Tetsuya exclaimed in surprise.

"What, you know him?" Ah Xing asked.

Tetsuya thought for a moment: "I wouldn't say I know him, but I've met him once before. I saw him at the Kanto Pokémon Research School."

That was a powerful trainer who could see Blaziken's potential at a glance, and according to Gota, he also possessed the special ability of Aura.

Even the newly evolved Blaziken said it might not be able to beat that humanoid Pokémon in close combat.

He never expected that the person who would take Aldeck's place in the so-called test would be this guy.

That's right, the powerful trainer from Unova who was willing to undergo a link evolution with the Gekko was none other than Alder, the Unova League Champion.

Tetsuya was quite incredulous when he found out, after all, that was a regional champion.

Moreover, at this point, Ardek's strength is definitely not at the bottom among all the champions.

Despite having Daigo and Cynthia on his friend list, Tetsuya was still incredibly excited when he heard the news.

Alder's most famous Pokémon is undoubtedly his Volcarona, also known as the "Vulcan," which is recognized as the strongest Volcarona in the world, bar none.

Meanwhile, his agile bugs and knight snails are also renowned in various regions.

If it weren't for the fact that champion trainers are almost all well-rounded, Alder could easily be considered a Bug-type champion.

Under these circumstances, Tetsuya felt that he no longer needed to worry about the evolution of the Gege Bug.

"Hmph, what if someone can't even pass the test?"

Ah Xing felt a little sour.

She admitted that she felt a tiny bit of envy and jealousy.

Tetsuya shrugged: "Hey, a loser like you wouldn't understand~"

"ah!"

Ah Xing was so angry at his smug look that she almost ground her teeth to powder.

It's just that she lost the gym battle back then, and she wasn't using the Pokémon she had been raising.

Of course, Ah Xing also admitted that the guy opposite her was improving his strength too fast, and she was no match for him now.

God knows how this guy managed to breed a Champion-level Pokémon in just a year and a half since his debut, and it's rumored that he'll soon have a second and a third.

Ah Xing still remembers the astonishment her older brother expressed when he told her the news.

Not only that...

"According to the analysis, the top leaders of the alliance unanimously believe that Tetsuya most likely possesses a special ability called the Power of Everlasting, but it may not be fully awakened yet, and he can only roughly sense the state of the Pokémon."

This is why his Pokémon all have outstanding potential, and he suffers very little physical damage from training.

That's a pretty powerful special ability; what a lucky kid.

Recalling Ah-Ju's words, Ah-Xing felt even more bitter.

This is the power of Tokiwa, which only one person masters every ten years. Its effects and uniqueness far surpass those of superpowers.

Healing, perception, and communication—while they can't save lives with teleportation like superpowers, nor make the user a humanoid Pokémon like Aura, Viridian Power is arguably the best special ability for a trainer and breeder.

"What are you doing? Just kidding, don't look at me like that."

Feeling Ah-Xing's gaze, which seemed to want to devour him, Tetsuya couldn't help but shiver.

He was, of course, unaware that the Alliance had already labeled him as the possessor of the Power of Everlasting.

While Zero's specific behavior does resemble that of a demon, he lacks the crucial healing ability; otherwise, he would have already taken off.

"It's nothing, I just think you're ugly," Ah Xing said expressionlessly.

Tetsuya looked completely bewildered.

The zoo director sipped his tea and teased the Ice Sixtail, thinking that the young people's energy was truly remarkable.

After experiencing the food from his student days again, Tetsuya was taken to the dormitory area.

The Ninja Academy is similar to a boarding school, with the dormitory area built in this large complex of buildings. The most unique feature is that it is entirely made of wood.

"Anyway, we'll burn down the dormitory area occasionally to train their emergency response capabilities, and then let them rebuild it themselves to train their wilderness survival skills."

That's what Ah Xing said.

If it weren't for the existence of elves, the person who came up with this kind of training method would probably have some mental issues.

As a guest, Tetsuya was fortunate enough to have the right to stay in a room by himself.

With the lower bunk occupied by several elves, he had no choice but to climb up to the upper bunk with a bitter face.

Through the wooden window, he could see the quiet playground and forest bathed in moonlight.

"Alright, time to sleep. Get some rest today and prepare for the assessment tomorrow."

Tetsuya stared blankly for a while before stopping the increasingly unruly Pokémon below.

Although I'm confident, I know that an assessment with a champion-level trainer personally participating must be anything but easy, so I still need to be well-prepared.

"Down" "Beep"

He twitched the corner of his mouth.

Why does it sound like Blaziken and the statue are teaming up to insult him?

Tetsuya thought it was probably just his imagination.

The room quickly quieted down, and each elf found its preferred spot and fell asleep.

What no one noticed was that the sky outside was gradually darkening.

The dark clouds had somehow obscured the bright moonlight.

"Whoo~"

An unusually cold wind began to blow at this time of year, and white snowflakes started to fall.

Tetsuya, who was fast asleep, felt the cold and unconsciously pulled the blanket up over himself.

"Ah-"

Obviously, it was of no use.

"Little guy, stop being naughty and go to sleep." Tetsuya mumbled a lecture to the Ice Vulpix while his eyes were still closed and he was half asleep.

Trainers who torture themselves by staying up late at night, you're something else.

The awakened Ice Vulpix looked bewildered, but enjoying the sudden chill, it comfortably closed its eyes.

For an ice-type creature, the current environment is simply perfect.

"Ledo"

Gallade, who possesses psychic powers, was the first to notice something was wrong.

It suddenly opened its eyes and looked out the window.

A world draped in silver comes into view.

But if Gallade remembers correctly, the outside world was still lush and green before she went to sleep.

"Ledo"

It quickly floated onto the bed and woke up the trainer.

The blanket slipped off, and Tetsuya, who was yawning, suddenly shuddered.

"Holy crap (‵o′), what's going on!" he cursed instinctively.

"Something seems to have happened."

Gallade spoke these words in his mind through his psychic powers.

Zhe, who had been woken up by the cold, put on his clothes in a huff: "Let's go, let's go out and take a look."

He called to his nine elves and they all went out together.

With such a commotion, the other elves naturally woke up as well.

The accommodation area was quiet, and it seemed that no one noticed anything amiss except for him.

Tetsuya glanced at his watch and exclaimed, "Good heavens, it's 3:30 in the morning! Is this time going to kill me?"

When he arrived at the playground, he saw the white-haired principal standing in the middle of the open space, gazing at the sky.

Chapter 416 Snow

"Mr. Headmaster!"

Tetsuya greeted him.

The old man truly lived up to his reputation as a seasoned ninja; his sensitivity to the environment and his tolerance for the cold were both remarkable.

In the entire vast ninja academy, only he and Tetsuya noticed something was wrong late at night.

"It's Tetsuya." The headmaster turned around with a smile.