Pokémon: Trainers Start as Bounty Hunters.

Tetsuya, however, keenly noticed the helplessness and regret hidden beneath his smile.

He couldn't help but ask, "Does the headmaster know the cause of this sudden heavy snowfall?"

The headmaster was taken aback at first, then patted the snowflakes off his clothes with a self-deprecating smile: "Am I getting so old that I can't even hide my emotions anymore? Really, I'm so unqualified!"

He sighed.

Tetsuya watched the old man's actions quietly, trusting that he would speak.

Sure enough, the headmaster pointed to the white mountain in the distance: "Do you see that highest peak in the northern part of the capital?"

"White snow mountain," Tetsuya thought to himself, "it's really true."

Aside from the power of divine beasts, he really couldn't imagine what other power could turn a summer night into a snowy wonderland.

In the previous life, although the three legendary birds were often jokingly called the three silly birds, in reality, as a group that assisted Lugia, their abilities were by no means weak.

Perhaps the three divine birds on the Orange Islands are the strongest individuals, but Tetsuya thinks that if the Articuno on the Snow Mountain really has lived for more than 1200 years, its strength should not be too bad either.

He didn't say anything, and the principal didn't pay any attention.

Looking up at the faintly bright sky, his words were full of memories: "The existence of Articuno in the Snow Mountain has never been a legend, it is real, and many people in the League know this - because in the past 1,200 years, that Articuno has saved countless trainers who were about to perish in avalanches."

Tetsuya had a sudden thought.

The headmaster looked at him and said, "You probably guessed it too. I'm one of those ignorant fools who was saved by Articuno."

"I was much younger back then than I am now, and of course, much weaker too."

In order to follow Nyura's trail, I ventured alone into the Snow Mountain with an elite-level Grimer.

We couldn't find Nyx, but we were affected by the aftermath of battles between other trainers and other Pokémon.

I don't know which damned bastard recklessly used an earthquake on the snowy mountain; the avalanche almost instantly engulfed me and Mud.

The kindergarten director gritted his teeth as he recalled the terrifying scene.

Even after all these years, he still wants to go back to that time, find that damn guy, and throw him straight off the snow mountain.

Even the most clueless trainer should know that moves like Earthquake are absolutely forbidden in places like caves, snow-capped mountains, and volcanoes.

Although the probability of it happening only once in a while is not high, isn't there a ready example right here?

The principal frequently educates the students about this incident, warning them never to take chances, or the consequences will be unbearable.

"Calm down, calm down. That guy probably won't survive," Tetsuya quickly comforted the old man.

At this age, and having finally been saved by Articuno, it wouldn't be worth getting angry.

The park director let out a deep breath: "Yes, apart from powerful champion-level trainers, how many people can directly resist the power of nature with their own strength?"

If I hadn't found a crater made of ice and snow rocks that time, and if Mud hadn't desperately stretched out its body to block a significant portion of the impact for me, I probably would have passed out in less than three seconds.

Even so, by the time Articuno arrived, both Muk and I had reached our limits.

I will never forget the blue figure I saw before I lost consciousness; it was the true God of Ice and Snow!

The impassioned voice even trembled slightly towards the end.

God? Tetsuya was somewhat dazed.

He recalled a time at the research institute when he asked Professor Oak why everyone called Lugia the Sea God instead of Kyogre, even though their abilities weren't exactly a mystery to humans. (Note 1)

Professor Oak smiled and said, "Tetsuya, you should know that sometimes, the abilities of legendary Pokémon are not the basis for how we humans name them."

Compared to Kyogre, whose appearance signifies destruction, Lugia is the true legendary Pokémon that protects humanity from natural disasters.

The title "God of the Sea" does not refer to ability, but rather to function.

From the perspective of the sea creatures, although Lugia and Kyogre both protected them, Kyogre, who intended to expand the ocean indefinitely, was undoubtedly the true ruler.

For humans and land-dwelling elves, Lugia, who restrains Kyogre and suppresses the ocean's turmoil, is the truly respectable "God of the Sea."

It can only be said that even with close proximity, different perspectives will yield different feedback, which is unavoidable unless humans can live freely in the ocean.

"What about Groudon? Didn't it also destroy a lot of places?" Tetsuya asked a silly question without thinking.

"Yes, but it has also created and expanded many places."

Professor Oak paused for a moment, then gave a very honest answer.

These two mythical beasts, who are sworn enemies, one creates prolonged sunshine that causes drought, and the other creates large rain clouds that cause floods, neither of which is good for humankind.

At the same time, Groudon has the power to make rain clouds disappear and evaporate moisture with strong light and high temperature, and has appeared as a savior to people suffering from floods.

Kyogre possesses the power to generate massive rain clouds large enough to cover the entire sky and unleash torrential rain, and has saved people suffering from severe drought.

If the two mythical beasts hadn't started fighting the moment they met, people would have thought they were just playing a trick on each other.

Do you know how miserable it is to alternate between floods and droughts?

While Articuno's power isn't as great as theirs, its nature is the same.

People may not know the three silly birds of the Orange Islands, but they definitely know that a "God of Ice" who often saves people lives on the snowy mountains of Johto.

For this reason, the League did not launch a large-scale capture of Articuno, but instead quietly protected it.

"Look, how beautiful it is."

The principal suddenly pointed to the sky and exclaimed.

Tetsuya looked up and realized that, without him noticing, streaks of aurora had appeared in the sky.

The dazzling aurora borealis, refracted by snowflakes, instantly transformed the world into a vibrant spectacle.

“It is indeed beautiful.” Tetsuya and his spirits nodded unconsciously.

Such a scene has never occurred even once in the Kanto region, where snow is almost never seen.

Combined with the rumors surrounding Articuno, it becomes even more precious.

.........

At the foot of Snow Mountain.

A group of men dressed in black with the letter R raised their heads, carrying heavy instruments.

"Brother, it seems the target has returned."

A handsome young man spoke to his team leader.

"Hurry up! Groups One and Two have already completed their tasks. We're the only ones left. Our boss is about to launch his plan to conquer the world, and we're an indispensable part of it!"

The team leader raised his hand with a frenzy: "Everything for Team Rocket and Boss Giovanni!"

"Everything for Team Rocket and Boss Giovanni!"

A deliberately lowered voice rang out.

The Team Rocket members quickly disappeared into the snowstorm.

.........

“However…” Tetsuya quickly snapped out of his reverie, “Director, you still haven’t told me the reason for this August snowfall.”

Do you know how mythical beasts reproduce?

The headmaster, who refused to lower his head, asked.

Tetsuya shook his head.

Although he knew from the anime of his previous life that divine beasts could definitely reproduce, he didn't know how.

There weren't any doctoral research papers on this subject for him to see, since there wasn't much sample data, so he still doesn't understand it.

As an elderly member of the training community, the principal seems to have some expertise in the field.

"Mythical creatures are currently believed to be unable to reproduce, but they can reproduce."

The aurora quickly dissipated, and the park director reluctantly turned his gaze to Tetsuya.

“There are two ways.” He explained under Tetsuya’s somewhat puzzled gaze, “The first way is that a divine beast can expend a great deal of energy and effort to condense and combine energy to create a spirit egg, and the spirit inside is the divine beast’s infancy.”

Legendary Pokémon born under these circumstances need to go through a fairly long growth period, and their parents' strength will decline significantly over a long period of time, to the point that they may not be able to defeat some near-champion level Pokémon.

At this point, it needs the protection of its followers or the shelter of its tribe.

Of course, very few legendary Pokémon lay eggs, since their lifespan far exceeds that of ordinary Pokémon, so there's absolutely no need to worry about this.

Usually, only some bored mythical beasts would do this kind of thing in their prime.

Tetsuya nodded knowingly.

This must be the rule that the alpaca set for the mythical beasts in the elf world; otherwise, if the power of mythical beasts were commonplace, the whole world would be at risk of destruction.

It's no wonder that the number of mythical beasts is pitifully small compared to ordinary elves; the cost is too high.

“What about the second way?” he asked.

"The second one..." The headmaster looked up again and sighed, "is to use one's own life and strength to welcome the birth of the next generation."

"The so-called 'using one's own life and strength to welcome the next generation' means that a divine beast whose lifespan is about to reach its limit will give its all to give birth to a new divine beast offspring."

Such offspring of divine beasts will grow extremely fast, but the price is—the premature death of the previous divine beast.

Tetsuya felt he had spoken too soon, and the price was even greater—a life for a life.

However, from the perspective of balance and development, it doesn't seem like an unacceptable thing.

The park director looked at the snow-capped mountain: "The Ice God over there has lived for several thousand years, but just happened to migrate here alone a little over a thousand years ago."

Moreover, in recent decades, the environmental changes in the northern part of the Johto region have become increasingly peculiar, with blizzards occurring from time to time.

This sign indicates one thing: the Ice God is preparing to have her next generation born, and she has chosen the second method.

"Should we use powerful force to warn and deter those with improper thoughts, thereby protecting the next generation through a brief period of weakness?" Tetsuya quickly figured out the specific situation.

The director nodded: "Although it lives alone, its followers on Snow Mountain are quite powerful, so there's really no need to worry about its safety. It's just a parent's concern."

"The main problem is that the timing of its escape from the snow-capped mountains and the blizzards is also unpredictable. Maybe it has already turned into another Articuno by now."

Tetsuya offered another hypothesis.

"Perhaps."

The principal neither confirmed nor denied it.

Only this old guy, who had personally come into contact with Articuno and lived here for over 30 years, knew that the current Articuno was definitely the same one as before.

However, he wished everyone thought the same as Tetsuya, so that the next generation of Articuno would be completely safe.

The zoo director only hopes to see the Articuno again in his lifetime and express his gratitude to it in person for saving his life.

That time, he and Mud fainted.

Wow, snow!

The sky gradually turned white, and the sun slowly rose from below the horizon.

Surprised shouts came from the nearby accommodation area.

"Training in extreme weather is also a required course for ninjas. Let's tentatively set today's training task as a dance of ice and fire!"

The headmaster put his hands behind his back and quickly returned to his usual demeanor.

"Ariados!"

He called upon his spirit.

"shhhhhh"

The next moment, Zhe saw a black and red shadow swinging around the entire ninja academy like Spider-Man.

An enlarged version of a spider soon appeared in front of the zookeeper.

Tetsuya raised an eyebrow, revealing that he was only at the near-King level.

It's not that the prospective superstar isn't strong, but rather that he seems somewhat mismatched with this learned old man.

"Ariados is quite strong, you know," the headmaster said with a smile, having seen through Tetsuya's thoughts.

"In certain terrains, the way this Ariados just moved would indeed have a great advantage."

Tetsuya agreed with his statement.

However, in his view, flashy things are far less direct than powerful force.

Both being near-Elite Four level, even with the terrain advantage, Tetsuya was confident that Blaziken could easily take down the zookeeper's Ariados.