"Is it snowing? Venusaur?"
Tiger Bridge Town.
Yemo, who was feeding his Venusaur energy cubes, paused as snowflakes drifted onto his neck.
In front of him stood a quadrupedal Pokémon, its build sturdy, eyes sharp and intelligent, with a large flower and leaves decorating its back.
This was his Pokémon, Venusaur.
"Flora…"
A single snowflake landed on Venusaur, making it shiver slightly in discomfort.
It sensed that something was off about this snow, though it couldn't pinpoint exactly what.
It was as if an Ice-type Pokémon had deliberately altered the weather.
Venusaur shared its concern with Yemo.
"The weather's… changing? How is that possible? Look at these snowflakes—they've already reached Wutong City. It would take a Champion-level Pokémon to trigger a weather phenomenon of this scale."
Yemo shook his head, dismissing the idea.
The Champion in Xiang Province, not far from the sea, was unlikely to be here, especially with an Ice-type Pokémon.
He preferred to believe that it was the legendary Articuno appearing.
Yet even that possibility felt distant.
After all, the Eastern Hua League's top Champion primarily relied on Moltres. Seeing Articuno here would be unusual.
Even stranger, the weather forecast clearly predicted sunshine…
So why was it snowing all of a sudden?
Unable to make sense of it, Yemo turned his thoughts elsewhere. Gazing at the endless snow, one thought struck him.
"Speaking of which… it's snowing outside. I wonder how that kid is taking care of Miltank. Should I go check?"
Was this the child's first time raising a Miltank?
It was winter, after all. Could there be something the child might overlook?
Yemo felt a twinge of worry.
"Let's go see."
Without hesitation, he rose and headed toward the barn. With snow already falling, he needed to prepare food to help Miltank survive the winter.
Otherwise, when winter came and the grass stopped growing, it would be troublesome if he hadn't stocked enough food.
The first snowfall in Wutong City quickly drew the attention of the local Pokémon League branch.
In the Pokémon world, especially unusual weather either indicates a detection error or the presence of a Pokémon battle.
Detection errors were rare, so abnormal weather prompted an immediate investigation.
When the source of the anomaly was traced to Wutong Town, senior League officials fell silent.
"Why Wutong Town again? This snow… is there a legendary Pokémon there?"
"This energy fluctuation feels like a Champion-level Ice-type Pokémon has activated a blizzard warning…"
"Could the Ice Elite Four be here? But she's supposed to be vacationing in the Kanto region."
"…Wutong Town… the last incident started here too."
Again?
Champion Feng Yang had visited Wutong Town multiple times.
Just as they were preparing to report the matter, Pokémon League Headquarters sent a notification in advance.
The gist: no need to worry; the snow would stop soon.
This eased the agents, though they still issued warnings to local citizens.
Meanwhile, in the nursery.
Seeing the sweat emoji sent by Champion Feng Yang on his phone, Lin Feng exhaled in relief.
He had just explained the events in the nursery to Feng Yang, framing the weather as caused by Mew trying to manipulate it.
In a way, Mew was slightly wronged.
But to claim that an Alolan Vulpix could generate such a vast weather change—even Feng Yang might not believe it.
Finally, Feng Yang asked, "When will the snow stop?"
Lin Feng answered immediately: "In five minutes, it must stop within five minutes!"
After that, Feng Yang simply replied, "Okay," and sent no further messages.
Luckily, Lin Feng had retained the Champion's contact info; otherwise, Feng Yang might have visited every two or three days.
╰(‵□′)╯: "No way! I'm amazing!"
On the table, Alolan Vulpix stared at the sky, astonished that it could summon such wide-reaching weather.
From Lin Feng's perspective, Alolan Vulpix's energy levels had also risen dramatically.
Pokémon: Alolan Vulpix
Gender: Female
Ability: Snow Warning (+)
Potential: Gold Medal
Individual Value: …
Level: 52–54
Moves: Hypnosis, Moonlight, Tail Whip, Icy Wind, Ice Shard, Icy Wind, Haze…
Friendship: 100 (it sees you as its anchor)
Happiness: 80 (I feel strong—I can beat Rayquaza)
Its energy levels had jumped roughly ten levels!
And it remained in its Alolan Vulpix form.
Lin Feng drew a deep breath. No wonder Alolan Vulpix suddenly felt strong enough to consider defeating Rayquaza.
Yet the most terrifying aspect was the effect of this climate controller.
It could issue such a large-scale blizzard warning.
In the future, whenever Alolan Vulpix activates its Snow Warning, the area becomes its territory.
This corresponded with the lore of the three legendary birds of the Asian islands, which maintained climate balance.
However…
Rayquaza's ability, Air Lock, negates all weather effects.
So if Alolan Vulpix wanted to challenge Rayquaza, it still had a long way to go.
Seeing Alolan Vulpix revel in its newfound strength, Lin Feng scooped it up. "Alright, alright, let's stop the snow for now. Don't cause trouble for everyone."
Combee had retreated into its hive, sensing winter's approach.
Alolan Vulpix focused, moving its energy deliberately.
The clouds above began to shrink toward the plantation, and the snow gradually melted. The sky cleared, leaving only traces of snow as proof of the earlier storm.
Other Pokémon in the garden followed suit.
"Buyi…"
The Eevee gathered with Alolan Vulpix stared in disbelief at their "commander."
Torchic was equally stunned.
What had Alolan Vulpix eaten to become this powerful?
Everyone surrounded it, eyes wide with awe and admiration.
Alolan Vulpix's six tails swayed excitedly, its smile unwavering.
Thankfully, Lin Feng redirected everyone's attention: "Time to eat."
After more than two hours in the kitchen, Lin Feng had prepared more than just the earlier dishes.
For the special Pokémon: honey-glazed pork, omelets, cream puffs, small cookies, and seasonal vegetables.
With Shana's help, he had also ground down Moltres feathers for a "barbecue dipping sauce" for Torchic.
As for Zapdos feathers… he had no Electric-type Pokémon yet, so they were stored.
The incomplete silver wing of Lugia, the ocean currents' guardian, contained Flying-type energy. Holding it, one could feel lightness and a rush of air.
And in his plantation… many Pokémon awaited: Pidgeot and Pidgeotto, twenty in total, plus Dragonite.
He planned to wait until all Pidgey evolved before cooking; early absorption of Lugia's energy might be too taxing for the Pidgey.
Soon enough, most Pidgey were at their evolution threshold, likely to evolve within the week.
In the garden, Alolan Vulpix, having eaten its fish, now nibbled on fresh cabbage, surrounded by Eevee.
Goodra curled beside Torchic, timid in the cold.
Sensing this, Torchic ignited its inner fire, melting the surrounding snow.
Goodra's eyes widened, and it softly murmured, "Goo goo…" (Thank you…)
Dragonite, being a hardy Dragon-type, was unaffected by the cold, standing behind Stini for support.
Milotic led Brionne from the water channels into the new plantation.
Serperior's body bore traces of snow, its face showing a hint of chill.
Snow wasn't good for its vegetable crops, though the layer was thin.
It nudged Alolan Vulpix with its vines. "Show us!"
Alolan Vulpix didn't understand at first, but seeing the snow-covered plants, it realized why Serperior needed it.
Yet it could only use Snow Warning—it couldn't melt the snow.
Panic set in.
Then Eldegoss, carrying Alcremie, arrived from the nursery.
"Ah…" it said seriously to Lin Feng, "The snow has covered the plantation, and it's still falling outside."
"No…no…"
Alolan Vulpix rushed to Lin Feng, distressed.
"I didn't mean to… I didn't know it would be like this…"
Its mind raced. The snow could destroy the crops; the nursery wouldn't have produce.
Torchic had mentioned the trainer spent a lot daily feeding them. Without money, there'd be no food.
The discarded Torchic came to mind—its previous trainer had been unable to care for it.
Lin Feng wouldn't give up, right?
"Good girl, it's okay…"
Lin Feng hugged the anxious Vulpix. "It's fine. We'll ask Mew for help with its Sunny Day ability."
The untimely Snow Warning might harm some vegetables, but it was late autumn; most crops were cold-tolerant: daikon, cabbage, carrots, lettuce…
A thin snow layer for ten minutes wouldn't kill them.
Still, the plantation was large, so snow would need clearing.
To avoid causing trouble elsewhere, Lin Feng sensed the location of Mew.
Several Pokémon had not hidden deliberately, so he quickly located them.
Mew flew low, pushing a snowball larger than itself.
The snowball's rolling creaked against the ground, irregular in shape.
Perhaps the other Pokémon—Jirachi and Victini—were adding smaller snowballs on top, shaping it beautifully.
"Ji-ra…" (Such a huge snowball!) Jirachi exclaimed, excited.
It had never seen snow before—cold and transforming to water in its hands.
The three Pokémon played happily, while Meowth sensed Lin Feng's aura. Its reluctant expression melted as it realized the meaning of his guidance.
Chaos quickly swept the area, forming a temporary psychic field, isolating the temperature from the outside.
Mew dropped a Sunny Day scroll, then continued pushing the snowball.
Lin Feng retracted his aura, feeling the temperature rise. He hugged Alolan Vulpix.
"Good girl… it's okay…"
Alolan Vulpix nuzzled him, reassured by its trainer's warmth, thinking:
How could a trainer not want their Pokémon?
My trainer's arms are so warm.
My trainer is the best in the world!
If one day he really didn't want me… I wouldn't even know how to live…