At exactly six in the morning, Red woke up on time. He had originally planned to release all his Pokémon for the daily training session, but this time he frowned, because snow had already piled up outside his tent. If not for his extraordinary physique, he might have frozen stiff long ago.
"Which bastard is acting so recklessly!" Red complained, then tossed out Charmeleon's Poké Ball. As soon as Charmeleon appeared, the heat radiating from its body gradually melted the accumulated snow.
To prove its strength to Red, Charmeleon simply used Fire Spin, melting all the snow within more than ten meters around them. It crossed its arms smugly and waited for praise, only to be met with Red knocking lightly on its head in reproach.
"Don't use your flames so casually. Even though the weather is strange right now, don't forget we're in a forest. You don't want Officer Jenny to arrest you, do you?" Red joked. But Charmeleon seemed to take it seriously and nodded repeatedly, determined to remember it. It didn't want to be separated from its trainer.
Snowflakes drifted down from the sky from time to time. Just before they touched Red, they were automatically blocked by the psychic power emanating from him, vaguely forming an invisible protective barrier around his body.
After a quick wash and breakfast, Red packed the tent into his backpack and set off with Charmeleon to search for the source of this incident.
Although the snow-covered forest had become a beautiful sight, the current environment was not favorable for travelers. If someone were to suffer frostbite, it would be difficult to find treatment, as there was neither a Pokémon Center nor a hospital in this remote mountain forest.
Before long, Red and Charmeleon unexpectedly came across five teenagers—and a snowman who seemed to be suffering?
The five youths wore luxurious aristocratic uniforms. To keep warm, they had pasted their bodies full of so-called "cold-resistant artifacts." Strangely enough, they would rather plaster themselves in flashy heat patches than give up their noble-looking school uniforms for comfortable coats, which Red found utterly ridiculous.
At the moment, the five noble youths were interrogating the boy who had been turned into a snowman, seemingly making up for his Pokémon theory knowledge.
"What Pokémon is this?" one red-haired boy asked while holding up a photo. Because of the falling snow, only the wings of the Pokémon could be vaguely seen.
"Is it Pidgey?" the snowman boy replied.
"Even in this icy weather, the difference between these two bird Pokémon is very obvious!" the green-haired boy criticized.
"Then it's Spearow!" the snowman boy answered.
"Correct. But of course you'd know that. What we're asking now is what moves Spearow excels at!" the green-haired boy continued.
"Spearow excels at Peck. It learns Growl at level 3, Leer at level 8, Focus Energy at level 11, and Fury Attack at level 16!" the snowman boy answered smoothly, clearly well-versed in this knowledge.
"That's still basic knowledge. What I'm asking is: at what level does Spearow evolve, what is its evolved name, and what is its Ability!" the red-haired boy pressed, clearly not intending to let him off.
This question seemed to stump the snowman boy. He showed no sign of speaking, silently letting the snow pile up on him while trembling in the cold wind.
"Joe, can someone like you even be considered a student of Pokémon Tech? I hope you can answer this question during tomorrow's heavy rain field training class!"
The five boys were dissatisfied with Joe's performance. After leaving those words behind, they prepared to leave.
"Spearow evolves into Fearow at level 20. Its standard Ability is Keen Eye, and its Hidden Ability is Sniper."
Red stepped out from the wind and snow. Annoyed by his sudden appearance, the five youths locked hostile gazes onto him. Then they looked in surprise at Charmeleon beside him, astonished by how well-developed its body was.
"Hey! How much are you selling that Charmeleon for? Name your price in League currency!" the red-haired boy said, completely ignoring the increasingly cold look in Red's eyes.
Before anyone could react, Charmeleon immediately used Flamethrower, forcing the red-haired boy back. Charmeleon's anger was not only because of the boy's disrespect toward Red, but also because he dared to speak of buying and selling it. Those words had touched its reverse scale.
If Red hadn't wanted to cause unnecessary trouble, the red-haired boy might have ended up hospitalized for three months. When Red used his psychic power to control the flames, he still deliberately let some fire ignite the boy's clothes, forcing him to strip them off before he narrowly escaped disaster.
"You just wait! Offending trainers from Pokémon Tech won't end well for you!"
The red-haired boy left behind a harsh threat and fled with his four companions, leaving only Joe struggling where he stood. Because he had been made into a snowman, he couldn't run away with them and was forced to stay behind, awaiting Red's judgment.
"Relax. I'm not some villain," Red said calmly, instructing Charmeleon to use the flame on its tail to melt the snow around Joe. But because of Charmeleon's earlier violent display, Joe fainted and rolled his eyes the moment he saw it approach.
'That's not my fault!' Charmeleon pointed at Joe and cried out. Its innocent expression made Red chuckle. Red then used his psychic power to gather nearby snow, melt it into water, and splash it onto Joe's face. Drenched with cold water, Joe quickly woke up. After learning that Red had no intention of harming him, he finally let out a sigh of relief.
Recalling the original anime's plot, Red realized he had stepped into the territory of Pokémon Tech. This school focused mainly on Pokémon theory and often arranged field practice classes in wild environments to train students—hence the current snowbound scene.
The school was also known as the Pokémon Noble Academy. Its name clearly indicated that it belonged to wealthy families, though some unwilling ordinary families also enrolled, resulting in an obvious class hierarchy within the school.
"I didn't expect your school to still be open. I really don't know what you're wasting all that money on," Red mocked. During his time serving as Professor Oak's assistant, he had received an invitation from this school for an exchange program.
In reality, they simply wanted to associate themselves with Professor Oak to further promote Pokémon Tech's reputation. Combined with Red's own fame in the research field, they had proposed the exchange student plan—only to be flatly rejected by Red.
What a joke. Even though the school promised him free tuition, Red had no intention of wasting his time on largely useless theoretical knowledge.
In recent years, the standard of the Indigo Plateau Conference had continued to decline. Part of the reason was that this Pokémon Tech paid large sums to the League, allowing its graduates to participate directly in the Indigo Plateau Conference without even challenging for Gym Badges, indirectly causing disappointment toward the tournament.
"You actually knew the answer to that question just now, didn't you?" Red's words made Joe pause slightly, because he indeed had known it.
"What they just did is called the 'Whip of Love.' Thanks to them, I learned that Spearow's evolution is called Fearow. After evolving, Fearow can also learn high-damage moves like Drill Run, Pursuit, and Beat Up!"
Joe answered without hesitation, completely different from his earlier confused appearance. It seemed he had been deliberately hiding his knowledge.
"Were you afraid that if you answered correctly, they'd make things harder for you?" Red guessed.
"That's right. Giving conservative answers like that satisfies them without risking being expelled. My parents work desperately hard and barely managed to pull strings to get me into this school. I don't want to disappoint them!" Joe replied honestly.
"The snowfield practice session is now over! Tomorrow's practice will be conducted in the rain!"
An announcement rang out. The snow on the ground quickly melted, and the true appearance of Pokémon Tech came into Red's view.
"Sigh! They're going to mess with me again until I'm soaked like a drowned rat!" Joe said helplessly, yet there was not a trace of resentment in his voice. It seemed he was already used to it.
Recalling Charmeleon, Red followed Joe into Pokémon Tech. To demonstrate how arduous their studies were, Joe pointed to a senior studying hard beneath a tree. He was a junior student who had repeated grades for many years. Afraid of failing to meet the expectations of his parents by failing to graduate, he remained at school obsessively studying theory. Unfortunately, he had already become deranged, and no one even bothered to give him the so-called 'Whip of Love.'
"How foolish. With that kind of determination, he'd probably grow stronger by traveling. Staying here will only make him deteriorate. That guy is beyond saving," Red sneered, showing no sympathy. Someone without a clear goal as a Pokémon trainer would probably travel while clutching books and asking endless questions.
Joe wanted to retort, but remembering Charmeleon's overwhelming strength, he wisely kept quiet. Still, in order to highlight Pokémon Tech's strength, Joe emphasized that he already possessed the strength of two League Badges. Upon hearing this, Red laughed mercilessly, ignoring Joe's flushed, embarrassed face.
"If you're a trainer with three League Badges, you can challenge our top junior student—Giselle. Miss Seiyo is a trainer with strength above three League Badges. You might not be able to beat her!"
After speaking, Joe took out a signed photo of Giselle and held it lovingly in his hands, as if it were an invaluable treasure.
"Heh—by your logic, this 'Whip of Love' is allowed by Giselle. Don't you resent her at all?"
After hearing Joe's words, Red almost burst out laughing. Today was the most he had laughed in a long time—he simply couldn't hold it in.
"It doesn't matter! Even if she bullies people, it's fine. As long as she's cute and pretty, that's enough!" Joe said earnestly, completely unaware that Red had already labeled him a 'simp.'
To be fair, Giselle was indeed beautiful. Even just the photo was enough to capture the hearts of her peers. Unfortunately, Red couldn't care less.