Before coming to the ice fields, Professor Oak had told him that the research subject here seemed to be something brought by a meteorite from outer space.
Speaking of which, although Pokémon technology was extremely advanced, it was still very difficult to explore outer space, and much of their understanding of the universe came from meteorites that had fallen from it.
A great deal of valuable data could be obtained by analyzing meteorites. Not long ago, the fall of a meteorite had been detected here, and if it were just an ordinary one, they wouldn't have gone to such great lengths to come all this way.
As for what had actually fallen, presumably the only one present who knew was Chen Ming.
It was the crystal of Deoxys, a Pokémon that originated from a mutated space virus.
The crystal-like object was the brain of Deoxys, which turned into a crystal form after exhausting its power, and could be resurrected once its energy was fully replenished.
Although it came from a mutated virus, they disliked fighting and were very loyal to their partners, only launching attacks when absolutely necessary.
After reading through his notes, he paused slightly, wondering whether he should disrupt the plot or keep it as it was.
Besides, Deoxys seemed to be a master of using psychokinesis; since it could fight a large "Caterpie" to a standstill, he figured he could learn a thing or two from it.
For instance, using psychokinesis to manipulate electromagnetic waves or the like—if he could master that, it might come in handy when necessary.
"Hey—A-Ming, time to get up! While there's no blizzard outside right now, let's go check out the Pokémon."
It seemed Toi had been waiting for a long time before knocking on the door, coming over bright and early to wake Chen Ming up.
Quite surprising that he would wake up earlier than me; I had just gotten up and spent a little while thinking.
"Alright, give me a second, I'll be right out."
"Then I'll wait for you at the dining table."
Toi ran off happily.
Judging by this situation, the survey progress of Professor Runda must be nearly complete, otherwise he wouldn't have invited people over.
Toi was a good kid; there was no need to let him suffer an emotional shadow that would last four years. Pokémon were wonderful, and missing out on them would truly be a pity.
He decided to give the boy a hand when the time came. After all, the crystal would eventually be taken away by the professor anyway, so that plotline wouldn't be derailed no matter what.
He straightened his clothes and put on a thick cotton-padded jacket, looking like a giant rice dumpling.
Professor Runda put down the report in his hands and said warmly, "Yo, A-Ming, come have some breakfast. Let Toi take you out for a stroll later."
Chen Ming nodded to show he understood.
Meanwhile, Toi stood to the side, pointing both thumbs at himself as if to say, "Leave it to me, you can count on it."
Exiting the base, Toi walked ahead of Chen Ming, excitedly pointing out and introducing the Pokémon that appeared.
Chen Ming took out the camera Professor Oak had prepared for him and snapped pictures of them, which would be just right for Professor Oak's research.
The photos included Spheal, Sealeo, and Walrein. There were huge numbers of them, including quite a few in their final evolved forms—it seemed the environment of the ice field suited them very well.
Besides those, there were also Snorunt, Glalie, and even a single, extremely rare wild Froslass. This was a major discovery; with Froslass appearing, the likelihood of Dawn Stones being around here was very high.
Though whether there were any was none of his business.
It was very fortunate to capture pictures of them. Even Toi remarked that he hadn't seen them despite being here for so long, yet A-Ming spotted them the moment he arrived—perhaps his affinity with Pokémon was exceptionally good.
The weather today was wonderful, with the sun shining warmly, so Toi took it upon himself to lead Chen Ming further away.
Toi pointed excitedly at three huge Pokémon passing by: "Whoa, look, look! It's Mamoswine! A-Ming, look over there."
They were as huge as elephants.
With that mental exclamation, Chen Ming quickly raised his camera, found the right angle, and took a picture of them.
Mamoswine were very friendly Pokémon; when the two of them walked over and stroked their fur, the creatures let out comfortable grunts.
Even without activating telepathy, Chen Ming could feel the wave of happy emotion coming from them.
With his eyes half-closed, he felt an inexplicable sense of emotion in his heart. Pokémon truly were miraculous creatures, and he was so glad he had chosen to come.
Seeing how docile the Mamoswine were, Toi boldly climbed onto one's back and proceeded to smooth down its fur.
The Mamoswine curved its eyes in comfort and looked very happy.
"A-Ming, I'll pull you up. The scenery from here is so beautiful."
Toi reached out a hand to grab Chen Ming's, wanting to help him climb onto the Mamoswine's back.
Yielding to the boy's kind gesture, Chen Ming sat down on the Mamoswine's back as well.
At a different height, the scenery really did look different.
From a low perspective, it was a landscape of snow-capped mountains, a blanket of soft white that was purely exhilarating; but with an expanded field of view, looking down at the white snow on the ground while the distant snowy peaks seemed to be at the same height as himself—it was another kind of beauty entirely.
After the boy who had been grooming it climbed up, the Mamoswine continued on its way.
Its companions had already reached a hot spring not far away to drink water, and the Mamoswine they were riding was naturally heading for the same destination.
Chen Ming was also quite curious about the snowy hot spring; such breathtaking scenery crafted by nature was truly a rare sight.
Dismounting from the Mamoswine, Chen Ming and Toi naturally approached the hot spring.
Chen Ming took off his gloves and submerged his hands in the hot water.
He couldn't help but exclaim, "Whew—so warm."
"Yeah."
Toi agreed repeatedly, and watching the Pokémon coming over to drink, he was struck by a whimsical idea to taste what the hot spring water was like.
Cupping the clear, hot water in both hands, he gulped it down in one go.
"Ah-ow, so sweet! A-Ming, you should try it too."
After drinking, Toi was all smiles, grinning even more broadly than when they had arrived.
Half-doubting, Chen Ming cupped a tiny bit of water and drank it. It really didn't taste bad; it went down smoothly, and upon closer aftertaste, it did have a hint of sweetness.
If you took a big gulp, the sweet flavor became very rich. The world of Pokémon was truly not bad, though this belonged to the category of underground hot spring water—was the water inside even safe to drink? Different worlds really had so many differences.
Having played until they were tired, the two decided to stop and rest right where they were.
Many Pokémon came to this hot spring to drink; ordinary Spheal visited frequently, and from time to time, Cloyster would float up and leave—he had no idea how they withstood the temperature of the hot spring.
Snapping a photo of a Cloyster emerging at the hot spring, Chen Ming felt quite satisfied.
Seeing the camera, Toi felt a bit tempted: "A-Ming, can I see the pictures you took?"
"Of course. Here, take it."
He handed the camera over.
As Toi flipped through the photos one by one, his expressions of amazement never stopped.
Praise like "A-Ming, these photos you took are way too gorgeous!" spilled out one sentence after another.
Chen Ming smiled slightly and took out his sketchbook from the gap in his cotton-padded jacket. Having thought ahead and considered the possibility that the camera might fail to capture certain things, he had long prepared by hiding the sketchbook and pencils inside his jacket.
Well, the circumstances might be different, but as long as the prepared measures brought good results, that was all that mattered.
Pokémon would be coming to this hot spring one after another; which one should he draw?
The Mamoswine taking a nap, or the Cloyster?
He glanced left and right, then suddenly noticed five Weavile appearing.
Weavile generally moved in groups, which research said was for better hunting.
Chen Ming was a bit surprised. Come to think of it, in the anime, Weavile were more often used by villains.
He shook his head slightly—that train of thought was wrong. There were no bad Pokémon; there were only bad people who used them. Once a Pokémon decided to follow a partner, they would stand together no matter what.
Therefore, Pokémon were the most reliable companions; after all, people like Ash were always in the minority.
Chen Ming gently nudged Toi, signaling him to look at the newly appeared Weavile: "Toi, I'll leave taking pictures of the Weavile to you."
Toi's eyes lit up: "Leave it to me! I guarantee I'll take gorgeous photos of them."
The result was beyond Chen Ming's expectations: the boy actually crept over secretly to take the pictures.
Chen Ming slapped a hand to his forehead. Weavile had a very strong sense of territoriality; with no other choice, he had to mobilize his psychokinesis, multitasking to draw while keeping a close eye on Toi, ready to drag him away and run if things went south.
Fortunately, thanks to Professor Runda's teachings, his knowledge of Pokémon was completely up to par, and he had chosen the optimal distance for photography without disturbing them.
Though it looked safe, he couldn't let down his guard; dangers in the wild always came unexpectedly.
His hand moved quickly as he drew, aided by his psychokinesis, which allowed him to observe details with even greater precision.
In sketch drawing, speed and quality depended on the amount of practice, and fortunately Chen Ming was not lacking in that department. By the time Toi finished taking his photos, Chen Ming had finished his drawing.
Returning to Chen Ming's side, Toi continued looking through the remaining photos, finishing them shortly after.
Handing the camera back, Toi wanted to look at A-Ming's sketchbook as well, but asking too directly made him feel a bit shy.
Sensing the boy's embarrassment, Chen Ming naturally handed him the sketchbook.
"Come admire my sketch and see if it's well-drawn."
Chen Ming took the camera and traded the sketchbook for it.
Toi smiled happily, gave an affectionate hum as he accepted the sketchbook, and then opened it.
On the first page of the sketchbook, the drawings were very rough and not particularly pretty, though still better than what he himself could draw. Every page after that showed tremendous progress.
The progress within was inseparable from Chen Ming's serious work ethic. Whenever Chen Ming wanted to accomplish something, he could always finish it with single-minded focus—perhaps this was simply his talent.
The beginning pages all featured Pokémon from around Pallet Town, ranging from initial forms to final evolved forms, basically covering them all. More importantly, beneath every drawing, Chen Ming had written down the traits and habits of the Pokémon.
Toi couldn't help feeling a sense of admiration for A-Ming. These things looked simple, but doing them required an accumulation of time and effort.
Chen Ming patiently waited for him to finish looking. No new Pokémon had appeared here, so there wasn't much need for further photography.
Once Toi finished reading, he returned the sketchbook to Chen Ming, who took the opportunity to say, "Let's head back."
Honestly, it was getting rather far from the base, and if they didn't return soon, both of them would get scolded.
"Yeah, let's head back then." Toi nodded, knowing the gravity of the situation. "A-Ming, do you know all about the Pokémon from the Kanto region? Can you tell me about them?"
Chen Ming pondered for a moment before replying, "Not all of them, at most I know the Pokémon around Pallet Town and some that Professor Oak has talked about. Would you like to hear?"
Toi nodded eagerly in agreement.
It was a pity that nature refused to cooperate. The warm, cloudless sky was suddenly swallowed by dark clouds, and the wind that picked up was fierce and stinging.
The two of them realized the situation instantly and, without lingering, started running back in the direction of the base. Regrettably, it was already too late.