Chapter Twenty-Three: Ingredients Only Found on Snowy Days

"Leek?" Farfetch'd looked at Hiss with keen interest. Hiss's words had clearly piqued the bird's curiosity, while Zorua shot Hiss a look of pure disdain; she could tell at a glance that he was just making excuses.

Hiss, however, paid no mind to whether Zorua had seen through him. Once he had finished washing up and eaten breakfast, he ushered his Pokémon out and pushed open the door to his food truck.

"At this time of year, you can usually find plenty of... well... ice particles in the wild." Hiss had intended to say one could find many wild mushrooms, but as the door swung open, he was met with a vast, blinding expanse of white.

Hiss's jaw dropped. What was this? Didn't yesterday's weather forecast only predict cooling and snow for specific regions? Why did it look as if he had suddenly been transported to the frozen northeast in the dead of winter?

He reflexively slammed the door shut. In the brief moment it had been open, a bone-chilling cold had seeped in, making him shudder and realize he was woefully underdressed.

"I'm not going! It's too cold!" Zorua scrambled back into the room, only to be promptly hauled out by Hiss.

Charmander, meanwhile, followed at Hiss's side with a look of earnest determination. Through the translation of a reluctant Zorua, Hiss gathered that Charmander viewed the freezing weather as a test of spirit and willpower; it was intent on accompanying him.

Farfetch'd had already happily begun building a snowman in the snow, moving with such speed that Hiss hadn't even noticed when it had slipped outside.

After changing into thicker clothes, Zorua burrowed into Hiss's jacket, leaving only its small head poking out. Hiss sighed helplessly, but ultimately pushed the door open once more and stepped out of the food truck.

"This is quite a snowfall," Hiss remarked, rubbing his hands together. It rarely snowed in Viridian City; major cities rarely saw much snow to begin with, and Viridian was located further south.

This was truly Hiss's first time seeing such a heavy snowfall. Farfetch'd was already standing proudly beside a finished snowman, looking at Hiss with a smug expression.

Searching for ingredients in such weather was a challenge, but fortunately, Hiss carried an ingredient scanner. If used correctly, it should help him locate something edible.

Hiss led his Pokémon into the woods. The soft snow crunched firmly under his boots, the sound cutting through the quiet, beautiful forest. He could even see icicles hanging from the branches.

"Trainer, are you sure there are any ingredients in this kind of weather?" Zorua asked skeptically. Hiss scratched his head; he wasn't entirely sure himself.

The ground was blanketed in snow, burying the grass and leaving only the taller plants exposed. They all looked much the same, and since Hiss didn't recognize any of them, he found himself in a difficult spot.

"Ao~" Charmander suddenly let out a cry. Hiss turned to see the flame on Charmander's tail melting a patch of snow, only for a clump of snow from a tree branch to fall and land squarely on the little lizard's head.

Hiss walked over with a wry smile, rubbed Charmander's head, and asked if it wanted to return to its Poké Ball, as the weather was quite harsh for it.

Charmander shook its head, however, and continued to follow Hiss with high spirits.

"What's this?" Hiss asked, looking at Charmander before catching sight of something white behind it.

Curious, he reached out to brush away the snow, revealing a wild mushroom. It was shaped like a snowflake and was quite beautiful. Hiss was surprised; he had never seen such a mushroom before.

He took out his ingredient scanner. Even though it could only be used once a day, he wanted to know what this was.

Hiss paused, stunned. He truly hadn't expected to find such a unique mushroom. It seemed to be a specialty of the Pokémon world, as he had never seen anything like it in his previous life.

"Poisonous, but edible if cooked thoroughly?" Hiss's expression turned strange. It reminded him of a type of wild mushroom from his past.

The scientific name for that mushroom was *Boletus*, but he usually called it *Jianshouqing*. It was a delicious but toxic wild mushroom, named "See-Hand-Blue" because the flesh would turn blue when touched.

It was a favorite among the people of Yunnan Province, though every year there were cases of poisoning. While toxic, it was perfectly safe once cooked properly. However, if any were left over, they had to be stir-fried thoroughly again the next day; reheating in a microwave wouldn't work, and eating it improperly could lead to hallucinations—a very dangerous situation.

While people on the internet often claimed that mushroom poisoning just resulted in seeing "little people" or strange things, making many believe wild mushrooms were harmless, this was a classic case of survivorship bias.

Those who hadn't survived the poisoning didn't have the chance to share their stories.

It was much like how high-altitude or climbing equipment rarely received bad reviews; those who might have wanted to leave one were no longer around to do so.

Seeing this snow mushroom, Hiss thought of the *Jianshouqing*. The good news was that he had found a edible ingredient; the bad news was that he had never cooked this specific variety and would have to figure it out as he went.

"Zorua, tell everyone to look for these mushrooms. Bring them to me once you find them, and I'll study how to prepare them." As Hiss called out to Zorua, he noticed the Pokémon staring in the other direction with a look of surprise.

"What is it?" Hiss asked, puzzled. He followed Zorua's gaze and caught a glimpse of a large, white figure. The creature seemed to notice his gaze and vanished in an instant.

Hiss stood frozen, staring into the distance. What was that large white figure?

With that brief glance, and the forest being a wash of white, Hiss hadn't been able to make out exactly what it was, but it felt like a shy or cautious Pokémon.

"Could this be the white Pokémon mentioned in the legendary-tier clues?" Hiss wondered, a spark of excitement igniting within him.