ECOLOGY ■Deft Lightning Manipulation The reason Kirin is classified as an Elder Dragon is because of the impact it has on its environment. They say that Kirin brings dark clouds with it, changing sunny skies into thundering gloom in a matter of moments and raining bolts of lightning at will. This ability to cause such phenomena is what earned the Kirin its Elder Dragon title, placing it among a group of peers often called "natural disasters."