Chen Shi's philosophy toward life had always been simple:
Life is short, so enjoy it while you can.
His previous life had already been miserable enough. Now that he had finally come to the Pokémon world in this life, why should he still force himself to live so exhaustingly?
Other people's expectations?
What the hell did that have to do with him?
While everyone was still silent, Chen Shi suddenly realized someone was missing.
"Right, where are Wallace and Winona?"
"He's the host here, isn't he? Why haven't I seen him at all?"
Steven immediately looked speechless.
"Old Chen, didn't we just talk about this?"
"A lot of the people who entered the hidden realm never made it back out."
"Wallace is one of them."
"What?!"
Chen Shi was startled.
"Wallace didn't make it out?"
Steven nodded lightly.
"Yeah. He's still missing."
"I heard the Sootopolis Gym Leader is already losing his mind from worry."
Chen Shi's mouth twitched.
Good lord.
Even Wallace got trapped?
That really was unexpected.
At that moment, Diantha suddenly looked toward him.
"Chen Shi, Professor Sycamore from Kalos would like to invite you over as a guest."
"He says he's made an important discovery."
"Professor Sycamore?"
Chen Shi thought briefly before nodding.
"Alright. When are we leaving?"
Diantha froze for a moment before revealing a pleasantly surprised expression.
"You agreed?"
"Well, obviously?"
Chen Shi shrugged with a smile.
"I've always admired Professor Sycamore."
"We actually agreed long ago to exchange ideas, but because of the hidden realm incident, things kept getting delayed."
"Now that everything's finally over, I can't exactly keep refusing, can I?"
"Perfect!"
Diantha immediately responded.
"If possible, how about tomorrow?"
Ever since returning to Sootopolis City, Professor Sycamore had already contacted her multiple times.
He specifically emphasized that Chen Shi absolutely had to visit Kalos as soon as possible.
Originally, Diantha hadn't held much hope.
After all, Hoenn had just experienced a catastrophe of this scale, and Chen Shi played a crucial role in the entire incident.
Naturally, she assumed he would have countless things to handle afterward.
Yet unexpectedly, the moment she brought it up, Chen Shi agreed immediately.
So naturally, the sooner the better.
"Tomorrow…"
Chen Shi rubbed his chin thoughtfully before nodding slightly.
"Alright then. Tomorrow it is."
"I'm coming too."
Cynthia crossed her arms, her tone leaving no room for discussion.
Originally, she had planned to return to Sinnoh.
But the instant she heard Chen Shi would be heading to Kalos with Diantha, she immediately changed her mind.
After all—
How could she possibly feel at ease letting Chen Shi travel alone with a beauty like Diantha?
Chen Shi scratched his head awkwardly but didn't refuse.
"Alright then. Let's go have some fun in Kalos."
At that moment, Steven suddenly leaned over.
"Old Chen, take me too!"
Chen Shi looked at him strangely.
"Don't you have tons of work to do?"
"How do you still have time to travel to Kalos with us?"
Hearing that, Steven immediately grinned.
"Well, the hidden realm trial was originally supposed to last an entire month."
"So I already handled a huge amount of work in advance."
"But because of Groudon and Kyogre, the trial ended early."
"Which means…"
"I'm free now."
The smile on Steven's face became impossible to hide.
Chen Shi found it rather amusing.
"Then shouldn't you go dig for rocks somewhere? Isn't that your favorite hobby?"
Steven waved his hands repeatedly.
"Digging rocks can't compare to following you around."
"You run into Legendary Pokémon every other day. That's way more exciting!"
Chen Shi: "..."
"Fine, fine. Come along if you want."
"As long as you're free."
"Besides, we happen to be missing someone to pay the bills."
Steven had still been smiling brightly after hearing the first half of the sentence—
But the moment he heard the second half, his face instantly darkened.
What the hell does that mean?
So I'm basically just an ATM now?!
...
After dinner ended, Chen Shi headed to the Pokémon Center.
First, he called his grandparents to let them know he was safe and to tell them about his upcoming trip to Kalos.
Yet unexpectedly, the moment he said a single sentence—
He was immediately scolded thoroughly by Grandpa Chen.
The rough meaning boiled down to:
Don't ever do something so dangerous again.
I'm old already. My heart can't handle this kind of shock.
Helpless, Chen Shi could only repeatedly promise him, even swearing several exaggerated oaths before Grandpa Chen finally calmed down.
Afterward, Chen Shi mentioned going to Kalos.
This time, Grandpa Chen didn't say much.
He simply reminded Chen Shi to stay careful while traveling outside.
After hanging up the call, Chen Shi finally let out a sigh of relief.
Looks like he really needed to avoid these sorts of things in the future.
At the very least, he couldn't let his grandparents find out again.
Otherwise, the two elderly people would continue worrying about him at their age.
Afterward, Chen Shi called Professor Oak.
He hadn't forgotten that Dragonite was still with him.
And since he was about to leave for Kalos, it was time to return it.
"Hello, this is Oak Laboratory. Who's calling?"
"Professor, it's me!"
The moment he heard Professor Oak's voice, Chen Shi smiled.
"So it's you, you little brat."
"How was it? Showing off in front of the whole world felt pretty good, didn't it?"
Professor Oak's tone sounded rather annoyed.
Although he understood Chen Shi's personality well, when he saw him rush out on television earlier, Professor Oak had genuinely been worried.
Chen Shi laughed awkwardly.
"It was alright. Just average, I guess."
"Oh?"
"So 'average' means you're planning to do something even bigger next time?"
"No, Professor! How could you think that?"
"You know me. I'm extremely timid. Whenever danger appears, I always hide at the very back."
"Hmph."
"If you're timid, then there's probably nobody brave left in this world."
Professor Oak snorted before laughing while scolding him.
Chen Shi silently suffered inwardly.
Why was Professor Oak refusing to let this matter go?
"Professor, let's not talk about that anymore."
"I'm about to transfer Dragonite back to you. Please receive it."
"Mm. Got it. Send it over."
"Alright!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Shi used the Pokémon Center transfer machine to send Dragonite back directly.
"Professor, it's sent. Check it."
"Mm. I received it already."
Professor Oak picked up the Poké Ball from the transfer machine before suddenly asking:
"What exactly happened over there?"
"Why do I get the feeling you already expected Groudon and Kyogre to awaken?"
Chen Shi grinned.
"Haha, nothing really escapes you, Professor."
"You little brat, stop flattering me."
"Before entering the hidden realm, you borrowed my Dragonite."
"And after Groudon and Kyogre awakened, you immediately summoned Rayquaza."
"I'm not stupid."
"Obviously, that means you already knew something beforehand."
Chen Shi smiled before deciding not to hide anything.
Starting from Mt. Pyre, then the Draconid people, then the theft of the Orbs from Mt. Pyre—
He explained everything one by one.
Then he described discovering Groudon's signature move inside the hidden realm.
Afterward, he explained how he found Rayquaza.
He hid absolutely nothing and told Professor Oak everything honestly.
Finally, Chen Shi suddenly remembered something.
Then he proudly said:
"Oh right, Professor, there's something you definitely wouldn't expect."
"Rayquaza actually has a species group."
"And right now, its child is traveling together with me."
"It's even a black Shiny Rayquaza!"
Read 50 chapters ahead on P@treon → [email protected]/lucarioTL (replace @ with a)