"Well... Shi, didn't I take excellent care of Rayquaza?"
Professor Oak said cheerfully.
At first, he had faithfully followed Chen Shi's instructions and treated little Rayquaza with the best food and care possible.
But later, Professor Oak discovered that Rayquaza's appetite was absolutely terrifying.
The more it ate, the faster its level rose.
Naturally, he became curious.
Just how much could Rayquaza eat?
And how strong could it become?
So he kept feeding it.
And feeding it.
And feeding it.
Little Rayquaza accepted everything without complaint and eventually emptied Professor Oak's entire storage warehouse.
After that, it seemed to enter a digestion period.
Its level stopped increasing.
Its weight, however, did not.
And thus, it became what it was today.
Thinking back on it now, even Professor Oak struggled to hold back his laughter.
Chen Shi's face darkened.
He chose not to pursue the matter any further and instead explained the purpose of this visit.
"Teacher, Steven, Cynthia, and I plan to stay here for a while."
"I'd like your Dragonite, Kangaskhan, and Charizard to help train our Pokémon."
"No problem at all!"
Professor Oak's eyes lit up instantly.
"You can stay as long as you like!"
Then his gaze immediately locked onto the Jirachi in Chen Shi's arms.
Jirachi noticed Professor Oak staring directly at it and immediately shrank deeper into Chen Shi's embrace.
Without hesitation, Chen Shi used his jacket to cover Jirachi.
He had no intention of letting Jirachi end up looking like a chubby little ball.
Professor Oak looked slightly embarrassed.
Then his attention shifted toward the Mew sitting on Chen Shi's shoulder.
That Mew was anything but ordinary.
Videos from Lilycove City had spread across the internet.
In those recordings, this so-called Eevee had transformed into a Glaceon and frozen an entire sea with a single thought.
Even Dragonite couldn't accomplish something like that.
There was absolutely no way it was a normal Eevee.
Mew glared fiercely at Professor Oak.
It knew perfectly well that little Rayquaza had become a giant caterpillar because of this old man.
Chen Shi rubbed his forehead helplessly.
"Teacher, can we just eat?"
"Ahem."
"Yes, yes."
"Let's eat."
Professor Oak coughed awkwardly and quickly changed the subject.
And so the group finally began their meal.
After devouring food like a whirlwind, Gary soon leaned back in his chair while clutching his stomach.
"So full..."
Then he stood up.
"I'm done."
"You guys enjoy."
After saying that, he headed upstairs.
Watching him leave, Professor Oak muttered,
"That kid..."
Chen Shi set down his chopsticks and smiled.
"Teacher, leave Gary aside for now."
"Do you know what I encountered on my way here?"
"What did you encounter?"
Professor Oak asked while stuffing another bite of food into his mouth.
Chen Shi smiled mysteriously and slowly spoke three words.
"Celebi."
Professor Oak froze.
The movement of his chopsticks stopped.
A moment later, he slowly set them down.
A complicated look appeared in his eyes.
"Celebi..."
How could Professor Oak not be familiar with Celebi?
Many years ago, when he was still young, Celebi had once taken him on a wonderful journey through time.
Back then, he had even met a future version of Ash.
In the blink of an eye, decades had passed.
Professor Oak hadn't seen Celebi in a very long time.
He never expected his student to encounter it now.
With a smile, he asked,
"Then you were very fortunate."
"Celebi is the guardian spirit of Viridian Forest."
"Very few people ever get to see it."
"That's true."
Chen Shi nodded with a smile and glanced at Cynthia.
Cynthia immediately lowered her head and continued eating, her cheeks turning slightly red.
At that moment, Steven suddenly spoke.
"Professor Oak, what you don't know is that we didn't just meet Celebi."
"We also met Chen Shi and Cynthia's future daughter."
"Oh?"
Professor Oak blinked before bursting into laughter.
"Then shouldn't I congratulate them?"
"You absolutely should."
Steven nodded seriously.
"How about preparing a red envelope for them?"
"Hahahahahaha!"
Professor Oak laughed even harder.
After that, Chen Shi and the others officially settled down at Professor Oak's Laboratory.
Every day, they brought their Pokémon to train under Dragonite, Kangaskhan, and Charizard.
Because the laboratory housed many Pokémon entrusted by trainers, they also frequently battled against various Pokémon during their training.
Meanwhile, little Rayquaza's weight-loss journey progressed surprisingly well.
As it gradually digested the mountain of energy it had consumed, it quickly returned to its original sleek appearance within a few days.
Diancie also joined the training team.
Although she still couldn't create a true Sacred Diamond, her strength improved rapidly.
As for Professor Oak, he was having the time of his life.
He relentlessly pestered Chen Shi until he was allowed to record data on Jirachi, Victini, and Diancie.
Before anyone realized it, an entire month had passed.
Because of the Secret Realm Core Fragment, Dragapult was only one step away from reaching the Champion tier.
Once it completely absorbed the remaining fragment, breaking through would be inevitable.
Swampert's gains were equally impressive.
Chen Shi had given it the fragment of Groudon's armor that Mew had found.
As a result, Swampert reached Level 67 and gained a much deeper understanding of Ground-type energy.
Florges steadily improved as well.
Every day, she carried Xerneas's antler fragment and quietly contemplated its power.
Her level had already surpassed Swampert's.
She, too, stood only one step away from the Champion tier.
Her aptitude had even reached Quasi-Legendary rank.
Togekiss successfully advanced to the middle stage of the Elite rank.
Leafeon, on the other hand, had little interest in training or battling.
As a result, she remained at the early Elite rank.
The biggest surprise, however, came from Metagross and Charizard.
These two training maniacs spent the entire month relentlessly pushing themselves.
Both successfully reached the middle Elite rank and nearly caught up to Swampert.
Then there was Froakie.
After finally overcoming its emotional burdens, it evolved into Frogadier.
Its level remained relatively low, only in the thirties.
However, it was already close to evolving again.
To help it build a stronger foundation, Chen Shi gave it an Everstone to suppress its evolution.
He hoped Frogadier would continue accumulating strength before taking the next step.
And finally—
After a full month had passed, Steven's vacation came to an end.
As the future heir of Devon Corporation, countless responsibilities awaited him.
At the entrance of Professor Oak's Laboratory, Chen Shi, Cynthia, and Gary came to see him off.
"Old Chen."
"That's far enough."
"It's not like we'll never meet again."
"There's no need to make this so formal."
Steven turned back and smiled.
"Alright."
"Then I won't walk you any farther."
"Take care of yourself on the way back."
Chen Shi nodded.
Steven waved his hand and turned away with his usual carefree confidence.
Just as he was leaving, Chen Shi suddenly seemed to remember something and shouted loudly:
"You better make lots of money!"
"My daughter's still waiting for you to buy her toys in the future!"
Steven stumbled mid-step.
"..."
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