Steven's departure did not affect Chen Shi much.
After all, he planned to remain here until Dragapult, Florges, and Swampert all reached the Champion tier.
At their current rate of growth, that would probably only take another month.
The evening after Steven left, Dragapult and the others had just finished a full day of training.
Chen Shi took out a pile of food and distributed it among them.
Then he patiently massaged each Pokémon one by one to help them relax.
After intense training, muscle relaxation was essential.
Otherwise, over time, hidden injuries would accumulate and affect their future growth.
Cynthia sat nearby with her chin resting on her hand, quietly watching him.
At that moment, Gary came running over while dragging Ash along with him.
"Uncle Chen!"
"Big Brother Chen Shi!"
Chen Shi glanced back and smiled.
"Slow down. Be careful not to fall."
The energy levels of these two little troublemakers were truly frightening.
Every day they ran around causing chaos and tormenting the Pokémon in Professor Oak's backyard.
As the saying went—
At this age, even dogs found children annoying.
Nowadays, the backyard Pokémon developed stress reactions whenever they heard the two boys' voices.
Most of them immediately ran away.
Apart from supervising training, Chen Shi had practically become their full-time babysitter.
Gary excitedly ran over.
"Uncle Chen, it's almost dinner time!"
"Yeah, Big Brother Chen Shi!"
"When are we eating?"
Ash asked eagerly.
In the past, Gary often went to Ash's house to mooch meals.
But after Chen Shi arrived, everything changed.
After tasting Chen Shi's cooking once, Ash no longer wanted to eat at home.
Every meal time, he came running over without fail.
"Don't rush."
"I need to finish massaging them first."
"After that, I'll cook dinner for you, alright?"
Chen Shi answered patiently.
"Yay!"
Ash's eyes sparkled as he cheered excitedly.
Then he waved toward Jirachi and Victini nearby.
"Jirachi!"
"Little V!"
"Want to come play with us?"
Over the past month, the two boys had become very familiar with the Mythical Pokémon.
They spent nearly every day playing together.
"Okay!"
"Let's play!"
Jirachi's eyes curved into happy crescents.
Soon, Ash and Gary ran off with Jirachi and Victini.
Watching them leave, a gentle smile slowly appeared on Cynthia's face.
As if recalling something, she pulled out a stack of photographs from her pocket.
Her eyes softened as she looked at the little girl in the pictures.
"She's really adorable."
"Do you think we'll really have such a cute daughter someday?"
Ever since Chen Yanxi's sudden appearance, everything still felt unreal to her.
Hearing that, Chen Shi paused briefly.
Then he smiled.
"It's a shame she didn't inherit your blonde hair."
"Otherwise, she'd be a blonde little princess."
Cynthia ignored his teasing.
Gently caressing the photo, she asked,
"When are we going to Sinnoh?"
Chen Shi replied casually,
"After Dragapult and the others reach the Champion tier."
"For some reason, I keep feeling that we need to become stronger first."
"Otherwise, going to Sinnoh recklessly might be dangerous."
Cynthia looked surprised.
"With Jirachi and Eevee around, is there really anything in this world that can threaten you?"
She had witnessed Jirachi's and Mew's strength multiple times.
In her opinion, even if Groudon attacked Chen Shi, those two could still get him away safely.
What kind of danger could possibly threaten him?
And if even Jirachi and Mew couldn't handle it, what difference would Dragapult reaching the Champion tier make?
"I don't really know how to explain it."
"It's just a feeling."
After a long silence, Chen Shi finally spoke.
Perhaps because of the mysterious psychic power inside him, his intuition had always been remarkably accurate.
That was why he insisted on helping Dragapult and the others reach the Champion tier before heading to Sinnoh.
That evening, after dinner, everyone was resting in the living room.
Suddenly, Chen Shi remembered something.
"Teacher."
"Can I exchange some resources with you?"
"Exchange resources?"
"What do you need?"
Professor Oak asked curiously.
"Some Moltres feathers."
"And some rare metals."
Chen Shi thought briefly before continuing.
"I'll trade the Thousand-Year Earth Vein Stone I got from the League."
At this point, he already possessed plenty of Legendary-grade resources.
Swampert now had Groudon's armor fragment, making the Earth Vein Stone far less useful.
He wanted resources that would help Charizard and Metagross instead.
He was curious to see just how far those two training maniacs could push themselves.
Professor Oak had no objections.
After all, he had plenty of Moltres feathers in storage.
Likewise, he possessed countless rare metals.
Trading some of them for a Legendary-grade resource was absolutely worthwhile.
"Since you've decided, come with me."
Professor Oak stood up and headed upstairs.
Chen Shi followed.
Then he looked toward Cynthia.
"Want to come take a look?"
"My teacher's collection is pretty impressive."
"Can I?"
Cynthia hesitated.
"Of course."
Professor Oak smiled from the staircase.
"Come along."
Since Professor Oak himself had invited her, Cynthia followed them upstairs.
After arriving at Professor Oak's collection room, Chen Shi handed over the Thousand-Year Earth Vein Stone.
Then he selected three Champion-tier Moltres feathers along with a large quantity of rare metals suitable for Metagross.
Just as he was about to leave, Professor Oak suddenly spoke mysteriously.
"Shi."
"Do you want to see my real collection?"
Chen Shi raised an eyebrow.
"Teacher."
"You've been hiding private treasures from me?"
"That's not important."
"Do you want to see them or not?"
"Sure."
"Why wouldn't I?"
"Good!"
"Then let me show you!"
Professor Oak excitedly removed a silver metal box from a shelf.
Cynthia immediately became interested.
The resources displayed throughout the room had already dazzled her.
Anything Professor Oak considered a private collection had to be even more valuable.
Holding the box carefully, Professor Oak stood before Chen Shi with a proud expression.
"Watch carefully, Shi!"
Then he opened it.
Chen Shi and Cynthia immediately looked inside.
The moment Chen Shi saw its contents, he froze.
"Well?"
"Not bad, right?"
Professor Oak looked extremely satisfied with Chen Shi's reaction.
Finally, as a teacher, he had managed to impress his student.
Chen Shi's expression became strange.
Pointing at the item inside, he asked:
"Teacher..."
"Isn't this a Silver Wing?"
"But why is it different from the one I saw in the League Treasury?"
"Why is this one black?"
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