"How is this possible? Why didn't your Florges take any damage at all?"
Lance didn't immediately send out his next Pokémon.
A voice sounded in the referee's earpiece, and he made no move to rush him.
The moment Lance asked this question, the entire Silver Arena fell silent.
Everyone clearly wanted the same answer.
Chen Shi shrugged lightly.
"Didn't I tell you?"
"Sometimes, knowledge is power."
"That applies to Mega Evolution—and it applies to Lady Florges as well."
"I just happen to be someone who knows a lot of things. I simply chose not to show them before."
Lance blinked, puzzled.
"Then why hide it?"
With abilities like a strange evolution method…
With moves that could crush an Elite-tier Hydreigon…
Revealing them should've brought him immense benefit.
Why suppress them?
He couldn't understand.
Chen Shi thought for a moment, then spoke plainly:
"Because I didn't want to die."
Lance froze—then let out an incredulous, helpless laugh.
But Chen Shi continued before he could respond.
"You and I are different. You have the Dragon Clan behind you. You can stand proudly without fear."
"But my grandparents are old. They can't protect me anymore."
"So I had to hide. Since I was little."
"You all think I became a mid-rank Breeder at fourteen…
But the truth is?
I became one at eleven."
"By fifteen, I was already a high-rank Breeder.
Before coming here, I had already mastered producing top-grade medicines."
His tone was calm—almost too calm.
Because once he decided to fight for the championship, he no longer intended to hide.
When his words fell—
It wasn't just the stadium that erupted.
It was the entire world.
People across every region, glued to their screens, were struck speechless.
If his words were true…
Calling him a genius was an insult.
This was a monster.
He paused—then added:
"And that's not even my only identity."
"I also have another name.
Many should have heard it."
"Severe Choice Paralysis."
Lance stiffened.
He had indeed heard that name.
A rising star in the research world.
Co-author of multiple evolution papers with Professor Oak.
The researcher who helped confirm Friendship Evolution through data modeling.
Even someone like Lance—who rarely cared about the research field—knew that name.
And now that very person…
Was standing opposite him.
In the finals.
As his opponent.
The entire arena went silent.
The Alliance's brightest young Breeder—
The black horse of the World Championships—
And the research world's supernova—
All of those titles…
Belonged to Chen Shi.
How could they not be shocked?
Chen Shi exhaled softly and looked toward Lance.
"Actually… you're the one who woke me up."
"When I met you back in Cinnabar Town, I felt it—
That aura of yours."
"Pride.
Confidence.
Unrestrained ambition."
"I used to be like that too.
But after hiding myself again and again, those things drifted away."
"Hiding as a child.
Hiding as a teenager.
Even as an adult still hiding."
"I didn't know how long I'd have to keep suppressing myself."
"So now—I won't hide anymore."
His voice was steady.
As if stating nothing more than a quiet truth.
Yet everyone who heard it felt a deep heaviness—
A bitterness that wasn't easily spoken.
Who willingly hides their entire life unless forced?
Meanwhile, in Green Shade Town—
At the Chen family farm—
Grandpa and Grandma Chen sat before the TV, silent for a long time.
Eventually, Grandma Chen's eyes reddened.
"It's… it's our fault, isn't it…? We wronged our little Shi…"
Grandpa Chen didn't speak.
But guilt flooded his eyes.
Their grandson had been forced to mature too quickly—forced to hold back his brilliance because they couldn't protect him.
The name Chen Shi…
Should have been one of the brightest in the world.
"You really are incredible," Lance sighed.
"I'm… not as good as you."
Chen Shi shook his head.
"It's too soon to say that. Whether you're better or I am—
We'll only know after the match is over."
Lance nodded firmly.
"Then let's continue!"
He pulled a Poké Ball from his belt and hurled it forward.
"Gyarados, go!"
"Roooaaaar!!"
A nearly nine-meter-long Gyarados materialized, its roar shaking the air.
Chen Shi scanned it in an instant:
Pokémon: Gyarados
Level: 64 (Mid Elite)
Potential: Quasi-Champion
Ability:Moxie
Sex: Male
Moves: Bite, Tackle, Leer, Twister, Dive, Thrash, Whirlpool, Ice Fang, Brine, Scary Face, Waterfall, Crunch, Rain Dance, Aqua Tail, Dragon Dance, Hydro Pump, Hurricane, Outrage, Hyper Beam, Protect, Water Pulse, Icy Wind, Dragon Tail...
Chen Shi's brows lifted slightly.
As expected of Lance's Gyarados—
What a monster.
He immediately recalled Florges and sent out Swampert instead.
Florges had no good counterplay here.
None of his other partners were ideal either.
Only Swampert could face this opponent head-on.
"Swampaaa!"
The moment Swampert landed, Chen Shi already had the Key Stone in hand.
"Swampert—MEGA Evolution!"
"Swampaaa!!"
Their hearts connected.
Their memories aligned.
And once again, Mega Evolution light burst across the battlefield.
In just a few seconds—
Mega Swampert opened its crimson eyes.
"Swaaamp!!"
He roared, full of battle spirit, locking onto Gyarados with fierce intensity.
Lance's expression hardened.
He knew exactly how terrifying this Swampert was—
He'd seen it yesterday and studied it thoroughly afterward.
He eventually discovered the key:
Swampert's overwhelming power came from two things—
the rain, and the ability Swift Swim.
So as long as Swampert never got to use Rain Dance…
Gyarados still had a chance.
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