Inside the Silver Conference's temporary Pokémon Center.
The moment Chen Shi opened his eyes, a sharp, antiseptic smell flooded his nose. Immediately after, a cry rang out beside him.
"Look—Chen Shi's awake! He's awake!"
At those words, Cynthia, who had been sitting nearby, instantly snapped to attention and hurried to his bedside.
"Are you okay?"
"Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?"
Listening to the worry in her voice, Chen Shi forced a weak smile.
"You're worried about me?"
Cynthia froze for a moment—then reached toward his ear.
"W-wait, wait, wait! I was wrong! I'm still a patient!"
Seeing her movement, Chen Shi immediately surrendered.
Honestly, Cynthia's grip strength was terrifying. Once she pinched, she never let go—it was like she wanted to twist his ear clean off.
"Hmph!"
Cynthia snorted coldly, folded her arms, and stepped back, making room for Steven Stone and Phoebe.
"Old Chen, I've gotta say—you really went all out this time," Steven said, raising an eyebrow as he looked at the man on the bed. His tone carried a hint of teasing.
"Four Mega Evolutions in one match. And you still only passed out after the battle was over."
"Pretty impressive physique."
Chen Shi gave a bitter laugh and shook his head.
He didn't want to push himself that hard either.
But when things reached the end—when Charizard, Metagross, Florges, and Dragapult had all fought like that—how could he not?
If he'd given up then, wouldn't all their previous efforts have been wasted?
How would he ever face them again?
So in the end… he had no choice but to fight with everything he had.
That said, this battle wasn't without gains.
Aside from winning the championship, Dragapult had awakened its Bond Form.
If nothing unexpected happened, that alone would be the greatest reward of this entire journey.
Before this, he'd been constantly troubled by one issue—Dragapult lacked a truly reliable power-up method.
In his original plan, he'd even intended to go through Professor Oak, trade Mega Stones and a Key Stone, and head to the Alola region to exchange them for a Z-Ring, along with Dragonium Z or Ghostium Z for Dragapult.
Now, though…
Well, he still planned to make that exchange.
After all, who would ever complain about having more options?
Shaking those thoughts from his mind, Chen Shi asked,
"Are Dragapult and the others okay?"
"They're fine," Steven replied.
"Florges took heavier damage, but an Elite Four–level Blissey healed it completely."
"See? They're all right there."
As he spoke, Steven pointed to the nearby table.
Five Luxury Balls rested neatly on it.
Chen Shi turned his head to look at them, the worry in his heart finally easing.
As long as they were all safe—that was enough.
When Dragapult collapsed earlier, he'd gone down almost immediately afterward as well.
The last thing he remembered was feeling like someone had caught him—
soft… and fragrant.
Just as Chen Shi was wondering who had carried him to the Pokémon Center, Steven's voice sounded again.
"Oh, right—Old Chen. How exactly did your Dragapult complete that Mega Evolution at the end?"
"I didn't see you use a Key Stone, and Dragapult wasn't holding a Mega Stone either."
"You want to know?" Chen Shi asked.
At that, both Phoebe and Cynthia instantly lost interest. Steven's mouth twitched.
"Can you not do this every time?" Steven said helplessly.
"You know how easy it is for you to get beaten up like this, right?"
Cynthia shot him a cold glance and snorted. Phoebe nodded furiously in agreement.
"Exactly! Chen Shi, you're really asking for it!"
"If you want to explain, just explain! If you don't, then don't!"
"Why do you always say 'you want to know?' first?"
"And when we say yes, you go, 'Even if you want to know, I won't tell you.'"
Phoebe's tone carried clear resentment. She was obviously quite unhappy about this habit of his.
Chen Shi laughed awkwardly. "Is it really that bad?"
All three of them nodded in unison.
Scratching his head, Chen Shi finally explained,
"That wasn't Mega Evolution. It was Bond Evolution."
"It's hard to explain clearly, but it's somewhat similar to Mega Evolution—except it doesn't require any items."
"What it needs is for the Trainer and Pokémon to truly become one in mind and spirit."
"That's extremely difficult to achieve. I was only able to do it because my psychic abilities are… a bit special."
Steven nodded thoughtfully.
"So you're saying anyone could potentially reach this state with their Pokémon?"
Chen Shi thought about it.
Honestly, he didn't know the answer either.
Maybe yes.
Maybe no.
All he knew was that when he later scanned Dragapult's data with the system, its Ability had gained an extra note—Bond Evolution.
What that truly meant, he didn't fully understand yet.
In the end, he brushed it off.
"I'm not sure myself. But honestly, you don't need to worry about it."
"Your aces can Mega Evolve anyway."
"Since Mega Evolution is simpler and gives the same boost, why bother chasing something harder?"
Steven and Cynthia thought about it—and agreed.
After all, Garchomp and Metagross could both Mega Evolve. There really was no need to obsess over Bond Evolution.
But Phoebe pouted, muttering unhappily,
"But my little Ling doesn't have that option…"
Chen Shi shrugged. "Then there's nothing I can do. I don't even understand Bond Evolution myself—how could I teach it to you?"
"…Fair enough."
Phoebe sighed and didn't say anything more.
Having a Gengar was already pretty great. She was fairly open-minded about it.
"Oh, right."
Steven suddenly slapped his forehead. "Old Chen—there's an awards ceremony tomorrow."
"All Top 64 participants have to attend."
"I heard they'll be handing out rewards on-site too."
"Rewards?" Chen Shi blinked. "What kind of rewards?"
Steven shot him an exasperated look.
"Didn't I tell you already?"
"Top 16 can choose a Pokémon Egg. And apparently, there's also a chance to enter the League's treasury and select an item."
"Oh, that."
Chen Shi finally remembered. Steven had mentioned it before.
But with everything that happened afterward, it had slipped his mind completely.
He grinned confidently.
"Leave the egg selection to me. I'll definitely pick something good for you."
"Really?"
"What do you mean, really? Do you think I'd lie to you?"
Faced with Steven's skeptical stare, Chen Shi immediately protested.
After all—
He was a man with cheats.
Even if those cheats weren't exactly reliable—running off right after binding—
they were still better than nothing.
Picking an egg?
That was practically guaranteed.
…
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