That evening, Chen Shi returned to the villa in high spirits.
But the moment he stepped inside, he realized that—aside from Steven and Phoebe—there was one more person in the living room who completely caught him off guard.
"Professor…? Why are you here?"
Professor Oak looked at his student walking over briskly and smiled with a knowing expression.
"Xiaoshi, winning a championship doesn't mean you get to be this proud," he said leisurely.
"When you walked in just now, your chin was practically lifted to the sky."
"That won't do."
Hearing the pointed remark, Chen Shi didn't feel embarrassed at all. Instead, he lifted his head even higher.
"I won the championship—can't I be proud for once?"
"Oh?" Professor Oak raised an eyebrow.
"Are you really proud just because you won?"
"Then what else would it be?"
Professor Oak chuckled meaningfully.
"Well… a little while ago, a blonde young lady came back to her room with a red face, without saying a word."
Chen Shi's expression stiffened for a split second, but he quickly regained his composure.
"And what does that have to do with me winning the championship?"
"Can't I still be proud?"
"Indeed, it has nothing to do with it," Professor Oak said, clicking his tongue as he looked at Chen Shi's stubborn face. He didn't press the matter further.
There was no point continuing anyway—
with that attitude, Chen Shi clearly intended to deny everything to the grave.
Clearing his throat, Chen Shi changed the subject.
"Professor, you came to see me so late… is there something you needed?"
"What, I'm not allowed to come see you at night?" Professor Oak shot him a sideways glance.
"Of course you are! You can come see me whenever you want!"
Professor Oak snorted lightly, ignoring his antics.
"Tomorrow is the awards ceremony. After that, you'll be selecting your rewards."
"I'll go with you."
"Understood?"
Hearing this, Chen Shi immediately nodded like a pecking chick.
"Understood!"
"And there's also the matter of Fairy-type," Professor Oak continued, pausing briefly.
"You can start preparing for that as well. I think there's a very high chance the League will agree to your request."
Chen Shi's smile instantly bloomed.
Looks like the League really couldn't resist the temptation of Fairy-type after all—and was preparing to grant him a Professor position.
At this rate, he could practically lie at home in the future and wait for League funding to roll in.
"Don't celebrate too early."
Seeing the blissful expression on his face, Professor Oak couldn't help interrupting.
"The League will most likely agree to give you the treatment and status of a Professor—but not the title."
"You'll have to wait until you're an adult before they formally grant you the name."
Chen Shi paused, then waved it off indifferently.
"That's fine. I can accept that."
He knew this was probably the League's greatest possible concession.
After all, he really was too young—he wasn't even an adult yet.
From their perspective, it would be hard to justify otherwise.
Besides, why did he want to become a Professor in the first place?
For the benefits.
Plain and simple.
As for the title itself—
could that put food on the table?
And honestly… did he really lack fame now?
Not at all.
"As long as you can accept it," Professor Oak said with a nod,
"I think this is the best outcome as well. The League will compensate you in other ways. Don't worry."
"Compensate?" Chen Shi's eyes lit up.
"You mean the No.1 or No.2 League Vaults?"
"Will I get to choose more than once?"
"You're dreaming," Professor Oak snapped, glaring at him.
"You only get one entry into the No.2 vault for winning the championship."
"And counting Mega Evolution rewards, how many times have you gone in already?"
"Don't be greedy. What you have now is already enough to make people jealous."
"Be careful one day—you might run into someone wearing a mask who sends you straight to the afterlife."
Chen Shi felt a bit disappointed.
He'd thought he might get a few more picks—turns out that wasn't happening.
But hearing the latter part of Professor Oak's warning, his expression grew more serious.
What he possessed now really was a lot.
If someone decided to take a desperate gamble, it wasn't impossible.
Better to keep a low profile.
Finish things here as soon as possible—
then head back to the farm and stay put.
"Alright. That's all I came to talk to you about," Professor Oak said, standing up.
"Just remember what I told you."
"I'll be leaving now—Ash and Gary are still waiting for me."
He shot Chen Shi one last look before heading for the door.
Chen Shi hurriedly walked him out, then returned to the living room.
The moment Professor Oak left, Phoebe could no longer hold back and immediately ran over.
"Brother Chen Shi, you and Cynthia—"
"Adult matters," Chen Shi interrupted with a wave of his hand,
"why is a kid like you poking your nose into them? Go play somewhere else."
Before Phoebe could finish her sentence, she was completely shut down.
Humming a tune, Chen Shi walked straight into his room.
Phoebe stood there blankly for two seconds before turning to look at Steven.
Steven merely shrugged—and went upstairs as well.
Phoebe puffed out her cheeks.
"Bullies. All of you."
…
Inside the room, Chen Shi released Dragapult and the others, then handed out Energy Cubes.
"Today, we won the championship," he said warmly.
"But since we're not back home yet, we don't have the right conditions."
"When we return, we'll throw a proper celebration banquet."
"This time… you all worked incredibly hard."
"Pult~"
"Char~"
"Flo~"
…
"Vee!"
Chen Shi shot Leafeon an exasperated look.
"You, of course, didn't work hard."
"You didn't even battle once. All you did was eat and sleep—what are you exhausted about?"
"Vee~"
Leafeon looked aggrieved.
It wasn't like she didn't want to battle—
he was the one who never let her!
And now he was blaming her for it?
"Alright, alright, stop acting," Chen Shi said, waving his hand.
"I know you too well."
"You and Togekiss are exactly the same—both absolute drama queens."
"No wonder you two get along so well."
Hearing this, Togekiss immediately ducked its head and buried its face in the bowl, determined not to invite trouble.
"Vee!"
Leafeon huffed and continued eating.
Chen Shi cleared his throat.
"You all performed extremely well this time. Every one of you deserves praise."
"But certain individuals need to be more careful in the future."
"Don't ever do something that dangerous again."
"If we lose a match, we can always win it back next time."
"But your bodies are your own. If something breaks, that's no joke."
As he spoke, Chen Shi's gaze drifted unconsciously toward one particular Pokémon.
Florges blushed slightly.
She knew very well those words were meant for her.
In the earlier match, she had forcibly guided a trace of energy from Xerneas's fragment, causing severe damage to her body.
If that energy had been even a little stronger, she wouldn't have been able to withstand it.
But Florges didn't regret it.
If it happened again—
she would still make the same choice.
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