Morning arrived with the sun slowly rising, casting the first warm rays of light across the land.
Inside a villa in Silver Town, Chen Shi and the other three finished getting ready and headed out together.
Today was the final day of the World Tournament—
the closing ceremony and awards presentation.
Naturally, none of them would miss it.
They arrived early at the Silver Conference arena, only to find that it was even more crowded than before—packed to the brim with people.
The four of them struggled their way into the competitors' passageway. Just as they were about to head upstairs, a staff member stopped them.
"Four competitors, please come with me. You'll need to wait at the entrance to the awards platform."
As he spoke, the staff member made a polite gesture. The four exchanged glances and followed without hesitation.
Soon, they were led to the door of a room.
"This is a temporary lounge prepared for the Top 16 competitors," the staff member explained.
"The three competitors may enter and rest for a bit. When it's time to go on stage, there will be an announcement."
"Exit the room, turn left, and that will be the entrance to the awards platform."
When he said Top 16 competitors and the three competitors, his emphasis was… very deliberate.
Phoebe's expression immediately turned sour.
She understood perfectly.
Wasn't this just a polite way of telling her to leave?
Did it really have to be said so indirectly?
Everyone here could understand plain language.
Why not just say it outright?
Now it just felt awkward.
Chen Shi frowned slightly.
"Can't you make an exception?"
"It's just a small thing—no need to be that strict, right?"
The staff member smiled apologetically.
"Sorry, Chen Shi. The Top 32 competitors are required to attend together, so it would be better for her to wait with them."
Hearing that, Chen Shi scratched his head and had nothing more to say.
The explanation was reasonable—there really wasn't anything to argue about.
Phoebe's little face drooped.
"Then… where am I supposed to wait?"
"Over by that passageway," the staff member said with a slight bow, pointing.
"I'll take you there."
"…Fine."
Phoebe snorted lightly, tossed her head, and walked off without even saying goodbye to the three of them.
"That girl…"
Chen Shi shook his head helplessly.
She could still tag along in previous lounges, but this time, there really was no helping it.
"Let's go in," Steven said, pushing the door open.
The room inside was spacious, with sixteen chairs arranged neatly.
And aside from the three of them—
everyone else was already there.
Seeing them enter, Lance, Lorelei, Diantha, and Wallace all greeted them.
The three found empty seats and responded politely.
At that moment, Lance leaned over and asked in a low voice,
"Chen Shi—my father said that the evolution you used in your matches will be announced afterward. Is that true?"
The room was already quiet.
After Lance spoke, it became even quieter.
Everyone had perked up, clearly listening in.
That evolution had been far too powerful—
there was no way they wouldn't be curious.
Chen Shi didn't bother keeping them in suspense.
"You're talking about Mega Evolution," he said calmly.
"After the World Tournament, I'll publish a related paper."
"Just keep an eye on the researchers' forum."
Since it was going public anyway, he didn't mind saying a bit more.
Lance's eyes lit up.
"Then do you know what Dragonite's Mega Evolution looks like?"
"Can you tell me in advance?"
Hearing that, Chen Shi looked at him with a strange expression. After hesitating briefly, he replied tactfully,
"Not all Pokémon can Mega Evolve."
"Only a small number can—just a few dozen species."
"It's fine, just tell me what Dragonite looks like after Mega Evolution," Lance said, waving his hand.
"I'm not a researcher. I don't care about that stuff."
"Pfft."
On the other side, Lorelei couldn't help laughing.
Was Lance actually clueless—or just pretending?
The hint was already that obvious, and he still kept asking.
Lance turned his head and noticed everyone looking at him strangely.
"…What?"
"What's wrong?"
Chen Shi coughed lightly, then spoke with some hesitation.
"So, uh… have you considered the possibility that—"
"Dragonite doesn't have a Mega Evolution."
Those words hit Lance like a thunderbolt.
He stared at Chen Shi in disbelief.
What?
Why?!
Cynthia's Garchomp, your Metagross, even Dragapult—
they all had Mega Evolution or something similar!
Why was it that his Dragonite didn't?!
What was Dragonite lacking?!
Lance still refused to accept reality.
If everyone else's ace Pokémon had Mega Evolution, but his didn't—
how was that acceptable?
"You're lying to me, right?"
His expression screamed: I don't know much, don't fool me.
Chen Shi's mouth twitched.
He didn't say anything—
just gave Lance a helpless look.
That was enough.
Lance finally realized that Chen Shi wasn't joking.
Dragonite really… didn't have Mega Evolution.
His face instantly fell.
Seeing his reaction, Chen Shi couldn't help offering some consolation.
"Even if Dragonite doesn't have Mega Evolution, plenty of Pokémon on your team do."
"For example—Charizard, Gyarados, Aerodactyl, Altaria."
"All of those can Mega Evolve."
"It won't stop you from becoming a Flying-type Champion."
Originally, hearing that so many of his Pokémon could Mega Evolve did cheer Lance up.
But the last sentence made him frown.
"Why are you saying that?"
"My goal isn't to be a Flying-type Champion."
"It's to be a Dragon-type Champion."
As he spoke, Lance even flashed a confident smile, as if this goal were incredibly noble.
Chen Shi responded with feigned confusion.
"But… aren't all your Pokémon Flying-type?"
"Or what—does being in the Dragon Egg Group count as Dragon too?"
The confident smile froze on Lance's face.
He opened his mouth to retort—
but after thinking about it carefully…
What Chen Shi said… actually wasn't wrong.
"Pfft—HAHAHAHA!"
"That's hilarious—'Dragon Egg Group counts as Dragon!'"
Everyone else was desperately holding back their laughter.
But Lorelei didn't bother restraining herself at all.
The usual ice-cold expression on her face was gone, replaced by open amusement.
For some reason, watching Lance get roasted like this felt incredibly satisfying.
At that moment, Cynthia finally understood.
Back in Lavaridge Town, when Lance had talked about his ambitions, Chen Shi's expression had looked strange for a reason.
He'd known all along—
and had just been waiting for the perfect moment to tease him.
Cynthia shot Chen Shi a subtle glance.
Seeing his innocent, clueless expression—like he genuinely didn't understand what had just happened—
she silently added another label to him in her heart:
Black-bellied.
…
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