"But there's nothing I can do!"
"Supporting your Mega Evolution drains me way too much. I'm just a normal human. I can't sustain it."
Chen Shi spread his hands helplessly.
Rayquaza glanced at him coldly. "Then that is your problem to solve."
"If I fight those two and you fail to keep up, do not blame me if we lose."
Chen Shi's face darkened, but he didn't dare argue.
When you're talking to the apex of the food chain, you nod and accept.
After a moment, he asked, "Then how do I contact you when the time comes?"
"Do I have to come all the way back here again?"
Rayquaza replied calmly, "If those two begin fighting, I will sense it and arrive on my own."
"If you wish to summon me proactively, go to Meteor Falls. My followers there possess a Jade Orb I once left behind."
"Request it from them. Infuse it with your psychic power, and I will sense it."
Chen Shi's mouth twitched.
He had assumed the Jade Orb would be obsolete after meeting Rayquaza directly.
He had even planned to return it soon.
Turns out it was still useful.
He then asked curiously, "How exactly is that Jade Orb used?"
"Is it really just a matter of injecting psychic power?"
"Of course not," Rayquaza replied. "Your psychic power is unusual. Under normal circumstances, one must ascend to a great height and have a powerful Dragon-type Pokémon channel its energy into the orb."
"That will also reach me."
"But with your power, such steps are unnecessary."
Chen Shi nodded.
He had asked mainly to fulfill his promise to the Draconid people.
Now he had an answer.
He could return the orb later with proper explanation.
"Any other questions?" Rayquaza asked.
"No."
"Then why are you still here?"
Chen Shi: ...
Clearly dismissed.
With a sigh, he tapped Mew on the shoulder. "We're done. Take me back."
"Mew~"
(No problem!)
Mew lifted him and prepared to teleport.
But at that very moment, its eyes caught a flash of green on the ground.
Instantly, they lit up.
Without hesitation, it used psychic power to snatch the object—and teleported away in one fluid motion.
Rayquaza stared.
Then it realized.
One of its naturally shed scales was gone.
A furious roar shook the ozone layer.
For a brief second, it almost pursued them.
...
"Are you insane?!"
"What are you in such a hurry for?!"
Back at the ranch, Chen Shi staggered as his feet hit the ground.
After several long-distance teleports in rapid succession, combined with the earlier Mega Evolution test, his legs felt weak and his stomach churned violently.
He bent over, pale.
Meanwhile, Mew carefully suppressed its aura, as if afraid Rayquaza might track it.
It looked exactly like a child who had just stolen candy.
After recovering slightly, Chen Shi turned to it. "Why the rush? Couldn't you have taken it slow?"
Mew avoided eye contact.
If it had lingered, Rayquaza might have actually attacked.
That's when Chen Shi noticed the object in Mew's arms.
A green scale, roughly the size of his palm.
His eyes widened.
"You… you stole Rayquaza's scale?!"
Now he understood the panic.
He had noticed a few loose scales earlier but hadn't dared think about them.
Mew had just taken one.
Right in front of Rayquaza.
Mew glared indignantly.
"Mew mew~"
(It's not stealing! That big green worm has plenty. It doesn't need it. I'm just… collecting.)
Chen Shi could only stare.
Not only shameless—but thick-skinned too.
He activated the system scan.
It was indeed an ordinary scale—not a reversed scale or core fragment.
Still, at Rayquaza's level, even a normal shed scale qualified as a legendary-grade resource.
For most Pokémon, it would be priceless.
Chen Shi rubbed his hands together and grinned. "Lord Mew… can we discuss something?"
Mew narrowed its eyes immediately.
"Mew!"
(What?)
It knew him too well.
Normally it was just "Mew."
Sometimes even ignored.
Now suddenly it was "Lord Mew."
Definitely suspicious.
Chen Shi chuckled. "That scale doesn't really do anything for you. Why not give it to me?"
"Mew!!"
(Absolutely not!)
Mew clutched the scale tightly like a cat guarding stolen fish.
It had risked getting blasted to grab that—er—collect that.
Chen Shi wasn't giving up.
"You don't have much use for it, but if I give it to Dragapult, it could significantly increase its strength."
"You said you'll need my help in the future, right?"
"The stronger I am, the more reliable I'll be when the World Tree faces trouble."
"Doesn't that make sense?"
Mew hesitated.
That… did make sense.
If Chen Shi became stronger, he'd be better prepared when crisis struck.
But.
It had risked its tail for that scale.
Letting it go felt painful.
Chen Shi sensed opportunity.
"And I won't take it for free."
"You love sweets, right?"
"I'll take you to eat ice cream. Desserts. All kinds of food you've never tried before."
"How about it?"
Mew's ears twitched.
Food.
New food.
Endless desserts.
It tightened its grip on the scale… then loosened it slightly.
Temptation warred with greed in its eyes.
...
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