"…W-Where am I?"
Wrapped in warmth, Caitlin slowly opened her eyes.
The unfamiliar surroundings left her dazed.
"You're finally awake."
Chen Shi took a bite of his packed meal, then casually pulled out another portion from his backpack.
"Since you're up, eat something."
Hearing his voice—
Caitlin snapped back to reality.
She looked up—
And froze.
A Charizard was staring at her expressionlessly.
And she—
Was in its arms.
Almost instantly—
Her psychic power surged.
She lashed out at Charizard.
"Hey! What's wrong with you?!"
Jirachi, who had been happy to see her wake up—
Immediately got angry.
"We saved you, and you attack us?!"
A terrifying wave of psychic energy burst out from Jirachi—
Like a tidal surge.
It blocked Caitlin's attack—
And completely restrained her.
Caitlin hadn't even processed what was happening—
When she felt it.
Her proud psychic power—
Was being crushed.
Overpowered.
Suppressed.
Her pupils shrank.
"How… how is this possible?!"
Since childhood—
Her psychic ability had been extraordinary.
Now—
It rivaled even high-level Pokémon.
When it spiraled out of control—
Even Elite Four-level Pokémon struggled against it.
And yet—
It had just been completely overpowered.
'Who… has stronger psychic power than me?'
She instinctively assumed—
It must be a human.
But when she turned—
She saw him.
"…Chen… Chen Shi?"
Chen Shi nodded calmly.
"It's me, Miss Caitlin."
"But maybe you should explain something first."
"Why did you attack my partner the moment you woke up?"
"Is that how you treat someone who saved your life?"
His tone wasn't harsh—
But there was clear displeasure.
And rightly so.
He had pulled her from the sea.
Had Charizard keep her warm the entire time.
Treated her wounds.
Taken care of her instead of continuing his own exploration.
And this—
Was her response?
…
Caitlin froze.
She glanced down at the bandaged wounds on her body.
And finally understood.
He had saved her.
"I—I'm sorry!"
"I didn't mean to!"
"Something happened earlier… I reacted on instinct…"
Her cheeks flushed red as she lowered her head, apologizing quickly.
Seeing her sincerity—
Chen Shi's expression softened.
He pointed to the side.
"Your Pokémon are over there."
"I had Florges treat them. They're fine now."
Caitlin followed his gaze.
Six Poké Balls rested nearby.
She quietly let out a breath of relief.
"Thank you… truly."
She bowed slightly.
Chen Shi waved it off.
"No problem."
"But what exactly happened to you?"
At that—
Caitlin's expression darkened.
And she began recounting everything.
…
After entering the secret realm—
She had been unlucky.
Very unlucky.
She had been dropped straight into the ocean.
With no sense of direction—
She had Bronzong carry her through the air.
But she quickly lost patience.
She began using Teleport—
Jumping across the sea.
Again and again.
But no matter where she went—
There was no land.
Frustration built.
And eventually—
She lashed out.
At the ocean itself.
…
That—
Was her mistake.
She had provoked—
A Kingdra at mid Elite Four level.
At first—
Escape was still possible.
With Teleport—
She could have gotten away.
But at the critical moment—
Her psychic power went out of control.
Her Pokémon tried to rescue her—
But her rampaging psychic energy kept even them at bay.
Gothitelle and the others—
Forced themselves forward.
Relying on their Psychic typing—
They fought desperately.
And barely—
Drove Kingdra away.
At the cost of severe injuries.
…
When Caitlin regained a bit of control—
She recalled all her Pokémon.
Then—
Continued teleporting blindly.
After that—
She remembered nothing.
Until now.
…
After hearing her story—
Chen Shi almost laughed.
'So I wasn't the unluckiest one…'
'There's actually someone worse…'
'Getting dropped straight into the ocean… seriously?'
Compared to that—
Starting off facing a peak Elite Four Pokémon didn't seem so bad.
At least—
He had Jirachi.
No one could really hurt him.
Chen Shi coughed awkwardly.
Realizing he might be enjoying her misfortune a bit too much.
Then he handed her the meal.
"Here."
"You must be starving."
Caitlin didn't refuse.
"Thank you."
She took it—
And began eating slowly.
…
Jirachi, however—
Still looked unhappy.
It tapped Chen Shi lightly, still upset about earlier.
"Alright, alright."
Chen Shi chuckled and gently patted its head.
Then handed it a piece of candy.
…
After a few bites—
Caitlin suddenly asked,
"By the way… why was Charizard holding me earlier?"
She didn't mind—
But she wanted to understand.
Chen Shi replied without looking up,
"Your body temperature had dropped too much."
"If we didn't act fast, you'd have frozen."
"So I had Charizard warm you up."
Caitlin blinked—
Then understood.
And with that—
Her guilt deepened.
Charizard had been saving her.
And she had attacked it.
If it were her—
She would've been furious.
Yet Chen Shi—
Not only forgave her—
He even shared his food.
'He's… incredibly broad-minded.'
…
She straightened and spoke seriously.
"Thank you. Truly."
"If there's ever anything you need—just ask."
Chen Shi laughed lightly.
"Sure, sure."
Then he stood up.
"Since you're fine now, I'll be going."
"See you."
…
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