The next day, Oliver went straight to the principal's office after arriving at school.
Hearing the knock, the principal looked up—and when he saw who it was, his tone carried a hint of complicated emotion.
"Oh, it's you, Oliver. I read your recent paper about the new Pokémon species—very well done. Keep it up. So, what brings you here?"
Ever since Oliver published the Fairy-type paper, the principal's view of him had completely changed.
If Oliver had once been merely a rare research prodigy, then now—aside from lacking the deep-rooted connections of veteran academic giants—he could already stand on equal footing with them, perhaps even slightly above.
And if the outside world knew that Lu Xinghe had placed Oliver on the same level as himself, Oliver's status in the research world would be virtually unparalleled.
Before, the principal had regarded Oliver as the finest student the school had produced in decades.
Now, however, Oliver's standing in society had already surpassed his own.
That awkward reversal of status—being both a student and someone far above him—was something the principal had never experienced before.
"Principal," Oliver said politely, "I've recently had some new ideas, so I'd like to request another week of leave."
The moment those familiar words were spoken, the principal's expression froze.
When was the last time Oliver had said something like that?
Right—
the last time, he'd gone on to create an entirely new Pokémon attribute and shaken the world.
And now it hadn't even been that long!
What's more, Oliver hadn't even asked for leave when publishing the paper about the new Pokémon species.
For him to come personally this time—
Could it be another Fairy-type–level breakthrough?
Most Pokémon Professors labored for decades before producing a single world-shocking achievement.
And you—
it hadn't even been half a year!
"You're not… planning to drop another bomb on the world, are you?" the principal swallowed nervously.
"I do have some ideas," Oliver replied calmly.
"But it'll still take time before anything concrete comes out. This trip, however, is very important."
In truth, Oliver had no intention of revealing Mega Evolution so soon.
This trip was simply to search for Mega Stones.
After all, Mega Evolution's significance far exceeded that of the Fairy-type.
As far as human society knew, Champion-level Pokémon were the absolute peak.
No one had ever been heard of surpassing that boundary.
Mega Evolution, however, directly raised the upper limit of humanity's strongest Trainers.
If Oliver were to announce Mega Evolution now, every top-tier powerhouse in the world would go mad chasing that power.
At their level, advancing even a single step further was unimaginably difficult.
There was no guarantee that some hidden giant wouldn't simply abduct Oliver and force him to research Mega Evolution under confinement.
In Oliver's estimation, Mega Evolution should only be revealed after he possessed at least Champion-tier combat power himself.
Hearing Oliver say that the project was still a long way off, the principal finally let out a breath of relief.
Good—
if you really produced another earth-shaking result so soon, that would be downright terrifying.
As for approving the leave, both of them understood perfectly well—
Oliver was only informing him as a courtesy.
With Oliver's current achievements, attending school was no longer essential.
The fact that he even came to notify the principal already showed enough respect.
"No problem. I approve the leave," the principal said seriously.
"I hope you'll continue your research and bring forth even more成果 that benefit humanity—and our Xia Kingdom."
After packing up, Oliver returned home.
Coincidentally, the League rewards for his Kubfu paper had just arrived.
It was a Black Belt.
Clearly, the League had chosen the reward with purpose.
Calling Kubfu over, Oliver tied the Black Belt around its waist.
It fit perfectly.
Kubfu spun around twice, feeling that it somehow looked a bit cooler than before, then broke into a simple, honest grin.
Next, Oliver sent a message to Mu Xue.
"I'm ready on my end. We'll depart tomorrow."
After a short while, a reply came back.
"Understood."
"…That's very her," Oliver muttered, putting his phone away.
Just then, a surge of energy rich with life and vitality erupted from the backyard.
Oliver frowned and looked over.
Among his Pokémon, only one could emit such an aura so closely attuned to nature—
Celebi.
Yet it wasn't in the room playing games. What was happening outside?
Oliver hurried to the backyard.
Sure enough, Celebi was floating in midair, looking just as surprised.
"What's going on? Did you use a move all of a sudden?"
Although Celebi spent most days playing games and only occasionally guided Oliver's Pokémon—rarely training itself—
its strength had quietly recovered to Early Veteran level, keeping pace with Oliver's other Pokémon.
Celebi waved its hands repeatedly.
"Bi! It wasn't me—it was her!"
Following Celebi's指向, Oliver looked over—
Milotic had risen upright, eyes closed.
Faint ancient patterns glimmered across its body, and high above, dark clouds were beginning to gather.
"What's happening?"
"Bi! I was explaining the key points of Nature Power, and then she suddenly used it—and after that, she became like this. I tried calling her, but she didn't respond."
Oliver immediately extended his Aura toward Milotic.
There was nothing wrong with her condition.
She was simply absorbing a mysterious energy.
…Natural energy?
Realization dawned on Oliver.
If that was the case, he decided not to interrupt her.
Natural energy would bring enormous benefits to Milotic.
The only uncertainty was how long the rain would last.
Seeing that night was approaching, Oliver quickly called all the Pokémon indoors—
leaving only Milotic in the backyard.
For a Water-type Pokémon, rain was no more harmful than breathing air was to humans.
Moments later, dark clouds rolled in.
Rain descended, and the world blurred beneath a watery veil.
Perhaps Milotic's control had improved greatly—
the rain was nowhere near as violent as it had been in Jing City.
"Milotic has likely sensed natural energy and is absorbing it right now," Oliver said softly.
Celebi was surprised—but since it no longer seemed to have anything to do, it floated back inside.
Back to gaming.
In another villa not far away—
Mu Xue drew open her curtains and gazed at the rain outside.
For some reason, it gave her a strange sense of déjà vu.
"Clear skies just a moment ago… and now such heavy rain," she murmured.
"It feels just like that time in Jing City…"
◇ I'll be dropping one bonus chapters for every 10 reviews. comment
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ You can read 60 chapter ahead on P@treon if you're interested: patreon.com/SwipeSage