Steven Stone suddenly slapped his forehead.
"Miss Cynthia… when you said 'severe chronic indecision disorder'—don't tell me you meant that genius researcher who published the Leafeon, Glaceon, and even the Steelix papers recently?"
Cynthia nodded lightly… then shot Chen Shi a glare sharp enough to slice metal.
"Ask him yourself."
Chen Shi immediately shrank like an ostrich burying its head in the ground.
Steven Stone blinked, confused why Cynthia was staring at Chen Shi like he owed her decades of unpaid rent.
Chen Shi sighed.
"Ahem… not to brag, but… yes. That would be me.
Just… casual research, really."
Everyone stared at him.
Casual?
CASUAL?
Even Cynthia, who had already suspected, twitched visibly.
Steven Stone nearly fainted.
"So that chronic indecision researcher… was YOU?!"
Chen Shi waved a lazy hand.
"Don't make such a big deal of it. Really. Just me fooling around."
Fooling around, he says.
If that was "fooling around," every researcher below Professor rank should just go let a Wailord swallow them whole.
New Evolutions?
Chen Shi suddenly said:
"Anyway, Steven Stone, I just remembered—Scyther is pretty good too. Maybe catch one."
Steven Stone blinked.
"…?"
Chen Shi continued:
"I did some reading… Scyther actually has another evolution form.
Bug + Steel typing."
Steven Stone didn't panic this time.
He simply nodded, mentally engraving the information like sacred scripture.
Phoebe raised her hand like an eager student.
"Chen Shi-ge! I already caught a Scyther for you! I sent it to your PC box!
But that other one you wanted—Sneasel—is really hard to find, so I haven't caught it yet…"
Chen Shi nodded.
"Take your time. No rush.
If you catch one, great. I don't have time to write that paper anyway."
Phoebe beamed.
"Then do you want me to catch anything else?"
Chen Shi sighed, rubbing his forehead.
"Fine… I'll give you some money later."
She instantly lit up.
"Okay!! Thank you, Chen Shi-ge!!"
This child's happiness was frighteningly pure.
Special Sweets for a Special Baby
Chen Shi glanced at the Togepi in Cynthia's arms and rummaged through his bag.
He took out a small tin of pastel-pink Pokéblocks.
"Little one, come here. I've got something tasty for you."
Togepi smelled it instantly—sweet, delicate, irresistible.
She looked up at Cynthia.
"Toge…pi?"
Cynthia smiled and nodded.
Togepi toddled over, took the Pokéblock, and ran back to Cynthia to eat it safely.
Chen Shi snorted.
"Still a little scam artist, huh."
Just like his Togetic before evolution—snatch food, then defect back to mama.
Cynthia studied the Pokéblock.
"These look unusual… I've never seen this type before.
And Togepi loves them."
"Toge-pi!"
Chen Shi smiled.
"They're custom-made. I designed the formula for Togepi.
My Togetic still eats them."
Cynthia froze.
If he made something "custom," it was never simple.
She remembered:
The eighteenth type
Friendship evolution theory
Rare-type energy papers
She let it go.
Steven Stone, meanwhile, simply thought: Pretty color. Nice stone-shaped food.
Elite breeder things.
A Gift for Cynthia
"Oh right, Cynthia. I brought gifts for you."
Phoebe immediately perked up like she was watching a romance drama.
Steven Stone's face said: I knew it.
Chen Shi took out three boxes, and Metang floated them over using Psychic.
"What's inside?"
"Gifts. Open and see."
Cynthia opened the first box.
"…Lipstick?"
She blinked.
He… bought her lipstick?
The world must've shifted several degrees off its axis.
But something glimmered inside the tube.
She turned it—
A Keystone.
Her breath hitched.
Chen Shi didn't comment.
He just smiled faintly.
The Hidden Power Begins
Cynthia opened the second box.
Inside lay a stone with swirling blue-white patterns.
Lucario snapped its head toward it, eyes widening.
Cynthia immediately noticed.
"What's wrong?"
"Ruka…"
Lucario hesitated—then shook its head.
He didn't know why.
Only that the stone was important.
Very important.
Steven Stone's eyes widened too.
The energy.
The glow.
The pattern.
He realized instantly—
Another Mega Stone.
And Chen Shi was just casually giving one away.
Friends, huh?
Then where was his gift?
He glared at Chen Shi.
Chen Shi coughed.
"You already have two stones. And your family has more."
Steven Stone clicked his tongue.
Traitor.
The Third Box
Cynthia opened the last box.
A different stone rested inside—gray-blue, etched with jagged dragon-fang patterns.
Garchomp abruptly jerked upright.
His pupils contracted.
A deep, instinctual resonance rippled through him.
A calling.
A connection.
Not coincidence.
Not even close.
Cynthia closed the box calmly.
She wasn't stupid.
Three gifts.
Three reactions.
This man wasn't giving her gifts.
He was giving her weapons.
And trust.
Cynthia looked at the three boxes, then at Chen Shi.
He whispered:
"I prepared these carefully. Keep them safe."
Her eyes softened—
"…Thank you."
"I really do like them."
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