"Right, Old Chen—" Steven suddenly remembered something.
"I've collected a few more stones recently. Not as many as last time, only a handful, so I didn't bring them."
Chen Shi blinked, then chuckled.
"That's fine. They're easy to find now, but soon they won't be."
He paused thoughtfully.
"You should send someone to the Kalos region—you'll probably find more there."
"Alright, I'll arrange it." Steven nodded. "And as before—half for you, half for me."
He didn't ask why Kalos specifically. He trusted his friend.
But Chen Shi grew quiet for a moment before saying:
"Splitting it half-and-half is too unfair to you. How about… seventy-thirty?"
Steven frowned immediately.
"Absolutely not."
"You're the one who told me these stones' real value. Without you, I wouldn't even know they were important. You should get half."
Chen Shi pressed his fingers against his temple.
Truthfully, the last time Steven had brought him over a dozen Mega Stones, Chen Shi had already profited far more than he deserved.
Steven was spending manpower, money, resources—
while Chen Shi simply shared intel.
But Steven insisted that information has value, and that friendship made this split natural.
After some thought, Chen Shi finally said:
"Fine—give me half of whatever you find before the World Championship. But afterward… don't give me any more."
Steven paused.
Then he exhaled with a helpless smile.
"Alright. If that's what you want… half until the Championship. After that, nothing."
"Good. That's how it should be."
Chen Shi smiled.
Friends shouldn't nickel-and-dime each other,
but neither should one take advantage of someone else's sincerity.
Across two lifetimes, Chen Shi had very few true friends—
So he cherished this one.
Steven rose to his feet.
"Well then, Old Chen, I should go. We'll meet again at the Championship—
and I expect a proper, satisfying battle!"
"No doubt about it."
Chen Shi walked him to the door.
Phoebe sprinted upstairs, determined to tidy the room she hadn't touched in months.
That Evening
Grandpa and Grandma prepared a whole table of dishes to welcome Phoebe home.
Phoebe's eyes instantly watered.
She grabbed her bowl and devoured food like a starving Snorlax.
Second bowl.
Third bowl.
Fourth—
Chen Shi couldn't resist teasing:
"If you keep eating like that, you'll be as round as your Gengar."
Phoebe glared at him with puffed cheeks—but continued eating without hesitation.
Grandma looked heartbroken.
"Slow down, dear, slow down. There's plenty—no one is competing with you."
"Thank you, Grandma!"
Phoebe replied between bites, chopsticks never stopping.
She truly hadn't eaten a proper meal in so long.
Chen Shi finished eating and headed upstairs.
Upstairs Disaster
"Togekiss!"
The moment he opened the door, Togekiss crash-landed into him, nearly in tears.
Chen Shi blinked.
"What's wrong, Professor Toge? Who bullied you?"
"Toge—KISS!!"
She flapped furiously and pointed toward—
A pink creature sprawled across the bed in a giant, smug starfish pose.
The Black-Hearted Pink Cat.
Chen Shi's eyebrow twitched.
"You're telling me… she stole your food?
And your Pokéblocks?
And your ice cream?
All of it?"
"Kiss!! Kiss!!"
Togekiss nodded so violently she nearly sprained her neck.
Then she launched into a dramatic recounting of her misery:
She'd trained all morning.
She'd been looking forward to her reward cubes.
But when she went to eat—
The pink criminal swooped in and stole everything.
When she tried to fight back—
The cat telekinetically tossed her around like a plush toy.
Then when she tried to eat her backup ice cream—
It stole that too.
And laughed at her.
Humiliated.
Hungry.
Broken inside.
Naturally, she waited for her beloved trainer to report the crime.
Chen Shi massaged his temples.
He'd spent enough time with Mew to understand its "personality":
Playful
Chaotic
A menace
Utterly shameless
Still—stealing Togekiss's food?
Her ice cream?
Unforgivable.
Without hesitation—
Chen Shi marched over, grabbed the mythical pink gremlin by the tail—
And with righteous fury—
THREW THE MYTHICAL OUT THE WINDOW.
"TAKE THAT, YOU LITTLE—!!"
SLAM.
Window shut.
Outside—
Mew floated midair, stunned.
"...?"
Did a human just throw it?
Inside—
Regret hit Chen Shi instantly.
Because—
A pissed-off mythical Pokémon is terrifying.
But goddamn—
Throwing a mythical felt incredible.
He coughed and turned to comfort Togekiss.
"I'll get you fresh food. And double ice cream tomorrow."
"Kiss!~"
Instant happiness.
Unfortunately—
A soft bzzzzzz filled the room.
Chen Shi turned slowly.
Mew floated there, aura crackling like a pink demon god, eyes narrowed to slits.
Chen Shi's smile stiffened.
"Haha… that was just a game.
A fun game.
Right?
Right…?
Haha… ha—"
He didn't finish.
Mew seized him with telekinesis—
And proceeded to shake him like a soda bottle.
"AAAAA—NO NO NO—Mew-sama spare me!! I WAS WRONG!!!"
For the next several minutes, Chen Shi experienced:
180° splits
Full-body corkscrew rotations
Human Beyblade mode
Being folded like fresh laundry
Zero-gravity tumbling
Acrobatics no human should logically survive
Togekiss watched from the corner, wide-eyed.
Sorry, Trainer…
I truly can't help you.
That cat is terrifying.
The entire room was under a psychic soundproof barrier.
Only Chen Shi suffered.
Alone.
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