Sinnoh Region.
Celestic Town.
Inside a villa near the Historical Research Institute.
Cynthia led Chen Shi through the front door.
The moment they entered, Chen Shi noticed that none of the lights were on.
He immediately let out a sigh of relief.
Professor Rowan's grandmother—Professor Carolina—was probably still at the institute and hadn't returned yet.
Without hesitation, Chen Shi completely relaxed.
He released Diancie and the others, casually poured himself a glass of water, then flopped onto the sofa as though he owned the place.
After all—
He had visited this place countless times before.
He had even lived here for a while.
Cynthia shot him a sideways glance.
"You certainly don't stand on ceremony."
"Eh."
Chen Shi waved his hand dismissively.
"With our relationship, what's there to be polite about?"
"Oh?"
"What relationship would that be?"
A teasing voice suddenly came from upstairs.
Cynthia immediately looked up.
A woman wearing a white lab coat stood leaning against the railing.
Though wrinkles marked her face, her eyes remained bright and lively.
It was none other than Professor Carolina.
She crossed her arms and looked down at Chen Shi with amusement.
Weren't you acting pretty confident before arriving?
Let's see how you handle this now.
On the sofa, Chen Shi fell silent for two seconds.
Then he forced out a smile and turned around.
"Ah, Professor Carolina!"
"You seem younger than ever."
"Mhm~"
Professor Carolina nodded slightly as she descended the stairs.
Then she spoke meaningfully.
"I heard you've been having quite the exciting life lately."
"You've traveled through various regions and even met plenty of Legendary Pokémon."
Chen Shi laughed awkwardly.
"No, no."
"I've just been wandering around."
"I was simply lucky enough to encounter a few unusual things."
"Is that so?"
Professor Carolina continued walking toward them.
"Then how have you been lately?"
"Uh..."
Chen Shi scratched his head.
He couldn't quite figure out where this conversation was heading.
"All right, I guess?"
"Only all right?"
Professor Carolina sat opposite him.
A crafty gleam flashed through her eyes.
"Is my Nana not beautiful?"
"With such a gorgeous girl accompanying you, all you can say is 'all right'?"
Then she let out a long sigh.
"Oh dear."
"This poor old woman almost thought her granddaughter had gone missing."
"I was about ready to file a missing person's report."
Chen Shi:
"..."
He knew it.
After dragging Cynthia around the world for so long, there was no way he'd escape a little sarcasm.
What he hadn't expected—
Was for Carolina to launch straight into it without any warning.
Meanwhile, Cynthia walked over helplessly.
"Grandma."
"I called you regularly, didn't I?"
"Please stop teasing him."
Professor Carolina glanced at her disappointing granddaughter.
"Oh?"
"Already taking his side?"
"Ah, this poor old woman..."
"No one loves me."
"No one cares about me."
"I spent all these years raising my granddaughter only for her to side with outsiders."
As she spoke, she dramatically slapped her thigh.
Anyone seeing the scene would think she'd suffered an enormous injustice.
Chen Shi's lips twitched.
Here we go again.
The drama queen grandmother was back in action.
Cynthia rubbed her forehead.
"Grandma."
"I'm back now, aren't I?"
"Hmph."
Professor Carolina remained stubborn.
"If you hadn't returned soon, I would've thought I was about to have a great-grandchild."
The moment those words fell—
Chen Shi and Cynthia exchanged strange looks.
Both immediately felt awkward.
From a certain perspective...
That assumption wasn't entirely unreasonable.
Unfortunately—
Their reactions triggered alarm bells inside Carolina's head.
Her eyes widened instantly.
She stared at her granddaughter in disbelief.
"W-Wait."
"Don't tell me..."
"Am I really about to have a great-grandchild?"
Previously, she'd heard rumors that the two had even shared a tent during their travels.
At the time, she hadn't thought much of it.
After all—
Both were sensible young people.
Surely they knew where the line was.
But now—
Their expressions made her feel very uneasy.
Cynthia's face flushed red.
"Grandma!"
"What are you talking about?"
"We just encountered something unusual in Kanto."
Then she carefully explained everything that happened with Celebi and Chen Yanxi.
She even took out the stack of photographs she always carried and handed them over.
After listening to the explanation—
Professor Carolina finally relaxed.
Truthfully—
She had never opposed the relationship between Cynthia and Chen Shi.
Chen Shi was the grandson of one of her oldest friends.
She knew exactly what kind of person he was.
Not only was he reliable—
He was also exceptionally talented.
She had no reason to object.
Now that she knew nothing outrageous had happened, she no longer pursued the topic.
Instead—
Her attention shifted completely to the adorable little girl in the photos.
A bright smile immediately spread across her face.
"Wonderful."
"Wonderful!"
"I've heard the legends surrounding Celebi."
"I never imagined you'd actually meet it."
"And to think your future would contain such an adorable little girl."
Chen Shi puffed out his chest proudly.
"Well, of course she's adorable."
"She's my daughter."
Professor Carolina shot him a look and sneered.
"What exactly are you so proud of?"
"I still haven't settled the matter of you stealing my granddaughter away for so long."
Chen Shi:
"..."
So we're really never moving past this, huh?
Forget it.
He shouldn't have said anything.
Meanwhile—
Cynthia sat beside her grandmother and continued showing her photographs.
The two chatted happily.
The atmosphere was warm and lively.
Feeling bored, Chen Shi looked around the room.
Only then did he notice a group of Pokémon watching him with great interest.
Besides his own Florges, Togekiss, and the others—
There were Cynthia's Pokémon as well.
Garchomp.
Lucario.
And several more.
Among them—
Garchomp's amusement was practically overflowing.
She couldn't have been happier watching Chen Shi suffer.
After all—
The land shark still held a grudge.
She hadn't forgotten how Swampert had beaten her senseless during the World Championships.
Chen Shi immediately glared at her.
Garchomp:
"?"
What was that for?
Did this human really think Shark Sis was easy to bully?
Unwilling to back down—
Garchomp immediately glared right back.
Chen Shi had been bored anyway.
Now that Garchomp dared challenge him—
He instantly took the bait.
Soon—
One human and one dragon began staring each other down.
He glared.
She glared.
Neither side was willing to lose.
The surrounding Pokémon watched in fascination as the situation escalated.
First they stared while sitting.
Then they stood up.
Eventually—
Their faces were practically pressed together.
As if they were competing to see whose eyeballs were bigger.
When it looked like the two were about to headbutt each other—
Lucario and Dragapult finally stepped in and dragged them apart.
Even Cynthia and Professor Carolina were drawn away from their conversation by the commotion.
After watching for a while—
Professor Carolina snorted.
"Exactly like her grandmother when she was young."
"Childish."
The room instantly fell silent.
Even Garchomp froze.
Cynthia blinked.
Then slowly turned toward her grandmother.
"Grandma..."
"Were you really like that?"
Professor Carolina:
"..."
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