Inside the temporary Pokémon Center at the Silver Conference Hall.
The moment Chen Shi opened his eyes on the hospital bed, a pungent smell of disinfectant hit him. Then he heard a startled cry.
"Look, Brother Chen Shi is awake! He's awake!"
At those words, Cynthia, who had been sitting nearby, immediately perked up and hurried to his bedside.
"Are you okay?"
"Does anything still feel wrong?"
Listening to Cynthia's worried questions, Chen Shi managed a faint smile.
"Were you worried about me?"
Cynthia paused, then reached toward his ear.
"Wait, wait, wait! I was wrong! I'm still a patient!"
The moment he saw her move, Chen Shi begged for mercy.
He had to admit, Cynthia had a seriously strong grip. Once she pinched his ear, she wouldn't let go, practically twisting it off.
"Hmph!"
Cynthia snorted, folded her arms, and stepped back to make room for Steven and Pheobe.
"Old Chen, you really went all out, huh? Four Mega Evolutions! I'm amazed you managed to hold out until the battle was over before passing out."
"You're pretty tough!"
Steven raised an eyebrow at the man in the hospital bed, his tone teasing.
Chen Shi shook his head with a bitter smile. He hadn't wanted to push himself that hard either, but with Charizard, Metagross, Florges, and Dreepy all in that state toward the end, how could he not?
If he gave up, wouldn't all their efforts have been wasted?
How could he face Charizard and the others afterward?
So in the end, he had no choice but to give it everything.
Still, he hadn't come away empty-handed. Besides winning the championship, Dragapult had also unlocked a bond form.
Barring any surprises, Dreepy's bond form was the greatest gain of this trip.
Before this, he had been agonizing over the