Steven's departure hadn't affected Chen Shi.
He planned to wait until at least Dragapult, Florges, and Swampert had all reached Elite Four level before leaving anyway.
At their current pace, that would probably happen within a month.
On the evening of the day after Steven left, Dreepy and the others had just finished their day's training.
Chen Shi brought out a pile of food to share among them, then patiently massaged each of them to help them relax.
After such intense training, they needed massages to loosen up their muscles.
Otherwise, hidden injuries would build up over time and affect their future progress.
Cynthia sat a short distance away, resting her chin on her hand as she quietly watched him.
Just then, Gary dragged Ash over, the two little kids running up excitedly.
"Junior Martial Uncle!"
"Big Brother Chen Shi!"
Chen Shi glanced back and smiled. "Slow down. Be careful you don't fall."
These two little guys really had boundless energy. Every day, they ran all over the place, pestering the Pokémon in Professor Oak's backyard.
As the saying went, kids that age could annoy even a dog.
Now, whenever the Pokémon in the backyard heard their voices, they instinctively fled as though suffering a stress response.
Lately, aside from supervising his Pokémon's training, Chen Shi had spent practically every day looking after the two of them.
Gary hurried over excitedly. "Junior Martial Uncle, it's almost evening. Isn't it time to cook?"
"Yeah, Big Brother Chen Shi, when are we eating?" Ash asked expectantly.
In the past, Gary would often drop by Ash's house to mooch a meal.
But after Chen Shi arrived and Ash tried his cooking once, Ash never wanted to eat at home again.
Whenever mealtime rolled around, he came running over.
"Don't rush. Let me finish