It was the same familiar private dining room, but this time, it was much livelier.
Sitting in the room, Chen Shi could hardly believe it. Who were all these people going to become?
Even the least accomplished among them would be a member of the Elite Four!
Three of them would become Champions.
Steven, the future Hoenn Champion; Lance, the Johto Champion; Cynthia, the Sinnoh Champion; and Hoenn's future Ghost-type Elite King and Kanto's future Ice-type Elite King.
Now all of them were sitting beside him, sharing a meal.
This really is unbelievable! Chen Shi marveled inwardly.
Then he asked, "Are all of you going to enter the upcoming Pokémon World Championships?"
"Of course. How could an event like that go on without me?" Lance wore a confident smile, his tone firm.
"My goal is to become Kanto's Dragon-type Champion."
Hearing that, Chen Shi nearly burst out laughing.
"Then your Dragon-type Pokémon must be really strong, right?"
There was nothing wrong with the question itself. The problem was that this guy's only actual dragon was Dragonite. The rest were Pokémon like Charizard, Gyarados, and Aerodactyl.
Those Pokémon only had "dragon" in their Chinese names. What else did they have to do with dragons?
Neither Lance nor the others picked up on the odd note in Chen Shi's voice. Only Cynthia noticed, though she did not understand what he meant either.
"Of course. They're all great partners who've fought by my side."
"Then I'll have to meet them sometime," Chen Shi said, keeping a straight face as he fought back his laughter.
Lance laughed heartily. "No problem. You'll definitely get a chance."
Then his tone shifted. "I heard from my father that these Pokémon World Championships aren't as simple as they appear."
"They'll very likely affect how much the different regions