Grandpa Chen

Biodata

Background / History

Grandpa Chen and his wife lost their son and daughter-in-law during a Pokémon riot suppression operation when Chen Shi was just over a year old. Chen Shi became the family’s only remaining descendant, and the grandparents raised him with extensive support for his future as a breeder and Trainer 3 11.

He recognized Chen Shi’s exceptional breeding talent early. Although his grandson could have passed the Intermediate Breeder examination at eleven, Grandpa Chen delayed his participation for three years to avoid attracting unwanted attention. Chen Shi’s eventual qualification at fourteen still shocked the League, whose previous youngest Intermediate Breeder had been twenty-five 3.

Before Chen Shi began traveling, Grandpa Chen used numerous medicinal herbs during his Swampert’s pregnancy to improve her offspring’s potential. He later introduced the young Mudkip to Chen Shi, giving his grandson a powerful future partner 6 11.

Grandpa Chen encouraged Chen Shi to travel and insisted that he visit Sinnoh rather than Hoenn or Kanto. Despite believing that young people needed independence, he welcomed his grandson’s decision to return after a year and remain on the farm 2 3 7.

Grandma Chen originally left Sinnoh with him. After their children’s deaths, she remained in Hoenn to raise Chen Shi rather than return to visit her childhood friend, Doctor Carolina 314.

Grandpa Chen was almost fifty when he first reached the level of making top-grade potions. He devoted his life to researching improvements to the family’s Potential Potion, continuing an effort that had already begun in his grandfather’s generation. Despite this work, he never found a starting point for raising it to master grade and eventually entrusted that ambition to Chen Shi 80.

Personality

Grandpa Chen is affectionate and teasing with his family. He enthusiastically welcomes Dreepy home, then needles him about his boast of “crushing all rivals” despite being unable to defeat Swampert. His pride in Chen Shi is equally conspicuous: Pheobe’s grandmother remarks that he boasts about his grandson every day 2 19.

His protective instincts coexist with a practical belief that strength and experience are necessary for survival. He initially responds to possible threats against the farm with open defiance, but accepts Grandma Chen’s argument for keeping a low profile until Chen Shi grows stronger. He also supports his grandson’s research ambitions rather than restricting him to the family’s breeding profession 7 23 27.

He respects Chen Shi’s independence and does not demand explanations for every opportunity or secret his grandson acquires. He supports cooperation with Devon Corporation and maintains that the family should back Chen Shi’s decisions now that he has grown up 5 55 56.

His confidence in Chen Shi’s talent is particularly strong. After witnessing his grandson make a top-grade potion at sixteen, he insists that Chen Shi can accomplish the family’s long-unfulfilled goal of developing a master-grade Potential Potion. He regards the success as proof that the Chen family has a successor 80.

Nevertheless, he feels guilt over the restrictions imposed on Chen Shi’s childhood. When his grandson publicly explains that he concealed his abilities because his elderly grandparents could not protect him indefinitely, Grandpa Chen watches silently with guilt in his eyes 135.

He is deeply attached to his remaining longtime friends. During the Mt. Pyre emergency, he becomes anxious enough to pace around the living room while awaiting news of Pheobe and her grandparents. His concern for Chen Shi likewise persists even after his grandson becomes exceptionally powerful: he watches the confrontation with Groudon and Kyogre in fear and later sternly reprimands Chen Shi for taking such risks 166 249 261.

Abilities & Skills

Potion-Making

A League-certified Top-level Breeder, Grandpa Chen specializes in medicinal potions. His Potential Potion is especially sought after and forms the foundation of the Chen family’s livelihood 3 9.

• Revival Potion — Treats Pokémon injuries. A top-grade preparation requires top-grade Combee honey among its ingredients 2 9.
• Potential Potion — Increases a Pokémon’s potential during evolution. Florges received one when evolving into Floette 9 11.
• Energy-Attracting Potion — Enables Arcanine to expel the foreign Fire-type energy destabilizing his body 10.
• Recovery and follow-up treatment — Prescribes a Recovery Potion for Arcanine and administers a calming potion after the foreign energy is expelled 10 11.
• Family instruction — Begins teaching Chen Shi the family’s important breeding skills after previously judging him insufficiently skilled to learn them 9.
• Top-grade Energy Recovery Potion instruction — Teaches Chen Shi the formula, preparation sequence, and techniques, including exact measurements of cold jade flower essence and controlled stirring with a jade rod. He supervises Chen Shi’s first successful batch 80.
• Potential Potion research — The family’s existing formula has reached top grade after generations of improvement. It can raise potential to Near-Champion level at most and is of little use to Pokémon whose potential already exceeds that level. Grandpa Chen identifies master grade as the necessary next step, but has not achieved it himself 80.

Pokémon Diagnosis and Treatment

Grandpa Chen can assess Pokémon development, potential, and internal energy imbalances through examination 3 10 29.

• Recognizes that Dreepy is at elite peak and approaching evolution 3.
• Identifies Champion-level foreign Fire-type energy as the reason Arcanine remains critically weakened despite his injuries having been treated 10.
• Directs Arcanine’s treatment, then recommends a Nurse Joy checkup and two weeks without battling 10 11.
• Examines Charmander’s weak tail flame and delayed evolution, confirming that excessive Dragon-type energy suppresses his Fire-type energy 29.
• Advises Charmander to release excess energy through Dragon-type moves, strengthen his Fire-type energy with resources, and restore his health before evolving to avoid losing potential 29.
• Determines that a Champion Peak Salamence’s reverse scale alone would probably not overcome his own Salamence’s insufficient potential 55.

Breeding and Pokémon Knowledge

• Prenatal breeding care — Uses medicinal herbs to improve the potential of the Mudkip intended for Chen Shi 11.
• Evolution knowledge — Explains that Drakloak and Dragapult can split off dependent Dreepy that cannot evolve independently 3.
• Power limits — Explains that advancing beyond peak Elite Four level requires surpassing a Pokémon’s limits through perseverance, potential, and resources 11.
• Mystery Realms — Describes these ancient spaces as resource-rich environments with concentrated energy and unusual Pokémon; most known realms are controlled by the League 21.
• Resource assessment — Recognizes the family’s hidden Dragon Blood Crystal as a legendary-grade resource containing exceptionally rich, pure Dragon-type energy, although he does not know its exact identity before Chen Shi examines it 55 56.
• Mystery Realm creation — Knows that the energy initially supplied to a Mystery Realm core determines the realm’s type. He approves Chen Shi’s selection of Grass-type energy because it suits the farm’s Berries and medicinal herbs 160.
• Hisuian Pokémon research — Reads about Hisuian Goodra and raises the concern that their distinctive form depends on Hisui’s environment and might not persist after relocation. Chen Shi responds by planning a Steel-type Mystery Realm for the group 460.

Pokémon Food and Farm Management

Although potion-making is his main specialty, Grandpa Chen also participates in the farm’s food production and daily care 2 9 30.

• Pokéblock preparation — Offers to make Charmander’s Pokéblocks himself if Grandma Chen becomes too occupied with researching Fairy-type food 30.
• Fairy-type food research — Works with Grandma Chen on top-grade Fairy-type Pokéblocks and asks Chen Shi to harvest ripe Berries for their laboratory research 206.
• Goodra provisions — Helps prepare a substantial stock of food for the Hisuian Goodra group before their transfer to the farm 460.
• Farm duties — Shares routine work such as feeding Pokémon, collecting honey, and milking Miltank with Grandma Chen 1 2 9.

Power Progression

Pokémon

The following Pokémon are explicitly identified as Grandpa Chen’s partners.

• Salamence, Sceptile, and Venusaur reached peak Elite Four level before Chen Shi was born and, as of Chapter 11, had remained there for at least sixteen years. Grandpa Chen attributes their stalled growth to insufficient potential, not a lack of effort or resources. Salamence later overcomes this barrier 11 56.
• After witnessing Mega Evolution, he asks whether he and his own Swampert can use it. The stamina cost discourages him; he is not shown performing Mega Evolution 7.
• Grandpa Chen initially reserves the Dragon Blood Crystal for Chen Shi and Drakloak rather than his own Salamence. He relents after Chen Shi reveals Giratina’s naturally shed reverse scale as an alternative resource for Drakloak 55.
• Salamence remains part of the family’s protective support for Chen Shi. During the later Mt. Pyre emergency, Chen Shi departs with her and Grandma Chen’s Garchomp at Grandpa Chen’s urging 162.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Potion-making laboratory — Contains numbered potion boxes and a Pokémon transfer device used by Chen Shi to evolve Onix into Steelix. Grandpa Chen later teaches top-grade potion preparation in the basement laboratory 10 25 30 80.
• Medicinal herb garden — Located on the mountain behind the farmhouse; supplies part of the family’s breeding and potion-making operation 9.
• Shared treasure chest — Holds unusual objects collected by Grandpa Chen and Grandma Chen in their youth, including a King’s Rock, Razor Claw, three Key Stones, and five Mega Stones 6.
• Original Mega Stones — The chest contains stones for Blaziken, Alakazam, Gengar, Beedrill, and Tyranitar. The Swampert Mega Stone had separately remained with his Swampert after years of unsuccessful study 6.
• Additional Mega Stones — Discreetly acquires stones for Charizard X, Mawile, and Aggron, then gives them to Chen Shi 27.
• High-grade Fire Stones — Offers the family’s supply to help treat Charmander’s energy imbalance 30.
• Dragon Blood Crystal — A hidden family treasure originally reserved for Chen Shi. It began as a Top-grade Dragon Gem, was soaked in Rayquaza’s blood, and transformed underground over a thousand years. Grandpa Chen gives it to Chen Shi to help Salamence and Garchomp reach Champion level 55 56.
• Family Grass-type Mystery Realm — Supports using Chen Shi’s League-acquired core to create a Grass-type realm suitable for transplanting the farm’s fruit trees and medicinal herbs 160.
• Research institute — Informs Chen Shi that Devon Corporation has completed the new institute and that researchers are waiting to join it. Chen Shi decides to use the facility to investigate Dark Matter 460.

Relationships

• Chen Shi — Grandson and breeding student. Grandpa Chen nurtures his talent, provides Pokémon and resources, and supports his development as both Trainer and researcher. He later supervises Chen Shi’s first top-grade potion and places the family’s hopes for a master-grade Potential Potion on him 3 9 11 27 80.
• Grandma Chen — Wife and fellow Top-level Breeder. Her specialty in tailored Pokémon food complements his potion-making; they jointly care for the farm and protect their grandson. They also collaborate on top-grade Fairy-type Pokéblocks and provisions for the Hisuian Goodra group 3 7 9 206 460.
• Mu Jin and the Stone family — Trading contacts. Grandpa Chen negotiates the exchange of Big Root Valley’s location for a Shiny Beldum and related resources. He later supports Chen Shi’s plan to cooperate with Devon Corporation on collecting Mega Stones 4 5 9 13 55.
• Officer Jenny Muko — Client whose Arcanine he treats after exposure to a Champion-level Camerupt’s attack 2 10 11.
• Pheobe’s grandparents — Friends of several decades. They entrust him with helping their granddaughter adjust to the outside world. He urgently sends Chen Shi to Mt. Pyre when their safety is threatened and is visibly relieved to learn they survived 18 20 22 162 166.
• Pheobe — Temporary guest under his care. He welcomes her into the household, urges her to become strong enough to protect herself and her Pokémon, and later supports her journey with safeguards. He and Grandma Chen initially suspect romantic feelings between her and Chen Shi but decide not to push the matter 22 23 33 59.
• Professor Oak — Knows Oak’s former Champion status, strength, and extensive connections. He is delighted when Chen Shi becomes Oak’s student, believing this relationship offers his grandson protection from interference within the League. They are later shown chatting together at the farm 79 526.
• Cynthia — Welcomes her alongside Chen Shi after the Pokémon World Championships and shares the family’s celebration of their results. He reacts knowingly to Chen Shi bringing her home and later teases his grandson for competing with her and Pheobe for Grandma Chen’s attention 159 161 206.
• Yuko — Chen Shi’s childhood neighbor, whose progress he takes pride in. He previously made a special trip to the League on her behalf and watches her reach the Pokémon World Championships’ top sixty-four. Later, he brings her to Chen Shi to discuss her ambition to compete for a Hoenn Elite Four position; she asks both men to watch her compete 96 530.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Dream Depiction

Within the dream-family setting involving an older Chen Shi, Cynthia, and their daughter, Grandpa Chen appears at the family dining table. When another Cynthia arrives unexpectedly, he exchanges a glance with Grandma Chen but respects Chen Shi’s signal not to ask questions. This depiction does not establish a real-world great-granddaughter or a change to his actual family circumstances 549 550.

Notable Quotes

“A boy needs to get out there and make his own way. Seeing the world will be good for his future.” 2

“I’m old, not dead. If anyone dares reach for this farm, I’ll chop their claws off.” 7

“You can decide these things yourself. We’ll support you.” 55

“We’ve been trying to improve it since my grandfather’s generation, and we still haven’t succeeded. But I believe you can definitely do it.” 80

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