Around noon, an unexpected guest arrived at the Chen family farm.
Chen Shi immediately went out with a smile to greet him.
"Steven Stone? What brings you here today?"
The visitor was indeed Steven Stone Stone. The moment he stepped inside, he grabbed Chen Shi in an excited hug.
"Chen Shi, we succeeded! Your method was correct!"
"Last night, the world's first successfully revived fossil Pokémon was born."
"It was an Aerodactyl!"
Chen Shi was genuinely surprised. He hadn't expected Devon Corp to move this fast—but he had underestimated the power of a major family. With just a general direction, they had managed to revive the first fossil Pokémon in record time.
Chen Shi laughed and congratulated him.
"Congratulations. You finally cracked that problem."
Steven Stone shook his head.
"Without you, I don't know how long it would've taken."
"When I told them to use Litwick-line dream energy to transform a fossil body from conceptual to physical first, the researchers thought I'd lost my mind."
"If my father hadn't backed me completely, we'd never have gotten results this fast."
He let out a long breath. The memory was still vivid—the stunned expressions on the research team's faces when Aerodactyl opened its eyes.
Most of them had only worked on the project because the chairman forced them. None had believed dream-energy-based revival was possible.
After all, who would imagine that fossil Pokémon required dream energy to manifest into reality?
Chen Shi didn't take credit.
Even without his hint, Devon Corp would eventually have uncovered the method. He had simply accelerated the process by pointing them in the right direction.
"It's your team's strength that made it happen," Chen Shi said lightly. "I just tossed out an idea."
"Anyway, sit—don't just stand there."
Before Steven Stone could protest, Chen Shi dragged him into the living room and brewed him tea.
The two elders were in the underground lab, so hospitality naturally fell to him.
Steven Stone sat down and spoke earnestly.
"Chen Shi, I really need to thank you. This discovery is monumental for the company. And… it's helped me personally too. I truly have no idea how to repay you."
Chen Shi blinked, then understood.
Steven Stone might be the heir of the Stone family, but powerful clans always had many ambitious contenders. Plenty of people were waiting for him to make a mistake so they could shove him aside.
But now…
This time, he had brought the family its greatest research breakthrough in decades.
Chen Shi nodded.
"Then congratulations are in order."
"Don't worry about repayment. Just drop by when you're free."
"We're friends, aren't we?"
Steven Stone froze.
A quiet warmth spread in his chest.
"…Yeah. We're friends."
When Steven Stone first pushed the dream-energy revival method, even Professor Stone—his father—had disagreed.
But Steven Stone insisted, even risking his position as heir. That was when his father finally realized his son was serious, and chose to believe him—overriding all opposition and mobilizing the entire research department.
The pressure during those weeks had been immense.
But Steven Stone had stayed firm for one simple reason:
He trusted his first real friend.
"So," Chen Shi asked, "did you manage to build a proper dream-energy conversion device?"
Steven Stone sighed.
"Not yet. The provisional conversion unit exploded during the first revival."
"But now that we've gathered data, improved devices are already in development."
Chen Shi nodded. First attempts were never perfect.
He then changed the topic.
"Have you heard about the World Championship happening in two months?"
"Grandpa said the League went all-out this time."
Steven Stone nodded.
"I have. My father said the same thing. The League is investing heavily."
"The top sixteen competitors each get to choose a Pokémon egg."
Chen Shi frowned.
Just an egg? That didn't sound worthy of such hype.
Steven Stone chuckled.
"You're not thinking they're ordinary eggs, right?"
Right. The League would never be that stingy.
Steven Stone continued:
"Every single egg has potential no lower than the Beldum I gave you."
Chen Shi froze.
Steven Stone's Beldum had Quasi-Champion potential.
With resources, its potential could easily reach Champion-tier.
Most of Chen Shi's team surpassed that now, but those Pokémon had already evolved. Raising potential after final evolution was extremely difficult.
But these eggs?
They were all base-form eggs with Quasi-Champion or higher potential.
That was enormous.
Chen Shi exhaled slowly.
"Grandpa was right. The League is really bleeding this time."
"If the lowest potential is quasi-champion… then they're basically giving away sixteen future champions."
Steven Stone corrected him.
"Not just that."
"The top sixteen also get access to the League Treasury—each person chooses one item."
"The higher your placement, the rarer the items you're allowed to pick."
"I don't know what treasures they'll offer, but none of them will be ordinary."
Chen Shi fell silent.
…Alright.
Training hours were going up.
Eight hours a day?
Absolutely not.
They were going full 007 now.
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