In the Chen family's living room, Grandpa Chen leaned back and asked calmly:
"So, Shi'er… how are you planning to handle that newly discovered Fairy Type?"
Chen Shi shrugged.
"Right now the world hasn't fully recovered Fairy-type energy. Only my Fairy energy cubes can trigger awakening.
So for now, I'll keep the Fairy Type hidden."
"When Fairy energy resurges globally, I'll publish it. At that point…"
He smirked.
"At the very least, I'll become a top-tier researcher."
Grandma nodded approvingly, though her voice held a touch of regret.
"If you weren't still 'inexperienced'—only having published three evolution lines so far—announcing a new type would instantly make you a Professor."
Grandpa sighed deeply, sharing the sentiment.
But Chen Shi's expression shifted—sly, almost playful.
"What if… we add Super Evolution on top of that?"
Silence.
The elders froze like statues.
Then—
SLAP!
Grandpa smacked his thigh so hard the teacup rattled.
"Yes!! Super Evolution!" he shouted.
"If you reveal BOTH Fairy Type and Super Evolution… a Professor title is guaranteed!"
Grandma's eyes glowed with pride. Their grandson… a future Pokémon Professor. They could die happy.
Chen Shi stretched lazily.
"Speaking of Super Evolution, Grandpa, how's the Mega Stone collection going?"
Grandpa snorted.
"You brat, I didn't forget! But collecting them secretly is tough. I've only found three so far."
He tossed Chen Shi a cloth pouch.
Chen Shi opened it with anticipation—
Inside were:
Charizardite X
Mawilite
Aggronite
Chen Shi stared at the stones.
No Mega Metagross.
Grandpa squinted at his expression.
"Not satisfied?"
Chen Shi shook his head.
"Not unsatisfied. Just… none of these are Mega Stones I personally need."
"But we'll keep collecting."
He pocketed the stones anyway. A Mega Stone was a Mega Stone.
As he turned toward the stairs to work on his next research paper, something clicked.
"Grandpa—do we have any Metal Coats at home?"
Grandpa thought for a moment.
"No. Go buy one. You only need a low-quality one for testing anyway."
Grandma tossed him a Poké Ball.
"Take Garchomp. Let that silly dragon stretch its legs."
Chen Shi grabbed the ball and headed up the back mountain.
Dragloak Training Grounds
At Salamence's cliff-side cave, Salamence floated gracefully while supervising Drakloak. The dragonling was firing off Draco Meteor after Draco Meteor.
Cratered ground everywhere.
Drakloak spotted him and zoomed over proudly.
"Kyaa!"
(Look at my progress!)
Chen Shi rubbed its head.
"Yes yes, very good. Keep learning from Big Sis Salamence."
Drakloak beamed and returned to training.
Then Chen Shi walked straight to Garchomp—who was napping in the sun.
He popped open a wine bottle.
Garchomp's eyes snapped open.
"Garchaaah?"
(Is that…?)
"Want it?"
Garchomp nodded so fast its head almost fell off.
"Come with me to Violet City, you get this bottle.
Come back with me, you get another."
Garchomp hesitated. Normally it didn't leave without Grandma's command.
Chen Shi waved Grandma's Poké Ball.
Instant obedience.
Garchomp spun around and lowered itself.
"GARCHOMP!"
(Let's go, brother!!)
Violet City — Frustration
Outside the city, Chen Shi recalled Garchomp and headed inside.
At the first store:
"Excuse me—where are your Metal Coats?"
"We're out of stock."
"…What?"
"You can reserve one. Next shipment arrives in two days."
Chen Shi waved them off.
"Forget it."
Second shop—out.
Third shop—out.
He scratched his head.
"How can a whole city be out of Metal Coats? Did someone buy them all to make kitchen utensils?"
Then he remembered something Grandpa once showed him.
He slipped into a quiet, shady bar.
Chen Shi placed 10,000 Poké Dollars on the counter.
The bartender said nothing, counted the bills, and opened a hidden door behind a cabinet.
"Need a cloak and mask?" the bartender asked.
"No."
The bartender muttered, "Reckless kid…"
Chen Shi walked down alone.
The Black Market
The stairs opened into a massive underground bazaar.
Hundreds of stalls. Hundreds of masked buyers. Rare materials everywhere.
Chen Shi walked in openly, bare-faced.
People turned to stare.
He ignored them.
Most stalls sold fakes—pretty good ones. Without his internal system scanner, even he might've fallen for it.
He kept browsing until he found something interesting at a quiet, dusty stall.
He lifted a stone from the table.
"How much is this?"
The vendor glanced lazily.
"100,000."
"Deal."
Chen Shi tossed the cash and walked away with the stone.
He held it up to the dim lantern light.
A shimmering blue-white swirl reflected back.
A Lucario Mega Stone.
A genuine one.
Chen Shi exhaled sharply and smiled.
"…Maybe it was a blessing that every store was out of Metal Coats today."
Otherwise, he never would've ended up here—
and never would've found a treasure like this.
Advance Chapters available on P@treon
patreon.com/lucarioTL