After an overnight flight, the plane landed smoothly on the runway of the Capital International Airport.
Through the window, Chen Kai looked at the familiar scenery of Dragon Country before him, and a sense of calm inexplicably welled up in his heart.
He couldn't help but think of a certain old man who always encountered plane crashes, and secretly rejoiced that he was not a 'vehicle killer,' and his flights were always safe and smooth.
"We're here," Grandma Ju said, her joy barely concealed, as she tidied her belongings.
When the plane door opened, Chen Kai was slightly stunned.
More than a dozen people were already waiting on the tarmac, including Alliance officials in uniform and others holding documents, looking like assistants.
As soon as they saw Grandma Ju, they immediately surrounded her, reporting various matters all at once.
"Ju Tianwang, the Alliance meeting is starting in an hour…"
"Regarding the mega evolution stone, you need to go…"
"The Champion wants you to come to her immediately…"
Grandma Ju shrugged helplessly at Chen Kai, seemingly long accustomed to such scenes.
She turned to Delacroix and said, "Mr. Delacroix, would you like to join us? It'll be a good opportunity to introduce you to some experts on mega evolution stones and discuss related matters."
Delacroix's eyes lit up, and he quickly nodded in agreement.
Chen Kai watched the two being escorted away by the crowd, scratching his head helplessly.
In the blink of an eye, the vast tarmac was empty except for him; even the staff had left completely.
"How realistic…" he muttered softly, retrieving his backpack from the baggage claim.
Stepping out of the airport, Chen Kai took a deep breath of the Capital's familiar air and found it surprisingly comforting.
He patted the Poké Ball at his waist: "Come out, Miraidon!"
The purple Miraidon appeared and excitedly spun around, cheerfully saying, "Oh! Is it time to eat?! I'm tired of baguettes!"
"Alright, let's go home first," Chen Kai said, then sat on Miraidon's back.
Miraidon emitted a pleasant engine hum, carrying Chen Kai into the Capital's bustling streets.
In Chen Kai's opinion, Miraidon's characteristics seemed to have recovered quite a bit.
The cool winter breeze of the Capital gently brushed his cheeks, and the tall buildings on both sides of the road rapidly receded.
Chen Kai didn't feel cold; he leaned back comfortably on Miraidon's back, enjoying this rare moment of leisure.
However, good times don't last long.
At an intersection, a familiar whistle sounded, and Chen Kai's mouth twitched involuntarily.
"Cyclizar ahead, pull over!"
A traffic police officer on a police motorcycle caught up, signaling him to pull over to the side of the road.
"Sigh," Chen Kai sighed helplessly; this scene felt familiar, exactly like his last visit to the Capital.
"Hello, please show your driver's license and Cyclizar registration," the traffic police officer said sternly, though his eyes couldn't help but glance at Miraidon.
Chen Kai obediently handed over his documents, already guessing the upcoming conversation.
"Your Cyclizar… it's been modified, hasn't it?" The traffic police officer circled Miraidon, his brow furrowing tighter and tighter.
Chen Kai quickly explained, "Officer, it's sick; it's not modified."
The traffic police officer was skeptical, carefully checked the documents, and even scanned it several times with equipment, finally having to admit, "It really is sick…"
He reluctantly took a few more glances at Miraidon's shiny armor, "Go on, go on, drive safely."
After getting back on the road, Miraidon's electronic voice was full of triumph: "Being too handsome also has its troubles; even the traffic police are captivated by me~"
"Haha," Chen Kai laughed, patting its head. Miraidon had spent a long time with Xiao Mei and had also become more confident.
After returning home and putting away his luggage, Chen Kai walked through a few familiar streets to his grandparents' neighborhood. It was already lunchtime.
Through the window, he could see his grandmother and Chimecho busy in the kitchen.
His grandparents had learned of Chen Kai's itinerary last night, so they must have started preparing food that he and Miraidon loved early in the morning.
Going upstairs, Chen Kai found the door unlocked; his grandfather was tidying up in the living room.
Swablu was idly pulling at its cotton feathers.
Whether it was his imagination or not, Chen Kai felt it had gotten fatter again, almost round like a ball.
His grandfather heard the movement, turned around, and immediately burst into laughter: "Haha! Xiao Kai is back! Not bad!
Braving France alone, you have my old style! By the way, how was the trip?"
Chen Kai replied with a smile, "It was pretty good; Miraidon has recovered some more."
Miraidon smelled the food from afar. While Chen Kai was still chatting with his grandfather, it had already eagerly rushed into the living room.
His grandfather carefully examined Miraidon, nodding in praise: "Hmm, the scales are indeed more lustrous."
Just as he was speaking, his grandmother's voice came from the kitchen: "Is Xiao Kai back? Wait two more minutes, the last dish will be ready soon!"
"Alright, Grandma."
As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Kai's wrist flicked, and five red lights flashed consecutively.
Xiao Mei, Hydrapple, Grovyle, Exeggcute, and Seadra appeared simultaneously in the living room, and the originally spacious area instantly became lively.
Several powerful Pokemon auras diffused, startling the originally leisurely Swablu.
Chen Kai said to his Pokemon, "Get ready to eat."
"This… this is!" His grandfather's eyes immediately lit up. He rushed to Hydrapple in two steps, his fingers trembling with excitement, and looked up in awe: "Oh oh oh! This child has grown so big?"
In his grandfather's impression, Applin was still tiny during the summer vacation, and even after evolving later, its size wasn't particularly large. Now, Hydrapple's height was almost touching the ceiling!
Not to mention the other snake heads had also emerged, slowly turning and scanning their surroundings. Each head had a different expression, full of pressure, fully displaying the demeanor of a dragon.
Big Boss politely greeted his grandfather:
"Mee!" (Hello, Grandpa.)
His grandfather happily raised his hand and stroked Hydrapple's head.
Hydrapple always remembered that his grandfather had contributed a lot to getting the honey apple. Although being petted on the head somewhat compromised its leader's dignity, it still cooperatively lowered its head to make it easier for his grandfather to reach its forehead.
Afterward, his grandfather also greeted Grovyle, Exeggcute, and Seadra.
However, Seadra seemed somewhat unhappy for some reason and returned directly to its Poké Ball, which made Chen Kai a little troubled.
His grandfather, however, was still excited: "This Exeggcute is the child of the Exeggutor your mother raised, isn't it?"
Chen Kai nodded: "That's right."
His grandfather then rambled on with questions: "Exeggcute and Seadra, when do you plan to evolve them?"
"Exeggcute is almost ready; once I save up some money, I'll go buy it a good quality Leaf Stone."
Chen Kai said, looking troubled, "It's Seadra that's really giving me a headache; it seems to be unhappy lately, and I don't know why."
His grandfather laughed heartily, thinking Chen Kai was a bit too close to the situation: "Haha, I think you're just overthinking it. In my opinion, that child definitely wants to evolve."
Chen Kai had originally planned to evolve Seadra later. He stroked his chin, pondering: Does Seadra want to evolve?
As they spoke, his grandfather walked over to Xiao Mei and patted it: "Xiao Mei has evolved into Ampharos; its level feels quite high!"
Xiao Mei was very familiar with his grandfather and responded happily:
"Ampharos—!" (Of course. I'm very strong!)
Then, his grandfather turned to Chen Kai and said, "Xiao Kai, do you know? Your uncle said that Ampharos can gain the Dragon type through Mega Evolution, which would truly make it a dragon!"
Chen Kai smiled and nodded: "I know."
Saying that, he pointed to Xiao Mei's neck: "Grandpa, look."
Only then did his grandfather notice that Xiao Mei had an ornament around its neck. In the center of the ornament was a pure, transparent crystal sphere, inside which two intertwined energies were sealed—golden Electric-type power and red Dragon-type energy.
The two energies intertwined yet remained distinct, forming a spiral balance in the center of the crystal sphere.
His grandfather asked incredulously: "A mega evolution stone?! And it's Ampharos's exclusive one?! Xiao Kai, where did you get it?"
Chen Kai scratched his head: "I've had it for a long time; I used to think it was just a normal stone."
At this moment, his grandfather also noticed a stone on Grovyle: "Wait, is that one also?"
"Yes, that's Sceptile's ite!"
His grandfather's eyes almost sparkled: "Oh! Xiao Kai, can you let them evolve for me to see?"
Chen Kai chuckled: "Grandpa, Grovyle can't evolve right now. As for Xiao Mei, let's wait until later."