Chapter 320: But I’m Still Me! I’ve Never Been Afraid of Being Misjudged!

[VIP Chat Group]

[Brawly]: Psycho Cut through a wooden sword?! She’s not even a Trainer anymore. She’s basically a Psychic-type Pokémon wearing human skin!

[Caitlin]: What a beautiful shape. Even my Gallade can’t produce a Psycho Cut that flawless.

[Korrina]: So this is the inherited training regimen of Saffron Gym? Suddenly, being forced to hold horse stances by Grandpa when I was little sounds like paradise.

[Raihan]: Reminder: these aren’t normal human children. Their mother is Sabrina and their father is Asher. If that genetic combination belonged to a Pokémon, they’d basically be Legendary-tier specimens with absurd base stats.

[Lt. Surge]: Didn’t Aurelia and Selene inherit their psychic powers from Sabrina? What’s Asher got to do with it?

[Skyla]: Miori: Hello.

[Cilan]: Miori is basically just ridiculously strong. Aurelia and Selene actually have psychic powers. That’s completely different, isn’t it?

[Volkner]: You’re calling a little girl who pinned down a Zweilous and beat it up "basically just ridiculously strong"?

[Flint]: I’ve figured it out. Asher’s daughters are basically a bunch of humanoid Legendary Pokémon.

[Leon]: So does Asher have any daughters who are normal?

[Raihan]: Looking for a normal person in Asher’s family is like looking for Groudon in the sky. You’re searching in the wrong direction from the very beginning.

The video continued playing.

One hour later.

Selene lay sprawled across the floor in the shape of a starfish, panting so hard she could barely breathe.

Aurelia returned the wooden sword to the rack, crouched beside her, and patted her shoulder.

"One more hour."

"Once you’ve finished the basic training, you can spend the rest of the time however you want."

Selene’s eyes lit up—

Then immediately narrowed suspiciously.

"Big Sis, you’re not secretly going to increase the workload, are you?"

"I won’t."

Selene stared at Aurelia for three seconds.

Then she assumed an extremely serious fighting stance.

"Then bring it on!"

"Today, the great Selene will prove that a genius only needs twenty minutes to finish two hours’ worth of an ordinary person’s training!"

Another hour passed.

Training finally ended.

"Big Sis..."

Selene lay collapsed on the floor and pulled a business card from her pocket, holding it weakly in the air.

"I think the Sun-Moon Group is about to lose its magnificent founder..."

"My shareholders are probably going to be devastated..."

Aurelia crouched down and pulled her to her feet, then casually brushed the dust from her hair.

"Mom said she’s making stew tonight."

"Dad will be home early too."

Selene sprang upright like a carp.

"YOU SHOULD’VE SAID THAT FIRST!"

"I’m instantly back at full health!"

She had only just recovered her energy when her communicator rang.

Selene glanced at the screen.

Her eyes immediately lit up.

"Big Sis, one of my extremely important shareholders says he’ll tell my fortune and predict my future business prospects for free!"

"What shareholder?"

Selene put away the communicator.

"Someone in a black cloak approached me earlier and asked to invest."

"He put in three hundred million League Coins right away~"

"That much?"

Aurelia thought for a moment.

"Then I’ll go with you."

"Really?"

Selene’s eyes brightened.

"Mom told me to supervise you. I’m not letting you run around alone."

Aurelia paused.

"And if this person turns out to be dangerous, I can protect you."

Selene immediately wrapped both arms around Aurelia’s arm.

"Big Sis, you really are the most dependable big sister in the whole world!"

"Save it."

The sisters talked as they teleported out of Saffron Gym.

The setting sun dyed the entire street the color of autumn maple leaves.

At the street corner, a fortune-telling stall was still open.

A person dressed in a black cloak sat on the ground, idly fiddling with a stone in his hand.

Aurelia spotted him from a distance and slowed her steps slightly.

"Selene."

"Are you sure this person is trustworthy?"

"Of course!"

Selene lowered her voice.

"Before investing, he even told my future."

"He said the Sun-Moon Group would become a business giant within three years."

"I thought his prediction was incredibly accurate."

"So that’s all it took for you to let him invest?"

"Not entirely."

Selene coughed.

"Mainly because he said that I have the face of a future CEO."

Aurelia: "..."

"Big Sis, want him to tell your future too?"

"No."

"I don’t believe in this stuff."

"We’re already here!"

Selene ignored her protests and dragged Aurelia over to the fortune-telling stall.

"You must be Miss Aurelia."

A deliberately lowered, raspy voice emerged from beneath the black cloak.

"I’ve heard much about you."

"Now that I’ve finally seen you in person, your extraordinary bearing truly lives up to your reputation."

Aurelia instinctively straightened her back.

"You know me?"

The cloaked figure pushed a crystal ball toward her.

"I have already glimpsed a fragment of your destiny within this."

Aurelia frowned.

"What kind of stone is this?"

The cloaked figure leaned closer and lowered his voice mysteriously.

"A meteorite."

"Why would a meteorite be this smooth and round?"

"Because I personally rubbed it until it became round."

Aurelia: "..."

"Just kidding."

The cloaked figure waved a hand.

"In truth, this is an ancient meteorite excavated from certain ruins."

"An ancient prophecy is recorded upon it..."

"But a mysterious power placed a curse on it."

Selene had already been completely drawn in.

Even Aurelia frowned with interest.

The cloaked figure lowered his voice even further.

"And..."

"Only one Legendary Pokémon can break this curse!"

"What Pokémon?"

Selene blurted out.

"The being capable of devouring space and traversing dimensions."

"Palkia?"

"No."

The cloaked figure slowly removed his hood.

"What it actually requires is..."

The hood fell away—

Revealing Steven’s face, wearing an absurdly brilliant grin.

"YOUR AMAZING UNCLE STEVEN!!!"

Selene instantly turned to stone.

Aurelia silently looked away.

Steven brushed back his hair and struck what he clearly believed was an incredibly handsome pose.

"Well?"

"Surprised?"

"Shocked?"

"Your uncle traveled thousands of miles specifically to visit you two!"

"And while I was at it, I even invested in Selene’s future company."

"So?"

"Wouldn’t you say Uncle Steven is exceptionally reliable?"

[VIP Chat Group]

[Volkner]: Good grief. How many times have we seen Steven by now? Are we sure he isn’t a mandatory NPC in every parallel world?

[Flint]: Steven’s appearance rate is ridiculous. I’m starting to suspect he paid the screen for extra screentime.

[Raihan]: ...I was genuinely expecting the cloaked guy to be some mysterious, high-level character. Then the hood comes off and it’s that face? Can the screen add an anti-Steven mode?

[Wallace]: Steven, are you a Poochyena or something? You show up in every single episode. At this point, the odds of Steven jumping out of the grass in a parallel world might genuinely be higher than encountering a Poochyena.

[Steven]: You all misunderstood Steven Stone last episode. You misunderstand Steven Stone again this episode. Perhaps you’ll misunderstand me again next episode. But I am still me. I’ve never been afraid of being misjudged.

[Raihan]: What do you mean, "misjudged"?! You’re the one who dresses everything up in this ridiculously flashy way and invents a bunch of chuunibyou dialogue every single time! Who could possibly keep a straight face?!

[Steven]: I refuse to accept this! Why is it that whenever Brother Asher makes some mysterious entrance, all of you call him cool—but when I make an entrance, suddenly it’s absurd?! The difference in treatment is outrageous!

[Sidney]: Because you’re Steven.

[Phoebe]: Because you’re Steven.

[Glacia]: Because you’re Steven.

[Steven]: ...