A water-type trainer who specializes in dragon-type water.

Provoked by Mo Lao's words, Guo Lao immediately glared at Mo Tieshan and said, "You old Mo! You intellectuals who wield pens always love to insult people indirectly!"

"What? So you think I'm just here to freeload today?"

His voice was loud and clear, carrying the kind of reckless spirit unique to the older generation: "I've even entrusted my strongest partner to the young man, isn't that enough trust? As for the rest of the assets, Xiao Heng might not even be interested in them. But then again..."

He changed the subject abruptly, a hint of mysterious pride in his voice, and patted his somewhat worn-out lapel.

"I still have one or two of these little gadgets, but I'm afraid that if I take them out, they might scare you!"

Zhang Heng watched the two national-level masters bicker like old children and found the scene both heartwarming and amusing.

He wasn't embarrassed at all; instead, he quickly and skillfully cut the cake.

He specially selected two slices, carefully scraped off most of the thick layer of cream on the surface with a cake knife, and added more chopped nuts and dried fruit embedded in the cake base.

As a former medical student, I know that older people need to control their sugar intake, and moderate amounts of nuts are rich in healthy fats and trace elements, which are beneficial to their health.

He carried two small plates of prepared cake to the two elderly people, a smile on his face, and said, "Mr. Guo, Mr. Mo, your presence is the greatest honor for me. Seeing you both in good health makes me happier than receiving any gift. Here's a little cake, just a small token of my appreciation. Please try it and see if you like it."

He skillfully handed over the cake, his words full of respect and care for his elders, trying to quell the small "dispute" that had arisen because of him.

However, Mr. Guo clearly had no intention of giving up so easily.

He took the cake plate and casually placed it on the table next to him, then actually began to rummage through the inner pocket of his seemingly plain coat.

After a moment, he took out a small cloth bag made of dark cotton with slightly worn edges, the opening of which was tied with a thin rope.

"Here, take it."

Guo Lao untied the rope and carefully took out an evolution stone from the cloth bag. The stone had a profound texture.

Inside, three spiral halos of green, purple, and white intertwine, creating a mysterious and magnificent effect.

Zhang Heng's gaze was instantly drawn to it. Even without any conscious effort, his system-derived insight naturally activated, and information about the evolution stone clearly surfaced in his mind:

Item Name: Venusaur Mega Evolution Stone

Note: This is a Super S-rank item, a key medium for resonating with Venusaur and completing its Mega Evolution.

"This is a Venusaur Mega Evolution Stone!!"

Zhang Heng's voice trembled slightly, almost imperceptibly. He took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his shock, and spoke sincerely.

"Old Guo, this gift is too precious! I don't have Venusaur in my current team, so I don't need this evolution stone for the time being."

"Moreover, this is a super S-class strategic resource. You should keep it and leave it for the trainers in the league who need it more."

He paused, his tone becoming even more sincere: "You trusted me back then, entrusting King Thorn Dragon to me; this favor is as heavy as a mountain. Such a crucial evolution item should be used to its fullest potential and maximize its value."

In this world, Pokémon potential is generally classified based on their aptitude and base stats. Correspondingly, Mega Evolution Stones have also formed a recognized, implicit ranking system because they are adapted to the strength of a Pokémon's base stats and strategic value.

At the very top of the pyramid are the T0 level – Mega Stones that are compatible with legendary Pokémon, such as those for Fairy Princess Diancie, or Latios and Latias.

These evolution stones are considered national treasure-level strategic resources, with zero possibility of circulating on the market. Even if they exist, they would certainly be strictly collected by major alliances or top forces and would never be made public.

Following closely behind in Tier 1 are Mega Stones compatible with various pseudo-legendary Pokémon, such as Garchomp, Salamence, Tyranitar, Metagross, Dragonite, etc.

These pseudo-legendary Pokémon possess the potential to approach legendary status. Once their Mega Stones appear on the market, they inevitably trigger astronomical price competition. They are recognized as hard currency with a price but no market, and their trading value is indisputably at the top.

Next is the T2 level, which mainly includes Mega Stones of the starter Pokémon from various regions.

In addition, evolution stones of some Pokémon that are not pseudo-legendary but have high base stats or are extremely important in tactics, such as Gengar, Alakazam, Gardevoir, and Gallade, also belong to this category and have extremely high market value and demand.

T3 level refers to Mega Stones that are suitable for Pokémon that are more supportive, defensive, or functional, and have relatively low base stats, such as Nearl and Sableye.

Their practical value and trading activity are naturally far less than the previous levels.

Therefore, the Venusaur Mega Stone that Guo Lao took out is a top-tier starter evolution stone among the T2 level.

As Mr. Guo himself said, its trading value is extremely high, even much higher than the Bosscodora Mega Stone that Zhang Heng had previously seized from Rat Lao Liu.

Although both are T2, Aggron is not one of the starter Pokémon, and is generally considered to be slightly less valuable than the Mega Stones of the same level.

If you want to exchange a Booster Mega Stone for a Charizard Mega Stone needed by Zhang Heng at the exchange, you often need to pay a lot of extra cash or other valuable items.

A perfectly good Venusaur Mega Stone can theoretically be exchanged for a Charizard Mega Stone on a one-to-one basis!

"Just take it! Don't be so polite!"

Old Mo, growing impatient, reached into Old Guo's hand, took the evolution stone, and swiftly stuffed it into Zhang Heng's coat pocket without a word.

“This old bastard used to plunder... well, he had a lot of ways to acquire loot. The good stuff he had came from all sorts of places, so you don’t need to feel guilty about taking it.”

"Ouch! What are you doing?!"

Old Guo was taken aback by Old Mo's sudden action, and then began to complain.

"Does Xiao Heng not have hands? Can't he hold it himself? Just to show off how capable you are, huh?"

Zhang Heng felt a little embarrassed and subconsciously wanted to take the evolution stone out of his pocket again.

Seeing this, Old Guo waved his hand, his tone becoming more casual, as if he were talking about a trivial matter.

"Alright, Old Mo's words may be rough, but they make sense. This stone, to be honest, was seized from that bouncing-around-the-edges Japanese champion, what's his name, Kameda? He was one of the accomplices who harmed your father. You taking it is karma, it's what you deserve!"

He casually mentioned the origin of this precious evolution stone—it was one of the spoils of war he seized from the remains of the enemy champions Kameda and Park Chang during the Battle of Huahai.

Now that things have come to this, it would seem pretentious to refuse any further.

Without further hesitation, Zhang Heng placed his hand on his pocket and solemnly thanked Elder Guo: "In that case, I will accept your thanks without hesitation! Thank you, Elder Guo!"

He knew in his heart that this Venusaur Mega Stone would be an important bargaining chip for him to exchange for the corresponding evolution stone for Charizard, and one of the key resources for his partner to become stronger in the future.

At this moment, Secretary General Kamal also stepped forward with a smile and gently placed a beautifully packaged, high-quality small square box on the table in front of Zhang Heng.

The box was open, and inside, nestled on a velvet lining, lay a finely crafted instrument, gleaming with metallic luster—an A-grade metronome.

Happy birthday, Zhang Heng.

Secretary-General Kang's voice was as steady and capable as ever, but his eyes held a gentler, more elder-like quality than usual.

"This is just a small token of my appreciation; I hope it will be helpful for your future growth."

Zhang Heng recognized the item; it could significantly increase the power of a Pokémon's repeated use of the same move, making it especially effective for tactical systems that excel at boosting combos. It was also a rare and valuable trainer support item on the market.

He responded respectfully, "Secretary-General Kang, you are too kind. You are a trusted advisor to my father and an elder to me. It is my good fortune to receive your blessing."

Looking at Zhang Heng's tactful and polite manners, Kang Mu'ai's eyes showed even greater approval. He smiled and nodded, acknowledging the respect from the champion's son.

The atmosphere had just eased when Qi Shu approached somewhat timidly, holding two small gift boxes that were clearly carefully wrapped in his hands. His cheeks were slightly flushed, and his voice was a few decibels lower than usual.

“Little… Little Heng, happy birthday! This… this is just a small token of my appreciation… It might not be very valuable, it can’t compare to what you’ve received… but, it was carefully chosen by me…”

Her voice trailed off as she spoke, her eyes darting away, clearly feeling that her gift paled in comparison to the treasures before her and fearing that Zhang Heng would be disappointed.

Looking at her like this, Zhang Heng understood and felt a surge of warmth.

Instead of immediately opening the gift box to check it like most people would, he quickly reached out and gently pressed the lid, stopping Qi Shu from opening it on the spot.

With a brotherly smile of understanding and gentleness, he said softly, "Silly girl, what are you saying? Our little Qishu's thoughtfulness is more important than anything else. It's not about the price of the gift, but the sentiment. I will cherish your gift."

He skillfully protected the sensitive self-esteem of a teenage girl and the sense of ritual she had carefully prepared.

In fact, Zhang Heng, who possessed the system, had already "seen" what was inside the box the moment Qi Shu took it out—a [Thunder Stone] with a C-level aptitude rating.

This evolution stone is indeed of little use to Zhang Heng, whose team composition is already quite complete.

But since it was a gift from family, representing a pure sentiment, Zhang Heng felt only gratitude and had no disdain whatsoever.