I haven't decided on a name for my Pokémon trainer yet.

"I see." Ye Feng breathed a sigh of relief.

"By the way, there's a seminar for intermediate researchers in the capital next month. If you're free, go and attend. It's good to exchange ideas with others; you can't just keep working in isolation. You can also make a statement at the seminar," Deng Ruizhe said.

"Okay, I'll listen to the teacher." Ye Feng nodded.

"Okay, I'll send you the relevant materials. Remember to receive them; it'll be a hassle if you lose them," Deng Ruizhe instructed.

"Then, teacher, if I want to be promoted to senior researcher, one paper with fairy attributes isn't enough, is it? Energy cubes..." Ye Feng asked tentatively.

"Are you in such a hurry to advance to the advanced level?" Deng Ruizhe asked, somewhat puzzled. "You're already advancing to the intermediate level faster than most people. Is there something important?"

Ye Feng hesitated for a moment, considering whether to reveal the matter of Mega Evolution.

However, Mega Evolution is different from Power Cube.

The energy cube is something Ye Feng has already created. The finished product has been optimized by Guo Pengfei, and the relevant arguments have been compiled. Deng Ruizhe has also revised the paper, and it is only waiting to be published.

However, Mega Evolution is different. Ye Feng has not yet found the Mega Stone, and Mega Evolution is almost a fantasy for the people of this world.

If I told you, would anyone believe me?

"Never mind, you don't have to say it if you don't want to." Deng Ruizhe noticed Ye Feng's hesitation.

"teacher···"

“It’s alright. I can guess that what you’re going to do is probably no less important than the Energy Cube, but you probably don’t have any clues yet, right? Advancing to the advanced level, it must be to obtain something?” Deng Ruizhe asked.

Ye Feng was startled. As expected of a PhD in Pokémon Studies, he saw through it at a glance.

"Yes." Ye Feng nodded.

“However, advancing to the advanced level isn’t so easy. You certainly have enough energy cubes, but you’re not qualified yet.” Deng Ruizhe narrowed his eyes, his tone turning cold.

Chapter 118 Energy Cubes: A Shortcut to Senior Researcher

"Not qualified?" Ye Feng's heart tightened.

"That's right. Getting promoted to intermediate researcher isn't too difficult, but for senior researchers, besides making sufficient contributions, they also need corresponding academic knowledge. Ask yourself, do you have enough academic knowledge to support that right now?"

Ye Feng fell silent for a moment. He wanted to say that he had a lot of characteristics in his mind that he could express, but knowing characteristics did not mean he was knowledgeable, and how could he explain so many characteristics?

Moreover, simply knowing the characteristics is not enough; a lot of experimental data is needed to support it. Ye Feng might not be able to handle all of this, since some characteristics are difficult to fully collect through experiments alone.

Deng Ruizhe is right, Ye Feng is not qualified yet, he is too impatient.

"Teacher, I understand." After thinking for a long time, Ye Feng said slowly.

Seeing that his lashing had worked, Deng Ruizhe nodded in satisfaction and put on a smiling face again: "But don't be sad, I can teach you a shortcut to quickly advance to a higher level."

"What shortcut?" Ye Feng's spirits lifted, and he quickly asked.

"Energy Cube".

"Energy Cube?" Ye Feng frowned. Hadn't he already figured out how to make the Energy Cube?

"The energy cubes you've made so far aren't perfect yet; there's still a lot of room for development. For example, the one that increases the speed of Pokémon, and the one that increases physical strength..." Deng Ruizhe said.

Ye Feng pondered for a moment, then his eyes suddenly lit up.

Yes, regular energy cubes are just a slightly more advanced nutritional supplement than Pokémon food. But those special energy cubes that can enhance Pokémon's abilities are similar to stat boosters in games, which increase a Pokémon's effort values, right?

Effort Values ​​(EVs) are an important statistic that affects a Pokémon's strength.

There is no such potion in this world, and trainers may not have the concept of Effort Values, but they know that they can improve their Pokémon's strength through battles and training, which is a bit like gaining Effort Values ​​by defeating monsters in a game.

However, this also presents a problem: battling different Pokémon and completing different training sessions results in different effort values. This leads to an unreasonable allocation of effort values ​​during the Pokémon training process, causing the Pokémon's strengths to not be fully utilized.

Moreover, Ye Feng discovered that, unlike in games, real-world Pokémon do not have a clear upper limit to their effort values. Through continuous battles and training, their strength can be continuously improved, although the improvement slows down as time goes on.

This might be the difference between reality and games. Games need to set an upper limit for balance and various other reasons, but reality is different; reality always has infinite possibilities.

However, even if there may be no upper limit, there must be a limit to the effort points that can be gained within a certain period of time. Nature cannot allow Pokémon to become stronger in all aspects without limit.

In this way, trainers can adjust the allocation of effort values ​​more precisely by feeding different energy cubes, allowing their Pokémon to specialize in a particular ability and allocate effort values ​​to more suitable areas. This can save trainers the effort spent raising Pokémon.

Like Kirlia, under Ye Feng's tutelage, her mental strength, reaction speed, and speed are all excellent, especially her mental strength, which is extraordinary. Her physical strength is also acceptable, but her own defensive capabilities are relatively poor.

Its strength was originally its mental power; with strong mental power, its reaction speed would naturally be strong as well. Its speed and physical strength were specially cultivated by Ye Feng.

As for defense, there is the existence of "tenacity"—the strength of mental power can support the strength of "tenacity," so ordinary attacks cannot hit it, so Ye Feng did not focus on cultivating this aspect.

This involves adjusting Effort Values ​​(EVs) to maximize a Pokémon's strengths while compensating for its weaknesses.

Ye Feng certainly knew this and paid attention to it during training, but the others didn't.

Ye Feng doesn't need to popularize the concept of Effort Values; he only needs to let people know that consuming different Energy Cubes can more effectively improve a Pokémon's abilities in a certain aspect.

···

The more Ye Feng thought about it, the clearer his mind became, and the more he felt that his teacher's ideas were absolutely correct.

"Teacher, I have a general idea." Ye Feng's eyes shone brightly, as if he could see a bright future.

Deng Ruizhe nodded in satisfaction. This student was truly outstanding, grasping the concept so quickly: "Very good. Since you understand, I won't say any more."

"Success is achieving excellence in a certain area."

"As long as you can make the most of the Energy Cube, with this strategic resource, becoming a Senior Researcher will be within your grasp. In fact, reaching my level is not impossible."

Hearing Deng Ruizhe's words, especially the last sentence, "It's not impossible to reach my level," made his hands tremble with excitement.

Taking a deep breath, Ye Feng solemnly said, "Don't worry, teacher, I won't let you down!"

"Okay, keep up the good work." Deng Ruizhe offered a few more words of encouragement before hanging up the phone.

Ye Feng put down the phone, let out a long breath, and then opened the association's resource library.

In the advanced area, the keystone still lay there quietly, untouched by anyone.

【Five-Colored Stone】A gemstone containing mysterious power, its effects are unknown. Origin: Secret Realm of Rocky Cave (Rank A).

Ye Feng then took out his keystone.

The keystone has a halo of various colors such as pink, blue, green, and yellow, with a black textured pattern in the shape of a leaf in the center.

After Ye Feng obtained this keystone, he kept it close to his body almost all the time, and would take it out to play with it from time to time. Although it was not very useful, touching it always made him feel a little better.

Moreover, Ye Feng had a vague feeling that a mysterious force was connecting him with the Keystone, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was.

I also asked Kirullian, but it said it didn't feel anything.

Perhaps it's because Key Stones are for trainers, while Pokémon need Mega Stones?

Ye Feng looked at the computer screen, slowly stroking the keystone in his hand. The association's keystone was found in a secret realm called the Rock Cave. There was still some time before the seminar. Should he go and take a look at this secret realm?

Perhaps we can find clues about the Mega Stone...

However, a problem arises: the Rock Cave Secret Realm is a Level A danger level secret realm, containing high-level Pokémon. Protecting a research team in such a realm requires a large team, and several high-level trainers are needed to oversee the operation.

While there aren't as few advanced trainers as master trainers, it's not easy to gather a sufficient number of them. Applications need to be submitted well in advance before the association can mobilize personnel.

Unless you have a dedicated research team and a substantial research project, the association will not approve your application.

Ye Feng opened the researcher-only forum and entered the keyword "rock cave". Only a few posts appeared, all of which were from a long time ago and contained content about exploring the secret realm.

No useful information was found in the association's forum.

Joining the research team is not an option, so unless Ye Feng now possesses the strength of an advanced trainer and can enter alone, which is clearly impossible.

Ye Feng sighed deeply. His teacher was right; he had been a little too hasty.

The meal must be eaten one bite at a time, and the road must be walked step by step.

Let's focus on the energy blocks for now.

Chapter 119 Seminar

The seminar proceeded as scheduled.

This was Ye Feng's first time attending such a professional gathering, and he couldn't help but feel a little nervous.

I arrived at the venue early, intending to chat with a few friendly-looking people to learn how the seminar was conducted.

When they arrived, they found that everyone had taken off their down jackets and military coats because of the heating, revealing their uniform white lab coats underneath, the standard attire for researchers.

Ye Feng remained silent for a while, then decisively turned and left—he was wearing a light yellow sweater underneath, and he needed to change into something else, otherwise he would stand out too much among the group of doctors in white coats and attract unwanted attention.

I looked in several clothing stores, but none of them sold white lab coats. Well, I don't think just any clothing store would sell these kinds of clothes; they must all be custom-made.

However, although Ye Feng held the title of intermediate researcher, he was not actually a proper researcher, so he didn't bother to get a white lab coat. Deng Ruizhe also forgot about it—Ye Feng did research purely for fame and Mega Evolution.

In the end, I had no choice but to buy a plain white long trench coat to make do.

When Ye Feng arrived at the venue, the meeting had already begun, and an older researcher was speaking on the stage.

Ye Feng quickly found an empty seat and sat down.

The person next to him gave him a reproachful look, as if they thought it was inappropriate to be late for such an important meeting.

Ye Feng gave a dry laugh.

You can't exactly tell people you went to buy clothes, can you?

On the podium was a senior researcher, the leader of a research team, and the person in charge of this seminar.