Bottom-tier trainers in the Pokémon world

Sakuragi nodded.

Aside from teaching the Pokémon the move and fixing a few unchangeable base stats, this method is not difficult.

“But even if we give an accurate value for the intimacy level, we still lack the most crucial step of verification,” Sakuragi asked again.

Xia Yan smiled.

Others might not be able to prove it, but he just happened to know the friendship values ​​for some Pokémon that require friendship to evolve.

"This will require your help, Mr. Sakuragi."

"Ok?"

"Eevee is the best example of a Pokémon that can prove this."

Mr. Sakuragi, you can raise four to five Eevee at the same time, or more, giving them the same conditions and training. Use 'Repay' every day to test the change in the friendship value and see if the Eevee will evolve when the friendship value reaches a certain value.

If every single one evolves and has the same stats, then not only will the hypothesis about Eevee's new evolutionary form be proven, but the existence of the 'friendship' stat will also be proven—a double benefit.

After a brief pause, Xia Yan continued, "Mr. Sakuragi, you could even try to develop a device specifically for testing affinity. I believe that would be a boon to many trainers."

As Xia Yan spoke, Sakuragi's eyes grew brighter and brighter.

As for what would happen if Xia Yan's hypotheses and conjectures were wrong, he didn't consider that at all.

Researching elves is a process that involves many mistakes before reaching successful conclusions. The key is to have a direction; it doesn't matter if you make mistakes.

However, he soon showed a conflicted expression.

"'Dodo bird,' you want me to conduct this experiment? This is the topic and hypothesis you proposed, and I'm doing this..."

Isn't that overstepping one's bounds?

Disputing other people's topics and conjectures is considered a minor taboo in the research community.

If someone is broad-minded, it's fine, but if someone is narrow-minded, they might hold a grudge for a lifetime.

Xia Yan shrugged.

“Mr. Sakuragi, do I look like someone who can raise that many Eevee? Besides, I can’t get that many Eevee, and it would take a long time.”

That's the absolute truth.

Xia Yan's income and expenses from raising just three Pokémon are already struggling to keep up, let alone raising so many more Eevee.

Sakuragi hesitated.

To be honest, Xia Yan's conjectures and theories seemed very feasible, but he wasn't the kind of person who would steal credit for others' achievements.

After pondering for a long time, Sakuragi made a decision.

"Alright! Regardless of whether the final result is successful or not, I will write your name and mine together, and I will not accept any research rewards or alliance rewards if it is successful. They belong to you; I am just acting on your behalf."

Sakuragi's attitude was very firm.

"I......"

“I will absolutely not touch this research unless you agree.”

Xia Yan's lips twitched.

'You've already said everything I wanted to say, what am I supposed to say?'

His goal was actually very simple: to make money by writing papers.

He would never touch research because it takes too much time and money.

Moreover, he currently lacks a degree, fame, and qualifications, so the credibility of his thesis is not high.

The previous article gained widespread recognition because of Sakuragi's approval.

Ideally, he would join a research project, offer constructive opinions and suggestions based on his insightful observations, and simply get a co-authorship and some funding.

Before he could even say it, Sakuragi had already "gotten what he wanted" and given him everything he wanted.

How can I refuse?

Of course, I gladly accept it.

Xia Yan reluctantly agreed.

Hearing him concede, Sakuragi breathed a long sigh of relief and smiled. "Then it's settled. I'll start writing the paper on the 'intimacy' hypothesis now and update the data and conclusions every day."

"...So urgent?"

“Research is a field where there’s no time to waste.” Sakuragi lowered his head and began to list the topics they had discussed earlier, as well as the outline of the paper.

"Um... I actually wanted to ask if Mr. Sakuragi could help me get a degree? A bachelor's degree would be fine."

Sakuragi looked up in surprise. "Don't you have a degree?"

Xia Yan: "..."

Is this anything to be surprised about?

"I can't speak for other things, but as long as this hypothesis and thesis are published, there shouldn't be any problem with getting a 'Bachelor's' degree," Sakuragi assured.

Thank you.

"By the way, I still don't know your real name. You can't use a pen name or nickname for a degree."

After a moment's hesitation, Xia Yan slowly said, "Xia Yan, my name is... Xia Yan."

He then added, "However, I hope that when you sign your name, Mr. Sakuragi, you will use the name 'Dodo Bird'."

Chapter 4 Professor Oak

Kanto region.

Zhenxin Town.

An elderly man with half-gray hair, wearing a white coat, was squatting on the ground.

Holding a magnifying glass, I observed a Tauros quietly grazing.

"grandfather!"

Suddenly, a boy with blond hair and a somewhat boyish appearance ran over quickly, carrying a notebook, his face showing some excitement.

Hearing his grandson's call, the old man smiled and raised his head, but accidentally bumped into Tauros who was eating.

boom!

Tiguana rolled her eyes in annoyance and then raised her foot, giving him a hard kick.

He was kicked away and flew through the air in a beautiful arc.

However, one could vaguely see that as the old man was kicked away, a faint blue light shone on his body, absorbing the damage.

bang——

The old man fell to the ground, but stood up somewhat awkwardly as if nothing had happened, scratching the back of his head.

"Haha—so Tauros can maintain its nutritional needs even by eating only grass, and still have the energy to unleash its power, hahaha—"

The laughter was hearty.

The grandson, who was running towards him, did not show any concern for his grandfather being kicked away; he simply turned his running direction away with a hint of helplessness.

Kicked by Kentaro?

Even his grandson has long been used to it.

It wouldn't be befit his status as a grandfather if he didn't get bullied by the elves he was observing every day.

His grandfather was Professor Oak, an authority on Pokémon!

His original name was Yukinari Ohki.

As for his name, it is Shigeru Ōki.

He strode forward, holding the laptop, and excitedly pointed to a paper that was open on the webpage.

"Grandpa, Mr. Sakuragi has published another topic and conjecture. Is he about to become a doctor?"

"Oh? Sakuragi, your doctoral application has been submitted. You should receive your doctorate in a few months at most." Professor Oak smiled as he took the computer from Gary's hands.

"Let me see what he posted this time."

"It's a new hypothesis about something called 'intimacy,' but this time Mr. Sakuragi actually shared this hypothesis with someone else—someone I've never heard of before," said Shigeru.

Professor Oak patted Gary's head.

His grandson is very talented and, influenced by him and his father, Gary, he has a deep love for Pokémon. Even at a young age, he has been using his account to frequent various Pokémon forums.

"Let me see..." Professor Oak picked up his laptop and scanned the hypothetical paper and the author's name.

Dodo?

Professor Oak vaguely remembers this "Dodo," having previously published a rather novel theory about Eevee's evolution.

He then continued reading.

After watching for a while, his eyes slowly lit up.

"This hypothesis is very constructive, extremely constructive! If it can be confirmed, it might change the state and awkward situation of some elves to some extent."

Professor Oak exclaimed in admiration.

"But this 'Dodo bird'..."

Writing a widely recognized paper isn't too difficult; it might just be a matter of luck. But if it's two, that's a different story.

"Grandpa, is this paper feasible?" Xiao Mao asked curiously.

Professor Oak hesitated for a moment, then said, "It's hard to say. Theoretically speaking, it's quite..."

Just then.

A woman with a beaming smile, still possessing her charm.

They led this chubby-faced, slightly goofy-looking boy over.

"Professor Oak, lunch is ready. Let's skip the instant noodles today and eat together?"

"It's Hanako."