Bottom-tier trainers in the Pokémon world

"Wait a moment."

Holding the phone in one hand and operating the computer with the other, he skillfully logged into the official website and entered the researcher's interface.

Then, Xia Yan was frightened.

A large number of private messages.

The number of private messages was immediately maxed out at "999+".

His post about Eevee's evolution, which he left before entering Groudon's alternate dimension, is still among the top posts on the forum. Its popularity has not decreased over the past ten days; on the contrary, it seems to be growing stronger.

The number of comments under the post has exceeded 100,000.

To be honest, this was something Xia Yan himself hadn't expected.

He originally thought that this hype would only last a few days and then come to an end, but he didn't expect that it would still be so exaggerated even after they had already come out of Groudon's alternate dimension.

Ultimately, they underestimated the status of Eevee in the hearts of trainers.

They also underestimated the impact and sensation caused by his announcement of four new evolutionary forms, which had not appeared for years or even decades.

I opened the post and browsed through it briefly.

Aside from a few initial comments containing some skepticism, the confirmation of Eevee brought another wave of shock, and now almost all the comments are asking about the characteristics, training methods, abilities, move characteristics, and so on of these four Eevee evolutions.

"this......"

"See?" Sakuragi's voice on the phone was full of helplessness.

"Um......"

Xia Yan responded instinctively.

I came to my senses.

"So, I need..."

Somewhat hesitant.

Are you suggesting I reply to each and every one of them?

He probably won't have to do anything once the "Lily of the Valley Youth Tournament" starts.

"This matter has alarmed the league's higher-ups," Sakuragi added.

"The league's top brass?"

"Originally, they wanted you to write a paper about the four evolutionary forms of Eevee, but they couldn't reach you, so they came to me. But I didn't expect that you couldn't get through to them on the phone. The League has been urging us several times already."

Xia Yan: "..."

"The main reason is that your paper has a very high impact. Many trainers who originally liked Eevee but disliked it because of its three original evolution forms have now found their own goals."

That makes sense. If you don't find the right team composition, you can't fully utilize the potential of Eevee, which are the three most basic types: Flareon, Vaporeon, and Jolteon.

For example, Jolteon is most effective when paired with a rain team.

Xia Yan understood what Sakuragi meant.

But when it comes to papers, there's a difference between writing one voluntarily and writing one at the request of the alliance.

Given the alliance's deep pockets, it's impossible for them to let people write papers for free, right?

Even if Xia Yan asked for it to be "free", the alliance would still lose face.

“I understand. But even this paper I published doesn’t mean I fully understand these evolutionary forms, and I don’t have the funds to conduct experiments, so it may not be entirely accurate…” Xia Yan said.

Whether it's accurate or not depends on the league's "sincerity".

Sakuragi seemed not to understand what Xia Yan meant, but comforted him, "Don't worry about writing. It's normal to have some misunderstandings when new Pokémon appear in the early stages. The Pokémon we know now are gradually understood and familiarized to us through the accumulation of knowledge by our predecessors."

"Uh......"

Xia Yan felt it was better not to beat around the bush with Sakuragi, so he asked directly, "Then the league won't withhold funding, will it?"

"Oh, funding? Since you're the first person invited to write a thesis without a degree, the alliance is planning to wait until you finish writing it before considering reverse funding. This is a common practice, so don't worry about it."

Xia Yan: "..."

Why does this seem so unreliable?

"I almost forgot, to make it easier for you to write your thesis, the League specially recruited a batch of new Ibrahimovic's from headquarters. They are currently being temporarily stored here with me. Give me an address and I'll have someone send them to you."

A new batch of Ibrahimovic?

From the Alliance headquarters?

That shouldn't be a group of Eevee with ordinary talent.

This was something Xia Yan could barely accept.

It's alright, at least it's not like you're really getting something for nothing.

Moreover, with so many requests, writing a paper on the four new evolutionary forms of Eevee would also make Xia Yan more well-known, which would be beneficial for him to go further on the path of a researcher in the future.

With his current financial resources, raising a few wouldn't be a problem.

Moreover.

He's working for the league, and all the expenses related to developing Ibrahimovic shouldn't be reimbursed by the league.

We should send him a whole plate of evolution stones, shouldn't we?

Energy cubes and the like, if they're below the top-tier level, are not conducive to research and will lead to imprecise papers. Shouldn't we give him several large boxes of them?

Xia Yan seemed to have found a business opportunity in this.

The business opportunity of extorting money from alliances.

“Mr. Sakuragi, I need some things. Could you apply to the league for me? If they agree, I will write this paper.”

"Oh? Tell me about it."

Xia Yan then mentioned his resource needs.

They claimed that these were just a few basic materials used to train Eevee, but they listed a whole bunch of them.

Wasn't his initial purpose in trying to write the paper simply to earn some extra money from the alliance?

Now, the opportunity has arrived.

Done.

"Isn't this... a bit too much?" Natsuhiko asked tentatively when he noticed that Sakuragi didn't speak.

But then I heard something from the other end of the phone.

"Chrysanthemum, have you written everything down? Submit this list today and ask them to procure the goods as soon as possible."

"Okay, teacher."

Then Sakuragi picked up the phone again amidst the static.

"I've noted everything down. I glanced at it briefly; there's not much, so it'll be easy."

Xia Yan was stunned.

Not many?

Easy?

seem......

His understanding of funding for Elf research differed slightly from Sakuragi's.

So this is how much money is spent to become a researcher or PhD that the alliance values?

Xia Yan felt that he might really need to take a few more steps forward on the path of becoming a researcher...

Chapter 110 Complete Recovery!

A long-awaited peaceful life.

The first few days after returning from the other dimension were spent in a semi-resting state.

This allowed Xia Yan and the elves to relax completely, both physically and mentally.

Both Xia Yan and his spirit were too tense and needed rest and adjustment.

I originally thought that with such a relaxed session, the Pokémon could maintain their good condition, remain competitive, and not decline in strength.

However, it has been proven that a reasonable balance between work and rest can sometimes be just as effective as relentlessly striving.

These past few days of rest.

To prevent Pokémon like Beedrill and Kadabra from training extra on their own, Xia Yan deliberately took them to wander, play, and frolic in his newly built "ranch".

They call it being familiar with their own industry.

But I never expected it.

Once completely relaxed, Kadabra's strength not only didn't decline, but actually improved. Although it wasn't a huge improvement, it still allowed Kadabra to successfully reach the threshold of Gym Leader level.

After analysis, Xia Yan summarized the reasons.

It was probably due to Yunjira's prolonged mental strain and extra training that its mental strength became somewhat weak. Not only did Yunjira itself not notice this, but even Xia Yan did not notice it.

After relaxing, Yunjira's mental energy had enough time to recover, and naturally, its strength increased.

Xia Yan remembered that once, after playing at the "ranch" for a while, Yongjira fell asleep right next to Xia Yan.

When it woke up again, its strength had increased, and its superpowers had reached a new level.

It's true that you get stronger while you're asleep.

Xia Yan found the situation both laughable and absurd.

Under Yongjira's questioning gaze, Xia Yan hesitated for a long time before finally giving two words as his answer: "Sudden enlightenment."

Although it was a joke, it wasn't entirely without reason.

The fact that Kadabra's strength increases while it sleeps allows Pokémon to play more freely without worrying about other issues.

The one who was most "justified" was Pokkiku.

In its view, how could Yunjira become stronger while sleeping?