Pokémon: I picked up a reborn Eevee at the start of the game.

Zhou Yang looked at the messages in the group chat, scratched his head, and said, "How would I know?"

[Staying up all night and going bald]: I haven't even had a chance to see it yet, but I'm already here to tell my family the good news!

"Come back, you useless thing!"

"DouDouGe is finally triumphant!!"

"It's you I choose, Baldy! Go watch it and then tell us!"

"Investigate further, report back!"

Zhou Yang suddenly felt that he was carrying too much on his shoulders. He looked up at his colleague who was engrossed in a magazine and quietly moved closer.

Coincidentally, he had just turned to the most crucial part.

"In conclusion, all the above evidence proves that the energy cubes made based on the beauty theory can increase Feebas's [beauty level]. When the [beauty level] reaches a certain threshold, that is, when Feebas's appearance is as shown in Figure 4-7, it can evolve into Milotic."

…………

On this day, the keywords "[Minas' second evolutionary path]", "[Beauty]", "[I'm not a pigeon]", and "[Apologize to Xia Chen]" soared on the trending lists of major social media platforms.

The trending topic "[Milotic can evolve without Beautiful Scales is fake]" that swept the internet a few days ago had just cooled down a bit when it was reignited by this even more significant news.

And this time, the level of attention is frighteningly high.

The fact that a prestigious journal like Pokémon Evolution has published this research indicates that its authenticity is over 95%.

The remaining single-digit probability is left to the few possible blunders.

However, Pokémon Evolution has published tens of thousands of academic articles since its inception, and the number of such blunders is less than two-tenths, making the possibility extremely low.

……

A comparison of news headlines from the past month reveals an interesting phenomenon: the headlines are all about "[Fish can evolve into Milotic without using Beautiful Scales]".

Just a month ago, this sentence was followed by a question mark, but a month later, it is followed by an exclamation mark.

If the "[Axel's Sharp Commentary on Xia Chen]" incident a few days ago only caused a minor stir, then this "[Another Evolution Path for Milotic]" officially recognized by Pokémon Evolution has completely surpassed the World Championship discussion, topping the trending search lists on major platforms.

Almost all the negative news about Xia Chen from a few days ago has disappeared, and the comments section is flooded with incredible praise.

Countless water-type trainers were thrilled. They could get a Milotic without using expensive Beautiful Scales?

Is this Cresselia's illusion?

Everyone only dares to dream of finding a beautiful scale.

Moreover, it's not just Water-type trainers; almost any trainer with normal aesthetic sense who doesn't dislike snake-type Pokémon can resist the temptation to raise a Milotic.

It is no exaggeration to say that this discovery in evolutionary research has benefited a large portion of trainers worldwide.

So, who was this fire thief?

Then, a high school student with an unbelievably thin background appeared before the onlookers.

…………

Xia Chen, sixteen years old, is a student and a Pixiv up-loader who was recently criticized and ridiculed.

Aside from his mysteriously missing parents and an appearance that makes people gasp, there seems to be nothing special about him.

But this very boy actually made what can be called the greatest discovery of Pokémon evolution this year?

Amazement,感慨, envy, jealousy, and admiration—all sorts of emotions spread online through language.

Of course, there will inevitably be some doubts, fueled by online trolls clinging to the last glimmer of hope for a comeback.

"Tsk tsk, which rich young master is here to gild his resume in academia? At least do some small research to fool the audience first."

"Exactly, he debuted with a first-author publication in 'Pokémon Evolution,' does he think netizens are idiots?"

"Just look at the second, third, and fourth works. With the support of the two most famous PhDs from the regions of Daiki Yukinari, Lu Si, Kanto, and Donghuang, this young master has quite the backing!"

Surprisingly, some people actually believed these fabricated and malicious claims.

After all, compared to this fabricated "truth," which seems more logical...

It's truly unbelievable that a 16-year-old high school student with absolutely no scientific research experience could discover a new way for Pokémon to evolve.

However, after the man named [Iron Will] posted a video, all doubts vanished.

……

In the video, Xia Chen stands behind the podium, eloquently explaining his then somewhat naive theory of beauty.

It is evident that although he is not very experienced, the theories and evidence he put forward are still of great research value.

However, during the Q&A session after the speech, he was repeatedly questioned by experts and scholars in the audience, including Axel, who had almost named him a few days earlier.

Xia Chen received no support or recognition whatsoever.

The desolation and disappointment in the eyes of the boy on stage were visible even through the screen.

Thus, the image of a genius nurturer who, despite not gaining appreciation or recognition from authority, manages to turn the tables through his own efforts, is vividly portrayed.

Meanwhile, those malicious rumors were also exposed by a Xia Chen fan nicknamed "[C Language Master]".

Those comments that are stirring up trouble are the same group of people who were stirring up trouble under Xia Chen's video a few days ago.

Although he registered accounts with different identities and used a VPN to tamper with his IP address, he was still completely exposed by the powerful C language expert.

A large and well-trained online troll group has been exposed to netizens.

The tragic aspect of Xia Chen's character is further amplified by the presence of the victim.

Orphaned and destitute, she devoted herself wholeheartedly to academic research, only to be persecuted by interest groups and attacked by ignorant netizens.

One label after another was attached to Xia Chen.

With all these buffs, Xia Chen is practically a saint of the new era.

Both old and new rumors have been debunked, and doubts have dissipated in the wind before they could gain traction.

However, a new problem has arisen.

So, where can I buy this Power Cube that can evolve Feebas into Milotic?

Chapter 102 Take my money!

Without a doubt, the most crucial evolutionary element of the paper is the [Beauty Energy Cube].

The article also mentions that Xia Chen discovered the recipe and crafting techniques for the berries that best enhance the beauty of elves through repeated experiments with energy cubes.

However, it's clear that no one would be foolish enough to reveal this recipe and technique publicly, so its specifics remain unknown.

As a result, countless people flooded Xia Chen's private messages and video comments with the message that he was the only one who knew how to make energy cubes, and the message was almost always the same—

Take my money!

All you have to do is sell me the Power Cube that can evolve Feebas into Milotic!

In almost a day, Xia Chen's number of fans jumped from over a million to a staggering three million, and the momentum shows no signs of slowing down.

Trainers all over the world are waiting for his answer. When will the Beauty Cube be available for sale?

Under the spotlight of countless people, the account [I'm Not a Pigeon] finally updated with a new post.

"Currently, Feebas evolving into Milotic via a Beauty Cube is an isolated case. We need more evolutionary examples to prove it. Therefore, we have decided to select ten trainers who own Feebas to conduct an experiment with us. If you are interested, please sign up."

This post swept across the entire internet in just one hour, and the registration portal was almost overwhelmed by enthusiastic trainers.

Without a doubt, only a minority of trainers own Feebas; the rest share almost the same mindset.

Why worry so much? There are only ten experimental slots. How many ugly fish are there in the whole world?

If I get selected, that would be a huge win!

…………

Before today, the price of Ugly Pike at the breeding base was a bit expensive, but not outrageous.

The reason is simple: the market determines demand. Those who breed ugly fish are definitely wealthy enough to afford beautiful scales, and those who can afford beautiful scales worth tens of millions must have a net worth of at least hundreds of millions.

This group is not large, so the popularity of the ugly fish has always been lukewarm.

However, this phenomenon will become a thing of the past after Xia Chen's paper is published.

On this day, all the Feebas in breeding bases across various regions, and even unhatched Pokémon eggs with Milotic as their parent, were snapped up.

These people are not only trainers who like Milotic, but also resellers who have their eyes on the future market demand for Pokémon.

After the Feebas at the breeding base were snapped up by enthusiastic trainers, many more people set off for various places where Feebas live, all with the goal of acquiring the now priceless Feebas.

Xia Chen's discovery sparked a "Ugly Fish craze" around the world.

However, after posting that update, he kept his achievements hidden and returned to his daily training life.

The evolutionary research on Milotic has come to a temporary halt for him.

He did not want to get involved in the subsequent experiments and mass production of the Beautiful Energy Cube.

Whether it's Pokémon research or doing business, these are just stepping stones for Xia Chen to move towards his life goal of becoming a "lazy gym leader".

If he lingers on the stepping stone for too long, wouldn't that delay his plan to retire before the age of thirty?

So, after dealing with some trivial matters after the incident, Xia Chen returned to his peaceful life as a trainer.

…………

November 29th, sunny

Xia Chen, who is still under intense scrutiny, has not returned to school in the past few days, and the principal has no objection to Xia Chen's perfunctory reason for extending his leave.

This student has graced the cover of a top academic journal; his academic achievements in just one research project have already surpassed those of all the teachers in the school.

No matter how much Xia Chen acts up now, he can still earn the title of outstanding graduate.

To put it in a classic way, "Xia Chen doesn't need the honor of being an outstanding graduate, but the school needs the title of [Xia Chen's alma mater]."

The principal also told Xia Chen two pieces of news.

The first item is the early admission exam for the Pokémon Battle Department at Beijing University, which will be held in early December.

The second reason is that Yuhong University's Pokémon Breeding Department extended an olive branch to Xia Chen, offering him direct admission.

Xia Chen had certainly heard of Yuhong University, a renowned university in the Kanto region.