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

The two met by phone.

Upon meeting, Li Yue looked at the youthful-looking Ye Feng and Kirlia beside him, and smiled, "Hello, let me formally introduce myself. My name is Li Yue, and I am a student of Dr. Deng Ruizhe and a researcher at the Little Sawtooth Research Institute. I am here on my teacher's behalf to review your paper on the 'Cowardice' trait."

"Hello, rookie trainer Ye Feng, this is my good partner, Kirlia," Ye Feng said.

As he introduced himself, Ye Feng observed the researcher in front of him. She looked so young and beautiful, and had that classic mature, sophisticated voice... well, you couldn't really tell from her lab coat, but she must have a good figure, probably in her early twenties. He hadn't expected her to already be a researcher.

Little did she know, Li Yue was even more surprised than Ye Feng. Although she had read the information and knew that Ye Feng was a high school student, seeing him in person still felt unreal. She was still a graduate student, doing some simple research and writing ordinary papers under Deng Ruizhe's guidance.

It's not uncommon for high school students to submit papers, but most of them are just there to fill their resumes. People like Ye Feng, who genuinely write papers that demonstrate novel characteristics, are extremely rare, even within their circle. Papers of this caliber are basically only possible for PhD students.

Comparing people to each other is so annoying!

"Let's find a place to sit and talk, how about the coffee shop over there?" Li Yue suggested.

"Okay." Ye Feng naturally had no objections.

After sitting down, Li Yue explained the purpose of their visit: she hoped Ye Feng would cooperate with them to thoroughly verify the characteristics of the device.

"Didn't I already attach a video comparing Magikarp with different characteristics? Do I still need to verify it?" Ye Feng frowned slightly. Did they doubt the authenticity of my paper?

“It’s like this,” Li Yue explained, holding her coffee cup. “While that video can serve as evidence, according to you, hidden abilities still require more comprehensive verification. One video isn’t enough to convince people. After all, Pokémon like Magikarp have already been thoroughly studied. The publication of this paper might cause quite a stir.”

"I see. No problem then." Ye Feng nodded to indicate that he understood. It was normal for him not to know much about this area since he hadn't entered academia yet.

"Really? Thank you, Ye Feng." Li Yue didn't expect Ye Feng to agree so easily; she thought it would take some effort.

Taking a small sip of coffee, Li Yue asked curiously, "Ye Feng, may I ask you a few personal questions?"

She wanted to understand how a genius's brain works.

"Just call me by my name, it feels awkward to call me classmate," Ye Feng said with a smile.

"Okay, if you don't mind, you can call me 'sister.' So, Ye Feng, what gave you the idea to publish a paper?"

"Well, to be honest, I actually plan to pursue a career in Pokémon research," Ye Feng said after thinking for a moment.

"Oh? You know, Pokémon research isn't an easy path. And as far as I know, you were the champion of the first Little Phoenix Cup in Jinghai City. I think you might have more talent as a trainer?" Li Yue said, somewhat surprised.

"Well..." Ye Feng scratched his head, wondering how to explain it... He couldn't very well say that he had a whole bunch of research findings on Pokémon in his head and that he was developing his research faster than he was a trainer, could he?

Hey, there is.

"Actually, this idea came about by chance," Ye Feng said, feigning reminiscence.

"Can you tell me?" Li Yue asked curiously.

"Yes. Because my parents are researchers, I guess I've always had a natural interest in this area."

"Are your parents also researchers? What do they do?"

"I'm not too sure about that either. They said there's a confidentiality agreement."

"I see. Then I won't ask any more questions." Li Yue wasn't surprised. It's normal that some research can't be disclosed to the public casually.

"My previous paper on the body of fire was just an attempt to see if I could pursue this path, and it seems the result was alright (easy). But what really made me decide to take the research route was a coincidence (intentional). When Kirlia and I were training, we accidentally hit a Magikarp in the pond with a Shadow Ball (there are so many Magikarp, so it's reasonable to say it was a coincidence), which startled them."

While calming them down, I noticed one of the Magikarp was acting strangely; it swam incredibly fast, much faster than the others. Curious, I (deliberately) caught it and discovered it was quite unusual. After some research (just messing around and filming a video), I discovered this Magikarp's characteristic wasn't its graceful swimming ability, but something else entirely. Then came various experiments, and finally, I discovered its timidity trait (I can't say I already knew that).

"I see." Li Yue nodded in understanding. Indeed, many of the discoveries of these characteristics were made by chance, so she didn't doubt Ye Feng's words. "But that alone shouldn't be enough to make you decide to take this path, right?"

Ye Feng nodded: "Yes. Since Magikarp still has hidden abilities that haven't been discovered yet, then other Pokémon must have them too (of course they do, I know quite a few)? I suddenly became interested and thought about continuing to research whether other Pokémon also have some abilities that no one has discovered yet (thinking about which abilities are more useful, and still within my knowledge). As for becoming a trainer, to be honest, this path is no simpler than Pokémon research (it's too time-consuming)..."

It was all for interest? As the saying goes, interest is the best teacher. Li Yue could tell that Ye Feng was a smart person. With his talent, if he could maintain such a high level of interest in Pokémon, then in the future, if he didn't achieve earth-shattering accomplishments in this field, he would at least be better than most ordinary people.

"Not bad." Li Yue's gaze towards Ye Feng became much more affectionate, and she felt that he was a very promising person.

"So, what is the specific value of this paper? To be honest, I don't know much about it," Ye Feng asked.

“According to you, other Pokémon also have this hidden ability. Leaving Magikarp aside, if other Pokémon truly possess this ability, it could be quite effective in battle. A paper like this would likely earn between 100,000 and 200,000 yuan in royalties,” Li Yue said after a moment's thought.

Ye Feng paused for a moment. "Is it money I'm short of?" "No, I'm not talking about royalties."

"Hmm? So you mean?" Li Yue was somewhat surprised that Ye Feng didn't care about royalties? You know, besides government support, royalties also accounted for a significant portion of her teacher's research funding.

"What I mean is, um..." Ye Feng carefully chose his words, "what kind of benefits could a paper like this bring me in academia, um, what kind of benefits?"

Li Yue was taken aback for a moment, then understood what he meant. After thinking for a moment, she said, "This kind of characteristic is very valuable in combat, plus the previous paper on the Flame Body, as far as I know, should be enough to allow you to directly advance to the intermediate level."

"Really?" Ye Feng was pleasantly surprised. He thought he would be lucky to get a formal researcher position, but he actually got promoted to intermediate level.

"Yes. However, the prerequisite is that you have to pass the assessment for a formal researcher. Although these two papers are of considerable value, if you can't even pass the assessment for a formal researcher, then it's all just empty talk," Li Yue explained.

“However, you can only take the exam to become a full-fledged researcher when you get to university, so your most important task right now is the college entrance exam, Ye Feng,” Li Yue said with a smile.

Ye Feng smiled and nodded, indicating that he understood.

Chapter 46 "Friendly" Exchange

villa

Ye Feng is feeding the Magikarp.

After recording the video, Ye Feng intended to release the two Magikarp, but for some reason, the timid Magikarp refused to leave, and Ye Feng tried to shoo it away several times without success.

When Ye Feng was catching it, he noticed that this Magikarp was different from the others. Not only was it much faster at swimming, but its eyes were also not as dull as the others, and occasionally a hint of wisdom could be seen.

Feeling that he might have a connection with this carp, Ye Feng decided to keep it.

Anyway, Magikarp has no fighting power before evolving into Gyarados, and it doesn't have the legendary Evolution Kick, so it can just be kept as a pet in a tank for now.

What if Magikarp evolves before the Pokémon egg hatches? Then Ye Feng would suddenly have a very powerful Pokémon. Wouldn't that be great?

However, Ye Feng was just thinking about it. Magikarp's natural evolution route is very time-consuming and resource-intensive. Fortunately, Ye Feng is not short of money, and he has Energy Cubes so he doesn't have to worry about nutrition. As for time, it doesn't matter at all. He is still a rookie trainer and has a long way to go.

There are no magical learning machines in this world that allow elves to gain experience without fighting.

After feeding the Magikarp, Ye Feng went to check on the condition of the Pokémon egg.

They remained the same, standing upright in the incubation container, peacefully absorbing the nutrient solution, showing no sign of hatching.

"Should we borrow a Flame-type Pokémon to speed up the hatching process?" Ye Feng pondered, stroking his chin. It had been almost a month since he got the Pokémon egg, and National Day was approaching, but there was still no sign of it hatching. Ye Feng couldn't help but get anxious.

It seems that raising Pokémon from eggs is indeed very time-consuming and energy-intensive. If Ye Feng weren't still a novice trainer, he wouldn't be able to endure the seemingly endless incubation period.

So Ye Feng posted a message on the forum, intending to rent an elf with a fiery body.

···

National Day holiday

During this period, I was invited to help Deng Ruizhe conduct several experiments. After verifying the timidity characteristic, the paper quickly passed the review. Deng Ruizhe even wrote a short essay to express his recognition and support for the authenticity of the paper.

Ye Feng also received a reply email, which acknowledged and thanked him for his research results, and expressed his hope that Ye Feng would continue to work hard and make contributions to the field of elf studies. The email also informed him of the publication date of the paper.

That day, homeroom teacher Liu Ye found Ye Feng, and Principal Dong was also there.

"Ye Feng, have you been keeping up with your studies lately?" Liu Ye looked Ye Feng up and down, noticing his energetic appearance, and asked.

"Of course." Ye Feng touched his nose. He had been busy with various things lately and had hardly touched a book, but he was not worried at all.

"Okay. There's something you need to know next."

"what's up?"

"Principal, why don't you speak?"

“Okay.” Principal Dong nodded. “The successful hosting of the Little Phoenix King Cup has inspired the learning enthusiasm of high school students in Jinghai City, or rather, Jiangsu Province. The progress of rookie trainers has improved significantly compared to the past. I met an old friend of mine in Jiangning City. He is the principal of Pingjiang City High School. After catching up, we decided to have a friendly exchange between the two schools, mainly to have a friendly discussion.”

Principal Dong specifically emphasized the word "friendship".

"···"

old friend?

"friendly"?

Old rival, huh?

Ye Feng could tell from Principal Dong's tone that there was a strong sense of comparison. He glanced at his homeroom teacher, who looked down at him, as if he couldn't hear anything.

“I understand…” Ye Feng said, his words carrying a double meaning.

An old rival, a formidable opponent, who will choose a starter Pokémon that counters you, depending on which one you select.

Take Ash for example, with a bunch of formidable rivals and a harem of friends, like Gary and Shinji...

Seeing that Ye Feng was so cooperative, Principal Dong nodded in satisfaction: "The number of participants is yet to be determined, but it will not exceed eight people. The exchange will take place after the National Day holiday, and teachers from my school will also accompany us."

"This exchange is very important. There will definitely be matches during the process. Are you confident?"

“Pingjiang City has slightly more secret realm resources than our Jinghai City, and it also has more geniuses. There are also two key high schools for trainers there. This time, we are going to Pingjiang No. 1 High School, which has the strongest teaching strength.”

Pingjiang No.1 Middle School? Doesn't the name sound as prestigious as Jinghai No.1 Middle School?

Ye Feng paused slightly, his eyes darting around, and said, "The principal specifically summoned me here, could it be because... Principal, as fellow rookie cup champions, I don't think the other person is necessarily worse than me, this..."

Principal Dong, with his rich experience, immediately understood the hidden meaning in Ye Feng's words: "Well, of course, although it's called a friendly exchange, we've set up some prizes for this match."

"Let me make this clear first, it's free," Ye Feng said.

"Of course, talking about money is so vulgar. But since it's just a private exchange between schools, they certainly won't bring anything too valuable, nothing like the Rookie Cup. I'll give you a sneak peek, it's probably something from the Intermediate Trainer Resource Library."

Intermediate-level resources? Ye Feng stroked his chin, feeling it wasn't very interesting. He could easily exchange for and purchase intermediate-level resources by asking Ning Xian's mother.

"Then," Ye Feng asked tentatively, "if I could defeat the other side..."