Shiro was a bit overly worried due to his lack of experience.
Larvesta's growth path was different from that of ordinary Bug-types. It only had one evolution, and its level potential reached as high as level 59, meaning most of its time would be spent sleeping and developing.
"Larvesta is both a larva and a pupa. It's likely that only after reaching Gym-level can it begin proper training and battle…"
Shiro read through the Bug-type training manual he had obtained from Dalton with intense focus. The more he read, the more valuable each line felt, with almost no wasted information.
Unfortunately, normal Bug-type Pokémon grew quickly but had low potential, making them unworthy of long-term training.
"At this stage, it's best to just let it grow naturally."
Only after reaching that conclusion did Shiro finally go to bed.
* * *
Days passed.
There were exactly ten days left before the Academic Summit.
"These are the photos of Roselia and Lucario evolving… what use are they?" Cynthia asked, puzzled.
"Of course they're useful!"
Inside the lab, Shiro took the photos, scanned and uploaded them, then muttered, "These are excellent materials for my paper!"
To ensure he could advance directly to Professor level, Shiro worked overtime preparing his next paper.
He didn't believe the Evolutionary Magnetic Field alone would guarantee it, and Dynamax at most would only add some fame. For example, if Dynamax became widely popular later, people might say it was first discovered or published by a certain professor.
As for the Egg Group theory… it would be a blessing if it didn't cause trouble.
Shiro knew very well that he didn't truly understand breeding at all.
"On the manifestation of the bond between Pokémon and trainers, the friendship index?" Cynthia read from behind him, still a bit confused.
The manifestation of bonds? Could bonds really take form? And what exactly was a Friendship index?
She watched as Shiro skillfully inserted images one after another, even writing a series of experiments on the spot.
"This?" Cynthia felt her horizons expanding. "This works too?"
"Well, there's no helping it. Time is tight, so I have to take emergency measures," Shiro explained casually. "After all, when they see the paper, they'll repeat the experiments themselves to verify it. As long as the results are correct, minor flaws in the process don't really matter."
Once the results confirmed the existence of friendship and its effect on evolution, those researchers would find explanations for any issues in the experimental process themselves. Maybe it was unfamiliarity with procedures, maybe problems with the materials provided by the League. None of it required him to explain.
"So…" Cynthia crossed her arms and frowned slightly. "You're certain the results will be correct?"
"That's what it means to be a Pokémon researcher! If you want to become a Professor, you have to be confident!" Shiro replied seriously.
Knock, knock, knock…
After knocking, Dale walked in. Holding a document, he counted as he reported, "Dr. Corviknight, the five pairs of Sewaddle and Leavanny you requested, along with Woobat and Swoobat, and Buneary and Lopunny, have all arrived."
"OK!"
Shiro stood up impatiently and followed Dale toward the breeding area.
There was no way he could rely entirely on Cynthia's two Pokémon for his experiments. Those two were simply too hard to come by. The main part of his experiment still depended on these ordinary Pokémon, the kind that evolved through friendship.
However, with such limited time, it was impossible to conduct proper controlled experiments or slowly build bonds.
So he decided to directly obtain both the base forms and their evolved forms.
* * *
At the breeding area on the west side of the Grass Zone.
Shiro picked up a Sewaddle and pinched its tiny face, then selected one Leavanny from the remaining five that looked the most similar.
"Good! You're its evolved form!"
He sorted Sewaddle and Leavanny into groups.
"This one and this one are the base and evolved forms. Then these two haven't built any bond. After the other three evolve due to sufficient friendship, these two will undergo emergency bonding and also evolve…"
"That's it!"
Shiro nodded in satisfaction.
Perfect.
He then turned and asked, "How is it? Got everything recorded?"
Dale, holding a notebook, had already frozen. He pushed his glasses up and tried to organize his chaotic thoughts before hesitantly asking, "Uh… you mean, record them like this?"
"Yes. I've already assigned their groups." Shiro pointed at the three sets of Pokémon. "Take some photos, do a basic check of their physical data, and that's enough. Oh, right. Compare the data and remove or adjust anything that seems unreasonable."
"Uh?" Dale felt completely disoriented.
For a Pokémon evolution experiment, you could just buy both the base and evolved forms?
And if the data didn't make sense, you just modify or delete it?
"Th-this isn't exactly academic…" Dale hesitated, unsure whether to say it.
"This is absolutely valid academic research!" Shiro stepped closer and patted him on the shoulder. "Time is tight, so we have to be flexible. As long as the results are correct, that's what matters, right? And this research doesn't harm anyone…"
"That… does seem true…" Dale was gradually convinced.
After all, Shiro, Dr. Corviknight, had already been proven to be a genius researcher in the field. As just an ordinary assistant, what right did he have to question it?
This experiment didn't involve anyone else and wouldn't cause harm. The only thing that mattered was the final result. If the result was correct, the process didn't seem so important.
"Those researchers who read the paper will run their own experiments anyway! Whether we do it properly or not doesn't really matter."
Shiro urged again, "Hurry and record it. Your name will be on the paper too."
"Huh?"
Dale felt like he hadn't contributed anything at all. At most, he had just run errands. He wasn't even really an assistant. Just as he was about to refuse, Shiro cut him off.
"Don't worry! Your assistant Bria gets credit too!"
Shiro patted his shoulder again. "Dale, trust me!"
Dale felt like his brain had stopped working. In a daze, he found himself following Shiro's lead.
He gave up thinking altogether. No matter what happened, Dr. Corviknight would be the one standing at the front.
Shiro watched with satisfaction as Dale began recording everything seriously according to his instructions. As he turned to leave, he reminded him, "Dale, remember to send the data to that lab from earlier!"
After hearing Dale respond, he quickly ran back to the lab.
That paper still wasn't finished.
* * *
Outside the lab, Cynthia watched Shiro rush past.
She stared after him in confusion for a moment, then decided to head to the battlefield to continue training her Pokémon.
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