Albert had long since grown accustomed to writing papers at a pace that would have broken older, seasoned researchers.
His small hands moved swiftly across parchment and keys alike, yet behind them was the weight of two lifetimes of knowledge.
What might have taken years of iterative trials for others, Albert sorted and structured within weeks.
He knew precisely how to arrange the data—how to divide the emotional resonance findings into tiers, how to weave the tables of effects into a digestible format, and how to tie his conclusions into Pokémon behavior, evolution, and battle mechanics alike.
This time, his work split neatly into two major submissions:
Friendship Tiers and Their Practical Effects – a paper, submitted to International Journal of Pokémon Battle, charting the five distinct levels of friendship: base (0–99), low (100–149), medium (150–199), high (200–254), and maximum (255).
For each, Albert outlined measurable effects: resistance to fainting, natural recovery from conditions, increased critical strike potential, and boosted experience gains.
The data was structured with precision, supported by Resonance Meter readings, anecdotal trainer reports, and his own carefully supervised trials.
Friendship as a Determinant of Battle Performance – submitted, again, to the International Journal of Pokémon Battle, this paper highlights how friendship is directly tied to battle-oriented mechanics.
Moves like Return and Frustration were mapped against the meter's readings, showing their variable power scaling with friendship.
This was the first time in history that the power of such "mystery moves" had been quantified in hard numbers, with Albert showing tables where base power rose or fell in direct correlation with measured intimacy energy.
Alongside these, Albert quietly revised all twenty of his earlier happiness-driven evolution papers, updating them with the explicit threshold: 220 friendship points as the critical value for evolution.
The addition gave clarity to what had seemed like an ambiguous phenomenon, closing a gap that had long puzzled trainers and professors alike.
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When Joseph arranged for the submissions, the journals were already primed with anticipation.
The name Albert Deford carried weight now—not just because of his published papers, but also because of the whispers of his age and the veil of psychic mystery that cloaked him at conferences.
Editors received his new manuscripts with hands that trembled slightly, aware that whatever they held could yet redefine the field once again.
Peer reviewers were stunned almost from the first page.
"He's made the friendship value into a quantitative scale?" one whispered, eyes scanning Albert's neat tables.
"Not just measurable—predictive. He's given us thresholds. Evolution, battling, recovery, even survivability… all of it is laid out."
The International Journal of Pokémon Battle was particularly shaken.
For years, trainers had assumed moves like Return or Frustration scaled vaguely with a Pokémon's feelings. Now, there were graphs, thresholds, and Resonance Meter data proving the exact relationship.
"This… this changes training forever," muttered another reviewer, already imagining how competitive battling would be reshaped.
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The journals had little advice for revision.
Albert's clarity, his data tables, his cross-verification through Oak's aides and Devon's facilities—all of it was airtight.
Only minor adjustments were suggested, and with Albert's cooperation, publication followed within weeks.
When the two papers were published, they spread like wildfire.
The research community was first to respond.
Professors across the continents set aside their own projects to test the data.
Labs replicated the findings easily—a Pikachu's survival rate against fainting blows matched exactly with Albert's tier thresholds, while a Clefairy's chance to shake off paralysis aligned with the tables.
Within a month, journals began citing Albert's papers as a new foundational reference, equivalent in weight to Samuel Oak's early works on Pokémon classification.
One senior researcher in Pearl Federation was overheard muttering:
"We've studied friendship for decades as folklore… and yet, this boy reduced it to numbers and graphs."
Another from Silver Republic confessed in a broadcast:
"I used to teach my students that friendship was intangible. I'll have to rewrite my lectures."
Universities scrambled to integrate the new "Friendship Value" model into textbooks, some proposing entirely new courses on "Behavioral Metrics in Pokémon Biology."
The breeding community latched on next.
For years, breeders had observed quirks in how eggs hatched into friendlier Pokémon, or how grooming increased bonds, but they never had a framework to explain them.
Albert's data confirmed their instincts and gave them a language to express it.
Breeder guilds began offering "Friendship Training Packages," advertising accelerated development into higher tiers for young Pokémon.
Meanwhile, contest coordinators were thrilled.
Pokémon that responded with greater synchronization and effort at high friendship tiers meant routines could be polished to near-perfection.
Coordinators in Evergreen Island and Eden Empire rushed to adjust training regimens, emphasizing affection-building over mechanical drills.
Several even wrote public thanks to Albert, crediting him for giving contests "a new horizon of expression."
But it was the competitive battling community that exploded the most.
Trainers tested Return and Frustration obsessively, finally confirming the precise power values.
Online forums lit up with posts:
"Return caps at 102 base power at max friendship confirmed!"
"Frustration has its niche in specific low-tier builds now. Albert Deford has literally rewritten a part of the competitive handbook."
Top trainers began fielding teams built around maximizing friendship boosts, with some predicting a "Friendship Meta" would dominate the scene for years.
Even the general trainer population shifted habits overnight.
Shops reported spikes in sales of grooming kits, massages, and treats, while bitter herbal medicine saw a dip in demand.
Some parents were even seen hugging their children's Pokémon more, whispering, "Researcher Deford says it helps."
And when the evolution updates were published alongside them, confirming the 220 threshold, the field reeled all over again.
Of course, there was also skepticism and backlash.
Critics scoffed that friendship being reduced to numbers "cheapened the bond between trainer and Pokémon."
Others worried it would encourage trainers to treat affection as just another stat to be min-maxed.
But regardless of dissent, the impact was irreversible.
Albert's works had not only rewritten research—they had changed daily trainer culture.
And through it all, Albert himself stayed silent, hidden behind the psychic veil that blurred his features.
Fame roared outside his lab, yet he buried himself deeper into study, with Steven by his side, ensuring he ate, rested, and remembered he was still human amid the tidal wave he had unleashed.