Malieu City.
A manor on the edge of the city.
Knock, knock, knock...
Natsuhiko, sitting on the chair, gently tapped his fingers on the edge of the solid wood desk, listening to the intelligence and information reported by a hunter below.
Except for Joanna, the ones Natsuhiko selected from Miss Q were some hunters who weren't very powerful, were on the core's periphery, and didn't have much presence but each had some abilities to survive.
For example, intelligence gathering, shop management, etc.
After listening.
"So, at present, there are two groups known to be on Ula ula Island, with the location confirmed for one group, and the rest is unclear?" Natsuhiko asked calmly.
"Yes, sir." The hunter respectfully replied after reporting.
Natsuhiko looked at Joanna sitting on the sofa.
"I think it's Mr. Z's subordinates, nicknamed 'Hounds'." Joanna understood Natsuhiko's meaning and said.
Mr. Z and Miss Q alike were among the highest seats of the Hunter Guild.
Natsuhiko nodded.
He didn't dwell on this topic further, and instead turned his attention, saying: "The black market situation in Malieu City."
Another hunter stepped forward and said, "It's relatively backward, but there are many Pokémon shops, competition is significant, and the cost of acquiring a shop is quite high."
"No need to buy." Natsuhiko waved his hand.
They only have fifteen days in total, and acquiring a shop would take up too much time.
He continued to look at the third person.
The person was quite self-aware.
"The Skeleton Team is quite active in Malieu City, they're... they're not hiding it at all, just a bunch of hooligans."
Which didn't exceed Natsuhiko's expectations.
The truly troublesome entity in the Alola Region, after all, remains the Ethereum Foundation.
"Find a way to contact their leader."
"Yes!"
"How much money do we have left?" Natsuhiko asked.
"Eight million, including the purchase of residence, basic infrastructure for a Pokémon Breeding Farm, and intelligence gathering costs..."
Each expense was listed quite clearly.
"What about the King of Islands?" Natsuhiko asked the question he was most concerned about.
"It's someone named Morden, said to have been an International Criminal Police, residing in Po Town on the northern coast of Ula ula Island. Because of his presence, the police force in Malieu City is not weak, even though the Skeleton Team is rampant, the security is okay."
After listening.
Natsuhiko waved his hand, signaling they could all leave.
Once the hunters had all left, leaving only Natsuhiko and Joanna.
Joanna finally couldn't help but ask, "Natsuka, what are you planning to do? Are you really going to confront them one by one?"
Natsuhiko chuckled softly.
Going to make money would be foolish, right?
Knock, knock, knock...
Once again gently tapping the edge of the table.
After pondering for a few minutes, he slowly said, "No rush, let them develop a bit. You go to House of Ether tomorrow and see if you can make contact with the middle and upper management of the Ethereum Foundation."
If it were morning, Natsuhiko might have directly rushed in.
But having just captured Oranguru, it needs to somewhat merge with Snorlax and Bewear.
At least.
They need to get acquainted with each other.
"Ethereum Foundation?" Joanna was taken aback.
The Ethereum Foundation has quite a high status in the Alola Region.
It can be said that if the Alliance truly wishes to settle in the Alola Region, the Ethereum Foundation is a hurdle that cannot be avoided.
"Listen to their theories, understand their situation." Natsuhiko said with a meaningful smile.
Joanna gave him a complex look.
Though she didn't understand why Natsuhiko was doing this, she nodded nonetheless.
"Understood."
...
...
The next day.
Natsuhiko, holding Eevee, arrived at Marie Library.
The largest library on Ula ula Island, also one of the more famous ones in the Alola Region.
Here, there are quite a few books documenting the culture, customs, and legends of the Alola Region.
Natsuhiko wasn't here to learn about the Alola culture; he was just avoiding the eyes of those Hunter Guild subordinates.
He had already placed Oranguru, Snorlax, and Bewear on Hikelani Mountain, letting them get to know each other for a day.
It was so they could become acquainted.
After entering the library, he casually picked a few books and sat in the corner.
He placed the still sleepy Eevee on the chair beside him and opened the laptop he carried with him.
Agatha's undercover mission was ongoing; his plans couldn't be delayed by the mission.
He planned to use this brief time to lay the groundwork for his upcoming arrangements.
The paper on Eevee was almost finished; currently, he had written about Espeon, leaving Umbreon, Glaceon, and Leafeon yet to be written.
However, trying to fleece the Alliance again with Eevee's paper had become somewhat unrealistic.
He's gone too far with the last fleece.
Even Natsuhiko felt it was a bit much.
Fleecing again might result in Alliance resistance.
So he needed to find another approach, another angle from which to fleece the Alliance.
For example...
The Alliance's top ten unsolved mysteries, such as how Milotic evolves.
Regarding this topic, he had been planning for a long time and collected some data as reference and verification.
Originally.
He wanted to write about Magmar evolving into Magmortar, Electabuzz evolving into Electivire, things like that.
But after further consideration.
Decided to open up a new direction.
The first paper must be explosive enough.
There's nothing more explosive than the evolutionary method of Milotic, the most beautiful Pokémon recognized in the Pokedex.
Moreover, it was his only research to date where he could provide information from start to finish.
As long as he could make a name for himself in this direction of Pokémon evolution, he would no longer be seen as just an "Eevee Expert" in others' eyes, but a truly excellent researcher.
This way, he could hold significant discourse and authority in his future, more sensational papers on "Fairy Type" and "Super Evolution".
However.
Natsuhiko was also well aware of the essence of reaping benefits.
Directly presenting the conclusion was unrealistic.
After all, once the conclusion is out, how would you apply to the Alliance for research funding?
So he needed to throw out a question, a possibility, and then let the Alliance come seeking benefits.
Having written several papers, Natsuhiko was quite experienced now.
Moreover, given his current reputation in the Pokémon Research Community, he didn't need to be overly cautious.
So he spent a few hours in the corner of Marie Library, dedicating an entire morning to writing the paper.
Illustrated with both text and images.
The paper "Speculation and Several Bases on Feebas Evolving into Milotic" came to life.
As soon as it was published.
It caused a seismic reaction on the entire forum.
No less impactful than the announcement of the four Eevee evolutions.
No choice.
Natsuhiko already had considerable fame.
Countless people were lurking on the forum daily, waiting for him to publish papers on the other three types of Eevee.
Moreover.
Milotic is such a beautiful Pokémon, with numerous people wishing to catch one.
But wild Milotic are too scarce, even rarer than Lapras, which has special protection directives from the Alliance.
The forum was in chaos.
The Alliance server went into emergency maintenance mode.
Some didn't believe it.
"What did I see? Milotic evolves from Feebas? No!!! I don't believe it!"
"No!!! I don't believe it either!"
"Can this... be credible?"
"Absolutely not! Unless someone gives me a Milotic!"
"..."
Some believed the credibility was high due to the "Dodo" nickname.
"Non-believers, look at the username of the person who posted this paper."
"Isn't 'Mr. Dodo' the one researching Eevee and Affinity? How did he get into the Milotic field?"
"But 'Mr. Dodo', just the name itself is convincing."
"From the ugliest to the most beautiful? Is this a story of the Ugly Duckling?"
"..."
Some also mocked Natsuhiko.
"An Eevee researcher, what does he know about Milotic?"
"Exactly. There's already plenty to study with Eevee, yet he meddles in other fields."
"Waiting to be proven wrong."
"..."
Of course, there were authoritative figures too.
Dr. Yamanashi: "Very interesting speculation. The argument is also constructive, quite possible."
Professor Oak: "Hope I can observe Milotic for a week when the time comes."
Professor Elm: "Judging by the historical records of Milotic sightings, it's not impossible for Feebas to evolve."
Their responses helped Natsuhiko maintain the pace below nicely.
Watching one comment after another flash by quickly, Natsuhiko smiled without any intention of commenting or replying.
It didn't matter if they supported or opposed it.
As long as the impact was large enough, the traffic significant enough, that was success.
A significant impact would draw the Alliance's attention.
The more attention from the Alliance, the more benefits he could reap.
Once this paper was validated, he would gradually shed the somewhat limiting title of "Eevee Expert."
After watching for a while, he closed the computer.
No rush.
Let the situation ferment for a bit.
Then his phone rang.
Seeing it, he realized it was from Hilona.
However, before he could answer, a young girl wearing a black dress with puffy purple hair, a golden bracelet on her left arm, appeared in front of him.
With a slightly pouting, annoyed expression.
"Sir, you're not supposed to make phone calls inside the library."
Natsuhiko was taken aback.
Un... Uncle?
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