"Our internal team has already completed a plagiarism check and found no issues. Personally, I've done some research on Pokémon evolution, and the three-evolution theory in this paper gave me a great deal of inspiration. Our institute is currently working on verifying the final hypothesis regarding evolutionary magnetic fields. In addition, academic study knows no borders. I hope everyone will refrain from making negative assumptions or criticisms based solely on Mr. Corviknight's location."
Professor Rowan's comment ended there, followed by a wave of responses. Most of them came from his fans or students.
"I can't believe Professor Rowan actually left a comment! Oh my gosh!"
"Professor Rowan ヾ(≧▽≦)o! "
"Professor Rowan (＞﹏＜*)!"
"What are you guys doing? Do you even sound like researchers? Whatever, I'm posting one too (❁´◡`❁)."
"Since the professor commented, it must be worth looking into. Bookmarking this for updates."
"Three evolution methods… this could redefine how we classify evolution in Pokémon. And the professor really seems to be testing that final magnetic field theory. Let's wait and see."
Shiro scrolled through the flood of comments, a faint smile tugging at his lips. Looking at the usernames—each marked with a different region like Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh—he finally felt like he had truly stepped into the real Pokémon world. Not just trapped in Galar like a prisoner.
"Professor Rowan is verifying it…" Shiro murmured, pausing thoughtfully before continuing to scroll.
Since the professor had made such a public statement, as the most respected Pokémon expert in a region, he would surely follow up with a clear answer.
Shiro wasn't too worried about the accuracy of his paper. What concerned him more was Professor Rowan's character. If he tried to take credit for the research midway through, Shiro didn't have the reputation or influence to fight back.
But seeing how many researchers from different regions had left comments, he started to feel more at ease. Rowan seemed to have a solid reputation, with no visible negative feedback. With so many eyes on the post, it would be difficult to pull off any underhanded tricks without consequences.
Soon, he came across another comment from Professor Rowan, posted two days ago.
"Fellow researchers, our institute has successfully detected an 'evolutionary magnetic field' and verified the evolutions mentioned in the paper. The evolution methods for Gengar, Golem, Gigalith, and Trevenant have all been confirmed. The paper's prediction accuracy is as high as 66%! That's a stunning success rate. We are now continuing to collect data and test other Pokémon that might evolve through this magnetic field theory."
The moment the comment appeared, the thread exploded again with even more replies.
Shiro didn't bother reading each one. Most of them were just nonsense anyway. He scrolled straight to the next comment from Rowan, this one posted just the day before.
"This paper is priceless! It not only presents a groundbreaking theory, but also organizes and defines the structure of Pokémon evolution. Every known Pokémon so far can now be placed into one of the three evolution categories. I've already sent a message to Mr. Corviknight. I hope he replies after seeing either the message or this comment."
"Hmm..." Shiro scratched his head. Yesterday, he'd been too caught up in sorting loot and training his Pokémon to care about some academic discussion.
The professor did seem a little anxious, though.
He scrolled back to the top and looked through the newer comments.
"Whoa! Nailed it. The prediction was real!"
"You called that a prediction? All you did was lurk. Quit acting like a prophet. Anyway, our Unova research institute would be honored to invite Mr. Corviknight to join. If you're interested..."
"Alright, I just got my bachelor's in Pokémon evolution. To witness a cutting-edge evolution theory like this? I guess I've found my path to a master's degree."
"Typical. People like you only follow trends and spit out pointless research papers."
"Mr. Corviknight, please accept my friend request! I need to be on that friend list, pleaseee..."
Shiro glanced over the comments and casually accepted the last person's friend request. After confirming there were no more replies from the professor beyond all the praise, he opened his message notifications.
As expected, a dozen unread messages flashed red—every one of them from Professor Rowan.
Few days ago, when the magnetic field experiments had just begun, there had only been two messages. One read, "Our research lab is working on verifying your hypothesis." The other said, "Please approve my friend request."
But by two days ago, things started to shift. Rowan was clearly getting anxious. He had sent nine messages in a row, all saying the same thing: "Mr. Corviknight, please approve my friend request."
And yesterday, with his message limit reached, he'd sent a final one: "Are you busy? Please spare some time. I'm always online and waiting."
The website only allowed a limited number of short messages to strangers. Rowan had used most them just to beg for a friend request approval.
"Emmm..."
With a light flick of his finger, Shiro quickly accepted.
...
Meanwhile, in Sinnoh's Sandgem Town.
Inside Professor Rowan's research lab, over thirty researchers in white coats worked tirelessly, releasing Pokémon one after another into a massive, cage-like machine.
This was the simplified evolution device, developed three days ago after the lab successfully confirmed the existence of the evolution magnetic field.
The experiment itself was fairly straightforward. They just needed to gather all the Pokémon listed in the paper, then slowly adjust the magnetic field's current strength and direction.
At first, Rowan had only assigned a few researchers to the project, treating it as a long shot. But after they identified the evolution magnetic field in just four hours—including the time wasted slacking off—he immediately added five more researchers.
This was because, at the time, the lab was also running another project based on Rowan's own theory. He believed that some Pokémon couldn't evolve simply because their levels were too low, or that they required both a certain level and an evolutionary stone.
But testing that theory was resource-heavy. The lab had already burned through a huge amount of funding with zero results to show for it.
"If only we'd discovered the evolution magnetic field earlier..." mumbled a researcher as he adjusted the equipment.
Since the number of Pokémon confirmed to evolve via the magnetic field kept growing, Rowan had assigned all personnel to focus solely on this project.
He himself sat silently at his computer, carefully rereading Corviknight's paper for what must have been the hundredth time, while anxiously waiting for a response.
"Sometimes, a lack of results just means the research was headed in the wrong direction," he whispered to himself.
Then, suddenly, a soft notification tone rang in his ears.
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