"Glaceo..." Hilona instinctively began to speak, but suddenly realized Natsuhiko's "Dodo" identity hadn't been revealed yet. She quickly stopped herself.
Glaceon?
Lance looked at Hilona, then at Kona.
'Does Natsuhiko have a lot of research on Ice-type Pokémon?'
Unlike Lance, who wasn't very attentive to the Alliance Researcher Forum, Kona, as a top student at Silver Academy, always kept an eye on these leading papers about changes and research in the Pokémon Realm.
She knew there was something quite sensational lately.
That was the announcement of four new evolutions of Eevee.
And these announced evolutions had already been successfully verified.
Most importantly, the "author" who announced Eevee's evolutions uploaded information about the four Eevee evolutions a few days ago, including basic techniques, breeding directions, and suggestions, and also mentioned that the content would be continuously updated.
It once again caused a significant stir within the forum.
Kona remembered that the author, who already seemed to be the new darling of the researcher forum, was named... Dodo?
Could Senior Natsuhiko know this "Dodo"?
Kona didn't associate this "Dodo" with Natsuhiko because Natsuhiko's age was quite different from those researchers who had made achievements in Pokémon research, or even the Doctors she had in mind.
'Could it be Senior Natsuhiko's mentor?'
Seeing that neither Lance nor Kona showed much confusion, Hilona secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
"I have something to ask Natsuhiko. You guys continue."
With that, she gently flipped her golden hair and chased after the direction where Natsuhiko left.
Thus, only Lance, Kona, and the still-contemplating Xiaochun were left here.
Lance awkwardly smiled and looked at Kona.
"Hmph—"
Kona directly turned her back on Lance and went to one side to organize some training methods she had just discussed with Natsuhiko.
Leaving Lance alone, standing stunned in place, a bit at a loss.
The sunlight from Shenhe Town was warm, but he felt... a bit cold.
...
...
"Natsuhiko." Hilona caught up with Natsuhiko, who was heading back to the Poke Center.
"Hmm?"
Natsuhiko looked at Hilona, who quickly chased up, slightly out of breath, with a blush on her face, with some confusion.
"I read the paper you published a few days ago about the suggestions for breeding the four evolutions of Eevee and a basic analysis of these four evolutions," Hilona explained.
"Mm."
Natsuhiko nodded.
According to the Alliance's requirements, he did publish such a paper, which successfully garnered a lot of support and praise and stirred up some waves once again in the researcher forum.
But maybe he's used to the bigger storms, this "small" stir didn't bother him as much anymore.
What he was more curious about was when Sakura would deliver the agreed materials and resources, including a batch of supposedly outstanding Eevee.
"I have a bit of confusion," Hilona continued.
"Go ahead."
Hilona pondered slightly, "You said last time that Glaceon's Special Attack ability is very good. Although the 'Snow Concealment' trait is hard to make good use of in my team, you suggested not to focus too much on Glaceon's Ice-type abilities but rather to try to broaden its attack scope because it could excel in Psychic, Water, and even Bug types."
She began, and Natsuhiko roughly understood what she meant.
After organizing his thoughts, Natsuhiko asked, "Are you wondering why I advise others to specialize in Ice-type abilities, but suggest you to focus more on Glaceon's versatility? Has my understanding of Glaceon deepened once again during this time?"
Before Hilona could respond, Natsuhiko gave her a deep look and provided an answer.
"Because you are Hilona."
After speaking, he walked into the Poke Center.
Hilona, standing in place, was stunned.
Because she is Hilona?
Ridiculous.
Natsuhiko's paper was for most ordinary trainers. Can they compare to Hilona?
If Natsuhiko gave others the same advice as Hilona, he'd probably get clobbered, because most people couldn't achieve it, whether in terms of ability or resources, there was quite a gap compared to Hilona.
But what others can't do, Hilona surely can.
Simply because, she is Hilona, the future Champion, the current face of young trainers in the Sinnoh Region.
Gradually understanding the meaning behind Natsuhiko's words, Hilona slowly raised the corners of her mouth, revealing a smile rarely seen on her face.
Indeed, because she is Hilona!
This explanation is quite...
Reasonable.
...
...
The visit of Lance, Kona, Hilona, and Xiaochun brought a significant influence to Natsuhiko's formerly dull, boring yet fulfilling days.
Because just a few days were left until the "Lily Youth Competition" began, everyone was making final preparations for the competition.
Adjusting Pokémon conditions, maintaining Pokémon aggression, consolidating tactics, rehearsing tactics, and so on...
This allowed Natsuhiko to get a preliminary understanding of their strengths.
Then.
During these days together, they soon realized that Natsuhiko was also a breeder, and quite an outstanding one at that.
He could not only tailor-make Advanced Energy Blocks for Pokémon but also, with a bit of luck, could already produce Special Level Energy Blocks once or twice.