Owen was forever strapped for cash.
Even though his pockets had felt much heavier after the Young Ho-Oh Cup, money was a finite resource that vanished all too quickly.
A mere 100,000 yen wasn't even enough to cover Eevee's personal expenses in the long run.
If Owen planned on capturing new Pokémon in the future, his current financial standing wouldn't even come close to supporting their cultivation.
Fortunately, Owen had found a lucrative side hustle perfectly suited for him.
As he had planned before: publishing academic papers to earn royalties!
Of course, the premise was that the content had to be appropriate. He couldn't touch the topic of Eevee's undiscovered evolutions yet.
Without physical evidence to support his claims, no matter how much he eyed those massive bounties, he wouldn't do something so thankless. He'd likely end up with no money and a tarnished reputation for making baseless claims.
However, Owen felt he could definitely try his hand at papers regarding other aspects of Pokémon biology.
High school students publishing papers wasn't unheard of; most did it to beef up their resumes for independent college admissions.
Owen, however, was more practical—he just wanted the money. If he happened to gain some fame or get scouted by a top-tier university in the process, that was just a bonus.
Unlike the Earth of his past life, the appearance of rifts here meant that Pokémon-related research was a massive, high-stakes industry.
Because Pokémon had integrated into society relatively recently and held such vital importance, scholars in this field far outnumbered those in traditional sciences.
Furthermore, the government provided significant support for Pokémon-related publications. While papers in other fields might not earn a dime (or even cost the author to publish), a Pokémon-related academic paper—no matter how small the finding—could net a handsome reward as long as it passed peer review.
Owen planned to test the waters with a paper on Eevee's Anticipation ability.
In this world, aside from common and easily identified traits like Overgrow or Blaze, "Abilities" (or Characteristics) weren't widely understood.
Many Pokémon abilities were still a blank slate. Regarding Eevee's Anticipation, most people likely mistook it for a naturally timid personality rather than a sensory capability.
If Owen could publish a paper and provide enough logical proof to show that Eevee possessed a specific sensory ability to predict danger, he could secure a large sum in royalties.
Take Home of Pokémon, the most famous domestic journal. According to past payout records, discovering a new ability could net an author anywhere from 50,000 yen upward, depending on its practical value.
One or two papers would easily equal the prize money from the Young Ho-Oh Cup.
"If I can make this work, I'll be able to earn resources through my own knowledge," Owen mused. "My main class is Trainer, and my subclass will be Researcher.
This way, I can fully utilize the information gap in my head. If I just let the info sit there, I'll eventually forget it.
Plus, as the world's research deepens, the value of this information will only drop. It's better to convert what I can into cold, hard cash right now."
Owen's strategy was simple. Others had to explore first, then summarize their findings to publish. Owen already knew the results; he just had to work backward to "explore" and "summarize" them in a way that looked legitimate. This would save him years of trial and error.
He had started preparing the draft for the "Anticipation" paper as soon as he returned from the tournament. He was worried that Eevee's performance in the Young Ho-Oh Cup might have already caught the eye of an observant scholar.
After all, it was highly unusual for a two-month-old Eevee to have such god-like reflexes. If someone beat him to the punch, he'd be out at least 50,000 yen with no way to complain.
Besides, this ability wasn't something he needed to keep secret. Once Eevee evolved, her ability would change anyway—unless she became an Espeon.
In the original games, Espeon were said to be fiercely loyal and developed advanced precognitive powers to protect their trainers.
If Owen wanted to preserve the "sixth sense" Eevee was developing, Espeon was his top choice.
Since the world hadn't discovered Espeon yet, his research on Anticipation wouldn't cause too much of a stir. It was better to trade a "minor" discovery for some immediate benefits.
Of course, since this was Owen's first time writing a formal paper, he had to learn the formatting, tone, and citation methods from scratch.
Combined with the time needed to record data with Eevee, it had taken him about a week to produce something presentable.
He still needed a few more days to polish it before submitting, as the review process could take anywhere from a few days to several months. He couldn't afford to waste time with a rejected draft.
The First Client
The next day, Owen arrived at the classroom feeling groggy. Balancing homework with academic writing had kept him up until midnight.
I'll just catch a nap in the club room during the morning run, he thought, yawning as he pulled out a textbook for morning study.
Just then, he heard someone calling his name from the hallway. It was Leo.
"Boss! Someone came to me for help!" Leo exclaimed, looking excited.
"What do you mean?" Owen asked, walking out.
"The Psychology Club! After I handed out those posters yesterday, a girl from my class came to find me this morning. She wants our club to help her..."
It was only the second day of school, and they already had a client?
Owen looked intrigued. "What's the case?"
🌟 The story is already written… waiting to be unleashed. Claim early access on Patreon: [email protected]/Master_Studios677
🔓 You hold the keys to bonus chapters:💬 10 reviews ignite 1 bonus chapter🔷 100 Power Stones summon another
🔥 Your power determines how fast the tale unfolds.