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Roy woke early to a call from Professor Christian, informing him that Pokémon Daily wanted to do an exclusive interview with "Vulpix."
"For Vulpix?" Roy suspected he'd misheard. Vulpix couldn't speak, so how could she be interviewed? Perhaps the Pokémon League had a talking Meowth who could serve as an interpreter?
"It's an interview, but really more of an information gathering session," Professor Christian explained. "Have you forgotten? Whenever a new type of Pokémon appears, Pokémon Daily publishes relevant information about its appearance, habits, characteristics, typing, and moves..."
"Come quickly, Professor Hayden and I are waiting for you at school."
After understanding the situation, Roy was delighted. Though just a simple introduction without any special interviews, being published in a global publication like Pokémon Daily meant Alolan Vulpix would enter the worldwide spotlight. A single photo could generate tremendous popularity.
Roy checked his system panel. After yesterday's media coverage, the popularity of his three Pokémon had soared. It hadn't yet peaked, but the statistics were impressive.
Not counting previously spent popularity points, Roy reviewed each Pokémon's current level and popularity:
[Lucario, comprehensive evaluation grade B+, popularity value: 2,300,000]
[Squirtle, comprehensive evaluation B-level, popularity value: 600,000]
[Vulpix, comprehensive evaluation grade C+, popularity value: 6,430,000]
Roy never expected Vulpix, his newest team member, would prove most attractive and popular. Even Lucario's total earnings didn't match Vulpix's!
Moreover, once Vulpix appeared in Pokémon Daily, popularity would likely explode even further.
What was this phenomenon called? The power of popularity—the idol faction truly outperformed the power faction. Appearance was justice, undeniably so.
As for Squirtle, despite performing admirably, few media outlets had featured him in yesterday's coverage due to his lower newsworthiness. Still, Squirtle's expression memes continued circulating online, steadily generating popularity. Though not substantial, his contribution was reliable.
At breakfast, Roy sat at the dining table with a smile, hugging his precious Vulpix. "Squirtle, hurry and prepare a basin of warm water. I need to give Vulpix a bath."
"Squirtle?" The water Pokémon looked up from his cooking, bewildered. Why should he do this?
"You're a Water-type Pokémon, right?"
"Squirtle."
"Among everyone here, no one understands water better than you!" Roy declared solemnly. "Who else should I ask?"
Squirtle considered this and found it reasonable. He put down his bowl and waddled to the bathroom on short legs to fill the tub.
Lucario sighed silently.
Nestled in Roy's arms, Vulpix let out a soft "vul-pix" while rubbing against his chin, as if wondering why she suddenly needed a bath.
Roy explained: "You'll have an examination later, and I'll need your cooperation. I'll also take some photos, so you need to look beautiful."
Vulpix had no objections. Roy had noticed the little Pokémon seemed naturally comfortable with attention.
During the previous competition—her first ever—Vulpix hadn't been frightened at all by the audience's enthusiastic cheers. Even Brian's experienced Rhyhorn had been affected by crowd noise. This composure could only be attributed to natural talent.
Soon, Roy arrived at Capital University's scientific research laboratory, filled with high-tech devices to accurately scan Vulpix's physical data.
Roy stood nearby, watching researchers collect information while ensuring Vulpix remained unharmed. "Professor, I'm not an expert in Pokémon research, but can comprehensive data be registered from just one Vulpix? Wouldn't that be too one-sided?"
Like laws of physics, which require many experiments and verifications, Pokémon information registration typically required examining several specimens before drawing correct conclusions.
For instance, Roy's Vulpix possessed the ability "Snow Warning"—after collecting this data, researchers might assume all Alolan Vulpix had this ability. But in reality, most Alolan Vulpix had the ability "Snow Cloak."
Snow Warning, like Roy's Vulpix had, was actually a Hidden Ability—extremely rare, appearing in only one in a million Pokémon.
"One-sided is unavoidable," Professor Hayden smiled. "Humans are still at a very preliminary stage in Pokémon research, and many existing theories are incomplete or incorrect. For example, with Milotic—we still don't fully understand what conditions Feebas must meet to evolve."
"But we can't halt research due to incompleteness. With limited resources, we do what we can under constrained conditions. If mistakes are made, future generations will correct them."
Roy was struck by this perspective.
Newton once said he stood on the shoulders of giants—pioneers who continually experimented and made mistakes.
"By the way," Professor Hayden suddenly asked, "how's your preparation for the midterm exam?"
"Nothing to prepare, just packing some spare clothes," Roy shrugged.
"At your level, there are no rivals in your year. You'll easily maintain first place," Professor Hayden nodded in agreement, then added, "However, you shouldn't underestimate field practice. Real wilderness battles differ completely from formal competitions."
Roy recalled Cole's words and didn't disagree.
Capital University conducted midterms through "field practice." The school would send professional-level trainers to accompany students to designated "safe zones" for internships, allowing trainer candidates to adapt to wilderness environments.
Due to long-term human contact, Pokémon in safe zones generally had mild temperaments, rarely displaying aggression, so danger levels remained low. Normally, no surprises occurred.
The exam required students to survive in the wild while locating score cards the school had distributed throughout the safe zone. More points collected meant better scores.
Top performers earned the title "Chief Recommended Student" and received prizes from the university.
Furthermore, students were permitted to capture Pokémon in the safe zone.
With no money to purchase Pokémon eggs from the market and no connections to adopt Pokémon, most trainers from ordinary families acquired their second Pokémon during this wilderness survival exam, then obtained another in sophomore year.
Currently, most first-year students owned only one Pokémon. Only a few recommended students with money, resources, and connections could raise several Pokémon simultaneously.
The class divide was quite obvious, explaining frequent complaints about social immobility.
Such was the class structure in the Trainer world.
As for Roy...
He'd been unanimously assessed by all university students: this guy was inhuman and defied normal classification.