September 1st marked the start of a new academic year for colleges and uies across the try, and the excitement alpable. Freshmen from all over were making their way to their neuses, while seniors eagerly waited at train stations, bus terminals, and airports to return.

  Julian and Shen had already arrived in the Imperial Capital, but they hadn't seen much of each other in the past few days, each ed up in their own business.

  The heat of the m sun bore down as Shen stood at the east gate of Imperial Uy, the mairance for students. It was already past nine o'clock, and she had been waiting for Julian, her luggage in hand, looking somewhat impatient.

  With each freshman ing in, the most excited were the seniors. Whether they finally get a girlfriend depends on this wave.

  Though Shen wasn't a cssic beauty by any means, her tall figure—thanks to years of martial arts training—was striking. At five-foot-nine, she exuded strength, which immediately set her apart from the softer, more delicate girls often associated with the term "freshman."

  Already, she had turned down seven well-meaning seniors who had offered to help with her luggage, and her patience was wearing thin.

  "Julian, you said eight o'clock!" she muttered to herself, gng at the time again. "It's past nine already!"

  "Hey do you..."

  Just as another senior approached her, hoping to lend a hand, Shen's face twisted in annoyance. She cut him off with a sharp, "Roll."

  The senior who thought he was quite handsome recoiled, wide-eyed, Afterall freshman were easier to coax in his eyes.

  For a moment it was as if he had just seen a r Tyranitar bearing down on him.

  Shen's fiery demeanor had earned her the niame "female tyrannosaurus" back at Lake No. 1, and today, that reputation was on full dispy.

  Imperial Uy, one of the top five uies in the Drakoria region, wasn't known for its grarance.

  The gate was small, unremarkable even, with peeling white paint that exposed the red bricks beh. The only eye-catg feature was the three rge characters engraved on the wall: "Imperial Capital Uy."

  Those three words alone imbued the gate with a sense of importand history, making it a popur stop for tourists and students alike.

  Finally, Julian arrived, strolling toward Shen without a hint ency. Shen was ready to unleash her frustration, but before she could speak, Julian shrugged nontly.

  "Waited long?"

  Shewitched. "You're more than an hour te, and that's all you have to say?"

  Julian remained unbothered. "Why are you still standing here? You could've signed up without me. It's so hot."

  Shen: (▼~X)

  Shen ched her fists, gring at him. In her mind, she imagiaking Julian down with a punch, but she knew better than to try. Even if she wao ftten him, she couldn't win in a fight.

  The pair walked through the campus, following the signs toward the Trainer Academy's registration area.

  Imperial Uy was massive, with over 30 different colleges c everything from humanities and eics to nguages and mathematics.

  Though many students owned Pokémon, only a fra were professional trainers, and they often pursued other is such as research or business.

  Being a professional trainer was a high-risk job and it required a rare bination of talent, perseverance, and resources.

  For those g in any of these areas, being a regur student or Pokémon researcher was the more practical route.

  Trainer Academy, Breeder Academy, Pokémon School of Medie, Pokémon Research Academy, etc.

  Still, the Trainer Academy was the jewel of Imperial Uy, known for its high admission standards and taleudents.

  By the time they reached the registration area, a line of freshmen had already formed. Teration points had bee up, so the line moved quickly.

  After waiting for about ten minutes, it was Julian's turn. He handed his admission notice to the bespectacled senior at the desk, who sed it.

  Soon Julian's information appeared on the puter.

  "Special css recruit, Julian. Student number: 202201," the senior announced, his eyes widening in surprise. "You're *the* Julian?"

  "That's me," Julian replied casually. "Is there a problem?"

  The senior shook his head but couldn't stop staring. It was as if he had just met some rare Pokémon.

  Shen, had just finished her registration, she was also a special css recruit, which surprised the senior, as he got two special css students in one day.

  "Julian, what's your student number?" Shen asked.

  "202201," he answered, still puzzled by all the attention.

  "As I thought," Shen said with a knowing smirk. "That makes you the representative of this year's freshman css."

  "Representative? What are you talking about?" Julian asked, raising an eyebrow.

  Shen rolled her eyes. "You didn't bother looking into Imperial Uy's traditions, did you? The freshman with student number 01 is always sidered the representative of their css. It's a pretty big deal."

  "Most academies follow this tradition"

  "The preg '2022' is the year, so I won't say much about that."

  Julian nodded slowly as if the information was finally sinking in. "Huh. I had no idea."

  Shen couldn't help but ugh at his cluelessness. "You're something else, Julian."

  "What's your student number?" Julian asked, curious now.

  "Mine is 23rd- 202223," Shen replied.

  "But after the 01st, the other numbers don't really matter, From 02 to 30 they all just follohabetical order except for 01"

  There's 30 students in the special css.

  "Oh so that's it, you know so much"

  It was obviously a pliment, but Julian's tone sounded off, it was too pin, it gave people a sense of sarcasm.

  Shen looked at Julian's back, thinking about whether to settle the old debts together, and directly give him a beating. This guy was really annoying.

  ~Inteare~

  As they walked toward their dorms, Julian's expression shifted suddenly. His gaze darted around the campus, sing the area.

  "What's wrong?" Shen asked, notig the sudden tension in his posture.

  "I thought... I felt something. Like I was being targeted," Julian muttered. His voice lowered. "It felt like I was being stalked by something... something big."

  Shen narrowed her eyes. "Don't joke about that stuff."

  Julian shook his head. "It wasn't a joke. For a sed, it felt like a Tyranitar had its eyes on me. But... maybe I imagi."

  Shen: (▼_▼)

  Julian stopped in his tracks again. "Wait. No. That feeling's back."