Back at university, Julian once again embraced his otaku lifestyle. Now in his third year, he hardly needed to attend any classes.
Most third-year students were out on missions or exploring secret realms in search of their own opportunities.
Only first and second-year students stayed on campus for extended periods. By the third and fourth years, nearly everyone was out in the field.
At Imperial University, students from the Trainer Academy weren't allowed to graduate unless they reached the pseudo-Elite level by the time they finished their studies. The most outstanding students usually graduated at late-stage or even peak pseudo-Elite level.
Julian had been away for a while, and now that he was back on campus, he couldn't be bothered to go out. He spent almost all his time in his villa, playing games with Celebi, hanging out with his Pokémon, and occasionally sharing dinner with Nicole.
A trainer's personality often rubbed off on their Pokémon, and Julian's otaku habits naturally influenced his team as well.
Apart from Arcanine, the proud president of the "Dog Club," who went to the club every day without fail, the rest of Julian's Pokémon mostly preferred to stay indoors.
Dragonite took Shelgon out for a daily flight.
Meanwhile, Aggron and Tyranitar, the two Totem-class Pokémon, competed every day to see who could eat more, with Melmetal acting as their referee.
Lucario remained the most diligent of the group, sticking to its rigorous training routine without fail.
Metagross spent most of its free time sunbathing.
While Steelix served as one of Lucario's weight-training "equipment."
Inside the villa, Julian and Celebi had just finished a match of Pokémon Glory. Looking at his score of 16 and his 12-0-16 KDA—including a pentakill—Julian was beyond pleased.
"This is my true skill level!"
He bragged shamelessly—before promptly reporting all five enemy players.
Celebi couldn't even be bothered to respond, instead glancing at Slowking, whose phone also displayed a 16—the same as Julian's—but with MVP honors.
Slowking's stats showed a 6-0-32 KDA.
It had played as a support Venusaur, while Julian had taken the top lane as Aggron. Slowking had spent the entire game backing Julian up.
Celebi stared longingly at Slowking: "Slowking, next game, support me instead! I want a pentakill too!"
Getting MVP was easy, but securing a pentakill was incredibly difficult—it required perfect timing, positioning, and luck.
"Slowking, keep supporting me. Celebi's a noob—no amount of carrying can save it," Julian protested. He was riding the high of victory—how could he let Slowking go now?
Celebi: "You're the noob! Your whole family's noob!"
"A mage with a 1-12-1 KDA and a score of 3—if that's not noob, then what is?"
Julian sneered at Celebi's match stats before mercilessly clicking the report button.
Reason: Intentionally feeding.
Report successful. Player's credibility score deducted by 3 points.
Seeing this, Celebi flew into a rage, screeching: "You bastard, Prepare to die!"
It hurled its phone aside, lunged at Julian's head, and started yanking his hair.
Celebi was absolutely livid—it had been relentlessly camped by the enemy Jungler while its own Jungler refused to help, leaving it helpless the moment it stepped out of tower range. And now, not only was Julian mocking it, but he'd also reported it!
How the hell was it supposed to take this level of disrespect?!
"Ow, ow, ow—let go, you damn gremlin!"
Julian grabbed Celebi, but the little gremlin refused to release its death grip on his hair. He didn't dare pull too hard—he really didn't want to go bald.
"Jiggly~ Puff~ Jiggly~"
The jingle of a Jigglypuff's song rang out—someone was calling.
A glance at the caller ID showed it was his homeroom teacher, Frank.
"Uh, hello, Professor Frank…"
He answered the call with one hand while using the other to shove Celebi firmly onto his head. The little pest had short arms, and Julian's hair were long enough that pressing it down like this kept Celebi from pulling effectively.
"Julian, you're back on campus, right?" Frank's voice came through the phone.
Julian's eyes narrowed—this definitely smelled like trouble. "Nope, not yet. Haven't returned to campus—"
"Bullshit. You've been back for half a month. You really think I don't know?"
"If you already knew, why even ask?"
Julian sighed internally. 'Yep, he's definitely about to dump some work on me.'
"Today's the exchange match between the freshmen of Shu University's Special Recruitment Class and the freshmen of Imperial University's Special Recruitment Class. The homeroom teacher for this year's freshman class got injured recently, so I've been filling in."
"But something urgent came up—so you're taking over for me. Lead the freshmen to the match."
"Alright, that's settled. I'm hanging up now."
Frank didn't even give Julian a chance to refuse before ending the call.
As the dial tone buzzed in his ear, Julian reluctantly lowered his phone—only to feel a sharp pain on his head.
Celebi had resorted to biting his head, drool dripping down both sides of its mouth.
---
Imperial University and Shu University had long been locked in a rivalry for the title of the nation's top two academies. The "second-best" refused to bow to the "first," so every year, the two universities held an exchange match between their Special Recruitment Class freshmen.
Julian had participated during his own freshman year, achieving the legendary feat of sweeping Shu's team solo with his Metagross.
Back then, Shu University had come to Imperial University.
The following year, Imperial University had traveled to Shu.
The hosting rights alternated annually.
Now, in the third year, it was once again Shu University's turn to visit Imperial University.
At the front gates of Imperial University, Shu University's instructor was leading ten Special Recruitment Class freshmen onto campus.
The ten students looked around curiously.
"Hey, do you think we'll get to see King Julian?" one of them asked excitedly.
"There's no way we'd actually meet someone like him," another scoffed. "But I know for a fact that King Julian is on campus right now—and I even know where his villa is."
"After the exchange match, wanna go toss a Poké Ball at his window and see if he notices?"
"Anyone interested?"
"I'm in!"
"+1"
"+1"
The Shu University teacher, listening to his students gushing over Julian and couldn't help but sigh.
Not that he blamed them.
If Julian had only won first place in the Hundred Schools League back then, earning the title of "the nation's top young trainer", some might have dismissed it as hype.
But two years later?
He had become a Pseudo-Champion trainer, the National Steel-Type Gym Leader, and even defeated an early-stage Champion-level Pokémon in Wyvernia.
With those feats, Julian had cemented his status as the undisputed strongest of his generation—surpassing even veteran trainers and leaving no young rival on the planet who could challenge him.
Naturally, aspiring trainers across the country idolized him.
And because Imperial University had "produced" such a legend, it had completely overtaken Shu University in prestige.
Now, whenever the two universities competed for top talent, all Imperial University had to do was name-drop Julian, and most students would choose them without hesitation.
Shu University knew full well that Julian's achievements had nothing to do with Imperial University's training programs.
But it didn't matter.
As long as he was their alumnus, Imperial University would always have the upper hand.
*****
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