September 1st, 2nd, and 3rd were the official registration days for freshmen at Magic University.
Classes were set to begin formally on Monday, September 4th. These three days served as a buffer for the new students to familiarize themselves with the sprawling campus environment.
Early on the morning of September 1st, Owen, who was still fast asleep, was jolted awake by the clamor outside. It sounded like the influx of freshmen moving in with their life essentials.
He rolled over, attempting to sink back into sleep; he and Eevee had been gaming until 2:30 AM, and his eyelids still felt like lead.
"Vee..."
Suddenly, Owen felt a sharp, hard sensation against his abdomen, startling him awake. He realized that as he had tossed and turned, he had accidentally pinned down Eevee's tail.
Out of pure instinctual self-preservation, Eevee's tail had begun to take on a faint metallic sheen. Owen patted his chest in relief—if he hadn't woken up fast, he might have been "assassinated" by an accidental Iron Tail.
Nearby, Eevee blinked its eyes groggily and let out a long yawn.
Is it daylight already?
Magneton, hovering near its charging station on the upper bunk, heard the commotion and drifted down.
"It's not even nine yet..." Owen checked his phone and shook his head. The Research Department registration wasn't until 1:00 PM.
He was already in the dorm, but he still needed to collect his class assignment and textbooks. There would likely be a class meeting in the afternoon to meet the counselor.
Since sleep was now out of the question, Owen got up and started washing up, figuring he might as well finish his errands early so he could take Eevee out for training.
On campus, the volunteers acting as guides were all seniors who had returned early. Owen kept a low profile, collected his freshman notification slip for the Research Department from a senior student, and headed back to the dorm.
Class 1, 2026 Magic University Pokémon Research Department.
There was a QR code on the slip for the class announcement group. Back in his room, Owen scanned it and joined. There were already 13 people in the chat.
The group owner was likely the counselor—if the profile picture was accurate, she appeared to be a woman in her early 40s.
"Not counting the counselor, the gender ratio is 2 males to 10 females? Is the percentage of girls in the Research Department really this high?" Owen noted, looking at the member list.
On second thought, it made sense. Female trainers with a passion for high-intensity battling were a minority; departments like Breeding, Research, and Pokémon Medicine were far more popular among them.
Just as Owen was about to close the app, he blinked in disbelief. A notification at the bottom of the screen made his head throb.
"Eevee has joined the group chat."
"What the...!" Owen whipped his head around to see Eevee holding its smartphone, scanning the QR code on his notification slip. He snatched the phone away.
"What are you doing joining the class group? Does this look right to you?"
Owen had helped Eevee register a chat account just a few days ago after much begging. Up until now, its only friend was Owen. He never expected Eevee to start using it like this today.
"Vee? Vee-vee?" Eevee looked up, confused. Why can't I join?
Owen was a student of this class, and it was Owen's Pokémon—by extension, it was a student of this class too. Its logic was flawless.
"This..." Owen scratched his head. He had never encountered this situation before. "Fine." Seeing Eevee's pitiful, watery eyes, he handed the phone back.
It wasn't a huge deal. Eevee wasn't going to discuss sensitive topics or post anything inappropriate. Once the counselor noticed an extra person, she'd probably just kick the account out anyway.
"Vee..." Eevee's eyes sparkled as it looked at the screen. Aside from the group owner, it started sending friend requests to everyone else in the group.
By noon, the group count reached 41. The counselor sent the first message: "Meeting at 3:00 PM in Building 4, Room 107. Be punctual. Campus cards and textbooks will be distributed."
A flurry of "Received," "Copy that," and "Understood" followed. It seemed Class 1 had exactly 40 students.
The gender ratio had balanced out slightly to 11 males and 29 females. (Though Owen didn't rule out the possibility of some guys setting their gender to female—a classic online move.)
"Let's go eat," Owen said, patting his stomach. The food at Magic University's cafeteria was excellent; Owen had been eating there for days without getting bored, which was high praise.
After lunch, Owen took Eevee and Magneton to the training grounds. At Magic University, the sports fields, training areas, and battle arenas were all separate.
He headed to the training ground nearest to the Research dorms.
The plan was simple: Eevee needed to practice controlling the solar energy within its "Destruction Gene" and refine its Hidden Power Fire.
It was a sunny day, perfect for the task. Magneton, meanwhile, was tasked with practicing the construction of its magnetic field—a skill where proficiency and range had no upper limit.
As the semester neared, the grounds were far more crowded than they had been during the summer. Owen saw dozens of people where previously there had been only two or three.
"Oh?" Suddenly, Owen spotted a familiar face and grinned.
Watching a trainer walking with an Ivysaur, Owen chuckled. Wasn't that the seed player he had eliminated first back during the young Ho-oh Cup? After their brief run-in at the Magic University "Haunted House" during the summer, it turned out they were going to be alumni after all.
"???" Liden froze, staring at Owen and Eevee.
"Are you kidding me..." Liden's mood was a mess. He had a hunch Owen would come to Magic University after seeing him at the Haunted House, but seeing it confirmed was another thing entirely.
Forest had followed the Jiangsu Rookie competition and knew Owen was the "Rookie King" of the neighboring province. He no longer had any thoughts of revenge. At least, not right now.
"Long time no see," Owen greeted.
"Long time no see..." Liden glanced at the Eevee on Owen's shoulder. "You still haven't evolved that Eevee?"
"Your Ivysaur hasn't evolved yet either, has it?" Owen countered, looking at the Pokémon beside him.
Liden was speechless. Are those two even comparable? Besides, his Ivysaur was actually quite close to evolving.
During their chat, Owen learned that Liden was a student in Battle Class 3. When Liden found out Owen was a freshman in the Research Department, he looked like he'd seen a ghost.
Owen was as unpredictable as ever. liden simply couldn't wrap his head around it. You're literally the strongest rookie trainer in Fairview Province, and you're going into research? You must be bored out of your mind.