September 1st. This was the Alliance's annual "back to school" season.
On this day, countless "little monsters" across the Alliance would return to a mysterious area called "school," allowing their parents to finally breathe a massive sigh of relief.
As a new university freshman, Basalt was no exception. He first rested at ho for a few days, spending so quality ti with his mom and dad, and then finally arrived at the university just before the deadline.
"Na?"
"Basalt, Battle Departnt, Class 1!"
At the new student reception desk, a sophomore senpai in charge of registration had a ruddy complexion, a bit like high-altitude sunburn. Paired with her baby-fat cheeks, she was actually quite cute.
"You're... Basalt?"
The senpai, who had been lounging lazily, imdiately perked up the mont Basalt stated his na, her face breaking into a huge smile.
Basalt! This was the Rookie King of Centralis Province, and he was also the Battle Departnt's top priority recruit for the year!
"So that's Basalt! I knew he looked familiar!"
"Wow, Basalt is so handso!"
"His Excadrill is aweso too, and it's so strong. I wonder how much stronger he's gotten after all this ti."
"Definitely stronger than us!"
"Duh, no kidding! That's the Rookie King! I was just a substitute player in the provincial tournant, it's so depressing!"
"Whoa! Bro, you were in the provincial tournant? That's already amazing! Let's add each other. I'm in Battle Class 3, we should et up soti."
"Sure, sure!"
...
The senpai's gasp directly exposed Basalt's identity.
Even though Basalt was wearing a baseball cap, countless eyes imdiately focused on him, and a wave of discussion erupted.
The title of "Provincial Rookie King" still carried a lot of weight.
Look at the other students in the Battle Departnt—so of them hadn't even qualified for the provincial tournant. It was obvious how huge the gap was between them and Basalt.
So of the girls were even looking at him with little stars in their eyes. Those who were in the sa class as him were ecstatic, while those who weren't sighed in disappointnt, as if they'd just lost a million bucks.
"I'm Basalt. Is there a problem?"
Basalt scratched his cheek. He had been training in the sanctuary for the past few months and had no idea his popularity was still this high after so long.
"No problem, no problem at all!" The senpai in charge of reception, "Lynn," quickly waved her hands and pointed to the student roster. "Sign here, and then I'll take you to get your living supplies. I'll show you to your dorm, too."
After speaking, the senpai's face turned even redder, and she looked quite embarrassed.
It wasn't that she was trying to hit on this handso rookie; it was just that the Departnt Head had specifically instructed them to take extra special care of Basalt.
The Departnt Head had also accidentally let it slip that as a special-intake student recruited by the university president, Basalt's dorm was on the sa level as the graduate students.
On top of that, Basalt had his own private, high-level training room, free and unlimited access to all campus facilities, and a basic resource stipend every month...
As a special recruit, the perks Basalt enjoyed were ridiculously good. Even she, a junior, was incredibly envious!
But what Lynn didn't know was that the Departnt Head hadn't even told the full story.
Basalt also had the right to choose one high-quality Pokémon from the Centralis University Nursery and the opportunity to participate in the quicksand research project in the Takla Desert. These were the real, tangible benefits that money couldn't buy.
As for the perks she was envying, Basalt, with his current net worth in the tens of millions, really didn't care much about them.
"Senpai, you're going to personally take to get my supplies? That's not necessary, is it? I can handle it myself."
Basalt frowned slightly. He felt this senpai was being a little too enthusiastic. It was a bit much.
"It's what I should do. You're a new freshman, this is a senpai's duty," Lynn said with a shy smile.
"I appreciate the help, Senpai, but I really think I can manage. Thanks, Senpai. See you later!"
Basalt bowed, grabbed the supply voucher, morized his dorm location, and made a run for it.
Watching Basalt flee from her as if she were a viper, Lynn almost fell into depression.
Am I that ugly? Fine, I'll just go...
"Senpai, Basalt doesn't need your help, but I do! Why don't you take to get my supplies later?"
The boy in line behind Basalt stepped up with a cheeky grin, trying to flirt with Lynn, only to get the cold shoulder.
"Supplies are in the gymnasium. You can find your dorm by following the address. Can't you even handle a simple task like that?" Lynn glared at him, annoyed. "Look at Basalt! He does everything himself, so independent! Not like you, can't do anything, good for nothing!"
"You...!"
The boy was furious. Could the difference in treatnt be any more obvious?
"You what? What's the matter? Not satisfied? Wanna battle it out?"
Lynn sneered, her voice instantly changing from the gentle tone she used with Basalt to a rough growl. She pulled a Pokéball from her pocket and tossed it.
"AWOOOOAR!"
With a sky-shaking roar, a Pokémon that was almost entirely purple, with an exceptionally large mouth and a circle of pipe-like organs around its head, appeared. Its face was filled with rage, looking absolutely ferocious.
"It's an Exploud!" a student recognized the Pokémon.
Exploud, a Normal-type, the Loud Noise Pokémon. It has a violent temperant and can use the holes on its body to produce all kinds of sounds. Its cries can be heard from over six miles away, and the vibrations from its roaring can trigger earthquakes.
"Err..."
Faced with the powerful, near Pro-level Exploud that looked ready to explode at any second, the new student chickened out, turned his head, and walked off.
Not worth the trouble.
"Next!"
Lynn slapped her hand on the table, as if she were on her period.
But with the Exploud keeping order, no freshman dared to cause trouble. They were all as ek as kindergarteners.
...
After picking up his supplies and finding his dorm, Basalt was just about to start cleaning when the Head of the Centralis University Battle Departnt, "Dean Carter," paid him a visit.
"You must be Basalt! Truly young and promising!"
Dean Carter was very forward, walking right up to shake Basalt's hand and warmly expressing his greetings, leaving Basalt completely baffled.
"Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. Student Basalt, I am the Head of the Battle Departnt, Dean Carter. If you run into any difficulties in the future, you can co find . I'll do my best to help you solve them." Dean Carter patted his chest.
After so enthusiastic welcoming, and snagging Basalt's contact info, Dean Carter left in a hurry, not wanting to disturb Basalt for too long.
"Didn't I ask for no special treatnt?" Basalt sighed.
Professor Mogan had actually contacted him before the school year started, asking if Basalt needed him to personally handle his enrollnt.
Having the Professor himself handle his registration would have been a huge show of status, but Basalt felt it was too flashy.
He wasn't lacking for status symbols anymore, so in the interest of keeping a low profile, he refused without a second thought.
But thinking about it now, Professor Mogan had clearly pulled so strings anyway. Otherwise, a Departnt Head wouldn't have bothered to personally co all this way just to welco him.
This was the Departnt Head, a trainer who was at least Gym Leader-level. And in terms of skill, he was probably at the very top of that rank; otherwise, he wouldn't be qualified to be the Head of the Battle Departnt at Centralis University.
After cleaning up the dorm, Basalt let out his core team to feed them so Pokéblocks.
"Nee-nee~"
Lileep was curious about everything. It had barely ever left the sanctuary since the day it was born.
"Hey, don't touch that!"
As Lileep swayed its head, preparing to pull open the curtains, Basalt quickly stopped it.
Although it wouldn't be a huge deal if Lileep was seen now, Basalt still preferred to keep it a secret for the sake of a low profile. He was already in the spotlight enough as it was; there was no need to be any flashier.
"Nee-nee..." Lileep retracted its tentacles, looking aggrieved.
"Co on, Lileep, just put up with it for a little while longer. I'll take you to the desert to play soon. It's really fun there!" Basalt stroked Lileep's head to comfort it.
"Nee-nee~"
The sheltered little Pokémon, having never seen the world, nodded happily.
After feeding his team, Basalt received a text ssage. It was a mass ssage from his class advisor.
"Class eting at 2:00 PM in Area A, Building 1, Room 302. We will be holding our class orientation. Please manage your schedules and be on ti. No lates or unexcused absences."
"Class orientation? We're not going to have to do self-introductions and perform our 'special talents,' are we?" Basalt chuckled, then dialed Leon's number. "Hey, Leon! Are you on campus? Let's grab lunch!"
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