"Julian, here's the application form for the school team. Please fill it out"
Said Frank, the head teacher, as he placed a form in front of Julian.
"Teacher, why don't I have one?"
Luis protested, noticing that only Julian received the form.
"You're not even at the pseudo-Elite level yet, Luis," Frank replied with a sigh.
"You're not qualified to join the school team—or even to be an alternate at this point."
Confidence is one thing, Frank thought, but Luis's kind of overconfidence wasn't always helpful.
The school team had eight primary spots and two alternate positions, mostly occupied by upperclassmen with strong, high-level Pokémon near the pseudo-Elite rank.
Currently, Imperial University's school team had eight members, but two alternate slots remained open. These would go to promising freshmen or sophomores.
Julian's recent performance, especially with his Metagross and his handling of the mid-level secret realm chaos, had caught enough attention to earn him one of those spots.
The main role of the school team was to compete in the Drakoria Hundred Schools League three months from now.
Whichever university won the championship would gain management rights over the No. 97 advanced secret realm for a year.
A privilege the Imperial University currently held.
"I'll reach pseudo-Elite soon enough"
Luis muttered unwillingly.
Just then, Julian's system chimed.
"Ding!"
"Main Quest Released: Enter the School Team and Compete in the Hundred Schools League."
"Reward: Based on task completion."
This time, the system hadn't lagged behind. The moment Julian received the application form, the main task was activated.
Main tasks were special—they appeared infrequently, but they offered some of the longest challenges. However, they also came with the most valuable rewards once completed.
Last time, completing a main task had granted him the powerful Mega Pallet Town physique, solving a lot of his training concerns.
Julian promptly filled out the form and handed it back to Frank.
"Good. Tomorrow at eight, report to Battlefield No. 1," Frank instructed.
Julian nodded.
It seemed that his plans to explore the 25th Advanced Rift would have to wait a bit longer.
--
The next day;
Arriving at Battlefield No. 1 just before 8:00, Julian noticed Luis tagging along.
Luis seemed eager to observe the strength of the school team, possibly planning to challenge a weaker member and claim their spot.
There were two ways onto the school team: either receive a direct recommendation, as Julian had, or challenge a team member and earn a place through victory and replace them.
Even though it was still early, the entire team had already gathered. Julian glanced at the other sophomore candidate, who was also studying him with equal curiosity.
The eight primary team members sized up the newcomers with interest, and Julian recognized two familiar faces among them.
One was Alex, the Civilian Society president who pretended to be some kind of hero in front of him before, the other party was looking at him in a not so friendly manner.
The other familiar face was a striking young woman, tall and graceful, with long, straight legs that were hard to miss.
"Hey, Brother Walker, check her out! She's got those long, straight legs—white as snow," Luis whispered with a grin.
"Sister Thea!"
Julian waited for Luis to finish before calling out.
Luis looked at Julian in disbelief.
"Brother Walker, that's your sister?"
"Cousin," Julian corrected with a nod.
Thea approached with a playful glint in her eyes, reached out as if to pinch Julian's cheek. Julian sidestepped, dodging her grasp.
"Sister, I'm not a child anymore"
Julian sighed, feeling a bit embarrassed under so many watchful eyes.
"Little Julia isn't as cute as he used to be"
Thea teased, looking at him with disappointment, "You've been here at Imperial University for two months, and you haven't even come to see your big sister once."
"If you didn't join the school team, would you have just forgotten you had a sister at this University?"
Julian scratched his nose, feeling a bit embarrassed. It wasn't that he didn't want to see Thea, but between training, classes, and all that had happened recently, he'd honestly just forgotten that his cousin was here too—and already a 3rd-year.
Julian's maternal grandfather, Hector, was well-known as a trainer and a top breeder.
Julian had three uncles on his mother's side and his mother, Tina, was Hector's only youngest daughter, and Thea was the daughter of Julian's eldest uncle, who had two children a boy and a girl.
When Alex saw that Thea was Julian's sister, his expression changed involuntarily. He walked over and asked with a kind smile, "Thea, I didn't know Julian was your cousin."
"Why would you need to know?" Thea asked with a frown.
"Oh, I just mean… I didn't expect Imperial University's famous Julian to be your brother. It's a bit surprising, that's all," Alex replied.
"That's right, my cousin's a genius"
Hearing the other party complimenting Julian, Thea's expression improved a lot.
"Though geniuses often have… unusual personalities," Alex added, nodding in a way that made it sound less like praise.
Catching the underlying jab, Thea narrowed her eyes. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Julian glanced over at Alex and said indifferently, "Sister, don't bother with this guy. I don't like him, and you should ignore him in the future."
"Oh? Well, if Little Julia says so, that's good enough for me"
Thea wasn't fond of Alex herself, who seemed to appear around her way too often, and she certainly wasn't clueless. From the way Alex and Julian spoke to each other just now, it was clear they'd had some issues in the past.
Between Alex, whom she thought of as an annoying fly, and her cousin, there was no contest—she'd back Julian any day.
Alex's expression shifted when he heard Julian and Thea's words. He hadn't expected Julian to be so blunt.
Julian had openly admitted he didn't like him, and Thea had backed him up without hesitation.
It felt irritatingly effortless for them to brush him off like that.
Luis, who had been quietly watching, couldn't help but chuckle at Alex's frustrated look.
"Sister, maybe just call me Julian"
Julian suggested, his family had a habit of giving him all kinds of cutesy nicknames.
His uncle called him "Little Lia", his aunt called him "Little Juli," and Thea had somehow landed on "Little Julia."
So John calling him "good grandson" sounded a lot more better.
He could already imagine the teasing if these names got around campus.
Julian looked at Luis: 'If this spreads, you're dead.'
Luis, who had been smirking at Alex's misfortune, suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. When he turned, he saw Julian looking at him menacingly.
For a while, he was a little confused, as he didn't understand how he had provoked Brother Walker.
"Julian just doesn't have the same ring to it as 'Little Julia.' And anyway, that's what I call you. You're not going to tell me to stop, are you?"
Thea said, crossing her arms with a challenging look.
Julian knew better than to argue with her about it, deciding he'd rather battle a prospective Elite than try to reason with his cousin over a nickname.
"Little Julia…"
Luis muttered under his breath, amused.
Immediately, he felt Julian's intense glare and clapped a hand over his mouth, giving Julian a helpless, wide-eyed look.
--
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