Su Yi didn't refuse. The two of them took Su Xiyan's custom aircraft and arrived at Jingtian Academy without a hitch.
After Su Xiyan left, Su Yi took his invitation and walked toward the gates of Jingtian Academy!
Today was the first day of registration.
It's hailed as the strongest pseudo-Legendary, with both Ghost and Dragon types. It has a signature move and can attack, defend, and provide support. Do you know what it is?
If you do, say so in the comments. If no one knows this Pokémon, I won't write about it.
It's from Pokémon Sword and Shield.
Just as he was about to enter Jingtian Academy, Su Yi suddenly realized that going in like this would probably draw another wave of attention.
Thinking this over, he took out his phone and sent Gu Yuanfang a message.
It wasn't long before Gu Yuanfang showed up.
"Hey, you got here early. Come on, I'll take you to your dorm, then we'll go meet my grandpa."
Gu Yuanfang slung an arm around Su Yi's shoulders and led him inside.
The guards naturally knew Gu Yuanfang, so they didn't check Su Yi's identity and let the two of them through.
Jingtian Academy was enormous!
Just inside the gates was a massive sports field.
Lots of students were there with their Pokémon, taking part in activities and games meant to build their bonds.
They were testing how well each Trainer and Pokémon worked together.
It took them more than ten minutes just to cross the field!
And that was only its width. It would take even longer to walk its length.
The student dorms at Jingtian Academy were all shared by four people. Of course, anyone who wanted better accommodations had to pay more Gold Coins.
Su Yi, on the other hand, had been assigned a large apartment of his own.
This was where the teachers lived, and Su Yi's dorm was here.
After dropping off his things, Gu Yuanfang took Su Yi to meet Jingtian Academy's former principal, Gu Yuanfang's grandfather, Gu Tianyuan.
The current principal was Gu Tianyuan's son and Gu Yuanfang's father, Gu Yu.
After meeting both Gu Tianyuan and Gu Yu, Su Yi couldn't wait to explore Jingtian Academy and look into its secrets.
In theory, only the academy's senior staff were allowed to access that information.
"Here, take this. It's your special student ID. There are only three in the entire academy, and I'm giving you one. With this, you can freely enter any place you want and look up anything you like."
Gu Yuanfang handed Su Yi a card, and Su Yi nodded.
"There'll be a welcome party tonight for all the students Jingtian Academy admitted this year. You can come if you're free. Starting tomorrow, we'll have a week of physical training."
Gu Yuanfang went over a few things Su Yi needed to know. Whether Su Yi had taken any of it in or not, he didn't wait around, just said goodbye and left.
Su Yi toured Jingtian Academy, then stopped beneath a tower called the Spirit Tower.
The Spirit Tower was built from statues of all kinds of Pokémon, stacked one on top of another.
The largest statue was of the legendary Pokémon, the Wind King!
The Wind King soared with wings spread, its tail adorned with rainbow-colored feathers.
"Hey, freshman, stop staring. You can't get in there. Only a handful of people at all of Jingtian Academy are allowed inside the Spirit Tower."
Two boys who looked a year or two older than Su Yi laughed from nearby.
Su Yi nodded, ignored them, and walked toward the Spirit Tower's entrance.
"We told him he couldn't get in, but he still won't listen. He's probably one of the new students."
"Yeah, let's go watch the welcome party. I bet a lot of people will want to challenge that top student named Su Yi tonight."
"Huh?"
At the mention of Su Yi, one of the boys froze.
The freshman who'd just been standing by the Spirit Tower's entrance looked strangely familiar.
"Holy crap! That was Su Yi, the top student in both exams!"
They hurriedly turned back toward the entrance and saw Su Yi take out a card and casually wave it in his hand.
"Beep! Identity confirmed. Please enter!"
The Spirit Tower's doors opened, and Su Yi strolled inside. The two boys only came to their senses after the doors had closed behind him.
Those doors were made from special materials and could withstand attacks from Champion-level Pokémon without taking damage.
The boys looked at each other.
Seeing someone else succeed made them feel miserable. They'd always dreamed of entering the Spirit Tower. They'd heard there were many secrets inside that ordinary Trainers didn't know about.
And now, a brand-new student who'd only just arrived that day could walk right into the Spirit Tower.
"As expected of the top student in both exams. That's some serious clout."
The academy clearly valued him, but the two boys weren't jealous. There was no point envying something they couldn't change.
They exchanged a glance, both thinking the same thing.
If the top student showed up at tonight's welcome party, things could get interesting.
By then, Su Yi had reached the top floor of the Spirit Tower.
Gu Yuanfang had told him that the secrets about Legendary Pokémon were kept on the top floor.
Everywhere he looked, lifelike statues had been carved.
Statues outside and statues inside too. Interesting.
Su Yi examined them one by one. Each Legendary Pokémon statue recorded many details, including where the Pokémon had appeared and why it had appeared there.
After making the rounds, Su Yi thought he'd figured out why Raikou had appeared on Thundercloud Mountain.
If I get the chance, maybe I can go back there.
With that decided, he looked over the records of the other Legendary Pokémon, too. By the time he left the Spirit Tower, night had fallen.
Cheers occasionally rang out from the sports field.
It was probably the welcome party.
He had nothing else to do tonight, so he might as well check it out.
With that in mind, Su Yi headed over.
"Squirtle, use Water Gun!"
On the sports field, a girl with twin ponytails was directing her Squirtle in a battle.
Her opponent was another girl.
The other girl's Pokémon was Bulbasaur, which had the type advantage over Squirtle.
"Bulbasaur, use Razor Leaf!"
Razor Leaf sliced through the incoming Water Gun and shot toward Squirtle.
Squirtle dodged to the side.
Then, on its Trainer's command, it used Ice Beam!
Ice Beam was the twin-tailed girl's favorite attack. She'd gone through a lot of trouble to teach Squirtle the move, and only succeeded by sheer luck.
Most of the time, when an opponent saw that her Pokémon was a Water Type, they'd send out a Grass-type Pokémon. Then Squirtle's Ice Beam could make all the difference!
But she was a new student at Jingtian Academy, and so was her opponent!
The opposing Bulbasaur had actually learned Double Team!
Its many copies made Squirtle's Ice Beam miss completely!
It hit nothing but an empty image.
The Ice Beam continued past it, heading straight toward a figure walking toward them from that direction!
"Look out!"
"Hey, you! Get out of the way!"
"Oh my god!"
Someone seemed to foresee the horrific scene about to unfold.
The figure was startled at first, but then moved incredibly fast, taking out a Pokeball and releasing a Combusken.
"Combusken, use Fire Spin!"
"Combusken!"
Combusken opened its mouth and spewed a vortex of scorching flames. As it blocked the Ice Beam, its fiery glow illuminated the figure's face.
"It's Su Yi! Su Yi's here, the top student in both exams!"
"I knew it! That kind of reaction speed is incredible..."
The Fire Spin blocked the Ice Beam. The two girls' battle had been interrupted by Su Yi's sudden arrival.
Hundreds of eyes turned toward him, but Su Yi calmly walked over without a hint of panic.
Gu Yuanfang, who was watching the welcome party from one spot in the crowd, grinned and suddenly snatched the host's microphone.
"Everyone, want to see how you stack up against the top student in both exams? If you do, come challenge him!"
Gu Yuanfang's words seemed to unlock something in the new students. One after another, they wanted to take on the challenge!
In the end, Gu Yuanfang picked ten new students to represent the rest.
"Good luck!"
"That's the number-one-ranked student on the Trial Ranking! Hang in there! See how long you can last!"
"What do you mean, 'see how long you can last'?"
"..."
Su Yi glanced at Gu Yuanfang, who was grinning mischievously in the crowd, and knew the guy had done it on purpose.
But he didn't refuse. It was a good chance to test Combusken's strength. Just how far could a Combusken go after activating its Hidden Ability, Speed Boost?
The first challenger saw that Su Yi hadn't switched out Combusken and immediately realized he intended to use it.
The challenger had chosen Swellow!
"Swellow!"
At the center of the sports field, the lights converged, bright as day.
Su Yi and Combusken stood still, signaling for the opponent to make the first move.
The challenger knew Su Yi was the top student in both exams. He nodded gravely, then immediately ordered Swellow to attack first.
"Swellow, use Air Slash!"
"Swellow!"
Swellow beat its wings, and Air Slash after Air Slash took shape between the strokes, swooping down toward Combusken!
"Fire Spin!"
Before you continue