The morning light felt different today, sharper, charged with expectation. The aroma of strong coffee mixed with the faint scent of metal polish and fresh rubber, the scent of a professional Beyblader's life. You dragged yourself out of bed, the remnants of school-day fatigue banished by a single, exhilarating thought: the EvoBattle.

Graduation from BeyAcademy was only a few months ago, but already, the world was moving on to the next chapter, and it was a loud one. Xeon City was hosting its first-ever Beyblade Battle Royale, a massive tournament where the strongest Bladers would fight for fame, sponsorship, and the right to go pro. The EvoBattle was here, and you were going to be in it. Your first real competition.

You hammered through your morning routine in a blur, brushing your teeth with excessive enthusiasm, taking a quick, bracing shower, and pulling on your training gear. There was no time to waste on basking in past glory. If you wanted to survive the EvoBattle, let alone win, you needed to train harder than ever before. You needed to prepare yourself and strategize.

There was only one place to start.

You practically sprinted the few blocks to Mice's house. The genius Beycrafter and your best friend.

You found him, as usual, in his garage converted into a lab. The space hummed with the sound of specialized tools and the scent of ozone. Mice was hunched over a workbench, bathed in the cool light of a high-powered lamp. He wore a thick, tinted visor and a pair of white gloves, his entire focus narrowed down to the intricate machinery of three different Beys scattered before him. He was using a jeweler's loupe, meticulously adjusting the alignment of a Bey’s gear teeth with a fine-point tool.

The small, muffled whine of his tool stopped. Mice lifted his head, pushing the thick, protective glasses onto his forehead. His purple hair, as ever, was slightly dishevelled from concentration. He noticed you, his sharp, observant eyes assessing your manic energy.

"Oh, here you are," he remarked, the corner of his masked mouth twitching slightly. "You came very early, heh."

He turned back to his work, the moment of acknowledgment over. He pulled the protective glasses back down, the delicate clink of metal resuming as he resumed his work.

"You just needed a huge Beyblade-related announcement to make you wake up early on the morning, didn't you?" he continued, his tone dry and laced with a hint of amusement. "Don't bother with the excited monologue, I heard it's going to be tough."