Pokemon Regression

Chapter 8: Battle Maniac

The next morning, there was a knock at the front door. 

It was still early in the morning, the calls of the wild Pidgeys and Caterpie still the only sounds to be noted. My mother and I were still shaking off the depths of sleep as we went to see who it was, and my mother almost fainted in surprise when the door was opened. 

Standing at the door was a man in his fifties, wearing a wide-brimmed hat over his greying brown hair. His white lab coat reflected the harsh morning sun, making it a little hard to make out his features, but the man was unmistakable. 

"P-p-professor Oak!?" My mother exclaimed. "C-could it be that..."

Oak nodded with a smile. "Perhaps. I'd like to discuss with the two of you, if that's alright?"

A moment later, the three of us were seated around the kitchen table, a thick silence hanging over the room, broken only by the quiet ticking of the clock hanging from the wall. I stared blankly at the checkered tablecloth, wondering why on earth Oak would come to visit my house so early in the morning.

"I received your letter, miss Hughs." Oak began, cutting the silence with a powerful businesslike attitude. "Ordinarily we would refuse such a request outright, but Cyan is a rather unique boy. It will take further consideration but we may decide to accept. With that in mind, is it alright if I borrow your son for a little while?"

"Uh..." I began, before my mother could speak up. "I'm sorry, could you explain what's going on?"

Oak scratched his chin thoughtfully for a moment before answering me. "Your mother sent a letter asking that I sponsor you for the Gym Challenge."

I felt my heart skip a beat. 

-The Gym Challenge, an elite training regime for trainers with a strong background. Competing in the Gym Challenge would mean travelling the whole region, getting the chance to battle with strong trainers and promote your growth. Anyone who had cleared the entire Gym Challenge was also eligible to compete with the Elite 4, and attempt to become a Champion. 

In my past life, every Champion I'd ever met were the very definition of strong. When they were your allies, it was a massive reassurance. When they were you enemies, it was like marching to your death. 

It was a Champion that had killed me, as well. 

But in order to get into the Gym Challenge, you had to find an established Professor, Champion, or Elite 4 member willing to sponsor you. Such a feat would've been unthinkable in my past life. 

"It would be an honour!" I exclaimed immediately, my excitement temporarily overpowering the social pressures to stay quiet. 

"Hold on, I didn't say I'd made a decision yet." Oak raised a hand, indicating I should calm down. "As I was saying-I'm already sponsoring various trainers for the Gym Challenge, and I don't want to sponsor kids who are going to fail to complete the challenge."

My mother held her breath, as though even breathing might cause Oak to reject me. I could feel myself getting tense as well, but Oak laughed at our overly stiff selves. 

"You don't need to be so worried, I'm here to give the boy a chance." Oak stood from his seat, gesturing for me to follow him outside. My mother gave me a concerned look, the worry apparent in her face, but I gingerly let myself down from the chair and followed him outside. 

The backyard at my house was nothing to write home about. It was a small fenced-in area, maybe half the size of an average battlefield. It was littered with a few pieces of play equipment that I hadn't even touched since returning to my youth. A toy slide, an inflatable pool for those hot summer days, a plastic shovel, toy truck, all scattered across the grass.