Pokemon Regression

Chapter 11: Cheer up Chee!

When I got home I encountered Blue again, who dragged me aside to talk once more. He looked around, making sure nobody could hear us before he spoke. "...I managed to get her out of her room briefly, but she's still pretty worried she might have upset you-For some reason." 

Blue sighed. "Anyway, I reckon she'll start trying to hang out with you again in the morning, so be nice to her when she does, okay?"

I nodded silently. Satisfied, Blue left me to my own devices. 

Day 16 at Professor Oak's Lab:

Gently another morning arrived, and I almost breathed a sigh of relief when I saw Chee waiting for me outside of my room. There were slight bags under her eyes and a puffiness that implied she had been crying not to long ago, but I was grateful just to see her out of her room. 

"Hey Chee, you holding up okay?" I asked with a smile. 

Chee nodded quietly, holding up her gloves to show that they no longer had any holes in them. A moment later she pulled her hands back, as if reconfirming there were no holes for herself. Then she gripped her hands together tightly. 

...I'm sorry.

"It's alright, really." I replied, raising a hand to try and calm her-But she flinched when I began to speak. 

I'm sorry! We can do whatever you want today, so please don't stop being friends with me!!

I felt my expression stiffen as she flinched backwards, and I froze in place. I thought for a few moments, before carefully responding. 

"In that case... I want to have our daily battle, just like always! If I win, we'll go train with the kids in town, and if you win, we'll do whatever you want." I grinned at her. 

...Really?

"I promise."

Finally I saw the fear in her face begin to fade away as she began to relax. Even though she'd been dragging me around the forest like a lunatic just a few days ago... She seemed to be more concerned about losing my friendship from a panic attack than from almost killing me. 

"...Blue said you don't have any other friends."

With a sour expression, Chee gave me a nod. 

"Would you like to make some new friends today?"

She shook her head. I can't make friends, everybody thinks I'm weird and won't talk to me.

"It's just that they don't understand. But the kids in this town are all 'battle maniacs', as you would put it." I offered a hand to her. "If we do our deciding battle of the day in the Park, I bet you'll be surprised how many kids will think you're awesome!"

Chee looked at my hand hesitantly. ...Do you really think they'd like me?

"I do. Do you trust me?"

Wordlessly, the mute black-haired girl took my hand.

...

The other kids were pretty surprised I showed up to the morning training with a girl in tow. I could tell that Chee was nervous about the whole situation by how tightly she was gripping my hand. In fact, it was actually pretty painful for me, but I tried not to let it show on my face. 

"Hello everyone! I did promise to help train you guys today, but I have another promise that takes priority over that." I gestured to the girl beside me. "Every morning, Chee and I have a Pokemon battle. The winner gets to decide what we do for the rest of the day."