Pokemon Regression

Chapter 35: Aquatic Combat Training

"...You're too reckless Misty! What if he'd been hurt?!"

"I'm sorry! It's been so long since I had a fun battle, I got carried away!"

I slowly regained consciousness to find myself lying on a mat by the side of the pool, surrounded by Misty, Chee and Misty's sister Violet. Judging from the fact that they were still arguing, I figured that it couldn't have been too long since I passed out.

Hovering above my head was a window from the system.

[Log:

Water Proficiency +1.67%]

...Because I almost drowned?

I involuntarily coughed up some extra pool water as I attempted to sit up, which  caught the attention of the trio around me. I took a good look at Chee's face, but although there was a hint of concern in her gaze, it seemed like she hadn't lost her cool when I passed out. Are you alright...? 

"I'll live." I answered with a cough. 

"Ah! See, he's fine!" Misty chirped. I wasn't sure that coughing up water after almost drowning was 'fine' per se, but it didn't really matter. 

"Well, if there's no problems here I'll head back to my quarter." Violet sighed, standing up.

A closer examination of my surroundings revealed that Yeller was also healthy. He was curled up next to me with the end of his tail under his chin, acting as a cushion, but his breathing was regular. After a sigh of relief, I turned my attention to the orange-haired tomboy who had nearly drowned me. 

"...We can't leave the pool, that was one of the rules of the battle." I mumbled aloud, almost talking to myself. "That was all set up to drag me underwater, wasn't it?"

Misty looked away, pushing the tips of her pointer fingers together quietly. After a moment, she answered. "...Yeah. That's why my course is super hard, you have to be able to handle the switch from over water battle to underwater battle. You never know what could happen out there after all."

I nodded thoughtfully. "That's a pretty harsh condition."

"...Are you going to swap to one of the other courses?"

I shook my head. "I took the hardest course for a reason. I'll see it through."

Misty's eyes turned back to me, glimmering with excitement. "Great! Hey, hey, what were those weird techniques your Rattata was using? I've never seen anything like that before!"

I spent the next few minutes broadly explaining the techniques Chee and I had come up with using Yeller's moves. The ideas seemed to fascinate Misty, who had never heard of the concept before. I wasn't too surprised by that, I was pretty sure Red had pioneered the technique, and he was still a child at this point in time. 

And to be honest, Red had never been particularly talkative with anyone. Not when I'd known him, at least. 

"That's fascinating... I'd never considered that you could dissect Pokemon moves like that." Misty murmured. "No wonder you were able to beat Brock. Still..." She frowned at me, her eyes becoming thoughtful. 

"Is something wrong?" I asked, confused. 

"...In our battle, I learnt a bit about you. There's no denying that you've got a lot of skill as a trainer, but... If you want to reach the next level, you're going to need to catch another Pokemon." She answered finally. 

I didn't respond, glancing over to my yellow partner who sat by my side. 

"Oh, I know!" Misty clapped her hands together gleefully. "I'll lend you my good fishing rod, and we can go catch a Poliwhirl off Nugget Bridge!  They're a nice friendly water type who will be good both underwater and on land..."