Alex slouched in the back of the classroom, half-asleep, his head leaning against the desk. Around him, twelve-year olds scribbled diligently in their notebooks, eyes fixed on the teacher, the hum of concentration filling the room. To any observer, it was a lazy slacker sitting among scholars; a misfit in every visible sense.
The door creaked open. A scrawny student stepped in, voice trembling slightly.
"Alexander Creed's presence has been requested in the principal's office."
The teacher blinked, then gestured for Alex to leave.
Alex opened one eye, stretched deliberately, and slung his backpack over a shoulder. Following the kid through the halls, his gaze swept the familiar corridors; every corner memorized during his early rank-jumping years, every exit noted in his mind. He entered the principal's room to find not the principal but Professor Oak standing calmly, his presence commanding attention.
"Come in Alex. I have a proposal for you."
Alex's eyes quickly zoomed around the room and found that the principal conspicuously absent
"May I ask what you want from me?"
Oak smiled faintly. "The legal age for starting a Pokémon journey has been controversial. Some say ten is too early, others argue for early training. Blaine's faction is proposing a test: three children from the region, age eight or older, will embark on a trial run. If even one reaches the top sixteen in the junior Indigo League within two years, the debate ends."
Alex's gaze sharpened. "I understand. As you likely know, I can train a Caterpie to transition into Butterfree in a single year. I fall perfectly into your 'prime' age group, turning eight soon."
"Yes." Oak's calm tone betrayed no emotion.
"What are my benefits?" Alex asked, straight-faced. "I'm going on my journey soon anyway. I could wait another two years. With my scores, sponsorship is trivial. So I ask you; what do I gain, Professor Oak?"
Oak laughed outright, a sound that seemed jovial but had undertones of somethin Alex couldn't place. Only Alex's quiet audacity warranted such amusement. He had the patience to wait, the risk-calculation to leverage timing, and now he was pushing for more.
"Hmmm," Oak said, a spark of something almost predatory in his eye, "how about a test? Pass, and a reward even Lance would envy. Fail, and no early sponsorship, though you can find another sponsor if you choose."
A test worth a Lance-level reward would naturally be near-impossible, yet he didnt care. "I accept."
"Very well. The test is simple: remain conscious for ten seconds. Start."
Alex froze. At first, confusion flickered across his features. Then came the crushing weight, primal and overwhelming, like a monster descending from beyond sight. Every fiber of his being screamed to collapse; his knees buckled.
"1" Oak's calm voice.
The first second stretched impossibly long. Memories clawed at him: the first Butterfree, the Pinsir, the Beedrill pack. Every ounce of helplessness, every scream of loss, played on loop in his mind.
"2" His body refused to obey.
"3" Memories blurred, pain sharpened, the echo of commands from a younger self rattling his thoughts.
By the fourth second, something deep within him stirred. His fists clenched. He forced his head upright, eyes narrowing, muscles coiling.
"5" He remembered the lesson: survival demanded absolute control, focus beyond emotion. No one could define him. No circumstance could command him. Not even fear itself.
"6" He had a goal. To tear apart whatever tried to push him down.
"7" The swarm of beedrills formed a mental template. His eyes met Oaks.
"8" He leaped, launched by the weight of failure and rage, transforming instinct into precise action.
"9" His hand took the shape of a blade as it inched toward the professors neck
"10" The pressure relaxed and his mind blacked out before his body fell yet the lethal intent of his attack was unmistakable.
Oak, observing, noted a rare combination of calculated intelligence and raw intensity. Only a child with such internal extremeness could survive this mental crucible. He picked up the phone, dialing Blaine.
"Blaine, I've found someone you might like."
Alex lay on the floor, unaware yet entirely aware of his own edge. Oak's next task: convince his Charizard to allow this boy access to an egg.