Chapter 4: Plum Blossom Twice, Time Reflux Re-Piercing

Kane sat down on the edge of the bed, reflecting on everything. Although he was extremely tired, too much had happened today, and he couldn't sleep no matter how hard he tried.

He turned on the TV, which was showing a replay of the battle between Kazuki and Koga in the King Qualifiers. Kazuki's Slowking was meditating constantly, and its Psychic abilities were incredibly strong, making it almost impossible for Koga's Pokémon to counterattack. Koga was quickly defeated.

Kane sighed, thinking back to how he later learned about Slowking's origins. Unfortunately, he never had the opportunity to get such a Pokémon. Talented Pokémon were hard to come by and having one would have saved him at least ten years of struggle.

And then there was Koga's Gengar, which did not fight in its usual style at all. From what Kane had observed, Koga's Gengar had absorbed life energy from the Mega Evolution. How did he manage to train it like that?

As Kane's thoughts swirled, he slowly drifted off to sleep, his mind recalling the hardships he had endured over more than sixty years in this world. If only he could go back and start over, there were so many opportunities he would never miss.

...

Suddenly, Kane was awakened by the sound of crying. Subconsciously, he covered his ears, but the crying grew louder and more sorrowful.

"Who could be crying in the gym so early in the morning?" Kane muttered as he squinted and walked out the door. He opened the door, and the scene that greeted him was eerily familiar.

An elderly man stood before him, holding two boxes and weeping.

Wait, this wasn't the Yuanzhu Gym. And that old man...

Kane was startled.

He rushed back to his room, hurriedly splashed cold water on his face, and tried to shake off the confusion.

Finally, he sobered up.

Kane took a careful look at the room's furnishings, and a sense of unease settled over him.

Slowly, he walked to the wall calendar, and upon reading the date, Kane's heart raced.

It was July 10, 687.

The date from sixty-three years ago, the year when he had first arrived in this world.

Remembering that he had been only seven years old at that time, Kane rushed to the mirror. His reflection showed a boy, no older than six or seven.

He was sure of it now—he had traveled back in time once more.

Kane sat on the edge of the bed, struggling to process this.

He had lived in this world for more than sixty years, and now he was thrown back in time. He had another chance, but how should he plan his next move?

He was most proficient with Poison-type Pokémon. He would need to focus on training Pokémon like Ariados and Drapion. However, such training required a lot of resources, and it would take several generations of Pokémon resources to achieve significant progress. If everything went smoothly, it could still take three to five years—and right now, he didn't have the necessary capital.

Then there was Koga's Mega Gengar and Kazuki's Slowking...

His thoughts whirled, but Kane shook his head. "Unrealistic," he muttered to himself. "I'm thinking too far ahead."

For now, he needed to focus on the immediate situation. He couldn't afford to make the same mistakes that had cost him so much in his previous life.

Just then, the elderly man outside his door—his grandfather in this world, though not related by blood—continued to cry. In his previous life, Kane had respected this man when he first came into this world, much like he would have respected his kind grandfather back on Earth.

The man was holding the ashes of Kane's parents—his son and daughter-in-law. They had both drowned when their ship was caught in a tsunami while traveling between Goldenrod City and Ecruteak City for business.

Kane's parents had left behind a substantial inheritance, all of it under Kane's name. When Kane turned ten, he would be able to use that money to buy a starter Pokémon, and his life would begin to move forward.

However, fate had played a cruel trick. What Kane hadn't expected was that the elderly man turned out to be a gambler. Within just half a year, he had lost all of the inheritance left by Kane's parents and was being hounded by loan sharks. The man even tried to sell the family home in Ecruteak City.

At that time, Kane had been naïve and pitiful, begging the old man not to sell the house. But the man continued to gamble, and before long, everything was gone.

When the loan sharks came knocking again, Kane had finally seen through the old man's lies and refused to help him. In desperation, the man tried to use Kane to pay off his debts. Kane managed to break free and run away. When he returned, the man had died of a heart attack.

At the age of eight, Kane was tricked into an orphanage, where he was stripped of what little property he had left.

This world's laws were flawed, and the societal structure was even darker. For example, a person who died in the wilderness might have their body devoured by a pack of Mightyena, leaving no way to determine whether it was a Pokémon or a human who had killed them.

Kane spent two years in that orphanage.

Once he turned ten, he was considered capable of taking care of himself, and the orphanage had no further obligation to support him. They kicked him out the moment he turned ten, and from then on, he was left to fend for himself. In his previous life, he had been on the verge of starving to death by the time he turned ten.

This time, Kane wouldn't allow that to happen.

After gathering his thoughts, Kane walked outside, where the old man was still weeping.

Kane snorted. "There's no point in crying. The dead can't come back. We have to keep living."

The old man stopped crying at Kane's words, startled by the maturity in the boy's voice. He stared at Kane, confused.

The man wiped his tears and said, "From now on, it's just the two of us. Your parents left enough money to cover your education. Once you're older, you can find a good job in Ecruteak City. Don't follow in your parents' footsteps and go wandering off. You'll only waste your life."

The man had said the same thing in Kane's previous life, but everything had changed once his gambling addiction took over.

However, the old man's words reflected the reality of this world. The Pokémon League hadn't yet established strict regulations regarding the wilderness, making it incredibly dangerous to venture out. Even a single encounter with a Beedrill swarm could be fatal. The sea was no safer, as Gyarados often caused tsunamis, much like the one that had claimed his parents' lives.

But Kane was undeterred.

"In three years, I'm going to buy a Pokémon and register as a trainer."

The old man flinched at Kane's declaration. "Absolutely not! Forget about it. You're not allowed to touch anything related to Pokémon!"

Kane's expression hardened. "Do you plan on gambling everything away and using me to pay your debts again?"

This time, Kane wouldn't be manipulated.

He ignored the old man and headed back toward his room. "That money is my parents' legacy, and I have every right to use it as I see fit."

The old man's eyes widened in shock as he rushed to follow Kane. He had recently checked the inheritance, and the safe was still open.

Kane stormed into the room, immediately spotting the open safe. He could hear the old man chasing after him. Without hesitating, Kane grabbed everything inside.

There were two property deeds, a Johto Alliance bank card, a Sinnoh Alliance bank card, and three stacks of cash.

Kane stuffed everything into his pockets.

The old man stood frozen in the doorway, glaring at Kane. "Hand it over! I'm still in charge here!"

Kane was unfazed. "Move aside, or we're done here."

The old man's face contorted with rage. "You ungrateful brat!"

He raised his hand, aiming to strike Kane.

Kane scoffed. "Really?"

In his previous life, Kane had never stopped training in self-defense. If it weren't for his current physical limitations, he could have easily taken down ten men like the old man.

With ease, Kane sidestepped the blow and slipped past the old man.

The old man stumbled, barely able to keep his balance.

Kane took advantage of the moment to escape back into his room, locking the door behind him. He couldn't risk escalating the situation right now.

He still needed time—time to figure out the passwords for the two bank cards and to secure a work permit for the factory before the old man met his inevitable end.