Shinneth
Gonna be a tl;dr Master!
- Joined
- Dec 24, 2007
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- #41
Re: Travels of the Trifecta! (Anime, PG-13)
Just a two-month gap this time! Whew. Gotta admit, this one's a little boring and a sour note to end the year with, but you gotta do what you can! My birthday's a little under a month from now, so I'll see if I can't whip up a new chapter before then, huh? Next one's where all the fun stuff stirs up. Hang in there!
Whenever there was a blizzard about, Route 216 was no place to lose your mode of transportation. It was a harsh lesson for Galactic Commander Mars, but it was a small way of reaping what she sowed. The mission didn’t go exactly as planned, but she was fortunate enough to accomplish the most important part of the mission: obtain the extraordinarily rare Uxie book. Saturn, the one who sent her out to get it, explicitly stated that everything was expendable but that book. Now in Team Galactic’s possession, Mars was sure to get her secret underground pizza party, at least.
On the downside, she and the small group of grunts that accompanied her were forced to trek through the snow all the way back to headquarters after their helicopter was no longer operational. Mars was far too angry with the inconveniences now to even think about how or why the rogue Honchkrow and Gliscor randomly decided to attack and nearly kill her and the others. All that was on her mind was that delicious, warm pizza that awaited her some amount of miles away… provided Saturn didn’t screw anything up, at least. She knew such a celebration went against everything her leader, Cyrus, stood for, but even the ever-dedicated Mars could no longer stand the hunger pangs. For all the work she did, for the sacrifices she made… by god, she knew she deserved all the pizza she wanted.
“Commander, we technically failed our mission, did we not?” one of the male grunts spoke up. “We obtained the book, but lost the boy… in addition to that, we lost quite an expensive helicopter. Are we going to be punished and not receive our pizza after all…?”
The other two grunts cringed and looked away, minding their own business. The one who spoke was somewhat a newer recruit and had this unfortunate incident as his first time working with a Commander in a mission. He was soon to learn that irritating a freezing, determined Mars was a bad idea.
“Oh, we’re getting that pizza!” she barked back, glaring at the grunt who asked. “All of this was Saturn’s idea, anyway! If anyone’s paying for the lost helicopter, it’s him! He’s the jerk with all the money, anyway!”
“But aren’t you below Commander Saturn, in a way?” the grunt stupidly asked. “I mean, I’ve reviewed all this… he could hold us all liable and cut away our pizza if he had to pay for the helicopter, yes? Not to mention we inadvertently killed his cousin…”
Mars growled, hating being reminded of that. It wasn’t for her lack of trying that Conway was lost; he was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. All the same, Mars gave herself a pat on the back for sucking up her pride and working with him quickly to secure the Uxie book. Had she held back, both he and book would have been lost by now. She and the other grunts would have to spend the whole night on that frozen route trying to find a corpse rather than steadily making their way home.
“We didn’t kill his dorky cousin!” Mars spat. “It was those two Pokémon! If they hadn’t attacked the helicopter, we all would’ve been back to headquarters by now! And I’m definitely not letting Saturn get the upper-hand on this; it’s still his mess and he has to clean it up. So do us all favor and shut it, Eggers.”
“It’s, uh… Edwin,” the grunt nervously corrected. His fellow coworkers were making gestures instructing him to shut his mouth, but he was oblivious to them. “You have to admit they’re valid points, Commander. How are you going to break the news to Commander Saturn? He might stop ordering pizza… I mean, there’s the option of waiting until he’s finished ordering, but the Commander will obviously be wondering of his cousin’s whereabouts before then. What kind of excuse can you make?”
In spite of feeling so cold, Mars was quickly reaching her boiling point. “Shut up…”
“You have a plan, right?” Edwin asked her, almost pleadingly. “We aren’t all going to get fired, are we?”
“Shut up…”
“Because I would hate to miss that pizza part-…”
She couldn’t take it anymore. He might as well have been asking her “Are we there yet?” over and over again.
Mars stopped, prompting the grunts to stop; all three of them looked nervous before their higher-up, who turned around and glared at the motor-mouth. She narrowed her eyes. “That’s it; you’re officially uninvited to the party. You show your face and I’ll have security lock you in the dumpster.”
She whipped out a pen and a notepad seemingly out of nowhere. “Now, what was your name again?”
Edwin paused before looking to the two coworkers between him. He gulped before finally realizing his situation and wised up. “Eh-… Eggers, ma’am.”
Mars smirked and jotted that name down, then turned her back to her grunts and resumed walking. “Alright then, Eggers. You’ve just been written up for insubordination.” She chuckled to herself. “So no pizza for you… now let’s get moving! I’m not about to spend the night out here.”
Edwin sighed a breath of relief quietly as his coworkers gave him a thumbs up for the quick thinking. The small group continued their way down the route through the night in hopes of reaching their much warmer home base before Saturn started sending out search parties.
So Paul decided to go it alone after all.
It had only been a few hours since the trainer parted from Conway, whom he had been with every day for nearly a month until this point. Since that fateful encounter on the way to Canalave City, the grump and the geek had been a traveling pair with a fair bit of success since coming together. Even in spite of Paul’s mishaps in the form of a severe cold, later followed by a near-brush with death after falling off a cliff and intensive physical rehabilitation, he still ended up with a Mine Badge on his first try. Conway had even greater success, not only earning the Cobble Badge (the first badge he had ever won since becoming a trainer), but the Plumeria Ribbon as well… also a first.
Perhaps it wasn’t directly Conway’s doing, but Paul even managed to have a personal encounter with his father for the first time in four years – since the day his brother Reggie decided to retire as a trainer after failing to conquer the Kanto Battle Frontier. It had been quite an eventful month, all culminating when Paul would finally reach Snowpoint City, defeat Candice, and earn the Icicle Badge. Then, only one badge remained standing between Paul and the Sinnoh League Conference.
But even without what had just happened to him, Paul wasn’t going to make it to Snowpoint City tonight. Very few trainers ever traveled to that location due to its remoteness and high level of inconvenience and potential danger. But those risks were what attracted Paul to that location in the first place. Ever since he was young, Paul was one who enjoyed pushing the envelope. It always helped him feel alive… and that was probably why so many other so-called “normal” activities bored him. If Paul wasn’t so well aware that knowledge was another form of power, reading likely would have bored him as well.
Really, Paul had reasons for his superiority complex over most trainers. Not only did he read up on Pokémon battling and Pokémon itself during his free time on a frequent basis, but Paul had absorbed so much of the world’s culture and Pokémon experiences through traveling with his brother before starting his own journey. After Andrea passed away and Brandon relocated to Kanto, Reggie had no choice but to take Paul along with him for the rest of his journey until Paul himself was old enough to embark on his own adventure.
Due to this, Paul had already technically experienced the wonders of Kanto, Johto, and Hoenn well before his journey officially started. Since Reggie had almost completed his Sinnoh adventure before his mother’s death, Paul hadn’t actually fully experienced his own region, ironically enough. But Paul figured he had an edge over many other trainers due to his abundance of exposure at his age, and for the most part, that proved to be true. The Veilstone City trainer was undeniably wise beyond his years, even though he lacked compassion. The truth was, having learned from his past, Paul was extremely goal-oriented. He had no problem following the rules for the most part, but when push came to shove, he would easily do whatever it took to win if he knew he could get away with it.
And now, Paul realized his partnership with Conway had been a mistake all along. He was ashamed of himself for becoming so “weak”, but that was hardly his first concern right now. Paul honestly had not been feeling right all day long… even before leaving Plumeria Town.
He had actually passed out without meaning to during the Contest. The one time he actually wanted to watch a battle of Conway’s, Paul slept straight through it. Beyond his strange feelings that almost resembled attachment to Conway, the only other oddity in Paul’s condition was his fatigue.
It was more understandable at this point; he had practically run a marathon trying to save Conway, and was rewarded with an extremely heavy weight crushing his ribs. He knew one of them had to be cracked or broken; possibly dislodged, even. Paul knew he shouldn’t have yelled at Conway; not because it was extremely insensitive, but because it only aggravated his injury. For all this time since parting with his former travel mate, Paul periodically coughed up small amounts of blood. This wasn’t normal… and with Honchkrow and Gliscor severely injured during their rampage on Team Galactic’s helicopter, Paul knew he had to reach Squallville before even thinking about resting.
The young trainer felt some relief when the temperature seemed to warm up a bit. It was still quite windy, but that only meant Paul was on the right track. He had finally crossed the snowy terrain and reached a rocky mountain path. Feeling weighed down with fatigue as it was, Paul stuffed away his heavy coat into his backpack before continuing on.
Honestly, Paul came very close to ditching the coat. Every time he looked at it, he thought of Conway. Conway was the one who purchased it for him, after all. Right now, though… Paul only wanted to settle in and fall into a nice, warm bed.
The sudden, strong gusts of wind did not affect Paul at all while he came to a corner and finally spotted a small settlement nestled between the canyons. He knew this had to be Squallville… at last. With any luck, this would be Paul’s last stop until Snowpoint City, and Paul was very eager to get this over with as soon as possible.
It was quite late at night when he entered town. Nobody was out and about and most residences and businesses had their lights out, unavailable until morning. Only the sound of the wind was heard throughout Squallville, and it was music to Paul’s ears. He felt a little more at ease when noticing the clouds receding in the sky, letting the moon shine down over him. No nasty weather to worry about, and it was easier to see.
His first stop was the Pokémon Center; open at all hours as always. A Nurse Joy with a tan-colored cross on her hat appeared to be the one running the facility. Business was often slow this time of day, so the nurse smiled and bowed to greet her new visitor.
“Welcome to the Squallville Pokémon Center!” Nurse Joy said with enthusiasm. “How may I help you tonight, sir?”
Paul stiffly approached the front desk and offered her two Pokéballs. “My Gliscor and Honchkrow were injured on the way here.”
Nurse Joy nodded, accepting each Pokéball and handing them to her partner, Chansey. The Egg Pokémon, in “uniform” like other Chansey whom belong to a Nurse Joy, went through the motions and carted off the patients. “Your Pokémon are in good hands. Would you like to wait here, or-…”
The young woman paused as she noticed something. “Young man, what happened to your hand?”
That gash… the injury Paul sustained from Mars’ Purugly just a short while ago. Paul had almost completely forgotten about it due to the much more painful injuries he suffered afterward. Not wanting to make an issue of this, Paul closed his eyes and looked away, huffing.
“Just a small accident,” he said. “It’ll heal.”
Unconvinced, Nurse Joy shook her head. “It will need to be disinfected and wrapped to do so properly and…” She gasped. “My goodness, did you fall?! Those blood stains on your pants…!”
Paul’s mind must have been clouded with fatigue to forget the evidence of his coughing up blood. Most of the stains ended up on the heavy coat which Paul had stashed away, but some of it also hit his pants… and his pants weren’t dark enough to completely hide those dark blotches that showed up especially well under the Pokémon Center’s fluorescent lighting.
“Only a little,” Paul lied, hating to make a big deal out of this. He really just wanted to go to bed already and forget this day ever happened. “I just-…”
And Paul’s own body betrayed his desires, as the young man spontaneously started to cough once more. His hand didn’t reach his mouth in time, leaving Nurse Joy to witness a nasty gob of redness hit the tiled floor. There was nothing he could say to calm Nurse Joy now. He stared, his eyes looking empty, at the splattered blood while the woman started to panic.
“Oh no…!” she wailed. “And most of the clinics are closed for the night… I’d better call one in…”
“N-no, no,” Paul weakly begged. “Just direct me to the nearest hotel, and…”
Nurse Joy shook her head as she approached the nearest phone. “Sit down, young man! I know who to call in these situations, so please be compliant, mister-…” She briefly paused and calmed down, looking to her ailing customer. “I’m sorry; what’s your name?”
“Paul,” he said with a sigh as he slumped into the closest chair he could find. He had no real way to escape this now that Honchkrow and Gliscor were secured within the center, anyway. Now that his adrenaline rush from earlier had long since dissipated and he reached his destination after hours of walking, Paul felt he could crash then and there. But he knew that would be a bad idea, considering how much this Nurse Joy overreacted just by seeing him injured.
Looking serious, Nurse Joy began dialing for a doctor. “And who is your next of kin, Paul? How can I contact them…?”
Upon receiving no response, the pink-haired nurse found that Paul had lost consciousness.
“Your father… your brother…
… please tell them…”
With a loud gasp, Paul sat straight up from his slumber, eyes widened. He immediately regretted it. His chest was in a great deal of pain, the bright lights nearly blinded him…
Where was he, anyway?
“Well, aren’t you full of surprises,” an amused male voice remarked. That tone was way too familiar for comfort as far as Paul was concerned. Forcing himself to adjust to the lighting, he turned to the direction of the voice.
“Conway…?” he whispered in disbelief.
There was a warm chuckle before a response. There were familiar glasses, but the hair was a rusty blue with graying sideburns. It was rather all over the place and the man in question sported a complimenting, short-medium beard. He was quite tall… not exactly muscular, but not flabby and obese, either. Perhaps somewhat portly, but it was no oddity for a man of his apparent age.
“Perhaps it’s a coincidence,” he muttered quietly to himself before looking back to Paul. “Doctor Dalton, at your service. It seems you’ve run into a bit of trouble last night, Paul.”
“Last night…?” Paul murmured before looking to a nearby window, indeed seeing the sun rising. “Wait, so I’m at…?”
The doctor nodded. “You passed out at the Pokémon Center; Nurse Joy gave me all the details. I came as quickly as I could, and as of right now, you are at Squallville’s finest medical facility… well, the only one, really, but it sounds better to call it the finest, don’t you think?”
Paul looked down and frowned. He realized he was no longer wearing his regular outfit, but rather a typical thin shirt most in-patients would wear. Was he really that bad off…? “There was no need for all this…”
“On the contrary, things would be much worse for you right now had you not come to our attention,” Dalton corrected, wagging a finger. “I don’t suppose you remember how or why your hand was injured the way it was, or how you’ve ended up with a cracked rib?”
Paul’s expressions darkened upon hearing the confirmation. Conway’s fall cracked one of his ribs. He was coughing up blood ever since. But more than anything… it was that red-headed woman, Mars’ fault for the initial assault leading up to that event. Paul wouldn’t let himself forget that.
“It doesn’t matter,” Paul muttered. “Not how it happened or anything… tell me how long it’ll take to heal. I’m in a hurry.”
“I can tell you this: rushing won’t be of any help at all,” Dalton advised, though his tone was gentle and soothing. “And really, I would prefer that you stick around for a few days, Paul. In addition to the hand and the ribs, we took your temperature and you’ve got quite the fever right now.”
It was hard for Paul not to grimace at that news. Again, he was rendered ill. Never before had Paul run into such bad luck so many consecutive times.
“You showed signs of hallucination in your sleep,” Dalton added, going through his notes. “But the biggest concern is the regurgitation of blood.”
Now Paul looked worried, just as he slapped his good hand over his mouth after a sudden hiccup. After removing his hand, he was not at all pleased to find it covered in blood. A small amount managed to trickle down the side of his mouth as well.
“This…” Paul struggled to understand his situation. “It’s just because of the cracked rib, right?”
“This is why we would like you to rest here for a while,” Dalton softly explained. “From the looks of things, you’re long overdue for a check-up as it is, but if you cooperate with us, we’ll quickly find out what exactly ails you.”
That wasn’t exactly the answer Paul wanted. “I haven’t bothered with check-ups because I’ve been moving from region to region almost constantly for the last seven years,” he brought up, which was an accurate number combining the journey he went on with Reggie that almost immediately segued into his own individual journey that he was still on presently. “And what do you mean you’ll find out what’s ailing me? It’s obviously my rib!”
To that, Dalton somberly shook his head. “Cracked ribs don’t cause fevers,” he said. “And unless a bone fragment somehow tore its way into your lungs, then it doesn’t explain why you’re coughing up blood, either. Unfortunately, only pain medication and extreme caution is the cure for your ribs. For everything else, we need to confirm the cause before we can treat you properly.”
Paul did assume the cracked rib was the sole cause to his issue with the blood, especially since it only started up moments after Conway fell on him. Obviously, he didn’t believe for a second that it was the cause of his fever. Still, he sighed, knowing there was no use fighting this when it would only result in a disadvantage for him. From now on, he wanted to reach Snowpoint City with no further incidents plaguing him. If this was the price he had to pay, Paul was willing to spare what little patience he had.
“There is something I would like to ask you, though,” Dalton told his patient, causing the latter to look up and give the doctor his full attention. “When was the last time you had a fever?”
“Uh…” Paul was hesitant to admit the truth, but figured lying wouldn’t really get him anywhere. “About two weeks ago.”
The doctor’s eyebrows rose upon hearing that. “Oh… that recent? Do you recall the time before that, then…?”
Thinking back on it, Paul had gotten sick quite frequently in a short amount of time. It disturbed him to realize that. “Ah… two weeks before that, so… a month ago, roughly.”
Dalton paused before saying another word. He jotted down some notes before looking back over to Paul. “I… see. How long were you ill on both occasions?”
“A month ago, I had a fever for…” Paul took a moment to recall the past events. “Four days, I think. After that, the second time… ah, I think it was ten days?”
“Ten days?” Dalton sounded almost horrified. “Are there… any specific symptoms you recall that have carried on to this bout?”
The doctor’s tone was not the least bit comforting for Paul, but he did as he was asked in spite of his newfound shakiness. “Let’s see, ah… mind you, last time I had a number of other problems at the time due to falling off a cliff some ways south of here. So I had hit my head, had hypothermia, frostbite…”
“And that’s obviously not the case this time, it seems like…?” Dalton cautiously assumed.
“Of course not!” Paul shuddered to think of going through that again. No matter his reasoning, Paul had gradually come to accept that his initial attempt to start off on this journey up north by himself was foolish and something to be sure not to repeat in the future.
Especially not now; there would be no Conway to bail him out a second time.
Just then, a nurse quietly opened the door and slightly stepped in. It was a woman, but not Nurse Joy this time.
“Doctor, the test results have been printed out,” she quietly informed. “Would you like to see them now, or is this a bad time…?”
“Perfect timing, actually,” Dalton assured, getting up from his seat. “I’d prefer to go over the readings outside, however.”
Paul was alarmed by the implications. “Why can’t you read them here? They’re not my test results, are they?” And soon, Paul realized what he had just said as Dalton wordlessly walked past him. “Hey…! I didn’t authorize you to test me yet! What do you think you’re doing?!”
Dalton simply smiled and nodded to Paul. “I’ll be back with you in a sec, Paul! Please be patient!”
Before Paul could get another word out, the door was shut. He was now left alone to wonder what was really going on. The doctor’s reactions to his answers left the young trainer rather unsettled. But it wasn’t long before Paul suffered another incident of blood coming up where it shouldn’t normally; that did well enough to distract him as the doctor went over a series of print-outs. His expressions darkened as his eyes skimmed across as certain page.
“Nurse, the highlighter…?” he requested simply, expecting the nurse still nearby to understand. Unsurprisingly, she did and fulfilled said request.
She seemed rather disheartened as she watched Dalton highlight various parts of that certain page. “So, your fears are confirmed…?”
Dalton paused before continuing. “Not confirmed as of yet,” he admitted. “But at this rate, there could be a confirmation within the next batch of results. The evidence is growing stronger; there’s no way to brush this off as a mere coincidence any longer…”
“Pardon if I’m overstepping my boundaries, but isn’t it standard protocol to have the patient’s consent before performing these tests?” the nurse asked innocently. “How were you able to do this so early?”
With a tired sigh, Dalton shook his head. “Last night, that kid looked so familiar… upon confirmation of his identity, I realized I worked a case on this kid’s family years ago. I was unable to help his mother, who had been sick her entire life. The widowed father went on to become very famous afterwards, and their physical resemblances are uncanny.”
“So there is a connection to a past case of yours,” the nurse realized. “But if your primary case was the late mother, then why draw conclusions about the child?”
“It’s quite simple,” Dalton said quietly. “His behavior early on in his life was similar to that of his mother’s around the time she was diagnosed decades ago. Even she herself expressed her concerns about this to me confidentially. She was unable to tell whether or not it was definite on her own, but one thing I’ll always remember is that she wanted to keep a low profile on that particular investigation at the risk of upsetting the father and older brother.”
The nurse nodded in understanding. “But the afflicted son himself…?”
“She said nothing,” the doctor sadly informed. “I believe she meant for it to be that way. She had known for a long time then of the severity of her own illness; since she was a child like he is now. If we could confirm the diagnosis, the two of us would have helped him through what would surely become a rough life afterwards. I attempted to maintain contact with the family, but the father seemed to almost completely cut ties with the outside world. My own family had something of a crisis that ate up my attention around that time, and once I finally reached their house, I realized everyone had left. I assumed that… due to the circumstances, knowing who their father became, that both moved to live in the Kanto region with him after the older brother finished with the Sinnoh League. I had no idea the two brothers had been still living in this region the entire time without their father.”
“That seems odd,” the nurse noted. “That they would choose to remain in Sinnoh and be separated from their father…”
Dalton sighed, apparently agreeing. “If the next test results come out positive, the question as to whether or not that young man inherited his mother’s illness will have a definitive answer. At that point… comes the difficult decision when it comes to breaking the news.”
“If he and his brother are still living in Sinnoh, that means you should be able to reach the elder one,” the nurse pointed out. “Perhaps within their house is the mother’s last will and testament… surely that will be the solution in regards to… who to tell.”
“That boy is an impatient one,” Dalton grumbled. “There’s no way I will be able to keep him here long enough to get those results. Perhaps to scan him if it’s done today, but he’ll certainly try to escape once he’s healed up.”
“Hm…” The nurse walked over to a nearby billboard, staring at what had been pinned up there before finding what she was looking for. “We can find a way to at least keep him in Squallville for as long as we need.”
She handed Dalton the paper. “Show that to him. Perhaps that will keep him around long enough for our test results to come in. We’ll contact whoever we can in regards to his mother’s will so we’ll know who to inform in a worst-case scenario.”
The lenses of the doctor’s glasses shined as he smiled. “Brilliant. I’ll show him right now. Nurse, prepare the machine for the scan. If we can confirm the diagnosis, I’ll have another chance to do what others couldn’t for four decades… find the cure.”
Paul was beginning to hate beds. He’d been confined to them so many times lately that he was frankly quite sick of them. The young trainer was in far too much pain to resort to drastic measures at this point. He settled for doing one of his least-favorite activities: waiting.
The tiny slice of patience was rewarded when Dalton re-entered the room, cheerful and casual as ever. “Still in pain, I take it?”
“Where were you?” Paul spat, quite irate with this doctor. “I never agreed to any sort of test. So I have a cracked rib; big deal. So I have a fever for the third time this month… maybe it’s just allergies. The point is, you’re going too far.”
Dalton shook his head as he started to set up a small tray for Paul. “You have strange symptoms and you’re overdue for a check-up; I’m certain your family would be thanking me.”
Paul raised an eyebrow at that response. “You talk as if I’m diseased or something.”
… And Paul was right on the money about that. Dalton couldn’t help but be startled before setting a glass of water with a few small pills beside it for Paul’s consumption.
“If you’re tired of the chest pain, medication’s your only option,” the doctor informed Paul, completely ignoring his last statement. “It’ll relax you and make the recovery much less miserable. There is one final scan we would like to perform on you before you leave, Paul…”
“Uh, hello? Are you ignoring me on purpose?” Paul interrupted, though he did take his medication. Whether or not it was a trap, the pain was becoming too much for even Paul to bear. Anything that would dampen down that annoyance was welcome for the irritable young man. “I never agreed to any sort of test, and I’m certainly not agreeing to it now!”
“I assure you, this scan is absolutely harmless,” Dalton promised. “The problem is that it may take a day or two for the results to become available, and I understand you’re in a hurry…”
Paul folded his arms, nodding indignantly. “Yeah, no. I’m not waiting for that. I’ve had enough delays in my journey as it is; I’m not letting you add on to it.”
“You should know that Squallville is hosting a competition soon,” the doctor mentioned, handing Paul the flier the nurse had found for him. “From what Nurse Joy told me, your Honchkrow especially seemed to be in rather bad shape when you brought it in last night.”
It was hard for Paul to understand what exactly this doctor was getting at, but he sighed and decided to humor him. “You want me to enter the competition while I wait for results on a test I never consented to?”
“Someday soon, I’ll explain everything,” Dalton promised. “Let’s just say I realized how much of a spitting image you are of your father.”
Upon hearing that, Paul growled lowly and rolled his eyes. He hated constantly being compared to Brandon.
“And I in fact was your family doctor many years ago before your mother passed on,” he continued. “I assumed you all had moved to Kanto afterwards, so your presence here surprises me. But having taken care of your family in the past… let’s just say I feel indebted to you. That’s why I insist that you comply.”
The explanation calmed Paul a bit, now knowing that at least he wasn’t in the hands of a total stranger. However… “I don’t remember you at all, though.”
“You were very young when your mother passed on,” Dalton recalled. “The entire family just seemed to disappear in an instant. I’ve since moved here since those seven years, so it is a rather amusing chance encounter, is it not?”
Suddenly, Paul felt tired. Very tired. It had become apparent that one of the pills Paul had taken was a sedative. Dalton smirked when he received no response, turning around to see Paul had quickly succumbed to the drug. With no further resistance, the doctor was able to quickly proceed with the test that would determine Paul’s fate within a couple of days.
It turned out the competition being held in Squallville was none other than their annual PokéRinger tournament: the sustained high winds in the area made it a perfect aerial arena for Flying-type Pokémon to show of their prowess. For a small dwelling like Squallville, this was touted as a major event and was considered the high point of their tourist season. Paul wouldn’t have known it from how empty the town was when he arrived there so late the other night ago, but needless to say he was rather startled by the contrast when he got a proper look at Squallville during the daytime after he was released by the hospital.
For such a humble location, Squallville was abuzz with trainers coming in from all directions of Sinnoh. In spite of his distaste for such crowded atmospheres, Paul was relieved to be outside again, away from the doctors and concerned brother pestering him over the phone (as the Nurse Joy of Plumeria Town was at least kind enough to give Reggie the location of where Paul was next headed). As far as the latter was concerned, however, the call didn’t last long. The last thing Paul wanted to talk about was the Plumeria Contest and managed to completely avoid the topic of Conway with a clever lie about him being away shopping.
Paul wasn’t sure just how he was going to deal with Reggie if he were to find out what really happened between the former duo. Until such a time, though, Paul had no problem using every lie he could think up to cover his own butt. At the doctor’s request (and Paul hated to worry Reggie anyway), Paul completely left out the details of his stay at the hospital. The doctor had his own plans for how to involve Reggie, but Paul was completely unaware of them.
Truly, the only real reason Paul consented to participating in the PokéRinger competition was to get his mind off Conway and the Plumeria Contest that still remained fresh in his mind. Thinking about Snowpoint City only made Paul anxious, which was torture since he was being forced to stay in Squallville until his test results came in. He figured if Honchkrow could lose to Conway that it could easily lose in its scheduled battle with Candice as well, so Paul decided Honchkrow needed all of the relevant training it could get before he reached the Gym. After all, in spite of being Flying-typed, speed was not the Big Boss Pokémon’s forte. Due to the nature of the PokéRinger competition, Paul knew this would be adequate training to make up for his few days of downtime at the hospital.
Dalton promised that he would have the results ready by the end of the day, which was conveniently around the time the PokéRinger competition would be wrapping up. Honestly, Paul didn’t have his heart in these small-time events, and therefore had nothing to lose by participating. As long as his Pokémon grew stronger and learned something along the way, Paul would be satisfied.
He had heard much gossip about the man who reigned as the PokéRinger champion for the past four years, Provo. Not so much about the man himself, but more about his fiercely competitive Dragonite. The species itself could be a serious adversary in any form of competition, just as most Dragon-types were. Paul knew if he could get his Honchkrow to defeat something like that, he would surely be ready for anything Candice would throw at him. There hadn’t been many opportunities to get in much practice, but Paul had participated in such a competition before in other regions… and had come out as the winner, in fact. What mattered was that Honchkrow was fully healed from the wounds sustained from the battle with Team Galactic and was ready to compete.
The festivities were quickly getting underway, meaning Paul only took a scant few minutes to observe his surroundings before taking his seat at the very back of the waiting room with the other competitors. While he was thankful to not be forced into a tense conversation struck up by a chatty stranger, there was a stranger sitting in the front row that had caught Paul’s eye. Dark hair, a bold red cap, the navy blue vest and white t-shirt…
Just the sight made Paul feel ill. He had joined this competition to get his mind off a major annoyance in his life, only to be met by another one in his attempt to do so. Paul felt as if he had already lost… had he not taken medication that controlled his coughing, he almost certainly would have vomited blood at this point. He grasped his forehead, trying to resist the sudden bout of dizziness that came about. Paul wasn’t even paying attention to the screen everyone else was observing, which featured Rhonda of Sinnoh Now hosting the opening ceremonies. That is, until a shrill voice filled the room and shocked everyone…
“IF YOU DON’T START PAYING ATTENTION, YOU’LL BE SLEEPING ON THE UNEMPLOYMENT LINE!!”
Paul looked up, gawking like everyone else in the room at Rhonda’s sudden outburst. This woman was annoying enough to listen to during the weather reports. Right here she was showing some strong signs of bipolarity.
A hushed “Rhonda, we’re still rolling tape…” from the camera man was faintly heard, quickly getting the anchorwoman’s attention as she stopped harassing Jack, the boom operator who had accidentally dropped the boom on Rhonda’s head moments earlier… and this was hardly his first offense. She quickly, almost professionally shook off the mishap and turned around, resuming her duties on the live feed.
“And today’s PokéRinger competition will be single elimination!” she continued, trying her best to pretend that little candid camera moment never happened. “The team who wins all their matches is the winner! So let’s get this underway!”
The screen switched to a pan shot of the digital scoreboard.
“The Squallville PokéRinger competition’s first match is…”
Two images appeared on the screen, featuring the portrait shots of two boys… one very familiar, as Paul resisted his urge to growl in frustration.
“Team Ash versus Team Taylor!”
“Great; first match!” Paul heard Ash happily react, which further grated his nerves. It was quite a downer for Paul to realize his entire plan to move on from his past incident with Conway had been completely ruined by Ash Ketchum, as he knew it was only a matter of time before the two would cross paths again… for the first time since their last meeting near Hearthome City, where their battle resulted in Ash gaining an evolution in Grotle… though Ash still lost miserably. It wasn’t long after that day that this whole mess began for Paul… he only wished to be lucky this time and have Ash eliminated early on so that Paul could avoid facing him completely.
Really, he wasn’t in the mood even to antagonize the trainer from the Kanto region. The competition was just beginning, and Paul was longing for the end already.
Perhaps Taylor was a competent opponent and would have a Pokémon suitable for beating Ash’s, which Paul assumed would be Staravia. He figured that Staravia must be poorly-trained to remain in its middle stage form for this long; after all, Paul knew for a fact that Ash had Staravia as far back as when they first met in Sinnoh… back when it was a Starly that never could have lived up to Paul’s high standards.
The grumpy trainer watched both young men leave the waiting room and take their positions. Soon, the screen showed two air balloons slowly ascending towards the sky simultaneously with the coveted ring attached to its own balloon. Paul tensed up, clearly seeing the confident Ash and his Pikachu focused and ready to compete.
“The balloon ring has been released and the PokéRinger contestants are being raised to the official altitude!” Rhonda announced as everything came together to start the first round. Once the balloons reached the desired altitude, Rhonda made it official. “Round one, match one: START!”
Ash was quick to get things underway. “Staravia, I choose you…!”
“Skarmory, let’s go!” shouted Taylor, as both competitors threw their Pokéballs into the air and released their partners.
Paul smirked, pleased with Taylor’s choice. Skarmory in general were tricky to contend with due to their unique Steel/Flying dual type. Based on what Paul recalled of Staravia’s abilities, he knew Ash had his work cut out for him. Perhaps this wouldn’t be so bad, and Ash would have to call it quits early…
“GOAL…! And Team Ash moves right along to the second match!”
Appalling. It wasn’t for lack of trying, but Taylor had been outsmarted by Ash, who used Staravia’s speed to quickly claim victory in the first round.
This did not bode well for Paul. But there was still a chance that Ash would lose well before the finals. At least it was a certainty that he wouldn’t be facing Ash in this round…
The young trainer and his companion Pikachu disembarked from their balloon, happy as can be.
“Talk about overcomin’ the odds, right buddy?” Ash said to Pikachu, who nuzzled him affectionately. “That Skarmory was a tough one… we really owe Squallville’s wind helpin’ us out at the end there; if that Air Cutter didn’t miss, it would’ve been over for us for sure. We’re gonna have to remember that next time around… keep utilizin’ Staravia’s speed to dodge those attacks! I’m sure we can win this!”
He seemed a bit more humbled than usual, Paul noted… a bit more calm and collected. He could possibly be a viable opponent if he consistently maintained that mentality…
“Alright folks, now it’s time for our next match!” Rhonda announced, as the camera panned to the screen again. “Who are our next two teams?”
The first portrait that showed up was an adult man, who looked rather fearsome with his Mohawk and spiked shoulder pads on his vest. The man himself was muscle-bound and his visage alone startled many people… for varying reasons.
“Alright!” Rhonda cried. “This team has won four competitions in the past! They’re the unbeatable four-time champions: Team Provo!”
The announcement prompted more vivid cheers from the audience, as Provo was indeed quite the popular man around town for his accomplishments. He stood tall and proud, and fully ready to make this year his fifth consecutive victory. This was the man with the Dragonite… the one Paul made sure to keep his eyes on.
“And competing against them will be… Team Paul!”
It seemed Paul had to step up to the plate a bit earlier than he planned. No matter; he stood up and silently left the waiting room, heading towards the position he was to take. Meanwhile, up in the stands, both Brock and Dawn were watching the match and were equally stunned to see Paul’s visage on the screen. Upon hearing the name, Ash stopped dead in his tracks, wondering if he heard that right.
“Huh…?” Ash turned around, gazing at the screen. “It’s Paul!” This changed everything for him.
Paul braced himself as he approached Ash, who was still standing there dumbfounded instead of returning to his seat in the waiting room. It seemed they were fated to meet again after all… but Paul just wasn’t in the mood to milk it for all it was worth.
Ash turned around to acknowledge Paul as he heard the stiff steps approaching him, looking amused (possibly confused) rather than wary.
“Paul!” Ash enthusiastically greeted as Paul walked right past him. “I had no idea you were entering this competition!”
“Yeah, so what if I am?” Paul shot back, still refusing to truly acknowledge Ash’s presence and headed straight for the hot-air balloon. He may be calm and collected, but Ash was still as nosy as ever, it seemed… that was a trait that really grinded Paul’s gears.
As usual, Ash was put off by Paul’s extremely rude gesture. “Huh…? What if you are?” he muttered to himself, looking displeased as he often did with his so-called rival. “Well, you could’ve at least said hi!”
Paul honestly wondered why that mattered so much to Ash. Was he that desperate for Paul’s attention? He knew Ash was determined to make him believe he was truly a rival worthy of his attention and respect, but so far, Ash failed to impress Paul even remotely. The closest thing that intrigued Paul was Pikachu’s ability to use Volt Tackle and nothing more. Perhaps the acquisition of Chimchar was also a factor now… but Paul had long since kept that particular Pokémon out of his life and out of his mind.
He jumped into his balloon as Pikachu expressed its distaste for Paul’s attitude in its own way, yet Paul continued to tune it out and prepare his balloon for its imminent ascent. Ash could feel the familiar, burning anger within him once more as he glared at his fellow trainer. He couldn’t believe anyone could possibly be this… well, cold.
Ash formed a fist, pumping it up to show his determination to win. “Look, Paul! The next time we battle, I’m not gonna lose, y’know!”
A likely story, Paul figured. He continued working on the balloon, trying his best to drown out Ash’s speech with… well, anything that could come to his mind, but all that he could think of was that dreaded Conway… it was a lose-lose situation, really.
“Just you wait,” Ash grumbled, finally turning around and returning the waiting room. “I’m gonna show you how much stronger we’ve gotten since last time… you’ll see…”
His determination was admirable, at least. But Paul knew it took much more than that to be a competent trainer, and as far as Paul was concerned, Ash was anything but. His complete lack of understanding as to how Grotle changed last time spoke volumes to Paul… that Ash was indeed a lowlife trainer that invested too much in blind faith against the odds. Paul remembered once making that mistake long, long ago… but never again. Paul refused to fall into that disillusioning trap more than once.
Back in the stands, Dawn and Brock were still aghast upon realizing Paul was indeed present in this competition.
“Whaddya know, Paul’s in the competition too,” Dawn mumbled unenthusiastically. Her Piplup glumly concurred.
“Knowing him, I would guess he probably enter to raise his Pokémon’s level,” Brock assumed, calmly assessing the situation.
Dawn looked down as she held Piplup close to her, frowning. “But what kind of Flying-type Pokémon does Paul have?” she wondered. She thought back to the last time the group encountered him, and then remembered the last battle… it hit her just then. “That’s right…! Honchkrow!”
The balloons and ring began their ascent as Rhonda kicked off the next round. “Now that both second-match contestants are in their places… START!”
Indeed, Paul proved Dawn right as he threw out his Pokéball. “Honchkrow, stand by for battle!”
“Dragonite, let’s go!” Provo shouted, unleashing his mighty beast of a Pokémon… Paul had a tough opponent on his hands for sure.
Back in the training room, Ash was certain to intently watch this battle. “It’s Dragonite versus Honchkrow,” he acknowledged, knowing this would be quite the explosive clash. He looked on with concern as the match began.
Honchkrow took the initiative, flying towards the ring first.
“And Honchkrow zooms to the ring!” Rhonda shouted out.
“Honchkrow’s gotten a headstart, but Dragonite’s faster!” Provo proclaimed, not looking worried in the least. He thrust his arm into the air to give out his first command: “Dragonite, Dragon Pulse!”
While Dragonite charged up a bright blue blast of energy, Paul was quick to respond. “Dodge it!”
Speed might not exactly have been Honchkrow’s forte, but it was able to successfully dodge the attack with ease. Moments later, Honchkrow snagged the ring and began its descent before Dragonite could even reach the Big Boss Pokémon.
“Get going, and use Fire Punch!” Provo ordered, determined to catch up. Dragonite obeyed the command and rushed at Honchkrow, flames emanating from its left fist.
Again, Paul put Honchkrow’s speed to the test. “Dodge it!”
Honchkrow heeded the order, zipping away mere milliseconds away from Dragonite’s flaming fist. The ring was still in Honchkrow’s possession.
“Dragon Rush, now!” Provo cried out, appearing to be annoyed at being unable to land a hit on his opponent thus far. Equally frustrated, Dragonite rushed at Honchkrow once more, coming down like a comet from outer space. The brightly-colored energy surrounding it proved to be a brutal hit as it finally connected against Honchkrow’s back. The conflict shocked Honchkrow enough to accidentally lose control of the ring.
“Wow, what a powerful move!” Rhonda marveled as the ring flew across the air. “And a clean hit as well!”
There was an opening, and Provo wasn’t about to let it slide past him. “Get it, Dragonite!” he cried out.
Honchkrow was able to recover from the hit in time to heed Paul’s next order. “Take back the ring!”
Both Pokémon raced neck-and-neck to claim the ring, but once again, Honchkrow managed to outspeed the Dragon Pokémon and reclaimed the ring. This did not deter Provo, however.
“Alright, use Dragon Rush again!” he exclaimed, prompting Dragonite to charge up to smack into Honchkrow once more. Paul wasn’t about to let him catch up again, though; at least battles like this were doing their job in keeping Paul focused on something else completely.
“Sky Attack!” Paul ordered, and thus Honchkrow was also soon glowing with energy in hopes to outspeed Dragonite once more.
“Honchkrow’s fast, but my Dragonite’s faster!” Provo exclaimed, which made Paul raise an eyebrow. He was certain that Provo had already said that just moments ago, only for Dragonite to be outrun by Honchkrow and proven wrong. Perhaps he was trying to convince himself…?
Just then, Paul felt a change in the direction of the wind current, which distracted him for a bit.
“Huh…?” Paul took a moment to estimate the new direction of the wind, realizing that he could use it to his advantage if he played his cards right. He quickly looked back down to where the action was, getting an idea. “Ride the wind to dodge it!”
It worked. Honchkrow was quickly picked up by an upper draft, momentarily confusing Dragonite well enough for it to be hindered by the same air current, being tossed up beyond its control.
“Wha-…?! What the?!” Provo’s surprise was the perfect opening for Paul to wrap this up. Sky Attack finished charging, allowing Honchkrow to slam into Dragonite with an especially brutal hit from the backside. The force was powerful enough to send the Dragon Pokémon careening into the ground, knocking it out.
“And Honchkrow’s powerful Sky Attack ends the battle!” Rhonda announced, making the result official. Just to rub salt into the wound, Honchkrow tossed the ring straight to the goal, as if to cement the result for good.
“Goal!” Rhonda hollered. “Team Paul has surprisingly defeated the competition’s favorite, Team Provo, and moves on to round two!”
Paul’s nonchalant expression appeared on the screen, clearly showing his lack of heart in this competition as a whole. Provo and Dragonite proved to be quite the disappointment for Paul; he expected a much fiercer performance from a consecutive four-time champion.
“Wow, Team Paul did it with one hit!” Dawn marveled, staring up at the screen along with Brock. This was proof enough that Paul was the sheer, dominating force he always had been, and would be a true obstacle for Ash if the two were to clash.
Brock stared on, having deeply analyzed every twist and turn of the battle. “Well, one of Honchkrow’s abilities is called Super Luck,” he explained to Dawn. “And Paul used it to their advantage, and struck Dragonite’s weak spot.”
Indeed, that single hit from Sky Attack was of the critical variety. Paul had utilized the power of the wind to strengthen the already-powerful move and let gravity do the rest. It was the best example of one particular saying… the bigger they are, the harder they fall.
While the downtrodden Provo disembarked from the balloon and recalled his Dragonite, Ash looked on from the waiting room… and he appeared to be very worried. After all, it was Honchkrow he battled the last time he and Paul crossed paths… and he could never forget the devastating way Honchkrow defeated Grotle; to the point where Ash’s Pokémon had to be sent to the emergency room as quickly as possible.
“Paul’s good at this,” he muttered, with Pikachu cautiously agreeing. Ash loathed the idea of Staravia suffering the same fate in this competition… never before had Ash been more driven to win this. Not only to prove a point to Paul, but to assure his Pokémon that Paul was not as invincible as he appeared to be.
The irony was that Paul appeared to be anything but invincible once he was back on solid ground. After recalling Honchkrow, he grasped his temples and quickly got out of sight so he could ride out this new wave of pain that coursed through his body. Even though he had been well medicated, Paul never quite felt the same after that Team Galactic incident. He felt even weaker than usual, and briefly Paul wondered if his stay at the hospital had anything to do with it. Who knows what they did to him there…? He was angry enough that they had the gall to sedate him just to be able to perform their latest test… and they were so hush-hush about the whole thing. Paul knew something else had to be going on; he figured most doctors wouldn’t freak out this much over a cracked rib and a fever.
Doctor Dalton was due for quite the scolding before Paul left Squallville today; that much was for certain.
“And the next match is… Team Steveland versus Team Jamus!” Rhonda announced, which allowed Paul to take a breather and relax before the next round. Honestly, to the Veilstone trainer, neither of the men on the screen looked to be legitimate future threats.
He took his sweet time returning to the waiting room, being sure to avoid Ash at all costs now. There was nothing Paul had to say for him, anyway… to him, it would all be a waste of time. Even though his match with Provo was relatively short-lived and simple, it took quite a bit out of Paul. The stress, the altitude which he was at, the strong air currents… after what Paul had been through, this was anything but relaxing for the frazzled young man.
Paul was definitely mentally kicking himself for ever letting Conway join him in Canalave City. Since then, it seemed nothing had quite gone right, and Paul’s physical conditioned worsened with every passing day.
Almost as if he were in a long, drawn-out process of dying.
As the competition continued, both Ash and Paul moved up the ranks step-by-step. Though Paul was weakened with his previous mishaps, he had the endurance to pull through it and compete with the strength and fierceness Ash and the others recognized him for.
Paul hated believing in concepts like fate, but had a feeling that he was meant to compete with Ash in the finals here. Why? He wasn’t sure. He only knew it was a very odd coincidence that the two crossed paths in a remote location such as this. It showed that Ash too must be on his way to Snowpoint City… though Paul never bothered to ask. It was just a safe assumption, knowing how far up north they were.
Even though Ash could only ever draw with Paul in battle at best, Paul could feel the growing anger emanating from the young man. Perhaps with enough raw anger, he might be an interesting challenge for once, Paul figured. He doubted that time would come in this competition, but perhaps it was another step up towards a proper rivalry between the two.
But honestly, Paul could do without it. He felt he had proved himself superior many times already; what will one more win do but once again reinforce that “fact”?
Surely enough, fate seemed to play a role today…
“Alright, everyone!” Rhonda shouted. “We’re coming down to the final round! And our two finalists are…!”
The board showed Ash’s portrait, followed by Paul’s. “Team Ash and Team Paul…!”
In the stands, Brock and Dawn looked on with hardened stares. Both of them had that gut feeling that it might end this way. Destined to cross paths, indeed…
“So Ash and Paul made it to the finals,” Dawn noted, sounding worried. “Amazing…” Her Piplup concurred.
“No doubt this will be a fierce battle,” Brock assured. “I had a feeling it would come down to this…”
Dawn nodded, looking uncertain of herself. “Same here,” she agreed. “The last time they battled, it ended in a disaster, even though Turtwig evolved to Grotle…”
“Not to mention Ash has yet to properly defeat Paul in battle,” Brock mentioned, recalling all of the times they clashed since the journey in Sinnoh began. “It’s always been either a loss for Ash or a draw.”
“He’s gotta be hungry for victory by now,” Dawn figured, sounding a little more determined. “I know I would be, against someone like that… Ash has to win, Brock!”
The former Gym Leader sighed, looking on to the field. He had paid close attention to Paul ever since the group first encountered him… he was an interesting case, to say the least, but Brock knew there was more to Paul than what there seemed to be. It wasn’t surprising that Ash and Dawn seemed unaware of that, but that’s what Brock was there for… to pick up on the details and make sense of them. But Paul? He was the equivalent of a Rubik’s Cube… not that it deterred Brock, but he knew there was much more about Paul to learn. Until they could completely understand this ominous foe, he would be nigh impossible to beat.
But anything could happen… Brock knew that. He didn’t want to give Dawn false hope, but didn’t want to depress her, either. He chose his words carefully.
“We’ll see what happens,” he finally told her. “Ash definitely seems to have the drive and the spirit today… and so far, he’s kept a level head. If he keeps that up, he could surprise us.”
Brock looked to Dawn, smiling. “We’ll cheer him on and let him know we’re supporting him every step of the way.”
“You bet!” Dawn enthusiastically replied. “With our backup, Ash can’t lose!”
Brock could only hope that would be the case. He was tired of seeing Ash down in the dumps after every loss to Paul.
Meanwhile, the two lone remaining competitors were just about ready to board their balloons. But first… Ash felt the need to speak out one last time against the trainer he saw as his rival.
“Paul, let’s do this!” Ash challenged, with Pikachu backing him up. Paul turned around to acknowledge Ash, but remained silent.
Time seemed to stand still as the two had their wordless standoff. Yes, it certainly did feel like fate.
But Rhonda was quick to move things along. “So now we’re down to the final around! The question is, which team will be crowned our winner?”
Already ascending in their balloons by this point, Ash and Paul continued to glare at each other without exchanging a single word. Paul had to admit that Ash seemed especially focused today… and with good reason. Ash remembered the emotional turmoil he went through when Grotle was needlessly hospitalized. While he accepted his own faults as a trainer for being ignorant to Grotle’s changes, Ash found it difficult to forgive Paul for what he had done.
It was time to settle this.
Ash was quick to make the first move, throwing his Pokéball. “Now, Staravia! I choose you…!”
“Honchkrow, stand by for battle!” Paul called out almost at the same time. Both Pokéballs unleashed the Flying-type competitors.
Simultaneously, both made a beeline for the ring, though Staravia seemed to be the faster of the two…
“And Staravia takes the lead!” Rhonda announced just as Staravia snatched the ring.
Ash was thrilled. “Staravia, great!” he cheered, though Paul was determined to cut the victory short.
“Use Sky Attack!” he called out, and within seconds the Big Boss Pokémon was glowing with that strong, familiar energy again; Staravia was the imminent target.
Relatively calm about this threatening move, Ash had an idea. “Staravia, counter with Brave Bird!” he yelled, and promptly the Starling Pokémon built up energy that made it literally seem that it was on fire.
The fire soon dissipated into sparkling blue energy as Staravia reached full power. The powerful flying attacks made an explosive collision, shocking the audience as the smoke obscured much of the air. But Staravia was soon seen falling back, clearly injured by the contact, but was still in possession of the ring. Still, it was sent flying back beyond its control, worrying Ash and Pikachu both.
“Staravia, no!” he cried out, apprehensive when Honchkrow emerged from the smoke looking relatively unscathed.
Paul decided to not let this opportunity go to waste. “Night Slash, go!”
With a single glowing wing, Honchkrow was once again in pursuit of the ailing Staravia, who struggled to regain control of its movement. Ash only hoped Staravia was able to heed his orders in this state.
“Now, dodge it with Quick Attack!” Ash commanded, which Staravia clearly heard and regained its focus. Just before Honchkrow could slam its wing over Staravia’s head, the Starling Pokémon flew up and over its much larger opponent. Honchkrow quickly turned around, not even taking a moment to be surprised or dumbfounded by Staravia’s sudden dodge.
Ash thought he had a chance here… “Staravia, head for the goal…!”
And so it did, but Honchkrow was in hot pursuit of its opponent, and Paul certainly wasn’t letting Ash off that easily.
“Dark Pulse, now!” Paul ordered, which Honchkrow immediately followed. It spewed a beam of dark, purplish energy straight at Staravia, landing a direct (and critical) hit. Finally, the hit was strong enough to force the ring out of Staravia’s beak.
“Staravia!!” Ash cried out with concern, but was relieved when Staravia quickly reclaimed the ring. It resumed its path towards the goal, but Honchkrow was still right on Staravia’s tail, close enough for another devastating attack to hit.
“And Staravia dives straight for the goal!” Rhonda shouted out. It seemed Staravia had a clean shot at victory, but just then, the wind picked up and changed direction once more. A sudden upper draft forced Staravia back up and away from the goal, startling Ash as well as the crowd.
“And it’s another sudden wind gust!” Rhonda needlessly pointed out.
Paul immediately took advantage of the situation… he was quite the opportunist when it came right down to it. “Ride the wind and use Aerial Ace!” he called out. He knew utilizing the wind’s power was a very handy tool for his previous victories in this competition. Even though Ash had maintained possession of the ring almost the entire time, Paul remained calm, knowing all would fall into place in his favor if he granted just the slightest bit of patience (much as he hated to do so).
Staravia, still stunned with the upper draft pushing against it, was a sitting duck for Honchkrow’s can’t-miss attack. It was brutally shot upward after the collision. By this point, Ash too was contending with the upper draft that made it hard for him to concentrate as well. He could see that this was no place for Staravia to be, and in order to win, he would have to get Staravia out of there somehow.
“Hurry, Staravia!” the young trainer urged. “Get out of the wind and head for the goal!”
Easier said than done, really. Staravia did its best to focus, but found it hard to move in just about any direction with a wind as powerful as this consuming it.
Paul too experienced the powerful upper draft from his balloon. Firmly gripping his hands on the edge, he maintained focus on Honchkrow at all times, ignoring the chaos completely. “Use the wind to your advantage with back-to-back Aerial Aces!”
He figured if it worked this well, why not abuse it as long as Staravia was trapped within the wind, rendered helpless? Honchkrow darted upward, charging up and preparing for another brutal impact. Ash was tired of being a slave to the wind, however.
“Dodge it!” he thoughtlessly commanded, forgetting that Aerial Ace was a move that guaranteed a hit. But to everyone’s surprise, Staravia was able to use the wind in a unique situation to make Honchkrow miss every attempted hit. Honchkrow really had no more power over the wind than Staravia did, and was unable to maneuver around Staravia within the current.
But it became overconfident, and sadly, by the third go-around, Honchkrow brutally nailed Staravia right where Paul wanted it. The ring was knocked out of Staravia’s possession again… and this time, Honchkrow was the one who claimed it.
The birds glared at each other, knowing this was far from over.
Paul had no interest in this developing rivalry, however. “Honchkrow, now head for the goal!” He was ready to wrap this up and get out of town as quickly as possible. Paul certainly wouldn’t shed a tear if he never saw this town again; he couldn’t imagine who would willingly live here, really…
Honchkrow made a beeline for the goal as the roles were reversed. Now Staravia was the one who did the chasing, and Ash wasn’t done with Paul yet; not by a long shot.
“Use Aerial Ace and get that ring back!” Ash shouted, determined and focused once more.
The considerably quicker Staravia whirled around and picked up speed while approaching Honchkrow with a build-up of energy, ready to return the favor.
“Dodge it!” Paul commanded, figuring it could work for him if it could work for Ash. Honchkrow ducked underneath Staravia at the last second, letting the Starling Pokémon zoom straight past it.
Ash was quick to pick up on this and continued his assault. “Use Quick Attack and fly down!” The idea was to use the clever maneuvering to get close enough to Honchkrow to snag that ring back, apparently. Staravia looped around and darted in a zigzag motion toward the opponent.
The two birds did not collide, but that was not Ash’s intention in the first place. Staravia simply flew downwards, passing by Honchkrow and was conveniently close enough to snag the ring just like that, giving Staravia the advantage and the homestretch towards victory. It was a big surprise for Honchkrow to be tricked like that, and Ash was ecstatic.
“Awesome!” he cheered. “Now head straight for the goal!”
Following Pikachu’s encouraging cries, Staravia did just that; the goal seemed so close now. It was only a matter of time…
“Sky Attack!”
… For Paul’s Honchkrow to counter-attack seemingly out of nowhere, landing yet another critical blow on Staravia.
Ash was horrified, watching his Pokémon go down. “Staravia, no!!”
And Paul wasn’t done yet. “Night Slash!”
Honchkrow loomed behind the injured and seemingly-unaware Staravia with its glowing wing once more, but Ash wasn’t going down so easily.
“Counter it with Quick Attack again!” Ash cried out, hoping Staravia had the strength to keep this up. And luck was on his side today, for Staravia did recover in time to stop itself from falling and suddenly change direction, heading straight for the charging Honchkrow. Perhaps it was Honchkrow’s good luck that allowed it to dodge that potential nasty collision; Staravia shot like a bullet past the Big Boss Pokémon. Ash was effectively stunned.
“We’re not falling for that twice,” Paul said flatly just before Honchkrow caught up with Staravia and slammed it viciously with Night Slash.
Staravia was thrown down straight into the ground, cracking it and skidding off some ways before finally stopping.
It was a tense and stressful battle to even watch, if Brock and Dawn’s reactions were evident.
“Wow, Honchkrow dodged Quick Attack,” Dawn said breathlessly; her eyes glued to the scene.
“This is not a good thing,” Brock told her. “If Quick Attack won’t work, Staravia hasn’t any other moves that can match Honchkrow’s speed.”
Staravia was down, but still had the ring. However, Honchkrow loomed over menacingly, and things were not boding well for Ash at all. Even Paul was a bit impressed with Honchkrow’s abilities today. He usually relied on Weavile for unbeatable speed; as far as standard Flying-types go, the Honchkrow species was on the lower end of the totem pole as far as speediness was concerned. Perhaps the long road to recovery inspired Honchkrow to put more effort than usual into this match, and for that, Paul was pleased.
Ash’s balloon lowered so he could properly communicate with his downed Pokémon. He knew in his heart that Staravia just wasn’t done yet in spite of how it looked.
“Show ‘em how strong you are, Staravia!” he shouted in desperation. Following Pikachu’s cries, Staravia opened an eye and twitched, regaining its ability to move. There wasn’t much left in the tank, but Staravia itself knew it couldn’t allow itself to quit and let Ash down again. It knew as well as the rest of Ash’s Pokémon how badly Paul got to him, especially after a fresh loss. Grotle was completely torn up for failing to win the last battle for Ash, and honestly, Staravia couldn’t blame it. The last thing it wanted to see was Ash’s hopes and dreams crushed once again by the rude and callous rival.
Said rival also descended on his balloon, leveling with Ash. “Pathetic,” he remarked. “Just how can he honestly think encouragement could do a thing?!”
That was something Paul truly hated about Ash; his ridiculous beliefs that included nonsense such as the idea that encouragement and undying faith can help one win in any scenario. Paul felt he knew that better than Ash ever could; after all, he was very familiar with this line of thought. It’s the very same that Reggie possessed back then when he was still a trainer, and to a degree, still holds today.
But Paul knew it was a flawed philosophy inside-out. Reggie’s loss to Brandon four years ago proved that to him well enough. He honestly didn’t care whether or not Ash suffered the same fate later on down the road, but Paul felt tormented by the avocation of it alone. Memories of the past haunted him… it was why Paul didn’t like being around Ash for too long. To him, Ash was merely another Reggie who hadn’t yet experienced his career-ending defeat… but Paul knew it was imminent. He didn’t know or care when, but was certain that was to be Ash’s ultimate fate.
And now, Paul was ready to show Ash a preview of that upcoming misery by defeating him once more. “Wrap it up with Sky Attack!”
It seemed to be the end. As Honchkrow charged up, the audience looked on with bated breath.
“Honchkrow mercilessly unleashes Sky Attack on a motionless Staravia!” Rhonda announced in a dramatic tone. “Is this it for Team Ash?!”
Ash growled in frustration upon hearing that, unwilling to let it end this way. Not after what happened last time… Ash was determined to save Staravia from the fate Grotle suffered at the hands of Honchkrow.
“YOU CAN DO IT, STARAVIA!!” Ash screamed out; what was always his last resort in encouraging his Pokémon.
And surprisingly, it worked. Staravia regained its strength and took to the air just before Honchkrow made contact with the severely weakened Pokémon. No one seemed to expect this.
Honchkrow looked up in confusion as Staravia, still with the ring tightly clenched with its beak, flew higher into the air and was suddenly consumed with an unusual, blinding glow.
“Oh man!” This wasn’t something Ash planned, but he had an idea of what it might be. Paul stared on silently as the entire audience witnessed a metamorphosis of sorts taking place. Staravia’s wings grew significantly larger, as did its tail feathers.
“Is that what I think it is?!” Dawn wondered out loud. Piplup was equally curious.
Brock smiled knowingly. “Staravia’s evolving!”
Indeed, the glowing figure of Staravia was transforming into something else entirely. Ash’s encouragement gave it the strength to will itself into an evolution. And suddenly, for a very good reason, Paul felt a bit of déjà vu. After all… it was in the middle of a battle when Grotle evolved, and against Honchkrow, no less. Paul was a little amused to see this sort of incident happen once more under his influence.
This was a familiar face for Paul to see once the evolution was complete… after all, his brother possessed one of the same species and it was a very valuable member of his team back in the day: Staraptor.
Ash’s Staraptor proudly sailed across the sky as the others marveled at the sight.
“Staravia evolved into Staraptor!” Ash said with awe, taking out his PokéDex to analyze his freshly-evolved Pokémon. The entry reported:
“Staraptor, the Predator Pokémon. Staraptor has an aggressive temperament, and will bravely detect enemies that are far bigger than itself.”
Staraptor showed off its aggression by growling fiercely at Honchkrow, who it was face-to-face with at this point.
Just because his opponent’s Pokémon evolved didn’t guarantee a win; Paul knew that very well. He pulled it off once, and knew he could do so again with ease if he just remained focused.
“Just stay calm!” Paul advised, showing nothing but disdain for Ash’s achievement. “Night Slash!”
Honchkrow knew to take this seriously; both wings now glowed rather than just one. It charged at Staraptor, but Ash felt rejuvenated with the excitement of Staraptor’s long-awaited evolution.
“Staraptor, dodge it now!” he yelled out, which Staraptor followed through with ease. It appeared Staraptor’s evolution really upped its overall speed, which would be difficult for the overworked Honchkrow to compensate for. And Honchkrow certainly did put all of its effort into its attack, slashing at the Predator Pokémon repeatedly with all its might, but Staraptor outmatched its foe at every twist and turn.
One brief pause in Staraptor’s movements to relish in its apparent victory was cut short when Honchkrow finally landed a hit, knocking the ring clear out of its beak. As it fell, Paul was quick to urge Honchkrow to pick up the slack and finish this match before Staraptor could overwhelm the competition.
“Get that ring!” Paul yelled, now unable to help feeling a bit anxious over this ordeal. It was definitely making his stomach flip-flop, but for now, he had no choice but to endure it.
“Grab that ring before Honchkrow!” Ash followed suit, matching Paul every step of the way now. Both birds rushed for the ring, neck-and-neck. As the two side-glanced at each other, a fight suddenly broke out. Simultaneously while approaching the ring, Honchkrow and Staraptor circled each other, exchanging blows in an attempt to throw the other off track.
It was quite distracting, but Paul figured Honchkrow had the right idea and decided to make Staraptor’s defeat a sure thing. “Night Slash!” he ordered in timely fashion, as Honchkrow landed a fierce hit with its foe in close range. The temporary stun Staraptor suffered after gave Honchkrow the time it needed to zip ahead, but it was hot on Honchkrow’s tail once it realized what was going on.
Thanks to Staraptor’s speed, it wasn’t long before the two Pokémon were once again neck-and-neck, and yet another brawl broke out in mid-descent. This time, however, Staraptor was bringing something different to the table: fierce kicks from its legs that landed particularly harshly upon the Big Boss Pokémon. This wasn’t something Ash had planned, as he looked on, rather dumbfounded at the new element added to the fight.
The audience too noticed the change, and Dawn was quick to point it out. “Look at that!”
Paul was taken aback by this. “What…?!”
“Staraptor knows Close Combat!” Dawn exclaimed, properly identifying the technique.
“Right!” Brock confirmed. “Close Combat’s a Fighting-type move, and it’s super-effective against Dark-types like Honchkrow!”
It helped that Close Combat itself was a fiercely powerful move, evident as Staraptor finished up with a devastating right hook from its wing, knocking Honchkrow silly. It fell back, awaiting further orders while Ash gushed at the fact that his Pokémon not only gained an evolution, but also a new move.
“That was so awesome, Staraptor!” Ash congratulated, overjoyed with the results even though the battle was not yet over. “You can use Close Combat!”
He pointed out to the field valiantly, remembering that there was still a ring that needed to be captured and secured into a goal. “Alright! Keep it up and get that ring!”
Staraptor agreed and resumed the battle, flying towards its objective. Paul was quick to react to this, determined to prevent Ash from coming out of this battle with all good news. “Honchkrow, get the ring first!” He was honestly running low on clever ideas at this point, running on pure desperation and refusal to lose to the Pallet Town trainer. He had gone this long undefeated by Ash, and wasn’t about to let that streak end here.
But try as it might, even as Honchkrow darted straight for the target, Staraptor easily made it to the ring first and headed its way towards the goal.
“Night Slash!” Paul called out as the chase resumed.
“Dodge it!” Ash instructed, which Staraptor again did with relative ease compared to how it fared against Honchkrow as a Staravia. Staraptor managed to loop around and end up right behind Honchkrow, leaving the latter wide open for an attack. Ash was keen on the details for once and took advantage of this. “Alright, use Brave Bird!”
The very move that Paul’s brother taught this Pokémon was working wonders for Staraptor’s performance. It was at this point in battle where Brave Bird came in handy, as though it also damaged the user; the end point of the battle usually nullified that drawback.
As Staraptor charged forth, bursting with energy, Paul knew it was wise not to ignore the potential of such a devastating move. “Sky Attack!”
Honchkrow whirled around, enveloped with energy as it came straight towards Staraptor. An explosive collision resulted in their clash, sending the ring out of Staraptor’s grasp and way out beyond the range of the explosion. It was heading straight towards the goal, and it was anyone’s game now; whoever could recover from that latest crash.
“Get that ring!!” both Paul and Ash cried simultaneously. As a result, Honchkrow and Staraptor burst forth from the smoke, with Honchkrow slightly ahead of the game.
This confused Dawn after seeing Staraptor easily run circles around Honchkrow. “So why is Staraptor lagging behind…?” she wondered.
“It must be from all the damage it took earlier,” Brock assumed. “Remember, Brave Bird damages the user as well as the target. Sky Attack doesn’t have a drawback like that… With everything that’s gone on in this battle, as long as it’s been dragged out, Staraptor’s probably reached its limit.”
“Then Ash and Staraptor are going to…?!” Dawn was too horrified to finish her sentence.
“It’s not over yet,” Brock calmly reminded her. “But the end is nigh.”
Rhonda seemed to notice that as well. “The ring is falling right near the goal! Whichever team grabs the ring first will be our big winner!”
Paul smirked, as it appeared to be obvious that Honchkrow would get it first. Staraptor was simply too tired to keep up at this point, and knew he had it in the bag. For all of the torment he’d gone through in the past month, the thought of putting Ash in his place as the “worthless trainer” he deemed the so-called rival to be was a huge relief. If nothing else, it proved to Paul that he himself remained a competent trainer.
But Ash was not satisfied with this. He was not going to throw in the towel just yet. He felt this was when Paul would get a little preview of his imminent comeuppance. This wasn’t a traditional battle and Ash knew that Paul likely wouldn’t count this battle regardless of which way it went, but that didn’t deter the Kanto trainer from giving it his all. If nothing else, it would prove that Paul was not the invincible trainer he made himself out to be.
“Ah, Staraptor! You can do it!” he yelled. “Get that ring and put it on the goal!!”
It wasn’t very much of a specific order, but Staraptor inherently seemed to know just how to win this match. With its last ounces of strength, Staraptor pushed itself right in Honchkrow’s personal space, extending a wing past the Big Boss Pokémon. Thanks to the evolution, Staraptor’s wings were long enough to smack the ring further away from Honchkrow. The ring went flying as a result.
It flew straight into the goal.
After a moment of silence, a roaring cheer emitted from the audience. The scoreboard confirmed it, and Rhonda did the same seconds later. “GOAL…!! And the winner is Team Ash!”
Upon hearing those words, Paul was overwhelmed with a deep, dark feeling in his gut. The adrenaline rush had worn off and consequently, Paul felt like a wreck. Not that this was a surprise…
After all, he had just lost. To Ash, of all people.
While time seemed to freeze in that moment of dread for Paul, Ash felt as if he were on top of the world.
“We did it, Staraptor!” Ash cheered. Pikachu called out to it in its congratulatory way before Staraptor flew over to its trainer, overjoyed that it succeeded in pulling off what seemed like a milestone for Ash.
Admittedly, Brock could not have predicted that it would end this way. And neither could Dawn, as she looked up at the winners with admiration. “I thought Staraptor would’ve used its feet instead of its wing to hit the goal!”
“Leave it to Ash to surprise you every time,” Brock remarked, joyous himself that this day would end on a happy note. “I hope he remembers this the next time he and Paul have a traditional battle.”
“You’re right,” Dawn agreed, nodding vigorously. “Paul may have a good strategy, but Ash is the one who surprises everybody!”
But Brock knew Paul would learn from this as well. This would be his warning sign; to step up, or soon face a real defeat by a trainer he despised. Such signs were taken seriously by Paul, if his past loss to Cynthia was any indication.
Honchkrow was already earthbound by the time Paul fully descended upon the balloon. He shook off his discomfort, hardening himself for any potential encounters as a result of his status as a runner-up. Not to mention Paul felt the need to scold Honchkrow for failing him twice in a row.
“We didn’t win because your reaction time was too slow,” Paul harshly criticized, humbling even the massively egotistical Honchkrow as it bowed its head in apology to its trainer. Paul disregarded it (as he often did) and recalled Honchkrow back into its Pokéball. Once he stored it away, Paul looked up to see Ash, Pikachu, and Staraptor all facing him on the other side of the field.
But with no interest whatsoever to speak with the winners most of all, Paul turned around to walk off before Ash could get a word in edgewise. Ash stared on without saying a thing; judging from Paul’s reaction, Ash wasn’t quite certain what to make of this victory. Like before, he figured since this wasn’t a real battle that Paul would quickly forget this event ever happened. Similar to the Hearthome Tag Battle, Paul did not have his heart in the PokéRinger competition; at least, not until it came down to the wire and Ash was getting the better of him.
However, even Ash figured Paul had no interest in the prizes to be won; the year’s worth of Pokémon food and the title of an honorary citizen of Squallville. Neither of those seemed to be up Paul’s alley, so Ash assumed the same as Brock: Paul only entered this to strengthen his Honchkrow. Once again, an encounter with Paul brought forth an evolution in Ash’s team. Every form of competition held a special place in Ash’s heart… and he figured in some way he should be thanking Paul for inadvertently strengthening his team.
In the end, though… Paul was simply a jerk. A jerk that needed to be taken down, Ash believed, by a caring and loving trainer such as himself. To open his eyes and let him see the error of his ways… that was an important goal of Ash’s he meant to achieve while he was in the Sinnoh region.
Then, Ash registered the screeches and cheering in his ears. He smiled ruefully, looking to his two Pokémon. This was a time to celebrate, he knew; not behave like Paul would have.
While the closing ceremonies were being set up, Rhonda noticed Paul, the runner-up, leaving the arena entirely. For the entire time since she had been announcing the competition, she couldn’t help but feel there was something familiar about that boy. He had a rather striking appearance… always hungry for a potential scoop, Rhonda made a mental note to research that young man. She knew the celebrities of Sinnoh liked to be reclusive, and Squallville was quite definitive of the word.
Did it seem desperate? Yes. But by this point in her career, it was evident that Rhonda had little shame to spare.
Several citizens across the Sinnoh region watched the live broadcast and were satisfied with the action that was brought by the contestants. As Ash was being handed his certificate and Pokémon food, reactions were being made… some different from others.
In a small settlement called Shelter Town, where the entire area was covered with a thick layer of snow, there were some amused remarks coming from the local diner; a simple establishment of a twenty-four hour, all-day breakfast diner that had been running for decades. The menus remained simple and straightforward throughout the years, and the usual customers were often truckers whom needed a place to recharge their energy to complete a long drive.
He wasn’t a trucker, but Brandon surely did more work than anyone else in the diner to get here. Additionally, thanks to his appearance, he blended right in with the crowd. Climbing and scaling the mountains by foot, Brandon inched ever-closer to Snowpoint City. He had been to this small town before, amused that it, unlike other Sinnoh locations, hadn’t changed a bit since he last came by. It was a welcome break from his adventure, and surely enough, there were people in the diner who recognized the Pyramid King, crowding around him as if they were attempting to resemble a posse of some sort. Brandon merely grinned and let them have their way. A small television was installed on the ceiling, often showing sports events to entertain the customers. Sure enough, what was just wrapping up was the PokéRinger competition.
Brandon had watched the entire thing. The second he saw his son on the screen, he was glued to his seat.
“Looks like your son didn’t win, Brandon,” one of the truckers slyly remarked. “He ain’t at your level yet, huh?”
Brandon bowed his head, speaking calmly. “He did very well to reach second place, but the kid needs a lot of work. It’s no surprise he didn’t win… I happen to know the winner as well.”
“You do?!” many of them shouted in unison; just as many in disbelief.
“I do,” Brandon assured with a nod. “Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town… one of the few trainers who can boast the accomplishment of conquering Kanto’s Battle Frontier.”
There were gapes all around.
“Yes,” he stiffly affirmed. “That means he has defeated even myself in the past. He turned down the opportunity to become a Frontier Brain in favor of pursuing this region’s riches and experiences. Can’t say I blame the kid, really.”
Brandon was very talented in hiding it, but he was rather giddy about seeing his son and Ash collide in battle. Just weeks ago when he was still in Kanto, he expressed an interest of seeing a rivalry between the two. He analyzed their expressions throughout the battle, coming to the conclusion that the two have indeed met before.
It just seemed all too perfect.
“So Brandon, is it true you’ve got legendary Pokémon on your team?” another trucker asked. “Because you know we wanna see ‘em, and if a kid like that can beat you, then maybe you’ve lost your touch, old-timer!”
The Frontier Brain’s eyes narrowed at the suggestion. “You believe that? It sounds like you want to battle me.”
“Hecks yeah I wanna battle!” the same trucker shouted. “Don’t we, guys?!”
The others hollered in agreement, prompting Brandon to stand up and head for the front door.
“Then let’s make it so,” Brandon offered, rather generously. He often refused traditional battles from strangers these days, but he felt if some Sinnoh citizens honestly felt that way about him that they must be shown otherwise. “A triple battle. Three of you step up to the plate and send out one of your best Pokémon against three of my best.”
There were various reactions to this challenge, most along the lines of “He’s crazy!” and variations of the saying. But eventually, three challengers emerged from the crowd, staring straight at Brandon with a strong competitive will.
Brandon nodded to the challengers and stepped outside. Following him was virtually every person in the diner, not about to miss on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity like this.
Just like it was obvious which three Pokémon Brandon sent out, the outcome of said impromptu battle was also fairly predictable.
In the end, Brandon left Shelter Town with a satisfied smirk on his face. At least one settlement in Sinnoh knew the Pyramid King still had it after all these years.
Paul was ready to leave Squallville like yesterday. He looked up expectantly at Doctor Dalton, wanting the test results and earning his freedom from this secluded village.
Dalton, however, was slightly hesitant about it, and for good reason. But he knew in his heart that this was the best he could do for the young man at this point.
“As promised,” he said softly, handing Paul a stapled batch of paper. “It’s up to you, what you want to do from here.”
Not-so-softly, Paul snatched the paper and carelessly stuffed it in his backpack, much like in the harsh manner that he stored away his father’s letter a month ago. “I’m leaving,” he said. “And that’s that.”
“Of course,” Dalton consented with a nod. “But you have our number now… if you have any questions…”
The doctor was startled when Paul quickly turned around and left the facility without even as much as a farewell. Once he was out of sight, Dalton turned away and sighed, muttering quietly.
“Oh, Miss Andrea… you were right. He is stubborn like you.”
Route 216 ended with Squallville. From now on, Paul would be reaching Snowpoint City via Route 217. It was bad enough that Paul was leaving Squallville when it was practically sundown already, but he couldn’t bear the place a minute longer. He was getting stares from every resident in town now that he made himself so prevalent in the PokéRinger contest. Word got around fast…
So close; Paul was so close to making it completely out of town, but of course, who would he run into but…
“Hey, Paul!”
Paul grunted, stopped, and turned around. The absolute last thing he wanted to do was talk to Ash. Especially after what happened… Paul would sooner take Conway back than be forced into this.
“What’d you think?” Ash eagerly asked him, still with Staraptor right behind him in addition to Pikachu on his shoulder. “Don’t you think it’s great? The Starly you didn’t care for evolved to a Staravia, and now into a powerful Staraptor!”
By then, Brock and Dawn had caught up with Ash. The whole gang was here to annoy Paul, it seemed. He shot forth an unwelcoming glare to all of them, showing the entire group that he simply wasn’t in the mood to toy with them today; especially not after he lost.
Paul closed his eyes and turned away from the others, only generous enough to give them one remark on the matter, which happened to double as his farewell: “It sure took you long enough.”
At least it was a valid statement to make; in Paul’s eyes, anyway. Ash had that Pokémon as a Starly since they first met in Sinnoh, which was several months ago. It seemed to quickly move on to the Staravia form, but took an eternity to reach its final form. By comparison, Paul remembered Reggie’s Staraptor; the first Pokémon Reggie captured after receiving his Chimchar, which of course was a Starly at first. Paul wasn’t with Reggie for most of his Sinnoh journey, but it was somewhere midway into it that Reggie’s Staravia became Staraptor. Here near the end part of the journey was Ash’s Staravia now only doing the same.
Ash may have reminded Paul of Reggie in many ways, but in other areas, the two were very different. Even in spite of the loss Paul just suffered, he did not consider Ash a competent trainer in the least. Reggie, on the other hand, Paul always saw as competent back in the day… before he gave it up.
As Paul left Ash and the others in the dust while walking briskly towards the main path to Route 217, Ash and the others stared on.
“Long enough…?” Ash muttered, stepping forward after absorbing his rival’s scathing remark. “Hold on a minute, Paul…!”
There was no response; Paul merely walked on.
“PAUL!!”
Even at Ash’s loudest, he couldn’t seem to get Paul’s attention. He stepped back to where he was, gritting his teeth in frustration. He was hoping to get more than that before they parted, but had a feeling that was a loaded request for fate to follow through with.
“He hasn’t changed,” Dawn complained, clearly disappointed. She had different, more unrealistic views on this matter entirely, which wouldn’t really surprise anyone.
“Hey, that’s Paul for you,” Brock said with a defeated, yet lighthearted tone.
Dawn looked ahead towards Ash, very confident. “Well, I know Ash will do great at the next Gym!” she assured. Indeed, they were headed for the very same Gym Paul was: Snowpoint’s. There was a great possibility that the two young men would meet again soon.
“You bet, Dawn!” Ash agreed, forming a determined fist. He looked to his fully-evolved Pokémon. “And now we’ve got Staraptor! Let’s keep this up and win at the Snowpoint Gym!”
Staraptor fully agreed. This was a refreshing turnabout for Ash and the gang. Even if Paul refused to change in spite of a technical loss in a match, Ash wouldn’t declare his victory was for naught. He wanted it for himself just as much as he wanted to prove a point to Paul; and that was where Paul fell short. One competitor put his heart into the fight while the other didn’t.
That other, Paul, was saving his heart for a battle that actually mattered to him. As he hiked his way through the mountainous range towards Snowpoint City, soon coming back into the frosty tundra, Paul could feel that his father was somewhere nearby. And he remembered the short and sour words he shared with Brandon just before he departed from Veilstone City:
“It’s going to be soon. We’re basically going the same way. You for Regigigas; myself for a Gym Battle. It’s inevitable. But I’ll be coming prepared. Don’t be surprised when I completely annihilate you.”
He wasn’t just coming up all this way through a dangerous, freezing mountain range to defeat Candice the Gym Leader. Paul had a score to settle with his old man, and he knew he wasn’t ready yet if he was able to lose to somebody like Ash.
Paul claimed he would be prepared. Now he actually had to reach that point.
He suddenly stopped, growling as something had just then hit him:
If he had just kept Conway with him for a few more days, he would have been rid of him easily. Dawn was surely there along with Brock, and Conway would have instantly agreed to part with Paul from there. If only he were a little more accepting… perhaps Paul wouldn’t have been trapped in that poor excuse for a hospital, either.
Additionally… Honchkrow had learned the move Sucker Punch at the Plumeria Contest. Paul forbade Honchkrow from using that move ever again, wanting to remove all reminders of Conway from himself and his team. A move like that could have won Paul the competition, as the move was similar in execution to the way Ash used his Staraptor to win the match. Pushing the ring away constantly would have given Paul such an edge…
Paul honestly felt he was being toyed with at this point. He wasn’t sure which stay was worse for him; Plumeria Town’s or Squallville’s. Either way, he was dead-set headed for Snowpoint City next. He didn’t care if he was forced to camp out in the snow; he didn’t want to know what horrors would await him in the next town in between.
Much as he wanted to brush off that minor loss against Ash, Paul couldn’t help but wonder… was he on a losing streak now, if he counted the Plumeria Contest?
Paul’s natural response at this point would be “What contest?” As far as he was concerned, it didn’t happen… and neither did today, for that matter.
Surely, surely… it couldn’t get worse from here.
And yet, in so many ways… it would, and not necessarily just for Paul.
( TBC )
Just a two-month gap this time! Whew. Gotta admit, this one's a little boring and a sour note to end the year with, but you gotta do what you can! My birthday's a little under a month from now, so I'll see if I can't whip up a new chapter before then, huh? Next one's where all the fun stuff stirs up. Hang in there!
Whenever there was a blizzard about, Route 216 was no place to lose your mode of transportation. It was a harsh lesson for Galactic Commander Mars, but it was a small way of reaping what she sowed. The mission didn’t go exactly as planned, but she was fortunate enough to accomplish the most important part of the mission: obtain the extraordinarily rare Uxie book. Saturn, the one who sent her out to get it, explicitly stated that everything was expendable but that book. Now in Team Galactic’s possession, Mars was sure to get her secret underground pizza party, at least.
On the downside, she and the small group of grunts that accompanied her were forced to trek through the snow all the way back to headquarters after their helicopter was no longer operational. Mars was far too angry with the inconveniences now to even think about how or why the rogue Honchkrow and Gliscor randomly decided to attack and nearly kill her and the others. All that was on her mind was that delicious, warm pizza that awaited her some amount of miles away… provided Saturn didn’t screw anything up, at least. She knew such a celebration went against everything her leader, Cyrus, stood for, but even the ever-dedicated Mars could no longer stand the hunger pangs. For all the work she did, for the sacrifices she made… by god, she knew she deserved all the pizza she wanted.
“Commander, we technically failed our mission, did we not?” one of the male grunts spoke up. “We obtained the book, but lost the boy… in addition to that, we lost quite an expensive helicopter. Are we going to be punished and not receive our pizza after all…?”
The other two grunts cringed and looked away, minding their own business. The one who spoke was somewhat a newer recruit and had this unfortunate incident as his first time working with a Commander in a mission. He was soon to learn that irritating a freezing, determined Mars was a bad idea.
“Oh, we’re getting that pizza!” she barked back, glaring at the grunt who asked. “All of this was Saturn’s idea, anyway! If anyone’s paying for the lost helicopter, it’s him! He’s the jerk with all the money, anyway!”
“But aren’t you below Commander Saturn, in a way?” the grunt stupidly asked. “I mean, I’ve reviewed all this… he could hold us all liable and cut away our pizza if he had to pay for the helicopter, yes? Not to mention we inadvertently killed his cousin…”
Mars growled, hating being reminded of that. It wasn’t for her lack of trying that Conway was lost; he was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. All the same, Mars gave herself a pat on the back for sucking up her pride and working with him quickly to secure the Uxie book. Had she held back, both he and book would have been lost by now. She and the other grunts would have to spend the whole night on that frozen route trying to find a corpse rather than steadily making their way home.
“We didn’t kill his dorky cousin!” Mars spat. “It was those two Pokémon! If they hadn’t attacked the helicopter, we all would’ve been back to headquarters by now! And I’m definitely not letting Saturn get the upper-hand on this; it’s still his mess and he has to clean it up. So do us all favor and shut it, Eggers.”
“It’s, uh… Edwin,” the grunt nervously corrected. His fellow coworkers were making gestures instructing him to shut his mouth, but he was oblivious to them. “You have to admit they’re valid points, Commander. How are you going to break the news to Commander Saturn? He might stop ordering pizza… I mean, there’s the option of waiting until he’s finished ordering, but the Commander will obviously be wondering of his cousin’s whereabouts before then. What kind of excuse can you make?”
In spite of feeling so cold, Mars was quickly reaching her boiling point. “Shut up…”
“You have a plan, right?” Edwin asked her, almost pleadingly. “We aren’t all going to get fired, are we?”
“Shut up…”
“Because I would hate to miss that pizza part-…”
She couldn’t take it anymore. He might as well have been asking her “Are we there yet?” over and over again.
Mars stopped, prompting the grunts to stop; all three of them looked nervous before their higher-up, who turned around and glared at the motor-mouth. She narrowed her eyes. “That’s it; you’re officially uninvited to the party. You show your face and I’ll have security lock you in the dumpster.”
She whipped out a pen and a notepad seemingly out of nowhere. “Now, what was your name again?”
Edwin paused before looking to the two coworkers between him. He gulped before finally realizing his situation and wised up. “Eh-… Eggers, ma’am.”
Mars smirked and jotted that name down, then turned her back to her grunts and resumed walking. “Alright then, Eggers. You’ve just been written up for insubordination.” She chuckled to herself. “So no pizza for you… now let’s get moving! I’m not about to spend the night out here.”
Edwin sighed a breath of relief quietly as his coworkers gave him a thumbs up for the quick thinking. The small group continued their way down the route through the night in hopes of reaching their much warmer home base before Saturn started sending out search parties.
So Paul decided to go it alone after all.
It had only been a few hours since the trainer parted from Conway, whom he had been with every day for nearly a month until this point. Since that fateful encounter on the way to Canalave City, the grump and the geek had been a traveling pair with a fair bit of success since coming together. Even in spite of Paul’s mishaps in the form of a severe cold, later followed by a near-brush with death after falling off a cliff and intensive physical rehabilitation, he still ended up with a Mine Badge on his first try. Conway had even greater success, not only earning the Cobble Badge (the first badge he had ever won since becoming a trainer), but the Plumeria Ribbon as well… also a first.
Perhaps it wasn’t directly Conway’s doing, but Paul even managed to have a personal encounter with his father for the first time in four years – since the day his brother Reggie decided to retire as a trainer after failing to conquer the Kanto Battle Frontier. It had been quite an eventful month, all culminating when Paul would finally reach Snowpoint City, defeat Candice, and earn the Icicle Badge. Then, only one badge remained standing between Paul and the Sinnoh League Conference.
But even without what had just happened to him, Paul wasn’t going to make it to Snowpoint City tonight. Very few trainers ever traveled to that location due to its remoteness and high level of inconvenience and potential danger. But those risks were what attracted Paul to that location in the first place. Ever since he was young, Paul was one who enjoyed pushing the envelope. It always helped him feel alive… and that was probably why so many other so-called “normal” activities bored him. If Paul wasn’t so well aware that knowledge was another form of power, reading likely would have bored him as well.
Really, Paul had reasons for his superiority complex over most trainers. Not only did he read up on Pokémon battling and Pokémon itself during his free time on a frequent basis, but Paul had absorbed so much of the world’s culture and Pokémon experiences through traveling with his brother before starting his own journey. After Andrea passed away and Brandon relocated to Kanto, Reggie had no choice but to take Paul along with him for the rest of his journey until Paul himself was old enough to embark on his own adventure.
Due to this, Paul had already technically experienced the wonders of Kanto, Johto, and Hoenn well before his journey officially started. Since Reggie had almost completed his Sinnoh adventure before his mother’s death, Paul hadn’t actually fully experienced his own region, ironically enough. But Paul figured he had an edge over many other trainers due to his abundance of exposure at his age, and for the most part, that proved to be true. The Veilstone City trainer was undeniably wise beyond his years, even though he lacked compassion. The truth was, having learned from his past, Paul was extremely goal-oriented. He had no problem following the rules for the most part, but when push came to shove, he would easily do whatever it took to win if he knew he could get away with it.
And now, Paul realized his partnership with Conway had been a mistake all along. He was ashamed of himself for becoming so “weak”, but that was hardly his first concern right now. Paul honestly had not been feeling right all day long… even before leaving Plumeria Town.
He had actually passed out without meaning to during the Contest. The one time he actually wanted to watch a battle of Conway’s, Paul slept straight through it. Beyond his strange feelings that almost resembled attachment to Conway, the only other oddity in Paul’s condition was his fatigue.
It was more understandable at this point; he had practically run a marathon trying to save Conway, and was rewarded with an extremely heavy weight crushing his ribs. He knew one of them had to be cracked or broken; possibly dislodged, even. Paul knew he shouldn’t have yelled at Conway; not because it was extremely insensitive, but because it only aggravated his injury. For all this time since parting with his former travel mate, Paul periodically coughed up small amounts of blood. This wasn’t normal… and with Honchkrow and Gliscor severely injured during their rampage on Team Galactic’s helicopter, Paul knew he had to reach Squallville before even thinking about resting.
The young trainer felt some relief when the temperature seemed to warm up a bit. It was still quite windy, but that only meant Paul was on the right track. He had finally crossed the snowy terrain and reached a rocky mountain path. Feeling weighed down with fatigue as it was, Paul stuffed away his heavy coat into his backpack before continuing on.
Honestly, Paul came very close to ditching the coat. Every time he looked at it, he thought of Conway. Conway was the one who purchased it for him, after all. Right now, though… Paul only wanted to settle in and fall into a nice, warm bed.
The sudden, strong gusts of wind did not affect Paul at all while he came to a corner and finally spotted a small settlement nestled between the canyons. He knew this had to be Squallville… at last. With any luck, this would be Paul’s last stop until Snowpoint City, and Paul was very eager to get this over with as soon as possible.
It was quite late at night when he entered town. Nobody was out and about and most residences and businesses had their lights out, unavailable until morning. Only the sound of the wind was heard throughout Squallville, and it was music to Paul’s ears. He felt a little more at ease when noticing the clouds receding in the sky, letting the moon shine down over him. No nasty weather to worry about, and it was easier to see.
His first stop was the Pokémon Center; open at all hours as always. A Nurse Joy with a tan-colored cross on her hat appeared to be the one running the facility. Business was often slow this time of day, so the nurse smiled and bowed to greet her new visitor.
“Welcome to the Squallville Pokémon Center!” Nurse Joy said with enthusiasm. “How may I help you tonight, sir?”
Paul stiffly approached the front desk and offered her two Pokéballs. “My Gliscor and Honchkrow were injured on the way here.”
Nurse Joy nodded, accepting each Pokéball and handing them to her partner, Chansey. The Egg Pokémon, in “uniform” like other Chansey whom belong to a Nurse Joy, went through the motions and carted off the patients. “Your Pokémon are in good hands. Would you like to wait here, or-…”
The young woman paused as she noticed something. “Young man, what happened to your hand?”
That gash… the injury Paul sustained from Mars’ Purugly just a short while ago. Paul had almost completely forgotten about it due to the much more painful injuries he suffered afterward. Not wanting to make an issue of this, Paul closed his eyes and looked away, huffing.
“Just a small accident,” he said. “It’ll heal.”
Unconvinced, Nurse Joy shook her head. “It will need to be disinfected and wrapped to do so properly and…” She gasped. “My goodness, did you fall?! Those blood stains on your pants…!”
Paul’s mind must have been clouded with fatigue to forget the evidence of his coughing up blood. Most of the stains ended up on the heavy coat which Paul had stashed away, but some of it also hit his pants… and his pants weren’t dark enough to completely hide those dark blotches that showed up especially well under the Pokémon Center’s fluorescent lighting.
“Only a little,” Paul lied, hating to make a big deal out of this. He really just wanted to go to bed already and forget this day ever happened. “I just-…”
And Paul’s own body betrayed his desires, as the young man spontaneously started to cough once more. His hand didn’t reach his mouth in time, leaving Nurse Joy to witness a nasty gob of redness hit the tiled floor. There was nothing he could say to calm Nurse Joy now. He stared, his eyes looking empty, at the splattered blood while the woman started to panic.
“Oh no…!” she wailed. “And most of the clinics are closed for the night… I’d better call one in…”
“N-no, no,” Paul weakly begged. “Just direct me to the nearest hotel, and…”
Nurse Joy shook her head as she approached the nearest phone. “Sit down, young man! I know who to call in these situations, so please be compliant, mister-…” She briefly paused and calmed down, looking to her ailing customer. “I’m sorry; what’s your name?”
“Paul,” he said with a sigh as he slumped into the closest chair he could find. He had no real way to escape this now that Honchkrow and Gliscor were secured within the center, anyway. Now that his adrenaline rush from earlier had long since dissipated and he reached his destination after hours of walking, Paul felt he could crash then and there. But he knew that would be a bad idea, considering how much this Nurse Joy overreacted just by seeing him injured.
Looking serious, Nurse Joy began dialing for a doctor. “And who is your next of kin, Paul? How can I contact them…?”
Upon receiving no response, the pink-haired nurse found that Paul had lost consciousness.
“Your father… your brother…
… please tell them…”
With a loud gasp, Paul sat straight up from his slumber, eyes widened. He immediately regretted it. His chest was in a great deal of pain, the bright lights nearly blinded him…
Where was he, anyway?
“Well, aren’t you full of surprises,” an amused male voice remarked. That tone was way too familiar for comfort as far as Paul was concerned. Forcing himself to adjust to the lighting, he turned to the direction of the voice.
“Conway…?” he whispered in disbelief.
There was a warm chuckle before a response. There were familiar glasses, but the hair was a rusty blue with graying sideburns. It was rather all over the place and the man in question sported a complimenting, short-medium beard. He was quite tall… not exactly muscular, but not flabby and obese, either. Perhaps somewhat portly, but it was no oddity for a man of his apparent age.
“Perhaps it’s a coincidence,” he muttered quietly to himself before looking back to Paul. “Doctor Dalton, at your service. It seems you’ve run into a bit of trouble last night, Paul.”
“Last night…?” Paul murmured before looking to a nearby window, indeed seeing the sun rising. “Wait, so I’m at…?”
The doctor nodded. “You passed out at the Pokémon Center; Nurse Joy gave me all the details. I came as quickly as I could, and as of right now, you are at Squallville’s finest medical facility… well, the only one, really, but it sounds better to call it the finest, don’t you think?”
Paul looked down and frowned. He realized he was no longer wearing his regular outfit, but rather a typical thin shirt most in-patients would wear. Was he really that bad off…? “There was no need for all this…”
“On the contrary, things would be much worse for you right now had you not come to our attention,” Dalton corrected, wagging a finger. “I don’t suppose you remember how or why your hand was injured the way it was, or how you’ve ended up with a cracked rib?”
Paul’s expressions darkened upon hearing the confirmation. Conway’s fall cracked one of his ribs. He was coughing up blood ever since. But more than anything… it was that red-headed woman, Mars’ fault for the initial assault leading up to that event. Paul wouldn’t let himself forget that.
“It doesn’t matter,” Paul muttered. “Not how it happened or anything… tell me how long it’ll take to heal. I’m in a hurry.”
“I can tell you this: rushing won’t be of any help at all,” Dalton advised, though his tone was gentle and soothing. “And really, I would prefer that you stick around for a few days, Paul. In addition to the hand and the ribs, we took your temperature and you’ve got quite the fever right now.”
It was hard for Paul not to grimace at that news. Again, he was rendered ill. Never before had Paul run into such bad luck so many consecutive times.
“You showed signs of hallucination in your sleep,” Dalton added, going through his notes. “But the biggest concern is the regurgitation of blood.”
Now Paul looked worried, just as he slapped his good hand over his mouth after a sudden hiccup. After removing his hand, he was not at all pleased to find it covered in blood. A small amount managed to trickle down the side of his mouth as well.
“This…” Paul struggled to understand his situation. “It’s just because of the cracked rib, right?”
“This is why we would like you to rest here for a while,” Dalton softly explained. “From the looks of things, you’re long overdue for a check-up as it is, but if you cooperate with us, we’ll quickly find out what exactly ails you.”
That wasn’t exactly the answer Paul wanted. “I haven’t bothered with check-ups because I’ve been moving from region to region almost constantly for the last seven years,” he brought up, which was an accurate number combining the journey he went on with Reggie that almost immediately segued into his own individual journey that he was still on presently. “And what do you mean you’ll find out what’s ailing me? It’s obviously my rib!”
To that, Dalton somberly shook his head. “Cracked ribs don’t cause fevers,” he said. “And unless a bone fragment somehow tore its way into your lungs, then it doesn’t explain why you’re coughing up blood, either. Unfortunately, only pain medication and extreme caution is the cure for your ribs. For everything else, we need to confirm the cause before we can treat you properly.”
Paul did assume the cracked rib was the sole cause to his issue with the blood, especially since it only started up moments after Conway fell on him. Obviously, he didn’t believe for a second that it was the cause of his fever. Still, he sighed, knowing there was no use fighting this when it would only result in a disadvantage for him. From now on, he wanted to reach Snowpoint City with no further incidents plaguing him. If this was the price he had to pay, Paul was willing to spare what little patience he had.
“There is something I would like to ask you, though,” Dalton told his patient, causing the latter to look up and give the doctor his full attention. “When was the last time you had a fever?”
“Uh…” Paul was hesitant to admit the truth, but figured lying wouldn’t really get him anywhere. “About two weeks ago.”
The doctor’s eyebrows rose upon hearing that. “Oh… that recent? Do you recall the time before that, then…?”
Thinking back on it, Paul had gotten sick quite frequently in a short amount of time. It disturbed him to realize that. “Ah… two weeks before that, so… a month ago, roughly.”
Dalton paused before saying another word. He jotted down some notes before looking back over to Paul. “I… see. How long were you ill on both occasions?”
“A month ago, I had a fever for…” Paul took a moment to recall the past events. “Four days, I think. After that, the second time… ah, I think it was ten days?”
“Ten days?” Dalton sounded almost horrified. “Are there… any specific symptoms you recall that have carried on to this bout?”
The doctor’s tone was not the least bit comforting for Paul, but he did as he was asked in spite of his newfound shakiness. “Let’s see, ah… mind you, last time I had a number of other problems at the time due to falling off a cliff some ways south of here. So I had hit my head, had hypothermia, frostbite…”
“And that’s obviously not the case this time, it seems like…?” Dalton cautiously assumed.
“Of course not!” Paul shuddered to think of going through that again. No matter his reasoning, Paul had gradually come to accept that his initial attempt to start off on this journey up north by himself was foolish and something to be sure not to repeat in the future.
Especially not now; there would be no Conway to bail him out a second time.
Just then, a nurse quietly opened the door and slightly stepped in. It was a woman, but not Nurse Joy this time.
“Doctor, the test results have been printed out,” she quietly informed. “Would you like to see them now, or is this a bad time…?”
“Perfect timing, actually,” Dalton assured, getting up from his seat. “I’d prefer to go over the readings outside, however.”
Paul was alarmed by the implications. “Why can’t you read them here? They’re not my test results, are they?” And soon, Paul realized what he had just said as Dalton wordlessly walked past him. “Hey…! I didn’t authorize you to test me yet! What do you think you’re doing?!”
Dalton simply smiled and nodded to Paul. “I’ll be back with you in a sec, Paul! Please be patient!”
Before Paul could get another word out, the door was shut. He was now left alone to wonder what was really going on. The doctor’s reactions to his answers left the young trainer rather unsettled. But it wasn’t long before Paul suffered another incident of blood coming up where it shouldn’t normally; that did well enough to distract him as the doctor went over a series of print-outs. His expressions darkened as his eyes skimmed across as certain page.
“Nurse, the highlighter…?” he requested simply, expecting the nurse still nearby to understand. Unsurprisingly, she did and fulfilled said request.
She seemed rather disheartened as she watched Dalton highlight various parts of that certain page. “So, your fears are confirmed…?”
Dalton paused before continuing. “Not confirmed as of yet,” he admitted. “But at this rate, there could be a confirmation within the next batch of results. The evidence is growing stronger; there’s no way to brush this off as a mere coincidence any longer…”
“Pardon if I’m overstepping my boundaries, but isn’t it standard protocol to have the patient’s consent before performing these tests?” the nurse asked innocently. “How were you able to do this so early?”
With a tired sigh, Dalton shook his head. “Last night, that kid looked so familiar… upon confirmation of his identity, I realized I worked a case on this kid’s family years ago. I was unable to help his mother, who had been sick her entire life. The widowed father went on to become very famous afterwards, and their physical resemblances are uncanny.”
“So there is a connection to a past case of yours,” the nurse realized. “But if your primary case was the late mother, then why draw conclusions about the child?”
“It’s quite simple,” Dalton said quietly. “His behavior early on in his life was similar to that of his mother’s around the time she was diagnosed decades ago. Even she herself expressed her concerns about this to me confidentially. She was unable to tell whether or not it was definite on her own, but one thing I’ll always remember is that she wanted to keep a low profile on that particular investigation at the risk of upsetting the father and older brother.”
The nurse nodded in understanding. “But the afflicted son himself…?”
“She said nothing,” the doctor sadly informed. “I believe she meant for it to be that way. She had known for a long time then of the severity of her own illness; since she was a child like he is now. If we could confirm the diagnosis, the two of us would have helped him through what would surely become a rough life afterwards. I attempted to maintain contact with the family, but the father seemed to almost completely cut ties with the outside world. My own family had something of a crisis that ate up my attention around that time, and once I finally reached their house, I realized everyone had left. I assumed that… due to the circumstances, knowing who their father became, that both moved to live in the Kanto region with him after the older brother finished with the Sinnoh League. I had no idea the two brothers had been still living in this region the entire time without their father.”
“That seems odd,” the nurse noted. “That they would choose to remain in Sinnoh and be separated from their father…”
Dalton sighed, apparently agreeing. “If the next test results come out positive, the question as to whether or not that young man inherited his mother’s illness will have a definitive answer. At that point… comes the difficult decision when it comes to breaking the news.”
“If he and his brother are still living in Sinnoh, that means you should be able to reach the elder one,” the nurse pointed out. “Perhaps within their house is the mother’s last will and testament… surely that will be the solution in regards to… who to tell.”
“That boy is an impatient one,” Dalton grumbled. “There’s no way I will be able to keep him here long enough to get those results. Perhaps to scan him if it’s done today, but he’ll certainly try to escape once he’s healed up.”
“Hm…” The nurse walked over to a nearby billboard, staring at what had been pinned up there before finding what she was looking for. “We can find a way to at least keep him in Squallville for as long as we need.”
She handed Dalton the paper. “Show that to him. Perhaps that will keep him around long enough for our test results to come in. We’ll contact whoever we can in regards to his mother’s will so we’ll know who to inform in a worst-case scenario.”
The lenses of the doctor’s glasses shined as he smiled. “Brilliant. I’ll show him right now. Nurse, prepare the machine for the scan. If we can confirm the diagnosis, I’ll have another chance to do what others couldn’t for four decades… find the cure.”
Paul was beginning to hate beds. He’d been confined to them so many times lately that he was frankly quite sick of them. The young trainer was in far too much pain to resort to drastic measures at this point. He settled for doing one of his least-favorite activities: waiting.
The tiny slice of patience was rewarded when Dalton re-entered the room, cheerful and casual as ever. “Still in pain, I take it?”
“Where were you?” Paul spat, quite irate with this doctor. “I never agreed to any sort of test. So I have a cracked rib; big deal. So I have a fever for the third time this month… maybe it’s just allergies. The point is, you’re going too far.”
Dalton shook his head as he started to set up a small tray for Paul. “You have strange symptoms and you’re overdue for a check-up; I’m certain your family would be thanking me.”
Paul raised an eyebrow at that response. “You talk as if I’m diseased or something.”
… And Paul was right on the money about that. Dalton couldn’t help but be startled before setting a glass of water with a few small pills beside it for Paul’s consumption.
“If you’re tired of the chest pain, medication’s your only option,” the doctor informed Paul, completely ignoring his last statement. “It’ll relax you and make the recovery much less miserable. There is one final scan we would like to perform on you before you leave, Paul…”
“Uh, hello? Are you ignoring me on purpose?” Paul interrupted, though he did take his medication. Whether or not it was a trap, the pain was becoming too much for even Paul to bear. Anything that would dampen down that annoyance was welcome for the irritable young man. “I never agreed to any sort of test, and I’m certainly not agreeing to it now!”
“I assure you, this scan is absolutely harmless,” Dalton promised. “The problem is that it may take a day or two for the results to become available, and I understand you’re in a hurry…”
Paul folded his arms, nodding indignantly. “Yeah, no. I’m not waiting for that. I’ve had enough delays in my journey as it is; I’m not letting you add on to it.”
“You should know that Squallville is hosting a competition soon,” the doctor mentioned, handing Paul the flier the nurse had found for him. “From what Nurse Joy told me, your Honchkrow especially seemed to be in rather bad shape when you brought it in last night.”
It was hard for Paul to understand what exactly this doctor was getting at, but he sighed and decided to humor him. “You want me to enter the competition while I wait for results on a test I never consented to?”
“Someday soon, I’ll explain everything,” Dalton promised. “Let’s just say I realized how much of a spitting image you are of your father.”
Upon hearing that, Paul growled lowly and rolled his eyes. He hated constantly being compared to Brandon.
“And I in fact was your family doctor many years ago before your mother passed on,” he continued. “I assumed you all had moved to Kanto afterwards, so your presence here surprises me. But having taken care of your family in the past… let’s just say I feel indebted to you. That’s why I insist that you comply.”
The explanation calmed Paul a bit, now knowing that at least he wasn’t in the hands of a total stranger. However… “I don’t remember you at all, though.”
“You were very young when your mother passed on,” Dalton recalled. “The entire family just seemed to disappear in an instant. I’ve since moved here since those seven years, so it is a rather amusing chance encounter, is it not?”
Suddenly, Paul felt tired. Very tired. It had become apparent that one of the pills Paul had taken was a sedative. Dalton smirked when he received no response, turning around to see Paul had quickly succumbed to the drug. With no further resistance, the doctor was able to quickly proceed with the test that would determine Paul’s fate within a couple of days.
It turned out the competition being held in Squallville was none other than their annual PokéRinger tournament: the sustained high winds in the area made it a perfect aerial arena for Flying-type Pokémon to show of their prowess. For a small dwelling like Squallville, this was touted as a major event and was considered the high point of their tourist season. Paul wouldn’t have known it from how empty the town was when he arrived there so late the other night ago, but needless to say he was rather startled by the contrast when he got a proper look at Squallville during the daytime after he was released by the hospital.
For such a humble location, Squallville was abuzz with trainers coming in from all directions of Sinnoh. In spite of his distaste for such crowded atmospheres, Paul was relieved to be outside again, away from the doctors and concerned brother pestering him over the phone (as the Nurse Joy of Plumeria Town was at least kind enough to give Reggie the location of where Paul was next headed). As far as the latter was concerned, however, the call didn’t last long. The last thing Paul wanted to talk about was the Plumeria Contest and managed to completely avoid the topic of Conway with a clever lie about him being away shopping.
Paul wasn’t sure just how he was going to deal with Reggie if he were to find out what really happened between the former duo. Until such a time, though, Paul had no problem using every lie he could think up to cover his own butt. At the doctor’s request (and Paul hated to worry Reggie anyway), Paul completely left out the details of his stay at the hospital. The doctor had his own plans for how to involve Reggie, but Paul was completely unaware of them.
Truly, the only real reason Paul consented to participating in the PokéRinger competition was to get his mind off Conway and the Plumeria Contest that still remained fresh in his mind. Thinking about Snowpoint City only made Paul anxious, which was torture since he was being forced to stay in Squallville until his test results came in. He figured if Honchkrow could lose to Conway that it could easily lose in its scheduled battle with Candice as well, so Paul decided Honchkrow needed all of the relevant training it could get before he reached the Gym. After all, in spite of being Flying-typed, speed was not the Big Boss Pokémon’s forte. Due to the nature of the PokéRinger competition, Paul knew this would be adequate training to make up for his few days of downtime at the hospital.
Dalton promised that he would have the results ready by the end of the day, which was conveniently around the time the PokéRinger competition would be wrapping up. Honestly, Paul didn’t have his heart in these small-time events, and therefore had nothing to lose by participating. As long as his Pokémon grew stronger and learned something along the way, Paul would be satisfied.
He had heard much gossip about the man who reigned as the PokéRinger champion for the past four years, Provo. Not so much about the man himself, but more about his fiercely competitive Dragonite. The species itself could be a serious adversary in any form of competition, just as most Dragon-types were. Paul knew if he could get his Honchkrow to defeat something like that, he would surely be ready for anything Candice would throw at him. There hadn’t been many opportunities to get in much practice, but Paul had participated in such a competition before in other regions… and had come out as the winner, in fact. What mattered was that Honchkrow was fully healed from the wounds sustained from the battle with Team Galactic and was ready to compete.
The festivities were quickly getting underway, meaning Paul only took a scant few minutes to observe his surroundings before taking his seat at the very back of the waiting room with the other competitors. While he was thankful to not be forced into a tense conversation struck up by a chatty stranger, there was a stranger sitting in the front row that had caught Paul’s eye. Dark hair, a bold red cap, the navy blue vest and white t-shirt…
Just the sight made Paul feel ill. He had joined this competition to get his mind off a major annoyance in his life, only to be met by another one in his attempt to do so. Paul felt as if he had already lost… had he not taken medication that controlled his coughing, he almost certainly would have vomited blood at this point. He grasped his forehead, trying to resist the sudden bout of dizziness that came about. Paul wasn’t even paying attention to the screen everyone else was observing, which featured Rhonda of Sinnoh Now hosting the opening ceremonies. That is, until a shrill voice filled the room and shocked everyone…
“IF YOU DON’T START PAYING ATTENTION, YOU’LL BE SLEEPING ON THE UNEMPLOYMENT LINE!!”
Paul looked up, gawking like everyone else in the room at Rhonda’s sudden outburst. This woman was annoying enough to listen to during the weather reports. Right here she was showing some strong signs of bipolarity.
A hushed “Rhonda, we’re still rolling tape…” from the camera man was faintly heard, quickly getting the anchorwoman’s attention as she stopped harassing Jack, the boom operator who had accidentally dropped the boom on Rhonda’s head moments earlier… and this was hardly his first offense. She quickly, almost professionally shook off the mishap and turned around, resuming her duties on the live feed.
“And today’s PokéRinger competition will be single elimination!” she continued, trying her best to pretend that little candid camera moment never happened. “The team who wins all their matches is the winner! So let’s get this underway!”
The screen switched to a pan shot of the digital scoreboard.
“The Squallville PokéRinger competition’s first match is…”
Two images appeared on the screen, featuring the portrait shots of two boys… one very familiar, as Paul resisted his urge to growl in frustration.
“Team Ash versus Team Taylor!”
“Great; first match!” Paul heard Ash happily react, which further grated his nerves. It was quite a downer for Paul to realize his entire plan to move on from his past incident with Conway had been completely ruined by Ash Ketchum, as he knew it was only a matter of time before the two would cross paths again… for the first time since their last meeting near Hearthome City, where their battle resulted in Ash gaining an evolution in Grotle… though Ash still lost miserably. It wasn’t long after that day that this whole mess began for Paul… he only wished to be lucky this time and have Ash eliminated early on so that Paul could avoid facing him completely.
Really, he wasn’t in the mood even to antagonize the trainer from the Kanto region. The competition was just beginning, and Paul was longing for the end already.
Perhaps Taylor was a competent opponent and would have a Pokémon suitable for beating Ash’s, which Paul assumed would be Staravia. He figured that Staravia must be poorly-trained to remain in its middle stage form for this long; after all, Paul knew for a fact that Ash had Staravia as far back as when they first met in Sinnoh… back when it was a Starly that never could have lived up to Paul’s high standards.
The grumpy trainer watched both young men leave the waiting room and take their positions. Soon, the screen showed two air balloons slowly ascending towards the sky simultaneously with the coveted ring attached to its own balloon. Paul tensed up, clearly seeing the confident Ash and his Pikachu focused and ready to compete.
“The balloon ring has been released and the PokéRinger contestants are being raised to the official altitude!” Rhonda announced as everything came together to start the first round. Once the balloons reached the desired altitude, Rhonda made it official. “Round one, match one: START!”
Ash was quick to get things underway. “Staravia, I choose you…!”
“Skarmory, let’s go!” shouted Taylor, as both competitors threw their Pokéballs into the air and released their partners.
Paul smirked, pleased with Taylor’s choice. Skarmory in general were tricky to contend with due to their unique Steel/Flying dual type. Based on what Paul recalled of Staravia’s abilities, he knew Ash had his work cut out for him. Perhaps this wouldn’t be so bad, and Ash would have to call it quits early…
“GOAL…! And Team Ash moves right along to the second match!”
Appalling. It wasn’t for lack of trying, but Taylor had been outsmarted by Ash, who used Staravia’s speed to quickly claim victory in the first round.
This did not bode well for Paul. But there was still a chance that Ash would lose well before the finals. At least it was a certainty that he wouldn’t be facing Ash in this round…
The young trainer and his companion Pikachu disembarked from their balloon, happy as can be.
“Talk about overcomin’ the odds, right buddy?” Ash said to Pikachu, who nuzzled him affectionately. “That Skarmory was a tough one… we really owe Squallville’s wind helpin’ us out at the end there; if that Air Cutter didn’t miss, it would’ve been over for us for sure. We’re gonna have to remember that next time around… keep utilizin’ Staravia’s speed to dodge those attacks! I’m sure we can win this!”
He seemed a bit more humbled than usual, Paul noted… a bit more calm and collected. He could possibly be a viable opponent if he consistently maintained that mentality…
“Alright folks, now it’s time for our next match!” Rhonda announced, as the camera panned to the screen again. “Who are our next two teams?”
The first portrait that showed up was an adult man, who looked rather fearsome with his Mohawk and spiked shoulder pads on his vest. The man himself was muscle-bound and his visage alone startled many people… for varying reasons.
“Alright!” Rhonda cried. “This team has won four competitions in the past! They’re the unbeatable four-time champions: Team Provo!”
The announcement prompted more vivid cheers from the audience, as Provo was indeed quite the popular man around town for his accomplishments. He stood tall and proud, and fully ready to make this year his fifth consecutive victory. This was the man with the Dragonite… the one Paul made sure to keep his eyes on.
“And competing against them will be… Team Paul!”
It seemed Paul had to step up to the plate a bit earlier than he planned. No matter; he stood up and silently left the waiting room, heading towards the position he was to take. Meanwhile, up in the stands, both Brock and Dawn were watching the match and were equally stunned to see Paul’s visage on the screen. Upon hearing the name, Ash stopped dead in his tracks, wondering if he heard that right.
“Huh…?” Ash turned around, gazing at the screen. “It’s Paul!” This changed everything for him.
Paul braced himself as he approached Ash, who was still standing there dumbfounded instead of returning to his seat in the waiting room. It seemed they were fated to meet again after all… but Paul just wasn’t in the mood to milk it for all it was worth.
Ash turned around to acknowledge Paul as he heard the stiff steps approaching him, looking amused (possibly confused) rather than wary.
“Paul!” Ash enthusiastically greeted as Paul walked right past him. “I had no idea you were entering this competition!”
“Yeah, so what if I am?” Paul shot back, still refusing to truly acknowledge Ash’s presence and headed straight for the hot-air balloon. He may be calm and collected, but Ash was still as nosy as ever, it seemed… that was a trait that really grinded Paul’s gears.
As usual, Ash was put off by Paul’s extremely rude gesture. “Huh…? What if you are?” he muttered to himself, looking displeased as he often did with his so-called rival. “Well, you could’ve at least said hi!”
Paul honestly wondered why that mattered so much to Ash. Was he that desperate for Paul’s attention? He knew Ash was determined to make him believe he was truly a rival worthy of his attention and respect, but so far, Ash failed to impress Paul even remotely. The closest thing that intrigued Paul was Pikachu’s ability to use Volt Tackle and nothing more. Perhaps the acquisition of Chimchar was also a factor now… but Paul had long since kept that particular Pokémon out of his life and out of his mind.
He jumped into his balloon as Pikachu expressed its distaste for Paul’s attitude in its own way, yet Paul continued to tune it out and prepare his balloon for its imminent ascent. Ash could feel the familiar, burning anger within him once more as he glared at his fellow trainer. He couldn’t believe anyone could possibly be this… well, cold.
Ash formed a fist, pumping it up to show his determination to win. “Look, Paul! The next time we battle, I’m not gonna lose, y’know!”
A likely story, Paul figured. He continued working on the balloon, trying his best to drown out Ash’s speech with… well, anything that could come to his mind, but all that he could think of was that dreaded Conway… it was a lose-lose situation, really.
“Just you wait,” Ash grumbled, finally turning around and returning the waiting room. “I’m gonna show you how much stronger we’ve gotten since last time… you’ll see…”
His determination was admirable, at least. But Paul knew it took much more than that to be a competent trainer, and as far as Paul was concerned, Ash was anything but. His complete lack of understanding as to how Grotle changed last time spoke volumes to Paul… that Ash was indeed a lowlife trainer that invested too much in blind faith against the odds. Paul remembered once making that mistake long, long ago… but never again. Paul refused to fall into that disillusioning trap more than once.
Back in the stands, Dawn and Brock were still aghast upon realizing Paul was indeed present in this competition.
“Whaddya know, Paul’s in the competition too,” Dawn mumbled unenthusiastically. Her Piplup glumly concurred.
“Knowing him, I would guess he probably enter to raise his Pokémon’s level,” Brock assumed, calmly assessing the situation.
Dawn looked down as she held Piplup close to her, frowning. “But what kind of Flying-type Pokémon does Paul have?” she wondered. She thought back to the last time the group encountered him, and then remembered the last battle… it hit her just then. “That’s right…! Honchkrow!”
The balloons and ring began their ascent as Rhonda kicked off the next round. “Now that both second-match contestants are in their places… START!”
Indeed, Paul proved Dawn right as he threw out his Pokéball. “Honchkrow, stand by for battle!”
“Dragonite, let’s go!” Provo shouted, unleashing his mighty beast of a Pokémon… Paul had a tough opponent on his hands for sure.
Back in the training room, Ash was certain to intently watch this battle. “It’s Dragonite versus Honchkrow,” he acknowledged, knowing this would be quite the explosive clash. He looked on with concern as the match began.
Honchkrow took the initiative, flying towards the ring first.
“And Honchkrow zooms to the ring!” Rhonda shouted out.
“Honchkrow’s gotten a headstart, but Dragonite’s faster!” Provo proclaimed, not looking worried in the least. He thrust his arm into the air to give out his first command: “Dragonite, Dragon Pulse!”
While Dragonite charged up a bright blue blast of energy, Paul was quick to respond. “Dodge it!”
Speed might not exactly have been Honchkrow’s forte, but it was able to successfully dodge the attack with ease. Moments later, Honchkrow snagged the ring and began its descent before Dragonite could even reach the Big Boss Pokémon.
“Get going, and use Fire Punch!” Provo ordered, determined to catch up. Dragonite obeyed the command and rushed at Honchkrow, flames emanating from its left fist.
Again, Paul put Honchkrow’s speed to the test. “Dodge it!”
Honchkrow heeded the order, zipping away mere milliseconds away from Dragonite’s flaming fist. The ring was still in Honchkrow’s possession.
“Dragon Rush, now!” Provo cried out, appearing to be annoyed at being unable to land a hit on his opponent thus far. Equally frustrated, Dragonite rushed at Honchkrow once more, coming down like a comet from outer space. The brightly-colored energy surrounding it proved to be a brutal hit as it finally connected against Honchkrow’s back. The conflict shocked Honchkrow enough to accidentally lose control of the ring.
“Wow, what a powerful move!” Rhonda marveled as the ring flew across the air. “And a clean hit as well!”
There was an opening, and Provo wasn’t about to let it slide past him. “Get it, Dragonite!” he cried out.
Honchkrow was able to recover from the hit in time to heed Paul’s next order. “Take back the ring!”
Both Pokémon raced neck-and-neck to claim the ring, but once again, Honchkrow managed to outspeed the Dragon Pokémon and reclaimed the ring. This did not deter Provo, however.
“Alright, use Dragon Rush again!” he exclaimed, prompting Dragonite to charge up to smack into Honchkrow once more. Paul wasn’t about to let him catch up again, though; at least battles like this were doing their job in keeping Paul focused on something else completely.
“Sky Attack!” Paul ordered, and thus Honchkrow was also soon glowing with energy in hopes to outspeed Dragonite once more.
“Honchkrow’s fast, but my Dragonite’s faster!” Provo exclaimed, which made Paul raise an eyebrow. He was certain that Provo had already said that just moments ago, only for Dragonite to be outrun by Honchkrow and proven wrong. Perhaps he was trying to convince himself…?
Just then, Paul felt a change in the direction of the wind current, which distracted him for a bit.
“Huh…?” Paul took a moment to estimate the new direction of the wind, realizing that he could use it to his advantage if he played his cards right. He quickly looked back down to where the action was, getting an idea. “Ride the wind to dodge it!”
It worked. Honchkrow was quickly picked up by an upper draft, momentarily confusing Dragonite well enough for it to be hindered by the same air current, being tossed up beyond its control.
“Wha-…?! What the?!” Provo’s surprise was the perfect opening for Paul to wrap this up. Sky Attack finished charging, allowing Honchkrow to slam into Dragonite with an especially brutal hit from the backside. The force was powerful enough to send the Dragon Pokémon careening into the ground, knocking it out.
“And Honchkrow’s powerful Sky Attack ends the battle!” Rhonda announced, making the result official. Just to rub salt into the wound, Honchkrow tossed the ring straight to the goal, as if to cement the result for good.
“Goal!” Rhonda hollered. “Team Paul has surprisingly defeated the competition’s favorite, Team Provo, and moves on to round two!”
Paul’s nonchalant expression appeared on the screen, clearly showing his lack of heart in this competition as a whole. Provo and Dragonite proved to be quite the disappointment for Paul; he expected a much fiercer performance from a consecutive four-time champion.
“Wow, Team Paul did it with one hit!” Dawn marveled, staring up at the screen along with Brock. This was proof enough that Paul was the sheer, dominating force he always had been, and would be a true obstacle for Ash if the two were to clash.
Brock stared on, having deeply analyzed every twist and turn of the battle. “Well, one of Honchkrow’s abilities is called Super Luck,” he explained to Dawn. “And Paul used it to their advantage, and struck Dragonite’s weak spot.”
Indeed, that single hit from Sky Attack was of the critical variety. Paul had utilized the power of the wind to strengthen the already-powerful move and let gravity do the rest. It was the best example of one particular saying… the bigger they are, the harder they fall.
While the downtrodden Provo disembarked from the balloon and recalled his Dragonite, Ash looked on from the waiting room… and he appeared to be very worried. After all, it was Honchkrow he battled the last time he and Paul crossed paths… and he could never forget the devastating way Honchkrow defeated Grotle; to the point where Ash’s Pokémon had to be sent to the emergency room as quickly as possible.
“Paul’s good at this,” he muttered, with Pikachu cautiously agreeing. Ash loathed the idea of Staravia suffering the same fate in this competition… never before had Ash been more driven to win this. Not only to prove a point to Paul, but to assure his Pokémon that Paul was not as invincible as he appeared to be.
The irony was that Paul appeared to be anything but invincible once he was back on solid ground. After recalling Honchkrow, he grasped his temples and quickly got out of sight so he could ride out this new wave of pain that coursed through his body. Even though he had been well medicated, Paul never quite felt the same after that Team Galactic incident. He felt even weaker than usual, and briefly Paul wondered if his stay at the hospital had anything to do with it. Who knows what they did to him there…? He was angry enough that they had the gall to sedate him just to be able to perform their latest test… and they were so hush-hush about the whole thing. Paul knew something else had to be going on; he figured most doctors wouldn’t freak out this much over a cracked rib and a fever.
Doctor Dalton was due for quite the scolding before Paul left Squallville today; that much was for certain.
“And the next match is… Team Steveland versus Team Jamus!” Rhonda announced, which allowed Paul to take a breather and relax before the next round. Honestly, to the Veilstone trainer, neither of the men on the screen looked to be legitimate future threats.
He took his sweet time returning to the waiting room, being sure to avoid Ash at all costs now. There was nothing Paul had to say for him, anyway… to him, it would all be a waste of time. Even though his match with Provo was relatively short-lived and simple, it took quite a bit out of Paul. The stress, the altitude which he was at, the strong air currents… after what Paul had been through, this was anything but relaxing for the frazzled young man.
Paul was definitely mentally kicking himself for ever letting Conway join him in Canalave City. Since then, it seemed nothing had quite gone right, and Paul’s physical conditioned worsened with every passing day.
Almost as if he were in a long, drawn-out process of dying.
As the competition continued, both Ash and Paul moved up the ranks step-by-step. Though Paul was weakened with his previous mishaps, he had the endurance to pull through it and compete with the strength and fierceness Ash and the others recognized him for.
Paul hated believing in concepts like fate, but had a feeling that he was meant to compete with Ash in the finals here. Why? He wasn’t sure. He only knew it was a very odd coincidence that the two crossed paths in a remote location such as this. It showed that Ash too must be on his way to Snowpoint City… though Paul never bothered to ask. It was just a safe assumption, knowing how far up north they were.
Even though Ash could only ever draw with Paul in battle at best, Paul could feel the growing anger emanating from the young man. Perhaps with enough raw anger, he might be an interesting challenge for once, Paul figured. He doubted that time would come in this competition, but perhaps it was another step up towards a proper rivalry between the two.
But honestly, Paul could do without it. He felt he had proved himself superior many times already; what will one more win do but once again reinforce that “fact”?
Surely enough, fate seemed to play a role today…
“Alright, everyone!” Rhonda shouted. “We’re coming down to the final round! And our two finalists are…!”
The board showed Ash’s portrait, followed by Paul’s. “Team Ash and Team Paul…!”
In the stands, Brock and Dawn looked on with hardened stares. Both of them had that gut feeling that it might end this way. Destined to cross paths, indeed…
“So Ash and Paul made it to the finals,” Dawn noted, sounding worried. “Amazing…” Her Piplup concurred.
“No doubt this will be a fierce battle,” Brock assured. “I had a feeling it would come down to this…”
Dawn nodded, looking uncertain of herself. “Same here,” she agreed. “The last time they battled, it ended in a disaster, even though Turtwig evolved to Grotle…”
“Not to mention Ash has yet to properly defeat Paul in battle,” Brock mentioned, recalling all of the times they clashed since the journey in Sinnoh began. “It’s always been either a loss for Ash or a draw.”
“He’s gotta be hungry for victory by now,” Dawn figured, sounding a little more determined. “I know I would be, against someone like that… Ash has to win, Brock!”
The former Gym Leader sighed, looking on to the field. He had paid close attention to Paul ever since the group first encountered him… he was an interesting case, to say the least, but Brock knew there was more to Paul than what there seemed to be. It wasn’t surprising that Ash and Dawn seemed unaware of that, but that’s what Brock was there for… to pick up on the details and make sense of them. But Paul? He was the equivalent of a Rubik’s Cube… not that it deterred Brock, but he knew there was much more about Paul to learn. Until they could completely understand this ominous foe, he would be nigh impossible to beat.
But anything could happen… Brock knew that. He didn’t want to give Dawn false hope, but didn’t want to depress her, either. He chose his words carefully.
“We’ll see what happens,” he finally told her. “Ash definitely seems to have the drive and the spirit today… and so far, he’s kept a level head. If he keeps that up, he could surprise us.”
Brock looked to Dawn, smiling. “We’ll cheer him on and let him know we’re supporting him every step of the way.”
“You bet!” Dawn enthusiastically replied. “With our backup, Ash can’t lose!”
Brock could only hope that would be the case. He was tired of seeing Ash down in the dumps after every loss to Paul.
Meanwhile, the two lone remaining competitors were just about ready to board their balloons. But first… Ash felt the need to speak out one last time against the trainer he saw as his rival.
“Paul, let’s do this!” Ash challenged, with Pikachu backing him up. Paul turned around to acknowledge Ash, but remained silent.
Time seemed to stand still as the two had their wordless standoff. Yes, it certainly did feel like fate.
But Rhonda was quick to move things along. “So now we’re down to the final around! The question is, which team will be crowned our winner?”
Already ascending in their balloons by this point, Ash and Paul continued to glare at each other without exchanging a single word. Paul had to admit that Ash seemed especially focused today… and with good reason. Ash remembered the emotional turmoil he went through when Grotle was needlessly hospitalized. While he accepted his own faults as a trainer for being ignorant to Grotle’s changes, Ash found it difficult to forgive Paul for what he had done.
It was time to settle this.
Ash was quick to make the first move, throwing his Pokéball. “Now, Staravia! I choose you…!”
“Honchkrow, stand by for battle!” Paul called out almost at the same time. Both Pokéballs unleashed the Flying-type competitors.
Simultaneously, both made a beeline for the ring, though Staravia seemed to be the faster of the two…
“And Staravia takes the lead!” Rhonda announced just as Staravia snatched the ring.
Ash was thrilled. “Staravia, great!” he cheered, though Paul was determined to cut the victory short.
“Use Sky Attack!” he called out, and within seconds the Big Boss Pokémon was glowing with that strong, familiar energy again; Staravia was the imminent target.
Relatively calm about this threatening move, Ash had an idea. “Staravia, counter with Brave Bird!” he yelled, and promptly the Starling Pokémon built up energy that made it literally seem that it was on fire.
The fire soon dissipated into sparkling blue energy as Staravia reached full power. The powerful flying attacks made an explosive collision, shocking the audience as the smoke obscured much of the air. But Staravia was soon seen falling back, clearly injured by the contact, but was still in possession of the ring. Still, it was sent flying back beyond its control, worrying Ash and Pikachu both.
“Staravia, no!” he cried out, apprehensive when Honchkrow emerged from the smoke looking relatively unscathed.
Paul decided to not let this opportunity go to waste. “Night Slash, go!”
With a single glowing wing, Honchkrow was once again in pursuit of the ailing Staravia, who struggled to regain control of its movement. Ash only hoped Staravia was able to heed his orders in this state.
“Now, dodge it with Quick Attack!” Ash commanded, which Staravia clearly heard and regained its focus. Just before Honchkrow could slam its wing over Staravia’s head, the Starling Pokémon flew up and over its much larger opponent. Honchkrow quickly turned around, not even taking a moment to be surprised or dumbfounded by Staravia’s sudden dodge.
Ash thought he had a chance here… “Staravia, head for the goal…!”
And so it did, but Honchkrow was in hot pursuit of its opponent, and Paul certainly wasn’t letting Ash off that easily.
“Dark Pulse, now!” Paul ordered, which Honchkrow immediately followed. It spewed a beam of dark, purplish energy straight at Staravia, landing a direct (and critical) hit. Finally, the hit was strong enough to force the ring out of Staravia’s beak.
“Staravia!!” Ash cried out with concern, but was relieved when Staravia quickly reclaimed the ring. It resumed its path towards the goal, but Honchkrow was still right on Staravia’s tail, close enough for another devastating attack to hit.
“And Staravia dives straight for the goal!” Rhonda shouted out. It seemed Staravia had a clean shot at victory, but just then, the wind picked up and changed direction once more. A sudden upper draft forced Staravia back up and away from the goal, startling Ash as well as the crowd.
“And it’s another sudden wind gust!” Rhonda needlessly pointed out.
Paul immediately took advantage of the situation… he was quite the opportunist when it came right down to it. “Ride the wind and use Aerial Ace!” he called out. He knew utilizing the wind’s power was a very handy tool for his previous victories in this competition. Even though Ash had maintained possession of the ring almost the entire time, Paul remained calm, knowing all would fall into place in his favor if he granted just the slightest bit of patience (much as he hated to do so).
Staravia, still stunned with the upper draft pushing against it, was a sitting duck for Honchkrow’s can’t-miss attack. It was brutally shot upward after the collision. By this point, Ash too was contending with the upper draft that made it hard for him to concentrate as well. He could see that this was no place for Staravia to be, and in order to win, he would have to get Staravia out of there somehow.
“Hurry, Staravia!” the young trainer urged. “Get out of the wind and head for the goal!”
Easier said than done, really. Staravia did its best to focus, but found it hard to move in just about any direction with a wind as powerful as this consuming it.
Paul too experienced the powerful upper draft from his balloon. Firmly gripping his hands on the edge, he maintained focus on Honchkrow at all times, ignoring the chaos completely. “Use the wind to your advantage with back-to-back Aerial Aces!”
He figured if it worked this well, why not abuse it as long as Staravia was trapped within the wind, rendered helpless? Honchkrow darted upward, charging up and preparing for another brutal impact. Ash was tired of being a slave to the wind, however.
“Dodge it!” he thoughtlessly commanded, forgetting that Aerial Ace was a move that guaranteed a hit. But to everyone’s surprise, Staravia was able to use the wind in a unique situation to make Honchkrow miss every attempted hit. Honchkrow really had no more power over the wind than Staravia did, and was unable to maneuver around Staravia within the current.
But it became overconfident, and sadly, by the third go-around, Honchkrow brutally nailed Staravia right where Paul wanted it. The ring was knocked out of Staravia’s possession again… and this time, Honchkrow was the one who claimed it.
The birds glared at each other, knowing this was far from over.
Paul had no interest in this developing rivalry, however. “Honchkrow, now head for the goal!” He was ready to wrap this up and get out of town as quickly as possible. Paul certainly wouldn’t shed a tear if he never saw this town again; he couldn’t imagine who would willingly live here, really…
Honchkrow made a beeline for the goal as the roles were reversed. Now Staravia was the one who did the chasing, and Ash wasn’t done with Paul yet; not by a long shot.
“Use Aerial Ace and get that ring back!” Ash shouted, determined and focused once more.
The considerably quicker Staravia whirled around and picked up speed while approaching Honchkrow with a build-up of energy, ready to return the favor.
“Dodge it!” Paul commanded, figuring it could work for him if it could work for Ash. Honchkrow ducked underneath Staravia at the last second, letting the Starling Pokémon zoom straight past it.
Ash was quick to pick up on this and continued his assault. “Use Quick Attack and fly down!” The idea was to use the clever maneuvering to get close enough to Honchkrow to snag that ring back, apparently. Staravia looped around and darted in a zigzag motion toward the opponent.
The two birds did not collide, but that was not Ash’s intention in the first place. Staravia simply flew downwards, passing by Honchkrow and was conveniently close enough to snag the ring just like that, giving Staravia the advantage and the homestretch towards victory. It was a big surprise for Honchkrow to be tricked like that, and Ash was ecstatic.
“Awesome!” he cheered. “Now head straight for the goal!”
Following Pikachu’s encouraging cries, Staravia did just that; the goal seemed so close now. It was only a matter of time…
“Sky Attack!”
… For Paul’s Honchkrow to counter-attack seemingly out of nowhere, landing yet another critical blow on Staravia.
Ash was horrified, watching his Pokémon go down. “Staravia, no!!”
And Paul wasn’t done yet. “Night Slash!”
Honchkrow loomed behind the injured and seemingly-unaware Staravia with its glowing wing once more, but Ash wasn’t going down so easily.
“Counter it with Quick Attack again!” Ash cried out, hoping Staravia had the strength to keep this up. And luck was on his side today, for Staravia did recover in time to stop itself from falling and suddenly change direction, heading straight for the charging Honchkrow. Perhaps it was Honchkrow’s good luck that allowed it to dodge that potential nasty collision; Staravia shot like a bullet past the Big Boss Pokémon. Ash was effectively stunned.
“We’re not falling for that twice,” Paul said flatly just before Honchkrow caught up with Staravia and slammed it viciously with Night Slash.
Staravia was thrown down straight into the ground, cracking it and skidding off some ways before finally stopping.
It was a tense and stressful battle to even watch, if Brock and Dawn’s reactions were evident.
“Wow, Honchkrow dodged Quick Attack,” Dawn said breathlessly; her eyes glued to the scene.
“This is not a good thing,” Brock told her. “If Quick Attack won’t work, Staravia hasn’t any other moves that can match Honchkrow’s speed.”
Staravia was down, but still had the ring. However, Honchkrow loomed over menacingly, and things were not boding well for Ash at all. Even Paul was a bit impressed with Honchkrow’s abilities today. He usually relied on Weavile for unbeatable speed; as far as standard Flying-types go, the Honchkrow species was on the lower end of the totem pole as far as speediness was concerned. Perhaps the long road to recovery inspired Honchkrow to put more effort than usual into this match, and for that, Paul was pleased.
Ash’s balloon lowered so he could properly communicate with his downed Pokémon. He knew in his heart that Staravia just wasn’t done yet in spite of how it looked.
“Show ‘em how strong you are, Staravia!” he shouted in desperation. Following Pikachu’s cries, Staravia opened an eye and twitched, regaining its ability to move. There wasn’t much left in the tank, but Staravia itself knew it couldn’t allow itself to quit and let Ash down again. It knew as well as the rest of Ash’s Pokémon how badly Paul got to him, especially after a fresh loss. Grotle was completely torn up for failing to win the last battle for Ash, and honestly, Staravia couldn’t blame it. The last thing it wanted to see was Ash’s hopes and dreams crushed once again by the rude and callous rival.
Said rival also descended on his balloon, leveling with Ash. “Pathetic,” he remarked. “Just how can he honestly think encouragement could do a thing?!”
That was something Paul truly hated about Ash; his ridiculous beliefs that included nonsense such as the idea that encouragement and undying faith can help one win in any scenario. Paul felt he knew that better than Ash ever could; after all, he was very familiar with this line of thought. It’s the very same that Reggie possessed back then when he was still a trainer, and to a degree, still holds today.
But Paul knew it was a flawed philosophy inside-out. Reggie’s loss to Brandon four years ago proved that to him well enough. He honestly didn’t care whether or not Ash suffered the same fate later on down the road, but Paul felt tormented by the avocation of it alone. Memories of the past haunted him… it was why Paul didn’t like being around Ash for too long. To him, Ash was merely another Reggie who hadn’t yet experienced his career-ending defeat… but Paul knew it was imminent. He didn’t know or care when, but was certain that was to be Ash’s ultimate fate.
And now, Paul was ready to show Ash a preview of that upcoming misery by defeating him once more. “Wrap it up with Sky Attack!”
It seemed to be the end. As Honchkrow charged up, the audience looked on with bated breath.
“Honchkrow mercilessly unleashes Sky Attack on a motionless Staravia!” Rhonda announced in a dramatic tone. “Is this it for Team Ash?!”
Ash growled in frustration upon hearing that, unwilling to let it end this way. Not after what happened last time… Ash was determined to save Staravia from the fate Grotle suffered at the hands of Honchkrow.
“YOU CAN DO IT, STARAVIA!!” Ash screamed out; what was always his last resort in encouraging his Pokémon.
And surprisingly, it worked. Staravia regained its strength and took to the air just before Honchkrow made contact with the severely weakened Pokémon. No one seemed to expect this.
Honchkrow looked up in confusion as Staravia, still with the ring tightly clenched with its beak, flew higher into the air and was suddenly consumed with an unusual, blinding glow.
“Oh man!” This wasn’t something Ash planned, but he had an idea of what it might be. Paul stared on silently as the entire audience witnessed a metamorphosis of sorts taking place. Staravia’s wings grew significantly larger, as did its tail feathers.
“Is that what I think it is?!” Dawn wondered out loud. Piplup was equally curious.
Brock smiled knowingly. “Staravia’s evolving!”
Indeed, the glowing figure of Staravia was transforming into something else entirely. Ash’s encouragement gave it the strength to will itself into an evolution. And suddenly, for a very good reason, Paul felt a bit of déjà vu. After all… it was in the middle of a battle when Grotle evolved, and against Honchkrow, no less. Paul was a little amused to see this sort of incident happen once more under his influence.
This was a familiar face for Paul to see once the evolution was complete… after all, his brother possessed one of the same species and it was a very valuable member of his team back in the day: Staraptor.
Ash’s Staraptor proudly sailed across the sky as the others marveled at the sight.
“Staravia evolved into Staraptor!” Ash said with awe, taking out his PokéDex to analyze his freshly-evolved Pokémon. The entry reported:
“Staraptor, the Predator Pokémon. Staraptor has an aggressive temperament, and will bravely detect enemies that are far bigger than itself.”
Staraptor showed off its aggression by growling fiercely at Honchkrow, who it was face-to-face with at this point.
Just because his opponent’s Pokémon evolved didn’t guarantee a win; Paul knew that very well. He pulled it off once, and knew he could do so again with ease if he just remained focused.
“Just stay calm!” Paul advised, showing nothing but disdain for Ash’s achievement. “Night Slash!”
Honchkrow knew to take this seriously; both wings now glowed rather than just one. It charged at Staraptor, but Ash felt rejuvenated with the excitement of Staraptor’s long-awaited evolution.
“Staraptor, dodge it now!” he yelled out, which Staraptor followed through with ease. It appeared Staraptor’s evolution really upped its overall speed, which would be difficult for the overworked Honchkrow to compensate for. And Honchkrow certainly did put all of its effort into its attack, slashing at the Predator Pokémon repeatedly with all its might, but Staraptor outmatched its foe at every twist and turn.
One brief pause in Staraptor’s movements to relish in its apparent victory was cut short when Honchkrow finally landed a hit, knocking the ring clear out of its beak. As it fell, Paul was quick to urge Honchkrow to pick up the slack and finish this match before Staraptor could overwhelm the competition.
“Get that ring!” Paul yelled, now unable to help feeling a bit anxious over this ordeal. It was definitely making his stomach flip-flop, but for now, he had no choice but to endure it.
“Grab that ring before Honchkrow!” Ash followed suit, matching Paul every step of the way now. Both birds rushed for the ring, neck-and-neck. As the two side-glanced at each other, a fight suddenly broke out. Simultaneously while approaching the ring, Honchkrow and Staraptor circled each other, exchanging blows in an attempt to throw the other off track.
It was quite distracting, but Paul figured Honchkrow had the right idea and decided to make Staraptor’s defeat a sure thing. “Night Slash!” he ordered in timely fashion, as Honchkrow landed a fierce hit with its foe in close range. The temporary stun Staraptor suffered after gave Honchkrow the time it needed to zip ahead, but it was hot on Honchkrow’s tail once it realized what was going on.
Thanks to Staraptor’s speed, it wasn’t long before the two Pokémon were once again neck-and-neck, and yet another brawl broke out in mid-descent. This time, however, Staraptor was bringing something different to the table: fierce kicks from its legs that landed particularly harshly upon the Big Boss Pokémon. This wasn’t something Ash had planned, as he looked on, rather dumbfounded at the new element added to the fight.
The audience too noticed the change, and Dawn was quick to point it out. “Look at that!”
Paul was taken aback by this. “What…?!”
“Staraptor knows Close Combat!” Dawn exclaimed, properly identifying the technique.
“Right!” Brock confirmed. “Close Combat’s a Fighting-type move, and it’s super-effective against Dark-types like Honchkrow!”
It helped that Close Combat itself was a fiercely powerful move, evident as Staraptor finished up with a devastating right hook from its wing, knocking Honchkrow silly. It fell back, awaiting further orders while Ash gushed at the fact that his Pokémon not only gained an evolution, but also a new move.
“That was so awesome, Staraptor!” Ash congratulated, overjoyed with the results even though the battle was not yet over. “You can use Close Combat!”
He pointed out to the field valiantly, remembering that there was still a ring that needed to be captured and secured into a goal. “Alright! Keep it up and get that ring!”
Staraptor agreed and resumed the battle, flying towards its objective. Paul was quick to react to this, determined to prevent Ash from coming out of this battle with all good news. “Honchkrow, get the ring first!” He was honestly running low on clever ideas at this point, running on pure desperation and refusal to lose to the Pallet Town trainer. He had gone this long undefeated by Ash, and wasn’t about to let that streak end here.
But try as it might, even as Honchkrow darted straight for the target, Staraptor easily made it to the ring first and headed its way towards the goal.
“Night Slash!” Paul called out as the chase resumed.
“Dodge it!” Ash instructed, which Staraptor again did with relative ease compared to how it fared against Honchkrow as a Staravia. Staraptor managed to loop around and end up right behind Honchkrow, leaving the latter wide open for an attack. Ash was keen on the details for once and took advantage of this. “Alright, use Brave Bird!”
The very move that Paul’s brother taught this Pokémon was working wonders for Staraptor’s performance. It was at this point in battle where Brave Bird came in handy, as though it also damaged the user; the end point of the battle usually nullified that drawback.
As Staraptor charged forth, bursting with energy, Paul knew it was wise not to ignore the potential of such a devastating move. “Sky Attack!”
Honchkrow whirled around, enveloped with energy as it came straight towards Staraptor. An explosive collision resulted in their clash, sending the ring out of Staraptor’s grasp and way out beyond the range of the explosion. It was heading straight towards the goal, and it was anyone’s game now; whoever could recover from that latest crash.
“Get that ring!!” both Paul and Ash cried simultaneously. As a result, Honchkrow and Staraptor burst forth from the smoke, with Honchkrow slightly ahead of the game.
This confused Dawn after seeing Staraptor easily run circles around Honchkrow. “So why is Staraptor lagging behind…?” she wondered.
“It must be from all the damage it took earlier,” Brock assumed. “Remember, Brave Bird damages the user as well as the target. Sky Attack doesn’t have a drawback like that… With everything that’s gone on in this battle, as long as it’s been dragged out, Staraptor’s probably reached its limit.”
“Then Ash and Staraptor are going to…?!” Dawn was too horrified to finish her sentence.
“It’s not over yet,” Brock calmly reminded her. “But the end is nigh.”
Rhonda seemed to notice that as well. “The ring is falling right near the goal! Whichever team grabs the ring first will be our big winner!”
Paul smirked, as it appeared to be obvious that Honchkrow would get it first. Staraptor was simply too tired to keep up at this point, and knew he had it in the bag. For all of the torment he’d gone through in the past month, the thought of putting Ash in his place as the “worthless trainer” he deemed the so-called rival to be was a huge relief. If nothing else, it proved to Paul that he himself remained a competent trainer.
But Ash was not satisfied with this. He was not going to throw in the towel just yet. He felt this was when Paul would get a little preview of his imminent comeuppance. This wasn’t a traditional battle and Ash knew that Paul likely wouldn’t count this battle regardless of which way it went, but that didn’t deter the Kanto trainer from giving it his all. If nothing else, it would prove that Paul was not the invincible trainer he made himself out to be.
“Ah, Staraptor! You can do it!” he yelled. “Get that ring and put it on the goal!!”
It wasn’t very much of a specific order, but Staraptor inherently seemed to know just how to win this match. With its last ounces of strength, Staraptor pushed itself right in Honchkrow’s personal space, extending a wing past the Big Boss Pokémon. Thanks to the evolution, Staraptor’s wings were long enough to smack the ring further away from Honchkrow. The ring went flying as a result.
It flew straight into the goal.
After a moment of silence, a roaring cheer emitted from the audience. The scoreboard confirmed it, and Rhonda did the same seconds later. “GOAL…!! And the winner is Team Ash!”
Upon hearing those words, Paul was overwhelmed with a deep, dark feeling in his gut. The adrenaline rush had worn off and consequently, Paul felt like a wreck. Not that this was a surprise…
After all, he had just lost. To Ash, of all people.
While time seemed to freeze in that moment of dread for Paul, Ash felt as if he were on top of the world.
“We did it, Staraptor!” Ash cheered. Pikachu called out to it in its congratulatory way before Staraptor flew over to its trainer, overjoyed that it succeeded in pulling off what seemed like a milestone for Ash.
Admittedly, Brock could not have predicted that it would end this way. And neither could Dawn, as she looked up at the winners with admiration. “I thought Staraptor would’ve used its feet instead of its wing to hit the goal!”
“Leave it to Ash to surprise you every time,” Brock remarked, joyous himself that this day would end on a happy note. “I hope he remembers this the next time he and Paul have a traditional battle.”
“You’re right,” Dawn agreed, nodding vigorously. “Paul may have a good strategy, but Ash is the one who surprises everybody!”
But Brock knew Paul would learn from this as well. This would be his warning sign; to step up, or soon face a real defeat by a trainer he despised. Such signs were taken seriously by Paul, if his past loss to Cynthia was any indication.
Honchkrow was already earthbound by the time Paul fully descended upon the balloon. He shook off his discomfort, hardening himself for any potential encounters as a result of his status as a runner-up. Not to mention Paul felt the need to scold Honchkrow for failing him twice in a row.
“We didn’t win because your reaction time was too slow,” Paul harshly criticized, humbling even the massively egotistical Honchkrow as it bowed its head in apology to its trainer. Paul disregarded it (as he often did) and recalled Honchkrow back into its Pokéball. Once he stored it away, Paul looked up to see Ash, Pikachu, and Staraptor all facing him on the other side of the field.
But with no interest whatsoever to speak with the winners most of all, Paul turned around to walk off before Ash could get a word in edgewise. Ash stared on without saying a thing; judging from Paul’s reaction, Ash wasn’t quite certain what to make of this victory. Like before, he figured since this wasn’t a real battle that Paul would quickly forget this event ever happened. Similar to the Hearthome Tag Battle, Paul did not have his heart in the PokéRinger competition; at least, not until it came down to the wire and Ash was getting the better of him.
However, even Ash figured Paul had no interest in the prizes to be won; the year’s worth of Pokémon food and the title of an honorary citizen of Squallville. Neither of those seemed to be up Paul’s alley, so Ash assumed the same as Brock: Paul only entered this to strengthen his Honchkrow. Once again, an encounter with Paul brought forth an evolution in Ash’s team. Every form of competition held a special place in Ash’s heart… and he figured in some way he should be thanking Paul for inadvertently strengthening his team.
In the end, though… Paul was simply a jerk. A jerk that needed to be taken down, Ash believed, by a caring and loving trainer such as himself. To open his eyes and let him see the error of his ways… that was an important goal of Ash’s he meant to achieve while he was in the Sinnoh region.
Then, Ash registered the screeches and cheering in his ears. He smiled ruefully, looking to his two Pokémon. This was a time to celebrate, he knew; not behave like Paul would have.
While the closing ceremonies were being set up, Rhonda noticed Paul, the runner-up, leaving the arena entirely. For the entire time since she had been announcing the competition, she couldn’t help but feel there was something familiar about that boy. He had a rather striking appearance… always hungry for a potential scoop, Rhonda made a mental note to research that young man. She knew the celebrities of Sinnoh liked to be reclusive, and Squallville was quite definitive of the word.
Did it seem desperate? Yes. But by this point in her career, it was evident that Rhonda had little shame to spare.
Several citizens across the Sinnoh region watched the live broadcast and were satisfied with the action that was brought by the contestants. As Ash was being handed his certificate and Pokémon food, reactions were being made… some different from others.
In a small settlement called Shelter Town, where the entire area was covered with a thick layer of snow, there were some amused remarks coming from the local diner; a simple establishment of a twenty-four hour, all-day breakfast diner that had been running for decades. The menus remained simple and straightforward throughout the years, and the usual customers were often truckers whom needed a place to recharge their energy to complete a long drive.
He wasn’t a trucker, but Brandon surely did more work than anyone else in the diner to get here. Additionally, thanks to his appearance, he blended right in with the crowd. Climbing and scaling the mountains by foot, Brandon inched ever-closer to Snowpoint City. He had been to this small town before, amused that it, unlike other Sinnoh locations, hadn’t changed a bit since he last came by. It was a welcome break from his adventure, and surely enough, there were people in the diner who recognized the Pyramid King, crowding around him as if they were attempting to resemble a posse of some sort. Brandon merely grinned and let them have their way. A small television was installed on the ceiling, often showing sports events to entertain the customers. Sure enough, what was just wrapping up was the PokéRinger competition.
Brandon had watched the entire thing. The second he saw his son on the screen, he was glued to his seat.
“Looks like your son didn’t win, Brandon,” one of the truckers slyly remarked. “He ain’t at your level yet, huh?”
Brandon bowed his head, speaking calmly. “He did very well to reach second place, but the kid needs a lot of work. It’s no surprise he didn’t win… I happen to know the winner as well.”
“You do?!” many of them shouted in unison; just as many in disbelief.
“I do,” Brandon assured with a nod. “Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town… one of the few trainers who can boast the accomplishment of conquering Kanto’s Battle Frontier.”
There were gapes all around.
“Yes,” he stiffly affirmed. “That means he has defeated even myself in the past. He turned down the opportunity to become a Frontier Brain in favor of pursuing this region’s riches and experiences. Can’t say I blame the kid, really.”
Brandon was very talented in hiding it, but he was rather giddy about seeing his son and Ash collide in battle. Just weeks ago when he was still in Kanto, he expressed an interest of seeing a rivalry between the two. He analyzed their expressions throughout the battle, coming to the conclusion that the two have indeed met before.
It just seemed all too perfect.
“So Brandon, is it true you’ve got legendary Pokémon on your team?” another trucker asked. “Because you know we wanna see ‘em, and if a kid like that can beat you, then maybe you’ve lost your touch, old-timer!”
The Frontier Brain’s eyes narrowed at the suggestion. “You believe that? It sounds like you want to battle me.”
“Hecks yeah I wanna battle!” the same trucker shouted. “Don’t we, guys?!”
The others hollered in agreement, prompting Brandon to stand up and head for the front door.
“Then let’s make it so,” Brandon offered, rather generously. He often refused traditional battles from strangers these days, but he felt if some Sinnoh citizens honestly felt that way about him that they must be shown otherwise. “A triple battle. Three of you step up to the plate and send out one of your best Pokémon against three of my best.”
There were various reactions to this challenge, most along the lines of “He’s crazy!” and variations of the saying. But eventually, three challengers emerged from the crowd, staring straight at Brandon with a strong competitive will.
Brandon nodded to the challengers and stepped outside. Following him was virtually every person in the diner, not about to miss on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity like this.
Just like it was obvious which three Pokémon Brandon sent out, the outcome of said impromptu battle was also fairly predictable.
In the end, Brandon left Shelter Town with a satisfied smirk on his face. At least one settlement in Sinnoh knew the Pyramid King still had it after all these years.
Paul was ready to leave Squallville like yesterday. He looked up expectantly at Doctor Dalton, wanting the test results and earning his freedom from this secluded village.
Dalton, however, was slightly hesitant about it, and for good reason. But he knew in his heart that this was the best he could do for the young man at this point.
“As promised,” he said softly, handing Paul a stapled batch of paper. “It’s up to you, what you want to do from here.”
Not-so-softly, Paul snatched the paper and carelessly stuffed it in his backpack, much like in the harsh manner that he stored away his father’s letter a month ago. “I’m leaving,” he said. “And that’s that.”
“Of course,” Dalton consented with a nod. “But you have our number now… if you have any questions…”
The doctor was startled when Paul quickly turned around and left the facility without even as much as a farewell. Once he was out of sight, Dalton turned away and sighed, muttering quietly.
“Oh, Miss Andrea… you were right. He is stubborn like you.”
Route 216 ended with Squallville. From now on, Paul would be reaching Snowpoint City via Route 217. It was bad enough that Paul was leaving Squallville when it was practically sundown already, but he couldn’t bear the place a minute longer. He was getting stares from every resident in town now that he made himself so prevalent in the PokéRinger contest. Word got around fast…
So close; Paul was so close to making it completely out of town, but of course, who would he run into but…
“Hey, Paul!”
Paul grunted, stopped, and turned around. The absolute last thing he wanted to do was talk to Ash. Especially after what happened… Paul would sooner take Conway back than be forced into this.
“What’d you think?” Ash eagerly asked him, still with Staraptor right behind him in addition to Pikachu on his shoulder. “Don’t you think it’s great? The Starly you didn’t care for evolved to a Staravia, and now into a powerful Staraptor!”
By then, Brock and Dawn had caught up with Ash. The whole gang was here to annoy Paul, it seemed. He shot forth an unwelcoming glare to all of them, showing the entire group that he simply wasn’t in the mood to toy with them today; especially not after he lost.
Paul closed his eyes and turned away from the others, only generous enough to give them one remark on the matter, which happened to double as his farewell: “It sure took you long enough.”
At least it was a valid statement to make; in Paul’s eyes, anyway. Ash had that Pokémon as a Starly since they first met in Sinnoh, which was several months ago. It seemed to quickly move on to the Staravia form, but took an eternity to reach its final form. By comparison, Paul remembered Reggie’s Staraptor; the first Pokémon Reggie captured after receiving his Chimchar, which of course was a Starly at first. Paul wasn’t with Reggie for most of his Sinnoh journey, but it was somewhere midway into it that Reggie’s Staravia became Staraptor. Here near the end part of the journey was Ash’s Staravia now only doing the same.
Ash may have reminded Paul of Reggie in many ways, but in other areas, the two were very different. Even in spite of the loss Paul just suffered, he did not consider Ash a competent trainer in the least. Reggie, on the other hand, Paul always saw as competent back in the day… before he gave it up.
As Paul left Ash and the others in the dust while walking briskly towards the main path to Route 217, Ash and the others stared on.
“Long enough…?” Ash muttered, stepping forward after absorbing his rival’s scathing remark. “Hold on a minute, Paul…!”
There was no response; Paul merely walked on.
“PAUL!!”
Even at Ash’s loudest, he couldn’t seem to get Paul’s attention. He stepped back to where he was, gritting his teeth in frustration. He was hoping to get more than that before they parted, but had a feeling that was a loaded request for fate to follow through with.
“He hasn’t changed,” Dawn complained, clearly disappointed. She had different, more unrealistic views on this matter entirely, which wouldn’t really surprise anyone.
“Hey, that’s Paul for you,” Brock said with a defeated, yet lighthearted tone.
Dawn looked ahead towards Ash, very confident. “Well, I know Ash will do great at the next Gym!” she assured. Indeed, they were headed for the very same Gym Paul was: Snowpoint’s. There was a great possibility that the two young men would meet again soon.
“You bet, Dawn!” Ash agreed, forming a determined fist. He looked to his fully-evolved Pokémon. “And now we’ve got Staraptor! Let’s keep this up and win at the Snowpoint Gym!”
Staraptor fully agreed. This was a refreshing turnabout for Ash and the gang. Even if Paul refused to change in spite of a technical loss in a match, Ash wouldn’t declare his victory was for naught. He wanted it for himself just as much as he wanted to prove a point to Paul; and that was where Paul fell short. One competitor put his heart into the fight while the other didn’t.
That other, Paul, was saving his heart for a battle that actually mattered to him. As he hiked his way through the mountainous range towards Snowpoint City, soon coming back into the frosty tundra, Paul could feel that his father was somewhere nearby. And he remembered the short and sour words he shared with Brandon just before he departed from Veilstone City:
“It’s going to be soon. We’re basically going the same way. You for Regigigas; myself for a Gym Battle. It’s inevitable. But I’ll be coming prepared. Don’t be surprised when I completely annihilate you.”
He wasn’t just coming up all this way through a dangerous, freezing mountain range to defeat Candice the Gym Leader. Paul had a score to settle with his old man, and he knew he wasn’t ready yet if he was able to lose to somebody like Ash.
Paul claimed he would be prepared. Now he actually had to reach that point.
He suddenly stopped, growling as something had just then hit him:
If he had just kept Conway with him for a few more days, he would have been rid of him easily. Dawn was surely there along with Brock, and Conway would have instantly agreed to part with Paul from there. If only he were a little more accepting… perhaps Paul wouldn’t have been trapped in that poor excuse for a hospital, either.
Additionally… Honchkrow had learned the move Sucker Punch at the Plumeria Contest. Paul forbade Honchkrow from using that move ever again, wanting to remove all reminders of Conway from himself and his team. A move like that could have won Paul the competition, as the move was similar in execution to the way Ash used his Staraptor to win the match. Pushing the ring away constantly would have given Paul such an edge…
Paul honestly felt he was being toyed with at this point. He wasn’t sure which stay was worse for him; Plumeria Town’s or Squallville’s. Either way, he was dead-set headed for Snowpoint City next. He didn’t care if he was forced to camp out in the snow; he didn’t want to know what horrors would await him in the next town in between.
Much as he wanted to brush off that minor loss against Ash, Paul couldn’t help but wonder… was he on a losing streak now, if he counted the Plumeria Contest?
Paul’s natural response at this point would be “What contest?” As far as he was concerned, it didn’t happen… and neither did today, for that matter.
Surely, surely… it couldn’t get worse from here.
And yet, in so many ways… it would, and not necessarily just for Paul.
( TBC )