A fateful encounter

"Elekid, use Thunderbolt!"

Just as Bai Shi sank into despair, a voice like music to his ears rang out from somewhere nearby.

"This is..."

Bai Shi turned and looked closely, only to find a yellow-and-black Pokémon spinning its arms furiously.

Strong yellow currents occasionally crackled from the two plug-like horns on its head.

Behind the yellow-and-black Pokémon stood a purple-haired boy.

At the boy's command, it kept unleashing electricity at the swarm of Beedrill.

The Beedrill were completely unprepared for the sudden attack.

Struck by the electricity, they fell to the ground in droves.

"Bzzzz~"

Realizing they seemed to be outmatched, the Beedrill began retreating rapidly.

In the blink of an eye, they vanished without a trace.

Bai Shi was finally out of danger, narrowly escaping with his life.

"You saved my life. Thank you so much!"

"By the way, I'm Bai Shi, from Twinleaf Town. What's your name?"

Having escaped certain death, Bai Shi thanked the purple-haired boy with heartfelt gratitude written all over his face.

In truth, Bai Shi was fairly familiar with this boy.

He was none other than Paul, the protagonist Ash's rival in the Sinnoh Region in the Pokémon anime.

But since the two had never met in real life, Bai Shi had to pretend otherwise.

He could only act as though he did not know him, introducing himself and asking for his name.

"..."

Paul merely waved a hand in response, unconcerned.

"What are you standing around for? Let's go, Elekid!"

Once he confirmed that none of the Beedrill would return, Paul headed off in another direction through the forest with Elekid at his side.

He wanted to keep searching for Pokémon worth training and catch them.

"Maybe I should follow him and take a look?"

Watching Paul walk away, Bai Shi murmured thoughtfully.

After only a moment's hesitation, he hurried after him.

Bai Shi's attempt to follow him did not escape Paul's Elekid, either.

He had barely taken a few steps before Elekid spotted him.

Spinning its arms, Elekid excitedly alerted Paul.

"Don't do anything unnecessary. Leave him be!"

Paul's expression remained unchanged as he glanced at the eager Elekid.

He paid little mind to someone who did not even have a Pokémon.

Seeing its Trainer's stern expression, Elekid hung its head and abandoned the idea of chasing Bai Shi away.

And so, trailing behind Paul, Bai Shi arrived beneath a large tree.

A great many gray bird Pokémon perched in its branches.

They were Starly, the common early-route bird Pokémon of the Sinnoh Region.

They caught Paul's interest.

Having just returned home from another region, he needed to catch some local Pokémon to challenge the Lily of the Valley Conference.

"Elekid, use Thunderbolt!"

At Paul's command, Elekid spun its arms and unleashed a powerful yellow current at the Starly.

Terrified of the electricity, the Starly scattered, beating their wings desperately as they flew away.

Only one Starly showed unusual courage and took the initiative to attack Elekid.

It charged toward Elekid with unwavering determination.

Braving the electric current, it forced its way right up to Elekid.

"Elekid, use Brick Break."

Facing the Starly at close range, Elekid raised an arm and chopped down hard.

Thud!

Struck by Elekid's arm, Starly's eyes rolled back as it lost consciousness.

It fell from the air to the ground and lay motionless for a long time.

"Go, Poké Ball!"

Seizing the opportunity, Paul threw the Poké Ball in his hand, striking the unconscious Starly.

Starly turned into a beam of red light and was drawn into the ball.

After rocking a few times, the Poké Ball stopped moving with a ding.

Paul had completed the capture with effortless ease.

If only I could catch Pokémon like he did.

Having witnessed the entire capture, Bai Shi felt a flicker of envy.

Starly was a Normal- and Flying-type Pokémon with two further evolutionary stages.

Its final form, Staraptor, was both cool and powerful.

If he could catch a Starly, he would probably wake up laughing in his sleep.

Paul picked up the Poké Ball and took out a black Pokédex to scan it carefully.

"It only knows Tackle? Another useless Pokémon!"

After a moment, Paul spoke with a deep frown.

Clearly, he was dissatisfied with this Starly's potential.

"I might as well release it instead of wasting time training it."

Just as Paul was about to release Starly, he happened to glance back at Bai Shi.

Their eyes met.

That look...

Even through the goggles, Paul could clearly sense the burning eagerness in Bai Shi's eyes.

That familiar look made Paul pause. He stopped what he was doing and briefly drifted into his memories.

Before he had obtained his own Pokémon, he seemed to have looked at his older brother, Reggie, with those same eyes.

Back then, his dream had been to become a powerful Pokémon Trainer just like his brother.

Unfortunately, before he could realize that dream, his brother had changed careers and become a Pokémon Breeder for certain reasons.

His dream had crumbled into nothing.

"Finding your own strength... huh?"

Remembering something, Paul clenched both fists and silently vowed to himself.

He would never follow in his brother's footsteps.

"Yeah, that's what I'll do!"

Then Paul glanced at Bai Shi again, nodded silently, and made a decision.

Rather than release that useless Pokémon, he might as well give it to someone who needed it.

That way, at least something worthless could be put to use.

After all, it was only a weak, reckless Pokémon.

This was not the first time he had done something like this.

"Your name's Bai Shi, right?"

"You can have the Pokémon inside. Catch!"

Paul tossed the Poké Ball in his hand through the air toward Bai Shi.

"Huh?"

Looking bewildered, Bai Shi instinctively reached out and caught the incoming Poké Ball.

"This... this..."

Overwhelmed by the enormous surprise, Bai Shi was momentarily speechless.

He wondered whether he was dreaming.

Only after pinching his thigh hard did he confirm that this was real.

"Thank you so much! I'll definitely..."

Coming back to his senses, Bai Shi was about to properly thank Paul when he suddenly froze.

He realized that his fate might have changed in that very instant.

Because the cheat he had waited so long for had finally arrived!

"Hahaha... thank you, really! I'll take good care of this Pokémon!"

"If I get the chance, I'll definitely repay you."

"May we meet again!"

Bai Shi threw back his head and laughed. After expressing his gratitude to Paul, he could no longer contain his joy.

Clutching the Poké Ball, he bid Paul farewell and hurried away.

"..."

Paul was left standing there, somewhat speechless and visibly puzzled.

I wasn't this far gone when I got my starter Pokémon, was I?

Paul simply could not understand Bai Shi's "madness."

Before long, however, he put it out of his mind.

As far as he was concerned, the two of them probably would not meet again.

He stayed in the forest, continuing his search for Pokémon worth catching and training.