Enemies on a narrow road

After losing to Paul, Bai Shi took a long, hard look at the battle and what he could learn from it.

"Unlike the Double Battle Tournament, Paul came prepared this time."

"All three Pokémon he sent out were picked specifically to counter mine."

"I never gained the slightest advantage throughout the match. He had me completely pinned down."

"If Staravia hadn't suddenly evolved, I might have lost even more miserably."

"Besides, Paul still had plenty of cards he hadn't played, like his starter Pokémon, Torterra."

"Apart from Stantler, who won't listen to me, I already used all my main fighters."

"That just shows there's still a pretty big gap between Paul and me."

Through his recent battles, Bai Shi had gained a fairly clear picture of where his strength stood.

Among the rookie Pokémon Trainers who had started around the same time, he was doing quite well.

He could pretty much handle the likes of Kengo and Barry with ease.

But against a seasoned veteran like Paul, who had challenged multiple regions, he struggled badly.

Whether in individual strength or the depth of his roster, Bai Shi fell short.

Even unconventional tactics were easily countered and dismantled.

After all, Paul simply had a stronger foundation.

He had more options and a greater margin for error.

In this battle, for instance, the three Pokémon Paul sent out were all different types of fighters.

There was Karrablast with its astonishing defense, the incredibly fast Ninjask, and the most monstrous of all, that immensely powerful Ursaring.

They exploited his weak points perfectly: he had few Pokémon, and his fighting style lacked variety.

Bai Shi had done well just to drag the battle into a deciding round.

"I already knew my style was too one-dimensional before this."

"But when someone targeted that weakness, I