"Paul, huh..."
Xiaoyun looked at the boy in purple standing beneath the tree, at his cold eyes and the unapproachable air he gave off.
There was no doubt about it. He was Paul, Ash's formidable rival in Sinnoh in the original story.
When it came to Paul, Xiaoyun actually felt that his approach to raising Pokémon wasn't wrong.
Thinking back to the Pokémon under Paul in the anime, Electivire, Ursaring, Torterra, and the others had all been trained extremely well. Torterra in particular had its advantages fully utilized, its strengths brought out to the fullest.
Although he often released Pokémon he deemed unqualified, that was far better than abandoning Pokémon and spinning a lie that left them to fend for themselves in a city. Someone like Goh was the one who was truly irresponsible toward Pokémon.
But not every Pokémon could adapt to Paul's training methods. Chimchar, for instance, had psychological scars and wasn't suited to Paul's oppressive approach. Encouragement suited it better.
Paul knew this too, which was why he deliberately released Chimchar in front of Ash, effectively handing it over to him in a roundabout way. He also kept following Chimchar's progress afterward. He could be called a very well-written rival.
"So this Pikachu was the Pokémon you were in such a hurry to find?"
Standing beneath the tree, Paul looked coldly at Pikachu perched on Ash's shoulder.
"You're the Trainer who released that Starly in the forest earlier?"
Only after the purple-haired boy spoke to him did Ash remember Paul.
"You haven't answered my question. This Pikachu doesn't look very strong to me, so why did you look so anxious?"
Seeing that Ash hadn't answered his question, Paul spoke again.
"Because Pikachu is my partner. We're the strongest team."
"Pika pi."
Ash told Paul his reason, and Pikachu chimed in as though to prove his words.
"Ridiculous. I thought this Pikachu possessed some incredible power. I never expected such a childish answer."
"Partners? Heh. How absurd."
Paul was somewhat disappointed by Ash's answer, and his tone was full of disdain.
"What did you say? What gives you the right to say that about us?"
Hearing Paul actually question his bond with Pikachu, Ash immediately shot back.
"Am I wrong? Pokémon are Pokémon. They can never be partners."
"Strength gained through constant training and powerful tactics are everything. If you think you can earn a place in this world with nothing but hot-blooded enthusiasm, you'll always be dreaming."
"It's nothing but a joke."
Paul seemed to recall something and continued stating his views in a cold voice.
"Xiaoyun, what he's saying is so harsh. I feel like his Pokémon must be really pitiful."
Dawn felt a little uncomfortable hearing Paul's cold words too. She turned to Xiaoyun and spoke.
"All I can say is that everyone has a different way of raising Pokémon.
But he isn't wrong either. Strength and tactics really are relatively important parts of being a Trainer. If a Trainer isn't at a level that matches their Pokémon, even their Pokémon will look down on them."
Xiaoyun didn't refute Paul's words. After all, strength and tactics really were important, but the bond between a Trainer and their Pokémon was also indispensable.
The two people before him could only be described as two extremes.
"You! I don't agree with what you're saying."
"I believe our relationship with Pokémon is one of family. They're our partners forever, and I believe we can overcome any difficulty by working together."
"Pika pi."
Ash hurriedly refuted Paul. He didn't agree with anything Paul had just said. As he saw it, strength was certainly important, but the bond between a Trainer and their Pokémon was what mattered most.
"Uh..." Xiaoyun looked at Ash, actually thinking, You and Pikachu really are family, but things fall a little short with your other Pokémon.
Sceptile, Charizard, Snorlax-such powerful Pokémon, yet you left them all to retire in Professor Oak's backyard without even asking whether they wanted to. Poor Pidgeot is still waiting in Viridian Forest for your call.
Even if you want to catch new Pokémon in a new region, you could at least bring a couple of your old ones along for some fresh air. You don't even measure up to Paul in that respect.
"In that case, let's have a Pokémon battle. Three-on-three. With the Pikachu on your shoulder, you should have three, right?"
Paul looked at Ash and said no more. He had seen far too many hot-blooded people like him. Against someone like that, a battle was much more effective than words.
"All right, let's do this, Pikachu."
"Pika pi."
Ash wasn't afraid when Paul challenged him to a battle. He turned to Pikachu on his shoulder to offer some encouragement before the match.
"Then I'll referee this match." The ever-helpful Brock stepped forward too, taking his place in the middle of the grass to serve as referee.
"This match will be between Ash and..." Brock suddenly realized he didn't know the purple-clad boy's name.
"My name is Paul," Paul told Brock.
"All right, this will be a three-on-three match between Ash and Paul, with no restrictions. A side loses when all three of its Pokémon are unable to battle."
The professional referee Brock announced the rules, and the match officially began the moment he finished speaking.
"Starly, come out and battle."
"Starly, huh? Then we'll use ours too. Come on out, Starly."
"Starly!" ×2
As Paul sent out a Starly, Ash sent out his own, and the battle between the two Starly began.
Ash ordered his Starly to use Quick Attack, attacking first to seize the initiative in this match.
Paul held his ground, waiting until Ash's Starly drew near before using Double Team to evade it. Ash's Starly hit nothing.
It then turned and used Wing Attack. Paul immediately ordered his Starly to use Aerial Ace, not only dodging the attack at close range but also finishing the battle cleanly from behind with a Thomas flare.
"That cold guy is actually this strong?"
Watching Paul win the first match with ease, Dawn spoke in some surprise.
"Calm commands and good reactions. Just what I'd expect from Paul. I wonder who would come out on top between him and Xiaoyun."
Professor Rowan couldn't help voicing his admiration too, because Paul really did have his own distinctive strengths when it came to Pokémon.
"Thanks for your hard work, Starly. I was careless this time."
"Go, Aipom."
Ash recalled Starly into its Poké Ball without losing heart, then threw Aipom's Poké Ball to continue the battle.
"Come back. Chimchar, get ready to battle."
Paul gave up his advantage with Starly and sent out a new Pokémon to begin the second round. A red light flashed, and a Chimchar with flames burning on its rear appeared on the battlefield.