"Electivire, Garchomp, come with me. We're heading to the other world again."
Before long, Paul strode up to the many Pokémon training in the area and singled out his two chosen partners.
"Vireee~"
"Gaaar~"
"Huh~?"
"..."
The rest of the Pokémon, seeing that Paul had only called out two of them, immediately began roaring in protest, each trying to secure a spot to join him.
Over the past few days, each Pokémon had made some form of breakthrough.
Ursaluna and Aggron, having consumed Origin Ore, had seen massive improvements. Ninetales had successfully mastered Solar Amplification and was now working with Mewtwo and the others to develop a new meditation technique and moveset.
Hisuian Samurott's Dual-Blade Aqua Shadow style had advanced again, inching closer to its perfected state. Froslass had no major skill upgrades, but thanks to Torterra's Life Infusion Technique, her level was rapidly rising, with a clear trajectory to surpass the others.
Even Drapion had made a breakthrough in Pressure Point training, stepping closer to mastery.
Pressure Point has a natural cap, each use can only boost stats by two stages but he was working to break that ceiling. Under Paul's guidance and drawing from Ursaluna's Guts ability as inspiration, Drapion was developing a new technique: Toxic Pressure Point—channeling venom simultaneously to unleash power beyond the norm.
In short, every Pokémon believed they had earned the right to accompany Paul into the other world.
But Paul's face hardened. He swept his gaze coldly across the crowd and said:
"It's been this long, and none of you have broken into Champion level. You still think you're ready to go out?"
"Pathetic."
Just two sentences. That's all it took. Every Pokémon that hadn't reached Elite Four-level froze up, immediately deflated.
Yes, they'd all made breakthroughs—but none of them were Mewtwo. Their innate potential wasn't high enough. Most of them had only recently entered the Elite Four tier, and pushing into Champion-level was simply too steep a climb.
They also weren't Electivire, Garchomp, or Torterra. Some hadn't taken the "supplements." Others had started too late and hadn't fully absorbed them yet.
How could they possibly make that jump in such a short time?
Truth be told, Paul now had upgraded Poké Balls that allowed him to bring all of his Pokémon across dimensions. But most of them were in a critical growth phase. Taking them out now would only derail their progress.
So, Paul chose to be ruthless.
"Raaa~"
Just then, Torterra, who had been silently standing in the corner, looked up at Paul with hopeful eyes.
It had reached Champion level. That should be enough, right?
Paul gently patted Torterra's head, and then said something that froze it in place:
"They still need your support. If they all break through next time, you can come."
Hearing that, Torterra turned to stone.
So, unless the others broke through as well, it couldn't go—even if it could beat Electivire in a fight?
Was it now bound to this group of deadweight?
"Train hard."
With those final words, Paul disappeared into the void alongside his two partners, phone in hand, vanishing from this world.
"Raaaaaaa..."
Sorrow swelled from within. Torterra slowly turned to face the remaining Pokémon. Its normally gentle face darkened into a wintry scowl, eyes brimming with danger.
'These guys. The reason I couldn't go on the journey. They were going to pay. Extra training. Now!'
In an instant, the training grounds erupted with vines and vegetation. The entire space transformed into a botanical battlefield, and Torterra began attacking relentlessly.
From that moment on, the rest of the Pokémon's lives took on a new, grim tone:
Battle. Relentless battle.
Out of stamina? Wounded? Spirit broken?
Irrelevant.
With the light of life radiating from Torterra, the attacks never stopped. Whether willingly or not, every Pokémon was forced to move, to fight.
They were all at Elite Four-level now. With life energy replenishment, it shouldn't be a problem to go days without sleep and without food, just battle after battle.
Hell training had begun.
—
Anime Canon – Sinnoh Region: Unnamed Mountain Forest
"Accelerate. Close in. Thunderbolt!"
A purple-haired, stoic-faced teenager—Paul, raced through the forest alongside his Electivire. Up ahead, a shadowy figure flickered through the trees, darting deeper into the woods.
"Electivire, Thunderbolt!"
Paul shouted. Sparks exploded from Electivire's fists, and a massive bolt of lightning crashed from the sky, aiming straight for the fleeing shadow.
BZZZZZT!
The figure weaved through the trees like a phantom. Using the dense canopy for cover, it dodged the strike entirely and zipped farther away.
"Force it into the open."
Paul's voice was cold.
"Vireee~!"
Electivire understood. It launched arcs of electricity one after another, corralling the shadow until, finally, it broke out into an open mountain clearing.
No more shadows. No more cover.
In full view now, the fleeing Pokémon revealed itself—its form like a giant cicada:
Ninjask.
"Perfect. Thunderbolt!"
Lightning poured from the heavens, completely blanketing the clearing. Ninjask, fast as it was, couldn't dodge in time. It took the full brunt of the attack and collapsed, unconscious.
"Go. Poké Ball!"
With practiced precision, Paul threw a Poké Ball and successfully captured the Ninjask.
"Vireee~!"
Electivire struck a triumphant pose, puffing out its chest with a grin.
But Paul wasn't impressed.
"Not fast enough. Compared to that one, you're still miles behind."
Though it had been ages since his journey across regions began, Paul could still clearly recall that moment at the Battle Pyramid where he had come face to face with his counterpart from another timeline.
That Electivire's oppressive aura and blinding speed… Garchomp's relentless offense… Torterra's unshakable poise…
Every time he thought about them, he couldn't help comparing them to his own team.
And the more he compared, the more painfully aware he became of the gulf between them.
"Vireee..."
Electivire's face immediately fell. It still had no idea who its Trainer was always talking about.
'Is he really that powerful? I'm afraid he is exaggerating the facts to stimulate it? If it really exists, I will definitely beat it up if I have the chance to meet it!'
Paul walked forward, picking up the Poké Ball with one hand and flipped open his Pokédex with the other.
To defeat Brandon. To catch up to himself.
To stop wasting time and energy on the weak.
Paul had always trained only those with true potential.
If a Pokémon was incompetent, it wasn't worth his effort.
"Not bad. I'll keep it for now and evaluate later."
After checking the data and analyzing the results, Paul pocketed both the Pokédex and the new Poké Ball.
(End of Chapter)
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