"Let's find somewhere to talk about your situation."
Paul cast a glance at the Electivire and took the lead down the mountain.
Garchomp followed closely behind. As it passed by "Paul," it deliberately released an intimidating Dragon aura and killing intent toward the Electivire, causing it to break out in a cold sweat.
"Gaaar~"
Amusement flickered in Garchomp's eyes as it strode after Paul.
'It couldn't beat the elder brother, but bullying one of the same species? That was still fair game.'
"Let's go."
After Paul walked off, the other "Paul" growled coldly and followed.
"Vireee...~"
The stunned Electivire finally snapped out of it and awkwardly followed behind.
At that moment, Electivire experienced the strangest moment of its life.
In broad daylight, it had encountered someone who looked exactly like its Trainer, and was completely paralyzed by the aura of that person's Pokémon.
'What the heck was going on?!'
...
In truth, Paul had already been in this world for a while before encountering his doppelgänger.
The first thing he did upon arrival was pull out his phone, connect to the local network, and start researching what kind of cascading effects had rippled out since his last visit.
His first search? Team Rocket.
During his last visit, Mewtwo had scrambled Giovanni's mind—maybe even killed him. If Giovanni really had died, the cascading effect would be massive. Team Rocket might have collapsed or been thrown into chaos. Jesse, James, and Meowth might not even be after Pikachu anymore.
But after some digging, Paul found no reports of a Team Rocket collapse. Apparently, Giovanni survived Mewtwo's attack. Lucky bastard.
Next, Paul checked whether anything about his own existence had been revealed by Brandon or Bruno. Thankfully, no. That made sense. Neither of them were the type to casually brag about being defeated.
Finally, Paul looked up everything related to both "Paul" and "Reggie."
Unlike the relatively minor effects in other storylines, the changes involving the anime-world Paul and Reggie were significant.
After Paul left this world, anime-Paul initially set out to collect Gym Badges and catch Pokémon to compete in the League.
But for some unknown reason, after earning just two badges, he abruptly left the Kanto region and returned to Sinnoh, to team up with Reggie and focus on developing a Pokémon Daycare business.
It wasn't until Ash began his journey in Johto that anime-Paul set off again to challenge Gyms and enter the League.
Only this time, his team included not just a Grotle, but also a Gible and an Elekid.
In other words, by the time he had just started his new journey, anime-Paul already had the three Pokémon that would eventually become his strongest team in the anime's future.
After participating in the Lily of the Valley and Silver Conferences, anime-Paul returned to Sinnoh just recently to prepare for the Lily of the Valley Tournament.
That was the gist of what Paul found in his research. There were still many details he didn't fully understand, but he didn't dig further—partly because it wasn't necessary, and partly because he'd spotted movement in the forest below while flying on Garchomp.
He saw anime-Paul capturing a Ninjask.
He also saw Chimchar being hunted down.
The sheer coincidence of stumbling upon this fateful scene caught Paul off guard.
If he hadn't seen it, no big deal. But now that he had, he couldn't just stand by.
As he observed from the sky, he began contemplating a critical question:
Should he intercept Chimchar before anime-Paul could catch it?
For most transmigrators, the answer would be obvious—strike first and ask questions later. But Paul was different. He was rational.
First of all, he didn't need a Fire-type. His Ninetales didn't know many moves, but it was incredibly powerful.
At equal levels, even legendary Fire-types like Moltres, Entei, or Heatran might not be able to beat it. If he were to capture them, it'd be more as mascots than combat units.
Second, anime-Paul had been heavily influenced by his own prior visit. He had already caught all three of the so-called "leaders" and his personality had changed significantly from the anime's version.
With Electivire and Garchomp already on board, the less abrasive anime-Paul was unlikely to push Chimchar as hard, or abandon it.
Lastly, and most crucially: Chimchar might not be as innately gifted as people think.
In the anime, anime-Paul's biggest hope for Chimchar was unlocking its unique Blaze. Every chance he got, he tried to force that ability to activate.
If Chimchar were truly gifted, not weaker than Elekid or Grotle, and at least stronger than his Ursaring or other Pokémon, then why would anime-Paul give up on it just because he couldn't awaken Blaze or overcome its trauma?
Logically, if Chimchar were truly talented, then even if Blaze couldn't be triggered, it would still be worth keeping.
After all, retaining potential is a low-risk, high-reward strategy. If Blaze ever did awaken, the return would be massive.
If anime-Paul were thinking clearly, he'd understand that.
Which means, Chimchar's baseline potential was probably just above average. What truly made it special was that mutated Blaze.
Chimchar was like a rare mutant, its true strength rooted in the uniqueness of its Blaze.
But without Blaze? Its raw talent wasn't anything extraordinary.
To anime-Paul, who at the time was both impatient and disappointed, Chimchar was essentially "tasteless when eaten, a pity to throw away."
Abandoning Chimchar was probably more about time management, cutting losses to find a better Fire-type.
In the past, even knowing how strong Blaze could become, Paul might've passed on Chimchar because of its underwhelming stats.
But, as luck would have it, just a few days ago, his Torterra had developed a technique for life-force infusion, exactly the kind of ability that could compensate for Chimchar's slightly lower natural aptitude.
Though he still hesitated, the moment Paul saw that unique Blaze flared up from the sky, all his doubts vanished.
"That powerful fire... will be mine! That extraordinary Blaze... would be wasted if not pushed to its limits!"
"Talent can sometimes be cultivated, but this kind of unique fire? In this entire world, only one Pokémon possesses it!"
(End of Chapter)
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