"I saw you just signed up for the World Coronation Series. So did I. Want an official battle?"
The white-haired girl twirled her Poké Ball and waved her Rotom Phone, her face brimming with confidence.
"Sure. Let's do it." Replied Paul, unfazed.
After all, during the early rankings, your opponent hardly matters. Paul wasn't too concerned.
That said, there was a particular rule in the World Coronation Series: outdoor matches are 1-on-1, while indoor matches are 2-on-2.
Since the Pokémon Center didn't have an indoor battle arena, they would have to fight outside.
"Then let's pair up. Summon Rotom!"
The girl extended her phone toward Paul's, tapping the sync button. Moments later, a successful match notification appeared.
"Come on, let's battle in the Pokémon Center's backyard."
Excited to challenge what she assumed was a rookie trainer, the confident girl led the way with a cheerful gait.
Paul casually followed her.
By the time they reached the outdoor field, a Drone Rotom had already flown into place, hovering above as it began recording. It would capture the entire battle and upload the results for ranking purposes.
"My name is Moli, a Trainer from Viridian City. My Pokémon's really strong!"
The white-haired girl introduced herself with pride.
"I'm Paul, from Veilstone City." he replied plainly.
"Standard Ranked Match initialized. Format: One-on-One. Both Trainers, release your Pokémon."
The mechanical voice of Drone Rotom cut through the air.
Both Trainers drew their Poké Balls. After briefly locking eyes, they threw them in unison.
"Let's go, Vigoroth!"
"Chimchar, ready for battle!"
With a flash of light, a wild-looking white-furred primate with sharp claws landed opposite a small, flame-tailed monkey.
"Yahh!"
The little Fire-type was brimming with excitement, his first true battle. His tail flared with hot intensity. But when he laid eyes on his opponent, he froze.
Not out of fear—no, Vigoroth didn't look terrifying. Quite the opposite.
The thing looked… sleepy?
Even Paul blinked in mild surprise. A lethargic Vigoroth was almost as rare as a lazy Slaking.
"Chimchar, YES!"
Moli clenched her fists excitedly. Her opponent had sent out a baby-stage Pokémon. This was a guaranteed win!
"Battle start!"
Drone Rotom's call brought both Trainers into full focus.
"Ember! Flame Wheel!"
Chimchar opened his mouth, unleashing a burst of flickering fire like scattering sparks toward Vigoroth. Without missing a beat, he hurdled forward, cloaking himself in swirling flames, rushing toward his opponent in a blazing Flame Wheel.
Vigoroth still looked like it might fall asleep at any moment. Not even a flicker of reaction.
But when Moli shouted her command, everything changed.
"Awaken, Sage Ape!"
Just three words, and it was like a switch flipped. In a flash of clarity, Vigoroth's eyes lit up with sharp focus, as if Slow Start had just ended for a Regigigas.
No further command needed.
With a swipe of its claws, it shattered the incoming Ember, then charged straight for Chimchar.
Its claws gleamed white—Slash activated. Vigoroth leapt, slashing downward at Chimchar's blazing wheel.
BOOM!
Sparks flew.
Chimchar's Flame Wheel continued to spin, but he was stopped cold.
"Hah! Told you, my Vigoroth's really strong."
Moli smirked.
"Break through it!"
With her command, Vigoroth raised its other claw and struck from the side. The Flame Wheel was shattered mid-spin, sending Chimchar flying.
"Brick Break!"
Seizing the momentum, Vigoroth lunged after Chimchar with arms and legs in motion, pouncing with a downward Brick Break aimed at his head.
"Fire Punch!"
Paul's voice rang out.
Chimchar twisted midair and retaliated with a freshly-learned Fire Punch, his burning fist met the incoming strike head-on.
The clash sent Chimchar plummeting to the ground at even greater speed.
"Hu-ha!"
Vigoroth followed, its claws raised to finish the job.
But—
"Dig!"
Thanks to his grueling Tree of Beginning excavation training, the moment Chimchar hit the ground, his hands started tunneling. In a blink, he vanished underground.
WHAM!
Dust exploded as Vigoroth's Brick Break struck empty dirt.
"No problem! Stay alert and—"
Moli didn't finish her sentence.
The ground beneath Vigoroth suddenly caved in. Chimchar burst upward from the Dig, launching Vigoroth into the air.
"Flamethrower!"
Chimchar didn't even emerge from the hole. From within, he unleashed a powerful jet of flame that scorched the airborne Vigoroth directly.
"ARGH!"
Engulfed in flames, Vigoroth crashed to the ground in pain. Before it could regain balance, another Flame Wheel was already heading its way.
"Slash!"
Panicked, Vigoroth swung its claws to meet the attack.
But just as the two were about to collide—Flame Wheel curved mid-air at a sharp right angle, bypassing Vigoroth entirely.
What a drift maneuver!
"Flamethrower!"
Chimchar, having canceled the Flame Wheel mid-flight, flipped midair and aimed a point-blank reverse Flamethrower directly at Vigoroth.
Caught off guard, Vigoroth was again consumed by fire.
And then—Chimchar landed like a gymnast. He tucked, rolled, and bounced upright with arms raised like an Olympic medalist, soaking in the imaginary cheers.
He turned.
Vigoroth, who had looked so fierce just moments ago, was now face-down on the ground, struggling to stand.
"Yah!"
With a cry, Chimchar darted forward, dodged Vigoroth's last desperate swipe—and socked him square in the jaw.
KO.
"YAH!"
Panting, Chimchar looked down at the fallen Vigoroth and finally exhaled in relief.
That Vigoroth had been faster and stronger. Without Dig and Flamethrower, he would've lost.
But now… his first real battle was a win.
He began bouncing with joy.
"Vigoroth is unable to battle! Chimchar wins! Victory goes to Trainer Paul!"
"Recording complete... Uploading battle... Upload successful!"
Drone Rotom declared the result, then zipped away to its next filming location.
"Aghhh… I actually lost…"
Moli collapsed to the ground, hugging her scorched Vigoroth in defeat.
This wasn't what she'd imagined!
Crushing some newly registered rookie trainer in a breeze, racking up points, and rising quickly to Great Class rank—that was the plan.
But now, even after unleashing her ace Vigoroth, she still couldn't win. It was maddening!
"Current Ranking: 43,422."
After securing the win, Paul calmly pulled up his ranking. Much lower than he expected. Not even in the top 10,000.
He turned to his partner.
"We've got more work to do. Until we break into the top 1,000, I'm counting on you to handle every match."
His Chimchar looked up at him, eyes blazing.
It was important to remember, just because someone's at Poké Ball tier doesn't mean they're weak. Many strong trainers start late but already have the strength of Ultra Class or even Master Class tier competitors.
Even with Chimchar's strength, even if it were to unlock Blaze—there was no guarantee it could sweep every opponent.
Paul knew this. His words meant he was already mentally prepared to take some losses in the coming battles.
Losses build growth. He hadn't tasted defeat often before, and in the future, such chances would only become rarer. The World Coronation Series was one such rare challenge, one to be treasured.
"Yah!"
Chimchar, unaware of Paul's internal reflections, pumped its fists with spirited enthusiasm.
It felt trusted. And it would absolutely live up to that trust.
"Let's go."
Paul shot a glance at the teary-eyed girl hugging her Vigoroth in defeat and turned away without a second thought. With Chimchar at his side, he walked toward the city's department store.
He had burned through most of his supplies during his recent travels, and dimensional crossing. His backpack was nearly empty. It was time to restock.
...
After spending about an hour gathering what he needed, Paul sat on a bench outside the mall, sipping orange juice. He tossed a biscuit to Chimchar.
"Yah~!"
The little Fire-type caught it, turning it over curiously in its hands, sniffing it from all sides before finally nibbling on it happily.
Paul, meanwhile, was deep in thought.
Should he return to Sinnoh now?
He had already spent several months in Kanto. He'd conquered the Battle Frontier, met Sabrina, and even visited the Tree of Beginning, a sacred place tied to the roots of the Pokémon world.
Aside from not meeting the "main universe" Mewtwo, he had pretty much seen everything Kanto had to offer.
The only regret?
He hadn't yet caught news of Blue or Red returning to Kanto.
After pondering for a while, Paul decided:
Once he squeezed all the value he could out of Zapdos, he'd leave it at the Tree of Beginning and move on.
Where to next—Sinnoh, or maybe a different region—he'd figure that out later.
Just then, he overheard a pair of girls chatting nearby.
"Didn't your Eevee refuse to eat anything a few days ago? It looks way more energetic now!"
The girl with black hair was looking at the brunette girl holding a very relaxed Eevee in her arms.
"Yeah, I took it to the Pokémon Center. Nurse Joy recommended a new Pokémon Daycare that opened in the city."
"A new daycare? That sounds kind of sketchy…"
"I thought so too! But once I got there, the breeder was super handsome. He had a mean-looking Drapion who tapped a few pressure points on Eevee, and it started eating like crazy that same day!"
"He also gave it a grooming session after. That's probably why it looks so good now."
"Eevee~!"
The brunette's Eevee chirped in happy agreement, clearly enjoying the memory.
"Sounds amazing! I'll take my Pikachu there next time."
"Pika~!"
To any ordinary listener, this would've sounded like normal small talk. But to Paul, it triggered something.
He remembered what Reggie had said about expanding his breeder services to other regions.
Drapion and acupressure? That was a dead giveaway.
Without hesitation, Paul stood up and approached the two girls.
"Sorry to interrupt, was the breeder a guy with purple hair? Name's Reggie?"
"Yes! Purple hair like you… wait—you two look alike. Are you related?"
The brunette blinked in realization.
"Yeah. Where's the daycare?"
"Just outside the city, near the Viridian Gym."
"Thanks."
Paul gave a brief nod of gratitude and turned to leave, Chimchar trailing behind him.
"Wow, he's kind of… impressive." The black-haired girl muttered, pulling out her phone to search him up.
"I think he's a famous trainer. Maybe that's how strong trainers are, kind of weird but impressive?" The brunette replied, gently stroking her Eevee.
"Whoa! Look at this!"
The black-haired girl gasped.
"League Champion… Winner of the Orange League Victory Cup… Beat Elite Four Lorelei… Dominated the Battle Frontier—this guy's achievements are insane!"
In this world, different from the "core world"—titles and achievements meant a lot. Each one of Paul's victories carried serious weight: winning the Pokémon League meant beating Gym Leaders; the Victory Cup meant facing down Elite-level trainers; defeating Lorelei and conquering the Battle Frontier put him near Champion-tier.
But list real battle records against renowned trainers? That grabs attention.
...
Back to Paul, he soon arrived at the new daycare facility.
Its aesthetic was very different from their family's breeder house.
Modern, stylish—not what Paul expected from his brother.
Before stepping inside, Paul stopped.
In the front courtyard, a graceful Gardevoir was tending flowers with a Kirlia beside her.
Nearby, a young man with purple hair was engrossed in a tablet.
As if sensing Paul's gaze, Reggie suddenly looked up—and their eyes met. A glint of surprise and joy sparked in Reggie's eyes.
"You're here? Why didn't you say anything?" Reggie grinned.
"Was gonna surprise you at your match. Guess I missed it."
Paul glanced at the tablet in Reggie's hands.
On the screen? Paul's earlier battle against Brandon.
"There'll be more chances." Paul said firmly.
"Next time you're in a big tournament, I'll be there." Reggie promised with a smile.
"When did you set up this daycare?"
"Construction started a month or two ago. Officially opened two weeks back. Still wasn't fully ready at first."
Paul looked around the modern decor and commented:
"Feels… very different."
"It's just a branch anyway. I'm only responsible for the initial training and construction, the League will take over from here." Reggie shrugged.
He wasn't too attached to the furnishings. He'd only be here for a while.
So, everything was fine.
(End of Chapter)
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