Pokémon: Trainer Paul

"Huh? Paul, what are you doing here?"

"Who are you?"

Hands in his pockets, Paul asked flatly, his expression was indifferent.

"What?! Paul, what's your deal? It's me, Barry!"

Momentarily stunned, Barry shouted in disbelief.

"No recollection."

Paul responded casually, as if it were nothing.

"Are you kidding me? We battled before, and now you're pretending to have amnesia? You should be fined for this!"

Barry's anger flared instantly.

"Oh, now I remember."

Paul's expression shifted slightly as if a realization had dawned on him. "That useless guy."

"Buzz~"

Standing to the side, Paul's Electabuzz let out a mocking laugh, its gaze filled with disdain as it glanced at Barry and his Prinplup.

The Electric Pokémon's thoughts were clear: Seriously? A fellow Pokémon from roughly the same stage of evolution, yet Prinplup's trainer managed to lose a match they should have won easily. Embarrassing!

Electabuzz's contempt was palpable as it scoffed internally: What a disgrace—both trainer and Pokémon. You're not even worth standing alongside the great Electabuzz.

(￣∠￣)

"Twig~"

Paul's Turtwig, however, remained polite and kind-hearted despite its thoughts. While it also found Barry and Prinplup unimpressive, it refrained from openly showing disdain.

Instead, Turtwig quietly put some distance between itself and the pair, moving closer to Paul, as if it afraid their incompetence might be contagious.

"What?!"

"Prin-plup!"

Barry and Prinplup's reactions mirrored each other, their wide eyes filled with shock. It was bad enough being dismissed by Paul, but even his Pokémon were looking down on them.

This… this wasn't right!

"Don't stray further down the wrong path. Think about your Snorlax and Staravia. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a battle to get to."

Shaking his head, Paul dismissed Barry with an uninterested remark and walked past him, leaving Barry to silently ponder his words.

Paul's mention of Snorlax and Staravia was his way of pointing out the flaws in Barry's approach: not every Pokémon can adapt to a single strategy. Training must be tailored to the individual Pokémon.

If Barry still doesn't get it after such a clear hint, Paul will have no choice but to completely disregard him in the future: Barry? Who? Never heard of him. Keep your distance, useless trainer.

"Hey, how about a battle? You and your Dewott." Paul asked, turning to a young boy standing nearby.

"Cha-cha~"

At the mention of a battle, the Dewott's eyes sharpened. It glanced at Paul's Electabuzz and Turtwig, drawing its twin scalchops from its thighs and assuming a battle-ready stance.

"A battle… Dewott isn't in the best shape right now. Maybe we should pass." The boy replied hesitantly, looking at his visibly injured Dewott.

"Cha-cha!"

Dewott turned to glare at its trainer, its expression stubborn and displeased.

"I have a Potion and a Berry. Use them, and Dewott will be ready in two minutes."

Paul reached into his pocket and tossed the items—a Berry to Dewott and a Potion to the boy.

"Chaa!"

Dewott deftly caught the Berry, swallowing it in one gulp. It then leaped to snatch the Potion, expertly applying it to its injuries.

The boy stood frozen, holding the unused Potion, clearly unsure of how to respond.

"I'm Paul from Veilstone City. What about you?"

Hands still in his pockets, Paul observed the boy and his Pokémon with a calm demeanor.

Under Paul's intense presence, the boy stammered nervously, "I-I'm Winter… Winter Song, from Striaton City in Unova. I'm a rookie trainer, and Dewott is my starter Pokémon."

"Which Pokémon will you use against Dewott?" Winter asked, his eyes flickering between Paul's Turtwig and Electabuzz, silently hoping it wouldn't be the intimidating Electric Pokémon.

"Neither."

Paul pulled a Poké Ball from his pocket and tossed it forward.

"Kabuto, prepare for battle!"

The Pokémon that emerged was a Kabuto, its body covered by a dome-shaped, gray-brown shell. It stared at Dewott, its black body visible beneath the shell, adorned with two red eyes and four clawed limbs.

"Cha-cha!"

Dewott, having recovered its strength, tossed the empty Potion aside, brandished its scalchops and adopted a fighting stance.

"Kabuu…"

For a moment, Kabuto hesitated and intimidated by Dewott's sharp gaze. It took a step back almost as if considering retreating altogether.

But sensing Paul's unwavering gaze from behind, Kabuto steeled itself and locked eyes with Dewott.

"You may attack first." Paul said.

"Dewott, use Razor Shell!"

"Chaa!"

Dewott lunged forward, its scalchops glowing as they transformed into sharp blades, slashing at Kabuto.

"Harden!"

Kabuto dropped low, its shell gleaming briefly as its defense increased.

The Razor Shell strikes landed with a clang-clang-clang, but Kabuto remained unmoved, continuing to bolster its defenses with Harden.

The repeated strikes caused Dewott's arms to tremble from the recoil, while Kabuto appeared unscathed.

"Try Fury Cutter instead!"

Winter adjusted his strategy, knowing Fury Cutter's power increased with each consecutive hit.

As Dewott's scalchops glowed with a faint green light, Paul's voice rang out: "Screech!"

Kabuto suddenly rose and emitted an ear-piercing sound, causing Dewott to flinch and drop one of its scalchops as it covered its ears.

"Screech lowers defense significantly. Now, Aqua Jet!"

Kabuto enveloped itself in a jet of water and surged forward at blinding speed, striking Dewott head-on.

"Dewott, dodge!" Winter shouted, but it was too late.

The force of the Aqua Jet sent Dewott flying, and before it could recover, Kabuto followed up with Scratch, its claws glowing as it delivered the finishing blow.

Dewott collapsed to the ground, still conscious but unable to continue the battle.

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