Pokémon: Trainer Paul

"Dewott, come with me."

Paul turned his gaze to his final remaining Pokémon, calling it over to a large tree ahead. Pointing at the tree, he commanded, "Unleash your full power and cut it down at your fastest speed!"

"Cha-cha!"

Locking its eyes on the tree, Dewott began charging up in place, gripping its two scalchops tightly at its sides.

Whoosh!

In an instant, a flash of blue streaked across the field. By the time Dewott reappeared, it was already behind the tree.

Crack!

Just as Dewott returned its scalchops to their resting position, the tree split into multiple segments and collapsed to the ground.

"Did you notice the problem?"

Paul didn't even glance at the fallen tree. Instead, he focused on Dewott, posing his question.

"Cha-cha?"

Dewott looked confused. Its attack was perfect—its speed and power were terrifying, so much that even Electabuzz might struggle to react in time to defend against it.

"The charging time is too long, and your burst range is limited."

"In battle, you won't always have time to charge up. That makes this technique impractical except for a well-timed opening move."

"You were already near the limit of your burst range just now. If you were just two meters farther away, your speed would drop significantly. If you were dozens of meters away, your movement would barely qualify as a sprint, let alone an explosive burst."

"Cha…"

Hearing Paul's analysis, Dewott lowered its scalchops in deep thought.

Sure, its full-power burst looked impressive, but it had severe limitations, making it unreliable in real combat.

Unless an opponent foolishly engaged in a power struggle with it, most battles wouldn't afford the time to charge up. In fact, opponents would actively try to keep their distance.

These two issues—sustainability and burst distance—needed to be resolved.

But how? That was the real challenge.

"Do you remember the very first strike you used against Grotle?"

"Does Aqua Jet have to be fully activated to reach high speed?"

"What if you only used half of it—like Quick Attack—just for acceleration? What if you channeled Aqua Jet's power purely into your lower body to enhance movement speed?"

Paul's insight struck Dewott like lightning.

That's right! If it could control Aqua Jet properly, it could trigger a high-speed burst at any time!

Inspired by this revelation, Dewott was overjoyed and immediately began training its Aqua Jet Burst technique.

Seeing this, both Skorupi and Ursaring, who had just finished their own discussion, realized they couldn't slack off either. They quickly resumed their training—one practicing its fire attacks and the other refining its poison techniques.

Only Gardevoir, who had been left out, rolled her eyes at Paul before voluntarily taking on the role of team medic.

Paul didn't mind. Watching his Pokémon train hard, he was already planning their next regimen once they returned to the Breeding Facility.

Time passed as Paul strategized. The sky brightened and darkened in turn, and before he knew it, several days had gone by.

Standing atop a high mountain, Paul gazed down at Veilstone City nestled among the peaks. His mood was relatively calm.

Picking up his pace, he soon arrived home.

Everything was familiar—the courtyard, the Bibarel… and—

"Big brother, I'm back."

Paul's voice cut through the afternoon air as he looked at Reggie, who was tending to a Budew with the help of a small Ralts.

"Hmm?"

Reggie looked up at the familiar voice, spotting his younger brother. A warm smile spread across his face.

"Good to have you back. Looks like you've learned a lot on your journey."

"Raa~"

The little Ralts, upon seeing its previous owner, panicked and quickly hid behind Reggie, peeking out cautiously.

"I'm leaving this to you."

Paul took out a Poké Ball and released Gardevoir before tossing the ball to Reggie.

"No problem, go ahead."

Reggie caught the Poké Ball with a grin.

"Gar-de~"

Emerging from the ball, Gardevoir scanned her surroundings before spotting the small Ralts nearby.

"Raa~"

With a delighted cry, Ralts leaped into Gardevoir's arms, nuzzling against her.

Watching the reunion between mother and child, Reggie smiled and said, "You can live here peacefully from now on, Gardevoir."

"Gar-de~"

Gardevoir, hugging Ralts tightly, seemed to relax and nodded in agreement.

Meanwhile, Paul returned to his room.

It was just as he had left it—clean and simple.

A bed, a wardrobe, a desk, and a bookshelf. A few trophies and some photos sat neatly on the shelves.

Taking a deep breath, Paul stepped inside and began sorting through his belongings.

He placed his Victory Cup trophy on the shelf and slipped Electabuzz and Gible's Poké Balls into his pocket.

"I'm going to find Electabuzz."

About ten minutes later, feeling lighter, Paul exited his room and informed Reggie before heading out.

"Go ahead, they're with Drapion. Be back in time for dinner." Reggie called after him.

…

The area where Drapion and the others stayed was somewhat remote, near a small lake and a bit of a walk from the main Breeding Facility.

However, at Paul's pace, it took less than ten minutes to get there.

"Sha! Sha! Sha!"

Before Paul even saw Drapion, he heard Gible's delighted cries echoing through the air.

It was clear that Gible had been enjoying its time in Veilstone City.

Upon arrival, Paul immediately spotted Gible lying comfortably in front of Drapion and Roserade.

Gible, happily chirping, was sprawled out while Drapion skillfully used its pincers to press certain pressure points on its back.

"Buzz~"

Meanwhile, Electabuzz, already accustomed to pain, grinned mischievously and taunted Roserade as she massaged his battered body.

"Hey sis, is that all you got? Doesn't feel like much. You holding back?"

"Roserade…"

Roserade sighed, shaking her head at Electabuzz's bruised and battered back.

"Your whole body is like jelly already, and you're still talking tough?"

"Drapion, Roserade, it's been a while."

Paul's voice made all the Pokémon pause and look up.

"Ah~"

Drapion casually pinned Gible to the ground with its tail and waved its claws with a smile.

"Roserade~"

Roserade elegantly flicked her vine whip, greeting Paul in her own graceful manner.

It was clear they were both happy to see him.

"Are those two done yet?"

Paul glanced at his two troublesome Pokémon.

"Roserade~"

Roserade nodded and extended a vine whip, dropping Electabuzz in front of Paul.

"Buzz~"

Electabuzz barely lifted its head before deciding it was too much effort and just lay there to recover.

"Ah~"

Drapion, not wanting to be outdone, finished Gible's acupuncture session and casually tossed the little dragon onto Electabuzz.

Thud!

Gible let out a pained groan as it landed, sprawled motionless across Electabuzz like a ragdoll.

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