High above, a few white clouds drifted lazily across the blue sky, and a breeze from who-knows-where carried with it a touch of coolness.
At the Veilstone City Daycare, Paul lay sprawled on the grass, letting the wind wash over him—a rare moment to simply enjoy the beauty of the world.
His Pokémon—those other than Mewtwo—lounged nearby, each in their own posture, also savoring the pleasant weather.
Unlike most Trainers, who cram in frantic last-minute training before a major event, Paul's approach was the opposite—his training volume was lowest right before important matches.
Aside from a few essential drills and warmups to keep their battle senses sharp, most of their time was spent on rest and team bonding.
Work hard, rest well—that was Paul's philosophy.
At least for these final few days, he had no intention of battling any Trainers, focusing solely on maintaining peak condition.
He breathed in the cool air, feeling time drift along with the wind.
After a long while, the Pokémon rested and refreshed—split off into little groups, some playing, and others chatting.
"Ah ya ya ya no…"
Not far away, perched atop an ice pillar, Froslass hummed a hauntingly beautiful melody. Notes floated on the wind, carrying a sound so distant and ethereal that it seemed to seep into every heart, drawing the Pokémon into peaceful reverie.
Ninetales and Samurott danced like sword masters in sync with the song, nine graceful tails weaving with razor-sharp shell blades in a scene both poetic and mesmerizing.
Aggron, Ursaluna, Garchomp, and Electivire paired off to test raw strength against each other. Occasionally, the heavy clang of collision cut into the melody, yet somehow didn't feel out of place.
Before long, Electivire dragged itself off the ground, looking constipated with frustration. Across from it, Ursaluna wore a dopey, honest expression, while Garchomp feigned innocent composure. The temptation to give those two a good smack just to assert dominance was strong.
Electivire—the Electivire, the strongest—was actually losing in sheer strength to them? Outrageous! Sure, in actual battle it could suppress them easily, but still—this stung.
It considered proving its superiority… but decided against it, worried it might look desperate.
"Vireee~"
It grumbled in protest. Clearly, that loss didn't count—it was just a bad round! One billion rematches!
"Gaaar~"
"Ursaah~"
Garchomp and Ursaluna exchanged a glance, both smirking.
They couldn't match Electivire in moves, tactics, or overall battle ability, but in pure brute force? They had never once backed down.
In the blink of an eye, the three Pokémon were grappling again—while Aggron stood on the sidelines, the picture of a powerless bystander.
When it came to defense, Aggron was unquestionably the team's strongest. But raw strength? Attack power? Against these guys, it was a little brother—no contest.
"Aggrr~"
Finding the bout boring, Aggron turned away and wandered over to a pile of scrap metal, munching in silence to strengthen itself.
"Draah~?"
Nearby, Drapion, in the middle of studying vital-point striking with its mentor, noticed Aggron's idle state and quickly waved a claw to call it over as a test subject.
'A Steel-type with thick armor? Perfect for practicing the Venomous Pressure Point Technique.'
"Aggrr~"
Aggron didn't mind. It plopped down, kept chewing on its metal snack, and patiently waited for Drapion to start poking. If it could help the team improve, it was willing to offer itself up.
"Draah~"
"Draah~"
Drapion and its mentor nodded at each other, then began pressing at various points on Aggron's body. After identifying promising targets, they applied the technique to themselves—testing if it could help push Drapion past the Champion threshold.
Floating nearby, Metagross had tucked in its legs and was meditating midair like a spinning top.
Paul's eyes wandered across his team until they settled on Torterra, lying placidly on the grass.
"Want to go join them?"
Although Torterra had all but abandoned its old hand-to-hand combat style since evolving, that didn't mean it lacked power. With its massive build and incredible weight, its raw strength should rival Ursaluna and Garchomp—and maybe even Electivire.
"Raaa~"
Torterra shook its head. Outside of battle, it had no interest in such petty contests.
Once it began to grow, it had no need to fight for dominance.
"Bzzt~ Trainer, you have a call."
Suddenly, Paul's Rotom Phone lit up and floated to him.
The caller ID flashed one name: Akari.
He answered, Akari's bright and sweet smile appeared on screen.
"Hiii, Paul! Long time no see. You've gone ages without coming to visit me, and you barely reply to my messages—so hurtful."
Across both worlds and the digital divide, she greeted him, then immediately began her lighthearted scolding.
"Busy. No time." Paul replied flatly.
Originally, he'd planned to visit Hisui to see if he could catch Akari's battles—Akari vs. Volo and Giratina, maybe even Akari vs. Arceus—but after his last trip to the anime world had drained his dimensional travel energy, and with it still not recharged, he'd given up.
As for not replying to her messages? Well… when someone spams you every day with random chatter, it's hard to reply to everything.
He only ever responded to the ones that caught his interest. The rest, he ignored.
"Yeah right, busy. You've got time to relax but not to send me anything good?"
Akari rolled her eyes. She knew perfectly well what he was doing right now.
Since he'd left, she'd received several data transfers from him—battle footage, Pokémon research material, notes on creation myths, even martial arts videos.
But the movies, music, and games she actually wanted? Not a single one.
So now he was "too busy" for her, huh?
"Good stuff? Sure. I'll compile my latest selection of high-level battle matches and martial arts clips for you." Paul said without hesitation.
In his mind, until Akari had personally achieved "god-slaying" status and beaten Arceus, he wasn't about to send her anything that might soften her drive.
Specialized training for a specialized talent.
"Oh, wow, thank you so much." She deadpanned.
She liked battle and martial arts footage, but only sending those was a bit much.
"So? Was there a reason you called? And where are you right now?"
Paul's eyes narrowed slightly; the background behind her looked familiar.
"Oops, got sidetracked… ta-da! Look what I've got!"
Akari stuck out her tongue playfully, then pulled from her waist pouch something shaped like coral—a flute. She held it up for him to see.
"The Azure Flute?" Paul's voice sharpened.
"Ah?! You know about it?" She blinked in surprise, then puffed out her chest with pride.
"That's right! After I beat Volo and Giratina, the High Overseer of Sinnoh upgraded my Celestica Flute into the Azure Flute."
"Impressive. Nicely done."
And Paul meant it.
The Giratina of Hisui was not like those of other worlds, this one was bold enough to directly challenge Arceus itself.
The spatial distortions, the frenzy of Dialga and Palkia… all of it was its doing, after it lost to Arceus and conspired with the hidden mastermind, Volo.
For something to dare challenge Arceus, its power had to be immense. Defeating Dialga and Palkia would be trivial for it.
"Heh-heh~"
It was the first time Paul had ever praised her like that. Akari's cheeks flushed pink, and she scratched her head shyly.
"I can feel it—if I play the Azure Flute here, Arceus will appear. Do you think I should blow it now?"
"That depends on you." Paul replied after a pause. "Do you think you're strong enough to defeat Arceus right now? Or at least pass some kind of trial from it? If you're confident, then play it. If not… wait a while."
Whether it was like in the games, defeating Arceus in person or sending out Pokémon to bring it down, neither was a simple matter.
This wasn't a video game. In reality, you had to think it through. What if the chance to challenge Arceus came only once?
"That's not even a question! This is Arceus—the Almighty Sinnoh Creator who shaped the world itself! There's no way I'd have the confidence to beat it!" Akari blurted without hesitation.
After all, it had taken everything she had just to overcome Volo and Giratina, nearly losing in the process. Arceus would be on an entirely different level.
"Take your time." Paul advised. "This might be tied to whether you can return to your original world."
Defeating Arceus and obtaining its fragment might not guarantee her a way home, but if she couldn't even obtain the fragment, there'd be zero chance of crossing back.
"Mm-hm, mm-hm. Then I'll train harder before playing it."
After thinking for a moment, Akari figured she could try tracking down the Giratina that had fled earlier. If she managed to capture it, she might—just barely, be able to stand a chance against Arceus.
With that thought decided, Akari quickly pushed the whole matter to the back of her mind and peered at Paul through the screen.
"Paul, when's your next match? I wanna watch!"
"Two days from now. I'll have Rotom broadcast it to you."
It was a small enough request that Paul agreed without a second thought.
"Yay!" She cheered instantly.
"DRAAH~"
Just then, a roar echoed in the distance, followed by an intense surge of energy that drew Paul's gaze.
Drapion's tail stinger was pressed against one of its own pressure points, and with that burst of power, it had broken through into Champion-level strength.
"Your Pokémon just had a breakthrough, huh? Go talk to it first, come hang out with me again when you've got time." Akari said, pouting playfully before ending the call herself.
"…Haaah~"
Letting Rotom drift to the side, Paul exhaled and walked toward Drapion.
All the other Pokémon had been drawn by the commotion and gathered around to congratulate it.
"Vireee~"
Electivire strode up, slinging a massive arm around Drapion's shoulders in a brotherly gesture of congratulations. They were close comrades, surely it wouldn't be too much to ask for a chance to enjoy that new pressure-point technique firsthand?
"Draaah~"
Drapion shifted slightly, eyed Electivire's fist (which was about the size of a cooking pot), and accepted without hesitation.
"Raaa~"
"Gaaar~"
"..."
The other Pokémon followed suit—offering their own congratulations, then volunteering themselves as sparring partners to help Drapion hone its skill.
After all, who didn't want to get stronger?
…Still, the "guinea pig" role would probably go to Aggron.
"Now that you've broken through, have you gained any new abilities?" Paul asked.
"Draaah~"
Drapion threw back its head and roared, violet venom blooming along its tail stinger.
Through its own efforts, it had now learned to fuse its pressure-point strikes with venom, allowing it to boost a given stat by a massive three stages (+3) in one shot.
It didn't sound like much at first, but in reality, that was terrifying.
Before, it had to land three pressure-point hits to max out a stat. Now, with this new "Toxic Pressure Point," it only needed two.
And unlike most stat-boosting moves—
Electivire's Electric Field Boost, Mewtwo's Psychic Amplify, Torterra's Endless Growth, Ninetales' Mind Surge, Samurott's Torrent Fury, Metagross' Cosmic Boost, and Aggron's Iron Wall Polish (Iron Defense + Rock Polish)—which could only raise the standard five stats, Pressure Point could also increase accuracy and evasion.
Its exact effects differed from how it worked in the games, but the potential was still enormous.
"Not bad, you've really carved out your own path." Paul said with satisfaction. Drapion's road was the fusion of venom and pressure-point strikes, and now it had truly begun walking it.
That left only Ursaluna, Garchomp, and Froslass without their own unique strengthening moves.
Froslass was mainly built around weakening opponents, so adding a boost was tricky—no need to rush that.
As for Garchomp and Ursaluna, Paul figured he could eventually develop new skills for them based on Dragon Dance and Bulk Up.
But for now, his focus was on the upcoming battles.
"Staaar~"
"Gathered around here, did Drapion just have a breakthrough? That's awesome!"
From overhead came a cry, and Reggie hopped down from his Staraptor, flashing Paul a smile.
"Draah~" Drapion roared in greeting, its pincers clicking loudly.
"You wouldn't come all the way here in broad daylight unless it was important." Paul guessed.
"Yeah, there's something." Reggie said with a grin. "Word is, there's going to be a big trading event in Kalos soon. Lots of Trainers swapping Pokémon and rare items."
Paul's eyes narrowed. "You mean…"
"You've got that Gengar Mega Stone, right? You could try trading it for a different one." Reggie explained.
If a Mega Stone didn't match your team, you either raised a compatible Pokémon or traded the stone for one that did.
At this point, Paul had no interest in catching a Gengar—just as he wasn't interested in adding a Moltres or Reshiram to his roster, so raising one was out of the question.
Trading for another Mega Stone, though… that was a different story.
The Forced Evolution Band was not a standard item. It was fine to use in other worlds or in private battles, but bringing it into official tournaments was practically asking for trouble.
Still, its advantage was that it could Mega Evolve any compatible Pokémon without a Key Stone, and without most of the usual restrictions.
"…Alright, I'll check it out when the time comes." Paul agreed.
"Good. I'll get back to my own work, then. These guys can help you with training adjustments." Reggie said, climbing back onto Staraptor's back and tossing Paul several Poké Balls.
Inside were some of Reggie's main Pokémon, along with a Blissey and Gardevoir that could assist with massage and fine-tuning.
As Reggie's figure disappeared into the distance, Paul's gaze drifted farther still.
Tomorrow, he'd take a day off to reset, then focus on preparing for the challenge match.
(End of Chapter)
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