"Paul... keep working hard."
"As for me..."
"I'm not going to be a Pokémon Trainer anymore."
Reggie's words struck like a bolt of lightning.
Paul stood frozen in place.
"Paul... I'm sorry."
"I didn't want to tell you tonight."
"But no matter what... sooner or later, I had to say it."
Paul listened silently as Reggie explained everything.
Not a single word came out of his mouth.
Reggie sat alone in the Pokémon Center.
His face was weathered with exhaustion.
He looked at the six Poké Balls in his hand.
All six of his Pokémon...
Taking turns one after another...
Still hadn't been able to defeat even one of Brandon's Pokémon.
Such a crushing defeat...
Unlike anything he'd ever experienced before.
Now that Paul had found a trustworthy master...
Someone who no longer needed Reggie's protection...
Reggie finally made up his mind.
He would give up being a Pokémon Trainer.
Sitting quietly inside the Pokémon Center...
His eyes held confusion.
Pain.
But above all...
Relief.
Reggie was already twenty-five years old.
His strength wasn't bad.
But on the path of becoming a Trainer...
He had never managed to break through.
Compared to Cynthia—
Who had become Champion before turning twenty-five—
Trainers like Reggie were actually the overwhelming majority.
Rolling a Poké Ball between his fingers, he murmured,
"Maybe..."
"Going back home and opening a Pokémon Day Care wouldn't be such a bad choice."
Meanwhile...
Back on the Indigo Plateau...
Paul stared blankly out the window.
My brother...
Quit being a Trainer?
No matter how much he thought about it...
He couldn't understand.
Reggie was far stronger than he was.
If Reggie had entered this year's League Conference...
There was a very high chance he could've become Champion.
So why...
Why would he just give up?
Paul couldn't understand.
In truth...
This year's Indigo Conference was one of the weakest in recent years.
The fact that both Gary and Paul had reached the finals...
Wasn't solely because they were exceptionally powerful.
Luck had played a significant role.
The incident on Shamouti Island...
The campaign against Team Rocket...
The Eight Gym Leaders Tournament...
Every one of those events had attracted countless elite Trainers away from the League.
On top of that...
Age had always been an important consideration for the Pokémon League.
An eighteen-year-old Champion...
And a twenty-five-year-old Champion...
Were two completely different things.
Even if Reggie really had entered...
And even if he'd won the championship...
The League still wouldn't have offered him any particularly prestigious position.
That night...
Paul didn't sleep.
He spent the entire night staring at the six Pokémon he'd planned to use in the finals.
By dawn...
He had reached an answer.
"To win."
"I have to keep winning."
"Only by winning continuously..."
"Can I succeed."
"Can I become a true Pokémon Trainer."
"No matter how many excuses..."
"No matter how many reasons..."
"If you lose..."
"You lose."
"Some Pokémon simply aren't suited for battling."
"Battles aren't children's games."
"Every tiny detail matters."
"A single mistake..."
"Can decide everything."
"I'll become the strongest Trainer."
"I refuse to become..."
"A loser like Reggie."
Paul looked at the four or five extra Poké Balls in his hand.
After hesitating for a long moment...
His expression became resolute.
"You're free."
"If you want to stay at Songzao Gym, that's fine."
"If you want to leave, that's fine too."
"But from today onward..."
"I won't be training you anymore."
"Go find your own paths."
After Paul finished speaking...
Two or three Pokémon hesitated briefly before leaving on their own.
Several others chose to remain at Songzao Gym.
After streamlining his roster...
Paul was left with only seven Pokémon.
If the finals hadn't been so close...
He probably would've reduced his team even further.
Just like Red...
Keeping only the absolute elite.
At the same time...
Ash was bursting with energy.
"Woohoo!"
"Mom finally went home!"
"I can finally relax!"
After seeing Delia off...
Ash suddenly noticed a familiar-looking Pokémon in the distance.
He and Brock immediately walked over.
Looking at it carefully, Ash exclaimed,
"Huh?"
"Aren't you Paul's Sunflora?"
"Why are you here?"
"Did you get lost?"
Brock frowned as he examined the Pokémon.
"That doesn't look like it got lost..."
Elsewhere on the Indigo Plateau...
Red stopped a middle-aged man dressed in martial arts attire.
"You're Gym Leader Li Qing, right?"
The Fighting-type Gym Leader looked surprised.
"Gym Leader Red?"
"What can I do for you?"
Red smiled.
"After training with Bruno..."
"He told me your close-range kicking techniques are exceptional."
"He suggested I come learn from you."
"Bruno really said that?"
"Absolutely."
Red answered without even blinking.
Of course...
Bruno had never mentioned Li Qing even once.
But what of it?
If I say Bruno said it... then Bruno said it.
If you don't believe me... go ask him yourself.
Apparently...
Li Qing didn't doubt him in the slightest.
"In that case..."
"If Bruno recommended it..."
"Let's have a spar."
The two headed toward the dojo.
Red released Swampert.
The Fighting Gym Leader's eyes immediately lit up.
"Your Swampert is truly unusual."
"Not only are its muscles tempered to perfection..."
"Even the fins on its head..."
"They've changed from smooth curves into blade-like edges."
"That's incredibly rare."
Only after hearing that did Red notice...
Swampert's head fins had indeed become much sharper.
He suspected it had something to do with the blood of the Paradox Pokémon inside Swampert.
As for where this transformation would ultimately lead...
Even Red didn't know.
But one thing was certain.
Swampert...
Was growing stronger every single day.
Without question.
"Let's begin, Swampert!"
The Fighting Gym Leader also released his ace Pokémon.
Machamp.
As Swampert's fist came swinging toward it...
Machamp's face was full of contempt.
Among Pokémon of the same level...
Fighting-types possessed the greatest raw physical strength.
That had never changed.
Even Dragons—
Renowned for their overwhelming physiques—
Couldn't surpass Fighting-types in pure power.
And you...
A Water-type Pokémon?
Yet...
The instant Machamp threw a punch of its own...
Their fists collided.
And at that exact moment...
Machamp realized something was terribly wrong.
Its expression changed dramatically.
◇ You can read 60+ chapter ahead on P@treon if you're interested:
patreon.com/ElaraVance1
✨ Bonus Chapter Goals ✨
10 Reviews = 1 Bonus Chapter
100 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter