Pokémon: Trainer Paul

"Why does my Piplup seem to know your Turtwig? What's going on?"

Barry asked curiously.

Paul shook his head. He had only just caught Turtwig a few days ago and had no idea about its past.

"Wait, could it be..."

Barry suddenly had a flash of inspiration.

"Could this Turtwig be the one that Professor Rowan lost at Lake Verity?"

"My Piplup must have met Turtwig before I even received it as my starter. If the Poké Ball containing Turtwig was completely damaged at Lake Verity, it makes sense that you were able to catch it. But still..."

"Why would a Turtwig lost at Lake Verity end up in Eterna Forest?"

Barry couldn't make sense of it. The distance between Lake Verity and Eterna Forest was significant. Could it have gotten lost and wandered all the way there?

The truth, as always, was unexpected yet perfectly reasonable.

Paul wasn't interested in playing detective. He asked directly, "Turtwig, were you originally one of the Pokémon given to new Trainers by Professor Rowan?"

"Twiig!"

Turtwig nodded. It had no idea how it ended up swept away by water while napping in its Poké Ball.

It wandered around, searching for Sandgem Town, asking other Pokémon for directions, but somehow got lost and ended up in Eterna Forest, where Paul caught it.

Turtwig itself didn't understand how it could be captured again after already being caught. When Barry mentioned that its original Poké Ball was completely broken, the mystery was finally solved.

"Let's battle first. I'll contact Professor Rowan afterward." Paul said decisively.

Contacting Rowan was one thing—returning Turtwig was another. That wasn't going to happen.

"Piplup, get ready for battle!"

"Turtwig, prepare yourself!"

At their Trainers' commands, both Pokémon stepped back, creating some distance between them. Their eyes locked, and they shared the same thought:

This battle would be their chance to show their former companion how much they had grown—to prove themselves!

"Piplup, use Ice Beam!"

As soon as the battle began, Piplup unleashed a bright icy-blue beam without hesitation.

"Dodge."

Turtwig remained calm, observing the trajectory of the Ice Beam. At the last moment, it sidestepped vanishing from its original position.

"So fast..."

Barry was surprised to see a Turtwig move with such agility.

"Razor Leaf!"

Closing the gap, Turtwig swung its head sending sharp, spinning leaves toward Piplup.

"Counter it with Ice Beam!"

Piplup quickly redirected its Ice Beam, intercepting the Razor Leaf. The two attacks collided, neither side willing to back down.

"Tackle!"

While the two attacks clashed, Turtwig dashed forward with unyielding momentum.

Caught off guard, Piplup couldn't dodge in time, but Barry had no intention of avoiding it.

"Piplup, use Pound!"

Piplup's wings glowed white as it charged forward to meet Turtwig head-on. Fueled by determination, Piplup unleashed more power than ever before.

Crash!

The collision sent Piplup sliding back a few meters, but it managed to stay on its feet.

"Leech Seed!"

As soon as Turtwig pushed Piplup back, a seed shot out from the sprout on its head, instantly latching onto Piplup.

The seed burst into thorny green vines, wrapping around Piplup and draining its energy.

"Pipluuup!"

Piplup cried out in discomfort as the vines tightened.

"Energy Ball."

Paul gave no chance for recovery. Turtwig summoned a glowing green sphere of energy and launched it at Piplup.

"Use Agility to dodge!"

At Barry's command, Piplup increased its speed, narrowly avoiding the Energy Ball and creating more distance between itself and Turtwig.

"I need to deal with those Leech Seed vines first." Barry thought as he analyzed the situation.

"Piplup, use Whirlpool and throw it upward!"

"Pipluup!"

A small, swirling vortex of water formed in Piplup's flippers, growing larger in seconds. Piplup tossed it into the air, where it expanded into a protective barrier.

"Now, Drill Peck!"

Trusting its Trainer completely, Piplup leaped into the Whirlpool, spinning rapidly as its beak began to glow. The combined force of Whirlpool and Drill Peck shredded the Leech Seed vines.

Protected by the swirling water, Piplup was safe from immediate attacks.

But Paul and Turtwig remained unfazed.

Turtwig's sprout began to glow faintly as it absorbed sunlight.

"Solar Beam, fire!"

With Paul's command, Turtwig unleashed a blinding beam of solar energy directly at Piplup.

"Piplup, dodge it!"

Piplup tried to escape, but the Whirlpool both shielded and trapped it, leaving no time to evade.

Boom!

The Solar Beam tore through the Whirlpool, hitting Piplup directly and causing an explosion.

The super-effective hit sent Piplup flying. It tumbled across the ground before coming to a stop.

"Piplup, are you okay?" Barry called out.

"Pip...luup..."

Using its wings for support, Piplup struggled to rise.

"Come on, Piplup! I believe in you—you can do it!" Barry encouraged.

"Piplup!"

Inspired by its Trainer's words, Piplup mustered its strength and stood up.

It was a heartwarming moment of camaraderie between Trainer and Pokémon, but Paul was unimpressed.

"Razor Leaf!"

"Twiig!"

Turtwig's Razor Leaf struck Piplup, bringing it down for good.

As Barry moved to recall his fainted Piplup, Paul's voice cut through the air.

"Honestly, I'm very disappointed."

"What?"

Barry looked up to see Paul's cold, disapproving gaze.

"I thought you might be a decent opponent, but clearly I was wrong. Perhaps I shouldn't have expected anything from you."

Paul's tone turned harsh.

"'Believe in you,' 'You can do it'—do you think that's enough to win battles?"

"Without rigorous training, relying on passion alone will only get you so far. How many battles can you actually win like that?"

With that, Paul turned and walked away with Turtwig, leaving Barry kneeling beside his fallen Piplup.

"Damn it... Is the gap between us really that big?" Barry muttered, clenching his fists in frustration.

Three battles, and he hadn't dominated a single one. His only significant success against Ursaring was due to catching Paul off guard.

"If it's just like this, forget defeating my dad, it's even difficult to catch up with Paul or Lucas!"

"Piplup..."

Piplup opened its eyes and called out softly.

"Piplup, am I really that useless?" Barry asked, his voice was heavy with disappointment.

"Pip? Piplup! Pipluuup!"

Piplup paused, then leaped up and smacked Barry on the head with its wing, shouting angrily.

"I see... I won't give up! I'll catch up and beat them all!" Barry declared, renewed determination in his eyes.

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