Yesterday, everything was fine. Everything was normal. I was just… me. But now? Now I have memories that don't belong to me. A life I never lived. A name that isn't mine.
Paul.
The worst part? I remember it all so clearly. As if I've always been him. As if I've never been anyone else.
__________
I was on my way to return to Veilstone City after my loss in the Silver Conference.
Eighth place. Again.
The first League I competed in was the Ever Grande Conference in Hoenn. I placed 16th—not a terrible outcome for my first attempt, but not good enough. Then I went to Kanto, entered the Indigo Plateau Conference, and placed 8th. It was an improvement, but still unsatisfying. After that, I tried again. I traveled to Johto, made it to the Silver Conference. And then—
Eighth. Again.
I stagnated. I didn't improve.
Reggie called to congratulate me. He told me I did well, that I'd get stronger, that I'd go further next time. I didn't need his reassurances. His words didn't do anything to get rid of the disappointment I felt. I already knew the truth: my training wasn't enough.
After the call, I left immediately. Took a plane straight to Jubilife City, and once I was there I flew back home on my Skarmory. I only brought Elekid, Torterra, and Skarmory with me. The rest of my team, I sent to Reggie.
Elekid was special. I don't train losers, if I catch a pokémon that can't handle my training I'll release it on the spot. Every Pokémon I trained had the drive to grow stronger, but Elekid was different. He didn't just want to improve—he had a hunger. The same hunger I had. We weren't satisfied with victory. We wanted domination.
But I met him too late. By the time I caught him, I had already defeated the Blackthorn Gym, and the Silver Conference was only a month away. He had potential, but I didn't have the time to mold him into the powerhouse I knew he could become.
If I'd had an Electivire—or even an Electabuzz—there's no way I would've lost that match. It came down to the wire: my Magneton versus my opponent's Charizard. Electric beats Flying, but Fire beats Steel.
I clenched my fists at the memory. I needed to get stronger.
By the time we reached Celestic Town, Skarmory was tiring. I recalled him and continued east on Route 210, heading for Veilstone City.
I wasn't paying much attention to my surroundings, lost in my thoughts, until something darted past me. A Ninjask. Fast. Unpredictable.
I hesitated for only a moment before deciding to check it out. If it had Speed Boost, it could be useful. If it knew Baton Pass, even better.
"Elekid, Thunder Punch."
The Electric-type shot forward, fist crackling with electricity, and landed a clean hit. I threw a Poké Ball. The ball shook once, then clicked shut. I wasn't particularly excited about the catch, but it was worth a look.
Then, I heard it.
A roar.
"CHAAAAARR!"
My head snapped toward the sound. A Chimchar was leaping between the branches, its movements rapid and precise. But it wasn't alone. A pack of Zangoose was chasing it.
One of the Zangoose let out a piercing cry and slashed at the air. A crescent-shaped Razor Wind shot forward, slicing clean through the branch Chimchar had been clinging to. The wood splintered with a crack.
Chimchar plummeted.
Before it could react, the Zangoose were on it—claws flashing, fangs bared. They followed up a set of slashes. The chimchar scrambled to its feet, managed to get away from the Zangoose again and ran.
It might have been a fight over food. Or territory. But whatever the reason, the Zangoose weren't letting up.
I followed them. I trailed the chaos all the way to a cliffside. Chimchar was backed against the edge, breathing heavily. Its eyes darting for an escape route, but the Zangoose had it surrounded. There was nowhere to run. The Zangoose advanced, their movements slow, deliberate. They knew they had won.
And then it happened.
Flames erupted.
A sudden explosion of power, raw and untamed. Chimchar's fire flared, wilder and hotter than anything I had ever seen. Its body burned with sheer force of will.
With a single Flame Wheel, it tore through five Zangoose in an instant.
The Zangoose scattered, unwilling to face that power again. When the dust settled, Chimchar stood alone, its flames flickering wildly in the night air.
It was injured. I could see the exhaustion in its stance. But that power...
I had never seen anything like it.
After witnessing that mind boggling display of force and determination. I knew I had to have it for myself.
I stepped forward.
"Hey. Chimchar, look at what you did."
The Fire-type turned, glancing at the battlefield. The spiral burn marks seared into the cliffs—the proof of its power.
"You're strong. Stronger than most. And with the right training… you could be unstoppable."
Chimchar's breathing slowed. It was listening.
"Come with me."
I hadn't realized it, but my fire had come back to life as well.
I clenched my fists. If I had that kind of firepower on my team—Chimchar and Elekid together—I wouldn't just win.
I would dominate.
__________
I'm on Route 215 now. I applied a Super Potion to Chimchar, but I'll keep it in its Poké Ball until I reach the Pokémon Center in Veilstone City.
I walk absentmindedly, my mind occupied with something much bigger than my current location.
I'm Paul now.
The same Paul who was a capital-A Asshole in the Diamond and Pearl anime. The same Paul who pushed his Pokémon harder than almost any other trainer. But now that I have his memories… he doesn't seem as bad as I thought.
People always bring up the "abusive" angle whenever they talk about Paul. But seeing things from his perspective makes it feel different. He was brutal, sure—strict, relentless, and at times downright ruthless. But abuse? No.
Well… except for Chimchar. That was definitely pushing it. But that was mostly because he wanted to trigger Blaze.
But now that I think about it, he never treated any of his other Pokémon that way. He never forced his starter, Torterra, to fight a gauntlet of enemies just to activate Overgrow. Then again, that's obviously because his Torterra has Shell Armor instead of Overgrow.
Looking deeper, it's clear Paul had a certain philosophy. If a Pokémon didn't want to battle or couldn't handle his level of training, he didn't waste time trying to change them—he just released them. He doesn't want to deal with Pokémon that don't meet his standard. In the anime, he released Starly, Stantler, and Azumarill. His way wasn't necessarily wrong, just different. Cold, but efficient.
Still, I already know Chimchar won't respond well to that kind of training. Actually… no. That's not quite right. Chimchar did endure Paul's training. It wasn't the training itself that broke him—it was the lack of positive reinforcement. Paul was really pushing it with Chimchar, he was emotionally not there for Chimchar at all. Chimchar thrived in Ash's team though.
If I handle things differently, could I prevent Chimchar from leaving?
I shake my head. That's something to think about later.
For now, I should focus on what I do have—Paul's knowledge. And looking through his memories, he had some seriously stacked teams.
His Hoenn roster? Lairon, Swellow, Vigoroth, Hariyama, Manectric, Camerupt, Crawdaunt, Dusclops, Metang, and his starter, Torterra. If he'd evolved Lairon into Aggron and Metang into Metagross, he could've had some powerhouses on his team. Nonetheless, it was an amazing first attempt at the league.
His Kanto team was more refined: Nidoking, Fearow, Primeape, Gyarados, Alakazam, Magmar, and Rhydon. Fewer Pokémon, but almost all fully evolved—aside from Magmar and Rhydon, which just needed items. Rhyperior and Magmortar are pretty good too. It's a shame his Nidoking didn't have Sheer Force.
Johto was a bit rougher: Murkrow, Sneasel, Azumarill, Magneton, Granbull, Scizor, Skarmory, Misdreavous, Hitmontop, Larvitar, and Elekid. He had fewer powerhouses this time. But if he'd managed to evolve Larvitar into Tyranitar? That would've been insane.
It's ironic. Paul and Ash mirror each other so well. They competed in their leagues in different orders, but they placed 16th, then 8th, then 8th again. They both started fresh with new teams from every region. Even their capture patterns were similar—somewhere between six and ten Pokémon per region.
And yet… only one of them became Champion.
I frown. It's worth noting that in the two times Ash actually won—Sun and Moon, and Journeys—he kept his team small. Maybe it's better to stick to six.
Which means I need to think carefully about who I'll train.
Infernape and Electivire are non-negotiable. That much is obvious. But who else?
Oops, I got lost in thought.
Anyway, I can see Veilstone City now. First stop: the Pokémon Center to get Chimchar checked out. After that, I'll meet up with Reggie.