I immediately made my way to the Pokémon Center.
From Paul's memories, I had been here dozens—no, hundreds—of times. Every trainer practically lived in these places. And yet, walking through the automatic doors now, I couldn't help but feel a weird sense of… significance.
It was nothing special—just a Pokémon Center like any other. Trainers waiting around, some chatting, some anxiously pacing while their teams were being treated. A few people crowded around a TV broadcasting a battle replay from the latest Hoenn League matches. The Ever Grande Conference is still in progress.
And yet, it was my first time stepping into a Pokémon Center.
I walked up to the counter, where Nurse Joy stood, wearing the same gentle expression she always did in the anime.
"Good evening, welcome to the Pokémon Center! How can I help you?"
I placed two Poké Balls on the counter—Skarmory's and Chimchar's.
"My Skarmory just needs some rest, but Chimchar took some damage earlier," I said. "I used a Super Potion, but I want to make sure it's fully healed."
Nurse Joy nodded, taking the Poké Balls and placing them into the healing machine behind her. "Got it! It shouldn't take too long. Please wait just a moment."
I stepped back as she worked, taking in the moment.
It was strange—on the surface, I was just going through the motions. I knew exactly how this process worked. And yet, there was a small, nagging thought in the back of my mind.
This is normal for Paul, but this is my first time actually doing this.
After a few minutes, Nurse Joy returned with my Poké Balls, smiling warmly. "Here you go! Both of your Pokémon are fully healed and in great condition."
I nodded. "Thanks."
She hesitated for a second, as if expecting me to say something else, then simply smiled again. "We hope to see you again!"
I blinked.
Man, hearing that line in real life was weird.
Did she really hope to see me again? Does she secretly enjoy watching trainers crawl back in with their half-dead Pokémon?
No, that's ridiculous. It was just her way of saying, Don't be an idiot—heal your Pokémon before they drop next time.
Yeah. That was probably it.
I gave her a small nod as I took my Poké Balls and clipped them back onto my belt before turning toward the exit. I had one more stop to make, Paul's home.
Now that Chimchar was taken care of, I had one more stop to make, Paul's home.
No. My home.
The thought settled awkwardly in my chest. It felt both wrong and inevitable—like trying to wear someone else's jacket. It fit, but I could still feel the seams pressing in places they shouldn't.
Paul lived here his whole life. I just woke up in his body.
I shook off the feeling and started walking. I was meeting Reggie. That was what mattered right now.
Their relationship was complicated. Paul respected Reggie's strength but was deeply disappointed by his choice to quit battling. And Reggie… he knew about Paul's worst qualities but never took an active stance in correcting them. He wanted to respect Paul's autonomy as a trainer, but at the same time, he probably feared pushing him away even further.
Honestly, that's nothing compared to the clusterfuck that is Paul's relationship with his father.
Brandon. Pyramid King Brandon. The strongest of the Kanto Battle Frontier. The man who thoroughly thrashed Reggie, and was the reason Reggie quit battling.
An absentee father on par with Ash's never-seen dad. The man never visited. He sent money, sure, but that was about it.
And seriously—did he actually name his firstborn Reggie after the Regi trio?
What was I supposed to take from that?
I shook my head, exhaling as I stepped outside. One thing at a time.
For now, I just needed to meet Reggie.
__________
The walk to Reggie's house felt... weird.
Not because I didn't know the way—Paul's memories made sure of that. I knew every turn, every shortcut, and even which streetlights took too long to change. But knowing and experiencing were two different things.
Paul had walked this path countless times before. But I never had.
The closer I got, the more that unease settled in.
I wasn't just meeting Reggie. I was Paul meeting Reggie. And I had no idea how this was going to go.
I stopped in front of the house. The lights were on. He was home.
For a moment, I just stood there, staring at the door. Paul's relationship with Reggie had always been complicated—not bad, just... strained. Paul respected Reggie's skill but resented that he gave up battling. Reggie, on the other hand, never pushed Paul too hard. He let him make his own choices, even if he didn't always approve.
And yet, Reggie was still Paul's biggest supporter.
Ash had Professor Oak and Brock. Paul had Reggie.
Reggie wasn't just a breeder—he was the one who kept Paul's reserve Pokémon in top condition. He planned out their diets, made fresh batches of food, and handled the little details of their training when Paul was away. And despite everything, whenever Paul came home, Reggie was always there to welcome him back.
I let out a breath. No turning back now.
I knocked.
A pause. Footsteps. Then, the door swung open.
Reggie stood there, wearing his usual easygoing smile. "Paul! Welcome back."
He stepped aside, motioning me in.
"Long time no see," I said casually, stepping past him.
Reggie gave me a curious look. "You sound different."
Crap.
One sentence? That's all it took? Was Paul really that angsty that a casual greeting was enough to raise suspicion?
Or maybe it was just that I should be more upset. After all, Paul had just lost in the Johto League. But I hadn't really felt that loss.
Because it wasn't mine.
I'd already taken over Paul. Did I really want to fake his personality? No. That would be exhausting. There was no reason to go that far.
"Guess losing the Johto League made me rethink some things."
I shrugged and then shifted the conversation. "I just had an incredible encounter. On my way here, I ran into a Chimchar being attacked by a group of Zangoose. He was losing, but then his Blaze kicked in, and he wiped them all out in a single move. You had to be there—it was insane."
Reggie's expression softened with curiosity. "That's high praise coming from you. It must've been something else."
"It was." I nodded. "I caught him. He's gonna be a cornerstone of my team. This time, I'll win the Sinnoh League for sure."
Reggie chuckled, arms crossed. "Well, you're confident. I'll be looking forward to watching you compete."
Outside the house, I released my Pokémon one by one. Chimchar. Elekid. Skarmory. Torterra.
Torterra was already familiar with Reggie—he'd been with Paul since the very beginning. Elekid and Skarmory hadn't met him in person before, but they had heard of him. They'd been around when Paul called Reggie for Pokémon transfers. Chimchar, though? Completely out of the loop.
"Chimchar, Elekid, Skarmory," I gestured toward my brother. "This is Reggie, my older brother."
Chimchar blinked curiously before giving a hesitant chirp. Elekid crossed its arms and nodded, while Skarmory let out a sharp screech in greeting. Reggie smiled, crouching slightly to meet them at eye level.
"Nice to meet you all," he said. "I'll be helping take care of you whenever Paul's off training, so I hope we get along."
I crossed my arms, thinking. Reggie was an experienced trainer, and now a breeder—his insight could be valuable.
"Reggie, I was thinking… for the Sinnoh League, I won't catch many new Pokémon," I said. "I want to focus on bringing out the potential of my current team instead. Stick to a small core group, with the rest acting as rotation members."
Reggie considered that, tapping his chin. "That's not a bad idea. A smaller team means stronger bonds and more specialized training. You already cycle through Pokémon depending on strategy, but if you really dedicate yourself to a core team, you might see better results."
"Exactly," I nodded. "I'm definitely taking Elekid and Chimchar. And I'll leave a spot reserved for Torterra, but I won't bring him at the start of my journey."
Torterra rumbled softly, neither offended nor particularly interested. He was used to the rotation system by now.
Reggie's eyes flickered with curiosity. "Who else are you thinking of?"
I exhaled, rolling the possibilities over in my mind.
Magmar, Rhydon, Dusclops—if I evolve them into Magmortar, Rhyperior, and Dusknoir, that'd be solid powerhouses. Then there's Kingdra and Nidoking, both already strong. But two names stand out the most…
Larvitar and Metang.
If I focused on them, I could get Tyranitar and Metagross, two absolute tanks that would round out my team beautifully.
Or, I mused, I could catch a Gible or Gabite and train it into a Garchomp.
I smirked. Not a bad idea.
__________
Abilities.
Abilities were a crucial part of Pokémon battling. But unlike in the games, not every Pokémon had an ability—and even if they did, most trainers never truly mastered them.
People knew that starters had Blaze, Torrent, and Overgrow, but their hidden abilities? Undocumented. Probably because starters were rare in the wild, so research on them was limited.
Even some pseudo-legendaries weren't fully studied. Take Tyranitar—some had Sand Stream, which whipped up a sandstorm upon entering battle. But its hidden ability, Unnerve? Almost unheard of. Meanwhile, Garchomp was the opposite—people knew about its hidden ability Rough Skin, but nobody realized it could also have Sand Veil.
That was my advantage.
Most trainers had to rely on trial and error to figure out their Pokémon's abilities. Me? I already knew them off the top of my head.
Paul had trained abilities before—his Swellow had Guts, and he worked hard to activate it in battle. Then he tried to train his Hoenn team to also use Guts…
Yeah. That did not go well.
He spent two months poisoning, paralyzing, and burning his team, hoping they'd get the same power boost as Swellow. They didn't.
Was the training worthless? Not entirely. His team learned to shrug off status effects, but they never gained the insane offensive boost he was aiming for. Time wasted, minimal results.
But I didn't have that problem. I knew exactly what abilities my Pokémon had—and what they could have.
Chimchar obviously has Blaze, but could I train it to use Iron Fist too?
Iron Fist gave a 20% boost to punching moves. That meant once Chimchar evolved, it could abuse moves like: Fire Punch, Thunder Punch, Drain Punch, Mach Punch
That was a serious buff.
Paul's Torterra.
Torterra didn't have Overgrow—Paul had always thought he was just unlucky. But I knew the truth.
Torterra had Shell Armor.
That meant no critical hits could land on him. Paul had never realized it, but that was actually insanely useful for tanking strong opponents. Torterra could use moves like leech seed and synthesis to sustain itself, while not having to worry about getting hit with a critical and losing on the spot.
And then there's Elekid.
Elekid had Static, which was fine. Once it becomes an Electivire, static will turn into Motor Drive, which can help with speed issues.
But I wanted more.
If I could awaken Vital Spirit, Elekid would be immune to sleep moves. That didn't sound like a big deal…
Until you remember Tobias.
That guy's Darkrai spammed Dark Void and Dream Eater like a damn sleep demon.
Ash wasn't the final opponent.
Tobias was.
And if I was going to win, I needed every advantage I could get.