Training continued for days until—
At the shores of Lake Acuity, a loud voice suddenly rang out.
"Uxie! The great me is here! Come out and meet me already!"
A blond-haired boy appeared, brimming with confidence as he shamelessly shouted into the open air, scanning both the lake and the surrounding snowy landscape.
Yet, instead of the Legendary Pokémon he expected, he locked eyes with Paul and his entire team—watching him in complete silence, their expressions was unreadable. The way they stared at him was as if they were observing a monkey in a zoo.
"WAAAH!!! Paul, what the heck are you doing here?! Sneaking up on people like that should be illegal!"
Barry clutched his chest as if his heart had nearly stopped. Once his initial shock wore off, he immediately erupted in protest.
"…"
Paul didn't respond. He simply stared at Barry, utterly indifferent.
"What's with that look?!"
Barry fidgeted uncomfortably under Paul's gaze, feeling as if he were being judged.
"If you've got nothing important to say, get lost. You're interfering with my training." Paul stated coldly.
"What do you mean 'nothing important'? I was chosen by Azelf! That means Uxie is definitely going to acknowledge me too!"
Barry declared, full of self-assurance.
"…Chosen?"
"That's right! Back at Lake Valor, I actually saw Azelf! Out of all the people in the area, it singled me out! Isn't that proof that I was chosen?"
Paul remained unimpressed. "So what? You saw it. Big deal."
"Of course, it's a big deal! Not many people in the real world get to see one of the Lake Guardians!"
"At first, I thought I was the only special one, but then Conway told me he saw Uxie! Seriously, how unfair is that?!"
"Shouldn't I be the most special one here?"
Barry huffed in frustration.
"You are special." Paul suddenly remarked.
Barry's face instantly lit up. "See?! I knew it! I am special!"
"…Specially persistent."
Paul's voice was calm and serious, making the comment sting even more.
"…Screw you."
Barry muttered, pouting. Then, as if realizing something, his expression shifted to one of mischief.
"Wait a minute… Paul, don't tell me you're just jealous because you've never seen a Lake Guardian yourself—"
"I've seen Mesprit."
Paul interrupted, his expression unchanged.
He still remembered that moment. He and Reggie had been passing by Lake Verity when Mesprit suddenly appeared before them.
In the anime, Ash and his friends had all encountered the Lake Guardians at some point.
Even in the games, Mesprit, Uxie, and Azelf actively sought out the player during the events in the Distortion World.
So honestly, Paul didn't think it was anything worth making a fuss over.
"WHAT?!"
Barry looked completely dumbfounded.
He had spent his entire childhood playing near Lake Verity and had never once seen Mesprit.
And yet, of all people… Paul had seen it?!
"No way! There's just no way that's true!"
"Like I said, if you have nothing better to do, leave."
Paul had no interest in entertaining Barry any longer.
"Hey, this isn't your property! Why should I leave? Tell you what—let's battle! If you win, I'll leave! Hey—where are you going?!"
Barry barely finished his sentence before Paul turned and started walking away.
"If you won't leave, then I will."
Paul had more pressing matters to focus on—improving himself and his Pokémon. He had no time to waste.
"Paul! I challenge you to a battle!"
"I'm busy."
"Then how about this? Twinleaf Town is holding its annual Twinleaf Festival soon! My dad's coming back for it, and the winner of the tournament gets to battle him! Are you interested?"
Barry suggested eagerly.
The Twinleaf Festival was one of Twinleaf Town's biggest events. If that wasn't enough to convince Paul, Barry wasn't sure what would be.
"…When?"
Paul asked after a brief pause.
Barry's father, Palmer, was strong enough to battle Champion Cynthia and was said to be on par with the Elite Four.
If there was an opportunity to challenge someone of that caliber, it might be worth it.
"Two weeks from now! Make sure you get there early! Conway and I will be waiting for you!"
Barry said excitedly.
Paul didn't say another word. He simply walked away, as if acknowledging the invitation in his own way.
"Damn it, I need to train even harder! I'll make sure to beat Paul when the time comes!"
Barry clenched his fists in determination before immediately releasing his Pokémon to start training.
Bzzt! Bzzt!
As Paul made his way down the path, his phone suddenly vibrated.
He took it out and saw that Reggie was calling.
"Hello?"
The moment he answered, his older brother's warm voice came through the speaker.
"Paul, do you have any plans in the next few weeks?"
Paul didn't hesitate to reply. "I'll be heading to Twinleaf Town for the festival in two weeks. After that, I'm challenging the Sunyshore Gym. Why? What's going on?"
Paul knew Reggie rarely called unless it was something important.
"There's going to be a special event in Sunyshore City soon—something called the Sinnoh Recharge Tournament. I want you to participate."
"What kind of tournament is this? And why should I enter?"
"It's a competition that tests not just a Trainer's skill, but also their Pokémon's power, teamwork, and adaptability."
"Originally, it was just a unique local event in Sunyshore, but the Pokémon League has recently revised the rules and added new challenges to make it a major tournament."
"In fact, they're even planning to align it with the Pokémon Olympics in the future."
Reggie explained.
"…That still doesn't sound like a reason to join."
Paul remained skeptical.
"Well, the real reason is this—whoever wins the tournament will receive various rewards, including the opportunity to purchase Pokémon League-exclusive items at a significantly discounted price."
After giving a simple introduction to the competition, Reggie got straight to the point.
"I see. Then I will win." Paul responded decisively.
From that statement alone, he understood the real value of this tournament.
The Pokémon League sold many rare items, but among them, there was one that all trainers dreamed of obtaining—Key Stones and Mega Stones.
That's right. Mega Stones and Key Stones were rare, but so what? The Pokémon League was powerful enough to have them in stock.
The problem? Their prices were utterly ridiculous.
As the saying goes, "Scarcity increases value." Every trainer wanted a Mega Stone, yet their supply was far too limited compared to the number of trainers who sought them. Naturally, their price was… overwhelming.
Everyone knew that Paul came from a well-off family. He could swipe his card for a Dragon Fang without even blinking. But Mega Stones? That was a different story.
The League's pricing was so outrageous that even someone as indifferent to money as Paul couldn't help but break into a cold sweat.
Seriously, if they didn't want to sell them, fine—but why set the price so absurdly high?!
Did they really think trainers were that gullible?
The Pokémon League had made their stance clear: those who made significant contributions or achieved remarkable feats could receive rare items for free.
For example, if someone became an Elite Four member, the League would provide them with Mega Evolution or Dynamax-related tools—ensuring they wouldn't embarrass the League in official battles. That was a surprisingly considerate system.
Now that Reggie mentioned it, that meant the price would actually be within a reasonable range.
In that case, Paul had every reason to go all out.
However, after checking the tournament schedule, he realized that there was still quite some time before the Tournament. There was no need to rush.
Still, from that moment on, he quietly added physical and agility training to his routine.
After all, this tournament was different—trainers would be competing as well.
Since the event aimed to align with the Pokémon Olympics, there would undoubtedly be many physically capable participants. Some might even be stronger than him. If he didn't intensify his training, a careless loss would be unacceptable.
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