Paul didn't linger in the forest for long. After a few days of training, he resumed his journey, making his way toward Twinleaf Town.
Finally, on the second-to-last day of the Twinleaf Festival, Paul arrived at Twinleaf Town's Pokémon Center, having utilized transportation to reach his destination.
By now, the town was already immersed in a festive atmosphere. The streets were lined with food stalls and toy vendors, and trainers from various regions had gathered to participate and enjoy the celebration.
On such a day, Paul naturally set aside his training. After giving his Pokémon a day off to rest inside their Poké Balls, he headed to the streets, ready to fill his stomach.
Of course, to most people walking through the festival, Paul's presence was completely unnoticed.
"Two cups of orange juice, please."
Suddenly, Paul's figure seemingly appeared out of thin air next to a cold drink stall, politely placing his order.
"Wh-what the—?! R-right away!"
The vendor, witnessing Paul materialize out of nowhere, stammered in shock. For a brief moment, he thought he had encountered a ghost in broad daylight. Swallowing nervously, his trembling hands fumbled to slice the oranges and prepare the juice.
It wasn't until he noticed the Froslass beside Paul that he finally let out a sigh of relief.
"Keep practicing."
Paul took the two cups of juice and handed one to Froslass before moving on to explore more stalls.
"Eeno~"
Holding her orange juice in both hands, Froslass' eyes gleamed mysteriously. With a flicker of ghostly energy, an illusion was cast.
In the blink of an eye, both Paul and Froslass vanished from sight.
Initially, Paul had only planned to bring one Pokémon with him while wandering around. However, due to size constraints, he settled on Froslass—only to realize an unexpected benefit of her illusionary abilities: invisibility.
Not only did it allow him to move unnoticed and avoid unnecessary interactions, but it also served as a good way for Froslass to hone her skills. A win-win situation.
Unfortunately, despite his precautions, someone eventually noticed.
"Huh? Something feels… off around here."
Among the festival-goers, Lucas—who was sharing some festival food with his childhood friend, Dawn—suddenly noticed a strange distortion in the light near him. Instinctively, he reached out with his hand.
"Is there a problem?"
The moment he touched the air in front of him, Froslass' illusion shattered—revealing Paul and Froslass casually enjoying their food.
Dawn & Lucas: "?!"
"I-Is… is that a ghost?!"
Dawn, startled, pointed at Paul with a trembling hand before quickly hiding behind Lucas.
"His name is Paul. He's from Veilstone City—a strong trainer. Both Barry and I consider him a rival."
Lucas gave a brief introduction, which finally helped Dawn regain her composure.
"Phew~ As long as he's not a ghost."
Patting her chest in relief, Dawn stepped out from behind Lucas and properly introduced herself.
"Nice to meet you! I'm Dawn, a local of Twinleaf Town. My goal is to become a top Coordinator!"
"Mhm."
Paul barely spared her a glance, briefly assessing her before giving a slight nod and continued to eat. He had no intention of introducing himself further.
Sure, Dawn might have been the popular female protagonist in someone else's story—but what did that have to do with him?
Dawn: "??"
Turning to Lucas, she whispered, "Why is Paul… so, um, odd?"
Lucas scratched his cheek awkwardly. "That's just how he is. He's always been a bit cold."
Just then—
"HEY! HEY! HEY! PAUL, YOU'RE HERE?!"
From a distance, an energetic voice rang out as a blonde-haired boy sprinted toward them at full speed.
"I've been waiting for you in Twinleaf for days! When did you get here?! You're late, that means you owe me a penalty fee!"
It was Barry.
Paul didn't bother responding. Casually tossing his empty food wrapper into a trash bin, he gave Barry a glance and simply said—
"So, how many days have you wasted this time?"
"Huh?! Wasted?! What are you talking about?! I've been training every day! So I can finally beat you and redeem myself!"
Barry yelled, flustered.
He had been eagerly waiting for Paul—not because he was some lovestruck fool or anything. It was purely to challenge and defeat him.
Paul gave him a brief look before remarking, "Oh, that's good to hear. At least you won't break down like last time after losing too badly."
"Who are you calling a loser?!" Barry roared.
"Pfft—"
A chuckle escaped from the side.
"Lucas, what are you laughing at?!"
Barry was irritated and immediately questioned him.
"I just thought of something funny."
Lucas tried his best to keep a straight face.
"Something funny…?"
"What?! You're laughing at what happened in Hearthome City?"
"We're friends. I would never laugh at you... unless I really can't hold it in."
As he spoke, Lucas suddenly pointed behind Barry and said, "Paul just left."
"What?! Laughing at me and then leaving? Unforgivable!"
Barry couldn't hold back and immediately gave chase, running off into the distance.
Little did he know, Paul hadn't actually left. Instead, his Froslass had used an illusion to make them invisible before quietly slipping away.
"Lucas, what happened in Hearthome City with Barry? What's so funny about it?"
Dawn asked curiously.
Since she had set off on her journey alone a little later than the others, she wasn't entirely familiar with Barry's past experiences.
"Back in Hearthome City, all six of Barry's Pokémon were effortlessly defeated by Paul's Electabuzz—without Paul even having to give a single command."
"Pfft!"
.....
In the blink of an eye, the next day arrived.
After a short training session and warm-up, Paul registered for the Twinleaf Festival Battle Tournament.
"Residents of Twinleaf Town, our annual Twinleaf Festival has reached its final day! Let's celebrate and enjoy it to the fullest!"
"This festival wouldn't have been such a success without all of you…"
"Now, the event you've all been waiting for is about to begin!"
Dressed in elegant attire, the host, Johanna, officially commenced the final event.
"First, let's welcome our special guest for this tournament—Sinnoh's Frontier Brain, the head of the Battle Tower—Tower Tycoon Palmer!"
Amidst the cheering crowd, a blond-haired man in a green coat waved as he stepped forward.
"The rules for this battle tournament are simple: Any Trainer who believes they have what it takes to challenge Mr. Palmer can participate in a one-on-one battle. The tournament will follow an elimination format."
"The winner of the tournament will earn the right to challenge Mr. Palmer."
"Now, let the battles begin!"
With Johanna's announcement, the competition officially kicked off.
Paul silently stepped forward for his first match. As soon as the referee signaled the start, he immediately tossed out a Poké Ball.
"Ninetales, prepare for battle!"
"Wooo~"
Ninetales leaped gracefully into the battlefield, sitting elegantly with a confident smirk.
"I won't hold back. Let's go!"
Paul's opponent, a young man in a green T-shirt saw Paul's decisive move and responded just as swiftly, choosing a Water-type counter.
"Go, Bibarel!"
"Biba~!"
Bibarel, with its sharp gaze, entered the field.
"Bibarel, use Water Gun!"
"Ninetales, Extrasensory!"
Bibarel immediately fired a strong jet of water.
However, Ninetales remained perfectly calm, sitting still as the Water Gun approached. Just as the attack was about to hit, a surge of psychic power erupted from Ninetales, shattering the water attack midair. The same mysterious force then took hold of Bibarel, lifting it into the air and repeatedly slamming it into the ground.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
After multiple consecutive impacts, Bibarel collapsed, completely unable to continue battling.
"Bibarel is unable to battle! Ninetales wins!"
The referee—who also happened to be the local convenience store owner—declared the outcome.
"Return."
Recalling Ninetales into its Poké Ball, Paul silently turned away and left, waiting for the next round.
"Huh?!"
"That's it? It's already over?"
"Is he really that strong?!"
The surrounding spectators and Trainers were all in shock. They had considered themselves to be fairly strong, but the gap in power was simply too overwhelming!
"What?! Paul won that easily?!"
Barry was stunned by how effortless Paul's victory had been.
"That Ninetales… it's gotten even stronger!"
Lucas, on the other hand, was more focused on Ninetales.
It hadn't been long since they last saw Paul battle, yet his Pokémon had already improved drastically. Lucas himself had never slacked off—he had been training nonstop—but somehow, his Pokémon's growth couldn't keep up with Paul's.
One by one, more Trainers stepped onto the battlefield, and the first round soon came to an end. Naturally, both Lucas and Barry advanced to the next stage.
Even Dawn, who had joined the tournament out of curiosity and fun, successfully made it to the second round.
However, that was as far as she got, because…
"Second round: Paul vs. Dawn!"
"What?! I'm up against him already?!"
Realizing she had to face such a strong opponent, Dawn started feeling nervous.
"You got this! Just do your best!"
Lucas cheered her on.
"Yeah, yeah, just go for it. I mean, the outcome's already set in stone, so don't overthink it."
Barry nodded in agreement, "In the end, the only one who will face Paul and my dad... is me!"
"If you don't know how to talk, just don't say anything!"
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