Chapter Text
“Purple hair, kinda serious, Paul’s his name. And this guy, I tell you, it was like he was too cool for anything! He was even putting Ash in his place at some points!”
Chloe nodded. “Hm, and you said he was a rival that Ash had when he traveled through the Sinnoh region?”
”Yeah, he was really strong in battle! And when Ash was beginning to fall behind, he wasn’t afraid to be strict with Ash and tell him that he had to be stronger if he was going to compete with the rest of the Masters Eight!”
Paul had left a lasting impact on Goh, even if he had only met him for the day. Sure, he had met friends and rivals of Ash’s before, but there was something different about Paul. He wasn’t too forward or snarky like Gary, but he definitely wasn’t the most happy-go-lucky kid either. Speaking with Chloe over the phone at night before drifting off to sleep, Goh wanted to tell her about the encounter of the day.
“Sounds like an interesting guy,” Chloe said nonchalantly, although in reality, this ‘Paul’ guy did intrigue her.
“And apparently he used to be the trainer of Ash’s Infernape, one of his really strong Pokemon. Something about Paul releasing him to Ash for some reason. They seemed fine now though!” Goh added.
This definitely caught her attention. She knew that trainers released Pokemon, sometimes on good terms and sometimes on bad terms, such as what she knew of Ash’s Gengar. Her father wasn’t an expert on human and Pokemon relations but it still did make her wonder what a process like that really did look like.
Their conversation continued for a bit longer before both hung up to go to sleep.
Not having Goh or Ash around at the lab was something that Chloe had to get used to. Sure, there were many times where she wished that they could’ve been a bit quieter, but now that they were gone, she was beginning to miss their antics, just a little bit. Although, she didn’t have time to worry about that, as she was beginning her new path as a researcher to learn about Pokemon evolution.
Her father had set up something for her later that day, so for the time being, she was staying at the lab. As she was talking to her father about something, there was a knock at the door. Chloe offered to get it, approaching the double doors.
“Welcome, how can we help you?” Chloe asked as she opened the doors, revealing a purple-haired boy with a blank look on his face. Eevee and Yamper strutted over to her sides, just as curious as her.
He looked left and right before honing in on her. “This is the lab of Professor Cerise, correct?”
Chloe nodded. “Yes, do you need something from him?”
Overhearing the conversation, Professor Cerise joined her daughter’s side with a friendly look on his face. “Hello, how can I be of assistance?”
The boy bowed. “Hello, my name is Paul. I believe Professor Oak informed you that I was coming to visit?”
”Ah, that’s right! The professor did speak of you not too long ago, it’s a pleasure to have you.” Professor Cerise nodded his head before stepping to the side. “Come in.”
”Thank you, sir.” Paul nodded as well, entering the lab.
As he walked past, Chloe analyzed him. Something about the way he looked and his name sounded familiar, until she remembered the conversation she had with Goh the night before the Masters Tournament.
“Purple hair, kinda serious, Paul’s his name. And this guy, I tell you, it was like he was too cool for anything! He was even putting Ash in his place at some points!”
“Vee?” Eevee brushed her paw against Chloe’s leg, noticing that she was spacing out. This brought her back to reality.
“Oh!” She gasped suddenly.
Paul and her father both looked back at her, wondering if anything was wrong. Realizing her sudden movements, she cleared her throat. “Ah, it’s nothing!”
”Chloe, would you mind bringing Paul out to the park?” The professor requested. “I would like you to explain to him all about it while I set up here.”
”That’s fine.” Chloe turned to Paul. “Follow me.”
The two made their way to the door that led out to the massive artificial park enclosed by a dome. Paul took a second to look at everything, and by his faint expression and show of emotion, Chloe could tell he was at least a bit impressed.
“This is the pride of my father’s lab, Cerise Park. It’s filled with all types of Pokemon from a bunch of different regions. The park has many types of environments so different Pokemon can feel comfortable,” Chloe explained as they began to walk around
Paul was indeed impressed, especially as he witnessed Pokemon native to singular regions, such as regional forms from Alola or Galar. ”Where did all of these Pokemon come from?”
Chloe decided she would slowly lead into this, considering she was more than certain this was the same Paul she heard about. “Well, not too long ago, we had two research fellows working for my father. One of them, Goh, was really involved in catching as many Pokemon as he could, and since he had so many, and he wanted them to be able to stay out of their Pokeballs, they would just live out here.”
Paul raised an eyebrow. “Goh?”
Electivire standing right by him, Eevee and Yamper eagerly followed the electrical giant, admiring its size and presumed power. Seeing this, it lifted the two up into the air and placed them on its shoulders.
Chloe nodded. “Yeah, he’s a close friend of mine! He just left to go on a journey by himself to explore even more of the world.”
”Does he have black hair? And have a Grookey with him?” Paul asked in an effort to confirm his suspicions.
Chloe chuckled ever-so-slightly. “Yup, that’s him!”
”I believe I met him not too long ago, he was with an old rival of mine over in Pallet Town,” Paul stated bluntly.
“Yeah…” Chloe rubbed the back of her head nervously. “I guess I might as well come clean. I knew who you were the moment you walked into the lab. Goh called me later that night and told me all about you.”
Paul turned around, tilting his head to the side. “He did?”
”He told me all about how cool he said you were, how you were really strong and even challenged Ash in the battle you guys had,” Chloe explained.
“So you know Ash as well?” Paul asked.
Chloe nodded. “He was the other research fellow alongside Goh. They’re really good friends now, and since Goh knew Ash was strong, he was surprised to see you come along and put up a real fight against him.”
Breaking his serious streak, Chloe heard a slight laugh from Paul. The Sinnoh native crossed his arms. “Ash really is getting ahead. I can’t fall behind.”
This caught Chloe off guard. “I guess that means you guys are still rivals then?”
“Well, I’m not sure how Ash feels about it, but even after he beat me in the Sinnoh league, I never stopped trying to get strong, and I saw that Ash was progressing too. One loss isn’t going to stop me from still challenging him however I can, even if it’s not directly,” Paul explained his rationale.
To Chloe, Paul seemed very mature. Many, when parting ways from someone whom they had fallen short of, would just move on to new things. And it wasn’t as if Paul was obsessive over beating Ash, he knew his own goals and he knew Ash’s goals, but he was using Ash’s growing strength to motivate him to grow stronger himself.
“It seems you guys have a healthy rivalry then,” Chloe suggested.
“Mhm.” Paul nodded, and it went silent for a few moments as they continued to walk around.
Paul kept observing the Pokemon, counting the regional diversity of each group of Pokemon. On the day they met, Goh didn’t seem like much, but seeing this convinced him that there was more to the boy than met the eye. Up atop a hill, he witnessed a glowing titan looking down upon other Pokemon. He froze in place, realizing it was none other than the Legendary Titan of electricity, Regieleki.
“Yup, and that’s not the only impressive Pokemon Goh has caught. Every once in a while, a Suicune that he caught roams around back to the lab,” Chloe added, noticing Paul’s shock.
The only other trainer that Paul knew personally who had Legendary Pokemon under his care was Brandon, the Pyramid King, and he knew for a fact that only certain kinds of trainers are skilled enough to engage with Pokemon of such a caliber.
Paul cleared his throat. “I can see that understanding all types of Pokemon is very important to Goh, it’s very evident his dedication to his craft.”
”Oh yeah, it’s all for the sake of understanding the Mythical Pokemon Mew,” Chloe explained.
The two eventually rounded back to the entrance of the park. Professor Cerise said he would still need a bit of time, and so the two waited outside in the park. It was silent for a bit, until unexpectedly, Paul said something.
“So, what’s your story?”
This surprised her, leading her to ask what he meant by that.
“I mean what’s your goal? You are a trainer, right?” Paul reiterated his question.
Chloe laughed. “Well yes, I am a trainer. Originally I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, and I spent a while trying to figure that out with this little one,” she gestured to Eevee. “But recently I became more interested in Pokemon evolution, and I am now a research assistant for my father so I can go out and learn more about it.”
Paul nodded his head. “Interesting. Do you want to do what your father does?”
Hearing this made Chloe sigh, although it was no scoff to Paul’s comment directly. It wasn’t the first time she was asked that question and it certainly wouldn’t be the last.
“Well, not necessarily. I don’t just want to live in the shadow of my father. I respect his work, but it's gotten tiring hearing everyone assume that I would just be a professor like him,” Chloe explained.
“Oh, I apologize for saying that then,” Paul held his hand up.
“No, you’re alright, you had no idea!” Chloe shook her head from side to side.
Paul looked down. “I guess when I look at it, I did become more passionate for my dream by watching my brother lose an important battle. But I never wanted to be like him, I wanted to be better than him.”
”I just want to be my own person, to make something of myself that’ll make people think of me, not my father. I don’t want to be an extension of him,” Chloe explained.
“Yeah, I understand.”
Paul was quite impressed with Chloe. He had become very used to people just charging ahead with their dreams and not taking much time to think back and ponder on it. From Ash to Dawn, and even Barry, everyone around him was unreadably headstrong. He never believed there was anything inherently wrong with it, but in a personal sense, especially more recently, he learned that he should take things at a certain pace. It was why he was dedicating the time to learning from professors before becoming a Gym Leader.
“You have a strong base for jumping off of then,” Paul said.
”O—Oh, you think so?” Chloe asked, slightly flustered at the compliment.
The Sinnoh native nodded. “You’ve learned not to be pressured by the people around you and instead dedicate yourself to what you are passionate about. If you listen to yourself, you won’t form negative notions from the people around you who shape your life.”
Just then, the door opened and Ren stepped out, informing Paul that the professor was ready for him. He nodded, stepping in, with Chloe following behind him. She veered off to the staircase, not wanting to get in the way of the conversation. Instead, she went off to go and prepare for her mission later.
As she did, she took one more look at Paul from in between the banisters on the stairs. She stopped for a second, but immediately turned away when she noticed him looking at her.
'Interesting guy...'