Chapter 228

Chapter 228: Chapter 228

As Mike continued along the trail, the path eventually brought them past a lake.

Several familiar voices drifted through the trees, accompanied by the unmistakable sounds of a battle, and Mike immediately slowed his steps.

Curious, he turned toward the water and pushed through the surrounding vegetation to see what was happening.

Beside the lake, Ash was kneeling on one knee with an injured Chimchar cradled carefully in his arms.

Chimchar lay weakly against him, his eyes filled with lingering sorrow as he stared at the boy standing opposite them.

"Trash is still trash," the boy said coldly. "No matter what changes, something weak will always stay weak."

"You don’t have to talk to him like that!" Dawn protested from nearby, holding Piplup tightly in her arms.

The boy showed no reaction to her anger.

He simply recalled Electabuzz and turned to leave, only for Ash to call after him without lifting his head.

"Paul."

Paul stopped.

"Chimchar and I are going to beat you someday. We will."

Paul glanced back over his shoulder, open disdain in his eyes.

"You and your Pokémon?"

Ash genuinely irritated him.

In Paul’s eyes, Ash wasn’t particularly strong, yet he constantly talked about trusting and believing in his Pokémon.

Instead of simply selecting Pokémon that were already powerful, Ash insisted on raising those Paul regarded as weak and trying to draw out whatever potential they possessed.

That attitude inevitably reminded Paul of someone else who had once spoken in much the same way.

Mike happened to emerge from the bushes just in time to hear the exchange.

The moment he saw the purple-haired boy standing across from Ash, he couldn’t help smiling.

’Well, well. Isn’t this Ash’s great Sinnoh rival, Paul?’

Of all Ash’s rivals, Paul had always been Mike’s favorite.

He liked Gary too, of course, but in terms of characterization, Paul was arguably the most successfully developed rival in the entire series.

His strength, mentality, and personality were all memorable, and his relationship with Ash changed naturally over time.

He began by openly looking down on Ash, later acknowledged him enough to promise another battle after their confrontation at Lake Acuity, and eventually lost to him at the Lily of the Valley Conference before agreeing that they would fight again someday.

Paul might never have openly admitted it, but by that point he had unquestionably accepted Ash as a genuine rival.

Years later, before the Masters Eight Tournament, he would even travel all the way to Pallet Town under the excuse of wanting to speak with Professor Oak, only to personally help Ash train.

More tellingly, the Pokémon he chose for those practice battles were all species used as aces by the Champion-level opponents Ash was preparing to face.

’Seriously, how many rivals would go that far?’

"Long time no see."

Mike’s voice immediately drew everyone’s attention.

"Mr. Mike?" Dawn was the first to spot him emerging beside the bushes, and she called out in surprise.

"Mr. Mike, what are you doing here?" Brock asked, his gaze briefly dropping to Glameow resting comfortably in Mike’s arms.

"I’m heading toward Mount Coronet," Mike replied before looking between the three of them. "What about you guys? Why are you out here? Judging by the situation, Ash seems to have just gone through a pretty rough battle."

"Mount Coronet?" Brock glanced down at his map, then looked at Mike with growing confusion. "But Mount Coronet is still quite a distance from here. Weren’t you leaving from Eterna City, Mr. Mike? The route toward Mount Coronet should take you in the opposite direction. Hearthome City is just a little farther ahead from here."

Mike stared at him. "How do you know where I started from?"

"Because I’m in your fan group!" Brock answered with complete honesty.

Mike fell silent for a moment before coughing twice.

"That isn’t important. You still haven’t answered my question."

"We just left Hearthome City," Ash explained as he carefully stood up with Chimchar still in his arms.

"We entered the Hearthome Pokémon Contest and the Tag Battle Tournament. Now we’re heading toward Veilstone City so I can challenge the Gym there."

"I see. Give Chimchar to me for a moment; I’ll treat his injuries."

Mike walked over and carefully took Chimchar from Ash.

Glameow hopped down from his arms and sat obediently beside his feet, though her crystal-blue eyes remained fixed on Paul.

She had clearly disliked what he had said about weak Pokémon.

Paul, meanwhile, had been quietly evaluating Mike ever since he appeared.

Even without seeing them battle, he could tell that the Gengar and Beedrill traveling with this man were extremely strong.

The name Mike also sounded vaguely familiar, though he couldn’t immediately remember where he had heard it.

Mike lowered his gaze to Chimchar.

Judging by the little Pokémon’s condition and the pain that still lingered in his eyes, Paul must have released him fairly recently, with Ash only having taken him in not long afterward.

Mike gently stroked Chimchar’s cheek and softened his voice.

"It’s okay now. Get some sleep. You did everything you could, and you tried your best. That’s already something to be proud of."

His natural affinity with Fire-type Pokémon quietly took effect.

Surrounded by the warm, reassuring presence coming from Mike, Chimchar gradually relaxed, closed his eyes, and soon fell peacefully asleep.

Mike carefully handed him back to Ash.

"Take a good care of him."

"I will. Thank you."

After Ash accepted Chimchar, Mike finally turned his full attention toward Paul.

The boy looked exactly as he remembered: short purplish-gray hair, a blue-and-purple high-collared jacket over a teal turtleneck, dark gray pants, and blue-purple sneakers. He had the whole brooding-rival look down perfectly.

"Hello. I’m Mike, a photographer."

"Mr. Mike is also an incredibly strong Trainer!" Ash immediately added from beside him.

That word seemed to make something click in Paul’s mind.

He studied Mike for another moment before speaking more politely than before.

"I know who you are. You’re Assistant Mike, the researcher who discovered Wyrdeer and the creator of The Wide World of Pokémon. You’re also the person who argued that Bug-type Pokémon can become extremely powerful."

"That’s me," Mike replied with a smile. "Although you can call meProfessor Mike now. I was formally awarded the title of Pokémon Professor not long ago, so that would actually be more accurate."

Dawn and Brock both stared at him in shock, while Ash reacted exactly as Mike expected.

"That’s amazing!"

"Pika!"

Mike chuckled. "Of course, I’m still a Trainer too."

He gestured toward Gengar, who promptly took out Mike’s Badge case.

When Mike opened it, two Gym Badges rested neatly inside.

Paul remained silent, but Ash immediately leaned closer. "That’s awesome! I have two Badges too!"

Dawn shot him a look. "Have you compared Mr. Mike’s strength to yours lately?"

Ash had nothing to say to that.

"My name is Paul," the purple-haired boy said after a moment. "I’m a Trainer from Veilstone City."

"Nice to meet you."

Paul looked directly at Mike. "Professor Mike, would you battle me?"

"Battle?" Mike blinked, genuinely caught off guard.

’When did Paul start behaving like Ash? Why does everyone I meet suddenly want to battle the moment they see me?’

Paul nodded seriously. "You once said in one of your videos that Bug-type Pokémon can become extremely powerful if they’re raised properly. I disagree with that. Pokémon that are strong are strong from the beginning, while weak Pokémon remain weak."

Mike couldn’t help laughing.

’Yep. That’s Paul, all right. Completely in character.’

"Sure."

Paul paused, evidently not expecting Mike to agree so readily, then looked over the Pokémon gathered around him.

"In that case, could we make it a full six-on-six battle?"

Mike shook his head. "Sorry. Glameow isn’t a battling Pokémon."

Paul frowned slightly. "Not... a battling Pokémon?"

"She doesn’t participate in battles."

His confusion only deepened as he looked toward Glameow beside Mike’s feet.

"If she doesn’t battle, then what was the point of catching her?"

Glameow’s eyes narrowed immediately, and a low hiss escaped her throat.

"Because I wanted her company," Mike answered calmly. "I asked Glameow to travel with me because I wanted her beside me on the road. She doesn’t need to fight to have a reason to be here."

Glameow looked up at him.

The gentle expression on Mike’s face reminded her of the day he had first crouched in front of her and offered her a little fish, asking for nothing in return.

She gave a soft "Meow," lightly tapped him with her tail, and nodded when he looked down at her.

Understanding what she meant, Mike’s expression immediately softened into a smile.

"Glameow says she’s willing to fight this time," he told Paul. "So six-on-six it is."

Paul glanced at her once more before nodding. "Thank you."

Mike walked toward the open clearing with Glameow beside him, and as he took his place opposite Paul, another thought quietly surfaced.

’If I give Paul a little education ahead of schedule, could that change how things develop?’

The idea of Paul genuinely learning to believe in bonds was strangely exciting.

"Brock, could you referee for us?"

"Leave it to me."

Brock readily agreed and moved toward the center of the makeshift battlefield.

Mike remembered Paul’s Pokémon fairly well.

His teams had always been flexible and carefully constructed according to the opponent and situation, though Mike wasn’t sure how many Pokémon he had already caught at this point in his journey.

He glanced toward his own group instead.

Snivy sat comfortably on a tree branch with her little legs swinging beneath her, Gengar was twisting his waist in an exaggerated warm-up, Beedrill quietly scraped his lance-like stingers together, Hatenna bounced excitedly nearby, Rotom remained suspended from Bug silk while crackling indignantly with electricity, and Glameow stretched her body with feline elegance.

Mike smiled and looked back across the field.

"Let’s battle, Paul."

Paul paused, seemingly trying to answer with the same enthusiasm.

"Let’s... batt—"

The words clearly refused to come naturally to him, so after an awkward moment he abandoned the attempt and settled for a stiff nod.

"Mm."

He took out a Poké Ball and threw it onto the field.

Red light flashed, and Lairon appeared in front of him.

"Who wants—"

Mike didn’t even get to finish asking.

A Vine Whip immediately wrapped around the branch overhead, and Snivy swung gracefully down from the tree before landing firmly in front of him.

She turned her head and gave Mike a gentle smile, making his own smile widen in response.

"Then I’m counting on you, Snivy."

"Snivy~"