"Chimchar, you did a great job. Take a rest now."
After regaining his focus, Lucas recalled Chimchar into its Poké Ball, a few words of encement.
"Ahhh! That's cheating! How an Elekid fly? This has to be against the rules—there should be a fine for this!"
Off to the side, Barry couldn't hold back his disbelief as he watched the airborne Elekid otlefield.
Hearing Barry's excmations and the match's oute, Elekid smirked slightly and desded from the air, arcs of electricity dang around it. The Pokémon carried itself with an air of and.
"That move is called Mag Rise. It allows the user to hover in the air for a limited time. Typically, Ground-type moves 't hit a Pokémon that's airborne," expined Professor Rowan.
Then, curious, the professor turo Paul and asked, "Since your Elekid knows Mag Rise, why didn't you use it earlier? It would've avoided getting hurt altogether."
"Elekid only retly learned Mag Rise and isn't profit with it yet," Paul replied after a moment. "If it tried to attack Chimchar mid-air, it would have missed due to Chimchar's agility. Oher hand, Chimchar could easily nd its attacks on an airborne Elekid."
Uanding dawned on Professor Rowan. "Ah, I see. So you had Elekid brace itself for the damage to lure Chimchar into a false sense of security. Then, you forced it into a er with Thunder, finally tering with Mag Rise. Clever."
Barry's face turned awkward as he processed this. "He put that much thought into a casual battle? I thought he just fot Elekid could hover. Turns out I was the one being naive."
"Paul, you're amazing," Lucas admitted, his tone sincere. "Chimchar and I still have a long way to go."
Luow realized how careless he'd been. Assuming Paul wasn't aware of Chimchar's ability to use Dig—a move effective against Ground-types—he had uimated his oppo. In the end, Paul had turhe tables with a well-executed strategy. Lucas could only admit defeat.
With his victory, Paul felt a small sense of aplishment, especially as a novice trainer and a time traveler. Yet, there was something else he o address.
"An Oran Berry—this will restore your energy."
Releasing Budew from its Poké Ball, Paul handed over an Oran Berry. As Budew ed it and its injuries healed, its body briefly glowed red, as if shedding some invisible straint.
"Paul… are you going to release it again?"
"But Budew just fought for you!" Barry and Lucas were both stuheir eyes filled with fusion.
"Is it strange?" Paul replied matter-of-factly. "Precisely because it fought for me, I see it has no py team. Why waste time for both of us?
"If I were to keep it longer only to release it ter, wouldn't that be more harmful?"
From the ret battle, Paul had clearly assessed Budew's potential. In his own words:
Its HP, Special Attack, and Defense were mediocre.
Because of this, the otherwise sound deade during its match against Piplup had failed to yield the desired results.
"Elekid, what do you think?"
"Bzzt-bzzt!" Elekid crossed its arms and nodded approvingly. It fully agreed with its trainer's rationale.
To Elekid, the idea of Paul surrounding himself with "weaklings" was unthinkable. It would be a disaster for a Pokémon like itself, driven by the desire to grow stronger.
Ign the thoughtful looks on Barry and Lucas's faces, Paul approached Professor Rowan and offered a respectful bow.
"Thank you very much for letting us use your facilities."
"It's no trouble at all," Professor Rowan replied with a smile. "Watg a battle is a pleasant way to rex."
"Elekid, let's go."
With a simple call, Paul turned and walked into the distance.
"Budew~"
Budew watched Paul's retreating figure with a sense of loss.
Barry, however, made up his mind.
Suddenly, Budew noticed the trainer of the Piplup it had just battled crouch down in front of it, looking at it early.
"Budew, Paul might not want to be your trainer, but I think you're incredible.
"If it weren't for you, who knows how the battle between Piplup and Elekid would've turned out?
"Holy, I'd love to be your trainer. Let's get strether. Would you like that?"
Barry's clear and sincere gaze gradually melted away Budew's doubts.
"Budew!"
In the end, Budew agreed, being Barry's Pokémon.
"Barry, you…"
"Paul's logic is sound, but… I feel like I'll never have his talent in this area," Barry admitted with a sheepish grin.
"Yeah… I get that," Lucas replied, nodding in agreement.
Some things were easy to uand but far harder to replicate.
Meanwhile, Elekid, who had been walking alongside Paul, suddenly recalled Paul's earlier ent about being a "target" while flying.
Deg to practice, Elekid activated Mag Rise again, h above the ground.
"Not bad," Paul said, nodding in approval. "From now on, spend half your time practig Mag Rise.
"Eventually, you should aim to reach yround speed while airborne. After that, work o and agility.
"Onaster this, you'll essentially be able to fly. And a flying Elekid is far more formidable thau the ground."
Elekid's eyes narrowed. It had only wao test the move, not float all day.
"Remember," Paul tinued, "this isn't just about flying. Mag Rise enhance your trol over electricity and magic fields. With enough practice, you could even accelerate or manipute those fields to your advantage."
Hearing Paul's vision f Rise, Elekid was shocked. It had never realized the move held such potential.
"12 o'clock dire. Use Mag Rise and Quick Attack—go!"
Spotting a Starly perched on a tree branch, Paul issued the and.
"Bzzt!"
Electricity crag, Elekid shot forward like a bolt of lightning.
"Crash!"
"Starly!"
Startled, the Starly took off, eyeing Elekid and Paul warily before fpping away.
"Perfect. Chase it down. Use Mag Rise and Quick Attabsp;to take it out," Paul ordered.
"Bzzt-bzzt!"
Determined, Elekid surged forward, sparks flying as it gave chase.
Paul followed at a steady pace, always keeping up no matter how fast Elekid moved.
Thus, a peculiar series of crashes echoed through the forest, a testament to Paul's rigorous training regimen.
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