After losing in an epic six to six battle in the Lily of the Valley Conference against his main rival in the Sinnoh Region, Paul decided to head to Snowpoint City in order to challenge the Pyramid King Brandon to a rematch and regain his lost pride as a trainer. With his emotions at a better control than the last time, Paul knew that he would do a lot better than before and that he would not lose all of his pokemon without earning a single victory.
Except from that, his brother Reggie would be there. It would be just like a few years ago but with the spectator and the battler switched. This time Reggie would be the one to watch and Paul would be the one to battle. The arrogant trainer had to show his brother that he was not like him and that he was much better than him. He had to show him that Brandon was nothing and that he should not stop training his pokemon after losing to Brandon. There were many reasons Paul desired to emerge victorious and he would try his best to win.
As soon as he arrived at Snowpoint City, he did not waste a single second. With a determined look on his face, the trainer went to the Battle Pyramid and entered the building. The lights were already opened and there was already a referee in the stage. Paul was surprised. He could not understand. Was somebody battling already? That would be a pain... He did not want to wait. He wanted to show Brandon the things he learned from battling with Ash and the other opponents in the Lily of the Valley Conference. However, there was nothing he could do. With an angry look on his face he thought before he turned his back and moved towards the exit.
"Nevermind... I will come later."
However, before he left, a voice stopped him. The voice was a familiar voice. It belonged to the man that led the pyramid, the trainer who was above most of the trainers of the world. It belonged to the Pyramid King Brandon. The man said
"Wait Paul. Where are you going?"
"I see you are getting prepared for a battle so I was leaving."
"Haha... I knew you would come at any time so I was prepared. The stage is set for you."
"Hmph..."
"I see you have not changed a little bit... I believed that your loss to Ash has changed you a little bit. If you are still battling without controling your emotions then I suppose you will be unable to do anything against me at all."
"We will see that..." Paul responded with a serious look on his face while heading to the arena.
"I am expecting much from you. And remember... This is going to be a three on three battle." Brandon said and took his position as well. The battle between them was about to start!
With a smile on his face, the Pyramid King picked up a pokeball from his pockets. He was going to throw the pokeball and call his first pokemon. The pokemon would be a pokemon he owned for quite a while. A valuable pokemon in his team that could do many things. He said as he threw the pokeball on the ground
"Dusknoir! I need your assistance!"
"Assistance? How pathetic... A trainer does not need assistance from their pokemon." Paul commented as he grabbed a pokeball. "Dusknoir is a very slow pokemon, so I will go with something fast against it." he thought and then he said "Weavile! Stand by for battle!" while throwing the pokeball and making the dark and ice type pokemon appear.
"A Weavile? Very interesting Paul..."
"Hmph. You should not say that... My Weavile has an advantage over your Dusknoir, especially in speed."
"We will see that, young man! Dusknoir start with Trick Room!" Brandon said and Dusknoir nodded. As soon as it did, the pokemon manifested its psychic powers in order to create a room out of it that gave it an incredible advantage: The speeds of the pokemon engaged in battle were reversed, making the slow pokemon fast and fast pokemon slow.
"What?" Paul said as he prepared to recall his pokemon, knowing the effects of Trick Room.
However, before he did so, Brandon interfered and said
"Dusknoir! Use Mean Look!".
The ghost time pokemon smiled and it launched a dark circular blast that struck Weavile. Apparently, the blast did not cause any damage. However, it prevented the pokemon from switching. It was a deadly move that could cause much trouble to Paul, especially because his strategy was based on switching pokemon.
"Hmph... Anyway, we will deal with it." he said to Weavile. "Use Swords Dance.".
Soon enough, the pokemon started moving around, echancing the strength of its claws. However, before it was done with the move, Brandon commanded his pokemon
"Use Focus Punch!"
Then, the ghost type pokemon moved to Weavile and without showing any mercy it punched it with the fight type move that caused an ultra effective hit. Weavile was send to a wall. However, it was still standing. That was very surprising.
"Your pokemon is well trained..." Brandon commented.
"Hmph. Ice Shard." Paul replied, ignoring Brandon's comment.
"Stop it with Shadow Sneak!" Brandon said with a smile on his face and the ghost type pokemon punched Weavile once more, this time defeating it for good. Paul had lost a pokemon to Brandon... The battle was definitely going to be intense.
"Return Weavile! Now, go Ninjask!"
"Huh? A Ninjask? Paul, you really don't get it..."
"Speak for yourself, I will show you what my pokemon can do."
"Whatever... Dusknoir, start with Shadow Sneak!"
"Dodge it Ninjask!" the challenger said and the ninja pokemon barely managed to move away from the attack, avoiding it by an inch.
"Keep using Shadow Sneak!" Brandon said and Dusknoir rushed to Ninjask more and more, only for the pokemon to be able to dodge at the last second.
As the time passed, the situation was getting tight. Brandon was endlessly commanding his Dusknoir to use Shadow Sneak and Ninjask was always dodging resulting at having itself trapped in a corner. Reggie, who watched the battle, thought
"What was Paul thinking while Trick Room is still in effect?"
"Now, Dusknoir! Strike with Focus Punch!" the pyramid king told his pokemon and Dusknoir moved in order to strike Ninjask with the powerful fight type move.
However, Paul did something that surprised everyone. He pointed towards Dusknoir with an evil look on his face and commanded the ninja pokemon
"Use Protect!"
"Ninjask!" were the words of the bug type pokemon that surrounded itself with a shield that blocked the punch. Dusknoir was forced back by the impact and it left itself open. Moreover, the Trick Room had almost run out. Paul was stalling time, until the Trick Room was out of effect.
"Now, use Fury Cutter!" Paul said and Ninjask moved to the ghost type and started attacking Dusknoir endlessly with the bug type move that got stronger after each successive hit.
The first hit was on the ghost type pokemon's stomach and Ninjask sent it high on the air. Then, it moved behind it and striked it on the back, sending it several meters away and it finally hit it on the head, sending it on the ground and causing a great impact between the pokemon and the ground. Dusknoir's eyes whirled and it whispered its name. It was unable to move.
"Dusknoir is unable to battle! Ninjask wins!" the referee said and Brandon returned the pokemon back at its pokeball.
"You were great..." he said before picking up another pokeball and throwing it on the ground. He continued "This will be interesting for sure. Ninask! I need your assistance!".
Apaprently, Brandon's second pokemon would be his Ninjask. this battle would be between two pokemon of the same kind. The two ninjas were about to put up a battle.
"I was waiting for this..." Paul said, surprising Brandon. "I remembered your Ninjask from the time you battled my brother. You used it to defeat his Staraptor easily. That was what made me want to catch one."
"Oh really?" Brandon said with a surprised face. "Then, let's see whose pokemon is better trained! Hahahaha."
"Hmph. Fury Cutter!"
"Dodge it Nijask, then use Sandstorm!"
"There is no way you can dodge." Paul remarked as his Ninjask striked Brandon's before it used Sandstorm. "My Ninjask's Speed Boost ability increased its speed to levels much higher than yours. That's another reason I was stalling against your Dusknoir."
"Hm... I see you have improved very much Paul. I underestimated you."
"You are wrong. I was the one to OVERestimate you. Finish it off with your very special move Ninjask. Use Hidden Power!"
"Hidden Power? Huh?"
"Yes Brandon..." Paul said with a grin on his face. "Hidden Power is a move that depends on the pokemon's body structure and personality completely. And my Ninjask's personality is that of an unbreakable rock. You do get it, don't you?"
"Impossible!" Brandon said as his pokemon was hit by the attack and it fell unconscious. "You had a rock type Hidden Power! That was very tricky."
"Tricky? No... It is just the basics."
Reggie smiled as he looked at Paul. His brother was doing very well. He managed to turn the tables of the battle. However, for how long would that keep going on? Brandon was not the kind of opponent would would lose easily. He would probably think of something to deal with Ninjask.
"You did great so far..." Brandon said. "However, I have a newly caught pokemon that I befriended here... And you have to know that it is not too friendly. Regigigas! I need your assistance!" he continued and he threw the pokeball to call the enormous normal type pokemon. The last Pokemon of the Pyramid King had just entered the arena.
"What the..." Paul said with a surprised face. He knew about Brandon's three legendary pokemon but he did not know anything about Regigigas. That pokemon was clearly very powerful. He had no idea about how he was supposed to beat it at all.
"Use Fury Cutter!" he said to his pokemon with a serious face.
"Counter with Crush Grip!" Brandon responded and at the time Regigigas was getting struck by the ninja pokemon, it moved its colossal hand and grabbed Ninjask with its grips. Then, it slammed the hand on the ground while holding the ninja pokemon tight and with a single attack it managed to defeat it.
"I-Impossible." Paul said with a surprised face as soon as he listened to the referee saying that Ninjask was unable to battle. Regigigas was a beast! It defeated Ninjask just like that. He had to use a pokemon that could deal with it... And so his choice was none other than his Drapion.
"Drapion! Stand by for battle!" he said and the ogre scorp appeared. The final battle was about to begin!
"A Drapion? That reminds me of Reggie's Drapion..." Brandon said with a strange look on his face.
"Of course it does." Paul responded ironically. "My brother's Drapion is its parent. I raised it from an egg so that it would surpass its parent."
"Paul..." Reggie thought with a worried face. He decided to use Drapion against a pokemon like that. It would be much better if he used his Electivire. However, he probably had something in his mind, otherwise, he would not.
"Enough talk!" Paul said. "Use Toxic Spikes!"
Afterwards, Drapion launched a poisonous ball from its mouth that exploded and formed many poisonous spikes that fell on the ground. As soon as they fell, Regigigas got poisoned and Brandon was at a disadvantage.
"That was smart." Brandon said.
"I do not need you to say that to me... Pin Missile!"
Then, the pokemon pointed towards the colossal pokemon and launched a barrage of attacks. However, Brandon commanded his pokemon to use protect and Regigigas protected itself from the attack, avoiding damage.
"Now, run towards Drapion and attack with Crush Grip!"
"Catch its legs and slam it on the ground!" Paul responded and as soon as Regigigas reached Drapion the Ogre Scorp grabbed its legs and lifted it. Then, it slammed it on the ground with all its strength, causing it an incredible amount of damage.
"Smart, but my Regigigas is standing!" Brandon commented. "Use Crush Grip once more!"
"Do the same!" Paul responded, believing that Brandon did not get it.
"NO!" Reggie said, trying to warn his brother. It was late, though. As soon as the pokemon was caught, Brandon said
"Use Heavy Slam!" and Regigigas slammed the poison type pokemon, causing it much damage. One more attack and Drapion would be out. Paul had to think of something!
"Use Brick Break!" he said to his pokemon and the ogre scorp started punching the colossal pokemon that was sitting on it. Regigigas screamed in pain and it was sent on the sky because of the strength of the attacks.
"Use Heavy Slam!" Brandon said again, seeing that his pokemon would fall on Drapion again.
"Move away!" Paul said with his serious -as always- voice and Drapion moved away, dodging the attack.
As the colossal pokemon hit the ground, it caused a big hole and got up. It was struck by the poison of the toxic condition it received and its Heavy Slam attack was used against it.
"Use Pin Missile!" Paul said with a serious look again and Drapion attempted to attack. However, Brandon's pokemon still had some strength left. The Pyramid King smiled before saying
"It's almost time... Use Protect!" and a shield appeared around it, protecting it. However, as soon as that happened something strange happened. Brandon started talking. He said
"That reminded me of my battle with your brother Paul... It was pretty enjoying. Too bad that good things happen to end soon."
As soon as he spoke these words, Regigigas size was slightly increased and a red aura surrounded it. It's voice got more fearsome and its eyes color changed.
"You know, Paul, my Regigigas' ability is Slow Start. It is an ability that cuts in half my pokemon's insane attack and speed when it starts battling. After a while, though, it regains its original attack and speed... And when it does, there is no way it can lose to a pokemon like yours."
"What?" Paul said, unaware of the ability. Things were too difficult for him and with Slow Start out of effect there was nothing he could do.
"I cannot accept it!" the calm Paul said. He was not the normal Paul. He had started getting irritated. "You and HIM. You are relying on abilities like those to outsmart me. You are relying on your luck because your pokemon did not happen to lose earlier! You are just like him! I refuse to lose in the same way I lost to the Lily of the Valley Conference!" he yelled at Brandon and pointed towards Regigigas. "You can win Drapion! I know you can do it! USE HYPER BEAM!"
Drapion smiled and nodded. It pointed its giant grips towards the colossal pokemon along with its tail and opened its mouth. Four beams were charged: One from the mouth, one from the tail and two from the grips. All of them were combined into one powerful attack that would cause much damage.
"That's a piece of cake. Finish it off with Giga Impact!" Brandon said with a serious look on his face.
Regigigas nodded in a similar way to Paul's Drapion and it moved its two hands together, forming a whirlpool of raw strength that easily deflected the Hyper Beam. While walking, the pokemon moved towards Drapion in order to strike it with the attack. Drapion, afraid of getting hit by the extremely powerful attack used all of its strength and kept launching Hyper Beam attacks, overpassing its limits. Regigigas kept walking towards it and after it almost reached it, Drapion run out of energy and strength. Regigigas smiled and disappeared for a second. It appeared in front of Drapion.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! THIS CAN'T BE!" Paul screamed, acting like he never did before. He could not control his emotions once again.
"Paul..." Reggie said with a disappointed look on his face. His brother seemed to have lost the battle. "It seems like there are more things for you to learn."
"Do it now!" Brandon said and Regigigas moved its hands towards Drapion in order to strike it with the Giga Impact. The whirl of raw strength was visible to everyone and especially to Drapion. The pokemon's eyes widdened and it lost its smile. Despair could be seen on its face, in a similar way to its trainer's. However, while the attack was inches away from the ogre scorp, something unexpected happpened.
Regigigas stopped. A purple aura surrounded its body. It was hurt by poison! The pokemon whispered "Regigigas..." before falling on the ground unconscious. All this time, the poison from the toxic spikes was damaging it and it finally defeated it, a second before it struck Drapion. Paul emerged victorious.
"Impossible!" Brandon said, losing his patience, while Paul fell on his knees. Tears of joy were coming out of his eyes. He thought
"What am I doing now... I should not be doing this... I am acting like HIM... I should not... I am NOT pathetic as him... I am a real trainer.". However, he could not stop. He got up and moved his arms upwards. He said "I WON! I DID IT REGGIE! I DID WHAT YOU COULD NOT!" before running to his pokemon. He said "THANK YOU DRAPION! YOU WERE GREAT!" before returning it back at its pokeball.
Reggie smiled as he looked at what happened. Normally he would be surprised if saw his brother acting like that. However, he knew that Paul's dream all these years, since himself lost to Brandon was to beat the Pyramid King. He said to his brother
"You did it..."
"No... We did it..."
"Wow... You are not the brother I know."
"I won't be for the rest of the day. However, I will be normal tomorrow. This is just a dream. A dream that I was trying to live for many years... And anything can happen in dreams."
"... Haha. You are right Paul." Reggie said while hugging his brother.
Then, Brandon appeared. He told Paul
"That was... simply amazing. You won Paul. Congratulations. As a result, because you battled because of your brother who has earned the other six symbols of the Battle Frontier, I will award you with the Bravery Symbol. Congratulations."
"I did not battle for that symbol... But I will accept it. My brother can have it after all." he responded and gave it to Reggie. Then, he turned his back and headed for the exit
"Where are you going?" both Reggie and Brandon asked with a surprised face.
"Where could I be going? I am of course heading for a new adventure... A new league. With new pokemon. I will send you my pokemon, soon." he said with a serious look on his face, leaving from the pyramid for good. Now that all his grudges were settled, the trainer was heading to a new adventure. Paul's new journey was going to start.