Rivalries

Dawn was having a hectic day, to say the least, first was the event with Shuichi and Piplup where she even encountered a legendary Pokémon that Shuichi somehow knew.

Then she encountered a Pikachu that belonged to a trainer which was being chased by a group of thieves, the Pikachu had also accidentally fried her bike to crisp.

She eventually reached Jubilife only to call the professor and have to backtrack because Pikachu's trainer was on route 202, only to once again be harassed by those thieves.

Luckily Pikachu's trainer came to the rescue along with a Pokémon breeder who had a lot of knowledge. Pikachu's trainer had identified himself to be Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town in Kanto.

The breeder was revealed to be an ex-gym leader named Brock Harrison from Pewter City also in Kanto and travelled with Ash for many years.

Dawn wondered who else she'd run into when they suddenly spotted someone on the side of the road feeding his Pokémon something, Dawn quickly recognised the person as her friend Shuichi and quickly waved at him.

Shuichi waved back at Dawn unaware of her hectic day so far, once the group got close did Ash suddenly exclaim "Ah! You're the one who pointed me in the direction of Officer Jenny back in Sandgem! Thanks to that I was able to catch up to her quickly."

Ash's sudden exclamation came as a surprise for everyone, Shuichi accepted the thanks and responded "No problem, and judging from the Pikachu on your shoulder you two have been reunited."

On Ash's shoulder was the mascot of the entire franchise back in Shuichi's past life, a small cute yellow mouse-like Pokémon with red cheeks and a lightning bolt shaped tail.

"Pika!" Pikachu nodded happily and Shuichi could feel its happiness at being back with Ash, the bond these two shared was clear from the series as they were inseparable.

"Let me introduce myself, my name is Shuichi Tsuki and I'm an old friend of Dawn." Shuichi introduced himself to Ash and Brock. "And these two are my Pokémon." He didn't forget Eevee and Clamperl.

"An Eevee! Quite a rare Pokémon. And it looks like they're both still growing." Brock knew of the rarity of Eevee and could see both Pokémon were juvenile. Brock was dressed in his green shirt and orange jacket with grey pants and blue shoes.

"Correct. It's a family tradition for me to start with an Eevee, and I just caught Clamperl as well" Shuichi told them about his Pokémon.

"Looks like catching a Clamperl went perfectly!" Dawn noted upon seeing the Pokémon, she knew Shuichi was off to catch one and quickly scanned it with her Pokédex.

"Clamperl, the bivalve pokemon. It makes a single pearl during its lifetime. The pearl is said to amplify psychic power." The Pokédex rattled off wowing Dawn.

Ash and Brock also introduced themselves and Ash furrowed his brow before saying "Your name sounds familiar to me but I can't quite remember." 

Brock also chimed in and said "Your name does ring a bell, are you from Johto?" getting close to the truth.

"Correct! My aunts are actually the kimono sisters of Johto, I moved here when I was 5 years old." Shuichi's heritage was no secret so there was no reason to hide it.

"Ah yes! We've met the kimono sisters and they mentioned another sister of theirs moved away a long time ago, however they didn't go into too much detail." Ash remembered meeting the sisters back in Johto.

"It explains why you start with an Eevee as they all had evolutions of Eevee, but why didn't you stay in Johto?" Brock understood the kimono sisters tradition and asked why Shuichi wasn't in Johto.

"Well it's a long story and we sort of moved abruptly." Shuichi wasn't interested in telling them about his past condition or his family history.

Dawn knew Shuichi's family had some reasons thus she quickly tried shifting the topic "Well enough introductions! You won't believe the day I had today!"

Brock was a lot quicker on the uptake than Ash was and noticed family seemed to be a sore spot for Shuichi "Well let's all catch up as we walk to Professor Rowan's."

Shuichi was happy the topic was being shifted away from his family and more on today as he walked with them to Professor Rowan's lab. He recalled Clamperl and Eevee jumped on Shuichi's shoulder the same as Pikachu did with Ash.

Along the way Shuichi heard Dawn recount the day and was more and more surprised at every turn the story took. When Dawn got to the fact that Piplup nearly fainted by acting tough did he get a little serious.

"Dawn, do be careful, being prideful is fine, however it's a trainer's job to reign in the pride once it goes overboard." Shuichi recounted Nurse Joy's advice to him and shared it with Dawn.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Dawn wasn't as quick on the uptake as Shuichi was with Nurse Joy's advice and didn't understand what he meant.

Brock explained it to her "Dawn, Shuichi means that trainers have to watch out for their Pokémon hiding injuries due to not wanting to look hurt in front of others."

Dawn Looked back to Piplup walking next to her, she knew Piplup was pride filled however she didn't expect Piplup's pride to hide injuries from her. "Piplup you…"

"Pi…" Piplup however looked away in clear embarrassment and Shuichi could even feel a slightly guilty feeling from it. Dawn had a lot to learn about being a trainer.

"Yeah, I've also had my fair share of experiences with pride filled Pokémon" Ash also had some experiences in the past, most notably that of his Charizard.

"I've just… never thought about these things." Dawn said a little dejectedly, it was a harsh reality check for her however one that was necessary now to do no damage later on.

"Well, let's not get too sombre Dawn. We're both still learning as we've just begun our journey." Shuichi decided to perk Dawn up a little.

"You're right Shuichi, as usual you've always been the smartest of our friend group." Dawn was perking up from the fact that it was still early in their journey and thanked Shuichi.

"Believe it or not I've just learned this lesson from Nurse Joy myself." Shuichi said as he explained his encounter with the Clamperl.

Shuichi could feel Eevee's guilty emotions the same as Piplup had, it was clear that Eevee also received a stern warning from Nurse Joy.

"Hearing you also have trouble is a little hard to believe Shuichi." Dawn giggled a little hearing the story, it was refreshing to see Shuichi also having problems.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, I'll be back in top shape before you know it." Shuichi decided to play along with the banter and shared a good time with everyone.

"Say Shuichi, maybe we could have a battle, I've just captured my Starly and haven't battled with him yet." Ash wanted to battle Shuichi hearing about his recent capture.

"Maybe later Ash, We're right here at Rowan's lab." Shuichi said pointing to the lab. Shuichi didn't want to fight Ash just yet, he could also feel someone tailing them and if he was correct that would be Paul.

Paul was infamous in the show for seeing Pokémon as nothing more than tools and saying things like 'emotions are for losers'. In essence Shuichi could be said to be the absolute counterpart to Paul.

Shuichi was very in tune with emotions due to his meeting with Mesprit and his past life shutting them off. Denying emotions was just plain wrong and Shuichi had first hand experience.

If Ash and Paul were like water and oil then Shuichi and Paul were like fire and ice. They would never coexist together peacefully.

"Oh, okay. So this is Rowan's lab." Ash said in response, he was a little bummed about not being able to fight with Starly however his mom's package came first.

Once inside Professor Rowan's lab Ash opened the package his mother sent him to reveal his new clothes, it was his Sinnoh outfit.

The inside of the laboratory looked very futuristic with lots of metal doors and hallways. There was of course a lot of machinery in the building and even a couch that people could rest on.

After changing into the outfit Ash decided to give his mother a call, the call was private and only Ash would be there for obvious reasons.

"Say Shuichi, did you accomplish your goal with the Clamperl?" Professor Rowan asked Shuichi about his Clamperl quest.

"Yep! And he's even managed to surprise me already." Shuichi recounted the battle with Clamperl to Professor Rowan.

"Aqua Ring huh, that must mean its father was no slouch in battle either." Professor Rowan picked up on the fact it had Aqua Ring.

"Huh? What does Clamperl's father have to do with this?" Dawn was a little confused, didn't Clamperl hatch away from their parents making it so it never even saw them?

"Pokémon can inherit moves that their fathers know, these types of moves are usually known as egg moves among breeders." Brock's knowledge of egg moves came as no surprise as he himself was a breeder.

"Oh wow, wait! Does that mean Eevee has an egg move as well?" Dawn didn't know about egg moves and assumed Eevee had one as well.

"Well, not exactly… Eevee was indeed bred from my mothers Leafeon however the other parent was actually my fathers Ditto." Shuichi tried not to picture his parents Pokémon too vividly.

Before Dawn could ask what Shuichi meant Brock chimed in once more "Ditto is a very special pokemon among breeders, it can breed with almost any Pokémon however as a downside if the counterpart is female no egg moves will be inherited by the offspring."

"I'm learning all sorts of new things today!" Dawn said completely engaged in learning about breeding.

"Hey! I'm going to call Professor Oak if anyone wants to see him, you can come here." Ash yelled from across the hall at the telephone booth.

Shuichi decided to opt out instead, it would be an honour to meet the famous Pokémon Professor however he felt like he would stick out like a sore thumb.

In the meantime Shuichi recalled Eevee and grabbed the TM for Protect and Eevee's Pokéball, slotting the disk on the button in the middle and watching it spin like an old CD.

The disk soon crumbled after spinning and the move was learned by Eevee, Shuichi had informed Eevee of his choice already and was about to teach it to him when Ash's party came.

Eevee was released again who furrowed his brows a little, a TM would import move information in the Pokémon and it was a little forceful so a slight headache was only temporary.

"A TM huh, they're pricey however their worth is undoubtedly worth the price." Professor Rowan commented after watching Shuichi use the TM.

"Correct, there was a sale for 'faulty' TM's for Protect and I had to buy one for Eevee." Shuichi told Professor Rowan about the sale and Rowan nodded.

"Well spotted, the Mart's will host special sales for 'faulty' products. It's up to you to make use of them. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to see an old friend myself." Professor Rowan went off to where Dawn was making a fuss about poetry and interrupted her just when Professor Oak was going to go off.

"Those two must go way back," Brock said, looking at the talking Professors. "I guess so" Ash agreed with him as they walked to where Shuichi was.

"So what are you two doing in Sinnoh anyway?" Dawn asked, she realised she never asked why two trainers from Kanto were here.

"I'm competing in the Sinnoh League and Brock wants to better himself as a breeder." Ash explained while Brock took out a guide.

"It looks like the closest gym is in Oreburgh City. That's after Jubilife City." Brock said after looking at the map of Sinnoh.

"Oh sweet! Can I come with you?" Dawn asked excitedly, they questioned her why and she revealed her dream of number one coordinator.

"That's fine! The more the merrier, what about you Shuichi?" Ash asked Shuichi if he wanted to travel along with them.

"Allright, but only until Jubilife City, I want to see Dawn in action. After that I'm going on my own, I'm also competing in the league." Shuichi agreed to travel with them until Jubilife.

Before Dawn could ask why only until there Brock and Ash nodded and they both understood the reasons. Shuichi was Ash's direct rival in the league, it would make sense for Shuichi to not want to stick around for long.

Upon exiting the lab they ran into who Shuichi had long expected, a boy with purple hair, blue vest, grey pants and blue shoes stood in front of the lab waiting for the group to come out.

"Yes? Who are you?" Professor Rowan didn't expect another visitor and he got the feeling this visitor wasn't here to be friendly.

"The name's Paul, and you must be Professor Rowan." Paul introduced himself and every word came off as cold and arrogant, Shuichi already didn't like him.

Paul shifted his attention onto Ash and said. "I'm waiting for him, you've got three Pokémon now. Wanna battle?" He emphasised the last two words with more arrogance and even contempt.

('Man, this guy really thinks he's the greatest trainer of all time.') Shuichi was already not liking Paul's attitude. Any more of this and he would have to start butting in as well.

"Pika!" Pikachu was ready and Ash quickly agreed. "Sure, I'm ready! I'm going to be a Pokémon master and the way forward is to beat challengers like you."

"Then let's do this in my back garden." Professor Rowan proposed and the entire group went with him.

Once at the back garden Brock proposed to be the referee. Shuichi, Dawn and Professor Rowan were standing on the sidelines watching the battle.

Suichi stood with his arms crossed next to Professor Rowan, this would also be the first time he was seeing a trainer battle.

Dawn was excited to see her first Pokémon battle with Ash responding. "Well, you're in for a ride! So hold on to your hat!"

Paul laughed at Ash's words causing Ash to ask him why he was laughing. Paul merely responded with "Just that, you talk like such a little kid."

"Better than talking like you're above everyone here." Shuichi shot back, getting Paul to glare at him as well.

"I am better, and I will show it. Now like I said before this will be a three-on-three battle with no switching, the first one to two wins is the winner." Paul shot back at Shuichi and stated the rules.

"Allright! Starly I choose you!" Ash sent out his Starly first and Paul also sent out his own Starly. Shuichi could feel the emotions of both Pokémon when they hit the field.

From Ash's Starly there was a clear urge it wanted to prove itself, from Paul's Starly however Shuichi could feel there was contempt and laziness buried deep within. 

"Dawn, pay attention to Paul's Starly." Shuichi told Dawn, this is a good time to show her another aspect that trainers should be wary of. 

Dawn looked at Shuichi with a little confusion, however she trusted his judgement so she paid attention.

"Eevee, I want you to also pay attention. You'll be learning Quick Attack soon and seeing it in action here will do you good." Shuichi shifted his attention to Eevee who also paid more attention.

"Starly use Quick Attack!" Right on cue Ash told his Starly to use the move Shuici wanted Eevee to learn. Shuichi could feel Eevee leaning in closer at the mention of the attack.

Ash's Starly sped across the field as a white outline was left and grazed Paul's Starly. "It's a hit!" Dawn said enthusiastically, however Professor Rowan chimed in "Yes, although it didn't seem to do much damage."

"Starly, Aerial Ace!" Paul returned fire with an Aerial Ace, Paul's Starly had white streaks as it flew through the sky and nailed Ash's Starly directly.

"Starly, Wing Attack!" Ash continued to apply pressure with a Wing Attack, Ash's Starly shrugged off the hit and flew directly at Paul's Starly aiming to side swipe it with a wing.

"Quick, Double Team!" Paul countered with a Double Team causing multiple copies of Paul's Starly to appear in the air confusing Ash's Starly. 

Double Team was another move that differed from the games to real life as it was more of an evasive type move that could avoid or even confuse the opponent.

Ash's Starly didn't know which one to hit and which caused it to hesitate. Unbeknownst to it Paul's Starly was already closing in behind it.

"Behind you! Dodge it!" Ash yelled out in a hurry but it was too late. "Aerial Ace!" Paul gave the command to attack once more with Aerial Ace and directly hit Ash's Starly in the back. 

Ash's Starly quickly fell down the ground unconsciousness clear in its eyes. "Ash's Starly is unable to battle! The winner is Paul's Starly!" Brock called the match in favour of Paul.

Shuichi had to admit Paul's strategy was pretty good, using Double Team to confuse and then directly attack it. Paul's Starly however oozed out overconfidence and laziness clearly not even trying its best.

Ash recalled Starly and gave it some words of encouragement, Paul however had some words for Ash. "I think I figured out your battle style, you cover up your mistakes by pushing and when you combine that with a lame-o strategy like yours, I can't help but feel sorry for your Pokémon." Paul said as he recalled his Starly.

"That's all you've got?" He berated Starly once it was in its Pokéball. A vein nearly burst from Shuichi's temple as he heard that ('No it's not all Starly has, it's what it needed. Starly didn't even show off everything it had because it didn't feel the need to.') In other words Paul's Starly half-assed the battle.

Clearly Paul was unable to see that and it angered Shuichi to no end that Paul only saw Pokémon as tools and not as an equal. 

Dawn was about to ask Shuichi about Paul's Starly but was stopped by Professor Rowan, it was clear he could see something boiling in Shuichi. If by the fact that he was squeezing his arm pretty hard was any indication.

The two on the battlefield were unaware of Shuichi's growing anger and continued their battle. "Aipom, I choose you!" Ash sent out Aipom as Paul also sent out his Chimchar.

As Ash was scanning Chimchar with his pokedex Shuichi looked at Eevee and could see it was concentrating hard on the battle looking to see if it could learn any more moves from the battle.

Shuichi was glad his own Eevee didn't grow overconfident from one simple win and could see it was still nowhere near the top.

Seeing Chimchar and Aipom on the field Shuichi scanned them both for their emotions and could feel something that surprised him.

From Chimchar he could feel a need to prove itself the same as Ash's Starly; however underneath that need was a dark layer of fear. Fear that if it underperformed it would be abandoned.

It was a nasty feeling and one that Shuichi didn't want to feel from anyone much less a Pokémon, Aipom, however had a completely different emotion; the need to show off. 

Aipom wanted to wow the crowd as it were and wanted to win in a spectacular fashion, seeing it now made Shuichi wonder if Aipom was more suited for contests than battles.

After Paul taunted Ash for using the Pokédex, Ash got off the first move "Aipom! Use Swift!" Aipom's hand-like tail glowed and stars were fired when it swiped its tail.

Shuichi gave a quick glance to Eevee, Swift was another move he hoped to complete when the gym battle would come as rock types had strong physical defences but weaker special defences. Eevee also noticed its weakness at long range and memorised Aipom's use of Swift.

"Ember!" Paul countered with a long range move of his own, Chimchar blew out small bullets of fire at the stars and blew them all up. 

"Focus Punch!" Seeing long range not working out Ash switched it up to close range. Aipom's hand-like tail curled up into a fist and began glowing with a white light.

"Flame Wheel!" Paul countered once more with a fast Flame Wheel. Fire surrounded Chimchar and rolled at Aipom striking it head on cancelling out the Focus Punch.

Focus Punch was a high risk, high reward move where the user had to focus a lot and if it got damaged it's focus would break causing the move to fail. However should it land it had the potential to one hit KO.

"Not a good choice for a move Ash." Paul snided Ash, Chimchar charged in once more. Ash however wasn't discouraged, "Aipom use Double Team!" Ash said and Aipom delivered, making multiple copies of itself.

Ash wanted to use Paul's strategy against himself of confusing the opponent with Double Team and striking a Focus punch that way. However Paul wasn't one to let his own strategies work on him.

"Ember!" Paul commanded Chimchar and it fired off small bullets of fire at the copies quickly eliminating them all and revealing the real one. Ash's strategy failed and Paul capitalised.

"Scratch!" Paul went back on the offensive and Chimchar scratched the real one quite fiercely. Aipom and Chimchar eventually separated again with Aipom looking scratched up.

"Focus Punch again!" Ash commanded the same move from Aipom as it once again got ready, Paul replied with the same counter "Flame Wheel!"

Fire once again surrounded Chimchar as it rolled in again, Ash wasn't panicking as he told Aipom to wait, confusing Paul. 

"Now use your arm to dodge! And hit it!" Ash told Aipom, if there was one thing Ash was good at it was thinking on his feet and solving puzzles in front of him.

Aipom set off the ground and jumped in the air with only one arm and swung its tail down at Chimchar directly connecting the Focus Punch knocking out Chimchar with one hit.

"Chimchar is unable to battle! Aipom's the winner!" Brock announced match two in favour of Ash and both trainers recalled their Pokémon.

('Poor Chimchar.') Shuichi thought after hearing Paul call Chimchar useless grinded on Shuichi's nerves, he didn't know how long he could hold himself back from going over there and punching Paul in the face.

Just like how Paul figured out Ash's strategy Shuichi had also fingered out Paul's strategy, counters. 

Paul would taunt with words and Ash would attack first, then Paul would counter nullifying the attack and creating an opening to advance on.

For the final match Ash sent out his trusty Pikachu, Shuichi sensed Pikachu's readiness and confidence accumulated from hundreds of battles.

Paul sent out a small bipedal yellow Pokémon, it also had a lightning bolt on its belly and black rings on its arms, but the most notable appearance were the horns on its head shaped like plugs. 

It was an Elekid, Shuichi furrowed his brows sensing the emotions, it oozed off pure raw violence, the only thing on its mind was destruction. 

It was no wonder Elekid was Paul's ace, in essence it was exactly what Paul wanted in his Pokémon. Something that only craved combat. 

Shuichi had seen army men become tools of combat and the after effects, they were never able to go back to peace because the slightest issue could set them off causing them to go ballistic. 

Paul taunted Ash once more and Ash had heard enough and said "Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" Pikachu obliged and a powerful electric shock rang through the air striking Elekid.

Elekid however was unphased by the attack as it absorbed the electricity. "Thunder!" using the stored electricity from Ash's attack Paul issued a strong thunder and struck Pikachu directly causing some damage.

Paul goated Ash to attack and Ash fell for it hook line and sinker. "Pikachu use Volt Tackle!" Ash told Pikachu, who charged in with an electric charge around it. 

"Protect!" Paul said and Elekid complied, causing Ash's attack to fail and the recoil damage of Volt Tackle to take effect. 

Volt Tackle was another high risk, high reward type move where the user would take damage when the move went off. 

('Seems like Paul also saw the sale at the store.') Shuichi concluded by seeing the usage of the move. If there was one thing he could give Paul credit for was that he was attentive.

Pikachu barely got up from all the damage it took, most of the damage it took was from its own moves. Paul was ready to call it a match however Pikachu and Ash both wanted to continue.

"Pikachu Iron Tail!" Ash commanded and Pikachu's tail shone with steel type energy as it charged at Elekid. "Brick Break!" Paul countered with a fighting type move matching the Iron Tail.

"Now use Thunder Punch with your other arm!" Paul surprised Ash once more with another counter.

 However Pikachu's experience shone through in this moment, bouncing off one arm slapping away the Thunder Punch and somersaulting through the air directly connecting with Elekid.

Elekid didn't go down without a fight as it countered with the same Thunder Punch also directly hitting Pikachu. Both Pokémon landed on the ground and looked at each other. 

Suddenly both Pokémon fainted and Brock called the match. "Both Pokémon are unable to battle! It's a tie!" Ash was unhappy with the tie and said it was his loss however Paul wasn't having any of that as he recalled Elekid.

"It was declared as a tie, so it is a tie." Paul stated as he threw Starly's Pokéball and said to it to 'Scram'. Starly quickly flew off contempt clear in its emotions.

"What did you do that for!" Ash's sudden outburst was expected and Paul merely replied with "There's a million better Starly than that one, as soon as I see one I'll just catch it."

Shuichi had heard enough and butted in. "Ah, yes Paul, good choice." He said, causing everyone to look at him shocked but before anyone could say anything Shuichi continued.

"Starly would be way better off without you as a trainer. 'A million' Starly better? Please you couldn't see Starly's talent even if it was presented on a silver plate in front of you." Shuichi said, causing everyone to be shocked once more.

"You seem to have a problem with me," Paul said, clearly seeing Shuichi's dislike for him. 

Shuichi just smiled and said "Me? dislike you? Whatever gave you that idea. No, I can't help but simply feel sorry for your Pokémon with a trainer like you." firing back Paul's exact words he fired at Ash earlier during the fight.

"So you can talk, what's your name? Or are you too scared to give it?" Paul taunted Shuichi into giving his name so he could remember him.

"Me? Scared of you? Please, the name is Shuichi Tsuki, better remember it." Shuichi said as he radiated off confidence, he wasn't a commander in his past life for nothing and knew how to talk back.

Paul didn't say anything more to Shuichi and turned to Professor Rowan "Thanks for the use of the field, I appreciate it." And with that Paul walked off.

Dawn was about to talk to her friend when she noticed his arm bleeding. "Shuichi! Your arm is bleeding!" she said, shocked at the injury.

Shuichi looked down and indeed noticed his arm was bleeding. "Huh? When did this happen?" He was equally confused about the injury.

"You were gripping your arm pretty hard there, I'm not surprised at the injury." Professor Rowan added seeing the injury. 

('Was It because I got too angry?') It made Shuichi reflect on his earlier actions and even the outburst at Paul. 

In the past he had no emotions so he didn't have these problems however he would rather injure himself than lose his emotions again. 

('Something to keep in mind') Shuichi decided as Dawn was already leading him inside to bandage the wound.