Lies don't hurt as much as the truth

"Understood," Paul responded in a low voice.

He wasn't blind, and his intelligence had always been sharp, even in battle.

From the moment Reid waited here to help heal his Pokémon, Paul was already surprised that a Champion would do something like that. On this basis, he began to deduce certain possibilities.

Especially later, when his Pokémon obediently cooperated with Reid during treatment. And Mr. Mime, which had trouble learning Hypnosis for a long time, surprisingly performed it smoothly after a few words from Reid, displaying a newfound confidence completely different from before.

It felt like these six Pokémon weren't even his, but Reid's. All of this silently told Paul how he should interact with his Pokémon.

At the root of it all was the question of how to truly become stronger.

However…

Paul's mind drifted back to the events of a few years ago, during the Battle Frontier challenge in Kanto.

With a blank expression, Paul said, "Mr. Reid, I am grateful for your willingness to accept my battle request and for helping treat my Pokémon, but I have my own way of doing things, and I have my own method of becoming stronger."

"It sounds like, although you're speaking respectfully, what you're really saying is that I should keep quiet, right?" Reid asked with interest.

He quickly added, "Don't worry. I'm not the type to take offense."

Paul didn't reply, but sometimes, silence is an answer in itself.

In this somewhat awkward atmosphere, Paul began observing Reid's expression.

If someone else tried talking to him about such things, he wouldn't even bother listening. But Reid was different.

On the one hand, Reid had just helped him, and on the other hand, it was because of Reid's status and strength.

Paul couldn't just turn and leave, but he didn't want Reid to keep talking about this either. At the same time, he didn't want to upset him. However, it seemed impossible to balance these three things perfectly.

What Paul didn't expect was that after the brief silence, the first words Reid spoke were in agreement with him.

"You're not wrong in what you said earlier."

"Everyone has their own style, their own way to grow stronger. Even if two paths seem similar, closer observation will reveal obvious differences."

"But… this statement doesn't quite sound like something you would come up with at your age and with your personality. If I remember correctly, these words came from the Frontier Brain of Kanto's Battle Frontier—Brandon, right?"

At that moment, for the second time since Unown manifested Yveltal, Paul's expression showed significant change.

He was clearly shocked that Reid not only mentioned Brandon's name but also connected it to the words Paul had spoken.

Reid smiled as he watched Paul's reaction.

At first, Reid had planned to teach Paul a lesson through treating his Pokémon, similar to what Cynthia had done with him in the past.

But Paul's stubborn attitude left him no choice but to cut straight to the point.

From Paul's brother's recollections in the anime, Reid knew that Paul's current extreme personality stemmed from his brother Reggie's devastating defeat at the hands of Brandon.

At the time, Paul had completely misunderstood Brandon's teachings to his brother, leading to his current approach.

Paul firmly believed that treating Pokémon as companions, friends, and partners was ineffective. To surpass his brother and defeat Brandon, he felt he had to walk a path completely opposite to his brother's.

That's why, when Brandon later battled Paul, not only did he bring out the Regi trio, but he also switched Pokémon during the battle to give Paul a thorough beating, both physically and verbally.

Brandon wanted to correct the path Paul had misunderstood because of his words.

Now, since Reid had already physically beaten Paul in battle, it was time for the verbal correction.

"Judging by your expression, I wasn't wrong, was I?" Reid asked rhetorically, then continued, "I can tell you with absolute certainty that you have completely misunderstood the true meaning of Brandon's words."

Paul's face darkened further upon hearing this.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Exactly what I said," Reid replied. "If your interpretation of that statement and your method for becoming stronger were correct…

"Then why did you stop at the top eight in the recent Indigo League?

"Why have you not achieved any significant results in the Johto or Hoenn regions? And what about the things that were said to you back then?"

"Is it because you're not working hard enough? Are your Pokémon not putting in the effort? Or is it a lack of talent? Or just bad luck?"

As Reid's speech continued, his voice grew louder, his tone more serious, and the invisible pressure that came from his standing atop the world began to bear down.

Under the barrage of questions, Paul's mind started working involuntarily, quickly arriving at a conclusion.

But before he could speak, Reid said it for him.

"No, none of those are the issue."

Reid stared directly at Paul. "The fact that you ignored the unfriendly stares and ridicule to challenge me, and that you've captured and trained these Pokémon—Pokémon that are clearly worth nurturing and have been raised well—proves that none of those are the problem.

"If they aren't the problem, then isn't the issue obvious, Paul?"

Reid's powerful voice boomed, forcing Paul's mind to reevaluate once more.

An answer surfaced in his heart.

No... that method of becoming stronger has already been proven ineffective.

Paul murmured to himself, "That way of getting stronger has already been proven to fail."

"Is there really still a need to deceive yourself at this point?"

Reid's voice slowly calmed as he said, "Let's not even talk about me or Brandon. Think about the Elite Four and Champions from every region, the retired Champions. Is there a single one whose way of treating Pokémon and growing stronger is even remotely similar to yours?

"Or, can you name any Elite Four or Champion, or any World Championship titleholder, who follows the method you're talking about?"

Paul found himself at a loss for words.

He wanted to argue, but he couldn't find a single fact to support his argument.

Because… there were none.

His brother Reggie wasn't an Elite Four or Champion; he was just an ordinary breeder.

And because of that, Paul's heart felt conflicted.

Reid watched him silently, and finally added, "Paul, lies don't hurt people. The truth is what cuts like a blade."

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T/N: Holy talk no jutsu