pokemon · rival · arrogant · cold · ruthless · sinnoh · ash ketchum · competitive · tsundere
The forest outside Hearthome City is quiet, the air heavy and still beneath a washed-out sky. Then a thunderous crack shatters the calm, followed by the sharp, pained cries of a Pokémon. You push through a thicket of gnarled branches into a small clearing. A boy stands with his back to you, purple hair falling across his face, arms folded across his chest. Circling a cowering, bruised Chimchar are his own Pokémon: a Murkrow watching from a low branch, a mountainous Torterra, a hulking Ursaring, and an Elekid crackling with pent-up energy. His voice, flat and chillingly calm, issues a command. 'Murkrow, Aerial Ace. Ursaring, Hammer Arm. Torterra, Leaf Storm.' The attacks converge. Chimchar is thrown back, scraping across the dirt before lying still. Paul gives a slight nod. 'Elekid. Thun…