A New Dream

A Royal Trade: Paul's POV

"Hey if it isn't my little bro! I haven't heard from you in ages." 

I stared at the video call screen, unimpressed with Reggie's apparent desire for small talk.

"You are the one who left a message to call you. What's so important?" I asked, barely containing my annoyance. 

Several weeks had passed since I left Dawn on Poni Island and I had yet to break out of the foulest mood I'd ever experienced. To my relief, my pokemon either hadn't noticed or hadn't minded my short temper in our training and all of them were performing better than ever. I did not, however, appreciate Reggie calling me away from my training and the distraction that it gave me from wondering if Dawn had somehow gotten herself into another life or death situation with me uselessly on another island.

"Oh, come on, Paul. I haven't heard from you since you left Alola. Can't you at least tell me what it's like before we get down to business?" Reggie wheedled and I felt my eyes narrowing at him.

"It's small, hot, and there are lots of pokemon. If you have nothing else to say then..."

"Hold on! Fine, we can be done with the pleasantries. I wanted you to call me because I think I've found the perfect pokemon for you," Reggie declared with a grin and I slowly sank down on the seat I had nearly vacated a moment ago.

"I prefer to catch my own pokemon," I retorted slowly but Reggie waved his hand on the other side of the screen.

"Yah, yah, I know. But I think you'd really get along with this guy. He's a super hard worker and his trainer actually left him with me because he would get too intense in battle. The trainer didn't feel like he could handle it." 

I had to admit that he'd caught my interest and I slowly folded my arms. "What pokemon is it?" I asked slowly and Reggie grinned slyly.

"I'm not going to tell you," he replied bluntly and I furrowed my brow.

"Why not?" I asked in annoyance and Reggie shrugged.

"It's not often I get to tease my little bro. What I can tell you is that if you want it then you'll have to trade me for it," Reggie explained and I cocked an eyebrow.

"I'm not giving you one of my pokemon," I refused, surprising myself at how quickly I had said that. In the past, if I had a chance to trade away a pokemon for something better I did it in a heartbeat... but the thought of giving away any of the five pokemon I'd caught here in Alola filled me with a feeling of loathing so intense I could hardly believe it.

"Don't worry, I don't want a pokemon you've already been training with," Reggie said and I noticed that he was looking at me with interest. "I want you to catch an alolan variant and trade it to me so I can give you this pokemon I got."

"Which one?" I asked after a pause, realizing that this was the first time Reggie had ever asked me to do something for him. 

My relationship with Reggie wasn't what you would call close. After Papa died Reggie obsessively tried to become a champion himself to honor his memory, but that meant he left home without hardly coming back, even when Mom got sick. But right about the time Mom passed away Reggie failed at defeating the Battle Pyramid and decided that he no longer cared about being a pokemon champion, but instead wanted to be a pokemon breeder.

His decision felt like a slap in the face after I had just barely promised Mom that I would become a pokemon champion no matter what, and I hadn't spoken to Reggie for my entire first year of traveling as a trainer. He'd been persistent in trying to contact me though, and after a year I gave in because as loathe as I was to admit it, I hated feeling like I was completely alone in the world.