Chapter 1

Disclaimer: moi-moi819 does not own Pokémon, or any of their titles therein. This is a nonprofit fan fiction. No copyright infringement was intended.

Moi-Moi: I'm back again friends! I've been receiving requests for a sequel to Poke Adventures for a while now. It wasn't until recently that I got a request for a sequel that focused on Gabi and Paul. Yep, you know it. This is gonna be Gaul Central. ;) I really hope that I do Paul justice in this fic. By far, he's the most difficult character ever for me to capture. It probably wouldn't be so hard if his character was explored more on the show… Anyways! Let's dive right in and I hope you all enjoy. :D

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Life had been kind to him. Not a day went by where Paul didn't thank Arceus for bestowing these many blessings on him. He had notoriety as the head of all the Frontier Brains in Sinnoh. He had some of the strongest and most loyal Pokémon ever trained. Plus, he had a family that he would do anything for.

Paul hadn't always been the most sociable nor pleasant person. Even now, he wasn't exactly a social Butterfree. But, he was learning. How could he not with the excellent teacher that he had for a wife? Even his kids, no matter how young, were always teaching him something new. And speaking of his kids…

"Dad?" Paul heard the voice of his eldest, Reggie, call out to him. Looking up from his newspaper, Paul raised a questioning eye brow at his son. Reggie was Paul's mirror image. He had inherited his father's purple hair color and pitch black eyes. Even though he looked like his father, he acted far more similarly to his mother. He was friendly and charismatic with a slight temper to complete the set. His choice of outfit reminded Paul of his younger days when he was still a travelling Trainer. He wore the same shade of navy on his jacket with loose, black jeans. "Can I talk to you for a second?" Reggie asked with a slightly unsure look.

"What is it?" Paul responded while placing down his newspaper. He waited for Reggie to continue, but the boy was hesitating. "Sit down and tell me what's on your mind."

Reggie took a seat on one of the available seats in the family study. He sunk down into the leather seat before looking up at his father. Paul raised a purple brow at his son, waiting for him to speak. "Dad, what was it like for you when you went on your journey?" Reggie finally asked.

Of course his son would be concerned. It was only natural when you were just about to start a journey of your own. Paul chose his words carefully before speaking, "I started my journey in Kanto after I got my Turtwig from Professor Rowan. I travelled through Johto and Hoenn next before coming back home to Sinnoh."

"I know that already, Dad. I mean, were you scared to go off on your own? Weren't you worried that you wouldn't be able to raise your Pokémon to be strong enough to win the Sinnoh League?" Reggie explained.

"No," Paul answered in a succinct tone.

Reggie sat back at once. Of course his dad wouldn't be afraid to be on his own. Dad had some of the strongest Pokémon he knew (besides Mom's, of course). "How did you train your Pokémon to become strong?" Reggie asked next.

Paul raised a questioning brow at his son. "What are you hoping to accomplish by going on your journey?" Paul rebutted.

Reggie was thrown for a loop. With a slight sputter (talking to Dad always did that to him), he tried to speak. "I want to be the strongest Trainer ever. I want to be even stronger than you and Mom," Reggie told him while squaring his shoulders. He knew that his father responded better when someone didn't back down or flinch away from him.

Paul frowned. That was the last thing he was expecting. After staring at Reggie for several, long seconds, Paul was hit with a sense of realization. Reggie was just like him. It wasn't twenty-odd years ago that he craved power and strength. Back then, he knew what he wanted and he was willing to do whatever he deemed necessary to get it. The last thing he wanted was his son to follow in his footsteps. Paul remembered spending a large part of his childhood alone. It wasn't until he had finally made some friends that things started to look much brighter for him.

Paul shut his eyes while he spoke, "Power isn't everything, Reggie. It is just as important to form bonds with your Pokémon and to strengthen those bonds over time."

Reggie was floored once again. It took a few seconds, but once realization set in, Reggie could identify where he'd heard those words before.

"That's what Mommy always says!" a high-pitched voice exclaimed with tons of energy. Reggie and Paul turned to see who had intruded on them. Paul nodded once at his youngest, the six-year old Charlotte. She grinned happily at him before bounding into the room and taking up her place on his lap. Charlotte had never been one to respect personal boundaries. Her long, dark brown hair swayed as she moved around on his lap, fiddling with everything on his desk that she could reach.

"It's why Mom is the Champion and Dad's not," the second eldest, Surgio, went on with a cheeky grin. He strode into the room before plopping down onto a vacant chair. Surgio had just turned nine and was more than happy to remind anyone willing (or unwilling) to listen that he only had one year remaining until he could get his first Pokémon.

"Dad's already the head of all the Frontier Brains. He doesn't need to be the Champion," Reggie told his brother smartly, ever ready to defend his father.

Surgio waved his brother off before passing a hand through his dirty blonde hair. "What are you guys talking about anyways?" Surgio questioned.

"I was telling Dad what my goals were since I'm getting my first Pokémon tomorrow," Reggie explained.

"Really? I already know what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna be a Master Electric type Trainer. And when I'm old enough, I'll take over the Sunnyshore Gym for Uncle Volkner," Surgio bragged.

"I want to be a Coordinator!" Charlotte exclaimed with a bright grin. No one in the room commented on Charlotte's choice. It seemed that Charlotte had a new goal every week. Just last week she wanted to a Pokémon Nurse. "I'll be as good as Grandma, Aunt Vicky, and Mommy."

"Dad, you met Mom while you were on your journey. Didn't you?" Reggie spoke up then.

"Yes. Why?" Paul replied with a nod.

"Were you and Mommy always friends?" Charlotte asked while turning a stapler over in her small hands. Paul took the stapler away before she could hurt herself and placed it out of her reach.

Once again, Paul chose his words carefully. "When she first met me, your mother…hated my guts. I won't lie. I wasn't too thrilled about her either," Paul said. He received mixed reactions from his children. Charlotte looked ready to cry, fat tears were already welling up in her brown eyes. Reggie was simply shocked. His mouth hung open widely. Surgio was the only one to find this funny. He laughed loudly at the idea, his head tipping back merrily.

"But if Mom hated you and you didn't like her, how'd you two end up married?" Reggie asked, his mind working ten miles a minute to try to connect the dots and see the picture he was clearly missing.

Paul thought hard about what he was going to say next. There were times that even he wondered how he had convinced Gabi to be with him, let alone marry him. "It started… shortly after she turned fourteen…" Paul spoke, getting lost in his thoughts.

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Moi-Moi: And here's the intro! Did anyone else applaud my creativity with Surgio's name. ;) He's got to follow the trend of having some sort of electricity pun in his name. (Surgio instead of Sergio.) Get it? ;D I can be so lame… See you next time!

Edited: 6/3/14