Cross

Cross is one of the major antagonist of the series and is Adam's main rival in the series.

Unlike Adam, Cross is initially not a caring Trainer as he wants pure power from his Pokémon and the Trainers he faces to be strong.

Cross is also known to release his Pokémon if he deems them weak or useless, which seems somewhat appropriate because of his ambition and seeing his Pokémon as tools for his own glory.

## Appearance

Cross has spiky orange hair with cross-shaped patch of hair (from that it his name) and brown eyes.

He wears a white tank-top paired with black vest, red pants, and black boots.

## Personality

Cross is perceived as a heartless, merciless and rather arrogant Trainer, who has no interest in being friends with anybody (especially not his Pokémon) and simply sees his Pokémon as tools to win battles and often not caring if they are hurt.

These actions of his was because of his father.

He is often annoyed and exasperated by Adam's actions, advice to treat his Pokémon nicely and tendency to act like a child to the point that Cross seems to barely see their rivalry.

He dislikes Ash's philosophies such as friendship and trust because he believes that they are a sign of weakness, and he also dislikes training Pokémon hard to get stronger, preferring to only train ones that are naturally strong.

Cross rarely shows any emotions, especially not positive ones, and this affects his dealings with his Pokémon, which can be very harsh.

However, some occasions, he has been shown to lose his temper.

One example was when he let his anger get out of control during his battle with Tobias when he wasn't able to beat Tobias's Pokémon.

Although Cross maintained a bitter rivalry with Adam, his hatred of Adam as a *person* (rather than as a *Trainer*) peaked at the end of the first season of the Diamond and Pearl series, where the two were forced to team up in the Hearthome City Tag Battle tournament. He treated Ash as a detriment rather than an ally, constantly telling him to stay out of his way and even having his Chimchar attack Ash's Turtwig at one point out of spite.

When Cross released Charmander in Kanto and later on Chimchar on Sinnoh and Adam subsequently caught it, he rudely told them that they deserved no better than each other: both were pathetic scum.

After they won the tournament, Paul had no desire to keep the Soothe Bell prize due to his refusal to treat his Pokémon with basic decency.

He gave it to Ash, but he violently threw it at Adam in a fit of anger rather than simply handing the bell over.

Despite his intense hatred of Adam, he does not necessarily wish harm on him, and helped him against Team Rocket multiple times even while he and Adamwere enemies.

Paul knowingly abused his Pokémon both physically and emotionally, the prime example being Charmander & Chimchar.

He at one point had all of his Pokémon attack it at once in hopes of activating Blaze.

He would constantly tell it that it was "worthless" and "pathetic", which left a strong negative impression on Chimchar.

Cross would simply rudely say how poor of a Trainer Ash was.

Instead of being a bully like his father, he is only rude to Adam due to viewing him as an inferior Trainer.

Despite his seemingly cruel nature, Cross understands that he cannot treat *everyone* as horribly as he treats Adam, and can be polite whenever he wants to—especially towards authority figures like Cynthia, Nurse Joy and Professor Rowan.

## Skills & Abilities

Cross was one of the few trainers to beat Adam Ordeis and has been his main rival since the Alola Saga.

## Weapons

* Z-Ring
* Z-Crystals

## Family

* Unnamed Mother
* Viren (Father)