"Kirlia, use Magical Leaf!"
Magical Leaves emitting a green light formed in Kirlia's hands and flew relentlessly toward Sandshrew.
Seeing this, A.J. cracked his whip, producing a light snap. At the sound, Sandshrew moved its claws and, at an incredible speed, burrowed underground using Dig, dodging the attack.
Having lost its target, Kirlia stood still, cautiously watching the ground beneath its feet.
After waiting for a moment, a hole suddenly appeared beside it. Sandshrew emerged unexpectedly and rushed straight toward Kirlia.
Fortunately, Kirlia was alert, and the moment the ground split open, it used Teleport to dodge the attack.
"Do you think the attack is over?" A.J. made another flourish with his whip and shouted: "Sandshrew, use our special move! Fissure Attack!"
The Sandshrew, which had just missed its attack, jumped high into the air. Its body emitted an intense earth-colored light, and with its head down and its right claw raised, it spun and plunged toward the ground.
The next second, accompanied by a loud crack, centered around Sandshrew's claw, the battlefield suddenly split into countless pieces!
These cracks were like abysses, and with a terrifying vibration, they spread across the field.
Fissure, one of the one-hit KO moves from the Ground-type. If a Pokémon accidentally fell into one of the cracks it caused, the pressure exerted could inflict total damage, enough to knock it out!
"Kirlia! Dodge quickly!" Natsui shouted.
Kirlia used Teleport over ten times in a row, disappearing, reappearing, disappearing again, constantly searching for a safe spot to land. Only after exhausting more than half of its energy did it finally, barely, manage to escape the epicenter and take refuge in a safe corner.
"What!?"
This truly surprised A.J.
Although Fissure's accuracy was low, it had to be noted that, except for Flying-type Pokémon, he had used this large-area attack many times before, but he had never seen a Pokémon dodge it.
On the other side, seeing the Fissure stop and Kirlia unharmed, Natsui also secretly sighed in relief.
It was a good thing he had been cautious and didn't send Bulbasaur or Squirtle into battle; otherwise, with their movement speed, they would surely have been knocked out instantly by that attack.
And after using such a large amount of energy, Sandshrew also was affected by the shockwave, falling into a brief state of sluggishness. Seeing this, Natsui decisively ordered: "Kirlia, attack with Magical Leaf!"
Kirlia raised both hands, and before Sandshrew could react, the Magical Leaves swirled toward it like a hurricane.
Grass beats Ground. It's super effective!
Sandshrew's body staggered back again and again, and finally, it couldn't resist anymore. Its eyes rolled back, and it fell to the ground.
"!!Sandshrew!!"
A.J. ran hurriedly and embraced Sandshrew's body. Up until that moment, he couldn't believe he had lost!
He had already achieved ninety-two consecutive victories, and only eight more were needed to leave this place and go challenge the gyms!
Damn it...
Seeing he had won, Natsui clapped and said: "A spectacular battle! Your Sandshrew is really strong, the toughest opponent I've faced since I started my journey!"
A.J. silently returned Sandshrew to its Poké Ball, and when he stood up again, the confidence on his face had disappeared.
"I lost! That you could defeat my Sandshrew really exceeded my expectations." A.J. sighed deeply, but soon regained his composure. "But still, I won't give up on my dream. From today, I'll start over and keep protecting this gym until I reach one hundred victories. And after that, I'll find you and challenge you again!"
"I look forward to that day," Natsui said, extending his right hand sincerely. "It's thanks to strong opponents like you that I feel motivated to keep improving and moving forward!"
After bidding farewell to A.J., Natsui planned to head to Pewter City to challenge the Pewter Gym, but a call from Professor Cerise made him return to Vermilion City.
At the Cerise Laboratory, the professor said with an apologetic look: "I'm really sorry for making you come back from so far suddenly. There's a very important matter in which I urgently need your help."
"You don't have to apologize, professor. Just tell me what you need," Natsui said nonchalantly. "Besides, I was near Vermilion City, so it wasn't a long trip. Really, there's no need to apologize."
At that moment, Chrysa brought a small box from the side and handed it to Natsui.
Natsui asked confused: "What's this?"
Professor Cerise explained: "Inside is the prototype of a precision instrument. Since its development is not complete, it's a scientific secret and cannot be sent by courier. And we, for work reasons, cannot leave the laboratory. That's why we need someone trustworthy to take it to Professor Oak's Laboratory and deliver it to him."
Natsui nodded seriously.
"Understood! As a special researcher for Cerise, I'll make sure to deliver it intact to Professor Oak!"
...
Leaving Vermilion City, Natsui hurriedly traveled, bypassing the famous Viridian Forest. By dusk, he was already in Viridian City.
Since it was late, he planned to rest for the night at the local Pokémon Center and head to Pallet Town the next day.
But before entering the Pokémon Center, he stopped by a nearby shop to restock on canned food and a few Poké Balls, just in case.
While paying, he received a call from Chloe.
"Hello, Chloe, what's up?"
On the other end of the phone, Chloe said: "This morning you sent a message saying you were coming back to Vermilion City. I wanted to see Kirlia's new appearance, I'm sure she looks even more beautiful, right?"
"Ah, I'm really sorry," Natsui said, glancing at the wall clock. "I arrived at the lab in the morning, but I left immediately. Right now, I'm already in Viridian City."
"Viridian City?" Chloe said, surprised. "How did you get there so quickly?"
"I have something to take care of, I need to go to Professor Oak's lab. Well, I still have some things to do, and it's really late. You should rest."
After hanging up the phone, just as Natsui was about to leave the shop, the shopkeeper suddenly called him.
"Excuse me, young man, wait a moment."
Natsui looked at him, confused: "Is something wrong?"
The shopkeeper pulled out a package from under the counter.
"Sorry, I overheard your conversation. Are you heading to Professor Oak's Lab in Pallet Town?"
Seeing that Natsui nodded, the shopkeeper said happily: "Great! This package was ordered by Professor Oak a few days ago, but we've been so busy we haven't had time to deliver it. Could you do us a favor and take it along?"