"Kirlia, use Magical Leaf!"
Glowing green leaves formed in Kirlia's hands, flying toward Sandshrew in an endless stream.
Seeing this, A.J. flicked the whip in his hand, producing a sharp crack!
Hearing the sound, Sandshrew rapidly moved its claws and burrowed into the ground at incredible speed, avoiding the attack.
Having lost sight of its target, Kirlia stood still, cautiously watching the ground beneath its feet.
After a moment, a hole suddenly opened beside it.
Without any warning, Sandshrew burst out of the hole and charged straight at Kirlia.
Fortunately, Kirlia had remained on guard. The instant the ground broke apart, it used Teleport to evade the attack.
"Did you think our attack was over already?"
A.J. cracked his whip again and shouted loudly.
"Sandshrew, use our ultimate move! Fissure!"
Sandshrew, whose previous attack had missed, leaped high into the air.
Its body erupted with a fierce, earthy-yellow glow. Pointing its head toward the ground and raising its right claw, it began spinning rapidly as it plummeted downward.
The next second, accompanied by an enormous cracking sound, the battlefield split apart with Sandshrew's claw at its center, shattering into countless pieces!
The cracks resembled bottomless abysses, spreading across the entire battlefield amid terrifying tremors.
Fissure was one of the Ground-type's ultimate physical moves!
If a Pokémon accidentally fell into one of the cracks it created, the crushing force could inflict enough damage to bring virtually any Pokémon to the brink of death!
"Kirlia! Hurry, dodge it!" Itsuki shouted.
Kirlia used Teleport more than a dozen times in succession.
Disappearing, reappearing, disappearing again, and reappearing once more, it desperately searched for safe places to land.
Only after exhausting more than half its stamina did it finally manage to escape the epicenter and reach a safe corner without suffering any injuries.
"What!?"
This outcome was completely beyond A.J.'s expectations.
Although Fissure had a relatively low accuracy rate, this was an attack that covered an enormous area!
Aside from Flying-type Pokémon, he had never encountered a single Pokémon capable of avoiding this ultimate move, despite having used it countless times before. The source of this chapter is novelping(.)com.
Meanwhile, seeing that Fissure had finally stopped and Kirlia was unharmed, Itsuki couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
'Thank goodness I had the foresight not to send out Bulbasaur or Squirtle.'
'With their movement speed, they definitely would've been knocked out by that Fissure.'
However, after expending such an enormous amount of energy, Sandshrew had also been affected by the aftermath of its own attack, leaving it momentarily sluggish.
Seeing this opportunity, Itsuki immediately issued an order.
"Kirlia, use Magical Leaf!"
Kirlia raised both hands.
Before Sandshrew could react, a storm of magical leaves swept toward it like a raging hurricane.
Grass was super effective against Ground!
'It's super effective!'
Sandshrew's body swayed back and forth.
In the end, it could no longer endure the damage. Its eyes rolled back, and it collapsed onto the ground.
"Sandshrew!!"
A.J. hurriedly rushed over and scooped Sandshrew into his arms.
Even now, he couldn't believe it.
'I actually lost!?'
He had already achieved ninety-two consecutive victories!
Just eight more wins, and he would've been able to leave this place and begin challenging official Gyms!
'Damn it...'
Seeing that he had won, Itsuki applauded.
"That was an amazing battle! Your Sandshrew is really strong. It's the toughest opponent I've encountered since starting my journey!"
When he stood up again, the confidence that had previously filled his face was nowhere to be seen.
"I lost! I really didn't expect anyone to defeat my Sandshrew."
A.J. let out a heavy sigh.
However, he quickly pulled himself together.
"But even so, I won't give up on my dream! Starting today, I'll begin again from zero! I'll continue defending this Gym until I achieve one hundred consecutive victories!"
"And after that, I'll find you and challenge you again!"
"I'll look forward to that day."
Itsuki extended his right hand and spoke sincerely.
"It's precisely because there are strong opponents like you that I'm motivated to keep making progress and moving forward!"
After parting ways with A.J., Itsuki had originally intended to continue toward Pewter City and challenge the Pewter Gym.
However, a phone call from Professor Cerise summoned him back to Vermilion City.
At Cerise Laboratory, Professor Cerise wore an apologetic expression.
"I'm terribly sorry for suddenly calling you back from so far away. There's something very important that I urgently need your help with."
"There's no need to be so polite, Professor. Just tell me what you need."
Itsuki looked completely unconcerned.
"Besides, I was still near Vermilion City earlier, so it wasn't that far. You really don't need to apologize."
At that moment, Chrysa picked up a small box from nearby and handed it to Itsuki.
"What's this?" Itsuki asked curiously.
Professor Cerise explained.
"Inside is a prototype of a precision instrument. Since its development hasn't been completed yet, it's considered a scientific secret, so we can't send it through an ordinary delivery service."
"And because our work prevents us from leaving the laboratory, we can only ask someone we trust to deliver it to Professor Oak at his laboratory."
Itsuki nodded solemnly.
"I understand. As a special research assistant of Cerise Laboratory, I'll make sure it reaches Professor Oak's hands completely intact!"