Natsui turned around to look at him: "Your challenge?"
"That's right." The boy adjusted his collar and smiled confidently. "My name is A.J., known as the 'Beast Tamer.' Since I started training, I've never been defeated. What do you say? Do you dare to battle me?"
A.J., the Beast Tamer?
Looking at the Sandshrew at his feet, Natsui showed a look of understanding.
"No problem for me," Natsui said, glancing around. "But where are we going to battle? There's no battlefield around here."
Thanks to Pokémon battles becoming official, widespread, and popular due to the League, much like outdoor basketball courts in his previous life, it was common to see simple battlefields in parks, schools, along riversides, and next to streets in the city.
Unfortunately, the area where Natsui was now was quite a distance from any public field.
A.J. pointed toward Vermilion City: "I built a personal gym on the outskirts, not too far from here. There's a battlefield there. Follow me."
One after the other, they left Celeste City, and ten minutes later, they came across an improvised camp built with fences and a tent.
Outside the camp, there was a huge sign that said: "Unofficial Pokémon League Gym. Current streak: 92 victories."
From A.J.'s confident expression and the words on the sign, it wasn't hard to see that he was a very self-assured trainer.
And very eager to attract attention.
However, his face, along with his slightly stocky body and thick, arched eyebrows, when stared at for too long, had a rather silly air about it.
Seeing that Natsui was staring at the sign, A.J. proudly said: "My goal is to reach 100 consecutive victories. Once I achieve that, I'll start traveling to challenge gyms and earn badges."
Entering the camp and arriving at this supposed personal gym, through the open curtain of the tent, Natsui caught a glimpse of several Pokémon training on their own.
A Butterfree and a Beedrill were flying and colliding in the air, seeming to practice close combat, while on the ground, three Rattata with strengthening equipment seemed to be doing endurance exercises.
"What do you think? Not bad for my gym, right?" A.J. said from the trainer's zone. "Now, I just need to defeat you for my 93rd victory!"
"That would be worth celebrating," Natsui said as he walked to the other side, adding seriously, "It's clear you're a strong opponent, but I haven't lost a single battle since I started my journey!"
Under his feet was a field of compacted, hard-packed dirt. Though this kind of field was nothing special, it was the most common one in this world.
"Oh, really? Looks like today, one of our streaks will come to an end!" A.J. said with a shrug, as if he couldn't help it. "Alright, let's get back to it. The battle rules are simple: each of us will use one Pokémon. The one standing at the end will be the winner!"
Natsui nodded: "Alright, I understand."
Pulling a whip from his back, A.J. cracked it forward and shouted: "Sandshrew, show them our power!"
At his words, the Sandshrew next to him slowly ran toward the center of the field.
In appearance, other than standing on two legs, this Sandshrew wasn't very different from an Earth pangolin, though generally, it was a bit rounder. Its skin was earth-colored, tough and dry, with a brick-like pattern that made it look like a wall.
Natsui pulled out his Pokédex and pointed it at the Pokémon.
Pokédex: "Bip. Sandshrew, the Mouse Pokémon, Ground-type. It hates water and lives in deep burrows it digs in dry areas. When danger approaches, it curls into a ball to protect itself."
Thanks to their types, both Bulbasaur, a Grass-type, and Squirtle, a Water-type, had an advantage over Sandshrew, a Ground-type. Although Natsui didn't remember the exact details of the episode, he recalled that this Sandshrew had defeated Ash and the Rocket trio, so he didn't dare underestimate it. After thinking about it for a moment, with a gesture of his hand, he sent out his star Pokémon: Kirlia.
Upon seeing Kirlia, with her maiden-like appearance, A.J. said in surprise: "Your Pokémon is quite unique, but it doesn't matter. Whoever it is, the result will be the same. Let's go, Sandshrew! Use Rollout!"
Sandshrew quickly ran forward and, after gaining enough speed, curled into a perfect sphere, rolling at high speed toward Kirlia.
"Kirlia, use Double Team!"
Kirlia's body immediately split into dozens of illusions. Sandshrew, due to its great speed, couldn't stop and only realized after passing through the original trajectory that what it had passed was merely an illusion.
"Kirlia, use Confusion!"
Kirlia raised one hand, and suddenly a light surrounded Sandshrew. But at that precise moment, with a whip crack, Sandshrew curled into a ball at an incredible speed!
Confusion activated, lifting Sandshrew into the air before dropping it with force. But when the dust settled, Sandshrew uncurled, shook its head, and stood up from the ground, evidently not having taken much damage.
"Not bad," Natsui complimented. "Using Defense Curl in an instant to protect yourself from the attack… I must say, you've trained this Sandshrew quite well."
A.J. pouted: "Ha! That scratch is nothing! My Sandshrew has gone through such strict training that it's even overcome its weakness to Water!"
"Oh?" Natsui raised an eyebrow, surprised. "A Ground-type Pokémon that has overcome its weakness to Water? That's impressive!"
In fact, through the brief exchange, Natsui had already noticed something.
In addition to this Sandshrew being exceptionally strong, the communication between it and A.J. was incredibly fast and concise.
Often, A.J. only needed to crack his whip, and without saying a word, Sandshrew could understand his intent through the sound, changing its attack to defeat the opponent with an unexpected move.
These two points had allowed them to emerge victorious in their previous battles, achieving over ninety consecutive wins.
However, now that they were facing Natsui and Kirlia, it could be said that they had finally found an opponent on their level.
Natsui and Kirlia, naturally, also had a perfect bond. Thanks to the red horns on Kirlia's head, she could quickly sense Natsui's emotions, and being a Psychic-type Pokémon, to some degree, she could even read some of Natsui's thoughts.