The evening light washed the sandy clearing in a warm golden glow.
Around the rough arena, the wooden stakes cast long, stretched shadows.
The boy who called himself Beast Tamer Ming stood on one side of the ring, fingerless gloves clenched, a confident curve at the corner of his mouth.
He snapped the whip in his hand with a crisp crack.
"It's decided—you're up, Sandshrew!"
A Sandshrew covered in tough brown scales darted out from the side, movements quick and sharp.
It dropped low to the ground, eyes wary, sharp claws absently scraping at the packed sand beneath it, making a steady shh-shh-shh sound.
As a Ground-type Pokémon, this was very much its home turf.
"Sandshrew!"
It let out a short bark, full of fighting spirit.
Ming folded his arms, lifting his chin with undisguised pride.
"Sandshrew is a Ground type!"
"Your Electric attacks won't work on us!"
"That's basic battle knowledge!"
"Your Pikachu doesn't stand a chance!"
In his mind, Ming was already seeing his victory.
The kid in front of him looked about the same age as he was. No way he'd started his journey much earlier than that… which meant his Pokémon couldn't be that much stronger.
Plus, the type matchup was in his favor.
A Ground-type Sandshrew versus an Electric-type Pikachu.
How was he supposed to lose that?
He couldn't possibly lose. Right?
The Pikachu on Ash's shoulder hopped lightly into the ring, its small frame forming a sharp contrast with Sandshrew's stocky body.
Hearing Ming's taunt, Pikachu only scratched its cheek with a tiny paw, black eyes glinting with mischief—as if to say: Oh, really?
Pikachu itself carried Lightning Rod; its understanding of "Electric immunity" was better than anyone's.
Cracking that "immunity" wasn't actually that hard.
Ash pressed the brim of his cap down, the corner of his mouth curling into a meaningful smile. He didn't bother arguing with Ming. He just said, calmly:
"Battle—start."
"Sandshrew, Harden!" Ming called first.
Standard opener for a Rollout strategy.
Any Pokémon that could use Rollout and had the time to prepare would habitually start with Harden.
Harden + Rollout:
Boost damage dealt, reduce damage taken.
A metallic sheen flashed over Sandshrew's body as its defenses rose.
However, the very instant the move took effect—
"Pikachu!" Ash's voice cut through the dusk, crisp and decisive. "Quick Attack!"
"Pika—!"
Pikachu's silhouette blurred, turning into a streak of gold ripping through the twilight—faster than Ming had ever imagined.
"What?!" Ming's pupils shrank. He hadn't expected that kind of speed at all.
This Pikachu's power was just not normal.
Sandshrew barely saw a flash of yellow before a massive impact slammed into its relatively vulnerable flank and belly from the side.
"Sandshreeew!!"
It cried out in pain as its body was knocked clean off the ground, flung high into the air.
In that moment, it completely lost contact with the earth.
"Now!" Ash's arm swung down like a sword. "Thunder Shock!"
He didn't give Ming or Sandshrew a single beat to react.
Pikachu's greatest specialty now was high-speed aggression.
Seizing tempo was one of the most effective tactics there was.
Already coiled and ready, Pikachu's cheek sacs flared with blinding gold.
"Zzzzzap—!!!"
A bolt of electricity, far thicker and wilder than a normal Thunder Shock, shot out—
a twisted golden serpent that struck dead-on at the panicked Sandshrew, helpless and suspended mid-air with nowhere to ground itself.
In truth, Pikachu had held back—by a lot.
If it went all-out… grilled Sandshrew might actually taste pretty decent.
"Saaaand—shreeeew!!!"
The scream that tore across the clearing was downright tragic.
Sandshrew was swallowed by the storm of golden light.
Its body spasmed violently in the air, and even its hardened scales couldn't fully isolate it from such close-range electric force.
Harden raised physical defense.
It didn't do a thing for electrical resistance.
Its conductivity hadn't changed at all.
The smell of char hit the air in an instant.
A heartbeat later—
Trailing black smoke, Sandshrew fell straight out of the sky.
It hit the sand with a heavy thud, kicking up a cloud of dust. Its eyes went into spirals as it lay there, completely out of the fight.
One-hit KO.
From start to finish, it had taken only a few breaths.
The clearing fell silent.
Misty and Brock both stared, mouths slightly open.
They knew Ash and Pikachu were strong—but every time they watched such a clean, brutal one-shot, they still couldn't help being shaken.
This Pikachu really was absurdly powerful.
The pride and confidence on Ming's face froze over like stone.
He stared wide-eyed at his smoking Sandshrew. Then his head snapped up toward the boy standing calmly opposite him, and the Pikachu beside him acting like nothing special had happened.
"H-how is that possible?!" His voice cracked with shock. "How can a Ground-type Sandshrew…"
He truly hadn't thought a Ground-type Sandshrew could be taken out by an Electric attack.
All this time, he'd focused on Sandshrew's weakness to Water.
So his training had emphasized swimming drills—to strengthen its resistance to Water.
Was he supposed to start training a Ground-type Sandshrew for lightning resistance next?
What would even be the point of that?!
Only now did Ash slowly lift his head. The eyes under his cap brim carried the calm of someone who already knew all the answers.
He raised a finger, like a professor beginning a lecture.
"When we say 'Ground-type Pokémon are immune to Electric-type moves'…" he began lightly, "the core principle is that, as long as they're in contact with the earth, they can channel incoming current safely into the ground."
"It's similar to the Lightning Rod Ability."
"But that comes with two conditions."
He paused, watching Ming's expression twist under the shock.
"First, they have to stay in contact with the ground. Once they leave the earth, that grounding path is cut."
"Second, there's an upper limit to how much current they can shunt into the ground. If the intensity of the electricity wildly exceeds that limit…"
Ash pointed at the unconscious Sandshrew on the sand.
"You get exactly what you're seeing now."
For Pikachu to one-shot Sandshrew, it had used both points at once.
By rookie standards, Sandshrew's strength was actually quite solid.
The one-hit KO was pure brute force on top of perfect timing.
Ash's tone remained mild, but every word landed like an invisible slap across the face of Ming's "100-win streak" pride.
Ming's face cycled from green to white.
He looked at his fainted Sandshrew, then back at Ash, who seemed to treat this as nothing more than a small, trivial matter. His lips trembled, but he couldn't force out a single rebuttal.
…He'd been the one to challenge this battle. Getting defeated was on him.
"…I really am still far behind. I need to work harder."
Even after the hit to his pride, Ming didn't collapse.
He was the kind of Trainer who worked hard, had ambition, and a very steady will.
Ash walked over and patted him on the shoulder, a faint smile on his face.
"Your Sandshrew is trained very well."
"Of all the rookie Trainers I've fought so far, you're the strongest."
"You just had the bad luck of running into me."
"So, tonight's lodging and dinner—we'll leave that to you then, Beast Tamer Ming."
His gaze slid to the flag with the big "100" on it, and he added, with clear intent:
"The road to true strength doesn't end at a hundred victories."
"Use me as your target."
"I'll be waiting for you at the Indigo Plateau Conference."
Ash didn't dislike this hardworking, sharp-headed Beast Tamer Ming at all.
"Then it's a promise." Ming checked Sandshrew over; fortunately, there were no serious injuries—just a very nasty knockout.
"I'll get stronger, and I'll challenge you again," he said, voice serious.
"For tonight, you can use this place however you like."
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