"Once more, Sandshrew—use Rollout!" A.J. commanded again.
"Psyduck, Hydro Pump!" Yozora shouted at the same time.
On the battlefield, Sandshrew curled itself into a golden ball and rolled forward at high speed, aiming straight for Psyduck.
Psyduck fired a torrent of water straight at it.
However—
Just before the Hydro Pump could land, Sandshrew suddenly swerved with a sharp turn, dodging the blast, and slammed into Psyduck with brutal force, sending it flying!
A moment earlier, the sound of a whip cracking had echoed across the field.
That was A.J., the Beast Tamer.
He was known for always carrying a whip in hand.
But A.J. wasn't a sadist, nor did he ever use the whip to strike Pokémon.
Instead, he trained with it and used its sound as his method of command.
That's right—
Every crack of the whip carried meaning, a different sound for every order!
Through years of daily training and living side by side, his Sandshrew understood the subtleties in each crack—when to attack, when to dodge, and even the tiniest nuances.
And compared to spoken words, the whip's snap was faster, sharper, and harder for opponents to anticipate.
This was the unique power of A.J. as a Trainer!
"Not bad," Yozora remarked with genuine praise.
That sudden ambush had cost Psyduck dearly. The yellow duck was already battered, its stamina heavily drained, panting for breath.
"Hmph. If you can't think of a counter, then this match is mine!"
With a smug grin, A.J. cracked his whip again. "Go, Sandshrew! Curl up and finish it with one last Rollout!"
Rollout. Again and again, A.J. relied on this move.
It was as if Sandshrew knew nothing else.
But that wasn't true. There was method behind his repetition.
Though Sandshrew wasn't naturally fast, Rollout gave it tremendous momentum. In that state, it was far more agile, capable of sudden swerves and advanced maneuvers.
Rollout was at the very core of A.J.'s battle style.
And beyond Rollout, he had two finishing tactics: the deadly Defense Curl + Rollout combo, or Sandshrew's Earthquake.
This time, he chose the first.
"Psyduck, use Psychic power to blast it away!" Yozora commanded sharply.
"That's impossible! Go, Sandshrew!" A.J. roared, throwing his fist forward.
And indeed, just as he predicted, Psyduck's psychic power wasn't enough to stop Sandshrew's spinning form.
But it did cause the Rollout to stall—just for an instant.
Exactly as Yozora intended.
The power of Defense Curl + Rollout lay in compounding speed and momentum—the faster the spin, the more devastating the impact.
But Psyduck's psychic interference broke that momentum for a crucial moment, reducing the force dramatically.
"Now! Psyduck, unleash your strongest Hydro Pump!" Yozora ordered with full confidence.
BOOOOM!!!
The Hydro Pump that erupted was enormous, even broader and stronger than before. Pushed to the limit in this fierce battle, Psyduck had tapped into hidden reserves of power, magnifying the attack.
The torrent struck Sandshrew head-on, the sheer force blasting it into the air.
It crashed down heavily at A.J.'s feet, the ground beneath fracturing into a spiderweb of cracks from the impact.
Sandshrew's eyes swirled in defeat—it had fainted.
The match was over. A.J. had lost.
For a moment, A.J. froze in disbelief.
Staring at his unconscious partner, his eyes went wide, brimming with frustration. Then, with a thud, he dropped to his knees, tears streaming down his face.
"Why…?"
"Two years. Two whole years! Why is it that every time I get close to success, I end up failing again?!"
He pounded his fists against the ground, venting in despair.
"…Sigh."
Yozora sighed inwardly. He had expected this outcome. A.J. had claimed he carried no burdens, but how could that be true?
If he really didn't, he would have already set out on a journey.
All these elaborate methods—what good were they, really?
"A.J., you're too obsessed. Staying cooped up in a little place like this is only wasting your talent. In the end, you'll become nothing more than a frog at the bottom of a well."
Not wanting to wound A.J.'s pride, Yozora didn't walk over to comfort him. Instead, he simply sat on the ground at eye level. "You need to realize—compared to your peers, you've already lost two years of precious time."
"No, I'm not wrong! I just wanted to reach a small goal, that's all!" A.J. insisted, wiping his tears, clinging to his conviction.
Yozora shook his head. "But even if you achieve that goal, so what? Can you guarantee you'll never fail again once you start traveling?"
A.J. froze.
Could he make that promise?
He couldn't.
The world was too vast, too full of powerful Trainers and Pokémon. Who could ever claim victory in every battle?
"When you fall, you just get back up and keep going. Is it really necessary to return all the way to the start each time?"
"It's like answering a test. Say there are one hundred questions—you've finished fifty, then discover some mistakes. Would you really throw away the whole sheet and start over from the very beginning?"
"Even if you wanted to, what about the time wasted?"
Each question from Yozora struck like a hammer to the heart, shaking A.J. to the core.
Yes…
Only now did A.J. remember—he was already seventeen, nearly eighteen.
He had wasted so much time. Too much precious time.
"Wanting to win a hundred battles in a row—there's nothing wrong with that. But that has nothing to do with your journey!"
"You can pursue it anytime. In fact, on your travels you'll meet stronger opponents, face harsher trials, but also encounter more, and stronger, Pokémon."
By the time Yozora finished, A.J. finally understood.
"Thank you, Yozora. You exposed my cowardice. All this time, I was just afraid to start traveling—afraid of failure. I never realized how stubborn I'd become." He scratched the back of his head sheepishly, then stood and gave Yozora a deep bow.
"I've decided. Tomorrow, Sandshrew and I will set out on our journey. And along the way, I'll achieve my goal of one hundred consecutive victories!" A.J. declared with newfound determination.
At that moment, Sandshrew stirred awake, cheering happily at its Trainer's resolve.
As the sun dipped low in the sky, Yozora suggested staying the night at A.J.'s home instead of camping outside. A.J. welcomed him warmly.
…
…
(End of Chapter)