Xia You turned around to look at him.
"Your challenge?"
"That's right." The boy tidied his collar, smiling confidently. "My name is A.J., known as the Beast Master. Since I started training, I've never been defeated.
So, do you dare to fight me?"
Beast Master A.J.?
Looking at the Sandshrew by his feet, Xia You showed a knowing expression.
"I don't mind," Xia You looked around and asked, "But where should we battle? There's no battleground nearby."
Thanks to Pokémon battles becoming formalized, popularized, and widespread by the Pokémon League, just like outdoor basketball courts on the streets in his previous life, one could often see simple battlegrounds in parks, schools, by riverbanks, and along streets.
However, unfortunately, the area where Xia You was currently located was quite a distance from any public battleground.
A.J. pointed in the direction of Vermilion City with his finger.
"I built a personal Gym in the wilderness not far ahead.
There's a battleground there. Come with me."
The two walked out of Cerulean City one after the other, and about ten minutes later, they indeed saw a simple camp built with fences and tents.
Outside the camp was also a large sign that read:
"Pokémon League Unofficial Gym — 92 consecutive victories."
From A.J.'s confident expression and the words on the sign, it was not difficult to see that he was indeed a very confident Trainer.
And he really wanted to attract attention.
It was just that his face, coupled with his slightly stout body and thick, upturned eyebrows, made him look a little simple-minded after staring for a while.
Seeing Xia You looking at the sign, A.J. said proudly,
"My goal is 100 consecutive victories.
Once I achieve that, I'll begin traveling everywhere and challenge various Gyms to obtain badges."
Entering the camp and arriving at this so-called personal Gym, through the open tent flap, Xia You immediately saw several Pokémon undergoing independent training.
Butterfree and Beedrill were flying and colliding in the air, seemingly training for fighting, while on the ground, three Rattata wearing power-enhancers were doing endurance exercises.
"How is it? My Gym is pretty good, isn't it?" A.J. came to the Trainer command area and said to Xia You.
"Now, as long as I defeat you, I'll have 93 consecutive wins!"
"That's truly worth celebrating," Xia You walked to the opposite side and said solemnly.
"I can tell you're indeed a formidable opponent, but since I started my journey, I've never lost either!"
Under their feet was a hard, compacted dirt field.
Although this type of field had no special features, it was the most widespread battleground in this world.
"Is that so? Then it seems today one of our records is destined to be broken!" A.J. spread his hands.
"Alright, let's get down to business.
The rules are simple: each of us uses one Pokémon. Whoever remains standing wins!"
Xia You nodded.
"Alright, I understand."
Taking out a whip from behind him, A.J. swung it forward and shouted,
"Sandshrew, let them see our strength!"
As he spoke, the Sandshrew beside him slowly ran onto the field.
From its appearance, this Sandshrew, apart from standing on two legs, wasn't much different from a pangolin on Earth. Its body was round, its skin earthy yellow, hard and dry, with brick-like patterns.
Xia You took out his Pokédex and pointed it at it.
Pokédex:
"Beep. Sandshrew, the Mouse Pokémon, Ground Type.
It dislikes water and lives by digging deep holes in dry areas.
When threatened, it curls into a ball to protect itself."
In terms of type, both the Grass-type Bulbasaur and the Water-type Squirtle had an advantage over the Ground-type Sandshrew.
Although the details were somewhat vague, Xia You remembered that this Sandshrew had once defeated Ash and the Team Rocket trio.
Therefore, he didn't dare to be careless.
After thinking for a moment, he waved his hand and sent out his ace Pokémon—Kirlia.
Looking at Kirlia, who resembled a young girl, A.J. said in surprise,
"Your Pokémon is very unique, but it doesn't matter. No matter who it is, the result will be the same.
Let's go, Sandshrew! Use Rollout!"
Sandshrew quickly ran forward on all fours. After building up speed, its body curled completely into a ball and rolled toward Kirlia at extremely high speed.
"Kirlia, use Double Team!"
Kirlia instantly split into dozens of illusions. Because Sandshrew's speed was too fast, it couldn't stop in time.
Only after rolling past did it turn back, realizing that what it had hit was only an illusion.
"Kirlia, use Confusion!"
Kirlia raised her hand, and a ball of psychic energy enveloped Sandshrew. At the same moment, with a crack of the whip, Sandshrew quickly curled into a ball!
Confusion activated, lifting Sandshrew into the air before slamming it heavily to the ground.
When the dust settled, Sandshrew stretched its body, shook its head, and stood up, seemingly having suffered little damage.
"You've got some skill," Xia You couldn't help praising.
"To instantly use Defense Curl to reduce damage—you've trained this Sandshrew very well."
A.J. snorted.
"Hmph, that kind of damage is nothing! My Sandshrew has undergone rigorous training and has even overcome its weakness to water!"
"Oh?" Xia You raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"A Ground-type Pokémon overcoming its Water-type weakness? That's impressive!"
In fact, during the brief exchange, Xia You had already noticed something.
Not only was this Sandshrew exceptionally strong, but its coordination with A.J. was also extremely sharp.
Often, A.J. only needed to swing his whip without speaking, and Sandshrew would understand his intent through the sound alone, instantly adjusting its actions.
These two factors had allowed them to remain undefeated for over ninety battles.
However, now they had encountered Xia You and Kirlia.
And this time, they had truly met their match.
Xia You and Kirlia naturally also had excellent synergy, and because of the red horn on Kirlia's head, it could quickly sense Xia You's emotions. Being a Psychic Pokémon, it could even read some of Xia You's thoughts to some extent