After grinding through 90 battles, Kazuki gained a solid amount of experience.
[Pokémon: Pikachu, Level lv16 → lv20]
[Pokémon: Pidgeotto, Level lv30 → lv31]
[Pokémon: Butterfree, Level lv16 → lv20]
[Pokémon: Clefairy, Level lv25 → lv28]
All of Kazuki's Pokémon had now stepped into the Advanced tier. With two Flying-types anchoring his team, taking on A.J. was more than manageable.
As Kazuki and Misty stepped into A.J.'s unofficial Gym, Misty's expression twisted with fury.
"Kazuki, you better give that arrogant jerk a serious thrashing!"
"Make sure you beat him until he cries!"
Misty bit down on the strap of her backpack to vent her rage.
"Huh? Weren't you just telling me to leave earlier? Now you want me to teach him a lesson?" Kazuki didn't take A.J. seriously. To him, this was just another mission to farm.
Misty tilted her head, glanced at Kazuki, and blinked. "You really gonna walk away now? But we're already in his territory. Wouldn't it be kind of humiliating to leave at this point?"
"Uh... well, fine. Let's go then, forget about that guy!"
"We can always come back to teach him a lesson later!"
Misty's stance shifted constantly, flipping back and forth.
"There's no way I'd be able to sleep if I walked away now."
"I'm going to deal with him properly—and help you blow off some steam while I'm at it!" Of course Kazuki was going to fight. He just said a few extra lines to build rapport with Misty.
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After joking around with Misty for a bit, Kazuki stepped onto A.J.'s makeshift dirt arena.
"Pidgeotto, I choose you!"
Once Kazuki called out his Pidgeotto, A.J. responded as always, ignoring type matchups, and sent out his trump card—Sandshrew.
He showed not the slightest trace of panic, as his Sandshrew had undergone specialized training to cover its weaknesses and had reached Level 30.
After all, this wasn't a video game—leveling up didn't mean absolute immunity or superiority.
Besides, one of the future missions would reward Kazuki with a Pidgeotite for Mega Evolution, so he had been raising Pidgeotto as a mainstay from the start.
Naturally, he wasn't afraid of a Ground-type like Sandshrew.
"Pidgeotto! Use Agility—boost your flight speed!"
Following Kazuki's command, A.J. didn't shout any orders. Instead, he whipped the ground.
Sandshrew immediately sprang into action.
This too was a viable Pokémon battle tactic—giving silent commands to catch the opponent off guard.
A.J. had run this arena for a while now, and had faced off against many Pidgeotto challengers.
This time, he planned to use the same old strategy to bring Pidgeotto down.
But Kazuki's Pidgeotto was ridiculously fast—so fast that A.J. nearly snapped his whip trying to find the right timing for a charge.
"Now's the time!"
Facing a strong opponent, A.J. couldn't help but shout a verbal command the moment he spotted an opening.
Sandshrew curled itself into a ball and launched upward like a spring-loaded bullet, aiming for the airborne Pidgeotto.
A.J. thought he had it in the bag again and was already grinning in triumph.
But to his shock, Pidgeotto crossed its wings into an X-shape and blocked the incoming strike.
"Pidgeotto! Use Gust!"
Kazuki seized the post-move lag in Sandshrew's charge to launch a counterattack.
"It's useless! My Sandshrew's dealt with Gust countless times!"
Pidgeotto was far too fast. Sandshrew couldn't dodge in time, and A.J. could only bluster, relying on past wins to prop up his confidence.
But all his previous challengers had sent out lower-leveled Pidgeotto.
Kazuki's Pidgeotto, although only one level above Sandshrew, was equipped with a Sharp Beak—massively boosting the power of Flying-type moves.
One strike was enough to send Sandshrew into a weakened state. The force of the attack even shattered most of A.J.'s crude battle platform.
The shockwave pushed right up to A.J. himself, knocking him flat on his rear.
"Pidgeotto versus Sandshrew—Pidgeotto wins!!" Misty, overjoyed by the outcome, leapt into the role of a makeshift referee, loudly declaring Kazuki's victory.
A.J. stared at the wrecked battlefield before him, his mouth opening and closing for a long moment before finally forcing out a few words.
"S-So strong… that Flying-type move!"
"H-How… how is this possible?"
"How can a Pidgeotto's Flying-type move be this powerful?!"
[Pokémon: Pidgeotto, Level lv31 → lv32]
The high-level Sandshrew had provided ample EXP, pushing Pidgeotto to Level 32.
Mission complete, level up secured, Kazuki happily recalled his Pidgeotto and launched into some post-battle lecturing.
"Didn't you say your Sandshrew had seen plenty of Gusts?"
"What? Are you a Master of Type Disadvantage or something?"
"You just love sending Ground-types out against Flying-types, huh?"
"Or do you think your Sandshrew is some kind of legendary beast?"
"Rather than forcing these reverse matchups, maybe try studying proper type advantages for once."
Kazuki said his piece. As for the Pokémon in A.J.'s tent that had undergone all kinds of harsh training—he couldn't be bothered to worry about them.
It was all give and take—if A.J. wanted to fight this way, then he could deal with the results himself.
Kazuki walked away from A.J.'s personal Gym with a 91-win streak under his belt.
As for A.J., he could only start over from scratch and aim for another 100-win streak. Trainers with odd quirks like him were always bizarrely persistent.
And once A.J. hit 100 wins again, who knows how many Gyms would be in for a headache.
But that wasn't Kazuki's problem—he wasn't a Gym Leader, after all. He continued on toward Vermilion City with Misty at his side, aiming to complete the final stretch of his 100-win challenge.
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Next goal: 300 Power Stones!
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