*
"You're a Trainer from the Cerulean Gym?"
AJ's eyes widened like dinner plates the moment he heard Alex's identity. He stared hard, scanning Alex from head to toe as if searching for a hidden flaw.
"No way," he muttered slowly. "You looked pretty strong back there. How could someone like you be from the Cerulean Gym?"
AJ was genuinely shocked. He had just watched Alex chase off the entire Team Rocket trio without breaking a sweat. If this guy really was from the Cerulean Gym, then maybe the rumors about it being the weakest gym in Kanto were completely wrong.
"Why not?" Misty stomped forward, hands planted firmly on her hips, cheeks flushed with anger.
The more she thought about it, the angrier she got. This guy had basically just said Alex seemed too competent to be from the Cerulean Gym—like the gym itself was so pathetic that anyone strong couldn't possibly belong there. Every word dripped with disdain for her home.
She was going to teach him a lesson today. He was about to learn exactly how powerful the Cerulean Gym could be.
Misty shot a glare at AJ's Sandshrew. *Just because you trained it a little, you think it's suddenly immune to Water-types?* How dare he badmouth her gym?
Alex couldn't stand the way AJ was staring at him—it made his skin crawl. "It's completely normal for the Cerulean Gym to have handsome guys and beautiful girls," he said smoothly.
*That's right…* Misty thought, nodding in fierce agreement. Alex really knew how to talk. No wonder her sisters had taken such a liking to him and kept telling her to get closer.
"Let's battle!" AJ snapped, clearly uninterested in compliments. He walked straight onto the crude, makeshift battlefield he had set up himself.
He cracked his whip with a loud **SNAP!** "Sandshrew, go!"
"Kuga~!"
Sandshrew scurried forward, ready and eager.
"The first ninety-nine wins were just warm-ups," AJ declared. "This hundredth victory is going to be the perfect finale!"
Alex didn't say a word. He simply sent out Pikachu.
"Pika~!"
Pikachu bounded onto the field and faced Sandshrew with a cheerful little wave of its tail.
*You're copying my reverse-attribute strategy?* AJ thought, stunned. He stared at Alex in disbelief. *This guy is way too arrogant. Doesn't he know Electric-type moves are completely useless against my Ground-type Sandshrew?*
Sandshrew's Iron Tail and Quick Attack resistance had been drilled into it through brutal endurance training. A single Iron Tail or Quick Attack from Pikachu shouldn't even scratch it.
**SNAP!**
AJ cracked the whip without giving any verbal command. Sandshrew instantly understood and curled into a tight ball, rolling forward like a living wheel.
"Rollout again…" Alex muttered, recognizing the pattern immediately. It was the same tactic he had seen Brock use with Geodude. "Pikachu, Iron Tail!"
Pikachu's jagged tail flared with a bright silvery-white glow. It sprinted forward, leapt high, and brought the shining tail crashing down like a meteor.
**BOOM!**
The impact was devastating. Sandshrew was launched backward like a cannonball, slamming into the arena floor and carving out a huge crater. Cracks spider-webbed outward from the point of impact. The little Ground-type lay in the pit, eyes spinning wildly, completely unable to battle.
"?"
AJ's proud, reverse-trained Sandshrew—one that had just racked up ninety-nine straight wins—had been knocked out in a single hit… by a Pikachu from the Cerulean Gym he had mocked only minutes earlier.
With every possible buff maxed out, the result was still total defeat.
AJ dropped to his knees on the spot, forming a perfect **OTL** pose as his entire worldview collapsed.
**Task Completed: Uphold the name of a Reverse-Type Master—show AJ what a true Reverse-Type Master looks like!**
**Task Reward: Intermediate Rare Candy × 3**
"How was that?" Alex asked calmly. "Still think the Trainers from the Cerulean Gym are weak?"
If Misty had been the one battling, the type advantage alone would have made Sandshrew look like a joke—especially since Misty herself was no slouch. No one in their right mind would call a League-certified Gym Leader weak.
AJ stayed silent, still staring blankly at his fainted Sandshrew. He had poured months of brutal training into that Pokémon. Its defense was supposed to be rock-solid. How could one Iron Tail from Pikachu shatter everything?
His perfect hundred-win streak had just been buried under a single yellow mouse.
"Let's go," Alex said, turning away. He could tell Pikachu had completely broken the guy's spirit. It was only the final victory, but watching his carefully trained Sandshrew get one-shotted right at the finish line had clearly shattered AJ's confidence.
Misty, on the other hand, was absolutely delighted. She walked beside Alex with a bright, satisfied smile, practically glowing with pride.
(End of Chapter 24)