A.J. 's arms were crossed as he stoically glared a tAsh from the other side of the arena.

"Let's see what you got kid." not wasting any time with pre-battle exchanges, he had a Poke Ball in his hand a second later, enlarging it without hesitation. "I'd prefer to not have another boring slugfest with an amateur."

A large Raticate appeared on A.J.'s side of the arena, rising up to hold its head high as it emerged from the white light of the Poke Ball. The Normal Type had a very bulky build, with a somewhat muscular appearance that was noticeable even with its fur. Its large, front teeth shined in the glow of the sun as it bared its fangs in the boy's direction.

Valiant appeared on Ash's side. The Kirlia spared a moment to look back at his trainer, exchanging a friendly wave with Eevee and Tyrunt in the process, before turning back to Raticate. A bead of sweat formed on the emotion Pokemon's head as the large rat gnashed its teeth at him, but the look in his eyes quickly turned steel.

With confidence, A.J. raised a hand into the air. "The battle begins now! Shadow Ball!"

Raticate didn't waste a moment to heed its trainer's order, a ball of distortion forming beneath its two large teeth. Valiant was already encasing himself in a golden cube as the attack fired. With no barriers to protect him, Ash was braced himself in preparation for the shockwaves as the powerful orb struck the golden shield (cracking it, but not breaking it) but it never came.

The young boy blinked for a second, and could have sworn he saw a hint of shimmering between himself and the battlefield.

"Wait… do you have barriers here?" he asked in a bewildered tone.

A.J. nodded. "Yes. The equipment I use are donations from a researcher who lives nearby. I'm using my winnings to pay off the debt. Good motivation to get one hundred victories in a row."

'So that's it.' Ash thought to himself. It was probably the same researcher that he found out about back in the city. Even if A.J. was paying him off, it must have been a pretty generous researcher.

And the mention of a "debt" reminded him of his own debt to Elacia. Although, Ash had a feeling that this A.J. guy needed even more money, given how expensive the technology probably was.

He couldn't dwell on any of that, however, shaking himself out of his thoughts to give Valiant an order.

"Dazzling Gleam!"

"Iron Tail!"

Raticate blurred away from the pink blast that Valiant sent its way, circling around the battlefield to charge the young Kirlia from the side as it raised a now metal-encased tail.

Dust kicked up in the large rat's wake as it tore its way across the arena. It was a fast one, for certain. Rivaled even Pikachu. Its bulk did nothing to hinder it.

Valiant flashed out of existence just as the metallic tail threatened to smash his forehead. Appearing on the other side of the arena, the young Kirlia raised his hands out in front of them, which were already coated in electricity as a bolt of lightning sizzled forward towards the bulky rat.

Raticate turned around immediately, however, opening its mouth to form a large, bright blue ball of light, which quickly extended into a narrow, but condensed, beam of ice that met with the lightning blast.

The collision of the thunderbolt and Ice Beam scattered sparking chunks of ice across the center of the arena, Raticate running forward and coating itself in fire as it swiftly rolled through the small cloud of smoke that was briefly kicked up by the explosion.

Shadow Ball, Iron Tail, Ice Beam, and now Flame Wheel… this creature was versatile.

The ground beneath Raticate sizzled with the heat as its flaming body sped its way towards Valiant, who surrounded himself in a glass barrier as he braced himself for impact, holding his arms out forward and gritting his teeth as the flaming ball smashed into his shield.

The young Emotion Pokemon could feel the heat on his hands as his Reflect strained against the swift force of the Flame Wheel, his opponent continuously grinding its flaming body against the shield as Raticate continued to roll in place. Cracks were beginning to form on the barrier, spreading throughout.

Finally, the rat gave out just as the barrier shattered, Valiant lightly yelping as the lingering flames splashed onto his skin as Raticate recoiled backwards, body no longer cloaked.

Valiant made the first move, fighting through the pain as he lurched himself forward through the flames, a rainbow orb forming in his hands as he fired a Psybeam into Raticate's chest. The large rat weezed from the impact as it was sent rolling a few feet across the battlefield, stopping on its back before getting up in time to raise a metallic tail to intercept the Dazzling Gleam that Valiant had fired to follow up.

Pushing against the blast of bright, pink light, Raticate let out a light battle cry as it finally broke through and slapped the beam away, deflecting it into the barriers as the large rat blurred forward yet again. Valiant teleported away to avoid another Iron Tail, but Raticate was already in pursuit once more as the young Kirlia reappeared on another part of the battlefield.

"Psybeam!" Ash quickly called out.

"Sucker Punch!"

Ash blinked as Raticate suddenly became cloaked in a veil of purple, its speed increasing further as it rammed into Valiant, breaking the Emotion Pokemon's concentration as the krilia was sent to the ground with a yelp.

"Finish it with Iron Tail!"

Standing over the fallen Kirlia, Raticate took aim for Valiant's head as it brought down a metallic tail. Ash held back a sigh of relief as Valiant rolled out of the way and scrambled to his feet. His friend had avoided getting his skull crushed in, but the battle wasn't over.

"Iron Tail once more!" A.J. called out. His tone was calm, but with a fierce undertone. Completely absorbed in the battle.

"Reflect!"

Valiant erected the glass cube just as Raticate blurred forward, lashing out at the powerful barrier with its metal-coated tail.

SMASH!

The glass shattered as a yelping Valiant was sent skidding backwards, the whiplash of the collision nearly pushing him off of his feet as the shockwaves painfully bruised his head. He was a few meters away from his opponent when he finally managed to right himself.

Ash felt some sweat rolling down his cheek. This Raticate was strong. He could see how this guy had managed to win ninety-eight times in a row, as ludicrous of a feat that was. No doubt just one direct strike from that Iron Tail would end Valiant's efforts for good.

At his feet, Pikachu, Eevee, and Tyrunt all seemed pretty nervous, and Ash shared in the feeling. They'd become his ninety-ninth victims at this rate…

What to do? Valiant couldn't keep teleporting and relying on barriers forever. His strength was bound to give in on him sooner rather than later if he kept that up, and Raticate had just proven itself powerful enough to annihilate Reflect in a single, well-placed blow…

Thinking back to his battles with Daisy and Misty, Ash inwardly sighed to himself. Was such a risky strategy suddenly going to become the norm for them?

Thrusting an arm outwards, A.J. called out boldly. "Keep up the pressure! Toxic!"

Ash nervously clenched his teeth together. Just how much variety did this Pokemon have?

Moving forward to take aim at Valiant, Raticate shot a large, thick glob of dark purple goop in the young Kirlia's direction.

Toxic was a dangerous move, and although the same could be said for a great deal of Poison Type attacks, this one was definitely one of the most infamous. Proper utilization of poisonous techniques could easily cripple nearly any opponent, making it one of the most feared typings out there.

"Psybeam!"

Thankfully, Psychic attacks were a perfect offensive counter to Poison Types. Ash didn't allow him to feel any satisfaction just yet, but still nodded in approval as Valiant's beam of rainbow-colored light tore through the poisonous goop. As Raticate deflected it with an Iron Tail, Valiant momentarily erected a Light Screen (keeping it weak to conserve energy) to block out the remnants of the gopp that otherwise would have splashed onto his body.

"Keep going, Raticate!' A.J.'s voice was urging, not losing its calm tone, but still laced with assertiveness and agency. "Hyper Fang!"

Ash gulped a bit. He was starting to figure that Raticate knew that move, too.

Raticate's fangs became cloaked in a bright, white aura, almost as if its teeth was literally made out of it. As the sharp teeth grew in size, the large rat prepared to bolt forward and sink them into Valiant.

"Teleport onto its back! Then Thunderbolt!"

As a bewildered A.J. blinked, Valiant appeared on top of Raticate, wrapping his arms around his furry opponent as the large rat flinched from the electricity charging up in the young Kirlia's hands.

"Get Kirlia off of you!" A.J. ordered, his surprise leaking into his normally composed tone.

Raticate took off in a sprint, tearing through the arena as Valiant held on for dear life. Even so, the large rat's body erupted in electricity mere moments later, a thunderous scream escaping the large normal type as the lightning scorched his body. Even as Raticate was bombarded with the point-blank zap, Valiant, still hanging onto his opponent, cried out as well as his body was scorched by his own attack.

A.J. bit back his lip as Raticate struggled to throw the young Kirlia off, before his eyes widened in realization.

"Flame Wheel!"

To Ash's awe, Raticate powered through the agony and cloaked itself in fire, Valiant's screams becoming deafening as the flames enveloped his body. As Raticate took on it's fiery ball form, the fire and lightning collectively covering the large rat's body fought for dominance as an explosion formed from the conflict.

Valiant was painfully flung off of his opponent's back while Raticate was also launched backwards. Both combatants bounced across the rocky pavement of the arena, coming to a stop and struggling to their feet as both trainers took in the states of their Pokemon.

Raticate's fur was relentlessly charged, entire, large patches completely missing as smoke seeped from its smoldering body. The bulky rat panted in agony as it locked eyes with Valiant, still attempting to put on a battle-ready glare.

Valiant was panting as well, his skin scorched, with a hint of blood dripping from some of the cuts that he had sustained from colliding with the ground. He also locked eyes with his opponent. Even as he traded Raticate's glare with one of his own, his gaze was significantly more shaken, and not quite as steel as the large rat's.

'It's a good thing I didn't have him try to trap them both in a Light Screen.' Ash thought to himself in realization, the fight with Daisy's Poliwhirl entering his mind once more. 'That would have cost him even more energy, and he might not have withstood that last attack.'

Both Pokemon were struggling to stand, trying to muster what little remained of their strength and apply it to their resolve.

Just one more blow…

"Raticate, Shadow Ball!"

"Valiant, Thunderbolt!"

It took a good deal longer for the ball of distortion to form in Raticate's jaws, as for the electricity to gather in Valiant's hands. Both combatants strained themselves to ready their attacks, gazes still locked on one another as they prepared to fire.

They would need to use their moves strategically. Try to bait the opponent so that they could move to the side and fire their attack without it getting intercepted by the opposing technique. Who knew how much strength they'd have left in the tank after this?

Just as Raticate made its move, sidestepping a bit as it prepared to fire the Shadow Ball, Ash's eyes widening, something in his mind going off.

"Teleport!"

Catching onto what his trainer was planning, Valiant strained himself in an effort to activate the technique, the psychic ignoring the exhaustion in his body and flashing out of existence just before the ball of ghostly energy could ram into him. As the Shadow Ball slammed into the barriers, the young Kirlia appeared just behind Raticate, letting out a battle cry as the bolt of lightning escaped his hands.

A.J. had already caught on, however, his eyes widening and his voice now somewhat panicked as he hastily called out a counterorder. "Iron Tail, behind you!"

Raticate whirled around and took aim at Valiant, showcasing surprising resilience as it powered through its exhaustion and lashed out with a metallic coated tail. The iron Tail was imperfect, not completely coated in metal, and the metal itself not quite as strong, but it was still an iron Tail, all the same.

Valiant's attack hit its mark just as the tail slammed into the side of the young Emotion Pokemon's head, the electricity sizzling across Raticate's body as Valiant rolled a few feet away. Raticate let out a final cry of pain before collapsing with a grunt, both combatants now laying still on the battlefield.

A draw.

The fallen Pokemon were both sucked into their capsules by beams of red light, Ash smiling in approval at Valiant's Poke Ball as Pikachu, Eevee, and Tyrunt each chirped their congratulations at the orb.

"Great job as always, Valiant. Take a rest for now." clipping the ball back to his belt, he took out a second capsule and released Nebula.

On the other side of the arena, A.J. had already returned Raticate's Poke Ball to his belt, taking out a second Poke ball as Nebula appeared on the field and exchanged greetings with Ash and the others.

A Beedrill appeared in front of A.J.

Turning back to her opponent, Nebula narrowed her eyes at the sight of the bug-poison type.

It was as intimidating as any other member of its species, a fierce glare filling its eyes as tiny drops of venom dripped from the tip of its needles.

"Careful, Nebula." Ash warned quietly. "This guy's last Pokemon had a lot of tricks up its sleeve. We don't have much of a way of knowing how this Beedrill fights."

Nebula nodded in understanding.

"Although…" Ash bit his lip. "It's at least pretty likely to make use of its needles." The bird followed his gaze towards the sharp needles that Beedrill had raised in front of itself. "A direct hit from those would definitely be lethal, especially if it uses poison with them. Your Steel Wing should be able to block them, and…"

He bit back his tongue. He wondered if he should warn Nebula about A.J.'s perfect record. She had the type matchup in her favor, but a trainer who claimed to have won ninety-eight straight times would hardly be worried about something like that.

He inwardly shook his head. He didn't like omitting information from her, or from Valiant, for that matter, but if he told her about A.J.'s winning streak he might be putting additional pressure on her. It would just stress her out.

Ash perked up as Nebula looked back at him with a light smile of reassurance, before taking off into the air. Ash smiled after her fleeing form.

Right now, she seemed to be looking forward to the battle. That was the important part. He didn't need to make things serious when her mindset going into battle would be a lot healthier this way.

"Do your best, Nebula!" he called out to his partner. Pikachu and Tyrunt let out encouraging cries of their own, while Eevee remained silent, but nodded to herself.

A.J. gestured forward to Beedrill as the fatal bug-poison type raised its needles into the air in preparation, lightly clicking them together as poison continued to drip from their tips.

"You managed to score a draw with Raticate in the first round." his voice was showing a bit more emotion now, a hint of approval conveyed in his tone. "That's not a bad first impression. You've outperformed a lot of the others so far." the seriousness in his face deepened. "Let's see if that continues. Beedrill, Poison Jab!"

Complying, Beedrill shot upwards towards Nebula. Just before taking off, its body took on a light-blue outline, before rocketing at breakneck speeds towards its target. Was it using Agility?

Even as Beedrill advanced, its needles glowed a deep purple, the poison at the tips expanding to cover the entirety of the needles as it thrust one of them at Nebula's chest.

Just before the glowing needle could plunge its way into her body, Nebula encased her wings in metal, folding them in front of her to intercept the blow. The force behind the high-speed attack propelled the Staravia upwards, but her wings remained undented as the metallic coating absorbed the blow, the poison left behind harmlessly dripping off of the metal feathers.

Ash took the initiative. "Strike back now!"

Wings still coated in metal, Nebula shot downwards. Not far from Beedrill, it didn't take her long to get within striking distance, swatting one of her wings downwards in hopes of slamming down on her dangerous opponent's head with the metal. However, one of Beedrill's needles glowed a bright orange, striking back against the metallic wing. As the Brick Break deftly met with the Steel Wing, Nebula felt a twinge of pain from the collision, the bird wincing through a clenched beak as the metal on her wing became dented.

Beedrill's strike pushed Nebula's wing upwards, knocking her off balance as the mighty bug prepared a counterattack, striking at the Staravia with Poison Jab using its other needle.

Nebula reacted as quickly as she could, swinging her other wing, still coated in metal, at the poisonous needle in an attempt to block it. Although she did not react in time to intercept the tip like she had done before, she still managed to successfully land a blow to the side of the needle, pushing it away just before it could touch her vulnerable body.

"Wind Blast!"

As Beedrill was knocked off balance from Nebula's actions, Nebula allowed the metallic coating on her wings to fade away as she successfully righted herself, firing the condensed blast of air head on into the bug-poison type. Beedrill grunted in displeasure from the painful force of the blow as the fatal bug was forced to the ground, the wind roughly pushing Beedrill downwards until the large bug slammed into the arena, bouncing off of the pavement for a brief moment before righting itself and taking off for the skies once more. A small cloud of dust was left in its wake from the impact of the collision with the ground, but was quickly left behind as Beedrill advanced on Nebula once more, needles glowing a light green as a barrage of glowing spikes of the same, light green color were let loose towards the powerful bug's target.

Nebula swerved out of the Pin Missile's path and took off downwards with Wing Attack, only to be forced to evade to the side as a poison Jab from Beedrill threatened to pierce through her wings.

"Nebula!" Ash called out with cupped hands. "Keep your wings coated in metal whenever you attack up close, Beedrill's needles are too dangerous for you to leave yourself unguarded!"

Nodding at her trainer's instructions, Nebula circled back around as she prepared for another offensive, her wings once again becoming encased in metal. However, Beedrill pursued her, meeting her head on as A.J. called out to his Pokemon.

"Deal with the defenses with Brick Break, then finish the battle with Poison Jab!"

Both of Beedrill's needles began to brightly glow. One purple, and dripping with venom, and the other orange. As Nebula and her opponent both closed in on one another, the Staravia lashed out with one of her wings, only for Beedrill to do the same. As the two attacks met, Nebula once again winced through her clenched beak as the Brick Break painfully dented the metal on her wing. As Nebula pulled back, attempting to gain a distance between herself and her opponent as Beedrill prepared to strike at her with the purple needle, Ash called out to her with some worry.

"Double Team, then strike back!"

Nebula split into two, both Staravia advancing towards the mildly confused Beedrill. Cleverly, the large bug struck out with both needles in an effort to intercept them. The real nebula was targeted with the purple needle, but she had Steel Wing at the ready, colliding with the Poison Jab as Beedrill was mildly pushed back. As she allowed her clone to fizzle out, nebula took the initiative and struck at Beedrill's chest with her other wing, the bug-poison type grunting painfully as the metal slammed into it, briefly forcing it downwards before it righted itself and rose back up to Nebula's position.

"Toxic, Beedrill!" A.J. called out.

Beedrill unleashed the glob of purple goop, which flew towards Nebula, only for her to cross her wings in front of her once more. The poison splashed against her metallic wings, but she quickly blew the remnants away with a quick, small Whirlwind that forced Beedrill slightly backwards, before advancing once more in preparation for another strike.

But Beedrill was already prepared, firing off another barrage of Pin Missile, which were blocked after Nebula crossed her metal-encased wings once again. Taking advantage of the distraction, Beedrill made its way just above Nebula, ready to strike down at her from behind.

"Brick Break!" A.J. must have predicted that Nebula was going to successfully turn around the block in time. A Brick Break would fare better against the Steel Wing than the Poison Jab would, after all.

True to A.J. 's apparent expectations, Nebula turned to cross her wings once more, only to cry out as the force of the Brick Break disrupted her balance and sent her plummeting to the ground. Before her body could smack against the arena, she smacked the pavement with a well-timed Steel Wing, before making her way back upwards.

A thoughtful expression adorning his features, Ash watched her fly back to her opponent with conflicting thoughts in his brain. This Beedrill was strong. Nebula was faring okay for now, but she was definitely at a disadvantage. One unlucky error on their part, or a good play from their opponent, and she would fall victim to Beedrill's Poison Jab. She was not yet durable enough to properly handle a Beedrill's needles, so the poison would enter her system after a direct hit from the attack. Even without the poison, the needle alone would puncture her. She'd be crippled and defenseless from the combination of the two.

In spite of all of that, he couldn't prevent the feeling of excitement from making itself known in his chest. The difficulty of this battle was reminding him of his bout with Misty, and it was a pleasant memory.

"Nebula, Reckless!" Ash couldn't help but feel a bit hasty ordering her to use the ability while she still had most of her strength, but he supposed that could also work to their benefit, as it would take longer for her to run out of energy now. He couldn't think of any safer ways to engage Beedrill at the moment. If it could keep up with Nebula in the air, it could probably give Pikachu issues as well. Even with Pikachu's ground speed, Beedrill had the advantage in maneuverability purely because of flight alone. It's constant utilization of Agility only served to further that.

Eyes widening in realization, and head nodding in understanding, Nebula let out a bone-chilling shriek as her body took on its crimson outline, the red lightning aligning her glowing aura that now surrounded her body. Her eyes took on their signature crimson glow as she murderously glowered upwards towards her opponent, continuing to advance towards beedrill, who still awaited her from above.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

It was always unsettling to see her change in behavior whenever the Ability activated, apparently his Pokemon agreed with him, as Pikachu, Eevee, and Tyrunt all frowned a bit as Nebula made her advance. As usual, she was far faster than she already was before, almost like a crimson-colored blur in the air. The air rippled as she tore her way through to her opponent.

"Steel Wing!" Ash had already ordered her to keep her wings coated in metal for close quarters combat before, but since Nebula's sense of self-preservation was compromised whenever Reckless was in use, he felt that it would help to give her the reminder.

Thankfully, Nebula heeded that reminder, lashing out with a metallic wing as Beedrill met her head on with brick break. As Nebula made her way up to her opponent, the large bug descending downwards towards her, the two attacks clashed, but Beedrill yelped in surprise as he was forced upwards, Nebula's wings completely undeterred.

With Beedrill off balance, Ash almost wanted to push his luck with an Aerial Ace, but decided against it. Nebula needed to keep her metal wings in front of her at all times when attacking up close. Giving her conflicting instructions could confuse her when her survival instincts were lessened while in her Reckless state.

Instead, he simply followed up with a repeat attack. "Steel Wing!"

Continuing her rocket-speed ascent towards her target, Nebula smashed a metal wing into Beedrill's stomach, the bug-poison type Pokemon weezing for air as Nebula's attack propelled it upwards. Just as it righted itself in midair, Nebula sped above it, slamming another metal wing down on its head.

Ash watched as Beedrill crashed onto the pavement, kicking up more dust as the bug struggled to rise back up.

"Wind Blast!" Ash pressed his advantage, but A.J. was getting desperate.

"Agility! Out of the way!"

Beedrill sped away with a surge of adrenaline, leaving Nebula's blast of wind to strike at the arena and kick up even more dust.

"Beedrill!" A.J. called out. "That Reckless Ability is pumping extra adrenaline through Nebula's body! Your opponent should be more susceptible to poison now, so get in close and put her down with Toxic!"

As Beedrill advanced upon Nebula, fighting through the pain in its battered and bruised body, Ash flinched at A.J.'s declaration. He hadn't considered that, but it made sense, so he probably should have. Their opponent was on top of things for sure.

"We won't let that happen!" the younger boy quickly countered. "Nebula, Whirlwind, then Steel Wing!"

The glob of poisonous goop that Beedrill unleashed was blown right back into its user as Nebula's Whirlwind kicked up a merciless gale. Beedrill cried out in surprise as the wind slammed it backfirst into one of the barriers. Moments later, Beedrill was right above it, and a loud CRACK! was heard as a powerful Steel Wing to the head sent it barreling towards the ground. When the dust settled from the crash, Beedrill was unconscious, and was quickly returned to its Poke Ball.

The boy grinned. "Awesome, Nebula!"

As Pikachu, Eevee, and Tyrunt called out in congratulations, Nebula shrieked with triumphant ferocity as she continued to circle the arena overhead.

Just one Pokemon remained. The boy doubted it would be any easier than the previous two rounds, but they definitely still had a chance.

He could feel the familiar adrenaline flowing in his veins as he watched Nebula fly. A.J. was a powerful opponent. And yet, for the moment, they were doing well.

They would just have to keep it up. He knew he couldn't let his guard down.

On the other side of the arena, A.J. was grinning with crossed arms. He seemed to be enjoying himself too.

"Heh, impressive." A.J. stated honestly. "It's about time I had another battle like this."

The boy felt his lips twitch upwards a bit. "Your Pokemon are pretty well trained." Ash said honestly. "They're some of the toughest we've fought."

"Of course they are. You don't win battles by being a softie in how you hone your teammates." A.J. responded as he pulled out his third and final Poke Ball. "Now then, how about we end things with a surprise of sorts? Don't know if you've heard this, but I have a few exotic teammates in my roster, and I'm feeling like introducing one of them."

The boy's face turned serious at that. So it was like what Ritchie had said before.

Not letting the suspense last for too long, A.J. gave the Poke Ball a toss.

Ash's face fell in bewilderment at the sight of the newcomer.

It looked like a Sandshrew, but…

A.J.'s lips were twitched upwards knowingly as Ash and his team took in the new Pokemon's appearance.

It had all of the characteristics of a Sandshrew, but its body looked as though it was made of ice, with thick plates forming a dome around its head, almost like it had an igloo for a helmet.

"Well," he began, with a hint of pride in his voice. "What do you say?"

Ash's Pokemon sent their trainer confused looks, unaware of why he was so surprised.

"Is… is it a Sandshrew?" the boy asked carefully.

"Close enough." A.J. confirmed. "This one's from Alola. Things are a bit different over there."

Ash was tempted to ask how A.J. got his hands on such a foreign creature, but he had a feeling that the savage trainer wasn't in the mood to break away from the battle for conversation. Perhaps this was from the researcher as well? Did he go to a breeder and pay a large sum of money? And come to think of it, how many Pokemon this rare did he actually have? Ash quickly went through the possibilities in his head before returning his focus to the battle.

He didn't know much about this one, but that Sandshrew was definitely an ice type. Nebula was at a disadvantage, made all the worse by Reckless minimizing her cautiousness, but she also had the means to fight this newcomer. If nothing else, she'd likely be a better candidate to wear their new enemy down than pikachu, due to the sheer offensive potential that she had.

"Pikachu," Ash looked down at his starter as the electric mouse locked gazes with him. Nodding, Ash addressed him quietly. "If Nebula isn't able to take out this… Sandshrew… I'll be sending you in. With any luck, her power should at least be able to get some good damage in." he grinned lightly at his starter's assertive nod, pikachu answering with what looked like a thumbs-up.

A.J. brought the group's attention back to himself. "This isn't the first time I've been backed into a corner, Ash." his tone was still commanding, not the least bit caring about his seemingly perilous position in the battle. "Make sure you go down like a worthy opponent."

Feeling confidence brewing up, Ash sent his opponent a light glare as he commanded Nebula. "Right back at you. Nebula, Steel Wing!"

Shrieking an ear-piercing battle cry, Nebula blazed down through the air with her wings coated in metal, only for Sandshrew to curl up as its body hardened even further. Notably, the exotic Pokemon wasn't actually able to fully curl into a ball like Ash knew that its Kanto-native brethren could. Instead, its form was still round, but not fully spherical. It mattered not however, as Sandshrew's Iron Defense cloaked its outer armor in an extra layer, just before Nebula's blazing fast form slammed into it.

Metal-coated wings clashed with the icy, metallic surface of Sandshrew's body as a loud clanging noise sounded off across the arena, accompanied by the fierce shockwave of the impact. Sandshrew's body was sent rolling a few feet away from the strike, but little harm seemed to have been done as the foreign Pokemon exited its curled up position. Its armor was dented, but not pierced.

It was a start, at the very least.

A.J. thrusted an arm forward. "Now Sandshrew, Icicle Spear!"

Holding its arms out in front of itself, Sandshrew formed a bright blue ball of light in its claws, letting out a cry as a barrage of frozen projectiles propelled out of it and towards Nebula.

Ash called out to her. "Smash them to pieces!"

Rather than dodge, Nebula coated her feathers in metal once more before swatting away the projectiles. As tiny shards of ice scattered across the nearby areas of the arena, she advanced forward, prepared to strike at Sandshrew once again after the attack let up.

With some flakes of ice now adorning her feathers, the Staravia thrusted forward and attempted to smash Sandshrew on the skull. However, the ice-armored Pokemon met her attack head on with a claw coated in metal. The Metal Claw struggled against the Steel Wing as both combatants each competed for dominance, but Sandshrew felt a throbbing pain in its claw as Nebula's icy opponent found itself skidding backwards, trying to press its feet down to stop itself as Nebula continued to push forward with her momentum and strength.

"Swift!" A.J. called out.

Ash's eyes widened as Sandshrew raised its other claw, a barrage of golden stars bombarding against Nebula's body at point blank as the bird was propelled backwards. Sandshrew was able to stop skidding backwards against the arena as it successfully righted itself, A.J. quickly issuing a followup command just as Nebula regained her composure, catching herself before she could fly back any farther and flapping her wings in place.

"Icicle Rush!"

Once again, Sandshrew entered its pseudo-ball shaped form as an extra layer of metal covered its outer armor. It suddenly propelled itself towards its target at a shockingly fast rate as a surge of ice formed over its body, a trail of icy air left in its wake as it tore through the arena. It was as though it had taken the form of a blast of ice, with its own body at the helm of the blast.

"Block with Steel Wing!"

Red eyes blazing, Nebula crossed her wings together as the metal-encased feathers formed a shield in front of the rest of her body. As Sandshrew propelled itself upwards to meet her, its heavily armored body smashed into her defenses as she attempted to push back. The brute strength of Reckless clashed against the layers of ice and metal that outfitted Sandshrew's body, as well as the sheer momentum that carried the icy combatant's attack forward. Shockwaves poured out onto the arena at the force of the collision, the icy air that scattered across causing Nebula to clench her beak in pain.

After a few moments of struggling, Nebula finally deflected her opponent downward, but lost her balance in the air, disrupted by the force of the clash. Ash frowned as she smacked face-first into the arena. Had Reckless not been activated, she surely would have used Steel Wing to break her fall.

In comparison, Sandshrew landed safely on its feet, before deftly towards the fallen Staravia.

"Ice Punch!"

As Sandshrew's clenched fist became encased in ice, a frigid, bright-blue aura enveloping it, the exotic combatant took on a stance, rearing itself back in preparation before swinging forward as Nebula made her way to her feet.

Nebula responded by yet again coating her wings in metal, but did not have enough time to build up the momentum to properly block or intercept the attack, Sandshrew's Ice Punch colliding with one of her wings just as the metal had formed. The wing was pushed backwards, not dented, but still deflected, disrupting Nebula's balance yet again.

"Another!" called out A.J. as nebula staggered backwards.

Before she could recover, Sandshrew formed an ice Punch in its other fist, cleanly striking Nebula with a direct hit to the chest. The Staravia shrieked in pain, Ash and Pikachu calling out to her in concern as she was propelled upwards, slamming backfirst into the barriers, but catching herself in the air just as she began to fall.

As Nebula attempted to catch her breath, flapping her wings in place, a concerned Ash's attention was drawn back to A.J. by the opposing trainer's voice.

"Reckless may be a powerful Ability, but it gives its user some serious weak points, kid."

Ash's face tightened. He was perfectly aware of that. Nebula favored approaching just about any offense head-on while using this Ability. It made her borderline guaranteed to never make any attempts to evade enemy attacks, and even her defense was aggressive. Sandshrew didn't seem to be quite as strong as she was while she was in this state, but the exotic Pokemon certainly had enough force to contend with her, and even overwhelm her when taking advantage of her Ability's shortcomings.

"Wind Blast!"

As Nebula fired the blast of air downwards, Sandshrew curled up once more and started rotating in place, Nebula's assault clashing against its outer armor as an extra layer of metallic coating once again formed over it. The ice type was smacked backwards by the attack, colliding with the barriers and lightly bouncing off of them before exiting its somewhat ball-like form to look up at Nebula.

The Staravia wasn't fairing well, taking increasingly deep breaths up in the air while everybody else watched her. At this rate, it wasn't going to be long before she had used up all of her energy, and Reckless would begin to start flickering out.

Ash's grit teeth were hidden by his closed mouth as he tried to assess the situation, a light bead of sweat rolling down his face. Sandshrew also had the defensive capabilities necessary to contend with Nebula's raw power. The ice type was a lot more durable than he had been expecting.

And Nebula wouldn't be lasting much longer either way. At this point, they had to go for broke.

"Double-Edge!"

Perking up, A.J. quickly shouted out at Sandshrew. "Defend!"

As Sandshrew once again took on a curled up, spinning, metallic coated form, Nebula screamed to the heavens as she spread her wings out wide, her body becoming engulfed with a blazing white aura that almost eclipsed her completely. As the crimson aura and lightning of Reckless mixed in with the white aura of Double-Edge, the shrieking Staravia rocketed downwards towards her prey.

An explosion that would have knocked everyone off of their feet had the barriers been absent, spread a cloud of dust across the arena. The deafening impact was accompanied by disturbing silence as everyone awaited the outcome with baited breath.

After a few moments that felt like a half hour, everyone present got their answer at the sight of the two combatants, and the states that they were in.

Sandshrew's back was against the barriers, the armor covering its body filled with dents and the occasional bruises. Its breath was somewhat heavier than before, but as it pushed itself off of the barriers, Ash noted that it was still standing perfectly upright.

Nebula was on the ground, wings sprawled out as she lay on her stomach.

Feeling somewhat down, Ash pulled out her Poke Ball and returned his fallen partner.

"Incredible work Nebula, like always." As he returned the capsule to his belt, a beaming Pikachu nodded in agreement.

"It looks like we're in the final hour now." A.J. announced as Ash returned his gaze to the older boy. Crossing his arms, the bulky trainer smiled. "So then, which of your team is going to be closing out my ninety-ninth win?"

Ash grunted. A.J. was still so certain that he was going to be winning this battle. And he couldn't really blame him, either. With Reckless activated, Nebula could only try to brute force her way through Sandshrew's defenses, and it had been the perfect demonstration of just how capable the ice type's armor truly was. Although Sandshrew had suffered damage, as had its armor, it was still more than battle ready, and its exterior, while heavily dented, would still most certainly put up a fight.

But it wouldn't matter, because none of them were planning to lose anymore than A.J. was.

As Pikachu tugged at Ash's leg, the boy sent a determined smile down to his starter, who quickly mirrored the expression.

"Come on Pikachu, there's still only one more to go." beaming, he held his fists out in front of himself. "Let's avenge Valiant and Nebula, and smash A.J.'s perfect record to pieces!"

Crying out in agreement, Pikachu dashed onto the battlefield as Eevee and Tyrunt both let out encouraging cheers. A.J. grinned at the young mouse.

"So you've still got a lot of bravado, huh? Heh." crossing his arms tightly, he sent a smirk Ash's way. "But I'm pretty sure I've heard variants of those words at least two dozen times. Sandshrew, let's finish this!"

Letting out a determined cry of his one, Sandshrew locked eyes with Pikachu, who was firmly on all fours, cheeks crackling with lightning as the ice type readied its claws and sank into a stance.

Both sides were of equal conviction. One to destroy a perfect record, and the other to maintain it.

Taking the initiative, Pikachu advanced at full speed.

"Static Tail!"

Pikachu's tail became coated in metal, while simultaneously erupting with electricity. If they could slow Sandshrew down, they could wail on it more easily. They just needed to disrupt it's mobility to start things off.

Sandshrew raised a claw, which became engulfed in a distorted, ghostly aura. As Pikachu swung his tail, Sandshrew stabbed straight forward with the claw, deflecting the young mouse's strike. Pikachu struggled to stay on his paws as he staggered back, but A.J. saw his chance.

"Swift!"

Raising his other claw, Sandshrew fired off the golden barrage. The stars painfully pelted against Pikachu's face, sending him rolling across the arena with Sandshrew in pursuit.

The ice type raised a metallic claw that became encased in a frozen exterior, stabbing downwards in an effort to put Pikachu down. The mouse rolled to the side, before twirling on his two front paws to strike Sandshrew's side with another Static Tail.

The bulky opponent staggered to the side as a few sparks lingered on its body, rolling along its outer armor.

"Slash!"

Sandshrew still had a fair amount of speed as it charged forward towards the mouse, its tough exterior, even when dented, preventing most of the sparks from Static Tail from locking up its muscles. As it raised a claw, sparking with a bright white aura, Pikachu leapt to the side to avoid the strike.

"Icicle Spear!"

A barrage of frozen projectiles was fired off, Pikachu crying out as his face was pelted yet again. After rolling a few feet across the arena, Pikachu stopped himself on his paws, picking himself up just as A.J. issued his next order.

"Icicle Rush!"

Once more Sandshrew came barreling towards its target, coated in frozen metal as it tore through the arena. A trail of frigid air was left in its wake as it threatened to mow Pikachu down for good.

"Zap Tail!"

Raising a metal-encased tail that crackled with electricity, Pikachu shouted at the top of his lungs as he swung his attack into Sandshrew's advancing form. Sparks danced across the outer shell of Sandshrew's rotating body as the ice type grinded against Pikachu's counterattack, the young mouse snarling through his teeth in frustration as Sandshrew's relentless approach continuously pushed him backwards, his tail struggling to hold up against the offense. The frigid air emitting from Sandshrew's attack painfully blew against Pikachu's face, even as the sparks from his tail heated things up.

Finally, the ice type pushed through, and Ash and his teammates called out as Pikachu was sent flying. Thankfully, Pikachu's effort to intercept Sandshrew's attack had greatly reduced the ice type's momentum, but the impact was still painful as Sandshrew's bulky form collided with the electric mouse.

"Counter with Thunderbolt!" Ash quickly called out.

Answering his trainer's call, Pikachu righted himself in midair and let loose a blast of lightning down on his opponent. Sandshrew coated both of its claws in metal and raised them in front of its face, intercepting the lightning as Pikachu's attack pushed against the ice type's offenses. As the assault stopped, Sandshrew's claws were left with sparks dancing across them, but the lingering static eventually fizzled out before the extra layer of metal on the ice type's claws faded away, Sandshrew sinking back into a battle stance.

As Pikachu landed on the ground with a well-placed iron Tail to break his fall, Ash quickly gave a followup order as the young mouse advanced upon his opponent again.

"Brick Break!"

"Shadow Claw!" A.J.'s voice was surprisingly nervous as the older trainer issued the counterorder.

Pikachu's fist, glowing orange, struck against the ice type's distorted claw as Sandshrew blocked the attack. Ghost type moves were probably the perfect way to defend against fighting type moves, Pikachu gritting his teeth as Sandshrew pushed against him, shoving the mouse onto his back before raising a clenched fist, which suddenly became encased in a frigid aura.

Pikachu rolled to the side yet again, splitting in two as he dashed around his opponent. The Double Team briefly confused Sandshrew, but A.J. didn't let himself get deterred.

"Rapid Spin, and Iron Defense!"

As Pikachu lashed out at Sandshrew, both him and his clone coming in from different sides, Sandshrew curled up before twirling in place. As it did, its body took on an extra layer of metallic coating, Pikachu's metal-encased tail clanging uselessly against the ice type's swiftly rotating form.

"Thunderbolt!" Ash called out.

"Rollout!" A.J. responded.

Sandshrew's still curled up form charged through Pikachu's lighting bolt, its advance barely slowing down as the electricity bathed the ice type's body. Pikachu shrieked in pain as Sandshrew's bulk slammed into him, sending him sailing a few meters across the battlefield before breaking his fall with an Iron Tail.

As Pikachu returned to all fours, Ash took note of his Starter's breathing, which was beginning to come across as somewhat heavy. No doubt the front side of Pikachu's body was badly bruised up from the blow, even if he couldn't see it from where he was standing at this angle. Over on A.J.'s side, he could see that Sandshrew's breath was starting to become a bit heavier than before as the ice type exited its curled up form and stood upright once again. Nevertheless, it was very clear that A.J. had the advantage right now. Sandshrew was much more durable than Pikachu was, so if they were both tiring out, and Pikachu's speed began to fail him, the rest of the match would pit Pikachu's significantly more frail body against Sandshrew's near-unstoppable, armored exterior.

A small smile adorned Ash's features as he eyed A.J. from afar. They were on the backfoot, but he could see where this other boy's undefeated record came from. It was pretty exciting, if admittedly a bit frustrating. Their chances of winning were beginning to slip away.

"Double Team again!"

Pikachu's clone had fizzled out after the iron Tail had been deflected, but the young mouse split into two once more as Ash's Starter took off on all fours.

A.J. grunted. "Icicle Scatter!"

As both Pikachu and his clone began to encircle it, Sandshrew curled up once more and proceeded to twirl, this time with a barrage of icicle Spears exiting its body from every direction. Pikachu yelped as he leapt into the air, his clone fizzling out of existence after getting struck by the barrage.

"Zap Tail!" Ash wasn't sure how effective Static Tail or Thunder Wave would be if they didn't pierce through the armor first, so they needed to hit Sandshrew as hard as possible.

Pikachu's crackling tail slammed down on top of Sandshrew's twirling form, the mouse speeding up his descent with Quick Attack before doing a somersault to deliver the blow. The tail firmly pressed Sandshrew's body against the ground as sparks began to travel through the cracks that began to form in the ice type's armor.

"Sandshrew, Fury Swipes!"

Letting out a battlecry, Sandshrew tried to exit its curled-up form. Pikachu pressed down harder, attempting to force the ice type back down as the two combatants struggled against one another. Suddenly, an additional layer of metal encased Sandshrew's body, the Iron Defense giving Pikachu far more difficulty as the ice type finally forced the mouse off.

Whirling around, Sandshrew lashed out with its claws, Pikachu attempting to parry the strikes with his tail as his opponent slashed against the metal exterior of the Iron Tail. With its claws already naturally armored, Sandshrew proved more than capable of contending with the Iron Tail, pushing it aside with repeated strikes before landing two clean hits to Pikachu's stomach. As blood began to leak from the cuts, Sandshrew reared its fist back and attempted to drive an Ice Punch into the mouse's face, only for Pikachu to meet the attack with a Brick Break.

As the two glowing fists clashed against one another, Sandshrew felt a throbbing pain in its fist from the collision, staggering backwards as a frigid sensation overtook Pikachu's fist, which itself felt somewhat sore from the clash.

"Swift!"

Before Pikachu could do anything else, fatigue beginning to overtake his body, the barrage of golden stars drove him backwards. The mouse almost ended up on his back, but successfully flipped himself over to land on all fours, panting as he locked eyes with his opponent, electricity crackling at his cheeks.

Ash frowned. Pikachu was on his last legs. At this rate-

"Icicle Spear!"

Ash's thoughts were interrupted as his now somewhat panicked Starter attempted to parry the barrage of frigid projectiles that were sent his way. It was becoming a bit more difficult to keep Iron Tail at full power now, and the electric type was left staggering backwards as Sandshrew advanced forward.

"Ice Punch!"

Beginning to sweat, Ash realized that it might be over at this point. Even after Nebula had fought against it with Reckless activated, this Sandshrew was still in the lead. It was beyond relentless, not to mention stubborn. Its defenses were just too good, and the perfect compliment to its obvious strength.

An idea formed in his mind as he took the split second available to him to weigh his options.

If they kept fighting back, they would surely lose, but…

Thaty didn't mean there was nothing that they could do.

"Volt Tackle!"

Pikachu's ears perked up at the order as his eyes widened, but his surprise quickly turned into a determined smile as his body began to erupt with lightning. A.J. hollered out in surprise as Piakchu blasted his way across the arena, adrenaline overtaking his body as he rushed for his opponent, becoming cloaked in the electrical storm that covered his form. A trail of lightning was left in his wake as he barreled his way towards his opponent, closing in on the wide-eyed Sandshrew.

SMASH!

Sandshrew screamed in agony and surprise as Pikachu rammed head-first into the bulky ice type's body, the lightning traveling across Sandshrew's armor, the electricity reflecting off of the exterior as Pikachu's opponent, bathed in electricity, was launched across the arena at an unfathomable speed. The windforce from the shock waves spread out across the battlefield as the armored Pokemon was sent flying, Sandshrew's back smashing against the barriers in front of A.J. as a battered pikachu collapsed onto his stomach.

Pikachu was making no effort to get up, and Ash immediately realized that he was unconscious. As Ash eyed his Starter with some guilt, Sandshrew slid downwards, still leaning against the barriers as it reached the ground, head tilting to the side with its eyes closed.

Sandshrew was unconscious too.

Ash could hear Eevee and Tyrunt muttering in concern as he took out Pikachu's Poke Ball and returned his Starter with a beam of red light. Frowning at the Poke Ball, Ash found himself deep in thought.

Pikachu wasn't strong enough to handle the recoil of Volt Tackle, but at that point, the battle had been a lost cause as it was. The mouse had all but run out of steam, and Sandshrew was surely about to finish him off.

But with Volt Tackle, Pikachu had forced a draw on his opponent, and put an end to A.J.'s winning streak, even if the older boy still remained undefeated.

It was an incredibly powerful move that they certainly wouldn't be able to reliably use for a good while at the moment, but for now, it was a great trump card for when they had been exhausted of all other options.

"Thank you buddy." Ash spoke to the Poke Ball, hoping he sounded as soothing as he wanted to be. "You fought Sandshrew to a draw. That's a win in it's own right, I'm proud of you."

As Ash clipped the Poke Ball back to his belt, he looked down to Eevee and Tyrunt, both of whom had conflicted expressions on their faces. Ash didn't blame them. The battle had ended in a draw… that inherently left him with mixed feelings coming out of the affair.

"Well I'll say…" Ash and his team looked up to see A.J. approaching them, having already returned Sandshrew to its Poke Ball. the older boy's face was slightly shaken, although his composure wasn't much worse than before. "I wasn't expecting you to spring that on us at the last second…" he placed a hand on his head, chuckling a bit. "Well… you didn't win, but… you broke my record, congrats… I guess."

Ash felt a surge of pride in his chest at that. They had been the first team to challenge the savage Pokemon trainer and come out of it without being defeated… Nevertheless, there was still a minor hint of disappointment from it not going down in the most ideal way…

"You were winning until the end…" Ash admitted with a sheepish smile. "That Volt Tackjle was just a last resort."

A.J. huffed. "Eh, there have been plenty of "last resorts" from my other challengers, I had you know. This was the first time it actually worked." Crossing his arms, his head slightly angled upwards. "The fact remains, I didn';t reach a hundred. No big deal, I'll just start again. There's plenty of other chumpos out there waiting to get their asses kicked." locking eyes with Ash, a bit of a more genuine smile adorned his features as he extended his hand. "Hmph, well, you're the best of the bunch I've faced so far. Make sure you don't let the rest of those second-rate wannabes overtake you."

Shaking his hand, Ash attempted to keep his grip firm, but quickly found that the older boy had him beat in that regard. Nevertheless, he grinned and nodded back at the savage trainer. "Don't worry, I don't plan to stop anytime soon."

A.J. nodded in approval before turning to walk away. Ash watched him go for a few moments before calling out to him.

"Hey, A.J.!" As the boy halted and turned his head to look at him, Ash grinned with a bit more determination. "We'll win for real next time."

The older boy smirked. "Heh, keep telling yourself that." he waved Ash off as he prepared to enter the hut. "Whatever motivates you!"

/

Ash walked down the steps with Eevee and Tyrunt as the battle replayed in their minds.

"We'll stop somewhere real quick to get everyone fixed up." he told them. Neither objected. As the boy took a seat on a nearby rock, he felt a tug on his leg, looking down to see Tyrunt staring up at him, Eevee lagging behind a bit. "Yes?"

He quickly took note of the look in the young dinosaur's eyes. There was a fire in them. Ash's lips curved upwards a bit.

"Did you enjoy the battle, Tyrunt?" Tyrunt nodded vigorously at that, but suddenly raised his claws and began snapping his jaw.

Ash grinned further. Tyrunt had seen quite a few battles up to this point. He was getting more and more into them with each one.

Patting the Royal Heir Pokemon's head, Ash looked to see Eevee settling herself on the ground, laying down but keeping her ears perked up to listen in, before returning his attention to the bay dinosaur. "Are you saying you're… tired of being on the sidelines?"

At Tyrunt's vicorus nod, Ash began to wrack his brain. Tyrunt was still a baby, but at this point, it wasn't like he had only hatched a few days ago. He wasn't sure if the dinosaur was quite ready for actual battling yet. That still might have to wait a little bit longer.

But while they did wait… it was probably safe to at least start preparing him, for now. He was already naturally strong due to his species and Ability, although not nearly enough to carry him in a real fight up to this point. But with some honing to get him started, they could ensure that he was ready for his first battle when the time came. And it seemed Tyrunt had already made his decision.

His grin widening, Ash nodded in approval at Tyrunt's request.

"Alright," he said. "Tomorrow, we'll get started on your training."