96. Breaking the Winning Streak
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"It's too late to hide now!" A.J. shouted. Ash responded calmly.
I watched as energy gathered in the young Axew's abdomen, rising toward its throat. A blue light began to spill out from the gaps between Sandshrew's teeth as it bit down.
Boom!!
A roar, almost like a dragon's, filled the air. A powerful blast of energy was released from Axew's mouth, the ultra-close range Dragon Rage striking Sandshrew directly, sending it flying with incredible force.
Boom!!!!
The explosion echoed in the air, scattering the surrounding wind. Several people shielded themselves from the gust with their hands. Amidst the flames and smoke, a figure could be seen falling from the sky.
It was Sandshrew. As it unfurled from its defensive ball shape, its eyes spun in circles, indicating it had lost consciousness.
A Dragon Rage at such close range was too much to withstand. Even with its protective ball form, the force of the explosion broke through, causing significant damage.
"Sandshrew!!"
Seeing this, A.J. rushed over. Realizing Sandshrew could no longer fight, his face showed resignation. Ash also approached and stood beside Axew.
"You did great! Thank you for your hard work," Ash said, squatting down to gently stroke Axew's head before standing up.
At that moment, the whip in A.J.'s hand fell to the ground as he collapsed to his knees, supporting himself with both hands.
"I actually lost! How is this possible?" A.J. stared at the ground in disbelief, clearly unprepared for such a defeat.
"You should take care of your Sandshrew now," Ash reminded, though it wasn't necessary to say much.
A.J. trembled slightly at Ash's words. He lowered his head, deep in thought, then cradled Sandshrew in his arms, picked up the whip, and retreated into his tent, leaving his backpack behind.
Originally, he had planned to go out and capture more Pokémon, but now he no longer felt up to the task. The record of over 90 consecutive victories had been shattered, and no one would feel good about that.
Without a word, he carried Sandshrew into the tent. Misty and Brock approached at this moment. They had been a little worried, but after seeing Ash win, they were relieved.
"As expected of Ash, he even defeated such a strong opponent!" Misty said, impressed by Ash's victory over a Rival who had nearly won every battle and used such a unique fighting style. "As his partner, I'm naturally very happy."
"Hmm! His fighting style is indeed unique," Ash agreed with a nod. "Not needing to give commands verbally can be a real advantage."
However, compared to using a whip as a command, Ash thought, it's clear that those with strong psychic abilities, who communicate telepathically, have an even greater advantage. They can coordinate silently and effortlessly.
"Shall we go?" Misty asked Ash and Brock as they prepared to leave.
Snap!!!
Suddenly, a sharp sound came from inside the tent, followed by A.J.'s voice, filled with anger. "You're useless! Do you know you just made all our efforts worthless?"
"Huh? What's going on?" Misty was startled by the outburst and instinctively looked towards the tent.
"Something's not right!" Brock said, immediately moving towards the sound. Misty and Ash quickly followed, pulling back the curtain of the tent. Inside, they found numerous Pokémon, each wearing strange devices, all huddled together.
Not far away, A.J. was whipping the recently awakened Sandshrew. The poor Pokémon, instead of curling up into a ball for protection, was trembling, hands over its head, too scared to defend itself.
"Stop it! What are you doing?" Misty exclaimed, her voice filled with concern. Brock and Ash frowned, recognizing this as blatant Pokémon abuse.
Ash understood A.J.'s training methods. A.J. had always been strict with his Pokémon, but in Ash's experience, despite the harshness, A.J. also took good care of them. Ash could even see some merit in A.J.'s rigorous training techniques, believing that Pokémon need to be cultivated to develop hard strength. Unlike Ash's more relaxed approach, A.J.'s methods pushed for immediate results, something Ash acknowledged as a potential reason for his own near-misses at the League Conferences.
However, what Ash witnessed now went beyond strict training—it was extreme. Sandshrew had just battled and was still recovering, yet A.J. was blaming and punishing it harshly. Ash believed that while being tough on Pokémon was sometimes necessary, it had to be balanced with care. What he saw here was simply too much.
"Don't interfere! This is my business!" A.J. snapped, barely glancing at them before turning back to continue lashing Sandshrew.
Ash had seen this attitude in the anime—how A.J. had once pushed Sandshrew into devilish training even after an easy victory over Ash. Now, after suffering defeat and seeing his goal shattered, A.J.'s frustration was taken out entirely on Sandshrew.
Seeing this, Ash stepped forward and grabbed the whip just before A.J. could strike again. The whip went taut in Ash's hand as A.J. turned in anger, glaring at him.
"Let go!" A.J. shouted.
"That's enough!" Ash said firmly, holding the whip. "It's disgraceful to blame your Pokémon for a loss. When a Trainer loses, the first thing they should question is themselves, not their Pokémon."
Ash had always believed that when a battle was lost, the responsibility lay with the Trainer. Blaming and punishing Pokémon for failures only made things worse and was something he couldn't stand to see.
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