Teacher Muramasa pressed the stopwatch in his hand, and the ten-minute countdown began. On the other side, as soon as Muramasa said start, Eichi's Scizor vibrated its wings and charged out. It vanished from Eichi's sight in an instant, leaving him to wait at the starting point.
Scizor flew out at high speeds. It was currently in a state of heightened perception. In its mind's eye, it could sense almost everything around it, though the images weren't perfectly clear. Objects appeared as shapeless mists, but living beings were different.
Within its sensory range of about 20 meters, it could detect everything. Just as it flew under a tree, it discovered a Scyther. In its perception, the living creature had a concrete form; the Scyther appeared as a rough outline, with its two scythes being particularly distinct.
The moment Scizor sensed the Scyther, the Scyther spotted it as well. Without a word, the opponent used an acceleration move to rush forward. Scizor knew it couldn't get bogged down in a fight, or it would never reach the goal within ten minutes.
Scizor attempted to shake off the Scyther by accelerating close to the trees. The Scyther's level wasn't high, so it was noticeably slower than Scizor, but its goal was simply to delay the intruder. The wild Pokémon used Agility to frantically boost its speed. Energy surged and gathered on its twin blades before it swung them both.
Air Slash!
Seeing the blades of wind flying toward it, Scizor vibrated its wings to dodge. But it wasn't over. The Scyther behind it began using Air Slash relentlessly. Scizor dodged desperately and then used Agility to boost its speed, vanishing from the Scyther's sight in an instant.
However, the sound of the Air Slash hitting the surroundings immediately alerted several nearby Scyther. They began converging on the area. Scizor had just escaped one opponent and was about to breathe a sigh of relief when it passed a specific tree.
Three Scyther suddenly lunged from the branches, all using Vacuum Wave against Scizor. Though caught off guard, Scizor benefited from their lower levels; their reaction speeds weren't fast enough, and it easily evaded the triple strike.
Yet, after one Scyther's attack was dodged, it immediately transitioned into its next move: Double Team. It instantly transformed into a dozen clones that rushed forward to surround Scizor. Another Scyther arrived and also used Double Team, creating a massive swarm of clones that hemmed Scizor in.
Scizor wasn't intimidated and charged straight ahead. It raised its pincers high, and upon reaching the clones, it used its pincers to swat them away. As expected, the ones in front of it were fakes. However, before it could celebrate, the third Scyther rushed in.
Fury Cutter!
Without giving Scizor a chance to react, the Scyther swung its blades like a madman, slashing at Scizor with reckless abandon. Scizor could only protect its chest with its pincers. The power of Fury Cutter was decent, leaving Scizor stuck in a passive defense for a moment.
The other two Scyther didn't want to miss this chance and charged in with their blades raised. Scizor's situation grew even more dire as the three sets of blades slashed at it frantically. At that moment, several more Scyther appeared in Scizor's perception, rushing toward the location at extreme speeds.
Scizor's expression darkened as it realized things were going south. If those reinforcements arrived, it would be completely trapped. It decided to get ruthless. Sorry, everyone, it thought. Enduring the pain, its body began to spin.
Swords Dance!
Its speed grew faster and faster, and the scythes of the three Scyther were deflected away. Seizing this opportunity, Scizor broke out, but several more Scyther were already close by. Scizor changed direction and dove into a thicket of bushes.
Unfortunately, a Scizor happened to be lying in ambush right there. This Scizor was silent and remained undetected until Eichi's Scizor lunged inside. Unlike the Scyther, this one didn't use an attacking move. Instead, it suddenly pounced, locking its pincers tightly around the neck of Eichi's Scizor.
It entangled its target from behind, preventing it from flying and dragging it to the ground. Scizor struggled desperately to break free, but the wild Scizor held on for dear life, showing no intention of letting go.
Fortunately, Scizor still had two free pincers. it used them to strike backward repeatedly. Though the opponent was clearly in pain, it refused to release its grip. Scizor was speechless. Brother, is this really necessary? I feel the pain for you. Can't you just let go? Why so stubborn?
Regardless, the opponent wouldn't let go. Other Scyther arrived and surrounded it. Based on the rustling in the trees, it felt like at least ten Scyther were watching. Scizor knew it had failed completely and gave up all resistance.
At the finish line, Muramasa watched the stopwatch count down. Once the final second passed and Scizor hadn't appeared, it was a confirmed failure. Muramasa nodded to Masamune, who understood and flew out.
A short while later, Masamune found Scizor in the bushes. It was currently being held by the neck, pinned to the ground like an octopus, unable to move. Surrounded by nearly ten Scyther, the sight was quite comical to Masamune.
Masamune walked up and told the wild Scizor to release Eichi's Scizor. After the release, Masamune informed Scizor of its failure and told it to return to the start to prepare for the next attempt.
Once freed, Scizor stretched its joints. It felt extremely unwilling and glared at the wild Scizor, who simply turned its head away with a look of disdain. Scizor flew back to the starting point in a huff while the other Scyther dispersed.
Masamune returned to Muramasa's side and nodded. Muramasa understood immediately. When Eichi saw Scizor return, he could tell from its expression that it hadn't passed.
Eichi wasn't surprised at all, but Scizor was deeply frustrated. It hadn't even covered half the distance before being trapped; it was infuriating. Especially that one Scizor—why did it have to be so serious?
At that moment, Muramasa's voice came through the Communicator. "Eichi, has Scizor returned?"