Chapter 21: A Lopsided Battle! Scyther is a Flying-Type, Too!
When the staff member called his name, Kenji took a deep breath. He calmly walked up to the official's desk, placed his Poké Ball on the scanner for the routine check, and then stepped onto the battlefield.
Across from him, Marcus watched him approach. "Show me what you've got," the Gym Leader said, his voice even. "I'm grateful for what you did, but I won't be holding back."
As he spoke, he recalled the Murkrow he had been using for the previous matches.
Kenji nodded. "Neither will I."
With that, he tossed his Poké Ball.
"Bzzzzzt!—"
Beedrill appeared, ready for battle.
"Since you're using a Beedrill, I'll use a Bug-type as well," Marcus said, throwing out his own Poké Ball.
Poof!
"I choose you! Scyther!"
Kenji's face went slack. (꒪⌓꒪)
A flash of red light materialized into a green, bipedal Pokémon. It stood like a warrior, its arms ending in razor-sharp scythes and a pair of small wings fluttering on its back. Its gaze was sharp, its expression cold and ruthless.
Scyther
Level: 23
Ability: Technician
Potential: B-
"Chaaa!—"
Scyther whipped its bladed arms through the air, creating a sharp whistling sound as it let out a cry brimming with fighting spirit.
Kenji's eye twitched, his calm expression crumbling for a moment.
This has to be against the rules!
How could a Gym Leader, a pillar of the Pokémon community, pull out a Scyther to fight a high school student who'd only had his Pokémon for a month and wasn't even a licensed trainer?
And besides, wasn't this a Flying-type Gym? What was the Gym Leader doing with a Bug-type?
...although, Scyther is also a Flying-type, he remembered with a sinking feeling.
It wasn't just Kenji who was stunned. The other candidates in the stands were completely dumbfounded.
"What the hell?"
"You've got to be kidding me!"
"Holy crap..."
Marcus, however, showed no signs of shame for picking such an overpowered opponent. He simply stood with his arms crossed, his gaze fixed on Kenji.
A normal Scyther has a base stat total of 500. After two star-fusions, Kenji's Beedrill was actually on par with it in that regard. But Marcus's Scyther was level 23—a full ten levels higher than his Beedrill. Not to mention, as a Gym Leader's Pokémon, its arsenal of moves was bound to be extensive and powerful.
"What is Dad thinking?" Melody muttered from the stands, a knot of worry forming in her stomach for Kenji.
On the field, the referee slowly raised his flag, then swung it down.
"Scyther versus Beedrill! The battle... begin!"
"Scyther! Use Double Team, then Quick Attack!"
The instant the match started, Marcus gave his command.
"Chaaa!"
Scyther shot forward, its body blurring as it created six identical copies of itself in the blink of an eye. Seven Scythers, all indistinguishable from one another, rushed toward Beedrill, their scythes glowing as they prepared to strike.
"Bzzzz..."
Faced with the sudden onslaught, Beedrill's red compound eyes darted back and forth, a flicker of panic in its movements.
Just then, Kenji's voice cut through the tension.
"Beedrill! Use a wide-range Venoshock spray!"
Beedrill instinctively aimed its stinger. A purple light glowed at the tip, and a viscous stream of poison shot out, fanning across the area in front of it.
Kenji's eyes were narrowed, tracking every single Scyther. He saw it in an instant—one of them, on the far right, suddenly leaped into the air, its trajectory changing to avoid the spray.
"That's the one!" Kenji shouted. "Use Fury Cutter on the Scyther on the far right!"
Beedrill's twin stingers flashed with white light, transforming into a pair of sharp blades as it shot toward the target Kenji had identified.
"CHAAA!—"
The real Scyther let out a defiant cry, meeting Beedrill's charge head-on with its own bladed arm.
CLANG!—
The sound of steel striking steel rang out as Beedrill's stingers clashed with Scyther's scythe. At the same moment, the other clones either vanished as the poison hit them or disappeared in a puff of smoke as their own attacks passed harmlessly through Beedrill.
The clash didn't last long. Beedrill was thrown backward, skidding four or five meters across the field before it managed to stabilize itself.
Scyther, on the other hand, hadn't moved an inch.
"What?! He blocked it!"
The spectators gasped, their eyes wide with disbelief as they stared at the seemingly ordinary Beedrill.
"Continue! Scyther, use Wing Attack!"
It wasn't just the students. A flicker of surprise crossed Marcus's face when he saw Beedrill withstand a direct hit from his Scyther. His expression quickly returned to an unreadable mask as he ordered the next attack.
Scyther's wings began to beat furiously, glowing with a bright white light as it charged.
"Beedrill! Use Fury Cutter again!" Kenji commanded, his fists clenched.
Beedrill's stingers once again lit up, but this time, the white light was brighter, the energy radiating from it far more intense than before. This was the special effect of Fury Cutter: each consecutive hit dramatically increased its power.
Just as Beedrill prepared its attack, Scyther's Wing Attack was already upon it.
"CHAAA!—"
"BZZZZZT!—"
CLAAAANG!—
The two attacks collided once more. This time, there was no stalemate.
With a pained cry, Beedrill's attack was shattered. Scyther's glowing wing slammed into its body, sending it hurtling through the air.
"Beedrill!" Kenji cried out, his pupils contracting. He gripped his fists tightly, a wave of powerlessness washing over him.
Even with the boost from Huge Power and a powered-up second-hit Fury Cutter, the combination of a type disadvantage and a massive level gap was too much to overcome.
Scyther stood its ground, its sharp eyes fixed on the fallen Beedrill. Marcus didn't order another attack.