Swoosh Swoosh—
With the noise rising, one figure after another appeared in front of Natsuhiko and Beedrill.
All of them were Scythers.
They surrounded them, and after a quick count, there were no fewer than ten!
"This is walking into a Scyther nest."
Natsuhiko's expression wasn't good, and Beedrill didn't initiate an attack either. Instead, it stood by Natsuhiko's side, guarding against these Scythers suddenly launching an assault.
Just one Scyther is already difficult to deal with, let alone a whole group. Natsuhiko's gaze was already searching for a retreat path.
Abra seemed to sense the strong danger as well and quietly poked its head out from Natsuhiko's collar.
As its gaze met the cold eyes of the Scythers, it shivered instantly and hurriedly shrank its head back, gripping the collar.
But as if driven by curiosity, it slowly peeked out again.
With both hands tightly clutching Natsuhiko's collar, it softly cried out.
"Kec-li!?"
Using numbers to bully the few, is it?
It seemed like Abra's words took effect, or perhaps the Scythers didn't intend to attack in such a way initially.
"Shaa!"
Raising its scythe-like arms, the Scyther that had faced Beedrill earlier shouted, making all the Scythers halt.
The Scyther looked deeply at Abra in Natsuhiko's collar, then shouted again.
The other Scythers, after a slight hesitation, slowly retreated a few steps, indicating their stance.
Non-involvement.
That Scyther nodded with satisfaction, waving its arms slowly toward Beedrill, eyes brimming with battle intent.
"Sssbow?"
Beedrill hesitated a bit, looking towards Natsuhiko.
After confirming that the other Scythers truly weren't planning to encircle them, Natsuhiko let out a quiet sigh of relief and nodded slightly at Beedrill.
Meanwhile, he gently pushed Abra's cautious little head back inside.
"Since they want a one-on-one, give them a good fight."
Even though he said this, Natsuhiko's eyes were still surveying the surrounding environment, looking for the weakest point in the Scyther encirclement, in case these Scythers did get angry and attack, to allow for a rapid decision.
"Sssbow!"
On hearing Natsuhiko's response, Beedrill nodded heavily, gently rubbing its double needles, eyes also filled with fighting spirit.
Both being Insect-type Pokémon, after brief contact with Scyther, Beedrill felt the pressure emanating from it.
Since evolving, it hadn't encountered an evenly matched opponent, making it eager to test its limits.
But it never forgot its primary duty: to protect Natsuhiko, putting his safety above all else.
Since Natsuhiko agreed, it had nothing else to worry about.
A strange arc of light lit up on Scyther's body.
"Kec-li!" Abra, at some unknown time, peeked out again, telling Natsuhiko it recognized this technique.
High-speed Movement.
Natsuhiko squinted and nodded, "Beedrill, fly up!"
Understanding, Beedrill flapped its wings and swiftly ascended into the air.
The Scyther, which was boosting its speed on the ground, hesitated a bit when it saw Beedrill rushing upward, then flapped its wings and flew up as well.
Good.
Natsuhiko nodded internally, knowing Scyther didn't enjoy flying. Engaging in aerial combat evidently favored Beedrill more.
He then watched as the two Pokémon began an intense aerial duel.
The speed-boosted Scyther was already as quick as Beedrill under Tailwind, and although Beedrill forcefully blocked Scyther's Cross Cut with its double needles, it still took significant damage.
Scyther's Insect Premonition Trait had activated, making its Insect-type Techniques increasingly powerful.
Even while taking a hit, Beedrill cleverly seized an opportunity to spit a thick glob of venom, successfully hitting Scyther's legs.
The toxin spread swiftly.
Scyther fell into a poisoned state, limiting its reactions and attack methods considerably.
The purple poison haze interplayed with the green Insect Premonition.
Under Natsuhiko's command, Beedrill seized the opportunity, executing a graceful acrobatic move, successfully striking Scyther down to the ground.
Boom!!
A huge cloud of dust rose, accompanied by Scyther's cry of pain.
"The final strike," Natsuhiko said. Beedrill's wings beat to the extreme, descending from above, its golden needle vertical like a golden spear dropping straight down.
At this moment.
The Scyther who had fallen to the ground and closed its eyes in pain suddenly opened them fiercely, flashing with a final stubbornness.
With its back against the ground, its arms crossed, thick insect energy gathered, and Cross Cut slashed out, meeting the Beedrill that was falling vertically.
"Now's the time."
However, Natsuhiko, who had been squinting his eyes, was filled with certainty, his lips unconsciously curling into a slow smile.
The power of the Cross Cut combined with the Insect's Premonition naturally couldn't be underestimated, but Natsuhiko did not intend for Beedrill to take this blow. The forced acceptance earlier was to create an opportunity, but now the outcome is decided, no need for impulsiveness.
Indeed, upon hearing Natsuhiko's command, Beedrill suddenly twisted its form, and with the appearance of a golden arc, it perfectly avoided the Cross Cut and at the same time spat out a Power Grid, delivering the final blow to the Scyther.
The Scyther, supported only by willpower, struggled a few times after being attacked by Electric-type Techniques and then flipped its eyes, losing its ability to fight.
"Abra!!"
Watching the fallen Scyther, the first to react was Abra, who raised its small fist to cheer for Beedrill.
But when it noticed that the surrounding Scythers were becoming restless again, Abra very timidly shrank back once more.
Natsuhiko ignored the surrounding Scythers, frowned, and stepped forward boldly.
"Rustle! Rustle!"
Upon seeing his movement, the surrounding Scythers couldn't resist, each one giving a warning, and some of the more ruthless ones even approached a few steps, assuming an attack posture.
"Buzz!!"
Seeing the Scythers' reaction, Beedrill's wings vibrated fiercely, stirring up a wave of wind, forcefully gazing at all the Scythers, its scarlet eyes full of strong warnings.
In an instant.
These Scythers were actually influenced by Beedrill's imposing manner, after all, it had just defeated their leader.
Natsuhiko walked to the fallen Scyther, gently wiping the backpack behind him.
An antidote appeared in his hand.
After one or two seconds of hesitation, he sprayed it on the poisoned leg of Scyther.
The antidote's effect was quite good, soon the purple glow on its leg dissipated by half.
"Rustle..."
The Scyther leader's physical condition was quite excellent; after the poison was neutralized, it slowly woke up.
The confused gaze quickly recovered, looking at Natsuhiko in front of it and the gradually disappearing toxin on its leg, it understood the general process.
Expressionless, it sliced through the vanished electric arc with its scythe, and slowly stood up.
"Rustle!"
Scyther shouted towards Beedrill.
"Buzz?" Beedrill looked at it with confusion.
Only to see, Scyther's crossed arms, a dense green glow appeared again—Technique Cross Cut!
But it was not aimed at Beedrill nor at Natsuhiko.
The speed of releasing the Technique even became extremely slow.
Bam!
As the fork-shaped Cross Cut swept over, a small tree trunk was instantly neatly severed.
"Rustle?"
Scyther shouted towards Beedrill again, its expression serious.
Beedrill stared blankly at its action, instinctively nodding, then shaking its head, but finally nodded again.
Ignoring its reaction, after finishing these, the Scyther leader waved its big hand, quickly disappearing into the dense forest with dozens of other Scythers.
Only now did Beedrill react, lowering its head to look at its Double Needle, recalling the state and details when Scyther cast the Cross Cut earlier.
Double Needle crossed, little points of shimmering light slowly gathered.
Natsuhiko smiled watching this scene, "An antidote for learning the Cross Cut Technique..."
"Abra?" Abra held its small head, indicating confusion.
Understanding its meaning, Natsuhiko flicked its little forehead with annoyance, "What a joke, capturing them? If I really throw a Pokeball, I'm afraid we won't walk out of this forest today."
Abra playfully shrank its head and stuck out its small tongue.
Boom!!
As Beedrill's Double Needle swung fiercely, an attack similar to Scyther's Cross Cut earlier was unleashed.
But it seems, the power was still not enough.
However, as long as it can learn, mastery will come with practice later.
"We didn't lose out on this one."
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