Aerodactyl looked down to see Beedrill. With eyes wide in fury, it swung its wings, attempting to slash at its opponent.
Sensing the sharp wind and chill of the incoming attack, Beedrill promptly withdrew its stingers from Aerodactyl's body. Its wings began to vibrate at a high frequency. In an instant, it vanished from its position and reappeared directly in front of Aerodactyl, causing the wing attack to miss completely.
"Beedrill, Pin Missile!"
Countless needles of light formed around Beedrill's body, densely packing the air around Aerodactyl with a 360-degree coverage that left no blind spots. The next second, Beedrill's eyes glowed with a yellow light. Under its precise control, all the glowing projectiles streaked toward Aerodactyl.
"Aerodactyl, Protect!" Asen shouted.
However, he was a moment too late. By the time he spoke, a portion of the light needles had already struck Aerodactyl.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Aerodactyl crossed its wings in front of its face to shield itself. It then hurriedly channeled its energy, forming a green protective barrier around its body to intercept the remaining needles. After a few seconds, Beedrill stopped releasing the Pin Missile, and Aerodactyl's barrier faded away.
The moment the barrier vanished, Aerodactyl pulled back its wings and aimed its maw at Beedrill, unleashing a massive pillar of fire. Beedrill reacted instantly, easily dodging the Flamethrower.
Asen narrowed his eyes. Beedrill's speed is too high. Aerodactyl is struggling to keep up. This is going to be difficult.
His mind worked rapidly, and in a flash, he devised a countermeasure.
"Aerodactyl, Agility!"
A bright yellow light shone from Aerodactyl's eyes. It flapped its wings, and its speed surged forward by a large margin. It aimed another Flamethrower at Beedrill, which Beedrill vibrated its wings to avoid. This time, however, Aerodactyl could clearly track Beedrill's movements. It beat its wings and gave chase, firing bursts of flame as it pursued. With its speed boosted, Aerodactyl had significantly narrowed the gap in mobility.
"Beedrill, Agility!"
A red light emanated from Beedrill's eyes. Its speed skyrocketed, and it vanished from sight in an instant. Everything returned to how it was before. Aerodactyl stared blankly as Beedrill disappeared; it couldn't even see a silhouette anymore, let alone the audience.
Since Beedrill had appeared, the spectators felt quite frustrated. They couldn't see Beedrill at all while it was moving. It was only visible when it stopped; otherwise, it was just a blur.
"Aerodactyl, use Sandstorm!"
Asen understood that pure offensive moves wouldn't hit Beedrill. He had to use status moves to restrict Beedrill's speed. Aerodactyl roared at the sky, its eyes glowing yellow. Slowly, a vortex began to swirl across the ground. It looked like a tornado, picking up sand and dust as it grew.
The sand and the gale merged into a Sandstorm. It contained not only sand but also jagged gravel swept up by the wind. The Sandstorm shrouded the entire battlefield, blurring everyone's vision. Beedrill was trapped within it. It felt pieces of gravel constantly striking its body, and its speed began to drop under the storm's influence. Conversely, Aerodactyl moved freely within the sand, completely unaffected.
"Beedrill, Brick Break!"
Beedrill's red eyes flared. Even with its speed hindered, it was by no means slow. It quickly maneuvered to the space above Aerodactyl's head.
Seeing Beedrill's movement, Asen commanded, "Aerodactyl, use Confuse Ray!"
Aerodactyl let out a long roar, emitting an unusual wave of energy. Just as Beedrill was about to swing its stingers for the strike, it felt a sudden shock to its mind. Its thoughts became muddled, like a thick paste. Beedrill shook its head and looked again; Aerodactyl was now floating a short distance ahead.
How is Aerodactyl so fast? How did it get over there so quickly?
Without thinking further, Beedrill buzzed its wings and charged at the Aerodactyl in its vision. It arrived in front of its target, its stingers glowing brilliantly as it delivered a heavy Brick Break. Aerodactyl let out a scream and was sent flying backward.
At least, that was what was happening in Beedrill's eyes. In the eyes of the crowd, Beedrill's stingers were about to hit Aerodactyl, but it suddenly veered off and charged into thin air. It then swung its stingers at the empty space. Eichi frowned; Beedrill was confused.
Asen was not one to let such a golden opportunity pass. He immediately gave the order to attack.
"Aerodactyl, Fire Blast!"
Aerodactyl opened its maw wide, condensing a sphere of energy. It launched the attack at Beedrill, who was completely unaware. The energy sphere transformed into a large "火" (fire) shape in mid-air. The searing heat of the flames could be felt even from a distance.
Beedrill only sensed the blistering heat when the Fire Blast was just a meter away. Then, an intense pain washed over its body. It hurt—so much so that Beedrill nearly lost consciousness for a moment.
The peak of the pain passed, leaving Beedrill with extensive burns. It was simply too fragile; that single hit had nearly cost it half its life. Beedrill shook its head, and the Aerodactyl in front of it vanished. It turned around to see the real Aerodactyl behind it and immediately realized it had been confused.
The Sandstorm continued to howl, pelted by countless flying stones. Looking ahead, it saw Aerodactyl opening its mouth again to spray fire-red flames.
"Beedrill, Double Team!"
In a flash, Beedrill created numerous clones that surrounded Aerodactyl. However, because of the Sandstorm, the flying gravel and sand struck the clones, dispelling them as soon as they appeared. Nevertheless, they served their purpose, at least allowing the real Beedrill to dodge the Flamethrower.
Asen was somewhat surprised. It recovered from confusion that quickly?
Eichi thought to himself: Too much time has been wasted. Let's end this.
"Beedrill, Hidden Power!"
Beedrill positioned itself behind Aerodactyl. Electricity began to surge from its body, followed by bolts of lightning that crackled outward. Several bolts merged together and struck Aerodactyl squarely.
Aerodactyl let out a pained cry. Enduring the agony, it turned around to face Beedrill. Beedrill released an astonishing aura, the red light in its eyes glowing intensely.
Below the stage, Tetsu grabbed Sato's hand and said excitedly, "Beedrill is about to go all out!"
"Beedrill, Pin Missile!"
Countless needles of light condensed out of thin air within the Sandstorm. Unlike the previous time, these needles covered the entire battlefield. Anyone with a fear of crowded patterns would have felt their scalp tingle just looking at them.
"Go!"