Beedrill's eyes looked as if flames were burning within them. Aerodactyl's pupils darted left and right, panic surging as it realized it was surrounded by light needles. It tried to open its mouth to roar, but the needles were already raining down.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The sound of countless needles striking Aerodactyl echoed through the hall. It desperately folded its wings to shield its body, curling into a ball. However, it was futile. A single light needle might lack power, but when multiplied by thousands and delivered at such high speeds, the resulting force was unimaginable.
There were at least tens of thousands of light needles in the sky, and every single one slammed into Aerodactyl. The spectators held their breath, their hearts climbing into their throats. Watching the relentless barrage, they could practically feel the pain themselves.
"Wraoooh!!!"
Aerodactyl let out a final, agonizing cry. As the last of the needles vanished, it could no longer sustain its flight. Its wings went limp, its eyes closed, and it plummeted directly from the sky.
"What?"
Asen watched Aerodactyl fall, his expression one of pure disbelief. Am I going to lose?
Eichi wasn't certain yet if Aerodactyl was completely incapacitated. To be safe, he needed to deliver one final blow.
"Beedrill, Fell Stinger!"
Upon hearing the command, Beedrill raised its twin stingers high and aimed at the falling Aerodactyl. It vibrated its wings and dived diagonally downward.
Buzz! Buzz!
Beedrill's dive was incredibly fast. Atmospheric friction and blue-yellow energy fluctuations began to manifest around its body. The air around it warped, and heat waves were faintly visible. Aerodactyl, unconscious, had no way to sense the danger. From a distance, Beedrill looked like a sharp arrow piercing through the air toward its target.
Director Kimura suddenly tensed up, his mind screaming: Please, hold on!
Asen also watched with a dark expression. He desperately hoped Aerodactyl hadn't reached its limit.
The moment Beedrill struck, Aerodactyl crashed into the ground like a meteor.
Boom!
A large portion of the audience instinctively flinched, some even closing their eyes. Several girls, unable to bear the sight, turned away. Tetsu squeezed his eyes shut and muttered, "Yikes, that's brutal."
Sato watched as Aerodactyl smashed into the earth. A massive cloud of dust erupted along with a thunderous roar, sending stone fragments flying in every direction.
Just as the impact occurred, a figure darted out of the dust cloud. It was Beedrill! It flew back to Eichi, hovering as it watched the crater where Aerodactyl lay.
A few moments later, the dust settled. The ground was now riddled with pits and cracks. Embedded in a deep crater was Aerodactyl. Not far from it was the crater of similar size left by Scizor in the previous round. Truly, the tables had turned; what happened to Scizor was now happening to Aerodactyl.
"Wra... ooh..."
Aerodactyl's mouth opened as it let out a faint, powerless hiss. Its body twitched slightly as if trying to stand. Eichi was genuinely surprised. It's not incapacitated yet? Such tenacity!
Hope flared in Asen's eyes once more. He prayed Aerodactyl could stand up and keep fighting.
Just as Eichi was about to order Beedrill to continue the assault, Aerodactyl suddenly stopped moving. It lay still in the pit, silent.
Director Kimura and the rest of Indigo Academy froze, their hope turning to utter despair. The referee walked to the edge of the crater and inspected the Pokémon closely. After confirming Aerodactyl was out, he announced with visible excitement:
"Aerodactyl is unable to battle! All three of Trainer Asen's Pokémon have been defeated. The winner is Eichi!"
He was indeed excited. As a member of Silver Academy, he naturally wanted his school to win. The previous matches had been incredibly stifling, so Eichi's victory felt like a massive release.
The moment the referee finished, the Silver Academy side erupted.
"Oh yeah! We won!"
Tetsu jumped up, hopping around in excitement. He rushed over to Kelly, shouting, "We won! We won! Eichi won!"
"I know," Kelly replied with a smile.
Everyone else was just as thrilled, though they weren't as bouncy as Tetsu. The entire student body, including the second and third years, stood up to applaud.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
The thunderous applause filled the Battle Hall. Director Yanagi, the Vice Principal, and other officials joined in. The smiles on their faces were impossible to hide, especially Director Yanagi, who gave Director Kimura a pointedly cheerful look.
Director Kimura turned his head away, avoiding Yanagi's gaze. He and his deputy began to clap as well, though their expressions made it clear they were doing so quite reluctantly.
Director Yanagi was overjoyed. Eichi, I truly didn't misjudge you, he thought.
Once Aerodactyl was declared unable to battle, Akemi also began to applaud. The match had been truly spectacular. Both Aerodactyl and Beedrill had shown impressive strength. Beedrill, in particular, with its startling speed and high attack power, acted like a lethal assassin. It had left a deep impression on her.
Seeing Akemi applaud, the third-year Indigo students looked at her with strange expressions, as she was the only one in their immediate vicinity doing so. Akemi ignored them; she believed credit should be given where it was due. Seeing the awkwardness, a few other students began to offer some sparse, scattered applause.
Asen finally lost his emotionless facade, his face darkening with gloom. However, he took a deep breath and quickly regained his cool, detached composure. He pulled out his Poké Ball and recalled Aerodactyl.
"I lost," Asen said. "You are very strong."
"Thank you for the compliment," Eichi replied with a smile as he recalled Beedrill.
He said nothing more and turned to leave the field. Once he returned to his seat, he remained quiet. However, the others were far from calm. Mizuki sat in a daze, murmuring to himself, "Lost... he actually lost..."
Mizuki found it extremely difficult to accept that Asen had been defeated. If even someone as powerful as Asen lost after using three Pokémon, what did that make him—someone who had been swept by a single Pokémon?
Not only him, but the expressions of the others were complicated as well. At the start, after seeing the third-year matches, they thought they could easily sweep Silver Academy. They had even naively believed they could achieve a three-Pokémon sweep themselves. Now, all those illusions were shattered. They had lost, and specifically, they had lost four matches in a row. They were completely stunned.
When Eichi stepped off the field, the entire Silver Academy contingent stood up to welcome him. Tetsu, grinning ear to ear, looked at Eichi.
"I won," Eichi said as he reached them.
Tetsu threw an arm around Eichi's shoulder. "Eichi, you won! You're too amazing!"
The others chimed in:
"Eichi, you were incredible!"
"That match was so exciting!"
"Eichi, your Beedrill is just too cool!"