"Pu-ha!"
Primeape stomped heavily on the ground. Its leg muscles tensed as it brandished its fists and charged toward Scizor. Primeape's talents were generally average, but its Attack and Speed were exceptionally high.
Primeape moved like the wind, rushing toward Scizor at an incredible speed. Naturally, Scizor wasn't going to just stand there and let Primeape attack.
"Scizor, fly into the sky," Eichi commanded.
Scizor vibrated its wings and shot straight into the air, reaching a height of over ten meters. When Primeape rushed over, it looked up at the Scizor in the sky with a dazed expression.
It kicked off the ground with force, leaping up like a sharp arrow. Swings of its fists gathered countless waves of blue-white energy, and Primeape threw a punch packed with staggering power at Scizor.
Unfortunately, halfway up, it was still nearly a meter away from Scizor when it began to fall back down. It could only watch helplessly as it drifted further away from the Scizor.
"Oh! That's such a pity! Contestant Eichi's Scizor is flying too high. Contestant Asen's Primeape was just a bit short of reaching it," the commentator noted.
"Scizor, Pin Missile!"
Numerous needles of light formed out of thin air around Scizor. Under Scizor's mental control, they launched toward Primeape. Primeape hastily crossed its fists in front of its face to block.
Bang, bang, bang!
Countless needles of light struck Primeape, accelerating its descent. Primeape was slammed directly into the ground.
Bang!
Primeape suffered slight injuries before crawling out of the crater.
"Scizor, Hidden Power!"
Scizor continued the assault, frantically absorbing Fire-type energy particles from the air. The energy gathered in its mouth, forming a fireball that it fired at the Primeape below.
A spiraling pillar of fire shot straight toward the Primeape. Seeing the incoming pillar of fire, a nameless rage surged in Primeape's heart, making it exceptionally angry.
It kicked the ground hard and leaped out of the pit. Moving with extreme speed, it dodged the pillar of fire just an instant before impact. It then sprinted away as the pillar of fire continued to chase behind it.
"Primeape, Rock Tomb!"
Primeape came to a stop and stomped heavily on the ground.
Thump!
A surge of brown energy flowed into the earth. Suddenly, a massive rock erupted from the ground, blocking the path of the pillar of fire. The flames slammed into the giant stone and were completely neutralized.
Following this, Primeape lifted the giant rock that had emerged from the ground above its head and hurled it at Scizor. Seeing this, Scizor closed its mouth and flickered its body, easily dodging Primeape's rock attack.
Primeape continued to hurl giant rocks at Scizor. Asen felt a bit stifled; he had been so angry earlier that he forgot Scizor could fly. It was a waste of Primeape's close-combat abilities to be stuck hiding behind rocks and wasting energy against Scizor.
He knew he couldn't let this go on, as Primeape lacked the patience for it. Furthermore, if the stalemate continued, he would surely lose. So far, Eichi hadn't lost a single Pokémon, while he was down to his last one. He had to find a way to get Scizor down.
"Primeape, Thunderbolt!"
Primeape crouched slightly as numerous electrical currents leaked from its body like tiny thunder snakes crawling around. Primeape focused the electricity and released it toward the Scizor in the sky.
A thick bolt of lightning struck at Scizor, but it vibrated its wings and increased its speed, dodging with ease. Primeape's Thunderbolt simply couldn't hit Scizor.
Scizor remained in the sky, continuously stalling for time. One would attack, then the other would counter; it was a back-and-forth exchange.
"Ladies and gentlemen, both sides have fallen into a battle of attrition," the commentator said. "Neither side has gained much of an advantage, but this is still very unfavorable for Contestant Asen."
The current situation was one in the sky and one on the ground; Scizor held air superiority. Primeape could only endure the hits from Scizor.
Eichi remained calm. He had been thinking of a strategy since the beginning. If the attrition continued, Scizor would eventually lose because its stamina was nearing its limit. However, if Scizor got close to Primeape, it definitely wouldn't be its match within that range and would lose even faster.
Still, there was a way, though Scizor would have to work a bit harder. Eichi fixed his eyes on Asen. It's time to end this.
"Scizor, Double Team, Substitute!"
Scizor instantly understood Eichi's meaning. It immediately split into over a dozen clones and charged at Primeape.
"Double Team!"
One clone stayed in place while the real body split into numerous clones again. Then, the clone that stayed behind held its pincers together, preparing an ultimate move.
"Cross Chop!"
Over a dozen clones gathered energy together, preparing the Cross Chop.
"We can see now that half of Contestant Eichi's Scizor clones are rushing at Primeape while the other half stayed in place. What exactly is he planning?"
Asen's face was grim, and sweat began to form on his forehead. He had heard Eichi's words just now. Among the many clones, one was a Substitute and one was the real body. Which one was the real one?
A mysterious smile appeared on Eichi's lips. This was exactly what he wanted; Asen must be agonizing over where the real body was. However, no matter what Asen chose, he had fallen into Eichi's trap.
Seeing dozens of clones rushing down, Asen ultimately chose to ignore them. He felt the real body hadn't come down because the ultimate move being prepared by the Scizors in the sky emitted a powerful energy that didn't seem fake.
Over a dozen clones surrounded Primeape and attacked simultaneously, swinging their pincers to deliver powerful blows.
"Primeape, crush them!"
Primeape's eyes widened, and it raised its fist, punching the Scizor clone in front of it. The pincer and fist collided, and the Scizor dissolved into fragments at a visible rate.
The next moment, Primeape felt a surge of sharp pain from its back. The force sent Primeape flying, tumbling across the ground. Just as Primeape regained a bit of consciousness, Scizor's pincers came crashing down again.
Bang, bang, bang!
"What?"
Asen never expected that he had guessed wrong. Scizor's real body was right there.
However, Primeape was no pushover. It crossed its arms in front of its face, enduring one strike after another from Scizor. Primeape searched relentlessly for a weakness in Scizor's rhythm.
Squinting its eyes, Primeape struck out instantly. Its fist hit Scizor the next second, and Scizor was blown back by the vibration. It crashed hard onto the ground, covered in dirt.