"Blastoise!"
Blastoise felt miserable as the severe pain from the poison set in, though it was still within its limits of endurance.
"I was too careless," Shida said, a hint of regret in his voice.
The current situation was very unfavorable for Blastoise. If it couldn't take down Beedrill in a short amount of time, there was a high probability that it would be the one to lose.
Johto Region, Silver Academy, Battle Department Office.
Director Yanagi sat on the sofa, his eyes fixed on the television mounted on the wall. Currently, it was broadcasting Eichi's battle. The Director watched with intense focus, sitting perfectly upright.
His eyes were wide, and he gripped a teacup so tightly that his palms were sweating without him even realizing it. When he saw Heracross and Vileplume take each other down, Director Yanagi gave the teacup a sharp squeeze.
"That Heracross is truly impressive," Director Yanagi praised.
Later, when he saw Scizor defeat Exeggutor using those rogue-like tactics, he burst into laughter.
"Has that Scizor really become this strong? Look at the expression on that brat from Indigo Academy; it's absolutely hilarious."
However, when Scizor was defeated by a single shot from Blastoise, Director Yanagi's laughter died away, and he let out a heavy sigh.
"Sigh, as expected, it's still too much of a stretch. Reaching the top eight is already an incredible achievement."
But as he watched Beedrill and Blastoise trade blows for several rounds, his eyes lit up, and hope was rekindled. That's right, there's still Beedrill. Maybe there really is a chance.
Eichi, keep going! You must win! Director Yanagi cheered silently in his heart.
The scene returned to the Indigo League battlefield.
The entire audience watched the struggle between Blastoise and Beedrill without blinking. They were all incredibly curious to see if Beedrill could truly create a miracle.
"Blastoise, Hydro Pump!"
"Blastoise!"
Blastoise angrily searched for Beedrill's location, its eyes spinning three hundred and sixty degrees until it locked on. The cannons on its shoulders aimed at Beedrill, and two massive pillars of water erupted.
During the flight, countless raindrops merged into the water pillars. As they traveled, the pillars grew larger and larger until they were about to hit.
Splash!
The water pillars slammed into Beedrill, but the Pokémon showed no reaction and vanished instantly. Blastoise had been fooled; it was only an afterimage. In the next heartbeat, Beedrill appeared behind Blastoise.
"Beedrill, Venoshock!"
Beedrill aimed its tail at Blastoise, firing a large glob of venom from its stinger that splashed onto its opponent.
Splat! Splat!
A pool of purple venom coated Blastoise's shell, while a small portion splashed onto its limbs.
"Blastoise!"
Blastoise let out a cry of agony as the power of the move was doubled. One of the effects of Venoshock is that its power doubles against poisoned targets. The audience could clearly see the purple hue on Blastoise's shoulders growing deeper.
Blastoise was in deep distress. It opened its mouth, panting heavily as sweat mixed with rain poured down its forehead.
"Blastoise!"
It turned around rapidly and fired two shots at the rear. Unfortunately, Beedrill had already fled immediately after its attack. Both shots missed. Shida's face was dark, and he screamed internally: Why is this Beedrill so fast? Why?!
It was too difficult to hit. Especially after Eichi turned off the Weighted Vest, its speed was simply unbelievable. Blastoise continued to search for its silhouette. The battlefield was neither too large nor too small, yet Blastoise could only see a blurry yellow shadow darting around the field.
Shida gave up on using Hydro Pump. It was a powerful Water-type move, but its execution was slightly slower.
"Blastoise, Water Jet!"
Blastoise aimed at Beedrill darting through the air and fired a slender stream of water. Compared to Hydro Pump, it was much smaller, but its speed was twice as fast.
By chance, the water stream grazed Beedrill. Shida's eyes lit up; this move worked! He ordered Blastoise to keep firing. However, Blastoise failed to hit Beedrill again. The previous hit was pure luck, and Shida had gotten ahead of himself.
Seeing that Blastoise couldn't land a clean hit, Eichi had Beedrill harass it from time to time. He stopped using other moves and focused solely on Venoshock. However, Venoshock required time to charge and release. Beedrill was eventually lured into a trap by Shida and was struck once. Consequently, Eichi learned his lesson and switched to Twineedle, a move that could be released rapidly.
He also used Double Team occasionally to test the waters. Now, both sides were simply playing a game of endurance.
"Ladies and gentlemen, Shida and Eichi have fallen into a stalemate!"
"Beedrill is too fast for Blastoise to hit, but Blastoise is poisoned. If it can't defeat Beedrill soon, then Blastoise will definitely be the one to lose."
"Conversely, our Beedrill must be exceptionally exhausted as well. It cannot maintain such high-speed flight forever."
"It all comes down to which Pokémon will be the first to collapse."
Blastoise's mental state was reaching a breaking point. As an Elite Four tier Pokémon, it was humiliating to be unable to deal with a Beedrill for this long.
In the backstage area, the tall student from Indigo Academy who was with Shida was also watching. Seeing Shida's predicament, he let out a cold laugh. This Shida can't even handle a kid, yet he wants to be the champion.
Did he think no one knew what he was planning? Now he's making a fool of himself. Let's see what happens to him when he goes back.
Shida's current situation was such that even if he won, it would be embarrassing. He was being driven into a corner by an ordinary kid. Shida was currently on the verge of a breakdown, but he remained rational, constantly thinking of a way to break the deadlock.
In the sky, the dark clouds remained localized over the battlefield. The rain continued to fall steadily. Though not a downpour like at the start, it was still significant.
Rain... water... vibrations!
I have it! Shida suddenly thought of a solution, his eyes flashing with suppressed excitement.
Eichi's brow furrowed. Did Shida figure something out?
"Blastoise, Water Pulse! Cover the entire field!"
Water Pulse: Uses the vibrations of water to attack the opponent.
"Blastoise!"
Blastoise summoned its remaining energy and let out a roar to the sky. The cannons on its shoulders aimed upward as layers of water pressure were compressed into rings and fired.
Hummm—
The Water Pulse spread rapidly across the sky toward the surroundings, covering the entire battlefield.
"Oh no!"
Eichi knew what Blastoise was planning. The rain in the air converged to carry the Water Pulse. Anywhere on the field where there was water, an attack would follow.
Bang!
Beedrill was no exception; it was struck. Fortunately, because the attack had been diffused over a wide area, its power was greatly reduced. However, for a fragile Beedrill, this was a case of adding insult to injury.