Seeing Croconaw bite down on Scyther, Matsu allowed a victorious smile to cross his face. However, when Croconaw's jaws clamped onto Scyther, the Bug-type Pokémon showed no reaction whatsoever.
Croconaw looked slightly stunned. Matsu, equally surprised, shouted, "What's going on? Oh no, Croconaw, it's on your head!"
Indeed, Scyther had appeared directly above Croconaw's head. Eichi's mouth curved into a small smile.
"Scyther, use Brick Break!"
Scyther, positioned above Croconaw's head, wore a fierce expression. Its scythe glowed with a white light, and it swung it forcefully, striking the top of Croconaw's head. Croconaw was slammed to the ground, yet it somehow did not lose its ability to battle.
"Scyther, use Fury Cutter!"
Seeing Croconaw struggle to get back up, Matsu shouted anxiously, "Croconaw, get up!"
Scyther flew forward instantly, appearing right in front of Croconaw, and before it could recover, landed five consecutive slashes with its scythes.
This time, Croconaw could not endure the damage. Its body fell backward, and it immediately lost its ability to battle.
"Croconaw!" Matsu quickly ran over and picked up his Pokémon.
The referee announced, "Croconaw is unable to battle. Scyther wins. Matsu, please use your second Pokémon."
Matsu gritted his teeth. "Darn it! Return, Croconaw. Go, Skarmory!"
A metallic, glittering Bird Pokémon appeared in the air. It flew high with a proud, almost arrogant demeanor, looking fearless in front of its opponent.
Skarmory, Eichi thought. He was reminded that Archie also possessed a Skarmory, but the gap between the two Pokémon was immense. This Skarmory had an Excellent Talent Grade and was in the early stage of the Experienced rank. This was likely Matsu's strongest Pokémon.
Matsu regained his confidence. "My Skarmory definitely won't lose! I will use it to defeat you!"
Who gave you the confidence to think you will definitely win? Eichi wondered.
"Begin the battle!"
"Scyther, use Agility!"
Scyther launched itself toward Skarmory at ultra-high speed.
"Skarmory, we'll use Agility, too!"
Skarmory's speed also instantly increased significantly. The movements of both Pokémon were too fast for an average person's eyes to follow. However, Eichi opened his Eye of the Bug Emperor and could clearly see every action of both Pokémon.
"Skarmory, use Air Slash!"
Skarmory stopped in mid-air and violently swung its wings at the Scyther closing in behind it, creating two sharp gusts of wind to slice at the Bug-type.
"Scyther, use Swords Dance to resist Air Slash!"
Hearing the command, Scyther held its two scythes up and spun rapidly, using the rotational force to negate the sharp wind.
"Skarmory, use Metal Claw!"
As soon as Scyther finished using Swords Dance, Skarmory's right claw glowed white and struck Scyther violently.
Scyther was knocked out of the sky and crashed heavily onto the ground.
"Are you alright, Scyther?"
Scyther had visible scratches on its body. It climbed up, shook its head, and flapped its wings, flying back into the sky to continue the fight.
"Very good, Scyther!"
"Still quite tenacious, aren't you?" Matsu said. "But it's useless! Skarmory, use Swift!"
Skarmory rapidly launched several star-shaped beams of light from its mouth toward the approaching Scyther.
"Scyther, use Protect!"
Scyther formed a protective shield of light in front of itself, blocking Skarmory's Swift. After blocking the move, it continued to charge toward Skarmory, which kept firing Swift attacks. The high-speed Scyther continuously dodged the stars, and those it couldn't evade, it blocked by crossing its scythes.
"Scyther, use Brick Break!" Eichi commanded as Scyther closed the distance to Skarmory.
"Skarmory, we're going, too! Use Metal Claw!"
Skarmory stopped using Swift and charged toward Scyther. Seeing Skarmory rush toward it, Scyther accelerated its own charge, its right scythe ready. Skarmory's right claw began to glow white, and Scyther's scythe also burst with white light.
The two collided simultaneously, their scythe and claw striking each other. The battle was neck and neck, though Skarmory's Steel typing gave it an advantage over Scyther.
With the first strike inconclusive, the two Pokémon continued to pursue, clash, and collide. The sound of scythes and wings hitting metal echoed through the air.
After about three minutes of this, the two separated after another collision, both breathing heavily, clearly fatigued. After a brief minute of rest, the two Pokémon charged out simultaneously once more.
"Scyther, use Fury Cutter!"
"Skarmory, use Air Slash!"
Skarmory flapped its wings, sending two sharp blades of wind toward Scyther, which swung its scythes fiercely to swat away the wind blades.
"Skarmory, use Metal Claw!"
Skarmory dove down toward Scyther. Scyther had just defended against Air Slash when Skarmory was upon it. Its right claw glowed white, ready to strike Scyther's body.
"Scyther, use Double Team!"
Just as Skarmory's attack was about to hit, Scyther instantly created dozens of clones, surrounding Skarmory. Skarmory's Metal Claw passed through one clone, missing the real body.
"Skarmory, use Swift to knock them all out!"
Hearing the command, Skarmory rapidly fired star-shaped beams of light from its mouth. One by one, the clones were hit and disappeared.
However, when the last remaining clone was struck, it also vanished. Both trainers on the field were focused intently on the match.
The entire audience's attention was also focused on them.
In the seats below, "Judging by this situation, the Class Representative's Scyther seems to be in trouble!" Kelly said, sounding worried.
"There's nothing to worry about," Tetsu said dismissively. "Just look at Eichi's expression; you know he's going to win."
"The Class Representative's expression is like that for every match. How can you tell?" Kelly asked.
"It's because it hasn't changed," Tetsu explained. "That means everything is still within his control. Besides, have you forgotten? This is only Eichi's first Pokémon! He still has a much stronger Beedrill!"
"Oh, right!" Kelly suddenly remembered. "The Class Representative is only using his first Pokémon! That battle was so exciting, I thought both sides were on their last one!"
Meanwhile, Sato and Konan were also watching the match intently from the opposite seating area.
Back on the field, Matsu, seeing that none of the targets were the real body, didn't panic. "Skarmory, use Peck on the spot above you! I won't fall for that trick a second time!"
Skarmory looked up and used Peck directly above its head. Scyther happened to be right there.
But when Skarmory connected, Scyther showed no reaction, causing Skarmory's pupils to shrink. Oh no, this isn't the real one either!
Then it heard its trainer's panicked voice: "Skarmory, it's right below you!"