Chapter 22: Scyther vs. Beedrill! The Assessment Ends!
As everyone watched, the fallen Beedrill's body began to tremble. Suddenly, small motes of green light started to flicker into existence around it, and an invisible aura of power washed over the battlefield.
The next moment, Beedrill pushed itself up, shakily but surely rising from the ground on its buzzing wings.
"Is that..." someone in the audience murmured, staring at the green glow.
"It's Swarm!"
Seeing his Beedrill get back on its feet, Kenji's heart surged with a wave of pure elation. When he saw the green aura and felt the palpable shift in pressure, he knew his Beedrill had successfully activated its primary ability. When its stamina was low, the power of its Bug-type moves would be massively increased!
"Scyther! End this battle! Use Slash!" Marcus commanded with a sharp wave of his hand, seeing Beedrill rise.
"Give it everything you've got! Beedrill! Meet it with Fury Cutter!"
Kenji's blood was pumping, all sense of decorum gone. He roared the command with pure, unadulterated passion.
On the field, Beedrill seemed to feed off its master's fiery emotions, its own fighting spirit soaring to new heights. It stared down the charging Scyther, its eyes showing no fear or hesitation—only the unwavering resolve to fight to the very end.
Beedrill raised its twin stingers. Fury Cutter, for the third and final time!
It lifted its lances high, the white light coalescing into blades of unprecedented sharpness. It then shot forward to meet the Scyther's charge, its speed utterly explosive!
It was as if destiny itself was on their side. The Quick Claw had activated again!
Across the field, despite its absolute level advantage, the Scyther could feel the immense threat radiating from Beedrill's attack. But as a proud, natural-born warrior of the Bug tribe, it had never known retreat. It met the challenge head-on, pouring all of its strength into its own Slash attack.
"CHAAA!"
Behind the lines, Kenji's fists were clenched so tightly his knuckles were white, his eyes glued to the two Pokémon on the verge of collision.
Swarm.
A triple-stacked Fury Cutter.
Huge Power.
This time, Kenji was certain. His Beedrill would not lose this exchange.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone present, Beedrill's Fury Cutter and Scyther's Slash finally met.
BOOM!—
The deafening crash echoed through the arena.
For a heart-stopping moment, the two Pokémon were locked in a stalemate, stingers against scythes.
CRACK!—
Then, with a sharp, shattering sound, a green figure was sent flying backward.
Kenji's eyes widened, the blood roaring in his ears.
On the field, his Beedrill's attack had successfully overpowered Scyther's Slash, knocking it back!
Silence...
A strange, eerie quiet fell over the entire battle arena. Not just the audience, but even the official proctors were stunned into speechlessness.
In the dead silence, the red compound eyes of the victorious Beedrill suddenly turned into swirls. Its wings stopped beating, and its body slumped to the ground. The final, all-out attack had consumed the very last of its strength.
Kenji, who had been watching with unwavering focus, reacted in an instant. "Return, Beedrill!" he shouted, recalling his fainted Pokémon before it even hit the floor.
With Beedrill gone, only the Scyther remained. It slowly pushed itself up from the ground. Though there were visible scratches on its green exoskeleton, its eyes burned with an even fiercer fighting spirit. It was clear that while Beedrill's attack had managed to push it back, it was far from being defeated.
A few seconds after Kenji had recalled his Pokémon, the referee finally snapped out of his daze and raised his flag. "Beedrill is unable to battle! Scyther is the winner!"
Hearing the official result, Kenji walked off the field. He immediately handed his Poké Ball to a staff member from the on-site emergency medical team. Beedrill had fainted from sheer exhaustion, not from any serious injuries, so a trip to the Pokémon Center wasn't necessary.
He returned to his seat next to Melody, feeling several pairs of eyes still fixed on him. He was getting used to it by now.
The assessment continued, and the audience's attention returned to the field. Scyther fought four more matches before being recalled. The rest of the battles were uninteresting, consisting mostly of Marcus single-handedly dominating the remaining students.
The more he watched, the more confident Kenji became. One of those three S-Rank spots had his name on it.
When it was Melody's turn, Marcus, despite doting on his daughter, knew when to be serious. He didn't go easy on her.
The assessment ended much faster than Kenji had anticipated, mainly due to Marcus's terrifying efficiency. He seemed to be in a hurry to get off work.
After the final candidate had been assessed, the proctors gathered and began to deliberate in hushed tones.
Twenty minutes later, a staff member walked out with a list in his hand.
"I will now announce the names of the candidates who have earned an S-Rank score."
His words instantly captured everyone's attention.
"They are: Kenji, Melody, and Suzanne."
Hearing his name, Kenji finally let out the breath he had been holding. He wasn't surprised that Melody had also made the cut. It wasn't about nepotism; having grown up in the gym environment with a top-tier Charmander, her skills were undeniably among the best of all the candidates. He also vaguely remembered the third girl, Suzanne. Her partner was another starter Pokémon, a Snivy from the Unova region, and she had also been incredibly skilled.
"If you have any disputes regarding the results, you may file an appeal through the official website," the staff member added before turning and walking away.