Aipom was startled; it grew flustered and momentarily forgot to dodge. It was struck directly by Heracross, sent flying with a heavy thud before crashing to the ground.
"Aipom~"
Aipom's tail braced against the earth first, allowing it to use the momentum to flip back onto its feet. It stared at Heracross with an expression full of rage.
"Heracross!"
Heracross didn't let up. After knocking Aipom back, it charged once more. This wasn't an official match, and Eichi had no intention of giving the opponent time to recover.
"Heracross, Brick Break."
Heracross vibrated its wings, flying at a low altitude. It was very close to Aipom, reaching the opponent's front in the blink of an eye. Extending its arm, a white light erupted, and a murderous atmosphere permeated the air.
Seeing the attack coming, a smile appeared on Aipom's face—it was hard to tell if it was truly laughing or if that was just its natural expression. It swept its hand across the ground, instantly kicking up a pile of sand.
Sand Attack!
The sand splattered onto Heracross. It didn't dodge, simply closing its eyes and relying on intuition to deliver the Brick Break. However, its speed slowed down. Seizing this chance, Aipom pushed off the ground with its tail, tilting its body slightly to evade the strike.
It narrowly avoided the hit, brushing past Heracross's side. The moment Heracross opened its eyes, Aipom used its tail to bounce back.
Fury Swipes! One palm after another slapped Heracross's head. Feeling the sting on its face, Heracross quickly pulled its arms back to guard. Aipom's slaps came in rapid succession, fast and surprisingly powerful.
While blocking the assault, Heracross didn't remain idle, constantly vibrating its wings to retreat. After four strikes, the distance between them widened, and Aipom could no longer reach Heracross. However, the Pokémon gave chase, and Heracross launched its own counterattack.
"Heracross, Brick Break."
"Heracross!"
Heracross was feeling quite angry now; several of those previous hits had landed right on its face, and it wanted to pay the opponent back. Raising its arm, white light flashed as the air seemed to congeal. It swung down toward the charging Aipom.
Yet, just as the blow was about to land, Aipom's exceptionally flexible body tilted, dodging the attack once again. Heracross followed up the failed strike with another, swinging its palm like a blade.
"Aipom!"
Aipom grinned, seemingly mocking Heracross for being unable to hit it. When the next strike missed again, Aipom resumed its own offense.
Fury Swipes!
This move was hard to defend against, hitting Heracross multiple times. Standing in the tree, Eichi was somewhat surprised. This Aipom is incredibly agile!
Heracross flew backward. After repelling its opponent, Aipom scrambled up a tree. Energy gathered in its mouth, and a second later, it fired a beam of star-shaped energy.
Swift!
"Heracross, Pin Missile."
Countless needles of light formed in the air and shot toward Aipom like a rain of light. The stars and needles collided, neutralizing each other. After a three-second stalemate, the Swift was overwhelmed. The remaining needles continued toward Aipom. Aipom tried to leap aside, dodging some, but the strike zone was too wide, and it was eventually hit.
"Aipom!"
Aipom let out a cry of pain. It could no longer keep its smile and slumped to the ground. Heracross seized the opportunity to press the advantage, rushing toward the fallen opponent. Aipom scrambled to its feet. It remained flexible, but if it thought Heracross would act the same as before, it was dead wrong.
"Heracross, Double Team."
After Aipom dodged the initial lunge, Heracross suddenly paused, instantly splitting into numerous clones. Aipom was completely stunned, looking left and right, unable to distinguish the real body.
"Heracross, Brick Break."
At that moment, the Heracross behind Aipom raised its hand. Without giving the opponent a chance to react, it delivered a heavy blow. The strike landed squarely on Aipom's body.
"Aipom!"
Aipom screamed as it was sent flying by Heracross. The clones vanished as the true Heracross appeared. Aipom crashed to the ground but managed to crawl back up. This Aipom is quite tough; even that didn't knock it out.
Aipom's expression turned fearful. It looked at the collar on its hand and pressed the red button.
Click.
The Silver Badge embedded inside dropped out. Without looking back, Aipom sprinted toward the deeper parts of the forest. Seeing this, Heracross did not pursue. It suddenly froze, feeling the energy within its body surge significantly.
Eichi jumped down from the tree and walked to where Aipom had been, glancing in the direction it fled. He bent over to pick up the Silver Badge, examining it in his hand. He had to admit, it looked quite nice. To someone like Eichi who had a habit of collecting badges, it was very enticing.
The Aipom had clearly surrendered. The academy leaders must have instructed the Pokémon that if they couldn't win, they could leave after surrendering their badges.
Eichi turned to look at Heracross and felt something was different; its aura had strengthened. He activated his Eye of the Bug Emperor and saw that the energy inside Heracross had suddenly spiked.
It had broken through. Eichi was delighted. As expected, Heracross leveled up after the battle. Now, all three of his Pokémon had reached the Elite rank. His effort in grinding levels for Heracross had not been in vain.
Since Heracross had reached the next level, Eichi planned to go all out in collecting badges. Heracross felt the powerful energy within itself; although it was usually quite lazy, the increase in strength made it very happy.
Eichi pulled out two Poké Balls and released Beedrill and Scizor. As soon as they emerged, they sensed Heracross's newfound power.
"Beedrill, Scizor, it's time for a big operation," Eichi said.
Eichi released his Bug Force. It spread out from his body like a vast web, extending outward. One meter, ten meters, one hundred meters, two hundred meters.
Two hundred meters was the limit of Eichi's perception; he couldn't go any further. Within this range, Eichi could clearly sense everything around him.