Beedrill truly looked magnificent now, and Nincada was completely won over, becoming an instant fan of the Poison Bee Pokémon.
Suddenly, two more Pokémon rushed out—Heracross and Scizor. Like Beedrill, they used Pin Missile. Countless needles of light formed behind them, whistling as they shot toward the Zubat swarm.
The aerial attackers were caught completely off guard. The Ariados leader looked on with great curiosity at the three Pokémon that had suddenly charged out to assist them.
After finishing its barrage of Pin Missile, Beedrill fixed its gaze on the Crobat leader. Its wings vibrated, and it vanished instantly, rushing toward the Crobat leader like a bolt of lightning.
Seeing its clansmen wounded, the Crobat leader grew furious. Eichi had instructed his Pokémon to show restraint and not deal lethal blows, but the Crobat leader was still enraged that a winning battle had been overturned so abruptly.
The Ariados leader saw this opportunity and wasn't about to let it slide, quickly signaling its kin to continue the assault.
Beedrill knew this struggle would only end once the Crobat leader was defeated. Therefore, it targeted the leader immediately, its dual stingers at the ready. The sharp stingers emitted a dazzling white light as it appeared before Crobat in a flash.
Crobat's eyes widened. So fast!
It immediately flapped its wings—it possessed two pairs of them—and the upper pair instantly gathered energy, glowing brightly.
Wing Attack!
It slashed its wings toward Beedrill, but the expected impact never came. The Beedrill struck by its wings vanished instantly; it had only hit an afterimage.
Next, it felt a chill down its back as a sense of fatal danger gripped its heart. Beedrill's stingers stabbed ruthlessly into Crobat.
With a shrill shriek of pain, Crobat reeled, the agony becoming unbearable. It turned to swing its wings at Beedrill, but Beedrill retreated immediately after the hit.
Crobat's counterattack missed. Although it hadn't lost its ability to fight yet, Beedrill knew that one more clean hit would likely kill the Crobat leader, as the bee wasn't holding back its strength in this duel.
While Beedrill and the Crobat leader fought, Scizor and Heracross charged forward after their initial barrage.
Scizor moved with incredible speed, appearing like a red flash of lightning. It rushed toward a Zubat closest to it, and without stopping, slammed directly into it. The Zubat was knocked senseless and plummeted from the sky.
Next, it rushed toward another Golbat, its claws glowing as it concentrated its strength and swung.
Bullet Punch!
With a single strike, the Golbat was sent flying. It then moved toward another; most of the surrounding enemies were below the Elite rank, so with Scizor there, it truly was a matter of one hit per opponent.
Behind them, Heracross knew its speed was slower, so it didn't try to chase them down one by one. Instead, it attacked from a distance. Bullet Seed, Pin Missile, and Hidden Power—it used them all in sequence. Any Zubat or Golbat hit by the moves dropped straight to the ground.
The appearance of these three completely changed the tide of battle.
The Crobat leader watched its kin being driven back in defeat and knew there was no hope for victory. This raid was a total failure. Furthermore, if it didn't leave now, it might be stuck here forever. This Beedrill was too strong; it wasn't as if it hadn't fought Beedrill before, but usually, Beedrill swarms relied on teamwork to rival them.
This specific Beedrill, however, was different. It was terrifyingly powerful. Crobat had no idea where it had come from.
Crobat then crossed its wings in front of its body, forming a purple sphere of energy as it drew in countless purple particles.
Shadow Ball!
The purple energy sphere launched toward Beedrill in an instant. Right as it fired, Crobat let out a shrill cry and vibrated its wings to fly away.
Beedrill easily dodged the incoming energy ball, which struck the ground and exploded, kicking up a cloud of thick smoke. Beedrill didn't pursue the Crobat leader after it fled; its original goal was simply to repel the invaders.
Hearing the Crobat's cry, the other Zubat and Golbat stopped their attacks and began to flee. Scizor and Heracross also ceased their assault once they saw the retreat. Some Golbat even swooped down to pick up fallen Zubat and Golbat in their beaks before departing.
The Ariados below breathed a collective sigh of relief as the enemies retreated.
As the smoke cleared, all the Crobat, Golbat, and Zubat were gone. Those left on the ground remained motionless. In Eichi's Eye of the Bug Emperor, the life force within those left behind had been extinguished. They were dead.
Eichi stepped out from the tall grass, and Beedrill, Scizor, and Heracross flew to his side.
Eichi saw many Ariados and Spinarak crawling to the side of their fallen kin, letting out mournful cries. The scene was filled with an atmosphere of sorrow. A massive Ariados, surrounded by a group of its kind, approached Eichi.
Eichi looked over. The Ariados leader was covered in wounds; during the fight, it had single-handedly held off the Crobat leader. It had been a massive gap in strength, and it was impressive it had lasted this long.
The Ariados crawled forward, its head bobbing continuously as it muttered something. Eichi understood its intent—it was thanking him for his help and for saving them during their crisis.
The Nincada wasn't there, however. It had crawled with a few Spinarak to the side of an Ariados. This Ariados was near death, suffering from very serious injuries, and they had no effective medicine.
Sadness flickered in Nincada's eyes. It had never hated its own weakness as much as it did today; now, it even had to rely on others for protection. Looking at the dying Ariados, it suddenly remembered that humans had many medicines that could treat Pokémon.
Nincada had seen Eichi when he stepped out. It quickly ran to Eichi and babbled frantically. It was pleading for Eichi to save its elder, a very old Ariados.
Seeing the entreaty in Nincada's eyes, Eichi felt he should do something. He nodded and closed his eyes. In his perception, the life force of countless Ariados was beginning to wane, and some were even on the verge of going out.
He opened his eyes, and green energy began to radiate from his body. In Nincada's eyes, Eichi was glowing. Countless ribbons of green light emanated from him, acting as if they had a mind of their own.