The difference in state between the two Beedrills was obvious.
Drifloon's Beedrill became restless and agitated just by seeing Natsuhiko's Beedrill, shaking its body back and forth with its twin needles moving erratically.
In contrast, Natsuhiko's Beedrill appeared very calm, not even making a sound with its wing flutters, silently observing the opponent while lightly rubbing its twin needles together.
The senses of Pokémon are extremely sensitive, especially those of the same species, where the mutual feeling is much more pronounced.
Though Natsuhiko's Beedrill hadn't evolved long ago, it had accumulated plenty during its time as a Weedle, fully uncovering its potential, and upon evolving into Kakuna, it hadn't expended any excess energy.
Insect Fruit, Poison Enhancement, Pure Gold Feather, and the last Thunder Strike from Zapdos, all accumulated during its Weedle stage.
During its Kakuna stage, all reserves and brewing came to fruition when the Beedrill successfully emerged from the Kakuna, with all accumulated potential and foundation transferring into its potential and strength.
After evolving successfully, Natsuhiko took it along the Fengluo River back to Goldenrod City, experiencing numerous battles along the way, allowing Beedrill to gradually adapt to the changes post-evolution and accepting its differences from an ordinary Beedrill.
Thus, the first impression Natsuhiko's Beedrill gave to Drifloon's Beedrill was...
Danger!
Drifloon clearly felt his Pokémon's unease and noticed the peculiarities of Natsuhiko's Beedrill, but he did not think he would lose.
From Aiwei's introduction, he learned that Natsuhiko's Beedrill hadn't been evolving for long, whereas his Beedrill evolved nearly a year ago.
During this year, he hadn't slacked off, evident from finding him in the training room from time to time.
Tightening his fist slightly.
Next to them, Aiwei's eyes shone with fascination at Natsuhiko's Beedrill. Once confirming both were ready, she announced the start of the battle.
"Start!"
Almost the instant Aiwei's voice fell, Drifloon's Beedrill sprang into action.
Despite the fear in its heart regarding Natsuhiko's Beedrill, being a trained Pokémon, it can rely on its Trainer's command and encouragement to surpass its internal fear to some degree.
A streak of yellow arc sliced through the arena.
Drifloon's tactical choice was also correct. When two identical Pokémon face-off, the one that strikes first usually gains an advantage.
Moreover, Beedrill is typically a Pokémon with decent speed and physical attack capabilities but fragile defense and body. If Drifloon's Beedrill lands the first hit, it can seize more initiative and advantage in the ensuing battle.
Normally, this is a very correct tactic. Judging from experience, Drifloon and his Beedrill are not weak in battles.
Of course, that's under normal circumstances.
On the other side.
As Natsuhiko's mouth moved, Beedrill finally began to act.
Its triangular head lifted slightly, taking a deep breath, its eyes locking directly onto the rapidly approaching opponent, with an unseen force in its body making its focus exceptionally concentrated.
Qi Gathering!
In its eyes, the approaching Beedrill's speed seemed to slow, its flight trajectory becoming clearer, while various potential attack angles and directions were systematically eliminated.
Beedrill vividly remembered that during its time as Weedle, Natsuhiko had stressed one specific thing during training.
You can appropriately forgo attacks with low certainty, remain calm, be patient, and wait for opportunities; only strike when at least ninety percent confident.
At that time, it didn't understand why and merely followed Natsuhiko's training protocols.
But now, having evolved into Beedrill, it suddenly understood the deeper meaning behind Natsuhiko's training method back then.
And this intuition for opportunities, situations, and timing hadn't faded with its evolution; in fact, with its evolution, this combat and decision-making instinct became more acute.
The Qi Gathering technique further enhanced this feeling.
Beedrill hovered steadily, watching the opponent draw closer.
Vaguely.
No one noticed that deep within Beedrill's red compound eyes, there seemed to be a flicker of yellow.
Suddenly.
Now!
Natsuhiko and Beedrill almost simultaneously made the accurate judgment.
With a shiver, Beedrill appeared to duplicate itself beside it.
Then.
A second, a third...
The deployment of Shadow Clone left Drifloon's Beedrill momentarily puzzled, halting its forward momentum briefly.
Natsuhiko's Beedrill, already on edge in its Qi Gathering state, locked onto its opponent. Seeing the opponent's momentary pause due to its Shadow Clones, it almost instinctively, as if a habit, dashed forward at Natsuhiko's command.
The two pairs of wings behind fluttered gently, with a faint "zizz" sound, and a hint of a flickering yellow arc; Beedrill dashed out with tremendous speed.
The sharp twin needles glittered with a cold gleam.
Under the incredulous gaze of Drifloon and his Beedrill, it brushed passed the Beedrill's side, very lightly, with almost no excess movement.
And the first thought that flashed through their minds was...
So fast!
With Natsuhiko's Weedle, launching an attack first clearly would seize an advantage, yet he chose to act based on the situation, letting the response dictate his moves.
Though Natsuhiko's Beedrill was fast, its attack didn't seem strong. The previous attack seemed somewhat soft and light.
Drifloon thought thus inwardly.
He also considered that his Beedrill had the Insect Premonition trait, increasing the power of Insect-type Techniques when injured, leaving room for a counterattack.
But as he was considering this, Aiwei watching on laughed softly, giving a deep glance at Natsuhiko and his silent, Beedrill at his side, before striding directly towards the door.
"Supervisor Aiwei..."
Seeing Aiwei leaving, Zhenzi followed hastily. "Supervisor Aiwei, the battle hasn't...."
"It's already over." Aiwei maintained her unchanged smile, her definite voice gently responding.
"Eh?" Zhenzi was taken aback.
Bang!
Soon after, the sound of a deep, muffled thud echoed from behind.
Drifloon's Beedrill had fallen to the ground, incapacitated, its vacant stare contrasting starkly with Natsuhiko gently caressing Beedrill's head affectionally.
"This..." Zhenzi blinked in amazement.
The battle had only just begun, so why did it end so quickly?
Noticing Zhenzi's confusion, Supervisor Aiwei glanced once more at Natsuhiko and Beedrill before explaining: "Qi Gathering Enhancement, Sniper hidden trait, Flying Technique Acrobatics, Technique attribute suppression, how many times does this damage multiply, can you calculate?"
Flying Technique Acrobatics: A nimble attack on the opponent; if no item is held, it deals significant damage.
Zhenzi was momentarily stunned, counting on her fingers, "Sniper critical hit, attribute suppression, Acrobatics technique, this..."
As a receptionist, she knew quite a bit.
Of course, she didn't yet know Natsuhiko's goal was to have Beedrill learn the Sword Dance technique. Added with Sword Dance, that would be.... Tsk tsk.
Zhenzi widened her eyes, filled with disbelief.
How many times over was this?
Aiwei curled her lips slightly; she hadn't even mentioned the hard-to-discern electrical aura accompanying Natsuhiko's Beedrill's movements.
A Beedrill moving with electricity, even attacking with electricity?
That brief lethargy wasn't merely due to puzzlement.
Interesting...
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First chapter! Typing typing...