Golem was knocked back a significant distance, while Heracross only staggered backward half a step. In the first exchange of blows, Heracross clearly held the upper hand.
Takemoto acted as if he hadn't noticed and continued to bark orders.
"Golem, Stone Edge!"
"Goru!"
Golem stabilized its body and stomped heavily on the ground.
Bang!
With a loud roar, countless shards of rock were jolted into the air. A mysterious power sharpened them into jagged, lethal stones. Under Golem's mental control, they shot toward Heracross.
"Heracross, Pin Missile!"
Countless needles of light formed around Heracross's body. It aimed and fired them at Golem.
The jagged stones streaked toward Heracross with extreme speed, whistling through the air like bullets. While the stones were fast, the光針 were even faster.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The rubble and needles collided, exploding in the center of the field. Although the Stone Edge was intercepted and destroyed by the needles before it could reach Heracross, several remaining needles struck Golem directly.
Golem used its short arms to protect its head from injury.
"Goru!"
The needles stung its body, causing sharp pain. It barely managed to block the assault, but wounds were beginning to appear on its rocky hide.
"Golem, Heavy Slam!"
Heavy Slam: A move where the user slams into the opponent with its heavy body. The heavier the user is compared to the opponent, the greater the move's power.
An invisible force surged around Golem as a layer of silver energy coated its body.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
It charged toward Heracross with heavy strides, causing violent energy fluctuations in the air.
"Heracross, Horn Attack!"
"Yakkuru!"
Heracross widened its eyes and vibrated its wings. It aimed its single horn at Golem and charged. Within a two-meter radius, whirlwinds whipped up as energy gathered at its horn.
From a distance, it looked like two distinct energies were clashing in the middle of the field, neither yielding to the other. Based on momentum alone, they were evenly matched; the final result would depend on the impact.
Golem was very confident. In the previous two matches, it had used this exact move to take down the opponents' three Pokémon directly. It felt it could rely on this move to defeat Heracross. To put it bluntly, Golem had become a bit arrogant.
With that confidence, it collided with Heracross.
Boom!
The curled-up Golem felt a massive force transfer from Heracross's horn into its body. Its momentum was halted, and it was forced backward. Its four limbs extended as if time had frozen.
Golem's head poked out from its body, its face twisting and shrinking in intense pain. It watched as Heracross grew further and further away, and then a sharp pain lanced through the back of its head. It couldn't react in time; its vision went black, and it lost consciousness.
In the eyes of the onlookers, Golem was sent flying by the explosion. It slammed into the platform, its head tilted to the side, completely knocked out.
It was too fast. In just a few short minutes, Golem was unable to battle.
Eichi shook his head. Golem's strength was decent, but the gap between it and Heracross was simply too large. Even if it were at the Elite rank, it might not necessarily defeat Heracross, let alone being only at the Experienced mid-stage—several levels lower than Heracross. That was why it lost so quickly.
Seeing Golem lose its ability to fight, Takemoto recalled it and released his second Pokémon.
"Go, Kingler!"
A red crab Pokémon appeared on the field. Kingler had several sharp protrusions on its head, and its pincers were much larger than they had been as a Krabby. It also had more teeth in its mouth.
A sweep with the Eye of the Bug Emperor showed that, like Golem, its talent was Excellent and its rank was Experienced mid-stage.
"The battle begins!"
"Kingler, Crabhammer!"
Kingler looked somewhat harmless at rest, but its entire style changed the moment it began to attack. It rushed toward Heracross with the wind at its feet. A blue energy shroud clearly covered its pincers.
Heracross could feel the energy stored within. Starting with a powerful move like this clearly showed the opponent wanted to end the fight quickly. Since that was the case, Eichi would grant that wish.
"Heracross, Brick Break!"
In the next instant, Kingler lunged. Despite its appearance, Kingler was not slow at all; in fact, it was incredibly fast, closing the distance to Heracross in just a few steps. It swung its pincers, creating ripples of energy in the air.
One pincer swung down toward Heracross, but Heracross blocked it with one hand. It felt a massive force travel from its arm into its body. The pain was sharp and searing.
Heracross frowned just as Kingler's other pincer swung toward it. Noticing the follow-up, Heracross's other hand began to glow with a brilliant white light as energy surged.
Kingler saw Heracross's movement, but its attack was already in motion; it was impossible to pull back now.
Bang! Bang!
Two distinct sounds echoed from their bodies. Kingler's large pincer struck Heracross squarely on the head, while Heracross's palm slammed into Kingler's head. Both landed their hits simultaneously.
In a flash, both Heracross and Kingler were sent flying back. Kingler skidded seven or eight meters, while Heracross only moved back two.
Heracross still held the advantage, though a visible wound had appeared on its head. It knitted its brows, enduring the pain. The power of that move had been quite impressive.
If Heracross was hurting, Kingler was in even worse shape. There was a clear injury on its head as well. It bared its teeth in pain, one of its pincers reaching up to touch the wound.
"Kingler, Bubble Beam!"
"Heracross, Double Team!"
Kingler opened its mouth and aimed at Heracross. Countless bubbles sprayed out in a dense, continuous stream.
Heracross vibrated its wings and charged. Midway, it blurred, splitting into numerous clones that continued the charge toward Kingler. The incoming Bubble Beam struck several clones, causing them to shatter, but more clones immediately filled the gaps.
"Heracross, Horn Attack!"
Visible to the naked eye, sparks of light seemed to flicker across all the Heracross clones. The energy gathered at its single horn, causing the surrounding space to feel warped and unstable. Kingler had a premonition: if this hit, it would be the end.