"Kingler, use Bubble Beam to take them all out," Takemoto ordered.
Kingler's mouth puffed out as it frantically increased its output, firing a stream of crystal-clear bubbles. A large area in front of it was soon covered in froth, which struck the Heracross clones.
Pop! Pop! Pop!
Each Heracross clone vanished instantly upon impact, disappearing one after another. Despite this, Heracross had already achieved its goal and was now right in front of Kingler.
The single horn on its head crackled with yellow, lightning-like energy. Kingler swung both pincers, smashing the two Heracross in front of it. Unfortunately, they were both clones. The third Heracross slammed hard into Kingler's body.
Bang!
Kingler was dazed. Its body stiffened, and it was sent flying like a stone from a catapult. Just like Golem, it crashed into the platform at the exact same spot before slowly sliding to the floor. Faint cracks were visible on the platform where it hit.
Kingler retained a shred of consciousness, but the Heracross before it began to blur. It could clearly feel a surge of intense pain washing over its body. Then, its vision darkened, and it knew no more.
Heracross watched Kingler lose its ability to battle. Having defeated two of the opponent's Pokémon in a row, it felt quite proud. It flew back slowly to stand in front of Eichi.
Eichi wasn't looking at Heracross; instead, he was observing Takemoto. Even though Kingler had been easily defeated, the man's expression hadn't changed at all. He remained eerily quiet.
Takemoto took out a Poké Ball and recalled Kingler. He placed it back on his belt and then threw out a third Poké Ball.
"Go!"
In a flash of white light, a bipedal Pokémon appeared. This Pokémon was similar to a human in appearance, but it had four arms and a highly developed muscular system. Most notably, it wore a gold and black striped belt around its waist. There were three tile-like protrusions on its head.
This was the Pokémon Machamp, a Fighting-type.
A sweep with the Eye of the Bug Emperor revealed that this Machamp had an Excellent talent and was at the Experienced late-stage rank. It was slightly stronger than the previous Golem and Kingler.
Eichi had seen a Machamp before; the ace of Mizuki from the Indigo Academy during the Inter-Academy Tournament was a Machamp. However, there was a significant gap between Takemoto's Machamp and Mizuki's.
Takemoto finally spoke before the match began, "Kid, your strength is quite impressive!"
"Defeat this treasure of mine, and the Earth Badge is yours," he added.
"Machamp, Karate Chop!"
"Nikeh!"
Machamp's prominent muscles tightened. Its four palms straightened into blades, and it rushed toward Heracross with the wind at its feet.
Eichi smiled. A head-on clash? That's my favorite.
"Heracross, Brick Break!"
"Yakkuru!"
Heracross vibrated its wings and charged at Machamp. A brilliant white light radiated from its palms, and energy ripples began to appear in the air. The power behind the move looked immense.
Of course, Machamp was no pushover. It charged forward and kicked off the ground with force, suddenly accelerating. Machamp narrowed its eyes, locked onto Heracross's position, and used its palm like a blade to chop toward Heracross's head.
Heracross's head had been injured by Kingler earlier and was still aching. There was no way it would let Machamp hit it again. It tilted its head, moving its body slightly to the left.
Seeing its first strike fail, Machamp immediately swung another hand, followed closely by the remaining two. Heracross focused its gaze, its body swaying slightly as it dodged Machamp's attacks.
One palm struck right past Heracross's ear, less than a centimeter away from its skin. Fortunately, Heracross had undergone specific training for this. It would not be easy for Machamp to land a hit.
Naturally, Heracross couldn't just keep dodging without fighting back. As it dodged one of Machamp's palms, the rush of wind blew past its ear—this was its chance.
The prepared Heracross aimed its palm directly at Machamp's body and used Brick Break. However, Machamp's eyes shifted, and it shifted its body to dodge the strike.
Immediately, Heracross's other hand followed up. Just as it swung, a force was transmitted from its arm. Eichi's eyes narrowed. This Machamp actually has some skill.
One of Machamp's palms had directly blocked Heracross's attack. Heracross retracted its arm to continue the assault, and Machamp did the same.
Machamp looked at Heracross and chuckled. It had four arms while Heracross only had two; it seemed the saying "two fists are no match for four hands" was true.
Machamp's arms curved at an angle before it struck out with force. Utilizing the momentum, two forces stacked together and slammed into Heracross.
The speed was too fast. Heracross couldn't react in time and was struck in the waist.
"Tch!"
Heracross gritted its teeth and endured the blow, raising its arms to continue its attack. Its silver-white arms radiated energy ripples that hinted at the powerful strength within. Heracross struck Machamp heavily.
"Nikeh!"
Machamp's face contorted, baring its teeth in pain. It almost failed to endure the hit.
The moment Heracross struck Machamp, Machamp also launched an attack. A palm chopped down, which Heracross managed to block with one hand. However, Machamp still had two other hands. With nothing left to block them, Heracross was struck by both.
After the exchange, the two Pokémon instantly separated, standing in front of their respective trainers. Heracross gritted its teeth, forcing itself to ignore the pain. As expected of a Fighting-type Pokémon, its hand-to-hand combat skills were exceptional.
From up close, three visible wounds had appeared on Heracross's body. Machamp wasn't doing well either; there was a large injury on its chest—the masterpiece of Heracross's strike.
"Machamp, Dynamic Punch!"
"Heracross, Pin Missile!"
Takemoto ordered Machamp to use its ultimate move. Machamp flashed a cruel smile.
Crackle!
Fiery red energy suddenly released from Machamp's hands. There was a sensation of flames exploding in the surrounding space. Machamp took a moment to build up power, a powerful aura radiating from its body.
Opposite it, countless needles of light appeared behind Heracross, aiming directly at Machamp. Machamp didn't dodge. It crossed its arms in front of its face and stubbornly blocked the onslaught.
A few seconds later, the light needles vanished, and Machamp charged forward immediately. It was as if the Pin Missile from before hadn't affected it at all.