"Focus Energy, Agility."
Facing the charging Onix, Lin Fan still chose to power up Beedrill first.
By the time Beedrill finished powering up, Onix's figure had already charged over, completely covering the space in front of Beedrill.
Beedrill calmly looked at the enormous head that was almost within reach, its wings vibrating, and its body rapidly retreated backward, narrowly dodging the attack by grazing Onix's body.
Not only that, Beedrill also counter-attacked by firing a string of Poison Sting, accurately hitting the joints of Onix's rock-formed body.
Onix's expression didn't change at all, as if it had been tickled, feeling no pain or itch, and continued to coil towards Beedrill.
Normal-type physical attack, Bind!
The Bind used by Onix was extraordinary; once caught, the match could be declared over.
A whistling sound of wind arose, and Beedrill once again dodged backward, but its figure had already reached the edge of the field; if it retreated further, it would automatically forfeit.
"Constantly compressing space using its size advantage to limit Beedrill's speed advantage, that's a good tactic," someone in the guest seating praised.
"Indeed, Onix is different from previous opponents; its defense is extremely good, and Beedrill doesn't dare to attack rashly, only using long-range Poison Sting to probe. This completely negates its close-combat advantage. If a solution isn't found, I'm afraid it will be difficult for Lin Fan to win," another person also nodded in agreement.
Wu Shuo was noncommittal, not expressing an opinion, but instead looked at the still calm Lin Fan, a hint of interest emerging in his heart.
How would this young man respond?
Lin Fan looked at Beedrill, who had already reached the edge of the field, his expression unchanged: "Charge through, use String Shot to wrap around Onix's body joints."
Beedrill's figure swiftly charged towards Onix. At this moment, the latter's old strength had not run out and new strength had not yet been generated, completely unable to keep up with Beedrill's movements. Wu Heng's command sounded promptly: "Use Rock Tomb!"
A small rock cut through the air and rushed towards Beedrill, containing a special power that, once hit, would temporarily cause it to lose its ability to fly.
Beedrill's expression remained unchanged; with just a sidestep, it dodged the incoming rock, and then smoothly shot out Silk Thread, tightly wrapping it around Onix's neck.
Onix wanted to destroy this uncomfortable thing, but the Silk Thread was precisely in its blind spot. No matter how it moved, it couldn't destroy it, so it had to reluctantly give up.
At the same time, Beedrill's body had already passed through Onix, arriving behind the opponent, completing a position swap.
"Although Onix's speed isn't slow, that depends on who it's compared to. Beedrill is still faster."
Wu Heng sighed, but a hint of a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
"Onix, Sand Tomb!"
Whirling sandstorms rose, trapping Beedrill within them.
"Prediction?"
Lin Fan's eyebrows slightly raised, clearly not expecting the opponent to have already anticipated Beedrill's landing spot, otherwise, with Beedrill's speed, it could easily avoid this attack.
"Counter Shield."
Beedrill's figure rotated in the opposite direction of Sand Tomb's rotation. The tough Silk Thread, like a whip, collided with the sand and rocks, scattering them.
In the brief exchange, neither Pokémon was able to get the better of the other.
This kind of scene was clearly what the audience loved to see, and they cheered loudly.
Wu Heng looked at Lin Fan: "Beedrill has been maintaining Agility, it must be very tired, right? If the battle cannot end in a short time, Beedrill might not be able to endure it itself."
Lin Fan smiled, saying nothing.
The opponent was right; maintaining Agility for a long time consumed a lot of Beedrill's energy. If the battle couldn't be ended before Agility wore off, with this Onix's reaction speed, there would probably be no suspense in the battle.
"Then let's compete in reaction speed," Lin Fan pressed down on his cap, a hint of confidence appearing in his eyes.
He had already understood Onix's reaction speed, and it was time to take the initiative to attack.
"Poison Sting!"
Unlike the last time, this time Beedrill gathered Bug-type energy in its hands and fiercely charged towards Onix, engaging in close-quarters combat.
"Poison Sting? Why use Poison Sting and not Double Needle? Poison-type is resisted four times by Onix, how could it cause any damage?" Someone in the guest seating looked at this scene in confusion, their gaze turning to Wu Shuo, hoping to hear his explanation.
But Wu Shuo also frowned, somewhat unable to understand Lin Fan's approach.
Wu Heng on the field was equally bewildered. After a moment of hesitation, he chose a more cautious approach: "Onix, Harden!"
Onix's body tensed, its defense slightly increasing, standing ready for battle.
Swoosh—Swoosh—
Two consecutive whooshing sounds rang out. Beedrill stabbed at Onix's neck, hitting it cleanly, then quickly retreated a thousand miles, rapidly moving away from Onix's head, dodging the latter's Tackle.
Wu Heng grew even more confused, because Onix resisted Poison-type fourfold, and Beedrill's attack caused no effective damage at all, still seeming like it was just tickling Onix.
Could it be that Lin Fan was an actor, deliberately losing to him?
That couldn't be, it made no sense at all.
Wu Heng was at a loss, for the first time putting away the smile on his face and looking seriously at Lin Fan.
Lin Fan didn't care what these people were thinking and continued to command Beedrill according to the original plan.
Looking at Beedrill continuing its attack, Wu Heng was silent for a moment, then spoke: "Onix, Rock Polish!"
He didn't choose to defend, but instead let Onix endure Beedrill's attack, commanding Onix to use Rock Polish.
The effect of this move is to polish the body, reducing air resistance, which can greatly increase one's speed. However, unlike in the game, in reality, this move will also slightly weaken one's defense, as the body's barrier is polished away, naturally lowering defense.
Lin Fan was a little surprised.
So decisive?
Wu Heng snorted twice: "Although I don't know what you're trying to do, as long as it's something the opponent wants to do, there's no need to ask for reasons; just destroy it. Even if Rock Polish is used, Onix's speed still can't surpass Beedrill's, but if your Beedrill still wants to continue the previous tactic, then the greatly increased speed of Onix is enough to react and counterattack."
Lin Fan was silent for a moment, then suddenly looked up, grinning: "Beedrill, Poison Sting!"
What was he mumbling about? He was going to attack!
"Holy crap Σ(°ロ°)?!" Wu Heng's eyelids twitched instantly; it seemed the opponent hadn't listened to his analysis at all.
Facing Beedrill's attack, Onix, just as Wu Heng had said, was already able to react, its massive head fiercely ramming towards Beedrill.
"Counter Shield!"
Lin Fan's voice rang out, actually making Beedrill use this move to directly take Onix's attack.
Wu Heng was stunned, the audience was in an uproar, but Wu Shuo had an expression of anticipation: "The outcome depends on this one move."
As soon as the words fell, Beedrill's figure was directly blasted away like a cannonball, smashing onto the ground and kicking up a large cloud of dust, completely obscuring its figure.
Although Beedrill seemed to be in a desperate situation, Wu Heng's scalp instantly tingled: "Onix, Double-Edge!"
This last hidden trump card was finally used, but it was still a step too late.
A Silk Thread, pulled taut to the extreme, connected Onix's neck to the ground. Beedrill's figure, propelled by the recoil force of the Silk Thread, rushed to Onix's side at a speed that even after using Rock Polish, Onix still couldn't react to. The Bug-type energy in its hands had already accumulated to its peak.
Although its chest was heaving wildly, its eyes were exceptionally bright, and a cruel smile appeared at the corner of its mouth.
Swoosh—Swoosh—
Two sharp shrieks that pierced the air rang out. Beedrill's figure brushed past Onix, and the latter's immensely powerful Double-Edge struck the ground, missing Beedrill by a hair's breadth.
"If you had used Double-Edge on that last hit on Beedrill, then I would have lost. Unfortunately, there aren't that many 'ifs,'" Lin Fan said, meeting the gaze of the shakily rising Beedrill, a gentle smile appearing on his face.
"You worked hard."
As the words fell, under everyone's gaze, Onix's figure crashed to the ground, losing consciousness.
"How could this be...?" Wu Heng's squinted eyes widened slightly; he couldn't believe it at all. "It clearly didn't cause any damage before, so how could it be defeated by a single Double Needle at the end? Did you cheat?"
Lin Fan shrugged, just about to explain, when a loud round of applause suddenly erupted. A figure wearing a Niu Zhan Shi mask appeared at the back of the audience seats, looking at Lin Fan with admiration. With a few leaps, he actually jumped directly from the edge of the arena to the battleground.
Seeing this astonishing scene, everyone was instantly dumbfounded. Was this a human or a humanoid Pokémon?
Wu Shuo in the guest seating looked at Niu Zhan Shi with some surprise: "Elite of Fighting-type? Why is he here?"
