"Scizor, use 'Iron defense' again and focus it on the wings.", said Bruno. Scizor used the move again and this time Axel could see that most of the move's power was focused on its wings which shielded its wings from the storm.
Scizor would still not fly perfectly in this storm but it would glide perfectly.
"Now Scizor, use 'Bullet punch'", said Bruno.
Scizor came running towards Nidoking to use its move. It started to fire multiple 'Bullet punch' at Nidoking. Nidoking also started to use 'Sucker punch' and its own combination of punches to Scizor.
Scizor was very good at dodging the attack but Nidoking, not so much. Nidoking took a number of attacks but it was also able to deliver some of them. Nidoking had more attack power than Scizor. Even though Scizor's stats were higher than Nidoking's, Nidoking had an excellent foundation.
Bruno realized that Scizor could not win in a punching match against Nidoking, so he said, "Scizor, come back. Now use 'Agility' and also activate 'Light metal' and then use 'Fury punch'", said Bruno.
Scizor did as it was told. Axel didn't tell Nidoking to do anything. He was just enjoying the battle. Nidoking had fought a lot of Pokemons. It had faced many king-rank Pokemons in the tide and it had participated in 2 tide battles. So, it had a huge amount of experience.
Axel didn't need to instruct Nidoking on its every move. Axel had not brought out the big guns yet and he also knew that Bruno was not serious till now.
'Fury punch' was the modified move that combined 'Bullet punch' and 'Fury cutter'. 'Fury cutter' would cut but since Scizor was so good at punching. So, Bruno modified the move. 'Fury punch' was a bug-type and steel type move that was very unique.
It had the properties of 'Fury cutter' which would increase the power of the attack with each successive hit and due to its ability 'Technician', the power of the move would increase by 50%. All in all, this move was one of the finishers of Scizor.
Bruno also told Scizor to activate its hidden ability 'Light metal' which would decrease the weight of the Pokemon and that would increase its speed to a high degree.
Bruno wanted to invest and gamble all on the speed now. He saw how slow Nidoking was and he thought to take the chance.
"Meg, use 'Substitute'", said Axel.
2 substitutes came out of the Nidoking. All 3 of them looked the same but Scizor could tell who was the original one. At least it thought it did. It came near one of the Nidokings and started to use 'Fury punch' to it. Nidoking started to defend and also started to use 'Horn attack' on it but Scizor was too fast to be hit by it.
Since Nidoking was taking the damage and also trying to attack, Bruno and Scizor could tell that this was the real Nidoking. How very wrong they were.
The other Nidoking came to defend against Scizor's relentless attack. The power of the attack had increased a lot and this was now a 5th successive punch. The power of that move could be imagined.
Scizor saw the substitute coming towards it to take all those hits but it would not care about it. It concentrated on the second Nidoking. The injuries started to pile up and Nidoking was now not in a good situation. It wanted to use any moves to defend or throw Scizor far away but it was unable to.
Bruno had a smile on his face. If the move started to connect continuously then it was a win for Bruno. Axel had said that Nidoking was the second-strongest Pokemon on his team. If he won this battle, it was already half-won.
Suddenly, something happened. Both of the substitutes disappeared instantly. Surprisingly, the Pokemon that was taking all those hits also disappeared. Then…..
BOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMM
There was a loud explosion. The poison mist from the explosion spread far and wide and it became even more difficult to see in the battle.
The move was 'Spinning poison.'
It was true that poison-type moves were ineffective against Scizor but 'Spinning poison' was an exploding type attack. It would not only spread poison but also explode.
The move may not have been very effective against Scizor as it also had 2 'Iron defense' but it was still effective.
The 'Sandstorm' was now slowing down and after the dust and debris settled from the explosion, everyone could see that Scizor was injured. Bruno didn't know how could it be possible. How could a substitute use any moves but he didn't have any time to ponder over it?
Scizor was injured and the injuries were not normal. The injuries would not degrade its fighting capability but it was still hurt.
"Scizor, back away and use 'Iron defense', 'Swords dance' and 'Agility' to the maximum.", said Bruno.
For some reason, Bruno could tell that Nidoking was not going to attack when Scizor used those moves. Nidoking was very heavy and slow. So, even if it did, Scizor could just discontinue to use those moves and dodge it.
Bruno was right about it and Axel didn't tell it to charge but after Scizor completed all those moves,
"Meg, use 'Sandstorm' again"
The battle was on its 8th minute and the effect of 'Sandstorm' was slowing down. So, Axel told it to use it again. After fighting many battles in the tide, Axel came to realize the value of using a move.
Multiple moves were not necessary to be used. Only 1 move was enough to decide the tide of the battle but the move should be timed perfectly. Axel was way more experienced than Bruno in this matter and it was showing in their battle.
"Scizor, now start to use 'Fury punch' again. Give it your all!!!", shouted Bruno.
Scizor with its increased speed, power, and defense charged at Nidoking with a new vigor. It started to punch Nidoking. Nidoking did its best to defend and counter with its own moves but it was not showing good results. Axel didn't want to use 'Substitute' as Nidoking would start to get weaker after using the move.
Finally, Axel had it all.
"Meg, catch that damn Scizor and then use 'Horn Drill' on its chest."
Axel was not afraid to kill that Scizor. He had killed many Pokemons in tides so he was very calm about it.
Nidoking grabbed Scizor with both of its hands and then its horn started to rotate at high speed.
"Scizor, get out of it. Use 'U-turn'"
Nidoking's horns did drill Scizor but only for a bit and it sort of teleported and came back.
This was not how 'U-turn' was supposed to be. However, Axel could see that Scizor was extremely tired after using that move. So, he could make a guess that it would not use it again.
"Scizor, let's bring out the big guns. Use 'Bug Knight'", said Bruno.
Scizor gave a big roar and suddenly, another Scizor started to come into being. This Scizor was different from the original Scizor. It was green in color and it looked very heavy.
"Both of you go and attack Nidoking", said Bruno.
"Meg, time to start, 'Sand hardening'", said Axel.
ROOOARRR
The sand from the 'Sandstorm' started to harden which made them even more difficult to move. A pleasant surprise came after this.
---
Ding!
Sand hardening had leveled up to 40. Nidoking could now make a construct of sand to attack the enemy.
---
"Haha, that is perfect. Meg, power it up.", said Axel.
Nidoking knew what Axel was talking about. Suddenly, 4 spears made of hardened sand were flying around Nidoking. Those spears came rushing towards Scizor. The green Scizor took its stance and blocked the attack. It was hurt from the attack but the original one was perfectly okay.
Nidoking started to use this move to obstruct both of them. It was doing a good job. All those attacks were defended by the green Scizor. Nidoking also started to use 'Mud bomb'.
This move would stick to the target making it heavier. Which would decrease its speed. Since the bomb didn't explode, Bruno just thought that the move would make Scizor very slow. The green one was taking all the hits so he was not worried.
However,
"Meg, now explode it!!!", shouted Axel.
BOOOM
BOOOM
BOOOM
BOOOM
BOOOMM
Multiple explosions covered the green Scizor and Axel was confident that the green one would not be able to fight again. The dust cleared and the green one had disappeared. Axel knew that Scizor could not use that move again, so he was happy about it.
"Scizor, it is now or never, Use 'Bug swamp'"
Axel could make a guess that it was a pseudo-domain move of Scizor. So, he immediately told Nidoking to use Dig and go underground.
Since 'Dig' had leveled up a lot, Nidoking could now stay underground for an extended period of time. Grasses started to come out from where Scizor stood. These grasses looked a bit different. It looked like a swamp. If Nidoking was inside of it, it would have been devoured.
Nidoking went underground for 5 minutes. Scizor was doing everything to trap Nidoking but it was not able to. It was a pre-domain move so Axel knew that it had limited time. Nidoking could only stay underground for 5 minutes.
After 5 minutes, it came out but it was very far from the swamp.
"Meg, now use 'Dust domain'", said Axel.
It was now time for Nidoking to use its own pre-domain move. Sand was still raging from the storm and then suddenly the power and the speed of the storm started to increase heavily.
The grasses from the 'Bug swamp' move started to erode. The domain had the power of erosion. Scizor was heavily affected by it. It could no longer fly. It could not even glide. This domain had countered its agility by a huge degree.
"Meg, now use 'Fissure'", said Axel.
Scizor could not fly to dodge the move. So, it was hit by the attack. The effect of 'Bug swamp' was also over and it was heavily hit by the move. The storm of the sand was so fierce that nobody could see what was happening.
Suddenly, a loud explosion came. The explosion was big and the ground was shaking from the explosion. The storm also started to die down after the explosion and finally, everyone could see the state of Scizor.
It had fainted.
The referee confirmed it and said out loud, "Scizor has fainted, Nidoking wins. Bruno is requested to take out his next Pokemon."
The crowd erupted with cheers. Almost all of them were supporting Axel and he had won this battle even though Nidoking was injured. This showed how powerful Nidoking was.
However, Nidoking also knelt down. It was already injured from the battle and it was further injured while battling Scizor. It was also on its last legs. Axel knew that he could not use Nidoking again.
"Come back Meg, you did a good job."
Bruno took another ball in their hand and threw it out.
ROOOOARRRRR
The Pokemon he chose this time was Tyrantrum. Everyone had seen it before. It looked very menacing.
"What happened Axel? Don't you have any other Pokemon to use? I thought you were going to beat me.", said Bruno with an evil smile.
The crowd also got silent after this. All of them knew that Axel's Pokemons were in the hospital and it was a miracle that Nidoking could participate. So, there was a high chance that Axel may not have another Pokemon to use.
"Haha, I knew that you only had Nidoking to use today. Come one, surrender right now. I don't have any time for you.", said Bruno.
"Axel, please bring out your next Pokemon within 10 seconds.", said the referee. If Axel could not bring out another Pokemon within 10 seconds, then he would automatically lose.
"You are a prick. You know that right?", said Axel.
"So what? You are still going to lose and I am still going to win.", said Bruno.
"You are right. All of my Pokemons that participated in the tide are still in the hospital. So, I cannot use any of them. However, I still have a surprise for you.
Others may be in the hospital but I still have my knight in shining armor. I said it before that Nidoking was my second strongest Pokemon. Now, you are going to face my Knight.
ARISE!!!!"