"Waste! You two actually lost to a kid?"
As the two Rockets stood stunned, having just been easily defeated, a scolding voice came from behind them.
A man wearing a Rocket uniform approached, accompanied by five other Rocket members. Unlike the others, this man, who seemed to be the captain, had a red scarf tied around his neck.
"Captain!"
The two who had been defeated by Eddie lowered their heads in shame.
The Rocket search team leader didn't spare them a glance. Instead, he turned his cold gaze to Eddie.
"You look like a rookie Trainer who just debuted, but you've managed to defeat these two. However, that's where your success ends. I want you to understand the consequences of offending Team Rocket!"
The Rocket captain tossed a Poké Ball, and a huge purple cobra emerged.
Name: Arbok
Type: Poison
Ability: Shed Skin
Level: 22 (Intermediate)
"It's level 22, but it doesn't matter. We can still win!"
Eddie sized up the Arbok. He could tell it had just evolved, and he was confident he could win if he kept up with the level.
"Quack!"
Just as Eddie was about to take out the mysterious candy, Froakie let out a sharp cry, and a white light enveloped its body.
All attention shifted to the glowing Pokémon.
"This is the light of evolution! It's actually evolving now? Damn it!"
The Rocket captain had been full of confidence, but seeing Froakie evolve in front of him—and then glancing at the equally strong Charmeleon—made him anxious.
"You! Release your Pokémon to deal with him!"
"Yes!" *5
To play it safe, he immediately ordered the five Rocket members behind him to act.
They all threw out their Poké Balls, and in an instant, five more Pokémon appeared on the battlefield.
Name: Arbok
Type: Poison
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 17
Name: Zubat
Type: Poison & Flying
Ability: Inner Focus
Level: 16
Name: Koffing
Type: Poison
Ability: Levitate
Level: 17
"Two Koffings, two Zubats, and one Arbok. Except for the Machop earlier, you all use Poison-type Pokémon."
Eddie glanced at the opposing team's Pokémon, including the Nidorino from earlier. Aside from the one who had used Machop, everyone else relied on Poison-type Pokémon.
Why call yourselves Team Rocket? Why not Team Poison?
"Fro!!"
Just as Eddie was silently mocking the other team's Pokémon choices, Froakie suddenly seemed to evolve.
"Ding! Congratulations, your Froakie has evolved into Frogadier!"
Frogadier was a bit larger than Froakie, its hands and feet now longer and sharper. Eddie could tell its speed and strength had increased as well.
"Boy, what if you evolve? We have six Pokémon, and we can still take you down even after your evolution!"
The Rocket captain, seeing Froakie evolve into Frogadier and glancing at his six Pokémon, smirked with pride. He seemed sure he had the upper hand.
"Indeed, even if Froakie evolves into Frogadier, under normal circumstances, I have confidence in winning a 2 vs. 2 or 2 vs. 4 battle. But 2 vs. 6, with your level 22 Arbok, the odds of winning are slim."
Eddie quickly assessed the situation. He knew it would be difficult to win, which was why he'd initially planned to handle them one by one. But now, with Mew on his side, he felt more confident and ready for a full fight.
"It's good that you understand. If you surrender now, I might consider letting you go... Wait! What's in your hand?"
The captain of Team Rocket had intended to convince Eddie to surrender, but Eddie wasn't fooled. He knew all too well how Team Rocket operated. If he actually surrendered, they'd probably just eliminate him. Besides, where would he get his mission reward if he gave up?
"I just said that was the normal situation. What's in my hand? Well, it's what's going to change this situation."
"Charmeleon, Frogadier, eat these!"
Without hesitation, Eddie took out ten mysterious candies, holding five in each hand, and tossed them to his two Pokémon.
Charmeleon and Frogadier didn't question what they were. They immediately opened their mouths and devoured the candies.
"Ding! Charmeleon took [Rare Candy]*5! Level +5! Reached Lv22!"
"Ding! Charmeleon learned [Scary Face]!"
"Ding! Frogadier took [Rare Candy]*5! Level +5! Reached Lv21!"
"Ding! Frogadier learned [Smokescreen]!"
Name: Charmeleon
Type: Fire
Ability: Blaze (In critical moments, the power of Fire-type moves increases by 1.5 times)
Level: 22 (Intermediate)
Potential: Elite
·····
Name: Frogadier
Type: Water
Ability: Protean
Level: 21 (Intermediate)
Potential: Elite
"Ding! World Announcement! Congratulations, Kanto Region player 'Morning Sun' has become the first Intermediate Trainer in the game! The Trainer ranking list has been opened. Let us remember that player 'Morning Sun' took the lead in becoming the strongest player in the game!"
"Ding! World announcement! Congratulations, player 'Morning Sun' has received the system reward: Pokedollars x20,000, Ultra Ball x50, Technical Machine [Hydro Pump], Gold Bottle Cap x1!"
"Char!!"
" Froga!!"
Charmeleon and Frogadier's power surged, and they let out mighty roars at the six Pokémon before them.
Except for Arbok, the other five Pokémon of the Rocket team were frightened back. Even Arbok seemed on edge now.
Eddie didn't have time to focus on the announcements. Seeing the [Hydro Pump] TM, he immediately tossed it to Frogadier.
"Ding! Frogadier has learned [Hydro Pump]!"
Though Frogadier didn't grow more powerful in appearance, the Rocket team could feel the threat of his newfound strength.
"Well, let's see which side is stronger now." Eddie said to Team Rocket with a malicious grin.