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Charizard X was engulfed in blazing blue flames as it charged directly toward Charizard Y with tremendous force.
Charizard Y gathered all of its remaining energy and unleashed a powerful Fire Blast at the approaching Charizard X, the attack creating a massive burst of flames that filled the battlefield.
To be completely honest, when Charizard Y faced off against Charizard X in battle, the former found itself almost completely overwhelmed by the latter, despite both Pokemon possessing similar base power levels and battle experience.
The reason for this disadvantage was quite clear when considering type matchups. Charizard X possessed Dragon and Fire typing, both of which provided excellent resistance against fire-type attacks. This meant that whenever fire-type moves struck Charizard X, the damage was significantly reduced to only one-fourth of its normal power output.
Unfortunately for Gary's strategy, even though Charizard had undergone Mega Evolution, which considerably strengthened the power of all fire-type moves through its enhanced special attack stat, this advantage was largely negated by the type resistance. The Drought ability that Charizard Y possessed changed the weather conditions to harsh sunlight, which normally would have been beneficial for fire-type attacks.
However, the sunny weather conditions also benefited Charizard X equally, since it too was a fire-type Pokemon. This meant that Charizard Y could only rely on its special attack capabilities to deal damage, but even these enhanced attacks were severely weakened by Charizard X's natural resistances.
As mentioned previously, the power of fire-type moves attacking Charizard X was reduced to merely one-fourth of their normal strength, which meant that Charizard X was certainly not inferior to Charizard Y in this particular matchup.
Additionally, Charizard X's Mega Evolution had significantly strengthened its physical attack capabilities and close-combat prowess. This enhancement was clearly demonstrated through its Tough Claws ability and boosted physical attack stat. The Flare Blitz that Charizard X was currently executing was a devastating physical contact move that took full advantage of these improvements.
So, on the battlefield at that crucial moment, Charizard X charged fearlessly toward Charizard Y while both Gary and his Pokemon watched with incredible disbelief and growing concern.
Charizard X barely suffered any meaningful damage as it powered through the Fire Blast attack with remarkable ease, completely breaking through the flames before slamming into Charizard Y with tremendous force, sending the opposing Pokemon crashing to the ground with a thunderous impact.
Under the combined effects of the Tough Claws ability, the Charcoal held item that boosted fire-type moves, and the sunny weather conditions, plus the already impressive base power of Flare Blitz, Charizard Y lost nearly half of its total HP from that single devastating attack.
Without waiting for Eddie's command, Charizard X immediately moved forward to deliver a follow-up attack. It raised its electrically charged fist and delivered a brutal Thunder Punch to the fallen Charizard Y, the electric energy crackling through the air.
Charizard Y possessed the same typing as a regular Charizard - Fire and Flying types. This meant that electric-type moves like Thunder Punch dealt super effective damage, doubling the attack's power. Combined with the damage boost from the Tough Claws ability, the electric attack's effectiveness was enhanced even further.
The result was devastating and immediate. Charizard Y instantly reverted from its Mega Evolution form back to its normal Charizard appearance. Its eyes rolled back as it spun around dizzily before completely losing consciousness and collapsing onto the battlefield.
"Ding! Charizard gained experience points! Level increased by 1, now reached level 44!"
"Ding! Greninja gained experience points! Level increased by 1, now at level 43!"
"Ding! Sceptile gained experience points! Level increased by 1, now reached level 43!"
"Ding! Gabite gained experience points! Level increased by 2, now reached level 40! Learned the move Dig!"
"Ding! Pupitar gained experience points! Level increased by 6, now reached level 37! Learned the move Stone Edge!"
"Ding! Gastly gained experience points! Level increased by 15, now reached level 20! Learned the moves Mean Look, Payback, Spite, and Curse!"
Every Pokemon on Eddie's team had leveled up except for Lucario, which was already at level 45 and the highest level on the team.
Naturally, Gabite, Pupitar, and Gastly benefited the most from defeating such a high-level opponent like the level 40 Charizard, gaining substantial experience from the victory.
At this point in their development, both Gabite and Gastly were only a few more levels away from their next evolutionary stages.
"I'm probably the only person in the entire world who could level up a Gible enough to evolve it into a Garchomp within just two or three days of training," Eddie thought to himself.
Eddie displayed a slightly smug smile, knowing that he was likely the only trainer capable of achieving such rapid Pokemon development.
From the perspective of native trainers rather than game mechanics, Dragon-type Pokemon were notoriously difficult not only to capture and tame, but also extremely challenging to train and raise properly.
While trainers like Ash and Gary might be able to evolve their starter Pokemon to their final evolutionary forms in a relatively short period of time, if they were given a Dragon-type Pokemon to raise, they would likely struggle to achieve the same results.
As for whether the Dragon-type Elite Four member Lance could accomplish the same feat as Eddie, Eddie wasn't entirely certain about that comparison.
"Come back, Charizard," Gary said quietly.
Gary's hand trembled slightly as he held the Poke Ball, but he managed to maintain his composure and recalled his defeated Pokemon back into its ball.
He now completely understood why Eddie had asked him to think carefully about this battle beforehand, and he also finally comprehended the meaning behind Eddie's mysterious smile from earlier.
"Has the gap between our abilities really become this enormous?" Gary wondered aloud.
Gary was naturally a proud individual with considerable confidence in his abilities. He had actually known deep down that he would likely lose this particular battle, especially after witnessing Eddie's impressive strength during their encounter at the Pokemon Tower.
However, he had never expected that his strongest Pokemon, even while using the powerful Mega Evolution Y form, would be completely defeated by Eddie's Charizard X in just two decisive moves. This shocking result greatly undermined his confidence and left him questioning his abilities as a trainer.
If Eddie's Pokemon could defeat his strongest team member in only two attacks, was Eddie simply too powerful, or was Gary himself too weak as a trainer?
"Hahaha, Gary, look at your pathetic expression right now. Do you think you'll never be able to defeat me for the rest of your life? Are you planning to give up and return to Pallet Town to retire from Pokemon training?" Eddie said in a deliberately sarcastic and mocking tone.
Upon hearing these harsh words, Gary was initially stunned by the unexpected verbal attack. Then anger flashed across his face as the insult registered. However, almost immediately afterward, he calmed down completely, and finally his expression showed sudden understanding and enlightenment.
Watching Gary's facial expressions change multiple times within just a few seconds, Eddie thought it was almost a shame that Gary didn't pursue a career in theatrical face-changing performances.
However, Eddie hadn't expected that Gary would recover his composure and confidence so quickly with just a single mocking but ultimately well-intentioned comment.
It had to be acknowledged that as the grandson of the renowned Professor Oak, Gary possessed exceptionally strong psychological resilience and mental fortitude.
If this had been Ash instead, he would have likely rushed forward immediately to engage in a physical confrontation with Eddie.
"Morning Sun, thank you once again," Gary said calmly.
Gary's tone was completely composed at this moment. After hearing and processing what Eddie had said, he had fully recovered and successfully adjusted his mental state back to normal.
Indeed, he was not currently Eddie's rival in terms of Pokemon training abilities, but this certainly didn't mean he would never become Eddie's equal or rival in the future.
Just yesterday, Gary had boldly declared that he would eventually defeat the Ghost-type Elite Four member Agatha. How could he possibly lose all confidence simply because of one defeat to Eddie?
He had merely been momentarily confused and discouraged. Even without Eddie's pointed advice, he probably would have figured things out and recovered his determination within a few days on his own.
Of course, the primary reason for his temporary confusion was that Eddie's victory had been so overwhelming and decisive that it genuinely shocked him.
After all, as fellow holders of Pokemon Pokedexes, Gary had actually begun his Pokemon journey and adventures earlier than Eddie had.
Despite this head start, his current strength was clearly weaker than Eddie's abilities. If the situation had been just that simple difference, it would have been manageable. But being so completely and thoroughly defeated by Eddie was something that would shock any normal person, let alone an exceptionally talented individual like Gary. The degree of shock he experienced was far greater than what ordinary people would feel in similar circumstances.
However, the reason why excellent and outstanding individuals become truly exceptional is not only because they possess superior natural abilities and talents, but also because they all maintain firm, unshakeable hearts - hearts that will never give up easily no matter the obstacles. This inner strength allows them to overcome all challenges and ultimately become truly powerful trainers.
Eddie had known that Gary would eventually wake up from his temporary discouragement and recover his confidence, but he had still chosen to offer his pointed advice at this particular moment. This wasn't only because they were friends, but also because of another important reason.
"Ding! Because of your words and actions, Gary's favorability toward you has greatly increased, and his relationship status is now 'confidant'!"
Yes, that was exactly right - it was simply to increase his favorability rating with Gary. As could be seen, this favorability level had jumped directly from 'friendly' to the much higher 'confidant' status.
How could Eddie possibly pass up such an excellent opportunity to significantly increase favorability? After all, improving relationships with other characters was always beneficial in the long run.