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At Cinnabar Town on Cinnabar Island, inside the Gym.
Eddie and Blaine now stood facing each other on the gym battle field.
"Ahem, Eddie, tell me—what's your current strength level?" Blaine asked.
Although Blaine had seen Eddie using an Elite-level Pokémon yesterday, he knew that was just Eddie's trump card and didn't represent his standard level.
According to his estimation, Eddie should be at the Gym Leader level now.
However, these were just guesses. He needed to confirm Eddie's specific strength now so he could choose appropriate Pokémon for their battle.
"I'm already a Gym Leader Trainer. Blaine, you can send out corresponding Pokémon to match that level. Of course, if you think it's appropriate, you could use an Elite-level Pokémon for your final one. I'd like to try battling against that," Eddie suggested.
Eddie knew that the higher the level gap, the harder it became to defeat an opponent in a cross-level battle, but since this wasn't a life-or-death match, he figured he might as well give it a try.
"No, there's a huge gap between Elite and Gym Leader levels. You'll understand once you reach Elite yourself. I'll just use a Pokémon at peak Quasi-Elite strength as my final Pokémon," Blaine replied firmly.
Blaine didn't mince words this time and directly rejected Eddie's request.
If this were a regular battle, it would be fine, but this was a gym battle. For Blaine to send out an Elite-level Pokémon against a Quasi-Elite challenger would be shameful.
Furthermore, since this was a Gym battle, even Blaine had to follow the basic rules—which basically meant sending out Pokémon that corresponded to how many Badges the challenger had earned.
Originally, Eddie only had five Badges at this point. Facing such a challenger, Gym Leaders should use Gym Leader-level Pokémon to battle.
But Eddie's situation was very special, and almost every Gym Leader in each region had to give him particular consideration.
Blaine had already chosen his Pokémon based on Eddie's actual strength, and now he was supposed to send out something even stronger? He still had to maintain some dignity.
As for what Erika had done before, well, she was a woman and it was normal for her to be a bit willful.
Besides, at that time Eddie had already demonstrated the ability to use an Peak-level Charizard to defeat Venusaur, who had just reached the Gym Leader level. So Erika had sent out Venusaur because she'd seen Eddie had that capability.
Now, Blaine didn't believe Eddie could defeat an Elite-level Pokémon with a Quasi-Elite one. After all, the gap between those two levels was much greater than the gap between an Elite-level Pokémon and a Gym Leader-level one.
Unless Eddie pulled off some trick like he did yesterday and temporarily boosted his Pokémon to Elite level, Blaine didn't think Eddie could defeat an Elite-level Pokémon.
"Emmm, suit yourself. I just wanted to try it. But when I think about it, you're right. The gap between Quasi-Elite and Elite level is indeed quite significant," Eddie said with a shrug, indicating he was fine with it.
"Alright, based on your current situation, let's have a five-versus-five battle! You know the rules, so I won't say much. Let's get started!" Blaine declared.
He immediately pulled out an appropriate Poké Ball and threw it out, sending out his first Pokémon.
"The first battle is decided! Come out, Ninetales!"
A Ninetales with cream-colored fur, bright red eyes, and nine long tails appeared on the field, looking noble and elegant.
At the same time, when it appeared on the battlefield, the sun in the sky became extremely intense and the light grew much brighter.
"Seriously? A Ninetales with the Drought Ability? That's ridiculous! Such a rare thing actually exists here," Eddie muttered, his mouth twitching.
Charizard needed a Mega Evolution into its Y-form to have that ability, but this Ninetales already possessed it naturally. Wasn't that a bit too much?
Name: Ninetales
Type: Fire
Ability: Drought (When this Pokémon appears, the weather turns to Harsh Sunlight and lasts for a while)
Level: 64 (Gym Leader level)
Potential: Elite
"This Ninetales, Blaine—you're planning to train it into one of your main team members, aren't you?" Eddie asked, looking at the information displayed in his Pokédex.
He immediately determined that this Ninetales must be a main force Blaine intended to cultivate.
"That's natural. Ninetales with the Drought Ability are incredibly rare—you have no idea just how rare they are. They're also perfectly suited for a Fire-type specialist like me, and this one has Elite-level potential. I'd be a fool not to train it into a main team member," Blaine responded.
For a Fire-type Gym Leader like him, an Ability Pokémon like this was the perfect match. How could Blaine not cultivate it?
"For an opponent like this, I need to send out an appropriate Pokémon," Eddie said, narrowing his eyes.
He'd just reviewed the moves this Ninetales possessed, and those moves were quite devious.
"Vui! Vui!" (No matter how devious it is, it can't beat me!)
At that moment, Eevee on Eddie's head barked to express its willingness to battle.
"Oh, you want to go, little one? You're feeling confident! I'm sure Blaine didn't expect that you're a Pokémon that can counter him perfectly!"
"Go ahead! The first battle is up to you, Eevee!"
After saying that, Eevee looked at Pikachu proudly, then jumped a few times and came directly onto the battlefield.
After arriving in the arena, Eevee immediately evolved into Vaporeon.
"Eevee? An Eevee that can evolve without an Evolution Stone! Could this be the one from Team Rocket?" Blaine exclaimed in surprise.
Although he hadn't been responsible for the experiments conducted on this particular Pokémon, he'd heard something about it. He didn't expect it was now with Eddie.
"Yes, that's the one. Now it's my dear friend and partner. It's very powerful, Blaine. Don't underestimate it," Eddie said with great satisfaction, looking at this adorable Pokémon who had become one of his main team members.
"Hmm, Eevee can evolve and devolve at will. Why do I get the feeling you know something about my strategy?" Blaine wondered aloud.
Blaine seemed unaware that the Pokédex could reveal an opponent's moves, and he felt as if his tactics had been seen through somehow.
"Forget it! Anyway, let's get started!" Blaine declared.
Although Blaine felt that Eddie had somehow seen through his plans, it didn't matter—the battle had already begun. He directly ordered Ninetales to launch an attack.
"Ninetales! Use Solar Beam!!"
Upon hearing this, Ninetales quickly absorbed the sun's energy and then released a thick beam of light directly toward Vaporeon.
Yes, Ninetales could learn Solar Beam, and Blaine's Ninetales had mastered this move.
This would work in perfect synergy with its Ability—as soon as it appeared on the field, it could quickly deliver a devastating blow to the opponent.
Facing this Ninetales, if an opponent sent out Water-type, Rock-type, or Ground-type Pokémon that normally resisted Fire-type moves to battle, they would likely be hit hard by Ninetales using Solar Beam, which didn't require charging time thanks to the harsh sunlight. They might even be knocked out in one or two hits.
But unfortunately for Blaine, the opponent he was facing now was Eddie, who had used his Pokédex to detect Blaine's strategy.
"Vaporeon! Transform into Leafeon! Then use Solar Beam to fire back!"
Vaporeon changed its form and transformed into Leafeon, then quickly absorbed the sun's energy. Before Ninetales' Solar Beam could strike, it also released its own Solar Beam, and the two attacks collided head-on in a beam struggle.