"Grovyle! Aerial Ace!"
Grovyle let out a fierce cry and dashed toward its opponent with incredible speed.
On the other side stood a Machop. Though its eyes were filled with determination, it couldn't keep up with Grovyle's astonishing speed.
Grovyle raised its bladed arm and slashed at Machop with precision, striking before the Fighting-type Pokémon could react.
With a pained cry, Machop collapsed to the ground.
"Ding! Grovyle gained experience. Level +1. Reached LV20!"
Eddie listened to the system's electronic prompt, smiled slightly, and recalled Grovyle.
As for the fallen Machop, he had already caught one before, so there was no need to capture another.
"Machop's habitat is mainly in the mountains, so it's normal to find them on Mt. Moon. But it seems like I'm the only one encountering them."
Eddie sighed. While Machop were indeed mountain dwellers, they weren't commonly found in Mt. Moon in his past experiences. He wasn't sure why they appeared now.
After defeating a Trainer near the base of Mt. Moon, Eddie ventured deeper inside and encountered more of these Fighting-type Pokémon.
Naturally, he captured them with a grin. Though he had no plans to train them, he aimed to complete his Pokédex. And with an abundance of Poké Balls, there was no reason to hold back.
"If we're going by the world of the anime and manga rather than the games, Machop and Machoke should be common in Mt. Moon."
Eddie recalled information from his past life. He was fairly certain there were groups of Machop and Machoke in Mt. Moon, but so far, he had only found a handful of Machop and not a single Machoke.
Machop evolved into Machoke at level 28, and it was unlikely for such high-level Pokémon to appear in this region. However, Eddie's version of the game seemed different from others—maybe he would find one.
"Even if there is a Machoke, what's the big deal? Is level 28 supposed to be strong? My Charmeleon is level 28, and my Frogadier is level 27, about to reach level 28 soon.
If I run into a Machoke, I'll just take it down."
Although Eddie wanted to find a Machoke, it seemed there were no groups of them here. Perhaps, for some reason, Machop and Machoke populations were lower than expected.
"Whatever. Catching a few Machop is enough.
Wherever the Machop and Machoke groups went, it's not my concern.
Time to keep training."
With that, Eddie led his Pokémon deeper into Mt. Moon.
Not far from the entrance, a Pokémon Center stood.
He planned to rest there before noon, mainly to let his Pokémon recover.
······
Eddie left the area, unaware that someone arrived shortly after.
The newcomer wore a long black cloak, concealing most of their figure. However, their muscular build and piercing gaze remained apparent.
Looking at the fainted Machop, the figure simply tossed a Poké Ball, effortlessly capturing it.
"I've almost caught enough. The remaining Machop are probably just scattered individuals—not worth the effort."
The cloaked figure muttered to themselves, then cast a deep glance in the direction Eddie had gone before disappearing into the shadows.
······
Eddie had no idea the Machop he defeated had been taken by someone else.
Even if he knew, he probably wouldn't care.
But he had clearly overlooked something.
Of course, whether this "miss" was good or bad was hard to say.
Later, when Eddie learned the truth, he would grateful for his "missed opportunity."
But that was a story for another time. Right now, he was facing something much more exciting—something everyone would want to see.
Eddie had no plans to train Machop—not because he disliked Fighting-type Pokémon, but because he didn't see Machamp, its final evolution, as particularly strong.
It wasn't that Machamp was weak, but compared to the three starter Pokémon on his team, it simply didn't measure up.
"Machamp's muscular build and the fact that it looks like it's wearing underwear... It just feels a little weird to look at," Eddie muttered to himself.
Well, everyone could probably understand what he meant.
After all that explanation, Eddie was simply trying to say one thing:
He didn't dislike Fighting-type Pokémon—Machamp just wasn't his preference.
If he ever encountered a Fighting-type Pokémon that suited him, he wouldn't hesitate to train it as a core member of his team.
And right now, a suitable and powerful Pokémon had appeared before him.
"…This is Mt. Moon, right? Then why is this little guy here? Ugh, I'll just take the loss if I try to think too hard about it."
Eddie stared at the small blue-and-black Pokémon in front of him, his mouth twitching in disbelief.
Although he was thrilled to encounter such a powerful Pokémon with great potential, he couldn't help but question its appearance in this location.
Technically, this Pokémon's habitat included forests and caves in mountainous areas, which fit Mt. Moon's terrain.
But this was the Kanto region—why was a Pokémon from Sinnoh here?
Eddie sighed.
"Whatever, whatever."
His Charmeleon was from Kanto, his Frogadier was from Kalos, and his Grovyle was from Hoenn.
It wasn't that strange to run into a Pokémon from Sinnoh, right?
Thinking it over, Eddie decided not to dwell on it.
After all, he had encountered a wild Froakie from Kalos before.
Why question finding this Pokémon from Sinnoh now?
Shaking his head, he pulled out his Pokédex and aimed it at the unexpected visitor.
In an instant, the Pokédex displayed its information.