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"Impressive. While that obviously unusual Pikachu certainly contributed to the outcome, Eddie, your strength is undeniable."
Blaine forced out this explanation, attempting to attribute his defeat entirely to Eddie's abilities.
Well, truthfully, he had simply been too shocked by Pikachu's incredible performance—otherwise Arcanine wouldn't have been taken out so quickly.
But regardless of the circumstances, Arcanine had already been defeated. There was no point dwelling on it now. It was time to move on to the next match.
"Since you've already demonstrated this level of strength, Eddie, I won't be careless or hold back anymore."
"My third Pokémon—come out, Magmortar!"
Name: Magmortar
Type: Fire
Ability: Flame Body (When a Pokémon with this Ability is hit by a contact move, there is a 30% chance of inflicting a burn on the attacker)
Level: 67
"Magmortar, a Pokémon that only appears in later generations. It's the evolved form of Magmar."
"Its overall strength isn't inferior to Charizard's—in fact, it might even be slightly stronger. This will be a formidable opponent."
Eddie put away his Pokédex and spoke with a serious expression.
Logically speaking, he shouldn't be too surprised to see this kind of evolved Pokémon that would typically only appear in later storylines showing up ahead of schedule.
After all, nearly every major character now possessed evolution stones and items, so what was so shocking about Pokémon from later periods appearing early? There was nothing particularly surprising about it.
However, this Pokémon's base stats were genuinely impressive. In the games, its base stat total reached 540, while Charizard's base stat total was only 534 without Mega Evolution. It was indeed slightly superior to Charizard.
Although battle outcomes weren't determined solely by base stats, they could provide a rough assessment of a Pokémon's strength.
"Pikachu, return."
"Pika~~~"
Pikachu responded and dashed straight back to Eddie's side.
"Hmmm, since the opponent is quite strong, I'll let you handle this battle. You haven't really fought against a powerful enemy before, so this is the perfect opportunity!"
"Come out, Tyranitar!"
"Roar!!!"
With Tyranitar's thunderous roar, the massive Johto region pseudo-legendary stood imposingly on the battlefield.
Simultaneously, due to Tyranitar's Ability Sand Stream, a sandstorm erupted across the battlefield with Tyranitar at its center.
"So this is the Johto region's pseudo-legendary, the Walking Sandstorm—Tyranitar! Eddie, besides your Garchomp, you actually have a second pseudo-legendary?"
"I'm genuinely curious now. How do you train these Pokémon? How do you have enough time and energy to raise such a large number of powerful Pokémon?"
Blaine was visibly shocked upon seeing Tyranitar. It was already remarkable for an ordinary trainer to successfully raise a single pseudo-legendary Pokémon. After all, while pseudo-legendaries were incredibly powerful, they were notoriously difficult to train.
Eddie not only possessed the powerful and fearsome Dragon-type Garchomp, but now he had also sent out a Tyranitar whose strength rivaled Garchomp's. How had he managed to train them both?!
"Ever heard of the Exp. Share?"
"What?"
"Oh, nothing. I just meant that nothing is impossible in this world—as long as you're determined and work hard at training, none of this becomes a problem."
Eddie said this with a smile, and Blaine immediately rolled his eyes. Did Eddie really think he was some kind of fool who could be deceived so easily?
"Never mind. Whatever the case, it's good that you've grown stronger. Now then, let's begin the battle."
"However, since the Sandstorm is already active, a prolonged battle will work against me. I need to end this quickly!"
"Magmortar, use Fire Blast!"
Upon receiving the command, Magmortar immediately gathered all its energy and shot out a blazing "大"-shaped flame toward its opponent.
Blaine understood that using Fire-type moves would be ineffective against Tyranitar, but Magmortar's greatest strength lay in its Fire-type attacks, so he had no choice but to use such moves.
Although his Magmortar also knew Fighting-type moves, and attacking at close range might be able to injure Tyranitar...
But facing Tyranitar's exceptional close-combat capabilities, Blaine knew that engaging in melee would be suicide—even though Magmortar's physical stats were well-suited for close combat.
What's more, in Sandstorm weather, Rock-type Pokémon received a Special Defense boost. If Blaine opted for close combat under these conditions, it would be truly foolish.
"Leading with your ultimate move right from the start? Blaine, you recognize that a drawn-out battle is unfavorable, and you don't dare close the distance. A wise choice indeed."
"Unfortunately, Tyranitar's strength exceeds your expectations!"
"Tyranitar, use Hydro Pump!"
The moment Eddie finished speaking, Tyranitar unleashed an extremely powerful pressurized water attack directly at the incoming Fire Blast, much to the shock of both Magmortar and Blaine.
Tyranitar's Special Attack wasn't as high as Magmortar's, and using the non-STAB move Hydro Pump provided no damage bonus. Even with the type advantage, this Hydro Pump couldn't completely overpower Fire Blast.
But Eddie's goal wasn't to win the clash outright—he simply wanted to neutralize the attack.
And the outcome proceeded exactly as Eddie had anticipated. Fire Blast and Hydro Pump collided and struggled against each other. After more than ten seconds, Fire Blast successfully broke through Hydro Pump and continued toward Tyranitar.
However, the attack had already expended considerable energy. Tyranitar wasn't particularly weak to Fire-type moves anyway. Facing a weakened Fire Blast, it didn't even bother dodging. Instead, it charged forward with dominating force and dispersed the Fire Blast with its own body.
Although it sustained some damage, to Tyranitar, it felt like nothing more than a minor scratch—barely noticeable at all.
"Tch! When the levels are comparable, pseudo-legendary Pokémon are simply too powerful!"
While Blaine was somewhat shocked that Tyranitar had just used Hydro Pump, he was even more impressed by the pseudo-legendary's raw power when he saw that Tyranitar had been hit by Fire Blast—even though the move's power had been diminished—and yet appeared completely unfazed.
"The title of pseudo-legendary isn't just for show!"
"Tyranitar, demonstrate your true strength! Use Earthquake!"
"Roar!!!"
Tyranitar roared, concentrated all its energy into its massive foot, and then stomped down with tremendous force.
The entire battlefield—no, the entire gym—began to tremble.
The ground across the field started shaking violently. The energy of the earth roared beneath their feet, then erupted into several energy geysers that gradually advanced toward Magmortar.
"This is bad! If this continues, Magmortar will definitely sustain serious injuries!"
Blaine watched as the Earthquake attack was about to strike Magmortar. Knowing that dodging was likely impossible, he rapidly formulated a counterstrategy.
"In that case, let's minimize the damage! Magmortar, counter with Earthquake!"
Upon hearing the command, Magmortar immediately mimicked Tyranitar's earlier action and stomped down with its own energy-filled foot.
The energy of the earth erupted from Magmortar's position as well, instantly colliding with Tyranitar's Earthquake.
The violent collision of energies immediately produced a deafening explosion. Many residents of Cinnabar Town heard the sound, which demonstrated just how thunderous it truly was.