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"You had Pikachu prepare that ultimate attack long before Mega Beedrill even rushed over!?"
Giovanni asked with a dark expression as he watched the gradually dissipating pillar of light.
"Of course. To prevent being skewered by your terrifying Mega Beedrill, I had Pikachu keep watch on me at all times."
Since Eddie had released Pikachu, the Electric-type's attention had remained focused on its trainer—not for any particular reason other than to deliver a surprise counterattack against Mega Beedrill when it attempted its sneak attack.
"However, logically speaking, after defeating a level 89 Beedrill, some of my Pokémon should have leveled up. But the system hasn't sent a notification sound, which means Mega Beedrill hasn't fainted yet. Did it use Protect at the critical moment?"
Though Eddie felt quite proud, he didn't let his guard down and continued formulating his next strategy.
After all, he was facing Giovanni. Even without his trump card Mega Beedrill, the Team Rocket leader's strength remained unquestionably formidable.
Furthermore, Mega Beedrill appeared not to have fainted yet. Eddie guessed it had used Protect at the crucial moment. Although Protect's barrier would shatter when facing a Z-Move, it could still reduce the damage by forty-eight percent.
As long as Mega Beedrill hadn't completely fainted, it could still battle. Even if it couldn't maintain its initial peak combat power due to severe injuries, its strength wouldn't be much worse than Giovanni's other Pokémon.
"Pikachu! Return. Mewtwo, keep Mega Beedrill engaged—it won't be your match now."
After thinking for a moment, Eddie recalled the weakened Pikachu after its Z-Move, then ordered Mewtwo to battle Mega Beedrill again. Even with Giovanni's commands, the severely injured Mega Beedrill could only fight Mewtwo to a standstill at best. Without Giovanni's direct commands, it definitely wouldn't be a match for the Legendary Pokémon!
"Tch! Even after landing a hit on Mega Beedrill, you can still calmly determine that it hasn't fainted yet. Eddie, even though I've already held you in high regard, I didn't expect that after battling this long, I've realized I still underestimated you."
Giovanni had wanted to exploit Eddie's potential overconfidence and have Mega Beedrill launch another sneak attack.
Although Mega Beedrill had sustained severe damage, its speed remained unimaginably fast. No matter what, if it could eliminate Eddie in this battle, victory would belong to Giovanni.
However, Eddie hadn't been careless. Even though he'd struck Mega Beedrill perfectly, he remained certain it hadn't fainted, and he quickly dispatched Mewtwo to engage it.
With such powerful strength and wisdom, coupled with his cautious nature, this boy was truly terrifying and absolutely could not be allowed to continue growing!
Eddie's performance throughout this battle had only strengthened Giovanni's resolve to eliminate him.
"Bzzzzt!!!"
At that moment, Mega Beedrill's pained cry echoed from nearby, causing both Eddie and Giovanni to turn their attention in that direction.
It was nothing major—Mega Beedrill, which had been playing dead while preparing for a sneak attack, was directly launched into the sky by Mewtwo's Psychic.
After completing its attack, Mewtwo surged toward Mega Beedrill again and engaged it in aerial combat once more.
However, unlike before, this time Mewtwo was clearly suppressing Mega Beedrill with ease.
"Things have started over there, so, Giovanni, let's continue with the next round."
Seeing that Mewtwo could completely dominate Mega Beedrill, Eddie felt relieved and refocused his attention on Giovanni.
"Hmph! Then let's continue!"
"Nidoking, Flamethrower! Nidoqueen, Thunderbolt!"
"Aggron, Heavy Slam! Mamoswine, Blizzard!"
"Finally, Rhyperior, Stone Edge!"
Giovanni snorted coldly upon hearing this, then issued several commands in rapid succession.
Although he was an expert in Ground-type moves, his Pokémon possessed far more than just Ground-type techniques.
Nidoking spewed blazing flames at Eevee and Mega Sceptile. Nidoqueen unleashed fierce electricity at Dragonite and Greninja. Aggron charged at Mega Tyranitar. Mamoswine blew a fierce blizzard at Mega Garchomp and Mega Gengar. Finally, Rhyperior stomped the ground, and countless stone spikes instantly erupted from below, targeting Mega Charizard X, Mega Lucario, and Mega Gardevoir.
Giovanni, at this moment, was actually attacking all of Eddie's Pokémon simultaneously.
"Dugtrio, Sandstorm!"
After his Pokémon launched their assault, Giovanni also released his eighth main Pokémon, Dugtrio.
Upon receiving the command, Dugtrio burrowed straight into the ground and then circled around the battlefield between Eddie and Giovanni.
Of course, while circling, the entire battlefield became engulfed in an overwhelming sandstorm, and the ground itself transformed into flowing quicksand.
"I see. Although this appears to be an attack that doesn't distinguish between ally and enemy, Giovanni's Pokémon are mostly Ground-types. Even those that aren't Ground-type have been trained to excel at fighting in this kind of environment. So within this sandstorm, his Pokémon hold an absolute advantage."
Eddie grasped Giovanni's intention upon witnessing this, and he had to admit it was a brilliant stratagem.
It created powerful terrain for Giovanni's own Pokémon while constantly interfering with the opponent. Although Dugtrio appeared to be merely a support Pokémon creating terrain, it was still a Champion-level Pokémon. It could switch from support to assassin at any moment and continuously launch sneak attacks on Eddie himself, or simply target other Pokémon to defeat them one by one.
"As expected of you, Giovanni. This move is indeed masterful, but I can still counter it!"
Eddie was someone who had weathered many storms. Although cracking this tactic wouldn't be easy, it certainly wasn't an impossible task for him!
"Sand may be soft, but it's not difficult to solidify it!"
"Greninja, Mega Tyranitar, Vaporeon, Dragonite, use Hydro Pump!"
"Mega Garchomp, Mega Sceptile, Mega Charizard X, use Dragon Pulse!"
"Mega Gengar, use Shadow Ball! Mega Gardevoir, use Psychic!"
Hydro Pump was directed across the entire battlefield to solidify the sand and transform it into stable ground they could stand on firmly.
Dragon Pulse was aimed at Giovanni's Pokémon to block their attacks and provide cover for his other Pokémon's actions.
As for Mega Gengar and Mega Gardevoir, their task was to deal with Dugtrio. After all, it remained quite dangerous for Eddie to allow this Pokémon—which could attack him at any moment—to roam freely around the battlefield.