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The next day, at the Rainbow City Gym, Eddie and Erika stood in the gym arena early in the morning.
"Morning Sun, I have heard about what happened yesterday. You solved so many problems for Rainbow City. In fact, this Rainbow Badge could be..."
"Erika, please don't say any more. What I did in Rainbow City came from my heart. I don't want to receive the Badge directly because of such actions."
"Of course I want the Badge, but I will never obtain it through such means. Now, let me battle you fairly and defeat you to earn the Badge!"
Eddie's words made Erika view him in a different light. The more she observed him, the more she felt that Eddie was a man with principles and ambition.
Of course, Eddie said this not because of any particular principle or ambition. He simply spoke this way to gain experience and the reward for defeating Erika.
In Eddie's eyes, every gym leader was a walking experience and reward package. In this situation, how could Eddie give up battling Erika?
To put it bluntly, Eddie just wanted experience and rewards. He was being completely honest about it!
"Very well, let's begin now, Mr. Morning Sun. Please be prepared."
Erika said something somewhat cryptic at this moment, as if to remind Eddie that the battle would not be easy.
Eddie understood what Erika was hinting at.
It was nothing more than Erika using strength beyond the prescribed regulations for gym battles. Anyway, Eddie had experienced this many times and was accustomed to it.
Besides, if Erika used some level 30 Pokemon to fight, he might—no, he would definitely complain. After all, such low-level Pokemon might not even be able to handle Eevee.
Such a battle would not only be boring but also lacking in experience points, so Eddie wouldn't be pleased about it.
Therefore, facing Erika's implicit reminder, Eddie simply showed a confident smile and signaled Erika with his eyes that it was time to begin.
"Indeed, Morning Sun is truly a person who doesn't fear difficulties and goes against the current. Such a man is really admirable."
"And he is not only powerful, helpful, and righteous... Maybe I really need to consider this..."
"No! Why should I need to consider this kind of thing?! If I miss this opportunity, it's gone! I, Erika, am not the kind of indecisive woman!"
As the gym leader of Rainbow City and the general coordinator of the campaign against Team Rocket, how could Erika have reached this position if she were indecisive?
Therefore, Erika's slightly confused expression instantly became resolute. She made up her mind. If she missed such a wonderful man, she might not be able to find another who satisfied her.
So, she planned to take the initiative, and her beautiful eyes gazed at Eddie with increasing intensity.
Ding! Because of your words and actions, Erika's favorability towards you has greatly increased! It is now at 'Like' level.
Eddie: "??????"
"What's happening?! What did I just do? Or did she inexplicably imagine something again!?"
Looking at Erika's increasingly meaningful gaze, Eddie couldn't remain calm now.
This was the first time he had met someone in the Pokemon world who was so fond of him that she actually 'liked' him. The best relationship before this was with Misty, which was 'more than friends, but less than lovers.'
This time Erika had gone even further, skipping that stage entirely and reaching the level of 'like.'
But had Eddie been flirting? He hadn't—everyone could testify to that.
He hadn't done anything, yet she inexplicably liked him? And judging from Erika's appearance, it seemed she was going to take the initiative.
Women—why were they so unpredictable?
Eddie, being a straightforward guy, could only think about it, but he was obviously flustered by Erika's gaze.
After all, although he had experienced many things, he was still somewhat inexperienced in this area.
Erika could see Eddie's nervousness, which was obviously caused by her gaze, but she felt happy at the moment.
After all, although she considered herself beautiful, according to Misty, Eddie seemed to have battled all the way from Pallet Town. He must have trained rigorously every day to possess such strength.
Erika also understood such training enthusiasts or battle maniacs. Such people were usually oblivious individuals who only focused on Pokemon. It would be harder than climbing to the sky for them to perceive romantic relationships between men and women.
So Erika had planned to take the initiative to express her feelings, but now it seemed that Eddie could obviously detect her interest, proving that he wasn't a person who only paid attention to Pokemon.
In this way, Erika felt that the difficulty of her approach was much lower, but just to be safe, it would be better to strike while the iron was hot, so...
"Morning Sun, let's begin, but if possible, after this gym battle, how about we go shopping and relax together?"
Faced with Erika's invitation that was clearly more than casual, Eddie could only smile helplessly and nod.
"Excellent! The battle rules are 4vs4, and when all four Pokemon of one side are defeated, the other side wins."
Erika saw Eddie nod in agreement and couldn't wait to start the gym battle.
"As a gym battle, I will send out my Pokemon first! Come out, Victreebel!"
Erika threw the Poke Ball gracefully, and Victreebel appeared on the field.
Name: Victreebel
Type: Grass/Poison
Level: Level 45 (Peak)
"The first one is a level 45 Pokemon. It seems this battle will not be easy."
Seeing Erika send out her Pokemon, Eddie shifted from his earlier flustered state to his battle demeanor.
Although he said it wouldn't be easy, he was eager to start the battle.
Once the battle began, he could change his mindset immediately. Such was Eddie—truly a battle enthusiast.
"I wanted to let Pupitar come out to fight, but its typing is completely disadvantaged against Grass-types, so let's use another team member who hasn't been captured long and hasn't battled yet."
"It's decided—you're up! Snorlax!"
Eddie took out the Heavy Ball and threw it forcefully, and the massive Snorlax appeared on the field.
Although this was inside the gym, it was obviously built quite spaciously to accommodate challengers using large Pokemon.
At least Snorlax could not only stand here comfortably but also move freely during battle without being too cramped.
Snorlax and Victreebel, one large and one small Pokemon, now faced each other, and the aura from both sides was evenly matched.
This also meant that their strength was similar, so the victory of the battle would depend entirely on the trainers' abilities.
The battle was about to commence.