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"Ding! Eevee gained experience! Level +5, reached Level 41! Learned Take Down!"
"Ding! Gengar gained experience! Level +2, reached Level 42!"
"Ding! Snorlax gained experience! Level +1, reached Level 46!"
"Ding! Pupitar gained experience! Level +1, reached Level 46!"
"Ding! Gabite gained experience! Level +1, reached Level 46!"
The Level 48 Vileplume had provided Eddie's Pokemon with substantial experience points, but as Eddie had noted before, the higher the level, the more experience required for each subsequent level up.
Even though Eddie's four strongest Pokemon were formidable, they still hadn't gained multiple levels. Except for Eevee, the other Pokemon had only gained one or two levels at most.
The experience requirements for higher levels were enormous, which was why most ordinary trainers struggled to advance at the higher levels. Even if regular trainers trained day and night, they couldn't battle against higher-level Pokemon like Eddie could. Fighting Pokemon weaker than your own would yield significantly less experience.
Eddie also benefited from experience bonuses that gave him advantages in leveling up more quickly. However, even with these bonuses, his progression would slow down considerably when facing Pokemon of similar or higher levels.
For ordinary trainers, the situation was even more challenging. They might spend an entire month of hard training just to gain a single level, and then need another month and a half for the next level up.
The only way to speed up this process was to battle Pokemon of higher levels, but very few trainers possessed Eddie's ability to consistently win such challenging fights.
While Eddie was contemplating the difficulties of leveling up, Erika had already recalled her fainted Vileplume to its Poke Ball.
"Since Gabite relies primarily on strength and speed, I'll send out a partner who can match those qualities," Erika announced with renewed confidence. "Show them your grace, Bellossom!"
Erika seemed to have formed a new strategy as she gracefully tossed her Poke Ball. A petite and adorable Bellossom appeared on the battlefield, immediately beginning to sway gently.
Name: Bellossom
Type: Grass
Level: 49 (Peak Level)
"Bellossom, Level 49? But how can this Pokemon defeat Gabite?" Eddie wondered aloud as he assessed the information.
Although Bellossom's level was higher than Gabite's, even Vileplume with its superior level had already fallen to his Dragon-type Pokemon. Eddie's Pokemon often performed beyond what their levels might suggest, thanks to his tactical expertise and their diverse movesets that made them much stronger than typical Pokemon of similar levels.
"I mentioned that she would show her dancing," Erika replied, having witnessed the full extent of Eddie's Pokemon's capabilities. She clearly had specific intentions for choosing Bellossom this time.
"Bellossom, go ahead and dance with Gabite," Erika commanded.
As soon as Erika finished speaking, Bellossom cried out joyfully and began an elegant dance routine.
"Dancing? Is it Quiver Dance or Swords Dance? Either way, such moves won't be enough to defeat Gabite," Eddie analyzed quickly. "Gabite, use Flamethrower!"
Quiver Dance would boost Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed, while Swords Dance would greatly increase Attack power. Although Eddie didn't think Bellossom would prove to be a serious threat to Gabite, he wasn't foolish enough to allow Erika's Pokemon to complete its stat boosts before attacking.
Watching an opponent power up completely before striking was the kind of mistake only naive villains made in stories. Eddie was neither naive nor a villain, so he would naturally avoid such tactical errors.
Gabite opened its mouth and unleashed a stream of intense flames toward the dancing Bellossom.
However, something shocking happened—Gabite's flames completely missed their target.
This wasn't entirely surprising at first. Bellossom wasn't a stationary target, and it would be natural for Erika to have her Pokemon dodge incoming attacks rather than standing still to take damage.
What truly surprised Eddie, though, was that Bellossom had avoided the attack without moving at all!
"No, this is Gabite's problem. Gabite, what's wrong with you?" Eddie immediately realized something was affecting his Pokemon and looked more closely at its behavior.
He discovered that Gabite was continuously using Flamethrower against empty air, attacking nothing at all. Naturally, these attacks were completely wasted.
"Is this the Confused status condition? Could it be from Bellossom's dance?" Eddie quickly deduced what was happening as he watched Gabite's erratic behavior.
"Exactly! This dance isn't Quiver Dance or Swords Dance, but rather its egg move—Teeter Dance!" Erika revealed with satisfaction. "Morning Sun, your failure to stop Bellossom's dance at the beginning was your biggest mistake."
Erika smiled slightly, clearly proud of her successful tactical maneuver.
Teeter Dance caused the user to perform a wobbly, staggering dance that inflicted the Confused status condition on all other Pokemon on the battlefield except the user itself.
"An egg move, and specifically Teeter Dance at that. This was indeed my oversight," Eddie admitted with a grimace and a slight twitch of his mouth.
He genuinely hadn't expected Erika's Bellossom to know such a move, which was why he hadn't prioritized stopping the dance initially. Now Gabite was Confused, creating a significant problem for his strategy.
"Well then, I'll capitalize on this opportunity," Erika declared. Despite her previous two defeats, she remained cautious about Eddie's potential counterplay.
However, Eddie truly seemed helpless in this situation, as Gabite didn't know any moves that could cure the Confused status condition.
"It appears Morning Sun is at a loss, but just to be safe, I'll finish off Gabite as quickly as possible. Bellossom, use your full power—Petal Dance!"
The Grassy Terrain that Vileplume had set up earlier was still active, continuing to boost Grass-type move power by fifty percent. Petal Dance was already one of the most powerful Grass-type moves available, and with the field enhancement, its power would be truly formidable.
Petal Dance had a base power of 120 and involved scattering petals to attack the opponent. After using it for several turns, the user would also become Confused.
The reason Erika wasn't using the even more powerful Solar Beam was simply because Bellossom didn't know that move. Solar Beam wasn't a move that Bellossom could learn naturally, and in fact, even Vileplume hadn't known it originally.
Erika had worked extensively to teach Vileplume Solar Beam through special training, but this didn't mean all of her Pokemon could use such techniques. Unlike game players, real-world trainers couldn't simply use Technical Machines repeatedly. Even if such devices existed, they would typically be single-use items.
Eddie was likely the only person in the world who had access to infinitely reusable Technical Machines.
Therefore, Petal Dance represented Bellossom's strongest available attack at this moment, and its target was the helplessly Confused Gabite.
Just two dance-based moves had put Eddie in serious trouble, causing him to fall into deep contemplation about his next move.
"Dance techniques can be quite powerful indeed," Eddie mused thoughtfully.