"Hahaha, young man, as the saying goes, we're not afraid of god-like rivals, but we're afraid of teammates who are like pigs, right? Your teammates are good. Do you have anything to say now?"
Koga looked at Eddie's dark face and immediately understood his thoughts before breaking into laughter.
As Koga laughed, the Team Rocket members behind him joined in.
After all, anyone who saw this situation would find it amusing.
When Eddie heard their laughter, his expression grew even darker.
"Why are you giving it away for free, while I'm being laughed at?" Eddie had to cover his face as he spoke to Misty.
Of course, Misty, who had fainted, couldn't respond to Eddie's words.
"Alas, I originally wanted to join forces with Misty to defeat this Rhydon before leaving, but now she's unconscious. If I leave now, it'll be like running away with my tail between my legs, which is too embarrassing," Eddie muttered to himself, clearly unhappy.
His plan had been simple: beat the Rhyhorn, then Koga would definitely use potions to make it evolve into Rhydon. Eddie was making some tentative attacks, planning to tell Misty he couldn't beat it alone so they could team up to deal with the Rhydon before leaving.
Now the first half had gone according to plan, but after Rhyhorn evolved into Rhydon, Misty was quickly defeated.
It was still possible to escape—he could carry Misty and leave. But that would be humiliating. The plan was to leave looking cool, not in shame. This was something Eddie couldn't accept.
"Forget it, I'll at least defeat this Rhydon before leaving. That way, I can save some face," Eddie decided, making plans to beat the Rhydon in front of him.
A level 42 Rhydon looked formidable, exceeding Eddie's level by more than 10. Logically, he shouldn't be able to defeat such a powerful opponent.
But Eddie was different now. He now had four main Pokémon and rich combat experience from his previous life. He could coordinate 3 to 4 Pokémon effectively. As long as the gap wasn't 20 levels, he had a chance.
Rhydon was level 42, only 11 levels higher than his Charmeleon and Frogadier. With Riolu and Grovyle's help, he estimated a 70% chance of victory.
"Young man, are you stupid? Since you're not attacking, I won't be polite. Rhydon! Another Horn Drill!" Koga shouted, growing impatient.
Eddie was still formulating his tactics when Koga decided to take the initiative. Seeing that Eddie had recovered from his dark mood and was thinking, Koga sensed something was wrong.
Rhydon roared again, the horn on its head spinning as it charged straight toward Frogadier in front of Eddie.
"Well, I just worked out my strategy and the opponent charges in—perfect timing," Eddie thought. It had only taken seconds to formulate a plan to defeat Rhydon, thanks to his past combat experience.
"Frogadier, Ice Beam! Everyone else, get ready to attack!" Eddie commanded, his expression unchanging despite facing the Horn Drill that had just defeated Misty. A slight smile even appeared at the corner of his mouth.
"I think you're angry and stupid. Have you forgotten how that girl was just knocked unconscious? Rhydon, knock him away!" Koga taunted Eddie, though wariness flashed in his eyes.
As a Quasi-Elite level trainer, Koga had good judgment. Eddie's eyes were sharp and his expression calm. Facing a powerful opponent with such confidence meant either he was a fool who overestimated himself, or a truly capable trainer.
Koga didn't think Eddie was a fool. The Rhyhorn had been easily defeated by Eddie earlier—such a person couldn't be stupid.
"But he clearly knows he can't resist my Rhydon with normal moves, so why is he planning to fight head-on?" Although Koga didn't underestimate Eddie, his behavior was confusing.
His questions were soon answered.
"Quack!" Frogadier wasn't intimidated by the aggressive Rhydon—quite the opposite. It eagerly fired an Ice Beam attack.
At the ground that Rhydon was charging across!
The ground quickly froze, creating an icy path directly in Rhydon's way.
"You're attacking the ground?! Rhydon! Stop!" Koga immediately recognized Eddie's strategy, his face showing shock as he quickly ordered Rhydon to halt.
However, Rhydon couldn't stop easily while charging at full speed. Soon, it stepped onto the frozen ground.
When you're charging at full speed and suddenly step onto ice, there's only one possible outcome.
"Huh?" Rhydon cried out in confusion. It was charging forward but suddenly not moving. Looking down, it saw the frozen ground and promptly slid down with a thud.
"Now, attack together!" Eddie had been waiting for this moment and immediately commanded all his Pokémon to strike.
Frogadier continued using Ice Beam, but this time targeting Rhydon's limbs to keep it down.
Charmeleon and Riolu rushed forward, both using Iron Tail against Rhydon—Charmeleon aiming for its face, Riolu for its abdomen.
"Rhydon! Use Stomp now! Steady yourself and fight back!" Koga wouldn't stand idle in this situation and immediately commanded his Pokémon.
Hearing this, Rhydon tried to rise and use Stomp to counter the attacks, but couldn't. Frogadier had frozen its limbs, leaving it powerless to use moves, so it fell again.
By then, Charmeleon and Riolu had reached it. Two Iron Tail attacks struck its face and abdomen, the force actually knocking it back several steps before it slipped again due to its frozen limbs.
Next came Grovyle's attack: Giga Drain. Despite the type advantage, the level difference meant Grovyle could only inflict minor damage, not seriously harm Rhydon with one move.
But it was enough. Charmeleon and Riolu's Iron Tails combined with Grovyle's Giga Drain had significantly weakened Rhydon. Even with its level advantage, no Pokémon could remain unscathed after enduring three super-effective attacks.
Now it was time for Frogadier to deliver the finishing blow.
While Grovyle was attacking, Frogadier had been charging energy. By the time Grovyle finished, Frogadier was ready.
Violent water pressure blasted Rhydon, hitting it directly. Just like when it was a Rhyhorn, it was defeated by this move after evolving into Rhydon.
It collapsed. A level 42 Rhydon, defeated by four Pokémon significantly weaker than itself.
In that moment, as everyone stared at the fallen Rhydon, the whole place fell silent.