"I might be the one to finish my battle the fastest tomorrow," Shida sneered.
"Little brat, if you have any self-awareness, you should just forfeit," Shida continued, his expression incredibly annoying.
"Otherwise, when I defeat you with ease, it won't look good for your reputation," he added.
Looking at Shida's punchable face, any normal person would find it hard to endure.
"Shorty, can you at least try to be decent?" Ryuichi mocked him without hesitation.
"Who are you calling a shorty?" Shida's eyes turned cold as he glared intensely at Ryuichi.
Ryuichi wasn't intimidated at all, and Buliangren joined in as well.
"Hunchback, aren't you a bit too confident in yourself?" Buliangren ridiculed him.
"You..."
Shida glared fiercely at Buliangren. However, the group wasn't scared of him at all and began to mock him one after another.
Seeing this, Shida realized he couldn't win the argument. He suppressed his inner rage and sneered, "Good, very good. It seems you all are quite confident!"
"I hope you stay this confident during tomorrow's match," he stated.
After saying that, he let out a cold snort and left the Pokémon Center.
"Thank you, guys," Eichi said gratefully.
"It's nothing," they replied.
"Eichi, you should still worry about your match tomorrow," Mumu said worriedly.
"Shida was right about one thing; your chances of winning are indeed very small," she added.
"Eichi, honestly, what do you think your win rate is?" Ryuichi asked curiously.
Eichi pondered for a moment before answering, "A thirty percent chance of winning."
"Thirty percent?"
"Thirty percent isn't low at all. Eichi, you've been hiding your strength well!" Buliangren joked.
"Alright, we should leave this place first. Everyone is staring at us," Kadokawa noted helplessly.
The group looked around and realized that people nearby were indeed watching them.
They all fled the scene, leaving the Pokémon Center quickly.
Once outside, the group went their separate ways. Eichi had his own business to attend to, so he bid them farewell.
His current location was the center of the commercial street, and his destination was the forest to the east of Indigo Plateau.
He thought as he walked. Tomorrow's match would be a six-on-six battle, which was very disadvantageous for him.
Based on past experience, students from Indigo Academy and Silver Academy usually had six Pokémon at the Gym Leader rank.
As for Eichi himself, Wimpod had almost no combat power.
Ninjask and Shedinja were only at the Experienced rank.
The only ones who could truly form a fighting force were Scizor, Heracross, and Beedrill.
Therefore, when Eichi said he had a thirty percent win rate, he was actually overstating it. He had only said that to give Ryuichi and the others confidence.
However, seeing how arrogant Shida was, Eichi didn't want to imagine the humiliation he would face if he lost tomorrow.
With Eichi's personality, he would never accept such an outcome.
Thus, he had to win tomorrow's match.
Since he wanted to win, his current strength was definitely not enough, so he needed a secret weapon.
Eichi took out a Poké Ball and thought to himself, It's all up to you tomorrow.
Shida returned to his room in the Athletes' Village. As soon as he entered, he slammed his palm heavily onto the table.
Bang!
"Those brats are too much," he growled.
"Tomorrow, I'll make you realize that talk is cheap in the face of absolute strength," Shida sneered.
He sat down in his chair, and someone suddenly came to mind.
"Katsuyoshi, enjoy your pride for a few more days. The championship will definitely be mine," he muttered.
Eichi walked through the forest. By now, the sky was completely dark.
This part of the forest was pitch black, with only the distant lights providing a faint glimmer of the path.
The dark forest was incredibly silent. It was far from human habitation, and almost no one ever came here.
As Eichi walked inside, the night appeared as bright as day under the gaze of his Bug Force.
Rustle.
A breeze blew through the branches, making a rustling sound.
Suddenly, a human voice drifted over. Eichi paused and searched for the source of the sound.
Is someone else here this late? Eichi grew alert.
He then channeled his Bug Force to mask his presence. The source of the sound was about a hundred meters away.
Eichi released Beedrill and slowly approached.
As the distance closed, he could hear the voices more clearly.
It sounded like a man saying, "Katsuyoshi, you've finally shown yourself."
Then, another male voice replied, "You Team Rocket members really are bold, coming all the way to Indigo Plateau."
Katsuyoshi? It's him. What does Team Rocket want with him? Eichi wondered.
"Heh, the world is vast, but there is nowhere Team Rocket cannot go," the Team Rocket member said.
"Katsuyoshi, you took something you shouldn't have. You won't be leaving today," he declared.
"Everyone, attack!"
Eichi looked over. In his sight, three Team Rocket members had surrounded Katsuyoshi from all directions.
In the next instant, everyone released their Pokémon.
Six figures appeared on the ground simultaneously.
Arbok, Weezing, Houndoom, Crobat, Persian, and Ariados appeared.
Eichi's eyes scanned them, and he was instantly shocked.
All six of these Pokémon were at the Gym Leader rank, and three of them were even at the peak of the Gym Leader rank.
They were exceptionally powerful.
Flamethrower, Air Slash, Haze, Poison Sting... Countless attacks flew toward Katsuyoshi. If he were hit, he would surely die.
Facing the siege of so many Pokémon, Katsuyoshi remained expressionless and unfazed. He pulled a Poké Ball from his pocket.
A figure appeared before the group of Pokémon like a bolt of lightning.
Sand appeared out of thin air, instantly swirling into a Sandstorm.
It blocked all the incoming attacks. Then, a massive, transparent Protect screen shielded Katsuyoshi.
The Pokémon's eyes glowed with a brilliant red light, and it vanished in an instant to attack the surrounding Pokémon.
So fast!!
Even with Eichi's Eye of the Bug Emperor, he could barely keep track of Sandslash's movements.
Sandslash's sharp claws glowed with a dazzling white light as it used a strike against Houndoom with incredible speed.
Bang!
Houndoom was sent flying instantly. It let out a wail and slammed heavily into a tree.
Sandslash immediately sought its next target. Within a few seconds, all six Pokémon had been knocked back.
"Damn it, the intel was wrong! How can it be this strong?!" the leader of the Team Rocket members hissed through gritted teeth.
Eichi was completely stunned. Is this really a Sandslash? This is too exaggerated.
It was too powerful. Eichi also saw Sandslash's rank.
Late stage of the Elite Four rank!??
Elite Four rank?!!
This Sandslash was actually an Elite Four rank Pokémon, and its talent grade had reached the third stage of Outstanding.
Is he cheating? I feel like he's the actual protagonist, Eichi thought.
Back on the field, the Team Rocket leader said confidently, "Fortunately, I prepared a backup plan and borrowed a Pokémon from the Boss."
He threw a Heavy Ball. Amidst a burst of white light, a massive figure appeared in front of Sandslash.
"Roar!"