Misty took the lead in launching the attack. She was eager to teach Eddie a lesson.
"Starmie, Ice Beam, now!" she commanded.
Her Starmie immediately charged and released a freezing beam of ice energy toward Eddie's Grovyle after receiving the order.
Ice-type moves were super effective against Grass-type Pokémon like Grovyle, dealing double the normal damage. This was a tactical choice on Misty's part, aiming to exploit this weakness.
Grovyle, however, was exceptionally fast. Without even waiting for Eddie's command, it instinctively used its Quick Attack to dodge the incoming Ice Beam.
"Grovyle, Quick Attack!" Eddie called out, capitalizing on the successful evasion.
Hearing its Trainer's command, Grovyle dashed toward Starmie at lightning speed. Its velocity was beyond what an ordinary Trainer could track.
"Starmie, dodge with Rapid Spin!" Misty countered.
But Misty wasn't an ordinary Trainer—she was a Gym Leader, with reflexes and battle intuition far above average. The moment Eddie launched his attack, she immediately ordered Starmie to create distance between itself and its opponent.
Grovyle's attack missed as Starmie spun away rapidly.
"This is troublesome," Eddie muttered. "Grovyle, Double Team!"
Eddie saw that Starmie's speed matched Grovyle's, so he quickly changed tactics. On the battlefield, Grovyle instantly split into multiple illusory copies of itself, filling the limited arena space.
"Double Team? I haven't even attacked yet," Misty said, confusion evident in her voice. "Isn't that move usually used to avoid attacks?"
She was puzzled by Eddie's strategy. She hadn't launched her second attack yet, so why was he already using an evasive technique?
"Your Starmie is too fast," Eddie explained with a smug smile. "I need to give Grovyle time to prepare a powerful move. If you don't attack now, you'll regret it later."
"A powerful move? Does your Grovyle even have something like that?" Misty asked skeptically.
"Yes, I trained it specifically to learn this technique," Eddie replied confidently.
"What move is it?" Misty questioned, her curiosity piqued.
"Solar Beam. It's powerful and fast enough, but it takes a little time to charge up."
"What? Your Grovyle knows Solar Beam too?!" Misty exclaimed, surprised by the revelation.
As they finished speaking, all the Grovyle copies on the field began emitting a bright glow, seemingly absorbing energy from the sunlight.
"Starmie, we can't let it succeed! Rapid Spin, now! Find the real one!" Misty commanded urgently.
She suddenly understood why Eddie had so freely shared his strategy—it was an obvious ploy. Once Grovyle started absorbing sunlight, she would have noticed anyway. Whether Eddie revealed his plan or not made little difference.
Solar Beam's strength lay in its power and incredibly fast release once charged. Its disadvantage was the required charging time, absorbing solar energy before firing. Misty needed to use this window to locate the real Grovyle among the Double Team copies and strike before the charging completed.
If Grovyle successfully charged the Solar Beam, Starmie, despite its speed, couldn't outpace the beam. Combined with the type disadvantage, Starmie would likely be knocked out in a single hit.
Misty commanded Starmie to use Rapid Spin, intending to quickly identify the real Grovyle and interrupt its charging.
Starmie spun rapidly, systematically eliminating the illusory copies one by one. The battlefield gradually cleared as Double Team copies vanished upon contact.
Many copies had been dispersed, but Starmie still hadn't found the real Grovyle. Meanwhile, the remaining Grovyle copies appeared to be nearing completion of their charge, making Misty increasingly anxious.
"Faster, Starmie!" she urged.
Hearing its Trainer's command, Starmie increased its pace, defeating more Double Team copies in quick succession.
Soon only three Grovyle remained on the field, positioned in different directions. The Solar Beam charge appeared to be just seconds from completion.
"We'll have to gamble! Starmie, attack the one on the left!" Misty called out, having no choice but to rely on luck.
"Snap!"
The sound confirmed that Starmie had made contact with a solid form—it had found the real Grovyle at the last moment!
"Excellent! Ice Beam, now!" Misty shouted excitedly.
She ordered Starmie to attack immediately. Even if there wasn't enough time to interrupt the SolarBeam, she could at least inflict heavy damage. With luck, she might even defeat Grovyle before it could launch its attack.
However...
The glow surrounding Grovyle suddenly dissipated, as if the charging had been an illusion all along.
Then came the distinctive crackling sound of electricity.
Misty realized something was wrong and looked closely at Grovyle.
The Grass-type had grabbed Starmie with one hand, cleverly positioning it so the jewel in the center of its body—the source of most of Starmie's attacks—faced away from Grovyle. This effectively prevented Starmie from targeting its opponent.
Grovyle's other hand clenched into a fist, electricity sparking around it. Without hesitation, Grovyle drove the electrified fist into Starmie's body.
Starmie struggled to escape, but Grovyle's grip was too strong. Its superior physical strength made breaking free impossible for the Water-type.
Grovyle hammered Starmie with repeated Thunder Punch attacks.
The first punch caused moderate damage.
The second punch inflicted serious harm.
The third and final punch knocked Starmie out completely.
The battle was over.
"You... you were just tricking me!" Misty exclaimed, finally understanding the deception.
Eddie hadn't been charging Solar Beam at all. The entire display was a ruse to lure Starmie close to Grovyle, allowing it to capture and defeat the Water-type with Thunder Punch—another move effective against Water Pokémon.
"All's fair in battle," Eddie replied with a satisfied smile. "Did you really believe everything I said? Misty, when battling, you should be more careful about falling for your opponent's tricks."
"Ha! You, a rookie Trainer, are trying to lecture me, a Gym Leader, about battle tactics?" Misty retorted, her voice rising with indignation.
"I thought I'd return the favor. To thank you for your hospitality, I decided to teach you something about battling too."
Misty's temper flared after hearing this. She let out a forced laugh that barely concealed her anger.
She knew Eddie's point was technically valid—in battle, opponents could use any strategy available to them. But she couldn't stand his smug expression, especially after he'd deliberately deceived her. She had considered going easy on him, and this was how he repaid her?
Misty was now genuinely angry, her competitive spirit fully ignited.