The next morning, Eddie woke early. After finishing his breakfast, he hurriedly logged online.
His four Pokémon were already awake, patiently waiting for Eddie to return. Upon seeing him, they all rushed forward to greet their trainer.
"Oh! I completely forgot about the TM Earthquake yesterday," Eddie suddenly remembered. In his haste the previous day, he hadn't used the TM on Riolu.
He quickly retrieved the disc-like technical machine and handed it to Riolu.
"Ding! Riolu learned Earthquake!"
"Charmeleon and Grovyle, you two will also be able to learn this move after you evolve today. Just wait a little longer."
"Now, let's go get our third badge." Eddie promptly stored the TM, recalled his Pokémon, and walked out of the Pokémon Center.
His rush to reach Vermilion City hadn't just been about maintaining his schedule—challenging the Gym and earning the badge was a critical objective.
Although Eddie knew that Lt. Surge was one of the three executives of Team Rocket, that wouldn't stop him from challenging the Gym Leader openly and claiming his badge.
But hadn't Koga reported Eddie to Team Rocket already?
Eddie wasn't concerned. Even if he was challenging Lt. Surge openly and in public, could the Gym Leader really risk capturing him on the spot, in front of witnesses?
Besides, Team Rocket, like any large underground organization, would inevitably suffer from communication delays.
When transmitting information, to prevent misinformation, messages would need to pass through multiple verification stages before reaching the boss.
After reviewing the intelligence, the boss would then make decisions based on its importance.
Even if Koga was the third executive of Team Rocket, protocols were protocols. No matter how significant he considered the information about Eddie, he would need several days to investigate Eddie's background and compile a detailed report before presenting it to Giovanni.
Eddie had confronted Team Rocket and been exposed to Koga just two days ago. Unless Koga had immediately distributed Eddie's portrait to every Rocket member, his identity wouldn't have been compromised so quickly.
To be fair, that would have been remarkably efficient, but Eddie was simply moving too fast. He was appearing before another Team Rocket Executive barely a day later. What could they do against him?
So, it was highly likely that Lt. Surge didn't recognize him yet. What was there to fear? Eddie could challenge the Gym openly.
However, just as Eddie was brimming with confidence and preparing to showcase another impressive battle against Lt. Surge to earn his badge...
"The Gym Leader Lt. Surge isn't here right now? So the Gym is temporarily closed?"
Eddie received this news from a staff member at the Gym entrance, and his mood instantly soured.
Another unexpected development. Why did Eddie say "another"? Because he'd faced too many surprises these past few days. It seemed appropriate to call this "another" one.
"Lt. Surge was a soldier before becoming a Gym Leader. His favorite pastime is sailing. He hasn't been seen for about a month. He's probably on a cruise ship right now..."
"I'm sorry, challenger, but Lt. Surge hasn't specified when he'll return. You might want to come back later."
The staff member offered this suggestion kindly—there was nothing they could do about the Gym Leader's personal schedule.
Eddie thanked the staff for their information and walked away, deeply disappointed.
"I had everything planned perfectly! This was the ideal time to challenge Lt. Surge, but he's not even here. I absolutely hate surprises!"
"If I miss this opportunity, Lt. Surge will definitely receive information about me eventually. While he wouldn't dare attack me in public, he'll certainly do everything possible to prevent me from earning the Thunder Badge."
Eddie sighed helplessly. His current strength wasn't bad—he was already a Advance-level Trainer, but still far from matching a Gym Leader's power.
At the very least, he couldn't reach that level in a short timeframe (a few days?). If he wanted the Thunder Badge, he'd need to wait until his team became significantly stronger.
Eddie reluctantly returned to the Pokémon Center, borrowed a tablet computer, and began checking news about each Gym Leader.
He needed to revise his travel plans. Previously, he had relied on memories from his past life, but now he needed to carefully research the current whereabouts of each Gym Leader.
This way, he wouldn't waste time traveling to challenge Gym Leaders who weren't available.
"Celadon City Gym Leader Erika is on vacation... Fuchsia City Gym Leader Koga isn't there either, though I wouldn't dare go there even if he was..."
"Saffron City Gym Leader Sabrina is present, but that's Team Rocket's headquarters. Am I going to walk straight into their trap? Definitely not."
"The remaining Gym Leaders are Blaine from Cinnabar Island—Brock mentioned losing contact with him. As for the final Gym Leader, Giovanni from Viridian City... is he even active? There's absolutely no information about him..."
Eddie stared at the screen, growing increasingly discouraged. The Gym Leaders he could safely challenge were all unavailable, while the ones he didn't dare approach yet were either too dangerous or similarly absent.
"You've got to be kidding me. Are there no suitable Gyms to challenge right now?"
"If it weren't for Misty's hidden mission forcing me to confront Team Rocket prematurely, I should have been able to challenge Sabrina or Koga by now. Plans really can't keep up with changing circumstances."
Eddie didn't regret accepting Misty's mission—confronting Team Rocket had always been inevitable. It was simply frustrating to have his careful planning disrupted.
"I can't wait here for Lt. Surge. He might receive information about me within days. Even if I challenge him openly, I can't defeat him with my current team."
"I'll head to Celadon City next, train and level up there, and wait for Erika to return to her Gym. That's the best plan for now."
Eddie wasn't one to dwell on setbacks. He quickly adjusted his itinerary.
After returning the tablet to the Pokémon Center, he prepared to leave Vermilion City immediately.
But just as he walked outside, someone tapped his shoulder from behind.
"I thought that back looked familiar. When I got closer, it really was you, Morning Sun!"
A recognizable voice sounded behind Eddie, causing him to turn around.
To his surprise, it was none other than Ash, the Trainer he had defeated on the very first day of the server's launch.