After Professor Birch and Grovyle reminisced about the past, he handed the drink to his daughter and let her play with Grovyle. Then he guided Eddie to a quiet corner, intending to speak with him privately.
"Professor Birch, don't you have something you'd like to tell me?" Eddie knew this was his opportunity and took the initiative to address the subject.
"To be honest, I don't have much to say. The Treecko you received was indeed raised by me, that's all." Though Professor Birch was a researcher, he wasn't socially inept. He laughed openly with Eddie.
"But the Treecko I sent out three days ago has already evolved into Grovyle, and from my observation just now, it will soon evolve into Sceptile. How did you train it? This evolution speed would terrify many people! If I hadn't seen that Grovyle appears perfectly normal, I might have suspected you injected it with something dangerous."
Professor Birch rambled on about Grovyle, clearly attempting to change the subject.
"There's nothing wrong with my training methods, but that's not what we need to discuss right now," Eddie responded calmly before asking directly. "Professor Birch, don't play coy. You know exactly what I'm asking."
After all, the Professor couldn't escape from this conversation, so Eddie wanted to see how long he would continue avoiding the real topic.
"Ah, young people are so impatient. Think about how I was—"
"Yes, yes, Professor Birch, you're trying to teach me a lesson. Let's talk about what matters. By the way, as a Trainer, I'm not particularly interested in your research career."
Hearing this, Professor Birch nearly held his breath.
"...You're quite direct, aren't you? Fine. You can ask specific questions, and I'll answer selectively. I must admit, I don't know everything, but you should believe that we have no ill intentions toward you."
Professor Birch finally gave up his evasion tactics, though he remained cautious, claiming limited knowledge.
Of course, it was difficult to determine whether this was true or not. Regardless, Eddie didn't believe that Professor Birch was as uninformed as he claimed.
"I'll take your word for it. First question: who told Brock my name? And Misty's previous behavior obviously came from outside instructions."
Misty thought she had concealed it well, but when Eddie went offline that night, he had already instructed his Riolu to use Aura to monitor her.
Before the Gym match the next day, Riolu informed him that Misty had received a call during the night. The caller had asked Misty to demonstrate her strength against Morning Sun.
Eddie had been in a hurry to leave at that time, and he couldn't explain how he knew about the call without raising suspicion, so he hadn't confronted Misty about it.
"That's someone you can't know about yet. Next question." Professor Birch seemed to have anticipated this question. He answered swiftly and then gestured for Eddie to continue.
"Don't you think it's time? I've become a Advanced trainer. I've been adventuring for just four days and have achieved this level of strength. Isn't that enough?"
Eddie asked with evident frustration. This opportunity to get answers was rare.
"Your growth rate is truly remarkable. I never expected you could train Treecko to the brink of evolving into Sceptile in just a few days, but..."
Eddie knew that whenever someone said "but," the words that followed typically weren't favorable.
"No matter how rapidly you grow, until you become a truly strong trainer, we can't reveal who's taking an interest in you."
As expected, Professor Birch continued to withhold the information Eddie sought.
"You're being too vague. What level of strength defines a 'truly strong trainer'? Elite level or Champion level?"
"If you're talking about Master level, then there's nothing more to discuss."
Eddie needed to understand what benchmark they were using. If it was Master level, then he wouldn't bother with them further.
Even if he aspired to reach Elite level now, it would take time. Though this timeframe would certainly be much shorter than in his previous life, it still wasn't something he could achieve overnight.
"It's difficult to specify, but it's definitely not as high as Champion or Master level. I'd estimate it's around Elite level," Professor Birch replied, seeming somewhat uncertain himself.
"Elite level is reasonable. Next question: what's the purpose behind having Gym Leaders use Pokémon stronger than their stipulated level? Are you trying to make things difficult for me, or is this some kind of specialized training?"
Eddie asked with a smile, though his eyes remained serious.
"It's training, of course. If you don't reach a certain level of strength, it's better to continue practicing in one place." Professor Birch appeared not to notice Eddie's intense gaze as he answered.
"Though I suspect that person didn't anticipate you would still triumph despite the increased difficulty of the Gym battles. I must say, your combat awareness is quite impressive."
"Even with well-trained Pokémon, you relied on your tactical skills and the trust between you and your Pokémon to defeat stronger opponents. We have to acknowledge that you're a combat prodigy."
Professor Birch spoke with genuine admiration. Both he and whoever was behind this had been astonished by Eddie's abilities, especially when facing Brock's Mega Aerodactyl. Even they couldn't imagine how Eddie might defeat Brock.
Yet Eddie had prevailed, employing countless tactics to achieve victory despite the disadvantage.
"That's interesting. If I hadn't defeated Brock, I would have stayed to train for the Boulder Badge. Were you planning to keep me in Pewter City from the beginning?"
"Not at all. First, we had no idea you would travel so quickly and reach Pewter City in a single day. Second, we assumed you would lose because you spent your time traveling rather than training your Pokémon."
Professor Birch explained further. No one expected Eddie could journey from Pallet Town to Pewter City in one day, while simultaneously training his two Pokémon to the point of evolution.
"Then what about the Poké Ball? Why was it delivered to me immediately after I defeated Brock? Even if you watched my battle live, it would be impossible to send me a Treecko that quickly."
Eddie asked a particularly puzzling question. This was what he most wanted to know, besides the identity of the person behind everything. The timing of that day's events had been too convenient.