"That was indeed a coincidence. I sent Treecko out at noon, and it just happened to arrive in the afternoon. And as I mentioned, you travel unusually fast. You journeyed from Pallet Town to Pewter City in a single day," Professor Birch explained, rolling his eyes at Eddie. Who knows why Eddie was in such a hurry?
"Sent it out at noon? When the battle was taking place?" Eddie instantly identified the key point. He now suspected he had been noticed from the moment he entered the game, or perhaps when he entered his ID code.
"Alright, since you're intent on testing me, have you informed all the Gym Leaders in the Kanto region?" Eddie was concerned about this prospect. After all, among the Gym Leaders in Kanto, only Brock, Misty, and Erika were reasonable—the others were quite problematic.
"I don't know about that. I'm a researcher from the Hoenn region. You're in Kanto, which I'm not familiar with, and this matter isn't my responsibility."
"Then who is responsible? Professor Oak? He seems like the person who would be in charge of something like this."
Eddie immediately focused his suspicion on Professor Oak. After all, his Charmander had been given to him by Professor Oak, who had also recognized him when he first entered the game.
"Just guess," Professor Birch replied, closing his eyes.
"...Why are you closing your eyes?"
"Guess."
Eddie was annoyed by Professor Birch's demeanor. It seemed the professor knew his eyes might reveal too much, so he had simply closed them.
"Fine, I won't ask about that. My last question is: after I defeated Brock, you rewarded me with Treecko, but after I beat Misty, why didn't you offer another reward?"
"I already have the three starter Pokémon. Why not give me a Dratini, Larvitar, or Bagon instead?"
"Young man, are you dreaming?" Professor Birch opened his eyes and gave Eddie an incredulous look.
"I gave you Treecko just to help you a little in the early stages of your adventure. I won't be giving you anything else later."
"Excuse me, but you increased the difficulty of my Gym battles without providing any rewards. Do you really think I'll continue challenging Gyms in the future?"
"You seem rather fixated on rewards."
"Of course! I face extreme difficulty in every Gym battle. If you offered some incentives, I would endure it. But there's no benefit while you expect me to tackle high-difficulty challenges. Who would willingly do that?"
Eddie claimed no one would accept such terms. Without rewards, he wouldn't challenge the Gyms.
Of course, that was just what he said. For the Badge collection and the standard rewards, Eddie would definitely continue challenging Gym Leaders.
But Professor Birch didn't know that. Why not seize the opportunity to negotiate? It would be wasteful not to try.
"Are you saying that without rewards, you won't challenge Gyms?" Professor Birch was astonished. It was the first time he'd encountered someone who refused to challenge Gyms due to lack of additional incentives.
"Your goal is to train me and help me become stronger quickly, correct? But becoming stronger doesn't necessarily mean challenging Gym Leaders. And it seems you can only assess my strength by watching my Gym battles. So if I don't challenge Gyms, how will you evaluate my progress?"
Eddie had already deduced that they couldn't monitor him constantly. It was unlikely they were watching him while he trained in the wild.
"You... alright, I'll discuss this with the others. In the meantime, please continue challenging Gyms properly."
Seeing Eddie's determined attitude, Professor Birch was momentarily at a loss for words.
"Remember to send me my reward for defeating the Cerulean City Gym first. I had a tough time against that Mega Gyarados."
"...Tough time? If I recall correctly, I saw a Riolu defeat a Mega Gyarados with a single punch."
"You weren't the one battling. If I say it was difficult, then it was difficult. If you disagree, that's your problem."
Finally, Professor Birch agreed to explain the situation after returning and promised to send the rewards for the Cerulean City Gym challenge, which satisfied Eddie enough to stop his interrogation.
That was all the questions he had for now. Although many inquiries remained unanswered, he had learned enough.
While Eddie claimed to be very concerned about who had passed on his "name" and was secretly observing him, he was merely curious. His plans wouldn't change significantly.
If he could secure rich rewards after each Gym battle, what harm was there in facing increased difficulty?
Eddie ceased his questioning and engaged in casual conversation with Professor Birch. Since he had come with a mission, however, he didn't chat for long before bidding farewell to the professor and his daughter.
"By the way, Professor Birch, let me warn you that this place might be dangerous. If anything unexpected happens, stay in your room and don't venture out."
Leaving Professor Birch puzzled by this cryptic warning, Eddie recalled Grovyle and departed.
"Morning Sun, where did you go? You took so long to arrive," Ash asked in confusion when Eddie finally reached the Trainers' battle platform. Ash had just finished registering for the competition.
"I ran into an acquaintance and chatted for a while. Have you signed up for the tournament?"
"Yes, and registration just closed. You can't enter now. I was hoping for another battle with you."
Ash seemed quite disappointed. Although they had battled just a few days ago, he believed his strength had improved considerably and naturally wanted to challenge Eddie again.
"At a time like this, you're still thinking about battling me? You're truly ambitious. But I wasn't planning to participate anyway. Go ahead and compete—as for our battle, we'll have another opportunity."
Eddie felt somewhat touched by Ash's enthusiasm, but he genuinely had no interest in this small arena.
The Trainers here were at extreme ends of the spectrum—the strong ones were seasoned Trainers with years of experience, while the weak ones were mostly privileged heirs with little skill.
Such an environment was chaotic, and Eddie had no desire to waste time defeating inexperienced opponents.
After all, bullying novices wasn't something he typically did unless there was a substantial reward involved.
Besides, he had four Pokémon at level 35, and three of them were on the verge of evolving. If they evolved in such a public setting, it would undoubtedly draw everyone's attention.
He and Ash had come to investigate the Pokémon theft incident. Attracting attention would complicate their mission.
Although he knew who was behind the thefts, he didn't know where the stolen Pokémon were being kept. To resolve this incident, he not only needed to defeat the enemy but also rescue the stolen Pokémon.
The enemy was formidable, so Eddie had to proceed cautiously.
As for Ash, who had already registered for the competition, Eddie decided to use him as a decoy to attract attention.
While Ash drew the enemy's focus, Eddie would take the opportunity to investigate.
So as Ash participated in the tournament, Eddie wandered around the casino, searching for any secret doors or hidden passages.
Eventually, he came across a betting area where people were wagering on the outcomes of Trainer battles. He noticed that wealthy individuals and businessmen who knew little about Trainers were betting against Ash.
Eddie suddenly realized this situation was more complex than it appeared.
Without hesitation, he approached the table, slapped down 100,000 Pokédollars, and confidently declared:
"I bet on Ash to win!"
As for reconnaissance? How could that be as important as winning money? He'd worry about that later. (With a mischievous grin)