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Eddie had been following Team Rocket's hot air balloon and naturally witnessed the entire sequence of events.
He observed this leader, who appeared almost identical to the one from the anime, and couldn't help but chuckle with amusement.
Although the gang members behind it weren't other Squirtle but different Water-type Pokémon instead, they still projected that unmistakable delinquent atmosphere.
In the anime, he had thought this Squirtle was genuinely entertaining, and seeing it in real life made him laugh even harder.
"But since I've encountered it, there's no reason to let this opportunity pass. This is one of the three starter Pokémon, after all."
Although he already had Greninja serving as his primary Water-type Pokémon, that didn't mean Eddie would ignore rare Pokémon when they appeared. His reasoning remained the same as with Venusaur—he simply captured promising Pokémon for his main team.
"SquirtleSq? Squirtle!" (There's also a human up there? What are you staring at? Get down here!)
Just as Eddie was contemplating capturing this particular Squirtle, the Squirtle who had been enjoying its stolen lunch suddenly seemed to sense Eddie's focused gaze.
It abruptly raised its head, and upon spotting Eddie riding Garchomp while soaring through the sky above, it remained unclear whether its reaction stemmed from confidence in its own abilities or simply ignorance regarding Garchomp's overwhelming power.
It actually launched a massive and fierce water pressure attack toward Eddie, and naturally, its words carried the full delinquent atmosphere of "What are you looking at? Keep staring and I'll beat you up."
"This can't possibly be Water Gun—a Water Gun doesn't possess such tremendous power or such an extensive attack range. This Squirtle actually knows how to use Hydro Pump?"
Facing Squirtle's aggressive attack, Eddie remained completely calm, though he felt slightly surprised that this Squirtle had mastered Hydro Pump.
He leisurely retrieved his Pokédex and pointed it directly at the attacking Squirtle.
Name: Squirtle
Type: Water
Ability: Rain Dish (Recovers HP gradually when it's raining.)
Level: 36 (Advanced)
Potential: Elite
Moves: Tackle... Hydro Pump, Skull Bash, Mirror Coat
"It seems like you've had some kind of discussion with the others. Nobody wants to evolve, so you've trained to level 36 and then learned all possible moves at once?"
"And this egg move, Mirror Coat—that looks genuinely impressive."
Eddie rolled his eyes upon seeing the Elite potential rating. He suspected that this 'Boss Squirtle' and the 'Lone Wanderer' Venusaur he had just captured had somehow coordinated their development.
Not only did they both possess remarkably high Elite potential, but their levels were also identical at 36, neither had evolved, and both had learned all the moves available through leveling up simultaneously.
"Well, at least I won't need to train them from the very beginning, even though I have Exp. Share and don't lack training time."
Eddie remained relaxed about the situation, but Garchomp couldn't maintain the same casual attitude. However, it clearly didn't take Squirtle's attack seriously whatsoever.
Garchomp observed the incoming water pressure attack with a distinctly disdainful expression and directly opened its mouth to counter with Flamethrower.
Even though Water-type moves typically had advantages over Fire-type moves, the substantial difference in their power levels allowed Garchomp's flames to completely evaporate Squirtle's water pressure attack.
Not only that, but after evaporating the water attack, the flames still retained sufficient energy to continue toward Squirtle and its gang.
"SquirtleSquirt? SquirtleSquirt!" (So powerful? Everyone attack together!)
Squirtle witnessed Garchomp's overwhelming strength and immediately called upon its gang members to launch a coordinated counterattack.
In this manner, all five Pokémon worked together to use Water Gun against the approaching flames. Of course, Squirtle employed Hydro Pump for its contribution.
Through their combined efforts, the flames that threatened them were finally extinguished completely.
"Excellent! Not only are you individually strong, but you also understand how to combine your partners' strength effectively. You're quite intelligent. You're truly worthy of being a delinquent boss."
Eddie descended on Garchomp and applauded Squirtle and its entourage. Of course, the final comment was naturally meant to tease Squirtle playfully.
"Squirtle! Squirt~~~" (The enemy's too strong—time to retreat~~~)
Recognizing that the situation had turned unfavorable, Squirtle directly commanded its gang members to flee immediately.
"Is there something wrong with the translation from my Power of Viridian? How did that become 'time to retreat'..."
Eddie couldn't help but complain about the translation he had received.
However, he felt absolutely no surprise that Squirtle and its crew would attempt to escape.
After all, the Squirtle from the anime had indeed fled when it realized the situation was deteriorating. This particular Pokémon had demonstrated genuine intelligence—he had to admit that after leading for so long, it had developed real strategic thinking. Otherwise, it would have been captured by other trainers long ago.
Unfortunately for them, they had encountered Eddie today. He remained extremely cautious and understood Squirtle's personality perfectly, so he had prepared an encirclement strategy when he first landed.
Squirtle and the others retreated and discovered that a Leafeon radiating an Peak-level aura stood blocking their path, which frightened them into immediately turning left.
However, after running several steps to the left, a gym-level Sceptile observed them with complete calmness, which startled them again and sent them running directly to the right.
As a result, they found a Greninja wearing the same style of sunglasses as Squirtle standing there, projecting an even more intimidating delinquent atmosphere. Upon seeing this, Squirtle and the others ran straight back toward Eddie.
"Greninja... where exactly did you acquire those sunglasses..."
Eddie stared at Greninja wearing its sunglasses, the corners of his mouth twitching continuously.
To be completely honest, as a Water/Dark-type Greninja wearing sunglasses, that appearance was indeed more intimidating than even Squirtle's delinquent look.
But the real question was how Greninja had learned Squirtle's signature style, and where had this particular pair of sunglasses originated from...
"Gren~~"
Greninja responded calmly, indicating that these were accessories that Eddie had provided to it previously.
As for why it chose to wear them, it didn't elaborate, but Eddie's Power of Viridian informed him that Greninja felt somewhat pleased with its appearance.
"...Fine, as long as you're happy with it."
Seeing that his Pokémon was content, Eddie responded with mild exasperation.
"Squirtle, you have nowhere left to retreat. Just allow me to capture you peacefully."
Looking at Squirtle surrounded by a group of trembling Water-type Pokémon, Eddie made this declaration.
"Squirtle! Squir~~~tle !!" (I refuse to accept this! You're bullying the weak without any justification!)
Squirtle responded aggressively, as if the Pokémon that had just robbed the Team Rocket trio and launched an unprovoked attack on Eddie wasn't the same individual, now presenting itself as an innocent victim.
"...You're significantly more shameless than I am. I, Eddie, would like to declare you the most shameless Pokémon I've ever encountered."
Eddie was genuinely amused by Squirtle's audacious words, and then he had to admire that this creature was truly the ultimate delinquent.
Greninja might appear more intimidating with its sunglasses, but Squirtle's every action embodied the authentic spirit of a gang leader.
"You said you refuse to accept this, correct? Then what exactly do you propose to make this acceptable?"
Eddie also became engaged and decided to play along with this delinquent Squirtle.
Regardless of the outcome, it would definitely be captured by Eddie eventually, so it didn't matter if he entertained this delinquent boss for a while.