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Of course, no matter how much they thought about it, the trio would never dare to show their faces in front of Eddie again.
They had been thoroughly defeated before, and Eddie had given them a severe warning. If their strength wasn't adequate the next time they crossed paths, he would arrest them and send them straight to the police station to serve jail time.
Although they never wanted to encounter Eddie again, who could predict when such a meeting might occur?
Just like this recent incident - they had assumed Eddie was still in Cerulean City, but they had run into him once more.
So as a precaution, they planned to return to headquarters and intensively train their skills. They wouldn't venture out again until their strength was properly developed.
Of course, if there was a large-scale mission that required their participation, they would have no choice but to emerge from hiding.
"A bet?" Cassidy repeated, intrigued.
"The losing party has to call the winners 'Big Brother' and 'Big Sister'?" Butch added, considering the proposal.
Cassidy and Butch immediately visualized such a scenario in their minds and found the prospect genuinely exciting.
As for the knowing gleam in the trio's eyes, they simply assumed it was a psychological trick to discourage them from accepting the wager.
"Alright! We accept your bet!" Cassidy declared confidently.
"You three better head back to headquarters and practice calling us your superiors!" Butch added with equal arrogance.
"Hahaha!" both rivals laughed in unison.
After their boastful display, Cassidy and Butch strutted away with supreme confidence.
"Let's head back and wait for those two idiots to come crawling back in defeat," Jessie said with satisfaction.
"That's right. We'll go back and practice our own skills while waiting for the good news," James agreed.
"Come on, meow. Their fate is already sealed, meow..." Meowth concluded with certainty.
The Team Rocket trio sneered at Cassidy and Butch's retreating figures before turning to leave in the opposite direction.
"Butch, don't you think they seemed a little too confident? Could there really be some dangerous enemies waiting along our route?" Cassidy wondered aloud as they walked.
"Don't worry about it, Cassidy. There might be enemies ahead, but think about it logically - those three are incredibly weak, so it's natural for them to be defeated by any real threat," Butch reasoned.
"You're absolutely right. We're much stronger than they are, so there's no need to be overly concerned," Cassidy agreed.
"Exactly! And unlike them, we're true professionals..." Butch said confidently.
As he spoke, Butch patted his backpack with great pride. Inside were various high-tech gadgets and tools that served as the best insurance for completing their mission successfully.
"So, as long as we execute our plan perfectly, we can return and make them..." Cassidy began with a wicked grin.
The two rivals looked at each other and burst into laughter.
They were absolutely certain they could finally triumph over their nemeses.
And just like that, they too set off down the road of no return.
"Why is there such a large forest here?" Eddie wondered aloud, staring at the unexpected woodland ahead.
According to his mental map, there should only be small groves in this area. However, what stretched before him was an extensive forest.
This discrepancy left him somewhat confused. Could he have taken a wrong turn somewhere?
"Garde, Gardevoir!" (Over there! I sense a group of joyful Pokemon!)
Just as Eddie was about to investigate the forest, Gardevoir tugged at his sleeve, indicating that it could feel the emotions of a large group of happy Pokemon nearby.
"Happy Pokemon? And there's a whole group of them? How interesting," Eddie said, his curiosity immediately piqued. "Gardevoir, please lead me to them."
Eddie was genuinely intrigued and asked Gardevoir to guide him toward these mysteriously cheerful Pokemon.
Along the way, Eddie had also been having Gardevoir gain experience by battling wild Pokemon they encountered. Gardevoir had already reached level 35, while Venusaur and Blastoise had advanced to level 38.
The leveling pace could only be described as average, since the Pokemon in this region were generally too low-level to provide meaningful challenges for Eddie's team.
"Garde, Gardevoir!" Gardevoir responded happily.
As a Pokemon capable of sensing the emotions of both Pokemon and humans, Gardevoir was naturally drawn to positive feelings and felt uplifted by them.
Following Gardevoir's lead, they ventured deeper into the woods.
Soon, Eddie, the Eevee perched on his head, and Gardevoir who was guiding them discovered the source of all that happiness...
It was an entire community of Pikachu and Pichu, all playing together in perfect harmony.
"Pika pika! Pikachu!" the Pikachu called out cheerfully.
"Pichu! Pi pi!" the smaller Pichu responded with equal enthusiasm.
"Pichu pichu!" another group chimed in playfully.
"Pi pi chu!" they continued their joyful chorus.
This appeared to be a paradise exclusively for Pikachu and Pichu. Countless adorable creatures were constantly overwhelming Eddie and Gardevoir with their sheer cuteness.
It was almost too much to handle.
"Vui!" (I feel like my status as the cute one is being threatened!) Eevee protested from atop Eddie's head.
Well, everyone except Eevee was enchanted. The little Evolution Pokemon seemed to feel that its position as the cutest member of the team was under serious threat.
"Haha, what are you worried about? They might be cute, but you're my Pokemon. There's nothing to be concerned about," Eddie immediately noticed Eevee's distress and gently lifted it into his arms to provide comfort.
But Eddie wasn't just saying empty words. While Pikachu were undeniably adorable, their battle strength was typically quite limited.
Except for Ash's legendary Pikachu, most others weren't particularly impressive in combat.
Although this was reality rather than a game, where a Pokemon's species only determined its lower limit rather than its upper limit, training a Pikachu to elite levels would require enormous time and effort.
Otherwise, Giovanni wouldn't have been able to dominate battles using his perfectly trained Beedrill.
But reaching the level of Giovanni's Beedrill would take any normal person an incredibly long time to achieve.
What Eddie lacked most right now was time. Every minute and second was precious. Unless a Pikachu showed exceptional power like Ash's legendary partner, or had special qualities like his own Eevee, Eddie wouldn't consider adding one to his main battle roster.
If Eevee didn't possess its unique ability to evolve and devolve at will, Eddie would certainly capture it for Pokedex completion, but that would be the extent of it.
So while Eddie might catch a Pikachu and Pichu to fill out his Pokedex entries, he certainly wouldn't make them core team members...
At that moment, a particular Pikachu with an aura obviously different from all the others caught Eddie's attention.
This Pikachu had spotted Eddie and was charging directly toward him.
This wasn't a friendly greeting or charm offensive - this was a full-scale attack.
And this attack was something special...
"Pika... CHU!!!!" the Pikachu roared with surprising intensity.
Its entire body became enveloped in terrifying golden electrical current as it rushed straight toward Eddie at incredible speed.
"Whoa! That's not Wild Charge! That's the ultimate Electric-type move, Volt Tackle!" Eddie exclaimed in shock.
Eddie had previously witnessed Lt. Surge's Raichu using Wild Charge. That had been a wide-area attack skill that, while reduced in power, could hit multiple targets across an extremely broad range.
However, the technique being used by this Pikachu was not only incredibly fast but also significantly more powerful, with the attack clearly focused on a single devastating point of impact.
If this wasn't Volt Tackle, then what else could it possibly be?
Eddie suddenly realized he had stumbled upon something extraordinary. This was obviously no ordinary Pikachu, and he was immediately ready to spring into action.
He had to capture it and make it a cornerstone of his team!
But first, he needed to deal with this incoming attack.
While Eddie enjoyed giving others electric shocks occasionally, he definitely didn't want to be on the receiving end of one himself.