After chatting with Misty and her three sisters for a while—discussing and planning the details of the Water-type Pokémon Beauty Contest—Ash finally hung up the call.
He had promised to help promote the event.
And more importantly—
He would personally attend and support her when the contest began.
Only then was he "allowed" to end the call.
"Magikarp and Feebas are already at LV.17… reaching LV.20 within a week shouldn't be a problem."
"Magikarp only needs to reach around LV.20 to trigger its evolutionary potential."
"As for Feebas, it doesn't have a level requirement—it evolves based on Beauty."
"Even though Beauty, like friendship and affection, isn't displayed in the system… ever since Feebas started grooming itself and growing stronger, it's become much more confident about its appearance."
"It's probably not far from evolving now."
"Maybe… with the opportunity of Misty's Water-type Pokémon Beauty Contest… Feebas could evolve straight into Milotic."
Thinking about the upcoming event in Cerulean City, Ash couldn't help but feel a sense of anticipation.
"But that's still a week away… I can set that aside for now."
"First—let's focus on improving Fearow's strength."
He glanced out the window.
The night sky stretched endlessly, dotted with faint stars. Outside, the soft chirping of insects blended with the distant scent of rice fields carried by the breeze.
Turning his gaze back inside—
Ash looked around his room.
Magikarp and Feebas floated inside the glass tank on his desk, blowing bubbles lazily.
Pikachu rolled around on the bed, clutching the Rotom Phone and playing enthusiastically.
Greninja sat upright at the desk like a diligent student, scrolling through the Pokédex on the computer.
On the windowsill—
Pidgeot and Fearow stood side by side.
Pidgeot gazed silently into the night sky, calm and composed.
Meanwhile, Fearow chattered endlessly beside it, full of restless energy.
By some strange twist of fate, these two natural rivals—species that were never meant to get along—had become brothers.
After their adoptive mother Fearow passed away…
They became each other's only family.
Their bond was unbreakable.
"Fearow, come here for a second."
Ash called out.
"Hm? What is it?"
Tilting its head in confusion, Fearow flapped its wings and flew over obediently.
Ash didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he connected his consciousness to the system inventory and retrieved the six items he had obtained earlier from Clarissa Joy and the City Arena.
"These six items are for you."
"Once you fuse all of them, your strength and level will increase dramatically."
"At that point… not only will you catch up to your brother Pidgeot—"
"You might even surpass Greninja and Pikachu."
Ash raised an eyebrow, smiling faintly.
"Well? Want to fuse them?"
The moment those words were spoken—
Before Fearow could even respond—
Pikachu, Greninja, and Pidgeot all turned their heads simultaneously.
Fearow was indeed one of Ash's core frontline Pokémon.
But unlike Pikachu, Greninja, or Pidgeot—
It hadn't been chosen for its talent.
It had been entrusted to Ash by its dying mother.
And when it first joined the team, it was already above LV.20—essentially a "transfer student" with prior experience.
Ash had spent a long time rebuilding its foundation from scratch.
Even so—
As a regional bird Pokémon, Fearow's base stats (442) were lower than Pidgeot's.
Compared to Pikachu and Greninja—both blessed with destiny and extraordinary potential—the gap was even more significant.
Though it still held its place among the first-tier core members—
Its strength lagged far behind.
And with the rise of the shiny Magikarp and Feebas—
If things continued like this—
Fearow risked being overtaken entirely.
And yet—
Ash was investing so heavily into it.
Six rare items.
Even Pikachu, the team's ace, only had a single Light Ball.
The sheer scale of this investment left Pikachu, Greninja, and Pidgeot stunned.
And when they heard Ash say that Fearow could potentially surpass them after fusion—
A sense of pressure rose in their hearts.
At the same time—
They couldn't help but feel a little envious of Fearow's luck.
More than anything—
Their respect for Ash deepened even further.
A trainer who treated his Pokémon this well…
Was truly rare.
"Gyaa!! (Surpass my Brother—and that electric rat and the cool frog too?! Then what are we waiting for—fuse them now!!)"
Fearow bounced excitedly, flapping wildly in place.
"Relax."
Ash chuckled.
"Each of these items contains powerful energy. If you fuse too many at once, your level might skyrocket—but your foundation will become unstable."
"You'd end up spending even more time fixing it later."
"And worse—some of that power would be wasted."
"So my plan is to fuse one item every one or two months."
"That way, your strength grows steadily without compromising your foundation."
"Tonight—we'll start with one."
Ash opened the box and looked at Fearow.
"Which do you want to enhance first? Your claws, your beak, or your eyesight?"
"Gyaa~ (Got it! I trust you, Ash. Let's go step by step. For now—I want to strengthen my beak.)"
After all—
A Fearow's greatest weapon…
Was its long, razor-sharp beak.
Its pride.
"Starting with the beak, huh? Alright."
"Sharp Beak increases beak strength, enhances attack power and penetration, and boosts Flying-type moves."
"Let's begin with that."
Ash took out a small, bone-like item about the length of a thumb and handed it over.
There were two ways to use held items:
Equip them—
Or fuse them.
Though Fearow had never fused an item before—
The moment it took the Sharp Beak—
It instinctively understood what to do.
Bzzzzz—
A soft green glow spread across its body.
The Sharp Beak melted into liquid and was instantly absorbed.
Most of the energy concentrated into Fearow's long, pointed beak—
Strengthening it.
A portion spread through its body—
Enhancing its foundation and potential.
And the remaining energy—
Converted directly into raw power.
Its level…began to rise.
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