"Mooooo—!"
"Kyaaa—!"
As the Poké Balls opened, the two Pokémon appeared upon the battlefield.
Tauros lowered its head and pawed fiercely at the ground with its forehooves. Its heavy, scorching breaths escaped its nostrils while its wide, glaring eyes burned with overwhelming fighting spirit and battle intent.
Fearow, meanwhile, was no less imposing.
As one of Ash's current first-tier ace Pokémon, Fearow possessed exceptional potential. Furthermore, over the past six months, it had permanently fused with six precious items. Thanks to that, its strength had never fallen far behind Pikachu, Greninja, or Pidgeot—occasionally even surpassing them for brief periods.
Although half a year had passed and the advantages brought by the six fused items had gradually evened out, Fearow's relentless, never-give-up spirit allowed it to keep chasing after Pikachu and the others, firmly securing its position among Ash's first-tier ace Pokémon.
The moment it emerged from its Poké Ball, Fearow stretched its long neck and vigorously flapped its wings before soaring into the skies above the battlefield in the blink of an eye.
Its sharp, arrogant gaze coupled with its hoarse, piercing cry made Fearow look incredibly fierce and untouchable. In terms of aura alone, it wasn't inferior to Tauros in the slightest.
Instantly, the atmosphere among the audience reached a fever pitch as cheers and chants erupted throughout the stadium without end.
"Ash! Ash!"
"Fearow! Fearow!"
"Fearow! Fearow!"
"..."
"..."
Seeing that both Trainers had sent out their Pokémon, the referee immediately announced the start of the battle amidst the thunderous applause from the crowd.
"The battle begins!!"
"Tauros, use Work Up!" Mr. Morkel immediately seized the initiative as soon as the match started.
Unlike the previous two battles, however, Mr. Morkel didn't order Tauros to launch a fierce offensive right from the beginning.
Although Tauros' moveset was filled almost entirely with direct offensive techniques, having learned from his previous mistakes, Mr. Morkel chose a reactive strategy this time. Rather than attacking first, he intended to patiently respond to whatever Ash did and counter accordingly.
Little did he know that his decision was precisely what Ash had hoped for.
"Fearow, continuously use Agility and maximize your Speed boosts!" Ash ordered without hesitation.
"Kyaa—!"
Both Trainers issued their commands, and their Pokémon immediately sprang into action.
Tauros threw back its head and let out a loud and powerful bellow. Under the effects of Work Up, both its Attack and Special Attack increased, causing its already imposing aura to grow even stronger.
Meanwhile, Fearow repeatedly flapped its wings and continuously used Agility. Its movements became increasingly swift and graceful with every passing second.
Unlike Fearow, however, Tauros stopped after using a single boosting move.
Taking advantage of its position in the sky—far beyond Tauros' reach—Fearow continued stacking Agility without restraint.
After using Agility three consecutive times, according to battle game mechanics, Fearow had essentially reached +6 Speed—its temporary Speed enhancements completely maxed out.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Although Fearow hadn't launched a single attack, the terrifying speed it displayed—swift as the wind and fleeting as a phantom—already placed tremendous pressure upon Mr. Morkel.
"Tauros, continue using Work Up!" Having committed himself to a reactive strategy, Mr. Morkel could only grit his teeth and order Tauros to continue stacking its own buffs.
Ash completely ignored his opponent's actions and calmly continued issuing commands to Fearow, as though watching a peerless swordsman silently gathering strength before drawing his blade.
"Fearow, continuously use Focus Energy!"
"Kyaa—!"
High above the battlefield, Fearow let out a hoarse cry before immediately following Ash's instructions and repeatedly using Focus Energy.
Truthfully, Ash didn't even need to give the command.
Fearow already knew exactly how it should fight.
Its battle style was astonishingly simple.
For Flying-type bird Pokémon—whether they followed a Special Attack path like Pidgeot or a Physical Attack path like Fearow, Skarmory, and Corviknight—Speed was unquestionably their greatest priority.
Thus, maximizing Speed at the very beginning of battle was a given.
Secondly, virtually every Flying-type bird Pokémon centered its combat style around hit-and-run tactics. Their wings were both their greatest advantage and their greatest weakness, making direct physical confrontations something they needed to avoid whenever possible.
Even Dodrio—a special bird Pokémon whose wings had completely regressed—still preferred utilizing guerilla-style hit-and-run tactics in battle.
Unless one was something as monstrous as the Galarian form of Zapdos—which had sacrificed its wings and Flying typing to become a Fighting-type Pokémon capable of kicking over heavy transport trucks with a single strike—bird Pokémon generally sought to avoid close-range brawls.
Fearow, as a Flying-type bird Pokémon specializing in Physical Attack while possessing the fatal weakness of vulnerable wings, not only needed to maximize its Speed and unwaveringly adhere to hit-and-run tactics—
—it also needed to maximize its Attack power, Critical Hit rate, and the accuracy of striking vital weaknesses in order to minimize the risks involved every time it swooped in to attack.
Beyond that, it specialized in inflicting various debuffs and utilizing powerful control moves upon its opponents.
Thus, Fearow's ideal battle plan was remarkably straightforward.
Continuously buff itself.
Continuously weaken its opponent.
Then strike.
Under normal circumstances, opponents would never allow Fearow to freely stack buffs and debuffs. Such techniques usually had to be woven carefully into the flow of battle.
However, neither Ash nor Fearow had anticipated that Mr. Morkel and Tauros would choose such an overly passive strategy.
Since their opponent was willingly giving them the opportunity to accumulate buffs, naturally, Ash and Fearow had no intention of refusing such generosity.
"Kyaaa—!"
"..."
"..."
After maximizing its Speed boosts, Fearow continued repeatedly using Focus Energy until its Critical Hit rate had likewise reached its peak.
Combined with the permanent enhancements granted by four of the six precious items it had fused with previously—
Sharp Claw
Sharp Beak
Sharp Fang
Scope Lens
—which permanently increased its Critical Hit rate, armor penetration, and weak-point targeting capabilities—
—and when paired with Fearow's Sniper Ability, which increased the damage of critical hits against vital points to a staggering 2.25 times normal damage—
Although Fearow had yet to inflict a single debuff or control effect upon Tauros, its damage output had already been raised to its absolute limit within an astonishingly short amount of time.
The hunt had only just begun.
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