Whether they could believe it or not, the fact remained right before their eyes—Fearow had truly one-shotted a Tauros that was at full health and in peak condition.
As a result, not only the spectators and fans in attendance but also the Trainers, Breeders, and battle analysts watching Ash's match through the City Arena's official livestream couldn't help but repeatedly size up Fearow after recovering from their initial shock.
At this moment, they had no choice but to admit that they had underestimated Fearow's potential all along.
And they had greatly underestimated Ash's Fearow.
Fearow was simply too unpopular.
Very few Trainers in Kanto chose to capture and raise one as their main Pokémon. Furthermore, among Ash's impressive lineup of Pokémon, Fearow had always appeared rather inconspicuous—even if it was one of his first-tier ace Pokémon.
In the past, countless Trainers had discussed this very topic.
They felt that Ash capturing a "commonplace" Pokémon like Pikachu was understandable.
After all, Pikachu had been one of the very first Pokémon Ash obtained. At that time, Ash had yet to fully display his extraordinary talent and gain recognition from the League. His Move Learning Shop hadn't yet been established, and he was merely an ordinary child born into a common family in a small town.
Back then, he didn't possess the abundant resources he had today, nor could he casually acquire rare Pokémon. Besides, Pikachu was undeniably adorable, so no one found it strange that Ash had chosen to raise one.
Fearow, however, was a different story.
Many fans, Trainers, Breeders, battle analysts, and even professional team managers had all expressed the same opinion.
They believed that Ash should never have captured such an unpopular Pokémon with seemingly limited training value. Even if he did capture one, he certainly shouldn't have raised it as one of his first-tier ace Pokémon.
Throughout his previous battles, Fearow had undoubtedly displayed remarkable strength and produced several eye-catching performances.
Yet public opinion regarding both Ash and Fearow had never truly changed. Most still believed that capturing Fearow was an irrational decision—especially training it as a primary ace Pokémon.
That was...
Until this very moment.
After Fearow used Double Team to create over a thousand clones before instantly defeating a fully healthy Gym-level Tauros with a single Sky Attack, everyone's opinions finally began to change.
Although they found it difficult to believe and even harder to comprehend, they could no longer deny Fearow's overwhelming power.
After all, that had been a Tauros at full health and in peak condition.
Had it been a weakened opponent or some frail Pokémon with low defenses and poor stamina, then being instantly defeated would've been understandable.
Furthermore, Ash had mentioned during several professional interviews in the past that Fearow followed a Physical Attack and Critical Hit-focused battle style. Combined with its Sniper Ability, as long as it struck an opponent's vital point, it was capable of producing astonishing amounts of damage.
However, all of that was contingent upon two conditions—landing a critical hit and successfully striking a vital point.
Both of those factors had always been considered somewhat mysterious and luck-dependent within Pokémon battles. Consequently, the outside world had never possessed a clear understanding of exactly how terrifying Fearow's offensive power truly was.
Only now—after watching Fearow instantly defeat a Gym-level Tauros at full health—did everyone finally realize just how terrifying Ash's Fearow had become.
Whether Fearow had been fortunate enough to land a critical hit on Tauros' weak point or not was no longer important.
The undeniable truth remained that Fearow had instantly defeated an equally ranked opponent in a single strike.
And with this battle, the Fearow that had never been favored by the public had finally ascended to legendary status.
"Fearow! Fearow!"
"Fearow! Fearow!"
"Fearow! Fearow!"
"Fearow! Fearow!"
"..."
"..."
After recovering from their overwhelming shock, the spectators erupted into thunderous cheers that shook the entire stadium. Meanwhile, countless viewers watching through the livestream flooded the comments section with messages celebrating Fearow's victory.
Instantly defeating a full-health Gym-level Tauros with a single attack was simply too astonishing.
No matter what conditions or preparations had been involved beforehand, the result itself was nothing short of miraculous.
Listening to the deafening cheers from the audience, Ash couldn't help but smile sincerely.
He was genuinely happy for Fearow.
Because Fearow wasn't merely one of his Pokémon—it was also the hardest-working and most determined member of his entire team.
Just as everyone had been thinking...
Before attacking, Fearow had continuously used Focus Energy to maximize its Critical Hit rate. It had permanently fused with six precious items and possessed the Sniper Ability.
From beginning to end, Fearow had always been trained through an unconventional path that prioritized maximizing Physical Attack and Speed.
Before launching its attack, it had been allowed to completely elevate itself to its peak condition.
Sky Attack itself was already one of Flying-type's ultimate techniques, possessing a base power of 140.
Combined with:
Same-Type Attack Bonus ×1.5
Critical Hit Damage ×2
Vital Point Damage ×2.25
Sharp Beak's 20% Flying-type damage enhancement
Sharp Fang's armor penetration effects
The final damage calculation became:
140 × 1.5 × 2 × 2.25 × (1 + 20%) = 1134
An utterly terrifying damage multiplier.
Regardless of the conditions required to achieve it, Fearow's instant defeat of Tauros was an undeniable fact.
Truthfully, Fearow had been capable of accomplishing such feats even before today.
However, witnessing such a shocking spectacle unfold before their very eyes was an entirely different experience.
Fearow had become a legend through a single battle.
The audience cheered its name.
And Ash was sincerely happy for it.
These cheers...
This honor...
And this glory...
Were things Fearow had rightfully earned through countless days of hard work and relentless determination.
It deserved every bit of it.
[Ding! Congratulations, Host! Defeated LV.53 Tauros. Experience Points +2211.]
[Ding! Fearow has met the level-up requirements. Fearow has leveled up... Current Level: LV.58.]
"Tauros is unable to battle! All three of the Red-side Trainer's Pokémon have now lost their ability to fight. I hereby declare the winner of this 3v3 battle—the Blue-side Trainer, Ash!"
Almost simultaneously with the system notification ringing out beside Ash's ears, the referee officially announced the final result of tonight's match.
In the end, Ash had claimed a flawless victory in this 3v3 battle.
Although the third battle had concluded far more decisively and taken significantly less time than the previous two rounds, Fearow had accumulated enough experience to successfully level up afterward.
However, even after leveling up, Fearow had only reached LV.58, remaining one level behind Pikachu—the Child of Fortune—and Greninja, Ash's little Child of Fortune.
Ash wasn't surprised by this outcome.
After all, once the six precious items had been completely fused and the external assistance that rapidly accelerated its growth disappeared, Fearow's Blue Potential naturally began revealing its limitations.
Following the advancement of his first-tier Pokémon into the Gym-level ranks, Fearow and Pidgeot had gradually fallen slightly behind Pikachu and Greninja in terms of growth speed.
Although Blue-rank Potential was more than sufficient to support a Pokémon's growth into the ranks of a Pseudo-Elite Four or even an Elite Four-level powerhouse, the closer one approached their natural ceiling, the slower their progress inevitably became.
Growth would become increasingly difficult.
Until eventually...
No matter how willing one's heart might be, one's natural limits would become impossible to ignore.
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T/N:
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