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Although Crobat never said a word about it, deep down, it felt miserable watching its teammates continually catch up to—and even surpass—its strength.
There's no pain without comparison. When you realize that all your hard work still doesn't measure up to even a fraction of someone else's effort, doubt inevitably creeps in. That's the cruel reality of differing talent.
Crobat had always trained hard. But under Sato's guidance, so had everyone else.
In such circumstances, unless one had some miraculous advantage, the growth rate of a genius would naturally outpace that of an average Pokémon.
It's like a poor kid trying to overtake the rich and privileged—without an extraordinary stroke of luck, the gap can feel hopelessly wide. After all, the odds of a rich kid becoming a success are much higher than for someone born with nothing.
That was exactly Crobat's predicament. Among all of Sato's Pokémon, its talent wasn't the worst, but it certainly ranked near the bottom.
Its current mid-tier standing in the team was only thanks to being one of Sato's earliest partners—the "early bird advantage" from training the longest.
And now, at last, Sato had given it the chance to completely transform itself. Saying it wasn't excited would be a lie.
When Sato placed two precious "Mew Gene Enhancement Serum" in front of it, Crobat's usual calm and aloof demeanor nearly collapsed under sheer joy.
Without hesitation, it sliced open the two vials with its sharp wings and drank every last drop of the glowing liquid.
The next second, colorful light burst out from every inch of its body. Several radiant strands of DNA-like energy appeared, spiraling around it before merging back into its form.
Moments later, the colored chains vanished, replaced by a cocoon of shimmering light that completely enveloped Crobat.
Roughly two minutes passed before the cocoon cracked open, and Crobat emerged—its body now slightly smaller, but its aura vastly stronger than before.
With just a flap of its wings, a miniature whirlwind erupted inside the room, quickly growing into a gust that swept in all directions.
Crobat was overjoyed. It felt its entire body overflowing with power; its agility had reached a whole new level.
Even more astonishingly, the flow of energy inside its body had become smoother and faster. Moves that once demanded tremendous effort could now be performed effortlessly.
The biggest surprise came when the Flying-type and Poison-type energies—forces that had previously ignored its call—now seemed to recognize it, eagerly gathering around it as if paying their respects.
"177… that's within the gold-tier ratings range. Didn't quite max out its stats, but this is still excellent. Both serums together raised its value by an average of 17 points."
Sato smiled with satisfaction as he observed the radiant, energetic Crobat. His scan through the system confirmed what he had hoped for.
Originally, Crobat's individual value was only 143—barely qualifying for purple-tier aptitude. Now, after absorbing the two Mew Gene Enhancement Serum, its value had surged into the gold tier, making it a Pokémon of exceptional potential.
Meanwhile, Kecleon—who had been hesitating to drink its own serums—finally made up its mind after witnessing Crobat's miraculous transformation.
With a determined motion, it used its tongue to pop open the caps of its two vials and gulped down the entire contents.
Kecleon shared a bond of sympathy with Crobat. Both had once struggled near the bottom, and the two often ate and chatted together, united by mutual understanding.
It had already learned much about the Mew Gene Enhancement Serum from Crobat, though deep down, it had never truly believed that Sato possessed such miraculous items.
That changed the moment it saw Sato produce the Psychic Mark, Kyogre's Blessing Mark, and the Mew Gene Enhancement Serum— items it once thought belonged only in myths.
And when Crobat actually grew far stronger after drinking them, it could no longer deny the truth.
Born on a mysterious island, Kecleon had known since young that strength was everything. Yet, because of its mediocre aptitude, it struggled even to survive, let alone thrive among the island's fierce Pokémon.
If not for its exceptional camouflage skills—and later, its good fortune in mastering Role Play and Skill Swap, abilities that allowed it to support stronger Pokémon—it would have long been eaten like countless other weaklings.
Despite its hardships, Kecleon had never abandoned its dream of becoming strong.
It always completed the training tasks Sato assigned it with utmost seriousness—and often excelled at them.
Unfortunately, its blue-tier aptitude held it back. No matter how diligently it trained, its results were never ideal.
To this day, its most reliable moves remained Skill Swap and Role Play—the very techniques it once used to survive back on its island.
As for offensive techniques… for reasons unknown, it could never quite master them.
Even though Sato had taught it Thunderbolt, Flamethrower, and Ice Beam using TMs, it could still only manage weak sparks, small embers, and tiny ice shards.
It wasn't that Sato didn't want it to join battles—its offensive capability was simply too poor. Without proper control of its attacking moves, it had no place in direct combat.
But now, Kecleon felt a powerful premonition — that everything was about to change.
Just like Crobat, once it drank the serums, a colorful cocoon enveloped it, initiating a strange and rapid metamorphosis.
A few minutes later, the cocoon split apart and dissolved into motes of light — yet Kecleon itself was nowhere to be seen.
Then, about seven or eight seconds later, a faint zigzag of red markings appeared in the air.
Using his psychic sense, Sato knew immediately that Kecleon hadn't moved an inch — it had simply turned invisible.
What shocked him was that even the red zigzag stripe on its belly—something that was previously impossible to conceal—was now fully camouflaged.
Though the effect only lasted a short while, it was undeniably a huge breakthrough in its stealth ability.
A system scan revealed its individual value had risen to 172. Though not quite gold-tier, it had completely broken free from its blue-tier limitations and reached the ranks of high-aptitude Pokémon.
At that moment, Kecleon felt truly reborn — as if some invisible shackle within it had finally broken.
At a mere thought, its entire body turned crimson, and it spewed a small jet of flame into the air. The next instant, its color shifted to bright yellow, and a bolt of electricity as thick as a thumb crackled from its body.
The difference was clear. Its genes had been perfected.
The Mew Gene Enhancement Serum had repaired the flawed chains in its DNA. Not only had its invisibility been strengthened, but its Protean ability — which let it freely change its typing — had become faster and smoother.
Most importantly, with its enhanced aptitude, every type of elemental energy now welcomed it. Regardless of the form it assumed, energy flowed into it effortlessly, making the use of its moves far more stable and powerful.