"Crunch, crunch..."
The Poison Energy was quickly devoured by Crobat. Afterward, Crobat grinned at Ace, then plopped to the ground.
"Screech, screech, screech..."
Crobat writhed in pain on the ground. Ace stood calmly, observing. He couldn't help Crobat at all right now.
Either Crobat would successfully absorb the Poison Energy and soar to new heights, or it would fail, gradually be phased out by Ace, and ultimately become a utility Pokémon.
Crobat painfully looked toward Ace, trembling, wanting Ace to recall it.
It thought that if it returned to its Poké Ball, Ace could heal it and successfully make it stronger.
"Sorry, Crobat."
Ace knelt down, looking at Crobat's pained expression. "This time, I can't help you. You have to endure it yourself. If you can persevere, you'll become stronger. But if you fail, then from now on, I won't give you special training anymore. Just maintaining your daily exercise will be enough."
Crobat froze, even the intense pain in its body seemed insignificant now.
What made it freeze was Ace's words.
Having been with Ace for so long, how could Crobat not understand the meaning behind Ace's words?
Maintaining daily exercise, no special training—that meant it would no longer make any progress!
No progress = being surpassed = failure = elimination!
Crobat instantly understood. If it couldn't persevere on its own, then what awaited it was being removed from the main team and ultimately becoming Ace's utility Pokémon.
Or, when Ace caught new Flying-type Pokémon, it might even be removed from utility duty and end up as a Pokémon guarding the house!
Thinking of this, Crobat roared.
It would absolutely not let itself reach this point!
It was just intense pain!
How could it surrender to it!
It would never admit defeat!
It wanted to become stronger!
It would forever be Ace's ace Pokémon!
It would not fail!!!
The painful roars traveled far. The Exeggutor and Tentacruel guarding the orchard heard them and shivered simultaneously.
Ace quietly knelt, watching Crobat's struggle, while also struggling internally.
He knew very well that his Crobat was very headstrong. If he stimulated it by threatening to remove it from the main team, Crobat would definitely fight to the death.
While perseverance would increase the chances of success, if it truly failed, the blow to Crobat would be devastating.
It was possible for it to be disheartened forever or even give up on life.
Just as Ace was lost in thought, Crobat's roars gradually subsided.
"Crobat?"
Ace looked at Crobat, watching it stand up shakily, not having fainted. He knew that Crobat had succeeded!
"Crobat, eat this!"
Ace immediately took out Energy Cubes from his backpack, grabbed four, and stuffed them directly into Crobat's mouth.
Due to the Poison Energy's transformation of Crobat, its originally exhausted body was rapidly recovering with the energy boost from the Energy Cubes.
Pokémon: Crobat
Gender: Male
Level: 58
Ability: Inner Focus
Nature: Jolly
Aptitude: Excellent
Exclusive Skill: Wings of Poison
Egg Move: Steel Wing
Skills: Leech Life, Supersonic, Aerial Ace, Poison Fang...
Fold...
Crobat's information quickly appeared before Ace, and soon Ace's attention was drawn to the so-called exclusive skill.
"Exclusive Skill: A unique skill learned by Crobat after absorbing Poison Energy."
"Note: All exclusive skills are unique, cannot be copied, and cannot be taught. Skills are self-learned based on the Pokémon's characteristics and aptitude."
"Wings of Poison: Crobat can ingest toxins into its body for cultivation. The more toxins ingested, the stronger its own toxicity becomes. When Crobat flies into the air, it can scatter poisonous rain using its wings. Any opposing Pokémon touched by the poisonous rain will definitely fall into a bad poison state."
Ace stared dumbfounded at the description of Wings of Poison, and at the same time, he knew that Crobat had truly achieved a leap, soaring to great heights this time!
In the games, both poisoned and badly poisoned statuses had certain fixed percentages, and it was impossible to instantly deduct a large amount of HP.
But in reality, there was no such predictable pattern.
If the poison was too strong, it was highly possible that upon contact, the poison would attack the heart, instantly reducing HP to zero, with no so-called sustained damage.
However, achieving such a state was difficult.
After all, Pokémon were not humans; their physiques were far stronger than humans'.
But the exclusive skill Crobat awakened this time gave Ace hope.
The power of Wings of Poison was not just about inflicting a widespread badly poisoned status on opponents when it actively attacked.
It was in its passive effect!
As long as it ingested many types of toxins, Crobat's internal toxin strength would become increasingly potent, until it grew to a point where one spray of its venom, even a single drop, would immediately incapacitate its opponent, potentially even endangering their life.
Ace could guarantee that Crobat would never be removed from the main team!
As for how to enhance Crobat's toxicity?
The first thing Ace could think of was battling Poison-type Pokémon and absorbing their venom as much as possible to convert it into its own strength.
As for the second...
Ace spent 6,000 gold coins, and a Toxic Orb along with a glass bottle appeared in Ace's hand.
The toxins within the Toxic Orb were varied and unique, so feeding it to Crobat this way was the safest path.
However... one Toxic Orb cost 6,000 gold coins, and Crobat's toxicity improvement would be a long-term process. The consumption involved would be terrifyingly high!
"The last time I fed this to you, it was to help you learn Poison-type moves. Now, it's become your snack."
Ace gave a wry smile, uncorked the bottle, and handed it to Crobat.
Crobat accepted it without hesitation, opening its mouth and tilting the Toxic Orb into it.
"Crunch, crunch..."
Like chewing candy, the 6,000-gold-coin Toxic Orb was chewed and swallowed by Crobat, slowly enhancing its own toxicity.
"Do you have the energy?"
Ace looked at Crobat and asked, "Try using Wings of Poison. Let me see the effect."
Crobat nodded, its two pairs of wings flapping alternately, and quickly flew high into the sky.
After sensing its physical condition, Crobat moved slightly away from Ace's residence, then flapped its wings, unleashing Wings of Poison.
Although Ace couldn't see it too clearly due to the night, as Crobat used Wings of Poison, a sharp glint flashed in Ace's eyes.
Ace was certain that the Wings of Poison skill would be Crobat's future development direction. No other skill could compare to the developmental potential of this one.
If developed well, this single skill could encompass single-target attacks, area-of-effect attacks, and defense, all in one.
For Crobat, this was a qualitative leap!