Among Trainer circles, even though both belong to the Kanto region's early-route birds, the Spearow line has always been far less popular than the Pidgey line.
Part of that is due to Spearow's notoriously fiery, aggressive temperament—and part of it is simply looks.
But the deeper reason is strategic.
Spearow is a Flying-type Pokémon that relies on speed and kiting, yet its stat growth leans toward close-range physical offense. That contradiction has kept it firmly in the "bottom tier" for years.
After all, most bird Pokémon are fragile.
Even powerful raptors like Pidgeot, Staraptor, Braviary, or Mandibuzz—despite their strong physiques—avoid prolonged close combat whenever possible.
So there's no need to even mention Fearow, whose average defenses hover around the low 60s.
However, in Ash's eyes, things were very different.
As long as Spearow possessed the Hidden Ability: Sniper, trained its Speed to excellence, and was equipped with moves that matched its role perfectly, it could unleash power that would make opponents panic the moment it got close.
For Flying-types built around speed and kiting, engaging in close combat was like dancing on a blade's edge—dangerous, thrilling, and one misstep from disaster.
But if the dance succeeded…
Then it would be unstoppable.
Ash was confident.
Confident that he could raise Spearow into a Fearow capable of dancing on that blade—
a Fearow so terrifying that opponents wouldn't even dare let it close the distance.
"Spearow—come out!"
After successfully capturing it, Ash immediately released Spearow again.
Most bird Pokémon yearned for open skies and hated confinement, and Ash always respected his Pokémon's preferences as much as possible.
"Chee—!"
Freed from the Poké Ball, Spearow burst with joy, flapping its wings and shooting skyward like an arrow loosed from a bow.
"Pidgeot—Ash, what's my training task for this morning?" Pidgeotto asked.
Ash hesitated for a moment.
"Pidgeotto, do you really want to train today? You could take a day off—relax a little."
Fearow had only passed away yesterday afternoon, and Ash didn't want to push Pidgeotto too hard.
"Pidgeot—No." Pidgeotto shook its head firmly.
"Because of what happened, I need to train. If I don't, it'll hurt even more."
"Chee—Ash, I want to train too!" Spearow swooped down excitedly.
"I want to evolve faster—then I can fly up to the sky and look for Mom!"
Ash sighed softly, then nodded.
"Alright. You can train—but only according to my plan. No sneaking in extra practice, understood?"
"Pidgeot—"
"Chee—!"
The two brothers nodded obediently.
"Good."
"Pidgeotto, you've already mastered Quick Attack and Agility, two of the three speed-based techniques I set for you earlier."
"Next, I'll help you learn Double Team. Today's task is to train that move."
"And Spearow—your development path is different."
"Your level is decent, but your growth in the wild was uncontrolled. There's definitely some 'inflated strength' there."
"After I finish assessing your physical stats, I'll design a comprehensive foundation-building program for you."
"But for today's morning training, you'll focus on a move."
"Focus Energy."
"This move perfectly aligns with your future combat style—it can be considered your core skill."
"Right now, your mastery of it isn't enough."
"So your task this morning is to train Focus Energy."
With that, Ash finished assigning their tasks.
"Pidgeot—"
"Chee—!"
The two Pokémon answered and immediately ran off to begin training.
…
Ash hadn't been exaggerating when he said Focus Energy was Spearow's core move.
Spearow's path was that of a speed-based physical assassin, built around:
Speed · Physical Attack · Accuracy · Critical Rate
Speed and Attack could be improved through long-term focused training.
Accuracy was covered by Keen Eye, so Ash wasn't worried there.
But critical-hit rate—that was the tricky part.
There were very few ways to raise a Pokémon's chance to land critical hits.
Focus Energy
One-time battle items that guarantee critical hits
The Berry Lansat
Certain Z-Moves that temporarily boost crit rates
But Z-Moves were far beyond Ash's current reach.
Even the Mega Stone he'd received earlier—Pidgeot's Mega Stone—was unusable for now since Pidgeotto hadn't evolved yet.
As for Lansat Berries, they were inconvenient in real battles, and one-time critical items were outright banned in many official matches.
Which meant that, when paired with Sniper, the most stable and reliable method to amplify damage was—
Focus Energy.
And since Spearow had just learned it, Ash naturally intended to prioritize its training.
…
"Whoa!! Ash, when did you catch another Pokémon?!"
A familiar voice rang out.
Gary arrived late and happened to see Ash assigning training tasks to the two bird Pokémon.
"Summer Camp ended just a month ago, and now you've got Pikachu, Frogadier, Pidgeotto, Spearow, a shiny Magikarp, and a shiny Feebas—six Pokémon already!"
Ash laughed.
"Six? Not quite."
"Add Rotom and the Charizard your grandpa left with me, and I've got eight."
"And if we count the Pokémon from my shop, I'm caring for over a hundred every day."
Gary clicked his tongue in disbelief.
"Unbelievable… As your rival, I guess I'd better work even harder."
"But still—haven't you already got a Flying-type?"
"And Pidgeotto and Spearow are natural enemies. Aren't you worried they'll fight?"
Ash smiled calmly, already anticipating the question.
The answer…
wouldn't disappoint.
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T/N:
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