"Alright, then let's begin."
Ash didn't hesitate in the slightest.
With a thought, he opened the system inventory and took out the Scope Lens, handing it directly to Fearow.
Pokémon naturally understood how to fuse held items.
There was no need for Ash to teach the process.
Especially not Fearow.
After all, it had already experienced an item fusion once before with the Sharp Beak.
The moment Fearow grasped the Scope Lens in its talons, a special wave of energy erupted from its body.
The item instantly dissolved into a stream of radiant energy.
Then it flowed directly into Fearow's body.
"GAAAH—!!"
Fearow's entire body trembled violently.
A hoarse but excited cry escaped its beak.
Then it closed its eyes and completely immersed itself in the fusion process.
Because of their enormous size, Gyarados and Milotic remained inside their Poké Balls.
Although they could still observe the scene through the external viewing function, neither of them reacted too strongly to Fearow's second item fusion.
As the main members of the second echelon, they had always viewed Fearow and the other first-echelon Pokémon as targets to surpass.
However, they also clearly understood the gap between them.
So while seeing Fearow's strength increase once again did create a small amount of pressure, they were ultimately happier for their teammate than anything else.
Pikachu and Greninja, however, were a different story.
As fellow members of the first echelon, the pressure they felt was much more intense.
Everyone trained hard.
And with Ash's Source Cleansing constantly improving their physiques and potential, talent differences weren't as overwhelming as they might normally be.
Before reaching true talent bottlenecks and ceilings, hard work still mattered tremendously.
Especially because Fearow's natural talent wasn't bad to begin with.
Under circumstances where everyone trained equally hard and talent differences weren't yet overwhelmingly apparent, Fearow possessed something none of them had—
A series of powerful items perfectly suited to its growth.
Every so often, it would receive another leap in strength.
A genuine shortcut.
Naturally, that made Pikachu and Greninja feel pressure.
Pikachu had previously fused its own race-exclusive treasure:
The Light Ball.
A legendary item that perfectly matched Pikachu's species.
But over time, that advantage was slowly being reduced.
Greninja had already caught up in level, reaching LV.44.
Pidgeot had reached LV.43.
Not only that, Pidgeot possessed Mega Evolution.
Although Electric-types naturally countered Flying-types, Pidgeot could use Roost to temporarily remove its Flying typing.
Combined with its aerial mobility and ability to maintain distance, it could significantly reduce Pikachu's type advantage.
As for Greninja—
The matchup was even more troublesome.
On paper, Electric-type attacks were effective against Water-types.
But Greninja possessed Protean.
Near the end of Professor Oak's Summer Camp, when Ash had signed the Divine Contract with Mew, Greninja's Protean Ability had not only been awakened through the Dream Law's power—
Mew had also enhanced the transformation-related genes within Greninja itself.
As a result, Greninja's Protean had become extraordinarily powerful.
Against such an opponent, Pikachu's type advantage was far from guaranteed.
In fact, it was entirely possible for Greninja to reverse the matchup and gain the advantage instead.
After all, Ground-type moves—
Which completely nullified Electric attacks while dealing super-effective damage in return—
Were among the many techniques Greninja had already mastered.
In short—
As the eldest member of the team, Pikachu no longer possessed the overwhelming dominance it once enjoyed over Greninja and Pidgeot.
And now Fearow was rapidly catching up as well.
Watching Fearow's body continuously strengthen as the Scope Lens merged into it, Pikachu's expression became somewhat complicated.
It was happy for its teammate.
Genuinely happy.
But at the same time, it felt an increasingly heavy sense of urgency.
...
About five minutes later, the fusion process finally concluded.
Fearow opened its eyes.
The brilliance within them was noticeably sharper than before.
Its entire aura had changed.
"System, scan Fearow's information."
Seeing Fearow's excited expression, Ash immediately issued a command.
[Ding! Scanning...]
[Ding! Scan complete.]
[Pokemon: Fearow]
Level: LV.44
Type: Normal / Flying
Nature: Bold, Mischievous
Abilities: Keen Eye, Sniper
HP: 75
Attack: 119
Defense: 75
Special Attack: 70
Special Defense: 70
Speed: 120
Overall Total: 529
Potential: Blue (54.2%)
Fused Items
Sharp Beak — Fused
Significantly increases beak strength, attack power, and piercing capability.
Permanent Effect: Flying-type moves deal +20% damage.
Scope Lens — Fused
Enhances eyesight.
Allows easier identification of enemy weaknesses and openings.
Greatly increases the likelihood of landing critical hits.
Skills (Copyable)
Mastered (1/5000)
Peck, Focus Energy, Growl, Leer, Sky Attack, Roost, Quick Attack, Agility, Double Team, Fury Attack, Mimic, Drill Run, Drill Peck
Proficient (1/1000)
None
Skilled (1/500)
Scary Face, Feather Dance
Novice (1/100)
None
…..
"After today's matches at the City Battle Arena, Fearow went from LV.41 to LV.42."
"And now, after fusing the Scope Lens, it jumped another two levels and reached LV.44."
Ash couldn't help smiling.
"Originally, Fearow was the little brother of the first echelon."
"The team's caboose."
"Now it's gone from trailing behind everyone to standing at the front."
"It has already surpassed Pidgeot in level and caught up with both Pikachu and Greninja."
Of course, level wasn't everything.
In an actual battle, Fearow still might not be stronger than Pikachu or Greninja.
But that wasn't the point.
The greatest benefit of item fusion had never been level growth.
The real value lay elsewhere.
Physical enhancement.
Stat increases.
Improved talent and potential.
Those were the truly precious rewards.
"As expected."
"Just like last time, Fearow's species stats increased by another ten points."
"And the bonus landed exactly where it mattered most."
"Attack and Speed."
Ash's smile widened further.
Those were Fearow's two core attributes.
The improvements couldn't have been more perfect.
"If the remaining four items all provide similar growth..."
"Then those four fusions alone should be enough to raise Fearow's potential by another two minor ranks."
"It might even reach Purple Potential."
Looking at the improvements displayed on the system panel, Ash felt genuinely delighted.
Although the interface still classified Fearow as Blue Potential—
That was merely a label.
A number on a screen.
Reality wasn't that simple.
Fearow was a living creature.
Not a game character.
For a living being, even a 0.1% improvement in talent was a real improvement.
A meaningful improvement.
The benefits didn't suddenly appear only after crossing into the next rank.
Every tiny increase mattered.
Every small enhancement accumulated.
And step by step—
The Fearow that had once lagged behind the rest of the team was rapidly transforming into one of Ash's strongest Pokémon.
--------------
T/N:
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