Chapter 27: Evolution! Rocket Sparrow!!!

At dusk,

Having finished training, Ash and his group headed all the way toward Sandalwood City, where the Sandalwood Dojo is located,

After a day,

Ash still missed the trio a bit; moreover, he indeed needed the trio's help to carry out the next mission, to enhance Little Arrow Sparrow's trait level.

Of course, how could Ash not run into the Rocket Team?

The trio had already arrived early at the ambush point on the path Ash must take, which could also be considered another kind of mutual rush,

Having suffered three consecutive failures before, this time they planned to change their style and give Ash a nostalgia strike.

First, in the middle of the road on the path Ash must take, they dug a pit about two meters wide, then placed a row of sharpened bamboo at the bottom, covered the entrance with a layer of branches and leaves, sprinkled a thin layer of soil on top, and carefully gave the soil a camouflage layer.

Even if one looked carefully, it was hard to spot any flaw.

At first, the trio did an especially perfect job, crouching in the grass a hundred meters away, holding binoculars to watch and wait for good news.

As a result, when Ash's party was still about over a thousand meters away,

Wuzang suddenly felt a twitch in some nerve for no reason, and, uneasy, proposed to check the trap.

What's more outrageous, Xiaoerlang agreed as well, and the sole strong opponent, Meowmeow, was subdued on the spot by Wuzang using force.

The trio ran all the way to the scene to search,

As a result, because the road was too wide, plus they forgot the exact spot, and the trio's overly perfect camouflage prevented them from finding it,

The three goofs got worked up, obsessively searching for the trap in the middle of the road,

Even when Ash arrived beside them, they still didn't notice,

Even Serena enthusiastically asked them what they were looking for,

The three fellows answered,

Hearing that they were looking for a trap, Serena, Clemont, and Yurie all stared at each other, unable to figure out what the trio was up to.

However, one thing: by now Clemont and Yurie had come to believe,

What Ash said was correct; these are three good people,

If they were truly thorough villains, how could they tell their ambush target that there is a trap here?

They are definitely good people, no mistake.

Immediately afterward, the trio saw Ash's warm-hearted side,

Ash, who had long used aura to see through everything, enthusiastically pointed out the direction of the trap,

The trio, in unison, swooped over to check……

They even didn't forget to politely thank Ash,

"Thank you!"

"By the way, who are you?"

"I'm the little devil cat!!!"

Speaking with a voice mixed with doubt and shock, the trio was successfully ambushed by their own trap,

Xiaoerlang took the lead, lunging forward first, with his limbs braced against the cave's rock walls,

His chest was only ten centimeters above the bamboo spike trap below,

On his back, Wuzang and Meowmeow stacked like a human pyramid, adding to the difficulty.

From within the trap pit immediately came Xiaoerlang's sweaty-foreheaded shout, "Come down quickly, Wuzang! You're so heavy!"

"What? You dare question the weight of the beautiful actress?"

"You guys, stop arguing; instead, think about how to get help from the little devil cat, meow!"

"Sonas~"

"Sure Old Man, don't come out!!!"

The three goofs finally managed to escape with difficulty from the trap they themselves had set,

After coming out, seeing Ash and the Little Arrow Sparrow waiting ahead for a long time, Wuzang and Xiaoerlang couldn't help but look astonished,

"What the heck?"

"Welcome, little devil cat; it's true that heaven has a road you don't take, hell has no door you barge in; we'll take Pikachu and Mewtwo."

"Come on, Alright Squid, use Tooth for Tooth!"

"Sure Old Man, Double Payback!"

Ash: "?"

"Although I don't know where you got your confidence, I'll take this victory, Little Arrow Sparrow, use Quick Return against Alright Squid!"

Alright Squid is Dark+Psychic type,

Being four times weak to Bug type, it's perfect that Little Arrow Sparrow learned Quick Return, naturally not letting such a huge type advantage go to waste.

Alright Squid emitted a black glow and flew forward,

Opposite him, Ash's Little Arrow Sparrow was surrounded by a green flowing light,

One black, one green, the two figures converged,

Bang!

With a loud bang, Alright Squid was directly knocked flying, landing on the ground with its eyes spinning in circles.

One-hit KO!

As for Sure Old Man, who used Double Payback, Ash did not choose to attack; he could only watch helplessly.

【Mission completed……Enhancing……Enhancement complete】

Accompanying the trait enhancement, the changes to Little Arrow Sparrow went far beyond this,

A dazzling yet soft white light rose from the little arrow sparrow's body,

"Evolution?!"

Serena, Clemont, and even Musashi and Xiao Cilang across from them exchanged glances, all seeing astonishment in each other's eyes.

Ash wasn't really surprised,

after all, he had long known that Little Arrow Sparrow had reached level 16,

and after an afternoon of fierce battling, he knew Little Arrow Sparrow was on the brink of evolution.

only missing Xiao Cilang's finishing kick,

Within the white light, Little Arrow Sparrow's 0.3‑meter body gradually elongated to a height of 0.7 meters,

meeting the requirement to carry a child in flight,

In Ash's eyes, the data panel on Little Arrow Sparrow also underwent a massive change.

Rocket Sparrow

【Pokémon】: Rocket Sparrow (♂)

【Type】: Fire+Flying

【Ability】: Flame Body 1 (Flame Body, contact has a 45% chance to burn the opponent; Fire‑type move power increased to 1.15×)

【Level】: lv17

【Moves】: Tackle, Screech, Electro Flash, Peck, Quick Move, Roost, Shadow Clone, Whirlwind Blade, Spark, Sunny Day, Rapid Return, Charge Flame Assault, Feint Attack,

【Held Item】: Sharp Beak (Flying‑type move power +20%)

【IV】: 6v

【Base Stats】: Total 382, HP 62, Attack 73, Defense 55, Sp. Atk 56, Sp. Def 52, Speed 84,

…

【Can be enhanced】

【Ability】: Flame Body 2 (Flame Body, contact 70% chance to burn; Fire‑type move power ×1.3)

After evolution, Rocket Sparrow's type changes from 【Normal+Flying】 to 【Fire+Flying】.

Fire becomes its primary type, gaining a 1.5× boost,

and its ability also changes,

shifting from a sturdy chest muscle's Defense boost to Flame Body's burning effect, and also gaining an effect similar to Blazing Fire that raises Fire‑type move power.

plus the increase in Base Stats!

With threefold stacking, the Rocket Sparrow's Fire‑type move power becomes terrifyingly high.

Ash can hardly wait, eager to go to Baitan Gym to challenge Violet!

Speaking of which,

aside from the three stacked key changes mentioned above,

the Rocket Sparrow also has an unexpected bonus,

in terms of moves, evolution also granted the Rocket Sparrow instant mastery of Charge Flame Assault and Feint Attack,

the former is a Fire‑type physical attack that, as mentioned earlier, easily gains the triple boost,

when it attacks foes, it also adds a special effect that raises Speed by +1 level,

plus the Flame Body 1 ability's 45% chance to burn the enemy.

With fivefold effects, it's even more ferocious than the Spark Ash originally imagined!

As for the latter, although it's not a Fire‑type move, it's even more important,

a rare offensive move that can break, ignore, and 【Guard】 status!

In previous games with limited move slots, it might have been overlooked,

but in the reality of unlimited move slots, it inevitably becomes a tournament favorite, a must‑have for experts.

The saying that having many moves doesn't weigh you down refers precisely to such functional moves,

they're rarely seen, yet when they appear they can decisively sway the battle.

Before evolution, Ash already had hundreds of ways to defeat Team Rocket, let alone after evolution.

"Sunny Day, Charge Flame Assault!"

As the Rocket Sparrow activates Sunny Day, Luori contributes his last ray of twilight,

as if reflected light returns,

illuminating the area as bright as noon!

Charge Flame Assault!

The Rocket Sparrow's scorching body erupts with flames, completely enveloping it, like the legendary Fire Bird appearing,

sending the Team Rocket party soaring into the sky.

"What an annoying feeling!"

"You did great, Rocket Sparrow!"

Witnessing the Rocket Sparrow fly back to his side,

Ash reaches out to pet the Rocket Sparrow, startling it, and it immediately retracts its flames.

Indeed, the flames of Flame Body can be withdrawn,

just like a Garchomp's shark skin, which can be retracted when not battling.

After defeating Team Rocket, the group hurried onward, arriving in Baitan City, where Baitan Gym stands, before sunset.

Training for so long,

finally the time has come to put the results to the test in actual battle.