Chapter 18: I

His gaze locked onto the newcomer, and a string of data panels instantly appeared before Ash.

Little Arrow Sparrow

【Pokémon】: Little Arrow Sparrow (Male)

【Type】: Normal + Flying

【Ability】: Robust Chest Muscles (prevents defense‑lowering effects)

【Level】: Lv15

【Moves】: Tackle, Cry, Electric Flash, Peck, High‑Speed Move, Feather Rest, Shadow Clone, Whirlwind Blade,

【Individual】: 6v

【Base Stats】: Total 278, HP 45, Attack 50, Defense 43, Special Attack 40, Special Defense 38, Speed 62,

……

【Can be enhanced】

【Ability】: Robust Chest Muscles 1 (prevents defense‑lowering effects, raises defense to 1.1×)

Robust Chest Muscles, increases defense,

This effect… isn't weak, but it's not very suitable for a fragile Little Arrow Sparrow,

Unfortunately it isn't Gale Wings,

Otherwise we could directly preview the enhanced effect of Gale Wings,

The reason Ash cares so much about Gale Wings forces us to recall Ash's past‑life experience,

The Little Arrow Sparrow, and even its evolution, the Fierce Arrow Eagle,

left the deepest impression on Ash's past self, namely its ability: Gale Wings,

In early games, the unnerfed Gale Wings granted a powerful effect of granting +1 priority to Flying‑type moves,

with no additional conditions—using it gave +1 priority instantly,

No matter how fast the opponent's Speed, priority moves always outrun them,

causing Flying‑type‑weak Pokémon to be nearly extinct in the battle meta at the time.

Of course,

there is a difference between the game and reality,

which means this effect might not be as strong in reality as imagined.

Nevertheless, there is no doubt that Gale Wings is a very powerful ability.

However,

changing the ability isn't urgent at the moment,

Robust Chest Muscles will turn into Flame Body after the Little Arrow Sparrow evolves,

and Ash is equally curious about what effect an enhanced Flame Body would have in reality.

Returning to this Little Arrow Sparrow itself,

its perfect individual value already indicates its extraordinariness,

although Little Arrow Sparrow Pokémon are fairly common in the wild,

most individuals don't have high potential,

like the one before us, which is almost impossible to encounter under normal circumstances,

and meeting Ash at this point suggests it is the one destined for us to capture,

especially…

After snatching the energy cube, this Little Arrow Sparrow didn't leave,

instead it strutted proudly atop a nearby rock pillar,

looking down, it mocked the Croaking Bubble Frog,

This action reinforced Ash's judgment that this was indeed the pest that was supposed to bully Yurie,

Now that it's come to the door, it's a perfect chance for the Croaking Bubble Frog to practice,

Through combat polishing,

I'm sure that after lunch, when the Croaking Bubble Frog returns to training, its mastery of Acrobatics will make a qualitative leap.

Moreover, it could jump straight into practical sparring ahead of schedule,

"Croaking Bubble Frog, this is a worthy opponent! Give it your all, use Acrobatics!"

The already agitated Croaking Bubble Frog heard this,

its vertically‑shaped pupils suddenly dilated, a serious gleam swirling in its black eyes,

"Ribbit~"

The Croaking Bubble Frog's hind legs surged with power,

its whole body rose like a light bird into the sky, a blue aura flowing over it,

plunging straight toward the Little Arrow Sparrow perched atop the rock pillar,

The sudden burst of speed from the Croaking Bubble Frog startled the Little Arrow Sparrow,

it frantically flapped its wings,

and narrowly evaded the attack,

The Croaking Bubble Frog's strike landed on the top of the rock pillar.

Boom!

A deafening roar echoed,

The three‑meter‑thick rock pillar's tip was kicked by the Croaking Bubble Frog's massive force, creating a huge crack that reached the ground, with dense spider‑web‑like fissures spreading sideways.

After a moment,

The whole rock pillar split apart and collapsed, shattered rock fragments raining down,

Boom—

This evoked a feeling in Ash, "So strong!"

Is this triggering the effect that doubles the power?

The strength of this strike far exceeded Ash's expectations,

The arrow sparrow that flew to the top of another rock pillar gaped in shock, its back feathers soaked by a sudden outpouring of cold sweat,

This scene fell into the eyes of the bubble frog, likewise showing astonishment on its face,

Somewhat incredulous,

The freshly formed ruins before him were actually his own doing,

"Ribbit?"

Did I really do this?

Ash didn't stint on praise and encouragement, giving applause, "Great job, bubble frog!"

Think carefully about that strike just now—what exactly differed from other times—and try to replicate that quality!"

Upon hearing this, the bubble frog fell into contemplation,

If one were to ask how that strike differed from the usual, perhaps it was that wondrous state where time seemed to enter slow motion,

The state of wholeheartedly using acrobatics!

If one could reproduce that state,

perhaps he could raise the success rate of his acrobatic technique to near infallibility,

Thinking this, the bubble frog once again exerted acrobatics, charging fiercely toward the arrow sparrow,

Ash, silently watching the bubble frog's performance, showed anticipation in his eyes,

The arrow sparrow, recovering from its shock, realized this terrifying creature was charging at it again,

It immediately flapped its wings in panic, fleeing the spot,

Bang!

The attack struck the rock pillar, this time merely chipping off a corner of it.

Aside from a soccer‑sized rock falling from above,

nothing else followed,

The scale difference between the two attacks was somewhat excessively large,

Even judging solely by the visual effect, this was no longer just a matter of doubling.

but rather a matter of being multiplied several times over.

This forces us to mention the difference between raw numbers and reality,

The panel difference between 55 and 110 gives the impression of merely comparing the two attacks' power on a numerical level,

Yet reality is not simply 1+1=2,

In reality, many factors must be taken into account,

Not only the attacker's strength, but also the defender's tolerance, material toughness, strength, characteristics, and so on must be considered,

Once the defender's tolerance limit is exceeded, each additional unit of force produces a completely different effect,

For example,

One uses Iron Mountain Shoulder against the wall of an old earthen house, the force just approaching the wall's tolerance limit; the strike makes the wall tremble slightly, shedding a bit of dust,

but if just a bit more force is added, exceeding the wall's tolerance limit,

it is quite likely to cause the entire wall to collapse suddenly.

The resulting visual difference is equally huge—this is the disparity between reality and raw data.

"Have you failed?"

Ash, however, was not overly disappointed,

If it were really that easy to fully master the special force technique of acrobatics,

then professional arenas would be filled with displays of this skill.

The arrow sparrow, having hastily dodged the bubble frog's attack, was about to leave this place entirely,

no longer wishing to provoke this seemingly harmless creature that is actually a fearsome tiger in disguise,

yet, unwilling to let it go, it glanced back and couldn't help but be astonished again,

What's going on?

Where is that terrifying power that could have killed him instantly just moments ago?

The half‑believing, half‑doubting arrow sparrow halted its departure, hovered in mid‑air flapping its wings, and eyed the bubble frog suspiciously,

wondering whether the opponent was feigning weakness, hiding strength, or……

Is this bubble frog really just a half‑trained amateur?

Having glanced at the unmoving arrow sparrow, the bubble frog remained perched atop the rock pillar, not launching another attack rashly,

but instead sank into thought,

seriously analyzing just how that strike differed from the previous perfect execution,

This state, instead, steadied the arrow sparrow, leaving it somewhat undecided,

For a moment it stood awkwardly in place,

Using Ash's past‑life words to describe this situation, it's: "I'm waiting for cooldown, what are you waiting for?"