Roy blinked, making sure he wasn't seeing things.
With every few bites of feed Pidgeotto took, its body seemed to be injected with an invisible force; its bones stretched, its muscles bulged, and its feathers became thicker and more lustrous.
Its already handsome physique was shooting up at an alarming speed!
Its shoulders grew broader.
Its wings grew wider.
Its legs and talons became thicker and more powerful.
"This..."
Although Roy had known the effects of the super flight berry beforehand, he hadn't expected the results to be so... immediate?
Faint, light cracking sounds, like bones growing, emanated from Pidgeotto's body.
It seemed to notice the changes in its own body as well; its eating movements paused for a moment as it looked down somewhat confusedly at its chest and wings, which had clearly grown much larger.
But it soon stopped caring.
Because the surging sense of warm, powerful energy within its body felt simply too comfortable.
It felt even better than defeating an opponent!
It gave a cry and began to eat even more vigorously.
As it continued to feed, the speed of its body's expansion became more and more obvious.
It only took a few short minutes for Roy to go from initial surprise to being completely dumbstruck.
Before him, Pidgeotto's size seemed to break through some kind of limit, soaring all the way!
Soon, it reached a size that a normal Pidgeotto could never possibly possess.
It was approaching... no, it had already surpassed the limit of a normal Pidgeotto.
It was steadily advancing toward the size standards of its evolved form—Pidgeot!
"It... it won't stop?"
Roy watched this incredible scene before him.
Finally.
When Pidgeotto pecked the last bit of feed clean, it raised its head contentedly and let out a clear, resonant, and energetic long cry... its size was set.
Roy looked at his big bird, speechless for a long time.
This... this is way too big, right?
The Pidgeotto before him stood nearly two meters tall!
With its wings fully extended, the wingspan was likely four or five meters; the shadow it cast could completely envelop Roy.
The originally tan feathers were now deeper and more vibrant in color, especially on the shoulders, back, and wingtips, where they shimmered with a metallic, cold hardness.
Its head was held higher, its gaze sharp as lightning, carrying a natural, awe-inspiring majesty in its every glance.
Its talons were thick and powerful, gripping the ground tightly as if they could easily crush rock.
This size... this aura... how was this still a Pidgeotto?
It was about the same as a Pidgeot.
It might even be a size larger and more imposing than many ordinary Pidgeot!
"The super flight berry... is the effect this powerful?"
"The text didn't give a hint about the effect, so I don't know how much its strength has increased... I'll have to test it later."
Roy walked around the enlarged Pidgeotto twice, becoming more satisfied the more he looked.
This appearance, this size—the coolness factor was off the charts!
A somewhat nonsensical thought even popped into his head:
"By the way... what would happen if a human ate this fruit? Would they also become bigger and stronger?"
"But..."
He looked down at himself.
With the Body of a Giant Dragon, he didn't seem to need this.
"Forget it, I'll save it for Butterfree."
He was just pondering this.
Suddenly.
"Ah! Roy! How did your bird get so big!!"
A crisp exclamation full of shock and disbelief came from not far away.
It was Misty, who had returned from picking berries.
She saw the giant Pidgeotto in the clearing at a glance.
She was so startled that the Oran Berries in her hands almost fell to the ground.
This exclamation was quite loud.
It immediately alerted Delia, who was inside the tent carefully organizing sleeping bags and pads.
"Hmm?"
Delia paused her movements.
Big bird?
Became... so big?
Her thoughts veered onto a peculiar track within a tenth of a second.
Her face instantly turned bright red.
Her body subconsciously tightened slightly.
Roy and... when did he and Misty... already develop to this extent?
Usually, the three of us are almost inseparable, right?
Aside from the occasional night watch or when we wash up separately... could it be during those times?
But... even if their relationship really has progressed by leaps and bounds, they can't... can't do it outside... how embarrassing!
Oh my!
That bad guy Roy... he looks so steady, how could he be so... so impatient in this regard?
Delia felt both embarrassed and anxious, mixed with a trace of an indescribable emotion that she hadn't fully sorted out herself.
She bit her lower lip, unable to suppress her strong curiosity; she carefully moved her body and leaned toward the gap in the tent flap.
Holding her breath.
Secretly.
She looked out.
The first thing that caught her eye was Misty's pretty face, which was written all over with astonishment.
Then, her gaze moved past Misty... and saw that proudly standing, extraordinarily handsome, and ridiculously large... Pidgeotto.
Delia froze.
She blinked.
Then blinked again.
Oh.
It's a Pidgeotto.
So Misty meant Roy's Pidgeotto had become big... Delia subconsciously let out a long sigh of relief.
Her tense body instantly relaxed.
A relieved smile had just floated to the corners of her mouth.
But the next second!
Her eyes suddenly went wide!
Even wider than Misty's just were!
Wait!
Pidgeotto?
Such a big Pidgeotto?!!
Are you kidding me!!
That's a Pidgeotto? That's a Pidgeot, right?! No! Are Pidgeot even this big?
"Roy!!"
Delia could no longer care about being reserved or observing secretly.
She threw open the curtain and, like a startled rabbit, "whoosh," she dashed out of the tent.
In a few steps, she ran to Roy's side.
With Misty on one side and her on the other, both of them craned their necks, staring dumbfounded at Roy's big bird.
Their mouths were open wide enough to fit a poké ball.
"Jiang... Roy..." Misty was the first to find her voice after the shock, but she was still stuttering.
"Your bird... how, how did it suddenly get so big? Is this... a move? Or did it mutate?"
She was, after all, from a Gym Trainer background and had seen more than the average rookie; she immediately thought of some possibilities.
Delia also gripped Roy's arm tightly, her beautiful eyes full of disbelief: "Yeah, it wasn't like this when I just came out! In just a moment... this, this is too miraculous!"
"It might be..."
Roy pondered for a moment, choosing his words carefully but with a certain tone.
"This Pidgeotto's individual nature is rather special."
"When I caught it before, I felt it was more spiritual than ordinary Pidgeotto, and its build was also slightly sturdier."
"Looking at it now..."
He looked up, admiring his majestic big bird.
"My luck is pretty good; I might have inadvertently caught a very rare 'giant specimen' or'special development specimen'."
"It just went through a battle and ate quite a bit of high-quality feed; maybe it just happened to meet some... well, Growth breakthrough condition? It triggered its latent gigantism trait?"
Roy spoke with a mix of truth and fiction, his tone calm and natural, as if he were merely stating an observed objective fact.
He pushed everything onto "individual differences in the Pokémon world" and "accidental Growth breakthroughs."
He didn't mention a word about a system or super flight berries.
Cheating was something he only needed to know in his own heart.
There was no need to announce it everywhere.
His explanation, though it sounded a bit mysterious, was actually very reasonable in the Pokémon world, perhaps even one of the most mainstream explanations.
After all, this world was inherently full of various incredible phenomena.
Shinny Pokémon.
Color-variant individuals.
Individuals that were particularly giant or particularly tiny.
Individuals with special talents or moves... even scholars who had studied Pokémon for decades wouldn't dare say they completely understood all the mysteries.
Let alone rookie Trainers like Delia and Misty?
"Rare individual... Growth breakthrough..."
Misty murmured, her gaze scanning the giant Pidgeotto up and down.
Although she still felt it was incredible, it seemed... she could only explain it this way?
Otherwise, how could you explain a Pidgeotto becoming a 'Pidgeot Plus' in a few minutes?
"So that's how it is..." Delia nodded, her eyes looking at Pidgeotto with amazement and curiosity.
"Roy's luck is really good! To be able to encounter such a special Pidgeotto!"
She completely accepted this explanation.
She even felt it was natural—Roy was so powerful, wasn't it normal for the Pokémon he encountered to be a bit special?
"But..."
Misty walked another half-circle around Pidgeotto and couldn't help but reach out, carefully touching the base of Pidgeotto's wing, which was wider than her palm.
The feathers were hard and smooth, containing a powerful sense of strength.
"Even for a special individual... this is just too big!"
"Roy, your bird... now that it's this big, will it be inconvenient? Will flying, battling, and such be affected?"
Roy was also observing and thinking about this question.
"We'll know after a try."
"Pidgeotto, how do you feel? Move around a bit?"
Pidgeotto had been itching to try.
Hearing the command, it let out an even louder cry full of power.
Its giant wings suddenly unfurled!
The massive wings flapped, creating a strong current of air that blew the grass on the ground flat; Delia and Misty's hair and skirt hems fluttered, and they couldn't help but raise their hands to shield themselves.
The next moment, Pidgeotto's massive body took off from the ground with a lightness and speed that defied its size!
It soared into the sky!
Its speed was astonishingly fast!
It became a black dot high in the sky in the blink of an eye.
Then.
Dive!
Circle!
Sharp turn!
Agility!
It even tried the starting forms of Quick Attack and Wing Attack!
Its movements were fluid, full of strength, and its speed seemed even a few points faster than before!
It didn't appear clumsy at all due to its increased size.
On the contrary, because of the overall increase in strength and wingspan, its flight was more stable, and its explosive power seemed stronger!
"So... so amazing!"
Misty looked up, her heart racing as she watched.
She specialized in Water-types, but she also held admiration and envy for such powerful Flying-type Pokémon.
Roy observed carefully and felt reassured.
It seemed the effect of the super flight berry wasn't just increasing size.
The current Pidgeotto, aside from not having evolved yet, likely had a comprehensive strength that surpassed many ordinary Pidgeot!
"Come back, Pidgeotto!"
Having tested enough, Roy recalled the contented Pidgeotto.
The giant figure turned into red light and returned to the Poké Ball.
The clearing suddenly felt much more empty.
Delia and Misty, however, were still immersed in the shock from just now.
The two of them surrounded Roy, chattering away.
"Unbelievable! Roy, your Pidgeotto is definitely a trump card now!"
"In future battles, just this size alone will probably scare the opponent, right?"
"I wonder how big it'll be when it evolves into Pidgeot? Will it be even bigger?"
"Its food consumption has definitely increased too; we'll have to prepare more feed..."
Roy smiled as he listened to their discussion, occasionally responding with a few words.
He didn't go overboard in explaining or soothing their shock.
It was good to let them slowly adapt and build up a bit of "resistance."
After all... this was just the beginning.
The super flight berry was only the start.
There would be times to be even more shocked in the future.
Letting them have some mental preparation in advance was better than them being scared every time.
After putting away the poké ball, Roy began to feed the Pikachu nearby...
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