After a period of focused training, Ash's Charizard had grown noticeably stronger and more muscular.
However, compared to the wild Charizard that had been raised in the fierce, survival-of-the-fittest environment of Charicific Valley—where every day was a battle and training was constant—it still appeared a bit smaller.
Standing before them now was one such Charizard. Towering in stature, it was nearly a full head taller than Ash's.
"Whoa, they're facing that one right off the bat?" As soon as Liza saw the scene unfolding at the entrance to the valley, she instantly understood the gravity of the situation.
She hadn't expected one of the Charizard from the valley to open the gates on its own to accept the challenge!
"Ash, is Charizard going to be okay?" Misty rushed up behind him, concern plain in her eyes as she looked at the massive Charizard now squaring off with theirs.
"Of course he's fine!" Ash's smile brimmed with confidence.
Charizard stepped forward one determined step at a time, facing down the towering Charizard without hesitation.
The other Charizard in the area instinctively stepped back, giving the two contenders space. Their eyes burned with anticipation.
The moment was charged. As battle lust reached its peak, every Charizard around them suddenly raised their heads and unleashed blazing jets of fire into the sky!
A battle was about to erupt!
Boom!
As if by mutual agreement, the two Charizard lunged forward at the same time, colliding midair in a show of raw power. The battle of strength had begun!
"Ash, your Charizard's power is incredible!" Liza couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.
She knew the Charizard from the valley well—this towering one was particularly famous for its brute strength and obsession with power training.
Yet despite being smaller, Ash's Charizard had met it head-on in a contest of pure might—and wasn't giving an inch!
Ash remained silent, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
This Charizard had been trained using a system-made forced training module. Its strength and speed had been enhanced from every angle. Of course it was different!
Boom!
Both Charizard flared with energy simultaneously, pushing each other away.
Then, a wild surge of Dragon-type energy erupted from both of them, crackling through the air like lightning.
"What a powerful Dragon aura!" Ash could feel it clearly with his Aura ability—Dragon-type energy clashing violently in the air, creating sparks in the void.
Ash's Charizard's claws lit up, transforming into massive Dragon Claws.
And the towering Charizard's tail ignited with an emerald-blue flame—dragon scales forming along its surface.
Dragon Tail!
The dazzling display of Ash's Dragon Claw made Liza's eyes light up with surprise.
As the Dragon Tail swept in like a scythe, Charizard crossed its glowing claws in front of itself and blocked the attack cleanly.
ROAR!
With a bellow, Charizard swung its claws forward with explosive force, knocking the larger Charizard backward!
Then, with a powerful beat of its wings, it surged forward to strike while the enemy was still off-balance, slashing downward with Dragon Claw straight at the towering Charizard's head!
CLANG!
A gleaming, metallic Dragon Wing blocked the strike midair.
Ash's expression sharpened. That Charizard moved fast—very fast.
"Charizard! One-on-one, two-on-one—bring them on!" Ash's command rang out with unshakable conviction.
Charizard grinned in response.
Charizard: 248/255
With Dragon Claw still active, it turned and lunged at the steel-winged Charizard that had tried to intervene!
"Huh?"
Liza's sharp gaze hadn't left Ash for even a second.
In the instant he gave that command, she saw it—both Ash and Charizard had glowed with a faint, mysterious red-and-blue light!
The steel-winged Charizard was fast enough to dodge the strike—but the towering Charizard gave a commanding roar, and the newcomer backed off immediately.
ROAR!
Charizard roared in return, nodding once.
The message was clear: The battle's not over.
Charizard's claws flared again and came crashing down!
The larger Charizard's claws lit up as well, glowing with white light as it struck back.
They clashed again—close combat.
This was the Slash move!
"Ash, your Charizard... it's got a wild streak in it too!" Liza couldn't believe what she was seeing.
Misty was beginning to understand as well—this wasn't a typical Pokémon battle. The two Charizard were fighting like beasts—using claws, tails, even their teeth!
"Why aren't they using Flamethrower?" Misty asked, puzzled.
"You can't just go tossing fire around," Ash joked with a smirk.
Charizard: 250/255
Only 5 points of Bond left!
"It's happening again…"
Liza noticed it—Ash and Charizard glowed red and blue once more at the same time!
ROAR!
A sudden surge of overwhelming power exploded inside Charizard. It roared, and its Dragon Claw smashed the towering Charizard straight into the ground!
"We won!" Misty cheered, eyes wide with excitement.
Charizard: 251/255
With a thunderous BOOM, an intense heatwave erupted from Charizard's body!
In the next second, flames exploded outward, engulfing its entire form in a blazing inferno!
"HAHAHAHA! Charizard! Get stronger! Even stronger!" Ash suddenly looked like he'd lost his mind, throwing his head back in wild laughter.
From his reaction, Liza could tell—Ash knew something about this strange phenomenon happening between him and Charizard. No—he had been waiting for it!
ROAR!!!
Charizard let out an earth-shaking roar. A mysterious power was awakening deep inside its body!
"Charizard of the valley! One-on-one, two-on-one, three-on-one—go ahead and fight mine all you want!" Ash shouted, voice soaring. There were still 4 Bond points remaining!
Let the battle become even fiercer!
And just like that, even Liza couldn't contain the situation anymore.
In the next moment, a new Charizard soared out of the valley—its size comparable to the towering Charizard from before, but its aura was on a whole other level.
The moment it appeared, Liza's face paled.
"I can't believe… it came out too…" Her voice shook involuntarily, drawing Ash's attention.
"This Charizard… it's strong," Ash said with a confident smile.
"It's not just strong," Liza replied, voice trembling. "It's the strongest Charizard in the entire valley… You could call it the Charizard King!"
This Charizard ruled the valley, maintaining peace and order among all its kin. As long as it was present, no battle would ever spiral out of control.
And now—it had shown itself.
Which meant it recognized Ash's Charizard as a worthy opponent!
ROAR!!!
Faced with the overwhelming pressure of the Charizard King, Ash's Charizard didn't falter for even a moment. Instead, it unleashed a roar of pure, burning battle spirit!
Charizard: 252/255