At the end of the long river was a great mountain. Long stone steps had been built at its base, and following them upward, a massive mountain gate came into view.
The gate was four or five meters high and emitted the faint, dark glow of stone. It looked like it weighed several thousand pounds. On either side of the gate, two enormous Charizard statues were carved. They faced each other with their claws clasped together, as if they were competing, but also as if it symbolized friendship.
The two Charizard flew to the front of the mountain gate and landed steadily.
Liza dismounted from Charla and walked to the gate, turning back to smile at them.
"Welcome to our home."
As she spoke, she pressed a remote control, and the thick, heavy gate, clearly made of stone, slowly slid open to the sides.
Wow, it was actually electric.
Behind the gate was a vast, lush green basin. As far as the eye could see, dozens of Charizard were resting, soaring, battling, or enjoying Berries.
With Natsui's help, Erika had just gotten off the Charizard. Seeing this scene, she couldn't help but say, "That's... so many Charizard..."
Natsui nodded. The sight was truly spectacular.
It wasn't that he had never seen wild Charizard before, but to see so many gathered in one place, a sea of orange, was dazzling.
Hearing the gate open, all the surrounding Charizard turned their heads to look over.
These Charizard were all very large. Some had permanent scars on their bodies, making them look fierce and terrifying. Being stared at so coldly by them would put immense psychological pressure on an ordinary person; even Natsui's brow twitched.
He hadn't expected to be met with such a show of force right at the start.
Led by Liza, the group walked into the Charicific Valley.
Liza introduced it as they walked. "In this place, the Charizard don't rely on human strength to get stronger. To improve their own power, they compete with each other, spar with their companions, and train themselves. They all strive to become the strongest Charizard in the Charicific Valley."
Glancing at Natsui's Charizard, Liza continued, "Since you're here to train your Charizard, go and battle with these guys. But I must warn you, an ordinary Charizard has no chance of defeating a Charizard from the valley."
Natsui nodded. Having seen the anime, he knew the Charizard here were on another level.
If he were to compare it to the games, even though these were wild Charizard, their levels were generally very high. If a newly evolved Charizard was at level 36, then the Charizard here would be around level 70.
That was an overwhelming difference in strength.
Their outstanding power came not only from battling and honing their skills every day, as Liza had said, but also from time, which was their greatest weapon.
A trainer's Pokémon evolves naturally after reaching a certain level of strength or through the influence of an evolution stone. But the Charizard here had evolved slowly over many years, tempering themselves bit by bit. So, although they were all Charizard, their foundations were exceptionally solid.
Most importantly, there were very few rookies or newly evolved ones here. The majority were in their prime. Therefore, dealing with the little ones that belonged to trainers was effortless for them.
Seeing his Charizard looking eager to go, Natsui was about to pick an opponent for it. But as he scanned the area, a relatively skinny Charizard suddenly caught his attention.
This Charizard was a full size smaller than the others. It was in a corner by itself, doing squats while holding a large boulder.
There were no other Charizard within dozens of meters of it. It was clearly being isolated.
An idea struck him, and he asked, "That must be Ash's Charizard, right?"
Liza glanced over and nodded. "That's right, it's Ash's Charizard. That kid is a really hard worker. It's been over twenty days since he arrived, and every day he challenges the other Charizard and trains himself this desperately."
Natsui sighed internally.
Back with Ash, Charizard had been an early ace. To come here and be the weakest one at the bottom of the ladder was truly surprising.
So how would his own Charizard compare to these wild ones?
Just then, Ash's Charizard noticed Natsui's Charizard. Its eyes flickered for a moment, but it didn't make any other movements. It just lowered its head and continued to focus on its training.
Just as Ash considered Natsui his greatest rival, his Charizard naturally saw Natsui's Charizard as its own rival.
Seeing it here now created an even greater sense of urgency.
As they were talking, Natsui and the others had reached the heart of the valley.
By now, the surrounding wild Charizard had overheard their conversation and understood Natsui's purpose. One by one, they puffed out their chests and looked sideways at Natsui's Charizard.
Just a short while ago, they had taught a lesson to an arrogant upstart who didn't know its own limits. Now, another one who overestimated itself had arrived.
Looking at this group that clearly didn't think much of his Charizard, Natsui felt a secret sense of relief.
Fortunately, his Charizard was well-raised. Although it couldn't compare to these robust wild ones, at least the gap wasn't as vast as it was for Ash's.
As for who to choose as an opponent...
He looked left and right. Every single Charizard seemed like a tough opponent.
After thinking for a moment, since he couldn't decide, he decided to give the choice to his Charizard.
"Charizard, choose an opponent for yourself."
Charizard nodded and then walked towards the most robust-looking one of the bunch.
Seeing this, Natsui coughed lightly and quickly stepped in front of it.
"You silly guy..." he said with a half-scolding laugh. "I told you to choose your own opponent, but you have to be self-aware. How can you pick the strongest one right from the start?"
Seeing Charizard tilt its head and look at him with a confused expression, Natsui knew its personality was a bit reckless. He sighed and instructed, "Even if you're very confident in your strength, the first battle should be about playing it safe. You should choose a relatively weaker opponent. That way, you can get used to their rhythm and get a general idea of their strength."
Seeing Charizard's "I get it now" expression, Natsui continued, "And I won't interfere in any of the battles here. Everything will depend on you. So, don't be careless!"
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