"An excellent move."
After reviewing the new move Charizard had learned, Ethan nodded in satisfaction.
At the same time, his training plan for Charizard became clearer: from now on, he would focus on two areas—improving its flying ability and training its long-range fire-type moves.
"Charrzz!"
At that moment, Charizard smacked its own head with its claw, as if it had just remembered something. Then it opened its mouth, stuck its claw inside, and pulled out... a stone covered in saliva!
"This is... a Mega Stone!"
Seeing the stone Charizard spat out, Ethan's eyes widened.
Filled with a mix of surprise and joy, he hurried to inspect it, and upon examining it closely, he was completely stunned.
"No way... a Charizardite Y?"
Ethan took the stone from Charizard's claws, murmuring to himself.
The yellow-reddish patterns on the stone matched perfectly with those of Charizardite Y.
Additionally, finding it within Charizard territory and in such a peculiar environment... it was most likely the real Mega Stone.
"Maybe the fact that you learned Sunny Day is also connected to this stone... after all, Mega Charizard Y's ability is Drought, which activates precisely in sunny weather."
Ethan lifted his gaze toward the "second sun," which was already beginning to fade, as his thoughts aligned on their own.
"Charrzz!"
Seeing Ethan's expression full of surprise and happiness, Charizard roared excitedly.
"Charizard, can you feel the power inside this stone?"
Ethan asked expectantly.
Charizard hesitated for a moment, then nodded. It could feel a mysterious energy within the stone—a force that strongly attracted it. In fact, that was why it had decided to keep it and bring it along in the first place.
"Charizard, you've found a true treasure. If everything goes well, the first Mega Evolution in this world might be born thanks to you."
Ethan smiled as he took out the Key Stone from his backpack—the object that needed to resonate with a Pokémon's Mega Stone.
For Mega Evolution to occur, the trainer had to carry a Key Stone and the Pokémon its corresponding Mega Stone; this was the most difficult requirement. Ethan had finally obtained both.
From now on, he only needed to deepen his bond with Charizard and achieve resonance between the two stones. If he succeeded, Mega Evolution would be within reach.
"No need to rush. First, let's focus entirely on strengthening your power. Just like normal evolution requires a certain level of strength, Mega Evolution will require even more."
Ethan took a deep breath to calm his excitement. He decided to leave experimentation with Mega Evolution for when they returned; this wasn't the right place to investigate it.
"Charrzz!"
Upon hearing what Mega Evolution meant, Charizard widened its eyes. It seemed so excited that it looked like it wanted to drag Ethan into trying it right then and there.
"We'll look into it when we get back."
Ethan patted Charizard's head and carefully stored the stone.
Mega Stones were typically carried as accessories or charms by the Pokémon. Ethan recalled methods he had seen in the anime and thought about designing something for Charizard later—perhaps a pendant or a strap.
However, just as he was about to store the Mega Stone in his backpack, Charizard stopped him.
"You mean... you want to eat it?"
Ethan looked at Charizard pointing to its own mouth with a claw, trying to guess.
Charizard nodded enthusiastically, reminding him that this was the very stone it had pulled from its stomach a moment earlier.
Additionally, it explained that if it ate it, it could make use of the stone's energy to strengthen itself even further.
Ethan looked at the saliva-covered stone in his hand and thought: "I see... maybe Charizard has a trace of Mega Charizard Y's power within it, and this stone can amplify it. It might have even learned Sunny Day thanks to it."
Without hesitating any further, Ethan handed over the Mega Stone, and Charizard swallowed it in one gulp, looking completely satisfied.
"Well... I suppose that also counts as carrying it."
Ethan mused for a moment.
"In fact, this could even help us conceal the existence of Mega Evolution..."
"If Charizard wore it and I used the Key Stone, anyone could figure out how it works..."
Thinking about it, he felt relieved. But when he looked at his Key Stone, his expression changed.
Charizard could swallow its stone because it was a Pokémon... But he couldn't swallow the Key Stone... It was enormous. And terrifying.
He shook his head to get rid of the thought, stored the Key Stone carefully, and upon seeing that Charizard showed no abnormal reaction—if anything, it had even more energy—he relaxed.
Now that Charizard had successfully evolved, the next step was to challenge the gyms.
"Wait... let me check. I think there was also a gym in Pyros City."
Ethan pulled out the gym directory the Pokémon Trainer Guild had given him.
In the southwestern zone of the League, there were a total of 21 cities, and 13 of them had gyms, reformed from old clubs.
Ethan needed to obtain 8 badges from those 13 gyms to qualify for the Daleron Pokémon Championship for a spot in the Pokémon World Championship.
"Pyros City... lucky! It also has a gym. This will save me a lot of time."
Reviewing the guide, Ethan confirmed it.
"The Charizard Club and the Charizard Gym?"
Ethan blinked in surprise.
"Looks like it's a club specialized in training Charizards."
Since he himself was a trainer with a Charizard, Ethan figured he could surely learn a lot from a gym focused on that species.
(End of chapter)