"What's happening?"
"Wait... why did a second sun appear in the sky?"
Ethan, of course, was also watching the changes in the crater. When he saw that column of lava shoot toward the sky, he was startled himself.
And when he lifted his gaze following the blazing pillar, he suddenly discovered that, next to the original sun, another sun had appeared!
"A second sun?"
"Wait... maybe that is... Sunny Day!"
Ethan's eyes lit up; an idea crossed his mind, and he opened his eyes slightly in surprise.
Sandstorm, Rain Dance, Hail, and Sunny Day—these were the four moves capable of altering the weather in the Pokémon World.
When he discovered that Charmander's ability was Solar Power, Ethan had taken the time to research the move Sunny Day.
The Pokémon Researchers Guild had professors dedicated to studying the moves Sandstorm and Rain Dance, so naturally there were also those who studied the moves Sunny Day and Hail.
The effect he now saw in the sky was the same as what he had seen in those Sunny Day studies.
"But... which Pokémon used Sunny Day?"
Ethan's gaze turned toward the column of lava.
The column had already reached its highest point; the lava scattered like fireworks, falling through the sky like a burning rain.
In the middle of the pillar, barely visible, there was a silhouette moving within the incandescent magma.
"CHAAARRZZZ!"
Suddenly, a draconic roar came from inside the column, and immediately afterward it exploded with tremendous force. A Charizard wrapped in magma appeared in the air.
"Charizard!"
When he saw the silhouette, Ethan's face lit up with joy.
"CHAAARRZZZ!"
Charizard flapped its wings as the column shattered, positioning itself right before the second sun in the sky, flames dancing all over its body. The air filled with violent currents of heat.
Then, the flames compressed, its body tilted, and it dove straight down toward Ethan, rubbing its head affectionately against his cheek.
"Congratulations, Charizard."
Ethan stroked its horns with a gentle smile.
"CHAAARRZZZ!"
Just as the two were celebrating the evolution, a scarred Charizard roared from the sky. It broke away from the group of Charizard and flew directly toward them.
"Charrzz!"
Ethan's Charizard raised its head, locking eyes with the scarred Charizard; the flame on its tail flickered with excitement.
"I see... so this is the famous scarred Charizard, the one that loves to fight."
Ethan remembered the warning from the staff at the entrance.
Among all the Charizard here, one in particular—the scarred one—was extremely belligerent. When other Charizard arrived at the Secret Kingdom, if it recognized their strength, it inevitably challenged them.
Clearly, the imposing evolution of Ethan's Charizard had stirred its fighting spirit, which was why it had immediately come to challenge him.
"Then let's fight. I was just thinking about testing your strength after evolving."
Ethan spoke with a slight smile.
"Charrzz!"
Charizard narrowed its eyes, gave a brief roar in response, and with a powerful beat of its wings, rose to face the scarred Charizard.
In an instant, the battle began.
The scarred Charizard seemed to be a close-combat type. As soon as the fight started, it launched Dragon Rush straight toward Ethan's Charizard.
Ethan's Charizard didn't fall behind: it cloaked its body in flames and countered with Flare Blitz.
Boom, boom, boom!
The two Charizard clashed again and again in the air.
The scarred Charizard had immense combat experience; its Dragon Rush was overwhelmingly powerful.
But the weather was Sunny Day, which increased Flare Blitz's damage, and combined with Charizard's thermal control—boosting its flames even further—the two were fighting on equal footing.
"It seems evolving inside the magma really increased your strength a lot."
Ethan smiled. Although his Charizard was keeping pace thanks to Flare Blitz's explosive power and the favorable weather, this kind of direct combat wasn't its ideal fighting style.
If his Charizard took distance and fought from afar, taking advantage of the Special Attack boost from Solar Power under Sunny Day, plus its temperature control and the weather, it could turn into a truly devastating airborne cannon.
Moreover, now that it had evolved, with its new flying capabilities, it would be easy to maintain distance whenever it wanted.
Boom, boom, boom!
While Ethan was thinking, the battle reached its conclusion.
Although Charizard managed to match its opponent's intensity for short periods, its stamina was lower. Combined with the fact that it still hadn't fully mastered its newly acquired flying abilities after evolving, it ended up losing the battle.
The scarred Charizard, satisfied, nodded at Charizard before turning and leaving, clearly acknowledging its strength.
"Charrzz!"
"Charrzz!"
"Charrzz!"
The rest of the Charizard also let out friendly roars toward Ethan's newly evolved Charizard, welcoming it to the group.
With the evolution complete, Ethan's expedition into the Volcanic Secret Kingdom could be considered a total success.
However, he didn't plan to leave yet.
His permit to remain in the Volcanic Secret Kingdom lasted 12 hours, so he decided to make full use of the area's immense fire energy to help Charizard get used to its new body.
Once the other Charizard had left, Ethan sat beside the crater, letting Charizard rest and recover its energy. He also wanted to check if it had learned any new moves after evolving.
"So Sunny Day really was Charizard's doing!"
Upon checking Charizard's new moves, Ethan's face lit up with surprise.
Weather moves were incredibly rare, and Charizard learning one during evolution was an extraordinary stroke of luck.
With Sunny Day under its control, the power of a Charizard with the ability Solar Power skyrocketed to absurd levels.
(End of chapter)