After Liza blew her whistle, a Charizard wearing a pink ribbon appeared, pulling a hot-air balloon behind it. This was Liza's personal Charizard.
Ash and Sabrina boarded the balloon without a word. Ash snorted coldly—his good mood had already been ruined.
Meanwhile, Liza sat on the back of her Charizard, secretly checking Ash's data on her phone.
The public records for each region's Champions were easy to find. And the moment she read Ash's information, Liza swallowed hard.
It wasn't just impressive—it was overwhelming.
Ash's accomplishments rivaled those of a Legendary-tier Champion.
A master pharmacist, a skill prodigy, the guardian of a major island, backed by the powerful Professor Oak and Draconis families…
No matter which aspect she looked at, she couldn't compare.
She had no choice but to obediently bring Ash and Sabrina deeper into Charizard Valley.
Soon, a chorus of roars erupted.
"Roar!!!"
"Roar!!"
"Roar!"
Columns of flame shot into the sky as groups of Charizard let out their territorial cries. But Ash frowned.
"Why are there only Charizard and Charmander? Where are the Charmeleon?"
After observing the valley briefly, Ash noted that Charizard and Charmander were everywhere—but he couldn't find a single Charmeleon.
Liza sighed.
"Almost all the Charmeleon here were captured by previous Trainers. Even though there are limits on how many one Trainer can catch, there are simply too many people coming."
"Charmander are still too weak, so fewer people try to catch them.
And Charizard are too strong—most Trainers can't command them properly even if they succeed. So the middle stage—Charmeleon—became the main target."
"That's why I didn't want you capturing anything here. There are very few Charmeleon left. Most of them are hiding in Lava Canyon. Only Charmander and Charizard remain in this valley."
Though she had tried to intimidate Ash earlier, the truth she gave now was sincere—and the fear she felt after learning his identity still lingered.
"So that's how it is," Ash said, his tone softening slightly. "But even then, you can't intimidate or block Trainers. In the end, you'd be the one punished."
Liza lowered her head.
"I'm sorry. What I did earlier was wrong… but I've been here in Charizard Valley for four years. I've built strong bonds with the Charizard and Charmeleon here. Watching the Charmeleon disappear one by one… it's painful."
Ash sighed.
"Forget it. Do you have any Charizard at or above quasi-Champion level?"
He wasn't here to create trouble. He was traveling as a Trainer. If this escalated into a scandal, his whole Johto journey would become a hassle.
Liza quickly nodded.
"Yes. There are several King-class Charizard here—more than a dozen. And one of them is Champion-tier, the leader of the valley."
She pointed toward the massive Charizard standing proudly atop a rocky outcrop.
Ash's eyes sharpened.
"Good. Bring me to the Champion-level Charizard."
The King-class Charizard Liza mentioned were all old—so old that their potential had nearly reached its limit. Even if captured, they wouldn't be able to grow stronger.
Ash needed a true powerhouse with room to develop—someone worthy of joining his forces.
"Look—that's all we have left."
Seeing Ash show no interest in the older King-class Charizard, Liza led him and Sabrina toward Lava Canyon, pointing at a massive, sleeping Charizard nestled among a group of exhausted Charmeleon.
Ash frowned.
"You're kidding, right? This one is ancient. No wonder the major families in this area don't care about this valley. It's exactly as I expected."
The so-called "Champion-level" Charizard looked to Ash like it had lived over two hundred years.
Even worse, the Charmander and Charmeleon around it were in terrible condition—overweight, sluggish, and clearly lacking training or exercise. Their development was poor.
Liza sighed helplessly.
"All the Charmeleon in their prime have already been captured by Trainers. Only the very young Charmander and the very old Charizard remain."
"That's why I didn't want you capturing anything here. If we still had enough Charmeleon, we'd naturally have more young, strong Charizard as well."
Ash nodded.
She wasn't wrong.
This was exactly what an imbalanced ecosystem looked like—an originally powerful species now reduced to a weakened, stagnant population.
There were still a dozen King-class Charizard within the valley, but almost all were aged. Very few young and vigorous ones remained, and even those seemed recently evolved—only four or five in total.
It was obvious that the Johto League placed very little importance on the valley's condition.
"Roar!!!"
Just as Ash was about to inspect the still-promising Charmander, the lone Champion-level Charizard suddenly woke and blasted a stream of searing flames straight at him.
"Pika!"
Pikachu reacted instantly. A burst of Thunderbolt collided with the flames, dispersing them mid-air.
The mouse glared at the ancient Charizard with sharp, warning eyes.
The exchange happened in an instant.
Only after the heat died down did Liza snap out of her shock.
"Charizard! What do you think you're doing!?"
Ash, however, remained calm.
"Oh? So you smelled the scent of your own kind on me."
He understood immediately.
The Charizard here formed a strict hierarchical clan, allowing only a single king.
Ash carried the scent of his own Charizard—one that wasn't part of this valley.
To the ancient, territorial Champion Charizard, that scent felt like a direct challenge.
And so, the old king had acted on instinct—provoking Ash without hesitation.
(End of Chapter)
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