Chapter 50: The Pokémon of Fire
As a human from Blue Star, who once yearned for this world, when Ryū was truly in the scene he had dreamed of, his spirit naturally fell into a trance.
"Aran, look, there are guards coming over. They must have been attracted by the commotion here." At this moment, Liz's voice sounded, bringing Ryū back to his senses. He looked around. He saw a flash of fire. Ryū immediately became alert, squinting his eyes in that direction.
Most Pokémon's night vision is stronger than a human's, so Ryū could roughly see where the firelight was. 'Intruding into other Pokémon's territory?' Ryū got up, wrapping his tail around Liz, ready to run at any moment. This was his first time coming to this forest; he was unfamiliar with the place and unsure of the strength of the Pokémon here. So when a Fire-type Pokémon suddenly appeared before him, he had to be vigilant.
Moreover, the number of Fire-type Pokémon living in the forest is relatively small. Especially Pokémon whose bodies are constantly covered in flames. In their usual state, the flames on their bodies are more like decorations. But once they become excited, the temperature of those flames will instantly rise, becoming real flames that can ignite other things.
"Aran? Is that a Pokémon?" Liz sensed something was wrong from Ryū's actions. Looking again, she found that the position where the flame appeared seemed a bit low, like a human baby holding a torch.
"Yes, that's right." Ryū nodded. As the flame got closer, Ryū gradually saw the outline of that Pokémon.
'Oh my god, is this real? So lucky?' It was precisely because he saw the outline that Ryū decisively released Liz and did his best to lower his body to reduce the perceived threat and pressure from his appearance. He was worried about scaring this little guy away.
"Char?" The owner of the flame appeared; it was a cute and naive Charmander.
"Hmm? A... small red lizard?" Liz poked her head out from behind Ryū and saw the true appearance of the Charmander.
"This guy is a Dragon." Ryū looked at this Charmander, whose eyes were full of 'innocence'. A height of only 0.6 meters indicated that the little guy might have just been born, or was simply underdeveloped, which is why his height was only at the level shown in the Pokédex. However, judging from the state of the flame at the tip of the little guy's tail, his vitality was quite strong.
As one of the starter Pokémon of the Kanto Region, the fame of the Charmander line has already far surpassed Gyarados and even many pseudo-legendary Pokémon. And Charmander's final evolution, Charizard, even has the nickname of Nintendo's favorite son, and Masuda Jun's biological father.
Obtaining such a title was naturally not due to a single reason. Whether in the games, the anime, or even the fan fiction sections in the real world, Charizard has quite high popularity. It is precisely because of this popularity that Masuda Jun has continuously given Charizard blatant favoritism throughout the generations. When versions change, Charizard is always given a boost; you will never find him in the sewers.
He has two forms of Mega Evolution; let alone ordinary Pokémon, even many legendary Pokémon don't have this treatment. And the most exaggerated was the eighth generation. The eighth generation clearly stated that the Pokédex would be cut, and hundreds of Pokémon could not be obtained in the Galar Region, including a bunch of starter Pokémon from previous generations. However, Charizard was different.
In the eighth generation, where Mega Evolution and Z-Moves were successively canceled, and version mascots like Mawile and Kommo-o successively fell from grace, Charizard not only openly arrived in the Galar Region but also obtained his own Gigantamax form, retaining a place on the battlefield. Therefore, meeting a Charmander here made Ryū feel very lucky. So much so that he was worried about his height, which might scare this little guy away.
"Char!" Charmander's first reaction after seeing Ryū and Liz was not to run, but to rush forward and enthusiastically wave hello. Ryū and Liz couldn't help but be stunned when they saw this.
'Indeed, the local environment nurtures the local Pokémon.' Ryū sighed in his heart. From the moment he and Liz sat under the tree, he noticed that the Pokémon in this forest were completely different from those on Mt. Silver. The Pokémon on Mt. Silver lived in the true Pokémon Era, following the law of the jungle. And the Pokémon in this forest seemed to have already entered the Alliance Era ahead of time, each as innocent as a child. Now, comparing the two, and then thinking about the Pokémon on the plains, they seem to be somewhere in between.
"This child is quite cute." Liz saw Charmander's actions and smiled with pursed lips. If it were Ryuuki, she would have definitely rushed forward and hugged Charmander without hesitation. But Liz was a mature adult after all, and an iron-blooded heroine who had led the Dragon Tamer Clan to conquer countless tribes. Of course, she wouldn't just hug an unfamiliar Pokémon simply because it was cute.
Especially the flame that was constantly burning behind Charmander's tail. In the eyes of humans of this era, that was extraordinary power, meaning this Pokémon had the ability to kill them. Liz chose Ryū back then also because of the feeling from her heart when she first met Ryū, not because he was cute.
"Char? (Where are your parents?)" Ryū tried to get a little closer, then asked a meaningful question. If this Charmander was living alone in this forest... Then he wouldn't be polite. Originally, in Liz's team planned by Ryū, he had not included Charizard as a target. It wasn't that he looked down on him, it was that he didn't dare to hope.
In the Alliance Era, starter Pokémon were not common Pokémon, let alone in this Pokémon Era. At first, Ryū didn't expect to encounter starter Pokémon. Even if he did, it should have been the three starter Pokémon from Johto, not a Kanto starter like Charmander. But now that he had encountered him so fortunately, he was naturally unwilling to let this little guy run away.
Among the Pokémon from the Kanto and Johto regions, Charizard is a T0 level. Not only is he strong, but he also has high mobility. Although he is not a pseudo-legendary or a legendary Pokémon, his appearance is not inferior to theirs at all.
"Char. (I haven't seen them.)" Charmander said with a little loss. But he quickly cast this loss aside and strode forward to examine Ryū and Liz.
'As expected.' Ryū wasn't surprised at all. It could be seen from the physical development of this Charmander. If this Charmander had parents, he would definitely not be so thin and small in such a pathetic state. Only by surviving alone in the forest would he become so destitute.
"Char~ (You are so big~)" Charmander had finished examining Ryū at this moment. He gestured with his two small hands, his eyes full of shock.
"Aran, what is this little guy doing?" Liz looked at the Charmander by her leg, feeling a bit confused. She felt that this Pokémon seemed a bit different from other Pokémon, giving off a feeling of being simple-minded.
"You will also become very big in the future." Ryū ignored Liz, because now was the critical moment.
"Char? (Really?)"
"Of course, but you have to become our little brother to become as big as me."