AUTHOR'S NOTE: Greetings, readers! Here is chapter 19 of the continuing adventures of Tristan, Hillary, and Pikachu as they continue their journey through the Johto region. You know Liza, the caretaker in the Charicific Valley, right? Well, she and the valley make appearances in this chapter, and so does Ash's Charizard. You may recall the episode "Charizard's Burning Ambitions," where Ash's Charizard tried to defeat some of the other Charizard in the valley, but got defeated every time. So it had to stay in the water all night and reflect on how it could improve itself. And in the end, Ash had to leave his Charizard in the Charicific Valley to train and get stronger. Since then, it's become one of Ash's strongest Pokémon. But I digress. You may also recall Taz, the Pokémon hunter from Tristan, Hillary, and Pikachu's adventures in Kanto and the Orange Islands, don't you? Well, he and his Electabuzz make return appearances in this chapter. Please feel free to read and review this chapter at your leisure. Remember, there will be surprises coming up later in this story, so stay tuned.
TEASER: Tristan and Hillary arrive in the Charicific Valley and meet Liza, the caretaker of all the wild Charizard living there. But when Taz and his Electabuzz cut the power to the entire valley and capture all the Charizard living there, it will be up to Tristan's Charizard to save the day!
Chapter 19. THE CHARICIFIC VALLEY
(Music Cue: Very Bad)
With the Little Cup and Tristan's first Johto League Gym match now behind them, our heroes have decided to make their way to their next destination: Azalea Town. It's there that Tristan hopes to earn his second badge. But as we join them today, we find that travelling on the road has taken its toll on them both.
It was the middle of the day, and Tristan, Hillary, and Pikachu were showing signs of fatigue as they walked on an open road. They had been walking all day, and were feeling very exhausted.
"I'm tired, Tristan," complained Hillary. "Can't we stop and take a rest?"
"No, not yet," replied Tristan, although he was just as tired as Hillary was. "We have to keep going. I'm sure Azalea Town is just up ahead." But then he sat down on the ground from being so tired. "I can't take another step."
"Hmph! Serves you right!" grumbled Hillary. "I told you we needed to take a break. We left Violet City, went through a mountain, and traveled on some harsh terrain without resting, but no, you said we had to go straight to Azalea Town without stopping. I hope you're happy."
"Well, I guess I messed up," laughed Tristan nervously. Then he groaned. "I'm so very sore."
Pikachu and Togepi agreed. They were just as tired as their Trainers were.
"Now what do we do?" said Hillary. "We're miles away from the next town and we don't have any food. Things can't be any worse."
"Hillary, please don't say 'things can't get any worse,'" moaned Tristan. "Things'll always find a way."
Just then, Tristan and Hillary's stomach's grumbled.
"Oh, now I'm hungry, too," complained Hillary.
"Told you so," replied Tristan.
"But I want something to eat!" moaned Hillary.
Just then, they heard a friendly high-pitched roar from high up in the sky.
Tristan, Hillary, and Pikachu looked up and saw a shadow of a Pokémon carrying a balloon flying in the air above them. Then they noticed someone flying with it.
"It looks like somebody's riding that Pokémon," remarked Hillary. "Whoever it is must've trained it well."
"Well, wherever that person's going, I'm sure there's food!" replied Tristan.
"But we can't catch up with that Pokémon on the ground," said Hillary. "How will we get there?"
"Charizard can take us," replied Tristan as he took out his Poké Ball.
He then put element stickers on them, one for each of his Pokémon; he put two on Venusaur and Charizard's Poké Balls.
"Why are you putting stickers on your Poké Balls, Tristan?" asked Hillary.
"I wanted to make sure that I have an easy time finding my Poké Balls in case I lose them," answered Tristan. "Ritchie first taught me that."
"That's a very good plan."
"Now that that's done, we can follow that Pokémon. Go!" Tristan then threw Charizard's Poké Ball.
(Music Cue: 38)
Charizard emerged from the white light that shot out of it.
"Oh, yeah!" said Hillary. "Now we can follow that Pokémon in the air wherever it's going!"
"Well, let's climb on," replied Tristan as he and Pikachu climbed on Charizard.
Hillary put Togepi safely in her backpack as she got on and sat in front of Tristan.
"Okay, Charizard, let's go!" commanded Tristan.
Charizard roared in affirmation, and together, they all took off into the air.
Meanwhile, the person that Tristan and Hillary saw sniffed the air. It was a young woman, who had green hair, and she was riding a Charizard, which had a pink bow on its head. "Hmm. I think I smell another Charizard and its Trainer, Charla. And they're coming this way."
The Charizard named Charla seemed to agree with her as Tristan's Charizard approached.
"Hi, there!" called Tristan. "We couldn't help but notice you from the ground, so we decided to follow. May we?"
"Sure, it's okay with me!" smiled the woman.
Hillary turned to see Charla as she and Tristan riding Charizard flew alongside. "Wow, a Charizard! I see it's been raised well."
The woman chuckled. "This is my good friend, Charla. I've trained it myself ever since it was a little Charmander."
Charla nodded in agreement.
"My name's Liza," said the woman. "I train Charizard in a place called the Charicific Valley."
"The Charicific Valley?" repeated Tristan.
"It's a place where Charizard have lived in peace for thousands of years, and it's where the best Charizard in Pokémon history train to be the best they can be," explained Liza. "The Charizard there are all wild Charizard, and they're naturally trained."
"That's interesting," said Hillary. "Hey, Tristan, maybe we should check it out."
Tristan agreed. "Hey, Liza, would it be okay if we went to the Charicific Valley with you?"
"Of course," smiled Liza. "I thought that since you had a well-trained Charizard with you and you care for it so much, I was going to invite you to come to the Charicific Valley with me anyway."
Tristan was confused. "How did you know that I had a Charizard?"
"I could tell because of the lingering smell."
"There's a news flash," whispered Hillary to herself. "She can tell by smell."
"Okay, follow me!" said Liza. And she and Charla picked up speed as they flew on to the Charicific Valley.
Tristan and Hillary, still flying on Charizard, picked up speed as well.
But unbeknownst to them, a familiar figure was following them, and he had a beard.
(Music Cue: A Devious Plot)
It was Taz, the Pokémon hunter Tristan and Hillary saw back in Kanto and the Orange Islands. "Ah, the Charicific Valley, eh? This should be fun. I may have been robbed of the Butterfree in Kanto and the grapefruit in the Orange Islands, but catching Charizard seems like a hot idea." And he snickered evilly.
Meanwhile, Liza and Charla led everyone to a distinguishable rocky mountain formation. It was shaped like a Charizard.
"Is that it?" asked Hillary. "The Charicific Valley?"
"Yes, it is," answered Liza.
(Music Cue: Route 26)
Tristan and Hillary were awestruck.
"This is such a wonderful place," remarked Tristan.
They flew over a large lake. And as they got closer, they climbed higher and higher over some steps. At last, they reached the entrance to the valley.
Charla landed first, and Charizard landed right beside it.
Liza got off of Charla and gently stroked it. "Thanks for the nice ride, Charla," she said.
Charla nodded.
Tristan and Hillary got off of Chrizard as Liza dug something out of the balloon behind Charla.
"What's that?" asked Hillary.
"This is special edible Charcoal," answered Liza. "It's a treat that Fire Pokémon love to eat. Not only that, it increases the power of their Fire attacks. I always give some to Charla after it gives me a nice ride." She then handed some of the Charcoal to Charla, who quickly devoured it.
Charla was so happy by the taste that it felt stronger than it did before.
"Why don't you try giving some of it to your Charizard, Tristan?" suggested Liza. "After all, it did give you and Hillary a pleasant ride, didn't it?"
"It sure did," replied Tristan as Liza handed the Charcoal to him. He turned to his Charizard. "Hillary and I had a very nice ride. We enjoyed it. Try this. I think you'll like it." And he handed Charizard the Charcoal.
Charizard was a little puzzled, and wondered if it was edible. But after a few seconds, it chewed on it. It enjoyed the taste that it made quick work of the rest of it and felt much stronger than it did before.
"Charizard seems to like it, Liza," smiled Tristan.
"I'm very happy to hear that," replied Liza. "Say, do you two think you can help me carry my groceries to the house?"
"We can help with that," smiled Hillary.
"And after that, we can have some dinner," added Liza. "You both must be starving after traveling on the road all day."
"That'd be great, Liza," replied Tristan. "All right, let's help!"
"Right!" said Hillary as she and Tristan helped carry some of the sacks.
Liza detached the balloon from Charla so it could help her carry her groceries.
Charizard also pitched in to help and helped them carry the rest to her home.
When they got there, Tristan and Hillary saw a waterfall next to her house, and next to it, another Charizard.
"Wow, another Charizard!" said Tristan.
Liza nodded. "This is a Charizard that Ash left here so it could train. Ash's Charizard was much smaller than the average Charizard. It lost to the other Charizard so easily, even though it wanted to continue battling. So Charla and I had them reflect on how they can get stronger. I've been training with it for a while now, and it seems to have gained a lot of power already."
"It must've taken a lot of effort to train it, Liza," remarked Hillary.
"It's all part of my job," replied Liza. "My job, and Charla's, too, is to help protect this valley from any poachers who come here as they train to get stronger."
Charla then flew over to Ash's Charizard and embraced it.
Ash's Charizard showed its own affection for it as it stood proudly.
"It looks like those two Charizard really like each other," said Tristan.
"Charizard seems to have unofficially taken the role of Charla's bodyguard," replied Liza.
"Those two lovebirds really seemed to have hit it off right," remarked Hillary.
"Well, how about we eat something ourselves?" suggested Liza.
Tristan and Hillary agreed.
(Music Cue: Golden Silver (as heard in "The Little Big Horn"))
Inside Liza's home, Tristan, Hillary, Pikachu, and Togepi all enjoyed two helpings of Liza's fresh hot pizza.
"This is great, Liza, thank you!" smiled Tristan.
"Yeah, thanks so much," added Hillary.
"You're welcome," replied Liza. "Charla acts as my personal oven. It helps me do everything in the kitchen from cooking food on the stove, baking it in the oven, and it even gently helps me flame-dry the dishes. Plus, it helps dry the laundry when I need it."
"That may explain all the low energy bills," remarked Hillary.
"I still need electricity to do some of the necessary things like watch the news on TV," added Liza.
"Hey, Liza, after dinner, do you think we can see the Charizard living in the valley train?" asked Tristan.
"I don't see why not," answered Liza.
After dinner, Liza led Tristan, Hillary, and Pikachu to some steel doors at the entrance to the valley.
Tristan's Charizard followed them.
"Well, are you ready?" asked Liza. "I should warn you that most of the Charizard here are pretty strong."
Tristan and Hillary nodded.
(Music Cue: Victory Road (Kanto))
Liza pushed a button on her remote control, causing the steel doors to slowly open wide.
The interior of the valley was full of wild Charizard, all of which were big and strong.
There were some that flew in the air while some were resting comfortably on the ground. Several more partnered up with another to test each other's strength while others ate berries off some trees. There were big ones, small ones, gentle ones, and nasty ones.
There were Charizard everywhere in the valley as far as the eye could see.
"Wow, I've never seen so many Charizard at one time!" gasped Hillary.
Tristan, Pikachu, and his Charizard agreed.
"As you can see, these Charizard don't depend on human Trainers to help them get stronger," explained Liza. "They depend on each other to learn and grow. They never carry humans or see them very often, either...except for me."
"Has Ash's Charizard trained with any of these Charizard here in the Charicific Valley?" asked Tristan.
Liza nodded. "Charizard spends most of its days here training with all the other Charizard. Part of my job as a Charizard trainer is to ensure that they all push each other to their very best, especially the Charizard that the Trainers leave with me. There are good days and there are tough days, but in the end, all the Charizard, wild or trained, end up being as strong as they can be."
"That sounds pretty intense," remarked Tristan.
"But it makes sense, Tristan," replied Hillary. "As a Trainer, if you want your Pokémon to get stronger, you have to test their limits to see what they can and can't do, right?"
"That's right," nodded Liza. "It's certainly worked for the Charizard that live here."
Tristan thought long and hard about what Hillary just said. Then he turned to his Charizard. "Well, Charizard, if those Charizard can train to be as strong as they can be, we can, too, right?"
His Charizard agreed. It thought about how much stronger it could get if it stayed and trained with the other strong Charizard in the Charicific Valley.
That night, as Tristan and his friends slept peacefully in Liza's home, Taz had made it to the Charicific Valley.
He noticed the steel doors blocking the entrance. "Seizing those Charizard might be more interesting than I thought," he said. "But how do I get in? He then noticed a substation just outside the valley. "Hmmm, quite the distance, but it'll be worth it." He snuck out of the valley towards the substation. When he got there, he saw a warning sign. It read:
DO NOT USE EXCESS ELECTRICITY AT ANY TIME! DOING SO WILL CUT THE POWER TO THE ENTIRE VALLEY!
"So, excess electricity, huh?" smiled Taz. He took out a Poké Ball and threw it.
His Electabuzz emerged from the white light that shot out of it.
"Okay, Electabuzz, give it a Thunderbolt...shut it down!" ordered Taz.
Electabuzz charged up the electricity in its body, then it unleashed a powerful bolt of electricity at the substation, causing the transformer to be electrified with too much electricity.
Seconds later, there were several sparks, and soon after...
BOOM!
...the transformer exploded, causing the electrical substation to fail.
At the Charicific Valley, the power went out, and the steel doors slowly opened wide.
All the Charizard in the valley were fast asleep.
Inside Liza's house, she and Charla woke up to the sound of the electrical explosion. But they weren't the only ones, for Pikachu also woke up and awakened Tristan and Hillary at once.
"Something the matter, Pikachu?" yawned Tristan.
"I'm tired," moaned Hillary.
"Sorry, sis, but something's going on."
Pikachu ran to the window and pointed out.
As Tristan and Hillary watched, they gasped in shock at what they saw.
(Music Cue: Team Rocket Appears (as heard in "Enlighten Up"))
A powerful bolt of electricity could be seen followed by the sounds of painful roars coming from inside the valley.
"The Charizard!" cried Tristan and Hillary together.
Just then, Liza came into the room. "What's going on?"
"Liza, somebody's broken into the Charicific Valley!" exclaimed Hillary.
"You mean we might have poachers?" gasped Liza.
"It's sure possible," replied Tristan. "Come on, we've gotta get to the valley!" And he, Hillary, Pikachu, and Liza got out of the house and ran to the Charicific Valley entrance as fast as they could followed by Charla, Tristan's Charizard, and Ash's Charizard.
Meanwhile, inside the valley, Taz's Electabuzz had used Thunderbolt repeatedly to weaken all the Charizard living there.
Taz then fired an electrified net at the weakened Charizard, electrifying them even more.
Then to make things even worse, the captured Charizard were deposited inside a cage inside a waiting platform.
Taz snickered evilly. "With all these Charizard, I'll be on fire!"
Presently, Tristan's Charizard flew into view and rammed into Electabuzz, sending it flying backward and onto the ground.
"Electabuzz, no!" exclaimed Taz.
Tristan and his friends then came into view.
Liza was very angry. "Who do you think you are?!" she demanded. "You have no right to be here!"
"Tristan, look!" gasped Hillary.
Tristan saw the Charizard trapped in the giant cage on the platform. "All those Charizard must've gotten hurt!"
"And there's they guy who captured them!" added Hillary as she pointed to the bearded man.
"It's Taz!" exclaimed Tristan.
"Oh, great," grumbled Taz. "Not youse two again!"
Liza was surprised. "You two know him?"
"Yeah, he's the one who tried to capture all the Butterfree when we first met him in the Kanto region, including mine!" explained Tristan.
"And when we saw him on the Orange Islands, he tried to steal the grapefruit off the Seven Grapefruit Islands!" added Hillary.
"Yeah, well, tonight, I'm after a much bigger prize," replied Taz. "It's time to bid adieu." And he helped his Electabuzz get on the platform and pressed a button on his remote, causing helicopter blades to appear and spread out from the top.
(Music Cue: Kanto Trainer Battle (version 2 (as heard in "As Clear as Crystal")))
The blades spun faster and faster, and soon, the platform was airborne.
"Oh, no!" cried Hillary. "He's gonna get away!"
But as the platform rose higher and faster, Tristan's Charizard had already taken off into the air, going after Taz and Electabuzz as it went.
"Looks like Charizard wants to help," said Tristan. "Maybe I can help, too."
"Hold on a second," advised Liza. "I think your Charizard wants to rescue the other Charizard on its own."
"How come?" wondered Tristan.
"Because Charizard has something to prove by itself for itself," explained Liza. "It knows that you're its Trainer, but sometimes, it has to make its own decisions, and it has decided that those Charizard are its friends, too."
Liza was right, for just as Tristan's Charizard would do anything to help him in times of need, it felt that in its heart that those Charizard needed its help at that very moment. So it flew on and on until it finally reached the flying platform.
Taz noticed Tristan's Charizard hot on the platform's heels. "That lousy thing. Maybe I should capture it, too. Go, Electabuzz, give it a Thunderbolt!"
Electabuzz shot a powerful bolt of electricity at Charizard, who easily dodged the attack.
"I think that Charizard is asking us to capture it," smiled Taz. "Okay, Electabuzz, shoot it down!"
Electabuzz shot more and more Thunderbolts at Charizard, who zigzagged in the air to dodge them.
Taz became very annoyed. "That Charizard just won't quit!"
Eventually, Charizard caught up to the platform to free the other captured Charizard, but as it touched the cage to free them, the cage gave it a good zap.
Taz snickered. "Ha! Charizard, you're zapped!"
"Oh, no!" cried Hillary. "Charizard's in big trouble!"
"You can do it! Don't give up, Charizard!" shouted Tristan.
Thanks to Tristan's encouraging words, Charizard toughed it out as it repeatedly attacked the cage with its Slash attacks. Then with one final powerful Slash, it managed to free all the other Charizard, much to Taz's shock.
All the Charizard flew off the platform and into the air right next to Tristan's Charizard.
"You did it, Charizard!" said Tristan excitedly.
Pikachu cheered happily for its teammate.
Taz became very angry. "All right, that's it! I'll crush and capture every one of youse guys! Electabuzz, let's get 'em!"
(Music Cue: Danger! Pikachu! (as heard in "Mild 'n Woolly"))
But Charizard, the wild Charizard, and Charla never gave him or his Electabuzz a chance, for they all shot Flamethrower attacks directly in Taz's face, causing the blades on the platform to fail, thus causing the platform to crash onto the ground.
Presently, Tristan and his friends arrived on the scene.
"Now you're the one who's about to be zapped, Taz," said Tristan. "Pikachu, Thunder attack!"
Pikachu unleashed a powerful bolt of electricity to combine with Charizard's Flamethrower.
The combined attacks left Taz and Electabuzz scorched for a job so well done that they both scurried away as if they were on fire.
"Serves you right!" shouted Hillary.
(Music Cue: Fighting Spirit (as heard in "Pallet Party Panic"))
Tristan stood proudly as he watched his Charizard roar triumphantly followed by Charla and the other Charizard high up in the sky.
Liza was very impressed. She walked over and put her hand on Tristan's shoulder. "You are one great Trainer, Tristan. That Charizard of yours has been trained exceptionally well."
"Thank you, Liza," replied Tristan. "That means a lot. But I think Charizard deserves most of the credit. It was the one who saved all the other Charizard."
"Yeah, Tristan's right," agreed Hillary. "It did it all by itself."
"Now, I just have to call the electric company to get our power restored," said Liza. "I'll be back in a few minutes." And she darted off back to the house and made the call.
Tristan couldn't help but notice his Charizard having a good time in the Charicific Valley and stood proudly for it.
An hour later, as the sun came up, power was fully restored to the Charicific Valley, much to everyone's delight.
Then, everyone enjoyed a good breakfast of homemade pancakes courtesy of Liza and Charla's expert cooking.
(Music Cue: To the Hopeful Sky)
Soon, it was time for Tristan, Hillary, and Pikachu to leave the Charicific Valley.
"Thanks a lot for letting us see the Charicific Valley, Liza," said Tristan.
"Things would've turned out much more differently if you and your Charizard hadn't come along," replied Liza. "You know, I think your Charizard might benefit with a little extra training here in the Charicific Valley for a while. It might help all the Charizard here get stronger, plus your Charizard might gain experience learning from them. What do you think?"
Tristan, Hillary, and Pikachu were a little surprised, but Tristan's Charizard roared excitedly.
Tristan walked over to his Charizard. "Do you want to stay here and train for a while, Charizard?"
Charizard gave the question a lot of thought. Then at last, it nodded.
Tristan felt sad, but happily understood Charizard's feelings. It had been one of his best Pokémon ever since he caught it at the Cerulean Cape in Kanto, but he knew it would be beneficial for it and the other Charizard living in the valley, including Ash's Charizard. "I'll miss you, but I know you'll have fun and be stronger than ever." He shared one last hug with Charizard, then he walked over to Liza and said, "It's a deal." He took out Charizard's Poké Ball and handed it to her. "Please take care of Charizard for me."
"You bet," replied Liza.
A few minutes later, Tristan, Hillary, Pikachu, and Togepi waved goodbye to Charizard, Liza, Charla, and the other Charizard living in the Charicific Valley.
"So long, everyone!" called Liza. "And thank you for everything!"
"Bye, Liza! Bye, Charizard!" called Tristan and Hillary together. "Take care!"
Pikachu waved goodbye to its longtime teammate.
Tristan's Charizard roared its goodbyes as it saw him and Hillary disappear into the distance.
Tristan and Charizard may be parting for now, but both know they will reunite again someday soon. But for now, it's on to Azalea Town and the next Johto League Gym.
Meanwhile on the Whirl Islands, the sun was just coming up over the horizon, and the smaller baby Lugia was full of energy as it told its mother and sibling the news telepathically. Mother! Mother! Guess what? I can talk! I can eat well, and can swim and dive well, too, but really, really fast! Isn't this exciting?
(Music Cue: Movie Title 1999 (Japanese version title of "Revelation Lugia"))
The parent Lugia, who was just rousing from a good night's sleep, gasped in complete shock after hearing its baby speak telepathically for the first time and burst wide awake at once. Never had it seen a baby develop that much intelligence in such a short time.
The baby became nervous. What's wrong, Mother? Was it something I said?
The parent, understandably, became very worried, for it felt that the baby's speaking could put it and the entire family in danger. This is bad, it thought. I have to do something.
► TO BE CONTINUED