"Chapter 13: Charizard's Last Stand"
Misty stood at the docks, awaiting the next boat to arrive to take her off Master's Island; a boat that would take her home, far away from this place, and far away from Ash. She had thought about it since her fight with Ash. She wanted to go apologize for her part in that arguement, but of course her stubbornness held her back. Worse, she told Ash to go away when he wanted to talk. She didn't feel like she could face him again. Misty reassured herself this was the right thing to do, and it's what Ash wanted. He said so himself. She wiped away a tear from her eye and looked up to see the boat was approaching.
"I guess it's for the best," she said, stepping forward and preparing to get on the boat. Her attention was suddenly shifted away from the boat and back to the island when she heard a noise come over the island's PA system. It sounded like a struggle before a voice finally came over it.
"Hey, give that back!" a faint voice said over the PA system, which was carried throughout the island.
"Sorry, I need to do this," another voice said. Misty instantly recognized the second voice.
"Ash," she said.
*****
"Aren't you supposed to be down on the field?" the PA announcer asked Ash, who had managed to wrestle away control of the microphone away from him. He had switched off the system, not allowing Ash to speak through it anymore.
"This is more important," Ash said. "Please, turn it back on."
The look in Ash's eyes hit a soft spot in the PA announcer's heart. He could tell this really was important to the young Pokémon trainer, though he had no idea what was planned. He nodded and switched the PA system back on. Ash cleared his throat and prepared to speak into the mike.
"Misty, if you're still out there," he said, "please hear me out for one second. There's something I really need to tell you. You were right. I've been such a jerk lately, and I had no right. You tried showing me, just like everyone else, but I refused to listen. And because of that, I hurt you, and I am so sorry. I love you, Misty. I really need you here. I can't win this without you. I probably would have never won anything if you hadn't been by my side all these years. I can't think about anything else but you, so please, I ask your forgiveness."
After finishing his sentence, Ash went quiet. He handed the mike back to the PA announcer, who was wiping away a few tears that had fallen from his eyes.
"That was beautiful, kid," he said.
"I just hope it wasn't too late," Ash said. He looked at his watched and realized his 15-minute break was almost over. He quickly dashed out of the announcer's booth and back down to field level. Little did he know that Misty had more than gotten his message and was herself running to get to Legends Stadium, equally worried about being too late.
"Hang on, Ash," she said. "I'm coming."
*****
Ash arrived back in his trainer's box where Pikachu had been sitting by itself, anxiously awaiting the return of its trainer. It hopped up with excitement as it saw Ash coming towards it.
"Pikachu!" it said, jumping into Ash's arms.
"Thanks, Pikachu," he said. "Are you ready to help me get things back on track?"
"Pika-Pika!"
"Good."
"Hey Ash," his father called out to him. "That was mighty touching, son, but I'm afraid you're too late. I already saw your little girlfriend leaving on a boat earlier this afternoon. She's long gone, so you can just forget about her."
"Liar!" Ash shouted, trying to contain his rage. He knew his father was only trying to get to him and further rattle him from his game. He was determined not to let that happen anymore. Ash held comfort in the fact that he knew Misty was coming and he had to keep his mind focussed solely on the match from this point on.
"Believe what you want," David said. "However, it doesn't change the fact that you're still four Pokémon down and I've still got five of mine left. This match is all but over."
"We'll see about that," Ash said, taking the final PokéBall off his belt. He knew only this Pokémon and Pikachu were left, and he had a strong feeling that it would be able to handle a Metagross much better than Pikachu.
"Intermission over," the referee said after blowing his whistle. "Please commence battling again now."
"You heard him," David said to his Metagross, pointing back out to the field. His Pokémon left its trainer's side and walked out of midfield and awaited its next opponent. David watched as his son held the PokéBall he was holding close to his heart before tossing it out.
"I know you can do this," Ash said. "Alright, let's go!"
Ash threw the last of his PokéBall out onto the arena floor. The ball opened up, releasing the Pokémon inside it. Ash watched as the ball flew back into his hand and the Pokémon before him materialized. Charizard let go with a powerful roar and then proceeded to stare Metagross right in the eye. It was ready for this one.
"So, you're going with Charizard," David said. "I could switch Pokémon, but after watching your third round match, I could tell this Charizard in particular is weak and poorly trained. A Steel-type could easily take it down with no problem. I thought my own son would be better than this. I'm disappointed in you, Ash."
"Keep your disappointments to yourself," Ash said. "This Charizard is one of the best in the world, and we're not going to let you just insult it like that. Right, Charizard?"
Charizard sent another powerful roar in the direction of David Ketchum. Ash's father merely laughed it off.
"Whatever you say son," he said. "I think I'll let you have the first move for this one. You're going to need it."
"The first move will be your last mistake," Ash said with a chuckle. "Charizard, let's show 'em who's boss. Fire Blast, now!"
Charizard began to form a ball of fire within its mouth, and seconds later it released it as a wall of flames headed straight towards Metagross. David knew how Metagross liked to handle these situations, so he didn't even bother issuing a command. He simply watched as Metagross tucked each of its four sturdy legs underneath its body and began to float up into the air. Metagross looked down to see the Fire Blast soar below it, completely missing its intended target.
"It flies?!" May exclaimed.
"Well, it's more like hovering," Professor Oak explained. "By tucking its legs underneath its body like that, Metagross gains the ability to negate gravity. How this is possible is still a mystery, though."
"That's a neat trick," Ash said. "However, if you want an air battle, I'm afraid Charizard here rules the skies."
Charizard roared again, blasting off into the air, leaving a cloud of dust in its wake. It dashed up just above the ground where Metagross was continuing to hover.
"Flamethrower!" Ash called. Charizard fired another powerful blast of flames towards its foe, but Metagross quickly floated out of the way of the attack and the incoming Charizard as well. Ash's Pokémon quickly righted itself, turning around in midair to face Metagross. Once again it fired with a Flamethower attack, but again Metagross managed to dodge it.
"Metagross is more agile than you might think," David said. "However, I think we've been on the defensive for far too long. Metagross, let's end this! Meteor Mash, now!"
Metagross lowered itself back to the ground, landing in front of its trainer comfortably. It raised its two front legs, the tell-tale sign of an impending Meteor Mash attack. Ash knew this well from watching two of his other Pokémon fall victim to the powerful Steel-type attack.
"Charizard, on the ground!" Ash shouted up into the air to his flying Pokémon. Charizard was a bit confused by its trainer's command. It figured that it would have more room to dodge the attack if it stayed in the air, but Ash knew differently. When those meteors started to rain down, there would be no place to hide.
"Trust me, Charizard," he said. Charizard, though unaware of what its trainer had planned, listened to Ash's commands and landed back on the ground before its own trainer. Ash looked over to his opponent and his Pokémon and watched as Metagross was now bringing its claws forward, thrusting the glowing red orbs above its head at Charizard.
"Take cover!" Ash shouted. Charizard curled itself up, trying to cover as much as its body as it could with its huge wings. Both trainers watched as the Meteor Mash attack struck Charizard and struck hard. The meteors pounded the Fire-type, one after another, until they were no more. All that was visible to the trainers was a cloud of dust that had arisen from the meteor shower given to Charizard. As the dust began to settle, Ash watched with delight as he saw his Pokémon rise form the ground. He could tell it was battered and bruised, but still in fighting condition. Ash breathed a sigh of relief that he at least still had Charizard to battle with.
"Well, looks like Metagross's attack was a bit off," David said. "Lucky for you, but it won't make that mistake again. Finish it off this time!"
Metagross headed the harsh words from its trainer and began to power up yet another Meteor Mash attack.
"If Ash doesn't find a way to stop those attacks," Brock said, "he's not going to last much longer."
"Quick Charizard, Aerial Ace!" Ash shouted. Charizard leapt into the air and flew straight towards Metagross. It proceeded to clip David's Pokémon with the edge of its left wing, disrupting Metagross from powering-up its attack. Charizard circled around and flew at Metagross again, this time clipping it with its right wing.
"Your attacks are useless," David said. "There's barely a scratch on Metagross."
"Maybe so," Ash said, "but it doesn't seem to be in much of an attacking mode now."
Charizard continued to fly circles around its opponent, slicing it with its wings during each pass. This constant barrage of Aerial Ace attacks was leaving Metagross with no time to ready a counterattack. Ash had played Charizard's speed card and it seemed to be working. David was growing agitated as he realized the attacks, along with Metagross expending energy trying to strike back at Charizard, were slowly wearing down his Pokémon. He knew this had to come to a stop now.
"Iron Defense!" David shouted. Metagross dug its claws firmly into the ground and its entire body began to glow with a silver color. Charizard made another pass, preparing to strike again with its speedy Flying-attack. When it did so, its wing was instantly repelled by the Iron Defense of Metagross. Charizard quickly flew to the ground as its left wing was badly damaged and it was having trouble staying in the air.
"Perfect," David said with a smile. "It's now grounded. Crush it, Metagross."
David's Metagross dashed forward, jumping into the air and coming down hard on top of Charizard, pinning Ash's Pokémon on its back. Metagross held one of its front claws down over Charizard's throat, not allowing it go get back onto its feet. It squeezed the metal pincers of that claw hard around Charizard's neck, causing it severe pain. Ash's Pokémon tried to flail its back feet in an attempt to break free but Metagross quickly pinned them down with its own back legs. Raising its other front claw high into the air, it swiftly brought it down and started to savagely beat Charizard with it.
"Hang in there, Charizard!" Ash called. He could tell his Pokémon wasn't going to last long out there if Metagross kept it in that position. Ash tried desperately to think of a way to get Charizard free, but his thoughts were interrupted by a voice from behind him calling his name.
"Ash!" the voice called again. Ash turned around to see someone running out of the tunnel towards him. Not just anybody, though. It was Misty.
"You came back!" Ash exclaimed.
"Of course I did," Misty said, running up to her boyfriend and giving him a big hug. "You know I'm always here for you, and I won't let some stupid fight come between us."
"Thanks," Ash said, turning his attention back to the battle. "I'm glad you're here, because I could really use some support. I'm in big trouble."
"I figured you would be," Misty said, and she stepped back and tried to gauge what the situation was before her. She could see Charizard struggling to try and break free from David's Metagross, but so far it was having no luck. She looked up at the scoreboard to see that Ash was already on his fifth Pokémon of the match and his opponent was only on his second. Suddenly she saw the name of Ash's opponent on the scoreboard.
"Ash, is that man...your father?" she asked.
"I'm afraid so," Ash said. "And so far it's looking like he's the better Pokémon trainer."
"Don't say that!" Misty said. "You still have a chance to win this. You just have to look deep inside yourself and find the power inside. You and Charizard can do this, just look for that strength."
Ash took her advice and looked deep inside. His mind raced with memories of all the experiences he'd had with Charizard. He remembered when he first found the abandoned Charmander that he took into his team. He remembered when Charmander first evolved into Charmeleon, then again into Charizard, and all the problems he had trying to tame it. Almost a year it took him. He even remembered Charizard costing him his final match of the Indigo League competition. Yet he managed to show Charizard, eventually, he was a worthy trainer, and now here they were, battling side-by-side at the Masters Tournament. He knew what he had to do.
"Charizard, you can do it!" Ash called out to his friend. "Find the strength inside! I believe in you!"
Charizard closed its eyes and looked deep inside itself, just like Ash had done. A few seconds later its eyes popped back open, a new fire burning within them. It summoned up all the strength it could, and grasping its claws to Metagross's underside, lifted the heavy Steel-type up. With one quick motion, Charizard tossed it backwards. Metagross slowly righted itself and got back to its feet, wondering just how its opponent had done that. David was equally as shocked.
"Charizard doesn't have that kind of strength!" he said angrily. "There's no way it could lift and throw a Pokémon as heavy as Metagross!"
"You're wrong," Ash said. "Charizard does have the strength. It's the strength that comes from inside, and it's built-up over time through the bond a trainer shares with his Pokémon. You just train Pokémon to be powerful on the outside, but a real Ultimate Master trains a Pokémon's strength on both the outside and inside. Now Charizard and I will show you what it really means to be a team!"
Charizard bellowed a loud roar from its mouth as Ash finished saying that. Suddenly, a wall of flames began to encircle Charizard. The wall circled faster and faster, forming a protective shield around it.
"What's this?!" David exclaimed. Ash didn't know what it was either. In all his years of training Charizard, he had never seen it do anything like this before.
"What's going on?" Gary asked.
"I...I'm not completely sure," Professor Oak said. "I've heard stories, but I've never seen it before in person. Could it really be?"
Gary didn't really know what to make of his grandfather's comments. He simply turned his attention back to the match and continued to be amazed at the spectacle Charizard was putting on.
"I don't care what trick this is!" David shouted. "Metagross, finish it off for good! Psychic attack!"
Metagross powered-up and fired a multicolor beam of psychic energy at its foe. All watched as the Psychic attack connected with the spinning flame shield and simply fizzled out. David's jaw dropped in shock at what he had just witnessed. However, the biggest shock was yet to come. All watched as the flame shield began to fade, and as it did, all could see Charizard still there. Only now, it was glowing a bright, white light. The light began to fill the stadium. People shielded their eyes from its intensity.
"What's happening?" Ash wondered. Everyone else in the stadium was asking themselves that same question.
"Gramps, what's going on with Charizard?" Gary asked.
"It's evolving," Professor Oak said.
Misty stood at the docks, awaiting the next boat to arrive to take her off Master's Island; a boat that would take her home, far away from this place, and far away from Ash. She had thought about it since her fight with Ash. She wanted to go apologize for her part in that arguement, but of course her stubbornness held her back. Worse, she told Ash to go away when he wanted to talk. She didn't feel like she could face him again. Misty reassured herself this was the right thing to do, and it's what Ash wanted. He said so himself. She wiped away a tear from her eye and looked up to see the boat was approaching.
"I guess it's for the best," she said, stepping forward and preparing to get on the boat. Her attention was suddenly shifted away from the boat and back to the island when she heard a noise come over the island's PA system. It sounded like a struggle before a voice finally came over it.
"Hey, give that back!" a faint voice said over the PA system, which was carried throughout the island.
"Sorry, I need to do this," another voice said. Misty instantly recognized the second voice.
"Ash," she said.
*****
"Aren't you supposed to be down on the field?" the PA announcer asked Ash, who had managed to wrestle away control of the microphone away from him. He had switched off the system, not allowing Ash to speak through it anymore.
"This is more important," Ash said. "Please, turn it back on."
The look in Ash's eyes hit a soft spot in the PA announcer's heart. He could tell this really was important to the young Pokémon trainer, though he had no idea what was planned. He nodded and switched the PA system back on. Ash cleared his throat and prepared to speak into the mike.
"Misty, if you're still out there," he said, "please hear me out for one second. There's something I really need to tell you. You were right. I've been such a jerk lately, and I had no right. You tried showing me, just like everyone else, but I refused to listen. And because of that, I hurt you, and I am so sorry. I love you, Misty. I really need you here. I can't win this without you. I probably would have never won anything if you hadn't been by my side all these years. I can't think about anything else but you, so please, I ask your forgiveness."
After finishing his sentence, Ash went quiet. He handed the mike back to the PA announcer, who was wiping away a few tears that had fallen from his eyes.
"That was beautiful, kid," he said.
"I just hope it wasn't too late," Ash said. He looked at his watched and realized his 15-minute break was almost over. He quickly dashed out of the announcer's booth and back down to field level. Little did he know that Misty had more than gotten his message and was herself running to get to Legends Stadium, equally worried about being too late.
"Hang on, Ash," she said. "I'm coming."
*****
Ash arrived back in his trainer's box where Pikachu had been sitting by itself, anxiously awaiting the return of its trainer. It hopped up with excitement as it saw Ash coming towards it.
"Pikachu!" it said, jumping into Ash's arms.
"Thanks, Pikachu," he said. "Are you ready to help me get things back on track?"
"Pika-Pika!"
"Good."
"Hey Ash," his father called out to him. "That was mighty touching, son, but I'm afraid you're too late. I already saw your little girlfriend leaving on a boat earlier this afternoon. She's long gone, so you can just forget about her."
"Liar!" Ash shouted, trying to contain his rage. He knew his father was only trying to get to him and further rattle him from his game. He was determined not to let that happen anymore. Ash held comfort in the fact that he knew Misty was coming and he had to keep his mind focussed solely on the match from this point on.
"Believe what you want," David said. "However, it doesn't change the fact that you're still four Pokémon down and I've still got five of mine left. This match is all but over."
"We'll see about that," Ash said, taking the final PokéBall off his belt. He knew only this Pokémon and Pikachu were left, and he had a strong feeling that it would be able to handle a Metagross much better than Pikachu.
"Intermission over," the referee said after blowing his whistle. "Please commence battling again now."
"You heard him," David said to his Metagross, pointing back out to the field. His Pokémon left its trainer's side and walked out of midfield and awaited its next opponent. David watched as his son held the PokéBall he was holding close to his heart before tossing it out.
"I know you can do this," Ash said. "Alright, let's go!"
Ash threw the last of his PokéBall out onto the arena floor. The ball opened up, releasing the Pokémon inside it. Ash watched as the ball flew back into his hand and the Pokémon before him materialized. Charizard let go with a powerful roar and then proceeded to stare Metagross right in the eye. It was ready for this one.
"So, you're going with Charizard," David said. "I could switch Pokémon, but after watching your third round match, I could tell this Charizard in particular is weak and poorly trained. A Steel-type could easily take it down with no problem. I thought my own son would be better than this. I'm disappointed in you, Ash."
"Keep your disappointments to yourself," Ash said. "This Charizard is one of the best in the world, and we're not going to let you just insult it like that. Right, Charizard?"
Charizard sent another powerful roar in the direction of David Ketchum. Ash's father merely laughed it off.
"Whatever you say son," he said. "I think I'll let you have the first move for this one. You're going to need it."
"The first move will be your last mistake," Ash said with a chuckle. "Charizard, let's show 'em who's boss. Fire Blast, now!"
Charizard began to form a ball of fire within its mouth, and seconds later it released it as a wall of flames headed straight towards Metagross. David knew how Metagross liked to handle these situations, so he didn't even bother issuing a command. He simply watched as Metagross tucked each of its four sturdy legs underneath its body and began to float up into the air. Metagross looked down to see the Fire Blast soar below it, completely missing its intended target.
"It flies?!" May exclaimed.
"Well, it's more like hovering," Professor Oak explained. "By tucking its legs underneath its body like that, Metagross gains the ability to negate gravity. How this is possible is still a mystery, though."
"That's a neat trick," Ash said. "However, if you want an air battle, I'm afraid Charizard here rules the skies."
Charizard roared again, blasting off into the air, leaving a cloud of dust in its wake. It dashed up just above the ground where Metagross was continuing to hover.
"Flamethrower!" Ash called. Charizard fired another powerful blast of flames towards its foe, but Metagross quickly floated out of the way of the attack and the incoming Charizard as well. Ash's Pokémon quickly righted itself, turning around in midair to face Metagross. Once again it fired with a Flamethower attack, but again Metagross managed to dodge it.
"Metagross is more agile than you might think," David said. "However, I think we've been on the defensive for far too long. Metagross, let's end this! Meteor Mash, now!"
Metagross lowered itself back to the ground, landing in front of its trainer comfortably. It raised its two front legs, the tell-tale sign of an impending Meteor Mash attack. Ash knew this well from watching two of his other Pokémon fall victim to the powerful Steel-type attack.
"Charizard, on the ground!" Ash shouted up into the air to his flying Pokémon. Charizard was a bit confused by its trainer's command. It figured that it would have more room to dodge the attack if it stayed in the air, but Ash knew differently. When those meteors started to rain down, there would be no place to hide.
"Trust me, Charizard," he said. Charizard, though unaware of what its trainer had planned, listened to Ash's commands and landed back on the ground before its own trainer. Ash looked over to his opponent and his Pokémon and watched as Metagross was now bringing its claws forward, thrusting the glowing red orbs above its head at Charizard.
"Take cover!" Ash shouted. Charizard curled itself up, trying to cover as much as its body as it could with its huge wings. Both trainers watched as the Meteor Mash attack struck Charizard and struck hard. The meteors pounded the Fire-type, one after another, until they were no more. All that was visible to the trainers was a cloud of dust that had arisen from the meteor shower given to Charizard. As the dust began to settle, Ash watched with delight as he saw his Pokémon rise form the ground. He could tell it was battered and bruised, but still in fighting condition. Ash breathed a sigh of relief that he at least still had Charizard to battle with.
"Well, looks like Metagross's attack was a bit off," David said. "Lucky for you, but it won't make that mistake again. Finish it off this time!"
Metagross headed the harsh words from its trainer and began to power up yet another Meteor Mash attack.
"If Ash doesn't find a way to stop those attacks," Brock said, "he's not going to last much longer."
"Quick Charizard, Aerial Ace!" Ash shouted. Charizard leapt into the air and flew straight towards Metagross. It proceeded to clip David's Pokémon with the edge of its left wing, disrupting Metagross from powering-up its attack. Charizard circled around and flew at Metagross again, this time clipping it with its right wing.
"Your attacks are useless," David said. "There's barely a scratch on Metagross."
"Maybe so," Ash said, "but it doesn't seem to be in much of an attacking mode now."
Charizard continued to fly circles around its opponent, slicing it with its wings during each pass. This constant barrage of Aerial Ace attacks was leaving Metagross with no time to ready a counterattack. Ash had played Charizard's speed card and it seemed to be working. David was growing agitated as he realized the attacks, along with Metagross expending energy trying to strike back at Charizard, were slowly wearing down his Pokémon. He knew this had to come to a stop now.
"Iron Defense!" David shouted. Metagross dug its claws firmly into the ground and its entire body began to glow with a silver color. Charizard made another pass, preparing to strike again with its speedy Flying-attack. When it did so, its wing was instantly repelled by the Iron Defense of Metagross. Charizard quickly flew to the ground as its left wing was badly damaged and it was having trouble staying in the air.
"Perfect," David said with a smile. "It's now grounded. Crush it, Metagross."
David's Metagross dashed forward, jumping into the air and coming down hard on top of Charizard, pinning Ash's Pokémon on its back. Metagross held one of its front claws down over Charizard's throat, not allowing it go get back onto its feet. It squeezed the metal pincers of that claw hard around Charizard's neck, causing it severe pain. Ash's Pokémon tried to flail its back feet in an attempt to break free but Metagross quickly pinned them down with its own back legs. Raising its other front claw high into the air, it swiftly brought it down and started to savagely beat Charizard with it.
"Hang in there, Charizard!" Ash called. He could tell his Pokémon wasn't going to last long out there if Metagross kept it in that position. Ash tried desperately to think of a way to get Charizard free, but his thoughts were interrupted by a voice from behind him calling his name.
"Ash!" the voice called again. Ash turned around to see someone running out of the tunnel towards him. Not just anybody, though. It was Misty.
"You came back!" Ash exclaimed.
"Of course I did," Misty said, running up to her boyfriend and giving him a big hug. "You know I'm always here for you, and I won't let some stupid fight come between us."
"Thanks," Ash said, turning his attention back to the battle. "I'm glad you're here, because I could really use some support. I'm in big trouble."
"I figured you would be," Misty said, and she stepped back and tried to gauge what the situation was before her. She could see Charizard struggling to try and break free from David's Metagross, but so far it was having no luck. She looked up at the scoreboard to see that Ash was already on his fifth Pokémon of the match and his opponent was only on his second. Suddenly she saw the name of Ash's opponent on the scoreboard.
"Ash, is that man...your father?" she asked.
"I'm afraid so," Ash said. "And so far it's looking like he's the better Pokémon trainer."
"Don't say that!" Misty said. "You still have a chance to win this. You just have to look deep inside yourself and find the power inside. You and Charizard can do this, just look for that strength."
Ash took her advice and looked deep inside. His mind raced with memories of all the experiences he'd had with Charizard. He remembered when he first found the abandoned Charmander that he took into his team. He remembered when Charmander first evolved into Charmeleon, then again into Charizard, and all the problems he had trying to tame it. Almost a year it took him. He even remembered Charizard costing him his final match of the Indigo League competition. Yet he managed to show Charizard, eventually, he was a worthy trainer, and now here they were, battling side-by-side at the Masters Tournament. He knew what he had to do.
"Charizard, you can do it!" Ash called out to his friend. "Find the strength inside! I believe in you!"
Charizard closed its eyes and looked deep inside itself, just like Ash had done. A few seconds later its eyes popped back open, a new fire burning within them. It summoned up all the strength it could, and grasping its claws to Metagross's underside, lifted the heavy Steel-type up. With one quick motion, Charizard tossed it backwards. Metagross slowly righted itself and got back to its feet, wondering just how its opponent had done that. David was equally as shocked.
"Charizard doesn't have that kind of strength!" he said angrily. "There's no way it could lift and throw a Pokémon as heavy as Metagross!"
"You're wrong," Ash said. "Charizard does have the strength. It's the strength that comes from inside, and it's built-up over time through the bond a trainer shares with his Pokémon. You just train Pokémon to be powerful on the outside, but a real Ultimate Master trains a Pokémon's strength on both the outside and inside. Now Charizard and I will show you what it really means to be a team!"
Charizard bellowed a loud roar from its mouth as Ash finished saying that. Suddenly, a wall of flames began to encircle Charizard. The wall circled faster and faster, forming a protective shield around it.
"What's this?!" David exclaimed. Ash didn't know what it was either. In all his years of training Charizard, he had never seen it do anything like this before.
"What's going on?" Gary asked.
"I...I'm not completely sure," Professor Oak said. "I've heard stories, but I've never seen it before in person. Could it really be?"
Gary didn't really know what to make of his grandfather's comments. He simply turned his attention back to the match and continued to be amazed at the spectacle Charizard was putting on.
"I don't care what trick this is!" David shouted. "Metagross, finish it off for good! Psychic attack!"
Metagross powered-up and fired a multicolor beam of psychic energy at its foe. All watched as the Psychic attack connected with the spinning flame shield and simply fizzled out. David's jaw dropped in shock at what he had just witnessed. However, the biggest shock was yet to come. All watched as the flame shield began to fade, and as it did, all could see Charizard still there. Only now, it was glowing a bright, white light. The light began to fill the stadium. People shielded their eyes from its intensity.
"What's happening?" Ash wondered. Everyone else in the stadium was asking themselves that same question.
"Gramps, what's going on with Charizard?" Gary asked.
"It's evolving," Professor Oak said.