Chapter 66: Father-Son Bonding Time
While Ash and Nikki were traveling towards Spirit Pass over in the Charisific Valley the sun was just beginning ti rise, waking up all the inhabitants of the valley. One of those inhabitants, Ash's Charizard, greeted the day eagerly, for he had plans. Ever since he had come back he had been helping his son train to become stronger, and he had seen great progress from the young Charmander.
"(He's going to be a strong Charizard one day, maybe even stronger than me,)" he mused. The sound of approaching footsteps caused him to turn around, where he saw Liza walking towards him.
"Morning, Charizard," she greeted.
"(Good morning,)" Charizard replied.
"Eager to get the day started?" Liza assumed.
"(Of course. I have to keep my training up,)" Charizard replied.
"Can't forget about your son's training," Liza stated. A smile appeared on Charizard's face as soon as Liza mentioned his young offspring.
"(He has so much potential. He's just like me in my younger days,)" he said. "(I imagine one day he'll be stronger than me.)"
"I wouldn't doubt that one bit," Liza commented. "Speaking of which, he and Charla should be up pretty soon." As soon as she said that Charla came flying up to them, carrying Charmander in her arms.
:Morning, you two. Did you sleep well?" Liza greeted.
"(We did,)" Charla replied. As soon as he saw his father Charmander jumped out of Charla's arms and sprinted over to Charizard.
"(Morning, Daddy,)" he said.
"(Morning, kiddo. You ready for another day of training?)" Charizard asked.
"(You bet I am!)" Charmander shouted.
"(Now remember, Charizard, he's still young. Don't push him too hard,)" Charla advised.
"(Don't worry, I'll be careful,)" Charizard replied. "(Besides, he's our son. He can take any kind of training I dish out. Right, son?)"
"(Yeah!)" Charmander agreed. With a smile on his face Charizard scooped up his son and took off towards the valley's training grounds, leaving Liza and Charla to watch them go.
"Boys will be boys, I guess," Liza sighed.
"(That they will,)" her Charizard agreed.
The training grounds were set up so that the numerous Charizard in the valley could practice and hone their skills. Presently, it was being used by Charizard to help his son become stronger.
"(What are you going to work on first, Daddy?)" the young Charmander wondered.
"(Well, to start off with I wanted to see how your Flamethrower is coming along,)" Charizard suggested.
"(Okay,)" Charmander said. "(Um, could I see yours first?)"
"(Of course, son.)" He took aim at a nearby rock and let loose a massive Flamethrower, the fiery attack leaving a scorch mark on the rock. The young Charmander was left speechless at his father's power.
"(Now it's your turn, son,)" Charizard said. Charmander stepped forward and faced the rock. He took a deep breath and tried his best to fire3 off a Flamethrower like his father. However, rather than a Flamethrower, he spit out a few small embers that exploded upon impacting the rock.
"(What the… that wasn't a Flamethrower,)" he commented.
"(No. That was Ember,)" Charizard said. "(Not a bad start.)"
"(But it wasn't a Flamethrower. What did I do wrong?)" Charmander wondered.
"(Well, for starters you can't force it out. You have to feel the fire build up inside of you,)" Charizard explained. "(Once it's built up enough that's when you let it loose.)"
"(Okay, but how do I know when it's built up enough?)" the young Pokémon questioned.
"(Just trust your instincts. You'll know when it's built up enough,)" Charizard responded. "(Now, let's try that again. Just remember, let it build upi before you fire.)" Charmander nodded and faced the rock once again.
"(Let it build up… then let it loose.)" He closed his eyes and concentrated, feeling the fire build up inside his gut. Then, after a few seconds, he opened his eyes and fired, letting loose a stream of fire at the rock. His attack left a small scorch mark just as his father's did.
"(I… I did it. I did it!)" he shouted.
"(There you go, son. That was an impressive Flamethrower,)" Charizard praised.
"(I did just like you said. I let it build up and then when I felt it was time I let it loose,)" Charmander said.
"(I told you,)" Charizard said. "(Now, let's see if you can do it again.)" Charmander nodded and turned towards the rock again. After a few seconds he once again let ;loose an impressive Flamethrower, scorching the rock once again.
"(See there. You're getting the hang of it,)" Charizard commented. Charmander was so excited he fired off another Flamethrower, getting the same results as before. Seeing this filled Charizard with a great sense of pride.
"(Alright, son, I think we;ve worked on your Flamethrower enough now,)" he said.
"(Okay, Daddy,)" Charmander repolied. "(What are we going to work on now?)" Charizard took a moment to think about that.
"(Let's see… your Flamethrower is looking good, so let's try some close-range combat,)" he said. "(Let's see how your Scratch attack pans out.)" Charmanser nodded and faced a log that had been set up to practice hand-to-hand tactics. He rared back and swiped at the log, tearing three deep gashes in it.
"(How's that, Daddy?)" he asked.
"(That was good, but I don't think that was a normal Scratch attack,)" Charizard commented. "(Let me see it one more time.)" Charmander didn't know what his father was curious about but he did as he was asked and slashed at the log again. This time he tore completely through the log and sliced it in half. While the young Charmander looked on in awe at what he did Charizard nodded in understanding.
"(I thought so,)" he mused.
"(Did my Scratch really do that?)" Charmander wondered.
"(Yes, but that wasn't a Scratch attack. That was a Slash attack,)" Charizard explained.
"(Slash?)" Charmander questioned.
"(An attack much stronger than Scratch. That's very impressive for one so young,)" Charizard praised.
"(It is?)" Charmander asked.
"(Indeed,)" Charizard answered. "(It took me a while to learn Slash. For you to know it at such a young age is something. You're impressing me more and more everyday.)" Hearing his father's words put a huge smile on Charmander's face.
"(Well, son, what say we get back to training,)" Charizard offered.
"(Yes sir!)" Charmander shouted. Full of enthusiasm and energy Charmander eagerly got back to training with his father, eager to show him just how much stronger he had become.
After a full day of training both Charizard and Charmander were exhausted. The two of them were currently sitting on a cliff overlooking the valley, watching the sunset. The young Pokémon waws awestruck as his father regaled him with stories of his past adventures with his trainer.
"(Did you really take on the legendary trio from Kanto?)" Charmander asked.
"(I sure did, son,)" he replied. "(It was one of my toughest battles. I needed Lugia's help to deal with them.)"
"(They were that strong?)" the young Pokémon questioned.
"(They are legends for a reason,)" Charizard answered. "(Entei was another tough battle of mine.)"
"(You battled Entei as well?!)" Charmander gasped.
"(Sure did. In fact I could spend all day telling you about all the battles I've had over the years,)" Charizard told him.
"(Ones with your trainer?)" Charmander wondered.
"(Yeah. He and I have had some incredible battles against some of the strongest Pokémon around, and we've both come out better and stronger,)" Charizard explained. Charmander just looked up at him, his eyes sparkling with admiration.
"(One day, I'm going to find me a trainer like you did and go on awesome adventures like you and your trainer, and we'll become just as strong as you and your trainer,)" he vowed. Charizard looked down at him and placed a claw on his shoulder.
"(Son, you'll be even stronger than me,)" he said.
"(You really think I can be stronger than you?)" Charmander asked.
"(After what I saw today there's no doubt in my mind,)" Charizard replied. "(As long as you keep your training up you'll be stronger than both me and your mother.)"
"(I'll keep training, Daddy,)" Charmander promised. "(I'll make you proud one day.)"
"(You already have, son. You already have,)" Charizard replied. By now the sun had dipped below the horizon and stars were starting to appear in the sky.
"(Well, it's getting late. Let's turn in for the night,)" Charizard said. He picked his son up and flew off towards the cave where he, Charla and their son slept.
A few days later Charizard was ready to reunite with Ash in Legenda. He was standing near the entrance with Liza, Charla and his son, ready to say his goodbyes.
"Have a safe trip," Liza said. "Tell Ash and Nikki I said hello."
"(I will,)" Charizard replied. Charla walked up to him and gave him a hug.
"(Take care, dear,)" she said.
"(You know I always do,)" he replied.
"(Bye, Daddy,)" Charmander said.
"(So long, kiddo,)" Charizard said. "(Remember to keep up your training.)"
"(I will,)" Charmander promised. With his goodbyes said Charizard spread his wings and took to the skies. He flew up a bit before stopping and turning to face the others who were waving goodbyes to him. Charmander stepped forward, took a deep breath and fired off an impressive looking Flamethrower. In response Charizard fired off his own Flamethrower.
"Goodbye, Charizard!" Liza shouted as she and the others continued to wave. Charizard waved back before continuing on his way towards Professor Oak's lab.
After spending some time with his son Charizard learned just how strong his young son was. Just how much stronger will the young Charmander become? Will he eventually become stronger than his parents? Find out in the next chapter of Search for Power!
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