(At the enemies' base...)
The boss was in a discussion with his scientist, both drinking a glass of wine.
"I must congratulate you Waller, the Hybrids have proven to be stronger than those lucky chosen ones," he told her, "It's a shame that that unknown Pokemon intervened in their final."
"Don't worry, my lord" he replied, "I have news regarding that last fight: the chosen kids have divided into different directions of the Pokémon world, it is the perfect time to destroy them."
"Well…" he then turned to look at something or someone behind him, "This is your chance to take down that boy, Rex. Can you did it, didn't you?"
"Of course…" said the guy behind him: Hyzard.
"Do you like your new body, son?"
"Finally, that loser will no longer humiliate me… where has he gone?"
The boss smiled at the Pokemon Hybrid's eagerness to fight.
(Meanwhile…)
After appearing on a deserted plain, Rex and Katie found themselves with a long road ahead of them. Before transporting, everyone had divided the map into equal parts, with the locations where, according to Xerneas, each of the chosen kids should go to know their 'keys'.
"I think we should fly, don't we?" Katie asked, seeing that the place still seemed to be several kilometers away.
"Well… I guess we have enough energy for that," Rex said, looking at the map again, "Okay, let's do it."
So, they did it. Flying with Charizard's forms was much faster than circling craters, dodging cliffs, and going through forests. From the starting point towards the northeast, there would be the place known as the Charizific Valley, as Xerneas had indicated to them. While Rex was more accustomed to flying due to his past experiences, Katie had some problems with strong winds that caused her to lose concentration.
"Woah, calm down," Rex helped him, "Don't rush, just relax your mind while you fly."
"It's easy for you to say," Katie replied, "You've had time to practice long before me. I'm a clumsy at this..."
"Don't say that. As I remember, did you save us from the Genesect or not?"
"I just freed you and you helped me control the powers. I'm not capable of doing as many good things as you... What if I wasn't really chosen for this? You told me it was due to a failure in a battle."
"If you hadn't been, we wouldn't be talking right now. Nothing it's impossible if you trust in your heart. Come on, trust yours…"
That reminded Katie of Xerneas' words:
"…you need to believe in yourself and in the gift that has been given to you"
But she wasn't the only one: Rex was thinking about it too. The depth and truthfulness of its words were quite difficult to contradict.
"…you have to learn to value what you are and fight for it, even in the face of the threat of death"
To Rex, that was more than just the truth; He didn't know if he was a human or Pokemon: his origins baffled him.
"Look Rex," Katie said, removing him from his thoughts, "Is that the place?"
The valley was surrounded by a lake from which huge rock peaks sprang up that could be a fatal death to anyone who fell into them. Along the lake, like an invisible bridge, was a row of roaring Charizard-shaped statues. After this, a rocky circle began that surrounded the true center; This rock wall had three points where shapes stood out: a dragon head on the back and two wings on the sides. Inside, there were both green and rocky fields.
"How do we do it?" Katie asked, "Shall we descent to downtown?"
"Well, the normal thing would be to go and introduce ourselves…" Rex began to say, "Watch out!"
A Flamethrower crossed the sky and almost hit the chosen kids, Rex had foreseen it and helped Katie dodge it. However, they then found themselves dodging several Flamethrowers from different sides.
"What's going on?" Katie asked desperately.
"Don't worry, I'll protect you," Rex replied.
When the Flamethrowers finished, they found themselves surrounded by six adult Charizards with Aboriginal village markings. Rex wondered if they were friends or enemies, until one, apparently the leader, spoke to them:
"Who are you and what are you doing here?" he asked.
"We come in peace, we are the chosen children," Rex replied, "Xerneas told us to come here to increase our powers."
"Xerneas? It's difficult to believe. Sorry, but we are at war: unknown invaders are attacking Pokémon in various places around the world. If you really are noble Pokémon, you must prove it… in combat"
Rex and Katie looked at each other. The boy knew that his friend didn't have that much experience in a fight, so he raised his claw.
"Okay, I'll fight," Rex said.
"Well, then…" the leader said to his group, "Prepare the combat arena."
"Yes, Fulvius!" one of them responded.
The Charizard led them to a flat, even platform of rocks in the middle of the river that surrounded the valley. Nearby, at least twenty more Charizards were also witnessing (from the side of the valley entrance) the arrival of Rex and Katie. As the chosen kids landed on the platform, Fulvius separated from his group for a moment to go see another Charizard, whom the kids assumed to be his wife.
"What is it, Fulvius?" the female asked, "Are they invaders?"
"I will check that, Bedelia," Fulvius responded.
Fulvius then returned to the field and together with Rex, both combatants went on guard.
"Flamethrower!" They both attacked in unison.
Both attacks were launched with great power and hit the air, the heat was such that the water around the platform seemed to want to boil. On each side, the opponents resisted the push of the other's attack. They were very equal in power.
Finally, when they finished, they were both panting a little tired.
"Incredible," Fulvius told him, "No one in the entire Charicific Valley has managed to stay so even in a clash with Flamethrower with me. "You are really strong"
"Thank you," Rex responded, "I guess…"
"But it takes more than fire to win this battle…"
Before he finished his sentence, Fulvius lunged at Rex.
"Mega Punch!" Fulvius attacked.
"Steel Wing!" Rex defended himself.
Rex's defense was perfect and on time, which surprised the veteran. Taking advantage of that, Rex counterattacked:
"Mega Kick!"
However, Fulvius managed to avoid it by ducking his head and body. The next moment he also counterattacked with Mega Kick, but Rex also managed to dodge and block good attacks. Soon, the battle had become a series of punches, blocks, and dodges. The battlefield seemed to crack with the clash of blows.
Suddenly, both combatants stopped fighting on the ground and rose to the sky, where they continued the fight with blows and, from time to time, the occasional Flamethrower. At one point, Fulvius almost caught up Rex.
"Slash!" he attacked.
Rex managed to avoid him, but he was too close to him and had cut off the scarf that he was wearing around his neck and, also the fang-shaped amulet that he was wearing behind the scarf. Luckily, the only thing that wasn't cut off was the medallion that Xerneas had given him. However, the boy, realizing that he had lost his first amulet, quickly went down to pick it up.
But he did not catch it: Fulvius's wife, Bedelia, caught it in the air as this object fell. When Rex realized that his amulet was with her, he asked her:
"Can you give it back to me, please?"
Fulvius approached to Bedelia and Katie flew towards Rex.
"It is not wise to lose concentration in a battle, my wife will return it to you after it is over," Fulvius said to Rex, "Bedelia, please return the scarf to him after the fight. For now, you should return to the others"
"Wait Fulvius!" Bedelia suddenly shouted. Rex and Fulvius looked at her: she had found Rex's fang amulet.
For a minute, Rex and Katie seemed to see a sense of sadness in Bedelia's eyes, which then changed to tears... but they were happy. She turned to Rex.
"It's yours?" she asked, "How long have you had it?"
"Yes, it is mine. And I've had it since I was born," Rex responded, bewildered.
"You let me?" she asked, pointing to Rex's shoulder.
Rex realized that she wanted him to show his shoulder. When he did so, Bedelia's tears became more noticeable.
"Fulvius! Look! He has the mark!" she told him.
Fulvius then looked shocked. Approaching in to see Rex's birthmark, he was quite impressed as well.
"It's… a birthmark…" he tried to explain.
"It is not only from birth, but from inheritance," Fulvius explained, showing, to Rex's surprise, the same mark on his shoulder, "A mark that is transmitted from father… to son."
Rex, upon seeing the mark and knowing that meaning, suddenly understood. Without further ado, he surrendered and embraced Fulvius and Bedelia, in a familiar embrace.
"My son," said Bedelia, crying with happiness.
"Dad… mom…" Rex responded in the same way.
Katie was also very happy about such a beautiful family scene. When they finished, Rex asked his parents:
"I always wanted to meet them and ask them so much. Like…" then he remembered something very important, "…why…?"
"Why did you grow up without us?" Bedelia guessed, "It wasn't our decision."
"It's true, an accident happened and we lost you," Fulvius supported her, "But come, we will talk about it inside the valley."
"But what about combat?" Rex asked.
"Are you kidding? You are my son after all! We don't need any more proof than that. And bring… By the way, is the girl with you your girlfriend?"
Rex blushed at that comment and responded: "She is my friend."
Although in his mind, he thought: "I just find my parents and the uncomfortable comments begin."
Then, Rex approached Katie and told her they could come inside. The other Charizard, including Fulvius' special group, were surprised that this newcomer was the son of the clan leader, it was like being the son of the king of the valley.