Chapter 16
The bright, sun-shining day seemed to be reflecting Ash's mood in the same way that the lake beside them was reflecting the sunlight. They were currently walking along a beautiful path surrounded by woods on either side, but through the thinning trees to their left, the path south of Violet City winded around the sparkling, clear-blue lake. Houses that were one step down from being mansions lined the other side of the lake, and really made for a beautiful view, but it wasn't what Ash was looking at.
Holding his jacket open, his smile couldn't seem to fade as he looked down at the silver Zephyr Badge pinned to the inside of the blue coat. Though Gary had the Badge as well, he wasn't gloating about it and had already put it away in his Badge Case, and instead had a guide book in his hands. "Looks like the next closest Gym is the Azalea Gym in Azalea Town," he reported.
"Great! Let's get there and keep my winning streak going!" Ash cheered with his fist pumping in the air.
"Right..." Gary rolled his eyes and then put away his book. "Just don't forget that Azalea Town is also where Kurt lives."
"Oh, right, I almost forgot," the younger Trainer said, turning back to look at his rival. "He's who we're supposed to deliver the GS Ball to." Gary nodded and put away the guidebook.
"Right. And carrying out Grandpa's request will take precedence over a Gym Battle." A smile spread across Ash's lips, and the dark-haired boy nodded in agreement.
"You're right. Then to Azalea Town, and to Kurt's!"
o 0 o
Ash's enthusiasm quickly diminished as the hours passed into days. Soon, they had been traveling along the road for three days, and their legs were already exhausted. And, according to the guidebook, the terrain was only going to get worse from here once the grassy, hilly area turned into mountains up ahead.
"It seems like we're never going to get to the next town..." Gary complained, something rare for the older Pokémon Trainer to do.
"Yeah, my feet are killing me," Ash agreed, his arms hanging down and feeling like they were going to fall from their sockets. "I just wish I had as many Badges as I had blisters."
"You can't expect to win a bunch of Badges if we don't find any Pokémon Trainers to battle with on this road," Gary replied with a cocked eyebrow, and then scoffed. "Well, forget this road. You barely train your Pokémon against other Trainers."
"I do too train against other Trainers!" Ash snapped back, his anger giving him a renewed energy as his whipped his head around to look at his rival. "You are just selfish and challenge everyone you see to battle."
"Or maybe they just know a real Trainer when they see one." As they started arguing, they failed to notice the terrain was starting to get much more difficult to traverse, and that they were surrounded by mountains and canyons and valleys.
"Then how about we battle?! I'll win with Blastoise on my side," Ash spat. "And with my new Charizard, things won't be the same as when we battled at the Indigo Plateau."
"Oh please. I've seen you battle time and time again that I know your strategies like the back of my hand. It wouldn't even be a challenge."
"Wouldn't be a challenge?! Unless I'm mistaken, Fire Pokémon like Charizard can beat Grass Pokémon like your Venusaur."
"Sure, but I have plenty of other Pokémon that can counter Charizard," Gary pointed out, rubbing his chin playfully. "Maybe I would even have Grandpa send me my Charizard to really put salt in the wound."
At this, Ash deflated slightly. "You have a Charizard?"
"Of course I do. I've caught over two-hundred Pokémon, Ashy-boy."
This made Ash stop in place. He had forgotten that Gary had collected so many Pokémon while they were traveling separately through the Kanto region. His anger came to a head and he took in a deep breath. "I'M NEVER GONNA CATCH UP!"
"UP!"
"Up!"
"up..!"
"up..."
Ash blinked when he heard his voice reverberate off the mountains, and it was then that they finally realized that they had were up on the mountainous path that they had so been dreading. They both looked at each other, with all the tension seconds earlier having melted away from taking in their surroundings.
"Who are you trying to catch up to?" a new voice questioned. Both Trainers looked over and up on a higher platform was a young woman with thick green hair tied up into a ponytail. She wore a red leather outfit and was decked in gold jewelry. "Don't worry; I wasn't eavesdropping. You can hear things in this canyon for miles because of the echoes, and I had to follow when I heard the sound of arguing." The two stared at her, both surprised to see someone so far out in the middle of nowhere, and also how she had just appeared out of nowhere. "I'll show you what I mean." She turned her head and cupped a hand around her mouth. "Oh, Charizard!" Just like Ash's voice had echoed, hers did as well.
But soon, what reverberated off the mountain was a loud roar, and pillars of flames shot into the sky, some of them reaching so far as to part the clouds above. "W-what are those?!" Ash sputtered. The roar had scared the daylights out of him.
"Those are Charizard from the Charicific Valley," the green-haired girl answered nonchalantly.
"Hey, I think I read about that in the guidebook," Gary murmured, and pulled out his book before flipping through some of the pages. "'The Charicific Valley Natural Preserve is a well-known Charizard habitat that is officially off-limits to tourists.'" As Gary read the entry from the guidebook, the young woman climbed down the side of the cliff she had stood on – which was very impressive considering she was wearing knee-high heels.
"My name's Liza," she introduced. "I train Charizard."
"Wow, that's cool!" Ash complimented.
"You ought to know. You have a Charizard, don't'cha?"
Ash's eyes widened slightly. "Yeah... how'd you know that?" Instead of answering verbally, the young woman drew closer to Ash and sniffed the air around him.
"The smell of Charizard is very subtle, but unmistakable." Ash took a step back, but it was unnecessary as Liza returned to her spot and smiled. "Yup! I heard couple of Trainers won a Badge from the Violet City Gym Leader, and I've been wanting to meet you for quite a while now."
"You have?"
"And I'm even more interested in meeting your Charizard!" Without waiting for a response, she moved in closer and excitedly. "Would you like to come into the Charicific Valley with me?!"
"Hey, what an incredible offer," Gary said, perking up with a smile, and then looked at his traveling companion. "It isn't every day that someone gets to observe Charizard in their natural habitat." Ash studied his rival's face and returned the smile as he looked back at Liza.
"Well, I would like to see how they all live in the wild."
"I'm Gary Oak, and the Charizard Trainer here is Ash. And we would be delighted to accompany you."
"That's terrific!" Liza replied, and began twirling the cane she held in her hand that featured a Poké Ball on the top. "But first I'll have to call my friend Charlaaa!" The last word she mentioned was drawn out, and she raised the tip of her walking stick to the sky. As it had before, a roar replied to the name, but only a single pillar of fire stretched across the sky this time. Seconds later, a dragon-like shape blacked out the sun, and a creature with something attached to its backside glided into view and began to descend toward them. As it drew closer, Ash could see it was a Charizard, and as it landed in front of them, he saw a pink bow tied atop its horns. Attached to its tail was a small hot air balloon. "Guys, this is my very good friend, Charla. Say hello, Charla."
The orange Flame Pokémon turned its head and gave them a friendly smile before letting out a small roar, and as Liza approached, the Charizard bent down and let the young woman climb atop its neck right before its wings. When Charla stood back up, Liza balanced herself as easily as breathing and smiled back at the pair. "Gary, you can ride in the back," she offered. "Just hop right on into the basket."
Gary approached the mini hot air balloon, and his eyebrow raised slightly when he saw the bags of groceries that Liza had failed to mention, but kept his opinions to himself and stepped inside. Ash went to step in as well, but then Liza caught his gaze. "What are you doing?" she asked him. "Fly on your Charizard! And just follow me." Ash was caught so unawares of her suggestion that he stared with his mouth open slightly and she looked forward and patted her Pokémon's neck. "Let's go, Charla!" Charla's rugged response snapped Ash out of his stupor, and while the balloon lurched forward and Gary held onto one of the support beams in fear of falling out, Ash ran forward.
"H-hey, wait a second! How do I do that?!"
"You mean to tell me you're a Charizard Trainer and you've never even gone flying on your Charizard yet?" she asked, throwing her voice over her shoulder.
"Well, he just evolved..." Ash muttered in response, and looked down at his belt. Swallowing to get rid of the lump in his throat, he smirked and drew a Poké Ball from his belt. "But, it can't be that hard! Go!" He threw the Poké Ball forward, and it burst open, unleashing the bright plasma inside that formed together into his Charizard. The Flame Pokémon threw its head back and roared, but Ash interrupted it by approaching it. "Charizard, I need you to give me a ride." One of Charizard's brows raised at the statement as it looked at Ash in shock, and it shook its head back and forth.
"What's wrong, there?" Liza's voice called from the distance. She had been watching the scene from the air, and her and Charla were flying around in circles waiting for Ash to keep up. "Ash too heavy for 'ya?" The challenging tone she spoke with grabbed Charizard's eye immediately, and it sent a glare at her. This time, it was much more cooperative, and it stomped in a circle and faced its back toward its Trainer and looked back at him.
"Great! Let's go!" He jumped onto the Fire-type Pokémon's back, but Charizard barely gave him a chance to steady himself before letting out a roar and bounding forward. Ash cried out and held on to his Pokémon's neck as tight as he could, but he was just on the cusp of falling off. As Charizard pushed off the ground, the movement was enough to throw Ash off its back. Unaware of this, Charizard took off into the sky, and Ash only watched with his backside planted on the rocky ground, and looked up at it with fallen shoulders. "Charizard... what about me..?" The Fire-type heard the muttering and looked down, and when it saw Ash on the ground, its eyes widened and mouth opened in shock.
Feeling the burning stares of Liza and Gary from the sky, Charizard quickly descended, and this time, knelt down so Ash could properly adjust himself on its back. Once Ash gave the go-ahead – a pat on the neck similar to how Liza had silently commanded Charla – Charizard ascended from the ground. However, the newly-evolved Fire-type was still getting used to handling its wings, let alone with an added weight on it, and it flapped its wings similar to a bird's. It was awkward and erratic, and Ash felt like he was on a boat on an angry sea rather than a Charizard in flight, but they eventually made it off the ground. It was only a couple feet off the ground, but as Liza and her Charizard took off, Ash's Charizard followed suit.
While Charla's flying was smooth and graceful like a hang glider, Ash's Charizard's flying was absolutely sloppy in comparison. But all the while, Charla and Liza were quickly getting away from the pair, which was bringing out Charizard's competitive side and getting it irritated. "Charizard, calm down!" Ash yelped whilst being thrown around on its back and holding on for dear life. They were high enough off the ground now that a fall wouldn't be fatal, but would hurt very badly. "Watch how Liza's Charizard is flying and try and copy it!" Charizard grunted beneath Ash, both as a way of saying its Trainer was right and letting out a sigh to relax itself.
It looked up at the disappearing Charizard and watched carefully with its eyes, and soon, it too began to glide, letting the pockets of air catch underneath its wings and bring it both up and forward. It soon caught the hang of it, and waved its wings to push it forward and they both caught up with Liza and Charla soon after. "See? It's easy!" Liza told them. Now that Ash wasn't at risk of dying, he laughed in delight. There was nothing quite like flying and looking down at the trails down below his feet. "Okay, follow me!" With a tap of the back of her heel against Charla's neck, the Fire-type Pokémon flapped its wings and darted forward, quickly picking up speed expertly and soaring around a mountain peak.
"Don't let them get away!" Ash cried with a point forward. A confident roar jumped from Charizard's throat, and it waved its wings in a similar manner to the other Charizard, but once the land dropped below and the mountains and canyons began to space themselves out, Ash's Charizard lost the thermals it had been riding on, and with it, lost all the knowledge it had just learned. Stopping in place, Ash and Charizard both stared with eyes wide open, and Ash looked on both sides, unable to understand why Charizard had suddenly stopped in the air. Before he could open his mouth to ask his Pokémon, the pair dropped through the air like a brick, and Ash had to close his mouth, or else lose his stomach through it. His head whipped downward as Charizard frantically flapped its wings once again in order to stay airborne, but it failed in doing so, and soon began to downward spiral toward the ground.
But much to Ash's horror, it wasn't the ground they were falling toward, but a deep, deep canyon that ended in a river – which they happened to be heading straight into. "Charizard! Straighten up and fly right!" Ash screamed, holding onto his Pokémon's neck as tightly as he could. With each passing second they dropped feet, and Ash closed his eyes, fearing the worst, but luckily, at the last possible millisecond, Charizard opened its wings and pulled its body upward. It had managed to stop their descent, and trying to use the momentum, it flapped its wings to try and pull itself up, but this failed, and Charizard could only move forward by jumping from rock to slippery rock that was sticking out of the rushing stream.
"Char-i-zard!" Ash screamed as he was thrown side to side on the Flame Pokémon's back with each hesitant hop. Giving a mighty jump, Charizard flapped its wings as hard as it could. The wind that was being produced from the Fire-type's appendages threatened to throw Ash's hat off his head, but the Pokémon Trainer dared not pull a hand from Charizard's neck or else fall off the Fire-type. So instead, he ducked down low, holding his Pokémon's neck in a tight grip.
Finally, with maximum effort, Charizard was able to lift off the ground and above the canyon, but lost its momentum and flew straight into the thick foliage that awaited for them at the top. Both Ash and Charizard screamed as they dove headfirst into the sea of green and brown, and let out cries of pain as branches and leaves whipped past them, no doubt leaving marks and bruises in their wake. The foliage didn't last long, but once it had, they didn't get a chance to breathe a sigh of relief, as the plateau had ended, and now they were tumbling into another canyon. Their screams echoed through the valley.
o 0 o
They had long since lost sight of Liza, but all they had to do was follow the sound of roaring and the point where the rivers and streams conjugated. Charizard had an especially hard time trying to get the hang of it, and once the terrain disappeared and turned mostly into water, it was fear that motivated it in keeping it in the air.
Exhausted and humiliated, the pair kept going until they finally landed on a large island in the center of the lake. Unable to fly any longer, Charizard stomped on the ground with its wings still flapping to make itself faster. Sweat poured from its head and neck, and soon enough, they could hear the sound of Liza and Gary conversing – they had finally made it.
"Yes, it did seem to be having problems getting here, didn't it?" Liza asked Gary after the Pallet Town Trainer had said something to her.
"What problems?!" Ash shouted, turning their attention to him. He was approaching on their left, and though they weren't flying any longer, Ash was still holding onto Charizard's back.
"Well well, it's about time, Ashy-boy," Gary smirked.
At long last, they approached the gate that Liza and Gary were standing in front of, and Ash climbed off Charizard. "Just because we didn't fly here doesn't mean we couldn't get here!" Ash said while his Pokémon panted behind him. "Charizard and I do things our own way."
"Quit acting tough, Ash," Gary muttered with a roll of his eyes, but this spurred a reaction in the boy that made him stomp his foot on the ground.
"I don't have to act tough; I am tough! And so is Charizard, and we have the power to prove it!" Hearing the confidence in its Trainer's voice, the Fire-type behind him pulled itself together and flexed its arms before letting loose a Flamethrower high into the air, almost torching the stone carvings of two giant Charizard grappling hands over the metal gate of the entrance of the valley.
Instead of seeming impressed, Charla scratched at its face with its claw and looked away from the pair, and Liza let out a sigh. "Only weak Charizard show off like that..." she murmured. "If you don't mind me saying so, it could use some serious training."
"Comments like that burn me up!" Ash screamed, once again stomping his foot into the ground. Feeling movement behind him, the Pallet Town native turned around just in time to see Charizard fire another Flamethrower, this time in an attempt to intimidate Charla by shooting it at the other Fire-type. Unfortunately for Ash, he happened to be right in the middle of it, and the flames scorched him.
Letting out a scream, he ran down the stone stairs that led up to the front gate of the valley and dove into the water to cool down what had been burning from Charizard's flames. The cold water gave instant relief to his face and shoulders, but his insides were still burning with anger. Surfacing from the water and pulling himself out of the lake, he stomped up the stairs with his hands balled tightly into fists.
"Your Charizard could use some training," Liza repeated, looking at Ash as though that had only proven her point. Ash screamed in frustration and shook his head back and forth, both from annoyance and to shake away the stray droplets of water that were falling from his face.
"Charizard and I made it here, and that's all that counts!"
"Maybe that's what you think, Ash, but any Charizard should be able to get to this valley." Ash's Charizard let out a huff, but Liza ignored it and continued. "But the Charizard in this valley aren't just any Charizard."
"Is that so?" Ash spat. "Well my Charizard's just as good as any Charizard in this valley – if not better – and we'll be glad to prove it!"
"The Charizard here are at a very high level," Liza argued lightly. "Yours isn't in their league. But if you want to try..."
"We'll do more than try!" Ash yelled, pointing at Liza. "Charizard and I challenge you and Charla to a battle!" Charla gave a gasp of surprise, and blinked. Charizard agreed with its Trainer, and roared loudly before flexing its arms again, but, like before, Charla only looked away from Ash's Charizard as though it were too embarrassed to even look at it.
"I'm sorry, Ash, but you can't challenge Charla because she isn't even a wild Pokémon!" Liza told him. "I've trained her myself since she was just a Charmander."
Ash reeled back and let out a breath of air through his teeth and his eyebrows came together. "Fine. Then we'll battle any Charizard you want! Any Charizard in the whole valley! Bring 'em on, bring 'em on!" Now his temper was getting the best of him, and Ash was flailing around like an angry Mankey, and Charizard was doing the same, stomping from foot to foot.
Liza gave a nervous smile, and took out a small remote control from the pocket of her leather skirt. "If you insist," she said, pressing the button on the front. "Let me show you the competition." At the command of the remote on the face of the controller, the heavy steel gate behind her hummed to life. The doors – which featured silver flames rising from the ground – opened from the center and slid into the rocks on either side, and once it was opened fully, they all headed in through the newly-opened doorway.
As far as the eye could see, there were ground levels of varying sizes. The dirt was scorched from flames, and spots of grass grew along the cliffsides. A few trees spotted the area here and there mostly with fruits on them, but what mostly drew the eye was the vast amount of Charizard that were in the area. Some flew through the sky while the lazier ones napped with their tails curled around their bodies. There were others that were brawling with each other, and some other that were sharing meals. But one thing was for sure – these were certainly some of the biggest Charizard that Ash had ever seen.
"Wow! They're humongous!" Ash exclaimed, both him and Charizard walking in with eyes as big as saucers. The exclamation earned a few glares from some of the other Charizard that were living here.
"They are a bit bigger than normal wild Charizard," Liza agreed as a member of the Fire-type species walked by. Ash's Charizard only stood up to its shoulder, but it paid no mind to them and scratched its neck and started to prune itself. "Oh, what about that little guy? If your Charizard can beat that one, it might be able to make it here in Charicific Valley!"
"No problem!" Ash replied confidently, and turned to his Charizard. "This ought to be a cinch for us, right?" Charizard agreed, pulling itself together despite the other Charizard's size, and patted its chest with a fist. It too shared its Trainer's confidence, and it stomped right up to the larger Charizard.
The bigger Pokémon was still cleaning its scales when Ash's Charizard reached up and tapped it on the shoulder. As the Charizard turned to look, Ash's Pokémon wasted no time and sending a Flamethrower straight into its face. Ash cried out and slapped his palm into his face, both in shock and to hide his face in embarrassment. "A sneak attack..."
The other Charizard didn't seem impressed by this. It opened its mouth and took in a deep breath, and in doing so, sucked in all of the flames that Ash's Charizard had spit at it. When all the flames disappeared, it winced and looked off to the side, but Ash and his Charizard both gasped at the sight at what had just happened. "Look out, now," Liza spoke up, resting a hand on her hip as she let out a sigh. "The Charizard here don't appreciate sneak attacks."
Once it had recovered from breathing in all of Charizard's flames, the Charicific Valley Charizard's eyes flashed in the smaller Fire-type's direction and sent out a powerful Flamethrower of its own. This Flamethrower completely engulfed Ash's Charizard, and when the flames disappeared, Charizard was scorched from head to tail. It swayed in the air before collapsing onto its back. "That was overkill!" Ash grumbled.
"Well, I must admit it was a little bit over the top," Liza agreed sheepishly, tucking her hands behind her back as the larger Charizard scoffed and walked away from its fallen opponent.
After a moment or two, Charizard stirred, and it rolled over onto its stomach before slowly peeling itself off the ground. Ash chuckled at the sight of this, and clenched his fists by his face. "See? Even after that, Charizard's still moving!"
"Well it gets A for effort." Liza watched as Charizard shook the soot off its face and body. "But acting tough isn't enough to beat Charizard here." Her eyes trailed away from Ash's Charizard, and she smiled and looked in the distance. "Hey, do you think you could handle that Charizard there?" Ash's brown eyes followed Liza's, but not very far. Against the cliffside just a few meters away from Ash's Charizard was a lone Charizard that was sleeping soundly. Charizard also heard this and locked onto the other Charizard as well.
But Ash wasn't as confident as before, seeing the size of this one was bigger than the one that had beaten his Charizard just seconds before. "Er, it's kinda... big, isn't it?"
"Just because a Charizard's big doesn't necessarily mean it's tough," Liza explained. "This Charizard happens to be the gentlest one in the valley!" The dark-haired Trainer crossed his arms and hummed, but figured the decision was ultimately up to his Charizard, so he turned to his Pokémon.
"Well, you wanna try?" His Charizard nodded, and turned to the sleeping Charizard. Having learned its lesson about sneak attacks, it only roared at the other, challenging it. The much larger Charizard's eyes opened hearing the challenge, and it stood with his body and eyes heavy with exhaustion. It stared at Ash's Charizard for just a few moments before the smaller challenger opened its mouth and sent a Flamethrower forward that scorched its head. "That did it!" Ash cheered. Though Liza shook her head, the larger Charizard turned its back to Ash's and took a step away from it. "Look, it's giving up!"
"The Charizard here never give up," she told him, and as soon as the words left her mouth, the wild Charizard's reasoning for stepping away from Ash's came to light. Soundlessly, the large Fire-type swung its tail and smashed into Charizard's body with great force.
"No!" Ash screamed as his Charizard was lifted off the ground from the impact and flew over their heads, not stopping until it hit the cliff side where it fell between Ash and Gary in a heap. "Charizard, are you okay?"
Charizard barely muttered a response, and didn't open its eyes at all.
"I think it's obvious your Charizard doesn't have the power to match the Charizard here, Ash," Liza told the smaller boy. Hearing this seemed to fill Charizard with a little bit of energy, and its eyes shot up and it slowly and shakily pulled itself up onto a knee.
"I don't care, Charizard," Ash told it after seeing how much trouble it was going through trying to stand. "You'll always be the perfect Charizard for me, even if you're not as strong as some other Charizard are." Charizard's face was trying to be tough, but it couldn't hide the immense pain that it was in, and forcing itself to stand up was only making it worse. But eventually, Charizard stood and threw its head back before unleashing a large Flamethrower into the sky, and stomped forward toward the sleepy-eyed Charizard. "What are you doing, Charizard?!"
"It still wants to fight! You better stop it," Liza warned Ash. The so-called gentle Charizard watched as the smaller Charizard marched up to it, but with another swing of its body, its tail crashed into Charizard's side, and the Fire Pokémon went flying backwards, once again not stopping until it hit the barrier of the Charicific Valley.
"Charizard, stop! You're gonna get hurt!" Ash pleaded.
"Don't be dumb, Charizard!" Gary called. But Ash's Charizard ignored both of them, and instead of collapsing onto the ground, it slid and managed to stay on its feet, and then bounded forward. Whatever it had planned, it didn't get to initiate it, because the wild Charizard jumped to the side as Charizard approached it, and when it was landing, it grabbed the base of Charizard's neck right where its head was connected and forced the trained Pokémon to the ground.
"Charizard!"
"If your Charizard doesn't give up now, I can't be responsible for what happens!" Liza stressed. Nevertheless, Charizard wiggled itself out of the larger Charizard's grip and glared it directly in the eye. This was enough for the larger Charizard to deliver a powerful Mega Kick to the Flame Pokémon's stomach, driving its knee straight into it. Ash's Charizard flew past the three humans and even past the gate of the valley before tumbling down the stone stairs.
"Charizard!" Ash screamed, running to the top of the stairs to make sure his Pokémon was all right.
"That's the gentlest Charizard?" Gary questioned, following behind his rival. "It makes a Rhydon look like a stuffed animal!" They both looked down to see that, luckily, Charizard hadn't fallen in the lake, but was obviously in pain. It still wasn't giving up, however, and it slowly climbed the stairs like a ladder.
Their heads whipped around when they heard the gates humming to life, and saw that they were slowly closing, with Liza staring at them with a pitying look. Her Charla was standing on one side and the sleepy-eyed Charizard was looking at them from the other. "Maybe Charizard should try again when it's had more training," she suggested. Once Charizard got to the top of the stairs, it realized that she was closing the gates, and flapped its wings to try and reach them before it closed fully. Unfortunately, it did not, and they closed seconds before Charizard arrived. It roared loudly and slammed its fists tirelessly against the metal.
"It's tough..." Ash murmured, watching in pain as his Charizard beckoned with its fists to be let back in. The two Trainers stared and watched with mixed emotions as Charizard banged on the gate over and over again. They both wanted to tell it to stop, or to say anything that would help soothe its mood, but knew that nothing could or would help.
After about five minutes of this, the gate began to open back up again, and Liza stood on the other side with her Charla. "It's no use pounding on that gate anymore, Charizard," she told it with pity running deep in her voice. "Why don't you go back with Ash and try again when you get stronger." Ash's Charizard quickly retorted by waving its head back and forth. Liza frowned and seemed to read Charizard's emotions. "So you want to battle?"
Charizard nodded, and she threw a glance over her shoulder to her bow-wearing Charizard. "Well, if you absolutely insist on battling... I suppose you can have one with my little Charla." Now that it was given the okay, Liza stepped off to the side and her Fire-type stepped forth with a higher-pitched roar of its own.
Charizard hunched its back and took a battle stance in front of Charla, letting out a growl as the battle began. Snatching up Charizard's fist in its own talons, Charla pulled Ash's Charizard backward, and in one smooth move, swung the Flame Pokémon around, over its shoulder, and tossed it forward back down the stairs with a Seismic Toss. This time, Charizard wasn't so lucky, and plunged straight into the lake between the various stalagmites sticking out of the water's surface that had been carved in the image of a Charizard.
"Hey, look!" Ash exclaimed.
"A body of water isn't good for a Charizard at all!" Gary cried, both of them whipping around just as Charizard surfaced and grabbed onto one of the Charizard statues. Luckily, the water was only up to Charizard's chest, so it wasn't enough for its tail flame to become completely submerged. Still, it looked up at the entrance of the Charicific Valley with a look of hurt that Ash had never seen before in his Pokémon.
"You'll never be a great Charizard if you act tough and don't respect your own limitations," Liza said, walking back into the Charicific Valley, and soon the gate began to close once again. "Stay there, cool down, and think about how you can improve yourself." And with that, the gate closed, leaving a silence hanging in the air.
Like the statue it held onto, Charizard stood completely still. The face of hurt didn't falter in the slightest, and though Ash had to look very closely, there was a stream of water pouring from its eyes, though it was hard to tell if it was the water dripping off his Pokémon from being submerged, or if his Pokémon was actually in tears. "Poor... Charizard..." Ash murmured as his Pokémon threw its head back and roared a song of heartbreak.
o 0 o
Despite the Fire-type's obvious dislike of water, Charizard stayed frozen in place, not even moving its head as it stared at the sky above the Charicific Valley. It stayed this way until the sun went down and the moon took its place. The stars twinkled above, providing light to the blackness, but no one was admiring their beauty.
Like Charizard, Ash and Gary were still as well at the foot of the stairs where the lake's waters sloshed up against the shoreline. It became background noise to them, an ambiance of Charizard's silent lament that was breaking Ash's heart, and Gary's as well. "It must be really hurting; Charizard's been there since this afternoon..." the auburn-haired Trainer murmured.
"Come on, Charizard," Ash said to his Pokémon, walking as close to the shore as he could without getting his sneakers wet. "Don't you want to go?" Charizard's watery eyes finally glanced down from the stars and shook its head. "I know just how hard it is for you to lose; to think you're not... good enough." Charizard's lips quivered as it looked its Trainer in the eyes. "You're good enough for me, Charizard. But I know that you... you want to be stronger. Isn't that right?" Charizard grumbled a reply that was barely audible, but Ash could hear it fully in his heart.
"I understand... This is important to you. But... I have to decide..." Ash couldn't bear to even finish the sentence that lingered unfinished in his voice box. He could see how much pain Charizard was in, but now Ash was in pain.
But, he needed to stick behind his Pokémon. As the night drew on, Gary fell asleep uncomfortably on the stairs behind him. Ash forced himself to stay away, standing in place until his legs were aching. "Hang in there..." Ash murmured, his eyelids feeling like they weighed a thousand pounds each. Even Charizard was having trouble staying awake, but every time it began to fall asleep, its tail would submerge a bit in the water, and the flame on the end of its tail would hiss, jerking Charizard back awake.
Soon, Ash's legs were aching and going numb, and begging for a rest, so he crossed his legs and sat down on the uncomfortable rocks. As he began to get the feeling back in his appendages, his head began to droop, and try as he might, he just couldn't stay awake, and fell asleep before he knew it.
o 0 o
It was the rising sun shining in Ash's face that pulled him out of his sleep stupor. His eyes felt like sandpaper from exhaustion, and he quickly realized that he had indeed fallen asleep. Jerking up, he looked out into the lake and saw that Charizard was still standing out, holding onto the stone-carved statue. Its tail flame was burning bright as ever, and it was still awake.
Ash stood up and looked at his Pokémon with a stone-cold face. "You made it through the night," he said, and though his voice sounded as though he were proud, inside, Ash was conflicted. "If Charizard wants to get stronger that badly, it would be wrong to stand in its way."
No sooner had Ash finished his quiet thoughts did the gate that closed off access to the Charicific Valley begin to open. Over the hum of the mechanical gates opening, a small clapping sound could be heard. The noise woke Gary, and he raised his head in the direction of the opening gate. On the other side, Liza was standing there not just with her Charizard, but all the other Charizard looking out. The Charizard Trainer was clapping her hands and smiling out at them.
At long last, Ash's Charizard dragged itself out of the water and up the stairs with Ash in tow, and it looked at Liza with hopeful eyes. The green-haired young woman smiled a lipstick-colored smile and stepped forward. "You can train with us now, if you'd like," she offered, and Charizard's mouth opened slightly.
"Hold it!" Ash exclaimed, walking up beside his Charizard. "Why the big change?"
"Because it's proven it wants to be great." She smiled and turned around. "Don't you agree?" Her Charizard threw back its head and roared, and then the other Charizard all followed suit. One by one, each of the giant Charizard all roared, and they were roaring for his Charizard.
Ash stared out at this with a hardened face, and finally looked at his Charizard. "Then maybe you should just stay here." The Fire-type Pokémon looked down curiously at its Trainer, and the two looked deep into the other's eyes. They had both been through so much together, and it was hard to think that he wouldn't have Charizard on his side anymore.
Finally, Ash broke eye contact and dipped his head so the brim of his hat was covering his eyes. "Stay if you want to. I can get along just fine without you."
"Ash..." Gary murmured, but it came out as barely a breath.
"Who wants a weak Charizard anyway? So stay here." The words were harsh and cold as ice, and Charizard's mouth opened slightly. "Well, I guess this is goodbye." Ash turned his back on his Pokémon, and took a few steps forward, but Charizard's low-pitch, saddened growl made him stop. "You've got a lot of things to learn, Charizard. You better get started. They're waiting for 'ya." Charizard looked in the direction its Trainer pointed, and looked at all of the Charizard staring and waiting for its decision. They all opened their mouth and roared, welcoming it to join.
Another sound pulled Charizard's attention back to Ash: the sound of metal hitting the ground. By Ash's feet was Charizard's Poké Ball. The hand that had dropped it was trembling, and Charizard understood instantly that this was hurting its Trainer more than he was letting on. After a moment of silence, Charizard grunted and nodded. "Maybe I'll... see you around sometime," Ash said, pulling his hat further down over his face, and then took off into a run.
"Ash!" Gary called after him, and hurried to try and keep up with his traveling companion, but Ash didn't stop running. In fact, he ran faster.
I don't want to leave you, but I know you have to stay. Train hard, Charizard; we'll meet again someday. Goodbye, old friend. Don't forget me. And as Charizard watched its Trainer run further away, it threw its head back and roared before sending out a Flamethrower into the sky. And unbeknownst to it, a single tear escaped Ash's eye.
Ash:
Party:
Blastoise (Poké Ball) (m)
Moves: Skull Bash, Dig, Hydro Pump, BubbleBeam
Bulbasaur (Poké Ball) (m)
Moves: SolarBeam, Vine Whip, Razor Leaf, Tackle
Heracross (Poké Ball) (m)
Moves: Horn Attack, Tackle
Chikorita (Poké Ball)
Moves: Razor Leaf, Tackle, Vine Whip
At Professor Oak's Lab:
Tauros (Safari Ball) x2 (m)
Moves: Fissure, Horn Attack, Take Down
Kingler (Poké Ball) (m)
Moves: Water Gun, Bubble, Crabhammer, Hyper Beam
Muk (Poké Ball)
Moves: Poison Gas, Sludge Bomb
Primeape (Poké Ball) (m)
Moves: Thrash, Mega Kick, Scratch, Seismic Toss
Pidgeotto (Poké Ball) (f)
Moves: Gust, Quick Attack, Whirlwind, Double-Edge
Stantler (Poké Ball)
Moves: Hypnosis
Training at Charicific Valley:
Charizard (Poké Ball) (m)
Moves: Flamethrower, Fire Spin, Skull Bash, Slash
Kanto Badges:
Boulder Badge
Cascade Badge
Thunder Badge
Marsh Badge
Rainbow Badge
Soul Badge
Volcano Badge
Earth Badge
Diamond Badge
Indigo League Rank: Top 4
Johto Badges:
Zephyr Badge
Gary:
Party:
Venusaur (Poké Ball) (m)
Moves: SolarBeam, Vine Whip, Razor Leaf, Mega Drain
Arcanine (Poké Ball)
Moves: Take Down, Fire Spin, Fire Blast, Flamethrower
Nidoqueen (Poké Ball) (f)
Moves: Rock Smash, Hyper Beam, Mega Punch, Double Kick
Nidoking (Poké Ball) (m)
Moves: Horn Attack, Earthquake, Tackle
Pinsir (Poké Ball)
Moves: Fury Attack, ViceGrip
Hoothoot (Poké Ball)
Moves: Foresight, Peck
At Professor Oak's Lab:
200+ Pokémon
Kanto Badges:
Boulder Badge
Cascade Badge
Rainbow Badge
Seven unknown Badges
Indigo League Rank: Winner
Johto Badges:
Zephyr Badge