The Purgatory Valley. The name fit. The place looked like purgatory.
The moment Ash took his first step in, the soles of his shoes felt like they were about to melt. Even his body, honed through countless trials, felt like the temperature was cooking him alive. A shield of Aura Power formed around him, blocking the surrounding heat and sparing his clothes from immediate damage.
"In an environment like this, even if my body could hold up, my clothes wouldn't. No wonder no one can come in here." Ash looked around. There were no lights, but the place was as bright as day, likely because the rocks resembled crimson flames. The faint reddish glow radiating from them lit the entire valley.
"Roar!"
This place is underground, but the rocks here absorb heat energy very efficiently. However intense the temperature is, the rocks soak it up, so their surface temperature approaches, or even exceeds, molten lava.
The strongest Charizard then explained why the environment of the Purgatory Valley was this harsh. In truth, it was only harsh from a human perspective. For Fire-type Pokémon, this was the most suitable training environment there was. Training here was incredibly efficient for a Fire-type.
Only a king like him could claim training ground this good. It was one of the perks of holding the title of King of Charicific Valley.
Ash looked at his Charizard, and Charizard nodded, confirming the strongest Charizard's words. Even standing here without training, staying in this place for a long time was hugely beneficial. Not only would the body's resistance to flame grow stronger, but the temperature of the user's own flames would rise too.
What other advantages there were, they'd have to discover through experience. Just from feeling the ambient effects on entering, though, the position of King of Charicific Valley had already become extremely valuable.
"Roar!"
On top of that, the hardness of the rocks here is beyond what you can imagine. Even if I strike with my full strength, I can only crack them slightly. Flame does nothing to them at all. So in this battle, we can use full power with no reservations.
After saying that, the strongest Charizard's gaze shifted to Ash. If there was anything he was cautious about, it was Ash himself. Ash's ability to walk into the Purgatory Valley didn't surprise him. Even if Ash could withstand the ambient temperature, he wasn't sure Ash could withstand the aftershocks of a Champion-tier battle.
The shockwaves of a battle at that scale could kill a human, and combined with the Purgatory Valley's openness and lack of cover, Ash simply wouldn't be able to dodge. Once they started, if they didn't hold back at all, the shockwave would inevitably reach Ash's position. He couldn't guarantee what would happen to Ash then.
This was the strongest Charizard's final attempt at persuasion. If Ash chose to leave now, he wouldn't stop him. Ash's Charizard would still decide the trial here, and the result would be announced afterward outside.
If Ash still refused to leave and stayed to fight, then the strongest Charizard wouldn't hold back on his account either. What happened to Ash after that wasn't something he could promise.
"It's fine. Don't worry about me. Setting everything else aside, a Champion-tier battle can't touch me. If I can't even handle this, then what kind of Trainer am I? Right, Charizard?"
"Roar!"
Charizard didn't say more, just nodded. He had no doubt about his Trainer's strength. If it weren't for Ash, he wouldn't be standing here in front of the strongest Charizard in the first place. As much as he didn't want to admit it, at his current true strength, if he had to fight the strongest Charizard alone, he'd probably be flattened in under a minute. So Ash's presence was essential.
If Ash left because he couldn't withstand the aftershocks, that was that. Without his Trainer here, Mega Evolution would drop, and Aura fusion wouldn't be usable either. Beyond that, his own stamina was almost at the limit. How was he supposed to fight the strongest Charizard under those conditions?
Seeing how firm Ash and Charizard both were, the strongest Charizard let it go. They were adults, and they had to make their own choices and take responsibility for them. If Ash ended up hurt or crippled by the battle's aftershocks, that would be his own choice to bear. The strongest Charizard had already done everything he could to talk him out of it.
"Roar!"
Since that's your choice, I won't try to change your mind. Let's begin now. Final round. We'll decide the outcome of the King of Charicific Valley here. If you win, on top of gaining this training ground, you'll also receive a relic passed down through the generations of Charicific Valley.
Ash wasn't particularly interested in the benefits of the training ground. It was excellent for Charizards, sure, but it wasn't necessarily as effective as personally training alongside them. The relic passed down through the valley, on the other hand, was much more intriguing. Curious as he was, though, he had to defeat the opponent first.
Ash and Charizard stepped back at the same time, creating distance between themselves and the strongest Charizard. As they moved, Ash checked the opponent's stats one more time. It wasn't the first time he'd read them, but the reading still hit him hard.
Champion Peak level. Every stat at A-rank, with special attack, speed, and stamina having a ceiling at S-rank. The reason the highest three stats hadn't reached S-rank yet was probably because this Charizard had only recently broken through.
Given a bit more time to raise all his stat ceilings to S-rank, Ash's Charizard would be completely outmatched.
As long as Ash's Charizard's stamina was at peak, he had a shot. Even against the strongest Charizard at Champion High, Ash wouldn't have been afraid of a head-on clash. But now his Charizard's stamina was already low. A Champion Peak alone was already brutal, and with three S-rank stats added on top, this duel amounted to a straight uphill loss.
"Do you feel it, Charizard?"
"Roar!"
"He's very strong. This time, we might lose."
"Roar!"
"Exactly. I have no intention of giving up either. This is the final battle. Let's unleash everything we have."
Ash clenched his fists, his eyes sharp and cutting, and channeled the Aura fusion power inside Charizard to its limit. The energy drain wasn't only on Charizard. Ash had been continuously feeding him Aura, and Ash's own energy consumption was actually higher than Charizard's. However, Ash's stamina was more robust, so his current state was still relatively good.
Now they had nothing more to hold in reserve. Even if Charizard fell unconscious the instant he defeated his opponent, it would still count as a victory. So now, they chose to unleash everything without holding back.
"Charizard, Dragon Claw!"
"Roar!"
It was still the signature move, Dragon Claw. This was Mega Charizard X's favorite move. With Tough Claws layered on top, its raw power outstripped even Flamethrower.
The blue-emerald claws extended from Charizard's arms. He suddenly beat his wings, his entire body shooting up from the ground and arriving in front of the strongest Charizard in an instant.
The strongest Charizard neither dodged nor tried to slip aside. His hands also extended into claws, using the same Dragon Claw.
The two Dragon Claws crashed together. The deafening sound echoed across the valley. A visible shockwave burst outward and shook the surrounding rocks, and yet only caused a slight tremor, exactly as the strongest Charizard had said.
The rock here wasn't only heat-resistant, it was ridiculously solid. Even a Champion Peak-level clash could only rattle it. As for Ash, under Mewtwo's protection, this shockwave had absolutely no effect on him. Ash was now fully focused on channeling Aura fusion into Charizard, with no spare energy to shield himself, so he had to rely on Mewtwo.
Gardevoir had already returned to her Poké Ball earlier. Even from inside it, she could clearly see the scene outside, and see Mewtwo protecting Ash. She was extremely frustrated in this moment. If she could, she would have used her own psychic power to protect Ash. It should have been her.
Unfortunately, at her current strength, she simply couldn't create a shield that could withstand the aftershock of a Champion Peak attack. The level gap was too great. Even if she Mega evolved, she could barely block one shockwave, and blocking three would count as success.
Without Ash's help, she couldn't intervene in a Champion-level battle at all, and even spectating from close range would be an ordeal.
Charizard had climbed to High Elite Four tier from the trials, while she was still remained at the same level. She'd been left behind. After this, she needed to work even harder to strengthen herself. How else could she stay the team's big sister?
In the valley, the two Charizards clashed fiercely, and the exchange finally ended with Ash's Charizard holding a slight edge. Dragon Claw was Mega Charizard X's signature move, and with the reinforcement of Tough Claws on top of a full-power Aura fusion strike, in the first clash the strongest Charizard's Dragon Claw had been overpowered.
After three more exchanges, on the third one, the strongest Charizard's Dragon Claw shattered outright, and Charizard's own sharp claws struck through to the strongest Charizard's shoulder, leaving three shocking claw marks behind.
The strongest Charizard refused to let it show. He endured the wounds, opened his blood-filled maw, and spat out a scorching stream of flame. The temperature of the fire felt as if it could burn through space itself.
Charizard didn't dodge either. He took the blast full-on to his head. Another Dragon Claw followed, slamming into the strongest Charizard's body and opening three more claw marks across his front.
After the fierce exchange, both sides recoiled.
Charizard was panting hard now, his stamina dropping further. The strongest Charizard had several shocking wounds on his body, though none of them fundamental damage. What puzzled the him, though, was that his flames seemed to have almost no effect on Charizard.
If they'd done real damage, Charizard wouldn't be merely panting; he'd be on one knee. Charizard's stamina reserves were already thin, and taking a head-on flame blast, even with resistance, should in theory have burned through a significant chunk of what he had left.
In truth, if Charizard hadn't undergone Mega Evolution, it would have played out exactly as the strongest Charizard predicted. But after Mega Evolution, the situation was different.
As a Dragon and Fire type, Mega Charizard X had quadruple resistance against Fire-type moves. Even the strongest Charizard's flames, whose temperature far exceeded ordinary flames, weren't enough to punch through a four-fold resistance.
His firepower was still slightly short. Unless his flames could reach the level of the Amaterasu Flames, black fire beyond even Sacred Fire, they couldn't inflict serious damage on Charizard.
In the opening exchange, riding the strongest Charizard's lack of information about him, Charizard had clearly held the upper hand. Later, though, the opponent would definitely catch on. If they wanted to seize the chance to widen the gap, this was the moment.
"Outrage!"
Outrage. The most powerful Dragon-type move Charizard could learn. Visible killing intent condensed on his body, an aura dense enough to suffocate some Champion Beginner-level Pokémon.
The strongest Charizard's expression turned sharp. The two Dragon Claws just now had made him understand just how brutal Charizard's physical attack really was. Even he couldn't take that head-on. So this time, he didn't reach for the same desperate move. He took a deep breath and unleashed a swirling column of flame.
Fire Spin.
The opponent's specialty was physical attacks. Only a fool would answer a strength with strength. What he'd try instead was hitting weakness. If the opponent wanted a head-on contest, he'd trap them first with Fire Spin.
Fire Spin's binding effect would prevent Charizard from recklessly closing in, and then the two sides would trade blows via ranged attacks, which was where he held the advantage. The strongest Charizard had thought it through carefully, and Fire Spin closed in on the killing intent effectively enough.
In less than a second, though, the massive, pitch-black dragon wrapped in killing intent tore straight through the vortex. A visible blue aura pressed toward the strongest Charizard, and the "bullseye" hit him full in the face amid a shockwave.