Pokémon, Ash is going to become a perfect man from now on.

"Wait!" Ji Ke was about to say something when his nose suddenly twitched twice. He turned to Lila beside him and said, "Little brother, you're also a Charizard trainer, right? My nose can smell that scent!"

“But I think you should check your eyes first,” Lila said, speechless. “I’m a girl!”

"Okay... I misread it." Ji Ke was taken aback at first, then waved his hand casually as an apology.

"Many powerful Charizards inhabit the Charizard Valley, so your trip will definitely be worthwhile... If you'd like, I can give you a ride there." Forcing a return to the main topic, Ji Ke introduced the valley to everyone.

Before everyone could agree, she anxiously called her companions.

"Little Lisa!" "Waaah!"

In response, a fire-breathing dragon wearing a bow on its head appeared, with a hanging basket beneath it.

"There's just enough room for two people in the basket. As for Mr. Ash and this little... little sister, you can ride your Charizards."

“No problem, I entrust myself to Miss Ji Ke!” Before Xiao Zhi could agree, Xiao Gang immediately jumped into the hanging basket.

"It wouldn't hurt to take a look, Charizard." Ash was also quite curious about the valley, so he released Charizard.

As soon as he appeared, Old Spray exuded an astonishing aura and heat, even forcing Ji Ke's Little Lisa to retreat repeatedly.

"Charizard, calm down." Ash gave a calm command, and Charizard's restless power instantly subsided, making it look like any other dragon.

"Ash, can I ride Charizard with you?" Misty asked, leaning closer. Although she didn't really like interacting with Fire-type Pokémon, her boyfriend's was an exception.

"This size, and those blue flames... it's definitely a pretty good Charizard!" Ji Ke kept her eyes glued to the old Charizard, which completely exceeded her expectations...

He just lacks a bit of wildness.

As for Lila's Charizard, she thought it was just so-so. It was good for the level of training a trainer could provide, but there were plenty of stronger ones in the valley.

"Let's go." Seeing that everyone was ready, Ji Ke commanded Little Lisa to take off, leading the other two fire-breathing dragons towards the valley.

Along the way, she noticed that the other two Charizards flew very smoothly, and Ash's Charizard could actually carry both of them. Her eyes once again revealed a look of understanding mixed with a hint of disbelief.

"Miss Ji Ke, are all the fire-breathing dragons in the valley able to carry people?" During the flight, Xiao Gang, who was in the gondola, started to chat awkwardly with Ji Ke.

“Only my little Lisa can fly; the other fire-breathing dragons are all wild and can’t carry people,” Ji Ke shook his head. “My job is to protect the valley from poachers and thieves!”

"You are so great!" Xiao Gang sang praises, but unfortunately, he was completely ignored.

"We've arrived." Ji Ke led the group to land in a precipitous valley. Looking around, there were rugged fire-breathing dragon statues all around.

"This is Charizard Valley. Charizard is considered an auspicious Pokémon here, a guardian deity, especially the wild and powerful ones, who are often more respected."

"Does it mean fighting without relying on the trainer's power, but relying on your own instincts? That sounds amazing," Brock exclaimed.

However, the three trainers present—especially the two Charizard trainers—did not take these words seriously.

It's certainly nice for Pokémon to have a wild streak, but is that wildness really as amazing as Ji Ke makes it out to be...? When Gary caught the Elite Four-level Aerodactyl, it already made that quite clear~

However, the environment in the valley is still great. Not only are there craggy rocks and crisscrossing rivers, but you can also see all kinds of fire-breathing dragons resting, eating, and even fighting everywhere!

A rough estimate suggests that there are probably over a hundred Charizards inhabiting this place!

And everyone discovered that the three-meter-tall Old Sprayer was not the largest here, but only of medium to large size!

However, there's one thing: it's lean yet toned, and most importantly, it doesn't have a big belly.

"It's really amazing. I thought Ash's Charizard was big enough," Misty exclaimed.

"Roar~" Old Spitter spat out a spark of fire in disdain.

When did size become a standard for evaluating strength?

The old Charizard didn't really care about the guys here, regardless of their size or strength... Even if there were Champion-level or even Elite Four level Charizards, it didn't think they would be invincible.

With Ash by its side, it is invincible, especially against these wild creatures!

"This place is really interesting." Xiao Zhi looked into the distance and spotted the dragon head sculpture carved on the deepest and highest rock wall in the valley.

These Charizards were far less appealing than the sculpture, because the guardian spirit had just told him... that there was a Mega Stone for Charizard Y hidden there.

"Mr. Ash, would you like to let Charizard challenge the opponents here?" After leading everyone around, seeing that Ash remained silent, Ji Ke had no choice but to take the initiative.

"My brother might not be interested, so why don't I give it a try?" Having roughly guessed Ash's thoughts, Lyra readily accepted the challenge.

"You... then try that one." Ji Ke paused for a moment, slightly skeptical, but still picked out a sturdy Charizard for Lila... almost as tall as Charizard.

"Charizard, go!" Lila waved her hand casually, and Charizard soared into the sky, charging straight at its opponent!

But soon, Ji Ke realized something was wrong!

Lila's Charizard activated its self-motivation in mid-air, and before landing, it even picked up a large rock and smashed it down on its opponent!

While the Rock Slide stunned its opponent, it immediately followed up with a Rock Blockade to slow it down, and while retreating, it unleashed Primal Power... and luckily triggered an all-ability boost!

After a triple counter-attack, the opponent was clearly in a berserk but weakened state of intense fire. Kleera's Charizard quickly retreated and gave herself a self-motivation boost!

"No! How can you command it?" Ji Ke immediately realized what was happening and questioned Lila with a frown.

"Why can't I command it?" Lila asked calmly.

"Don't you understand? This is a battle of savages!"

“I really don’t understand… why don’t you explain it to me?” By this point, Lila’s tone was already quite aggressive.

"What exactly is wildness?!"

Chapter 345 The Battle Begins!

To be honest, Lila had a very bad impression of Ji Ke.

It wasn't just the issue of mistaking the gender; it was also her drastically different attitudes towards Brock and Ash, her overt and covert praise of the wildness of the Charizards in the valley, and her denigration of the trainers' efforts in raising Charizards... all of these things disgusted Lyra.

Moreover, Lila knew that Ji Ke clearly had ulterior motives towards her brother.

If it's just about Ash himself, then it's fine. Ash has always been popular with the opposite sex, so it doesn't matter if there's one more woman chasing after him.

But the truth is, Ji Ke's real aim is clearly Ash's Charizard!

This is disgusting. On one hand, they're eyeing others, while on the other hand, they intentionally or unintentionally belittle others to elevate themselves... Are people who ask for favors this arrogant these days?

"Charizard, that's enough." Ignoring Ji Ke's complaints and not expecting her answer, Lila stopped her partner after seeing that her opponent was already badly injured.

"Roar!" Having defeated an opponent whose physical abilities were far superior to hers, Lila's Charizard roared joyfully to the sky, spewing out a burst of excited flames!

"Don't you know? The weaker the Charizard, the more fire it can breathe," Ji Ke said sourly from the side.

Meanwhile, the defeated wild Charizard was not grateful for Lila's mercy, and instead roared, wanting to attack again!

"Charizard, Burst Fire!" "Roar!!"

With an angry roar, Lila's Charizard suddenly spewed out extremely fierce flames, not only scorching the wild Charizard black, but also melting the rocks beneath its feet into lava!

This unexpected turn of events also attracted the attention of most of the fire-breathing dragons in the valley.

It's important to know that Bursting Burn is the strongest fire-type move in the game, with its power only comparable to Full Power Fire Breath and Bursting Head.

As the ultimate battle technique, this move can only be learned by fully evolved Fire-type starter Pokémon through move instruction. Almost none of the Charizards in the valley know it!

At this moment, the lump of black charcoal on the ground and the envious expressions on the faces of most of the fire-breathing dragons were the best slap in the face to Ji Ke!

"The weaker the Charizard, the more fire it breathes, right?" Lila retorted dismissively. "Then why would these powerful and wild Charizards envy my weak companion?"

"This... little sister, you'd better not be too smug! The Charizard you just defeated was only a mid-level one. There are many creatures in the valley that are much stronger than it!" Ji Ke said, unwilling to accept defeat and wanting to get back at him. "Besides, your Charizard has no wildness at all. If it leaves you, its trainer, it will have trouble surviving here!"

“Miss Ji Ke, will you take responsibility for what you’ve said?” Lila’s expression suddenly turned cold. “In front of my brother, a Pokémon Investigator, I think you need to explain why there were fights and deaths in the nature park?!”

“I… I didn’t say there were any casualties…” Ji Ke was speechless, completely unexpected that Lila would take it so seriously.

The nature park is also a protected area. Ji Ke's identity is actually that of a forest ranger. In addition to preventing poachers, her main function is to ensure the harmony of the valley and prevent the dragons from being killed in battles.

To give you an example, the Johto League finally managed to acquire a piece of land in Mt. Silver to breed Tyranitar, but these pseudo-legendary Pokémon implemented a bottom-ranking elimination system, constantly killing the weakest one... No one in charge could stand idly by in that situation!

Therefore, whether in the original work or now, Ji Ke's words are actually exaggerated.

Leaving a weak Charizard here would at most result in physical and mental abuse, but there's little chance of its life being in danger; this isn't some jungle law-abiding wasteland, it's just a protected area, no different from places like Mt. Silver or Higanbana Island.

In the Fire Dragon Valley, there is only an exaggerated sense of wildness; there is no absolute survival of the fittest!

"It's best if there are no casualties." Lila snorted. "Back to the issue of wildness, you seem to value this quite a bit. You think these wild Charizards in the valley are stronger than those trained by us, right?"

"Isn't that right? Wildness is crucial for Charizard. The stronger Charizard's wildness, the more it can unleash its full power without relying on its trainer!" Ji Ke perked up again when talking about his profession.

"Your Charizard is well-trained, but it only obeys your commands in battle. Its wild nature has been completely suppressed by you, and its path to becoming stronger will become increasingly narrow!"

"Miss Ji Ke, how long have you had this Fire-Breathing Dragon Valley?" Lila suddenly asked.

"It's existed since my grandfather's time, it's definitely ancient, isn't it?" Ji Ke said proudly, raising his chin. "The fire-breathing dragons here are all family members who live together, partners who help each other..."

“But my Charizard has been hatching for less than a year,” Lila said with a hint of sarcasm. “Even so, it can still defeat the Charizards in the middle of the valley… You say I’m hindering the development of Charizards? I’d say all the other Charizards in the valley are just useless bums!”

Awesome!

Ash's eyes lit up; Lyra had indeed discovered the key.

When this episode was shown in the original story, everyone's attention was mainly focused on how weak Charizard was and how touching the farewell was in order to become stronger, but they overlooked the differences between Charizard and the other Charizards in the valley.

By the time Ash arrived in Johto, his travel time was definitely less than two years. Even if you include the time it took for Charizard to hatch from its egg, it was at most three years old!

But what kind of creature was it facing? It was a wild Pokémon that lived in the valley all year round and was used to fighting without commands from the very beginning. Moreover, Charizard was underdeveloped at the time, so it was inevitable that it would be beaten.

Ultimately, in order to promote the idea of ​​the supremacy of wildness, Ji Ke has been deliberately avoiding other conditions.

It's inherently unfair to have trainers' Pokémon battle wild Pokémon without allowing them to give commands, especially considering the huge age gap between them!