Pokémon, Ash's art style is off!

"Whoa!"

His eyebrows were raised high, and a few fine lines of excitement appeared at the corners of his eyes.

"This must be the Shiny Charizard you mentioned that was created later in life, Ash!"

I subconsciously took out the picture book.

Professor Oak took dozens of close-up photos from top to bottom and left to right.

As he took the photos, he made sounds of amazement.

"Look at this color!"

"Look at these wings!"

"Look at that tail flame!"

"Hiss~ Even their private parts are this color!"

He held up the Pokédex, the camera pointed at the base of Charizard's tail.

The composition was so ingenious and the angle so daring that even Xiao Gang, who prides himself on appreciating all kinds of photographs, couldn't help but let out a heartfelt exclamation of admiration.

That angle was absolutely perfect!

That's why they say he's a learned and erudite person!

"Interesting, very interesting indeed!"

Professor Oak is clearly no longer satisfied with just a purely visual experience.

He placed the illustrated guide on the control panel, rolled up his sleeves to reveal his muscular forearms, and excitedly leaned over.

Before the Charizard could react, a pair of warm hands had already touched its belly.

Professor Oak's fingers explored the area with remarkable skill.

"It didn't fade at all! It seems the DNA has changed!"

"Come on, open your mouth!"

"Let me see, is this color in your mouth too!"

Charizard watched as Professor Oak held its chin with one hand, and actually reached into its mouth with the other to pry open its upper and lower jaws.

Even Charizard, who considers himself thick-skinned, couldn't hold back anymore.

In a moment of desperation, its chest suddenly bulged, and a blinding black light shone from deep within its throat.

"boom--!"

A burst of intense flame erupted from its mouth, carrying a scorching heat wave that hurtled straight at Professor Oak's face.

Xiao Gang: "!"

Xiaoxia: "!"

Ash: "!"

"Shut up!" "Doctor!" "Are you alright?!"

As the flames died down, a burnt smell filled the laboratory.

Professor Oak stood there, his curly, charred hair swaying in the breeze, with wisps of white smoke rising from his head.

His eyebrows seemed shorter, and the skin on his face was slightly red from the steam.

But his expression remained calm, even carrying a hint of the satisfaction unique to academic fanatics.

"It's alright! It's alright!"

He waved his hand and casually smoothed a handful of his burnt hair.

"Ash, your Charizard... it's really quite mischievous!"

As a first-generation super rookie, these are all minor matters.

Professor Oak grinned at Charizard, revealing a set of neat white teeth.

Just as the man was about to step forward again.

"Roar!"

The fire-breathing dragon exhaled a breath of hot air.

With a sudden thud, its wing membranes twitched, and its entire body recoiled backward, its massive form deftly hiding behind Ash.

It used Ash as a human shield, only showing half its head and a pair of wary eyes, staring intently at Professor Oak.

It recalled the rumors that Xiao Gang had once told it—

Among humans, there is a perverted group called "dragon lovers" who develop abnormal star orbs for dragon-type... oh no, dragon-shaped Pokémon.

Could this old human man be one of them?

Charizard shivered.

As expected, Gengar's rapid increase in strength in such a short time came at a price!

"Doctor, I still want to try Mega Evolution with Charizard."

Ash stepped forward and blocked the giant tree for Charizard.

"Oh, okay, you go first, you go first."

Ash's priority was far greater than Charizard's, and Oak immediately came to his senses.

Look at the Charizard with a grateful expression.

Ash raised his left wrist, and the silver bracelet refracted a thin ray of light in the sunlight.

"Are you ready?"

"Roar--"

The Charizard let out a low growl.

This sound, compared to the previous wariness and fatigue, had an added layer of composure.

It instinctively wanted to spread its wings, but in that instant, it caught a glimpse of Professor Oak out of the corner of its eye.

The doctor stood there, hands behind his back, a kind smile on his face, but his gaze was fixed on it like a spotlight, scanning it inch by inch from the tip of its tail to the horn on its head.

Charizard's body stiffened for a moment.

It slowly, little by little, retracted its wings, the wing membranes clinging tightly to the sides of its body, like a perfectly fitted cloak.

Even its tail was tucked in even tighter.

Pikachu jumped off Ash's shoulder, then ran to Brock's legs and squatted down, its two front paws neatly together, its little head tilted back, its round eyes staring unblinkingly at Ash and Charizard.

Xiaoxia also unconsciously took two steps forward.

After all, it's a Mega Evolution, and all she's ever seen are edited videos and carefully selected photos online.

Gorgeous lighting effects, dashing poses, and overwhelming praise.

But in reality, she had never actually seen it.

Ash took a deep breath and raised his left hand, his wrist pointing directly at Charizard.

"It's coming!"

"Roar!"

Give that peculiar Mega Stone to Charizard.

Ash clenched his left fist and placed his right hand on the Key Stone, applying slight pressure with his fingertips.

He could feel the surface temperature of the keystone rising; it was no longer the warm coolness it had felt before, but rather like a small flame burning inside the gemstone.

Then, the light came.

The keystone suddenly lit up.

Emerging from the Key Stone, it climbed up Ash's hand, then shot from his fingertips, tracing a bright arc in the air before striking Charizard's body precisely.

The Charizard froze the moment it was hit by the beam of light.

Its muscles were taut to the extreme in the light, as if they were being washed, transformed, and reorganized by some enormous force within its body.

His eyes suddenly widened, and his pupils dilated to almost fill his entire eye socket.

"Roar--!!"

A deafening roar erupted from the depths of its throat.

Pikachu was startled.

Its two ears snapped back, and it instinctively hid behind Xiao Gang's legs, but couldn't help peeking out with half its head.

The light enveloped the Charizard's body, and wherever it passed, the outline of that place began to change visibly.

The first thing to change was its body—

The torso begins to stretch in both the front and back directions, the spine becomes longer and straighter, and the ribcage expands to the sides.

There was also a surge of activity beneath the skin.

Finally, blue, claw-like protrusions grew on the front and back of the shoulders.

A bulge also appeared at the back of the neck, with a small, fin-like protrusion extending from the back of the neck to between the shoulder blades.

Sparks of fire uncontrollably escaped from its mouth.

Professor Oak nodded, noticing the claws that had become noticeably thicker.

"Is it Charizard X, which leans more towards physical strength...?"

According to Gengar, this Charizard's fighting style...

That makes sense.

As the evolution progressed, Ash felt the pulling force from his bracelet getting stronger and stronger, as if something other than Charizard was frantically draining his energy.

Before he could say anything...

The evolutionary glow emanating from Charizard suddenly became unstable.