Pokémon: Trainers Start as Bounty Hunters.

"Down"

Blaziken darted into the air, its right claw gripping a crackling arc of electricity, and punched Charizard so hard it twisted its neck.

"Ow"

The Charizard cried out in pain.

Tetsuya had no intention of giving it a chance to turn the tables: "Give it the final, crushing blow!"

Blaziken grabbed Charizard's legs with its claws as Charizard descended from the air, then used its waist and abdomen to brace itself.

“xi——a”

To Ji Ke's astonishment, the "skinny" Blaziken swung Charizard in a half-circle and slammed it hard into the ground.

"boom"

Smoke and dust rose everywhere.

Blaziken, landing on one leg, exhaled a deep breath, and its muscles relaxed.

"Down"

It turned its head and smiled, giving Chao Zhe a thumbs-up.

Blaziken felt like he hadn't had such a satisfying fight in a long time—specifically, when fighting the opponent.

The Charizard's strength is just right for it.

Tetsuya smiled and gave it a thumbs up: "Well done!"

Without a word, the Claw-marked Charizard flew over and fanned away the dust with its wings.

A massive, fire-breathing dragon with swirling eyes appeared before everyone and every Pokémon.

"Ugh~"

The Claw-marked Fire-Breathing Dragon roared to the sky.

Zhe was startled, thinking it was about to attack him.

But he was overthinking it; all the Charizards made way for him without any hesitation.

"Can I go in now?" Tetsuya looked at the Claw Mark Charizard.

It nodded.

"Thank you so much. I'll have to see how good you are next time I have the chance."

Tetsuya smiled and reached out his hand to it.

The Charizard with Claw Mark stared at Tetsuya for a long time.

"Roar"

It extended its paw and gently responded to Tetsuya.

"Let's go."

After the encounter, Tetsuya led Ji Ke, who was still in shock, deeper into the area.

Along the way, Ji Ke stared intently at the Blaziken, making the Blaziken a little shy.

"You are really amazing," she exclaimed sincerely.

Tetsuya stopped in a corner.

"?" Ji Ke didn't quite understand what he was trying to do.

Without saying a word, Tetsuya pulled out a bunch of healing items from his backpack, and also released Serpentis, Togekiss, and Kirlia all at once.

"Green grass fields, healing bells, life-giving drops of water."

A refreshing fragrance permeated the air.

Blaziken, whose body was covered in both white and blue light, calmed down considerably.

Ji Ke then remembered that what he had just experienced was only the first stage, and there were still two more tribes to fight against.

No matter how strong Blaziken is, it's impossible for it to take on seven or eight powerful Charizards of the same level without getting tired.

Blaziken could have chosen to fight a battle and then rest for a while while it was outside.

However, considering the actual consumption and the urgency of time, Tetsuya still had it quickly end the battle.

And who knows if the help from other Pokémon will make Charizard think they are outnumbered?

"Don't worry, although I may not be able to help much, I can submit a report and reimburse you in full for the medications you use after I leave."

Ji Ke quickly made a promise.

Tetsuya glanced at her, thought for a moment, put the recovery products he had taken out earlier back in, and took out a few new bottles.

I also turned on the watch's recording function and recorded something.

"Remember to claim your expenses," he said casually.

Ji Ke, bewildered by Tetsuya's series of actions, was both amused and exasperated: "Definitely, definitely, and there will be other rewards as well."

Tetsuya wasn't afraid of her lying; at worst, he'd just dump the matter on Wataru and let him reimburse him.

Fortunately, he had just come from Golden City and had plenty of items of all kinds.

Even Grandma Rachel's pharmacy has a branch in a corner of Goldenrod City.

Tetsuya had no idea how that senior colleague managed to do it, being so old yet still so energetic and wanting to expand his business.

It took about twenty minutes for Blaziken to recover to its peak condition.

It's really inconvenient without Joy and Chansey; even if they have the corresponding skills, the effect isn't as good.

Tetsuya put away the rest of his Pokémon and continued deeper into the area with Blaziken and Kiko...

"Ugh~" "Roar~" "Bang—"

"Boom"

The sounds of fierce battle echoed from the depths of the Fire Dragon Valley.

On that day, the Charizards, who were at the near-elite-level, welcomed their "king".

Chapter 397 The Half-Ancestral Charizard and the Reason for Volcanic Anomalies (Two Chapters Combined, 5k views)

"Down"

The Blaziken, covered in wounds, knelt on one knee, panting heavily.

In front of it was a fire-breathing dragon of an exaggeratedly large size.

Compared to the average Charizard's height of 1.7 meters, this Charizard is over 2 meters tall and much wider.

However, its eyes were darting around, and its condition was clearly much worse than Blaziken's.

Tetsuya slowly walked over to Blaziken and helped it up.

Looking up at the surrounding fire-breathing dragons, he asked, "Now, may I go in?"

"Roar"

An elderly Charizard let out a soft cry.

As before, the fire-breathing dragons made way for them.

The strength of the human and the elf before them had completely earned their recognition.

Thank you.

Tetsuya walked over with Blaziken without looking to either side.

Ji Ke hurriedly bowed to the fire-breathing dragons and followed.

"Roar"

Watching the two people and the elf disappear into the distance, the aged Charizard roared softly once more.

All the fire-breathing dragons obediently left their spots and returned to normal.

It's clear that this elderly fire-breathing dragon is highly respected by them.

This is quite rare.

In typical Pokémon groups, it is common for older leaders to leave the group and live as Pokémon after being defeated and dethroned by younger members; Blaziken's cheap master is an example of this.

Even though the Fire Dragon Valley is a special case, older leaders would still make this choice.

This is because it is the law of nature, and it is also to help the new leader better confirm his position.

But for some reason, this elderly Charizard was an exception.

The dragon's eyes, now somewhat cloudy, glanced in the direction the humans had left, then at the faintly visible crater. The old fire-breathing dragon lay quietly on a huge rock, basking in the sun.

The old Charizard didn't think there would be any problems inside because "it" was watching over things.

But since that human is so persistent and powerful, and the administrator is also there, it's fine to let him in.

On the contrary, it seems that his own descendants still need to hone their skills.

"laugh"

A faint flame emerged from the old Charizard's nose.

It gradually fell into a deep sleep.

For it, whose strength is constantly fading, sleep is the best way to slow down aging.

"Down"

Beside a rock, feeling the pain from its wound, Blaziken grimaced.

"The Charizards here are stronger than I imagined." Tetsuya said seriously as he carefully applied high-quality burn ointment and recovery potion to Blaziken.

Although he had prepared well in advance, the final battle still frightened him quite a bit.

If Blaziken hadn't stacked its speed boost to the maximum early on through the first two battles, the final outcome would have been uncertain.

In terms of pure energy intensity and physical strength, Blaziken is still quite formidable, even though it is a bit young. Under Tetsuya's tutelage, Blaziken is in no way inferior to its opponent.

However, skill proficiency and the application of one's own abilities are another matter entirely.

This ability to be adjusted little by little over time is Blaziken's only problem at present.

Ultimately, no matter how talented or how hard it trains, Blaziken is still just a one-and-a-half-year-old child.

This is why Tetsuya doesn't use many different skills when commanding battles.

In such a short time, it would be quite good if you could develop a relatively versatile combat style while simultaneously improving your level and training your skills.

As for having a few more sets? That's a joke. Do you really think elves have no limits and never get tired?

This problem is not usually noticeable, but it becomes more serious when encountering an elf who is older, more experienced, and only slightly less talented.

However, there don't seem to be many Pokémon that meet these conditions; the Charizards here are just a bit unusual.

Ji Ke's mouth moved, but he remained silent, looking dejected.

In her opinion, she was really not a good enough administrator.

If Tetsuya hadn't broken in, Ji Ke wouldn't have known that the Charizards in Charizard Valley were so strong.

In Ji Ke's eyes, the last battle was no different from a battle between two Elite Four level Pokémon than a near-Elite Four level battle.

Whether it's that Charizard that's developed to an exaggerated degree or Tetsuya's Blaziken, their strength has long surpassed the general definition of a near-Elite Four member.

"Even Mr. Wataru probably couldn't do that with Blaziken," Ji Ke thought to himself.

Tetsuya applied the healing medicine to Blaziken, then stood up and wiped the sweat from his brow.

As we get closer to the crater, the temperature here becomes increasingly higher.

If it weren't for Ji Ke standing next to him, Tetsuya would have wanted to move around here shirtless.

This environment isn't really suitable for Serperior to use Grassy Terrain anymore, so Blaziken can only slowly recover with the help of Healing Bell and Life Drop.

Due to the disparity in strength, progress was exceptionally slow.

"If you lose after you go in and fail to pass the last test, don't blame me. Besides, the medicine will be reimbursed."