Pokemon: Skybound

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At the end of a long, winding river rose a towering mountain. At its base, carved into the stone by human hands, was a steep staircase leading upward. Following the steps, one would eventually come upon a grand, ancient-looking gate.

The gate stood nearly five meters tall, carved from solid stone and faintly glowing with a cool, blue hue. It had to weigh several tons.

Flanking either side were enormous stone statues of Charizard facing each other with their claws interlocked. The pose could have been read as a fierce standoff, or perhaps a symbol of strength forged through friendship.

Two Charizard swooped down from the sky and landed in front of the gate with practiced precision.

Liza dismounted from her Charizard Charla and approached the gate. Turning back with a warm smile, she greeted her guests.

"Welcome to Charizard Valley."

As she spoke, Liza pressed a button on a small remote control. The massive stone gate groaned and slowly slid open.

Electric? That's a surprise. You wouldn't expect such high-tech mechanics hidden in a place like this.

Beyond the gate stretched a vast, lush valley green as far as the eye could see. Dozens of Charizard roamed freely within: some soaring overhead, some engaged in mid-air sparring matches, others basking on rocks or enjoying berries from the trees.

With Kai's help, Erika stepped down from their Charizard and stared in awe. "There must be… dozens of them…"

Kai nodded slowly. The sight was overwhelming.

He had seen wild Charizard before, but this was something else an entire valley saturated in flame-colored wings and smoldering tails. It was hard to even know where to look.

As the gate finished closing behind them, all the Charizard in the valley turned their heads.

Their collective gaze fell upon the newcomers.

These Charizard were massive many of them scarred from countless battles, with hardened expressions that radiated intimidation. Even the boldest of Trainers would feel pressure from being stared down like that. And sure enough, even Kai no stranger to danger felt his brow twitch.

Guess that's their version of a welcome.

Liza led the way into the heart of the valley, her tone casual as she began to explain.

"Here in Charizard Valley, our Charizard don't rely on human Trainers to grow stronger. They train themselves challenging each other, sparring with peers, pushing past their own limits. Every one of them is striving to be the strongest Charizard in the valley."

Her eyes flicked briefly to Kai's Charizard.

"And if you're here to train yours," she said, "then you'll need to let it fight. But I'll warn you now an average Charizard doesn't stand a chance here."

Kai gave a silent nod. He already knew that from watching the anime. This place wasn't for casual training.

If he were to put it in game terms: a freshly evolved Charizard might be around level 36. But the Charizard here? Probably closer to level 70.

That's not a gap it's a canyon.

And their strength wasn't just from fighting day after day. As Liza had implied, time itself was a factor. These weren't Charizard that evolved quickly under the guidance of a Trainer. These were Pokémon who had clawed their way forward, little by little, over years of self-discipline and hard-fought battles.

And unlike many young Charizard seen in the wild or raised in training schools, the ones here were in their prime. Battle-scarred. Powerful. Experienced.

Which meant that to them, the kinds of Charizard most Trainers brought in would barely be warm-up matches.

Kai looked over at his own Charizard, who was already stomping the ground, tail flame flaring clearly itching for a fight.

Just as Kai was about to help it pick a target, something in the far corner of the valley caught his eye.

One Charizard leaner, smaller than the rest was alone near a rocky outcrop. It was lifting a boulder while doing squats, clearly engaged in some kind of self-imposed workout.

There wasn't another Charizard within thirty meters of it.

Definitely isolated.

A thought clicked in Kai's mind. He pointed. "That one over there... Is that Ash's Charizard?"

Liza glanced in the same direction and smiled slightly. "It is. That one's Ash's."

She folded her arms, watching it fondly.

"That Charizard's been working harder than anyone here. It's been over twenty days since it arrived, and it hasn't missed a single day of training. Every morning, it challenges the others and every night, it trains on its own."

Kai couldn't help but sigh.

Ash's original powerhouse… now the weakest in the valley? Hard to believe.

But it made sense. The raw, natural talent that carried it through Ash's early battles wasn't enough anymore. In this place, power had to be earned the hard way.

Kai looked back at his own Charizard.

How would it measure up?

Across the valley, Ash's Charizard also noticed Kai's. Its eyes flashed but instead of approaching, it simply lowered its head and went right back to its training.

Just as Ash had seen Kai as a rival, it seemed his Charizard now regarded Kai's Charizard the same way.

And seeing its rival appear in this place… that only fueled its determination further.

As Liza led them farther in, the Charizard around them began to stir.

They'd overheard enough of the conversation to understand what was coming and one by one, they turned to scrutinize the newcomer's Charizard.

Another rookie? Didn't we just deal with one of those? Their eyes seemed to say.

Kai could feel the tension and at the same time, a strange kind of relief.

At least mine's not as outclassed as Ash's was. His Charizard might not be the strongest here, but it wasn't a complete underdog either.

Still, picking the right opponent was going to be tricky.

He looked around. Left… right… every Charizard looked like a challenge.

After a moment of thought, Kai turned to his partner.

"You pick your own opponent."

Charizard nodded enthusiastically and began striding toward the largest, most physically imposing Charizard in the entire valley.

Kai's eyes widened. "Wait—wait—hold up!"

He darted in front of his partner and held out an arm. "You knucklehead…"

He gave a weak chuckle, half amused, half exasperated.

"I told you to pick someone. I didn't say 'go fight the final boss.'"

Charizard tilted its head, confused.

Kai sighed. He knew his Pokémon well brave, strong… but maybe not the best at strategy.

"Look," he said, softening his tone, "I know you've got confidence. But it's smarter to start small. Pick someone a little weaker for your first match. Get a feel for how they fight. Learn their rhythm. That way, you'll be better prepared for the tougher ones."

Charizard blinked. Then gave a slow, understanding nod.

Kai continued, more serious now.

"And one more thing while we're here, I'm not going to interfere. Every battle is yours to win… or lose. I won't step in."

He held his Charizard's gaze.

"So don't get cocky. Fight smart."

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