Chapter 133

【"All the Charizard here are wild Charizard!" Jike said proudly, "Are you a little scared now?"】

【"Scared?" Ash laughed. His Charizard hadn't been afraid even when facing Entei—how could mere members of its own kind possibly make it feel fear?】

【Not only was it unafraid, Charizard was unusually fired up, unable to wait any longer to prove itself.】

【"820's got plenty of spirit, huh? Good, since that's the case, let me pick an opponent for your Charizard." Jike had to make Ash submit today; she wanted to thoroughly suppress Ash and his Charizard.】

【"How about this Charizard?"】

【Jike pointed at a Charizard feeding under a nearby apple-wild tree.】

【The Charizard Jike had chosen was clearly no ordinary Charizard at first glance.】

【It stood a full head taller than Ash's Charizard, its entire body covered in muscle, its bulging belly seeming to contain inexhaustible power.】

【"Friendly reminder—this Charizard's strength is extremely powerful. If you're scared, I'll help you switch to a different opponent." Jike said with a smile.】

Lance: "Has Jike read the Thirty-Six Stratagems? She's even using the provocation tactic."

Clair: "You can tell Jike really wants to prove the wild Charizard in the valley. The Charizard she picked is at a very high level."

Bruno: "It's rare for wild Pokémon to be at such a high level. I think it's probably because they battle each other all the time."

【Practicing behind closed doors won't lead to progress—battling is the staircase for Pokémon to step into a new world.】

【Actually, in a certain sense, the habits of the Charizard in Charizard Valley aren't like wild Charizard; instead, they're more like trainer-bred Charizard.】

【Because only trainer-bred Charizard would battle day and night without stopping—ordinary wild Pokémon don't have this condition.】

Cynthia: "Exactly. The only difference between them and a trainer's Pokémon is that they make their own training plans, while a trainer's Pokémon have their training plans made by the trainer."

Steven: "Ash's Charizard should be able to win, right?"

Flint: "It has to win! Otherwise Entei's trip would have been for nothing."

【Entei traveled an enormous distance to give Charizard a major upgrade—if it still couldn't beat the wild Charizard in the valley after all that, that would really be too unreasonable.】

【"Then the battle is about to begin."】

【After arranging an opponent for Ash's Charizard, Jike calmly settled in to watch the show.】

【She was quite confident in the Charizard she had carefully selected. Although this Charizard wasn't in the valley's top tier, its strength was absolutely not to be underestimated.】

【It had only been in the valley for less than a year. Jike was very optimistic about it—given time, it had the qualifications to enter the top tier.】

【The wild Charizard that had been acting as hegemon on the valley's outskirts for a long time didn't think much of the new outsider. It yawned while beckoning Ash's Charizard with a curled index finger, brimming with provocation.】

【Ash himself was quite calm, not taking the wild Charizard's provocation to heart, but his Charizard wouldn't stand for it.】

【It had always been hot-tempered, and recently its strength had skyrocketed again. Right now it was in a state of seeking a worthy opponent—how could it possibly tolerate such provocation?】

【"Boom."】

【After a furious roar, it charged straight at its opponent.】

【Dragon Claw!!!】

【Emerald-green Dragon-type energy rapidly gathered on Charizard's left claw.】

125: "The hegemon of Charizard Valley—I want to fight a hundred!"

【In an instant it condensed into a sharp steel claw.】

【The wild Charizard never expected its opponent to be this aggressive—it didn't even have time to react before the opponent's attack had already arrived.】

【"Slice!"】

【It was the sound of claws tearing through skin.】

【From disdain to panic took only a single second.】

【By now the wild Charizard had also realized its opponent was no ordinary specimen. It wanted to counterattack, but it was already too late.】

【Once the nerves had relaxed, how could they tense up again so easily—especially when the opponent had already seized the initiative?】

【After Dragon Claw, Ash's Charizard used both hands to firmly pin down its opponent's arms. The opponent also tried to break free, but Charizard's strength was simply too great—despite being a full size smaller, it could use raw power to keep the opponent rooted in place.】

【At this point, Jike watching from the side was already dumbfounded.】

【A trainer-bred "small-fry" Charizard had completely suppressed her carefully selected wild Charizard. This was entirely beyond her expectations and left her somewhat caught off guard.】

【"Dragon Breath."】

【Accompanied by Ash's new command.】

【A massive Dragon Breath spewed from Charizard's mouth.】

【The point-blank Dragon-type energy sent the wild Charizard straight into a paralyzed state.】

【Realizing its opponent basically had no ability to counterattack, Charizard slowly released its left hand. Using only its right hand, it grabbed the opponent and slammed it heavily into the ground.】

【Over-the-shoulder throw.】

【Face met the ground in an intimate encounter, undergoing violent distortion in that instant.】

【The intense impact shot straight to the brain, and the wild Charizard that had just been looking down on Charizard instantly blacked out.】

【Jike was dumbstruck.】

Clair: "Oh my, Jike seems unable to accept this result."

Lance: "Of course. Jike's theory is that wild Charizard trained in Charizard Valley are stronger than trainer-trained Charizard, but reality just gave her a heavy slap in the face—how could she possibly accept it?"

Karen: "You haven't hit the point. Jike isn't unable to accept the valley's Charizard losing to a trainer's Charizard—what she can't accept is them losing to Ash's Charizard."

Steven: "What's the difference?"

Karen: "How old is Ash? At a glance, no more than twelve. That means the time Ash has spent catching and training Charizard is at most less than two years. A Charizard that has undergone hard special training and tempering in the valley for several years lost to a Charizard that may have only been born two years ago—how could you expect Jike to accept that?"

Maylene: "Makes sense."

【After Charizard secured victory in the battle, Ash could clearly feel that the gazes of the surrounding Charizard toward them had changed.】

【From disdain, ignoring, and contempt to solemnity now—all the Charizard had realized that Ash's Charizard was no simple matter.】

【"Huu."】

【Taking a deep breath, Jike also recovered from her shock. She said slowly, "I admit your Charizard is very strong, but wanting to dominate Charizard Valley isn't that easy!!!"】

【???????】

【Ji Ke's words left Xiao Zhi with a head full of question marks.】

【Dominating the Charizard Valley? When had he ever said he wanted to dominate the Charizard Valley? The reason he came to the valley was only to prove that a trainer's Charizard was no worse than a wild one.】

【"Come on, welcome the new challenge!" Ji Ke's voice rose to a high pitch, and her expression turned solemn.】

【Right now, a single line was written all over her face—Defend the glory of the Charizard Valley; it is our duty.】

【This time, Ji Ke didn't need to pick an opponent anymore. After one round of battle, all the wild Charizards had taken an interest in Xiao Zhi's Charizard, and they rushed forward one after another to challenge Xiao Zhi's Charizard.】

【At this moment, Xiao Zhi really wanted to say something cool like, "Don't come one by one; all of you come at once."】

【But that was just a thought; Xiao Zhi would never say such brainless words, because that would not only be disrespectful to the opponents but could also lead to his Charizard getting beaten flat.】

【There were over a hundred Charizards in the valley; even if his Charizard were called Ip Man, it couldn't fight that many Charizards.】

【"Are they treating Xiao Zhi's Charizard like a soft persimmon?" Misty was a bit confused. Why did all the Charizards want to challenge Xiao Zhi's Charizard? Hadn't they noticed the fate of the first opponent?】

【"They noticed," Erika said with a smile. "Precisely because of that, they are throwing themselves forward to challenge Xiao Zhi's Charizard."】

【What fun is there in defeating a nobody? Only truly powerful opponents are worth challenging. Ji Ke was not wrong when she said that all the Charizards in the valley were warriors, and only warrior Charizards would appear in the Charizard Valley.】

【The strength of Xiao Zhi's Charizard not only failed to scare them away but instead ignited their fighting spirit. To defend the valley's honor and to prove their own strength, they each wanted to challenge Xiao Zhi's Charizard.】

【There were simply too many opponents to challenge; fighting them one by one would take until the monkey year and the horse month.】

【"Which Charizard in here is the strongest?" Xiao Zhi looked at Ji Ke.】

【"The strongest? You want to challenge the strongest Charizard in the valley?" Ji Ke could hardly believe her ears.】

【Did this guy even know what he was saying? The strongest Charizard in the Charizard Valley had reached the Elite Four level. Was he trying to seek death?】

Lance: "Has an Elite Four-level wild Charizard already appeared in the Charizard Valley? It seems the valley's development has been booming in recent years."

Ji Ke: "Heh heh heh, now you know the power of the Charizard Valley. Pity, but even now, no Charizard has been born in the valley capable of fighting a Champion-level trainer."

Falkner: "Champion-level Charizard? Ji Ke, are you trying to reach the heavens? There aren't even five Champion-level Pokémon in the entire world combined. Do you know how many resources each Champion-level Pokémon requires?"

At the Champion level, pure talent is no longer enough; massive resources must be invested.

Leon's Charizard was talented enough, but without Rose's sponsorship, it would not have been easy for it to cross from the Elite Four level to the Champion level.

True, Ji Ke is indeed a rich woman, but she has over a hundred Charizards to raise. Unless she pours all her resources into a single Charizard, a Champion-level Charizard will absolutely never be born in the Charizard Valley.

An Elite Four-level Charizard is already extremely exaggerated.

Flint: "Um, the Charizard Valley is not open to the public. Can we go into the valley to catch Charizards?"

Ji Ke: "Are you dreaming of eating shit?!"

Ji Ke simply couldn't hold back and swore.

Who knows how much effort she had poured into caring for the Charizards in the valley? This guy Flint actually wanted to come to the Charizard Valley to pick the fruit. Wasn't that just dreaming?