Inside Purgatory Valley, the layout that had remained unchanged for a century finally underwent a transformation.
The rocks, said to be indestructible and unbreakable under any circumstances, were now shattered into pieces, leaving Purgatory Valley in utter disarray.
These rocks weren't shaken apart but cracked due to being unable to withstand the extremely high temperatures unleashed by Ash's Charizard.
This raises the question: what level has Charizard X's flame temperature reached?
Black mist loomed over the valley, and if anyone were there, they'd likely be unable to see their own hand in front of their face.
Ash lowered his arm, which he'd instinctively raised to shield himself, and cast his gaze into the black mist. What others couldn't see, he 'saw', not with his eyes, but by observing through Aura Power.
Under Aura Power's observation, the scene inside was imprinted into his mind.
Charizard X knelt on one knee, while the King of Charizard stood in place. If merely going by appearance, the outcome seemed obvious.
But Ash, who was connected with Charizard's aura, knew perfectly well that Charizard's aura had not completely waned. This meant Charizard had not lost the ability to fight. Even though Ash felt lifting a finger was laborious, if they hadn't lost the ability to battle, they hadn't truly lost.
On the contrary, the King of Charizard, though standing, had an aura even weaker than Charizard X's. Such a level of aura was tantamount to losing the ability to battle.
The King of Charizard standing was just due to his lingering obsession.
Staggering forward, Ash finally reached Charizard's side and asked, "Can you stand, Charizard?"
"Roar..." Charizard's roar was no longer as resonant and powerful as at the beginning, turning infinitely weak. Even so, with Ash's support, Charizard managed to stand up.
The recoil from Flare Blitz affected Ash too, consuming more of his physical strength than Charizard's. Therefore, Charizard hadn't entirely lost its fighting capacity. Ash was probably the first trainer in history to endure damage for his Pokemon in battle.
"We won, Charizard!" Seeing that Charizard was not severely injured, Ash's face broke into a radiant smile, unable to contain his excitement as he spoke.
They passed the twofold trials of Charicific Valley. No matter how arduous the process or how grievous the outcome, a win was a win!
In terms of the result, they had surpassed the performance created by Lance's Charizard, and now, his Charizard had become the new King of Charicific Valley!
No matter what Ash had been through, he was still just a fifteen-year-old boy, not even sixteen. To have titles such as King of Charizard or the strongest Charizard bestowed on his Charizard was thrilling for him!
He wasn't someone to shun fame and fortune, and it also symbolized that his Charizard had reached the pinnacle level in the world!
However, speaking of solo combat, his Charizard still had plenty of room for improvement. Without Aura Fusion and MEGA Evolution, Charizard would still be somewhat lacking if it wanted to compete with the world's apex.
But with these two abilities, even if Leon's Charizard came, Ash wouldn't be afraid!
"Once I recover a bit of strength, I'll help heal you. This battle was truly exhausting!" After saying this, Ash didn't immediately sit down to rest but supported Charizard to the front of the King of Charizard and checked the latter's condition with the Power of Viridian.
After confirming that the other was not severely injured, he let go of his last remaining concern and began to recover his strength peacefully.
...
Outside——
More than thirty minutes had passed since the earlier tremor. The level of eruption indicated the battle had reached its conclusion, but until now, no one had come out.
Regardless of whether Ash's side or the King of Charizard had won, they should have emerged from Purgatory Valley by now.
The environment inside Purgatory Valley might be tolerable for the King of Charizard, who was accustomed to it, but not so much for Ash's Charizard.
Even if one could withstand heat, at the point of exhaustion, staying in that environment would be torturous.
So after the battle, no matter who won or lost, they should have come out immediately, unless... both dragons and the person had passed out inside!
If this were the case, it would be quite troublesome.
With this thought, a look of seriousness appeared on Liza's lovely face as she tapped Little Liza beside her and said, "Little Liza, go call Ah Yan from the lava zone in the valley and have him check what's going on inside Purgatory Valley."
Ah Yan, the first Charizard under the King of Charizard, was one of the only two Champion Level Charizards in the valley, and the last Charizard to be defeated by Ash's Charizard.
Although he was defeated, he wasn't severely injured and, after some recovery time, should have mostly regained his strength, at least enough to go into Purgatory Valley and bring two Charizards and a person out.
Little Liza nodded and was about to leave when Brock stopped her: "No need to go through such trouble, Miss Liza, Ash and the others are fine."
Liza's eyebrows furrowed slightly, "You saw the commotion from Purgatory Valley too. That temperature, even a Champion Level Charizard might not withstand the heat, let alone a human. I know Ash has some special abilities, but having used that special ability to increase his Charizard's battle power, he probably doesn't have enough strength left to protect himself, right?"